JP2008042277A - Universal head apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a universal head apparatus for easily configuring a monitor camera system by using an imaging apparatus, and for preventing an operation which may destroy an imaged image recorded in a recording medium. <P>SOLUTION: A camera mounting part 2 on which a digital camera 1 is loaded is rotated to a pan direction or a tilt direction so that the photographic direction of the digital camera 1 can be changed. An image signal from the digital camera 1 is recorded in an HDD 13 mounted on a recording medium device 5. The recording medium device 5 is provided with a mechanism for locking an inject lever 14 for extracting the mounted HDD 13, and for locking the eject level 14. The pushing operation of the eject lever 14 in extracting the mounted HDD 13 is made impossible by this lock mechanism. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a pan / tilt head device that is equipped with an imaging device such as a digital camera and records an imaging signal output from the imaging device on a recording medium.

  In recent years, digital cameras have rapidly become popular, and model changes such as performance enhancement and miniaturization of digital cameras are repeatedly performed in a short cycle. Along with this, the number of homes that own multiple digital cameras including old and new models is increasing.

  In recent years, security measures have been emphasized, and the demand for surveillance cameras is increasing. In particular, home-facing surveillance cameras are often installed for the purpose of monitoring pets, infants in separate rooms, etc., watching over the elderly, and detecting and reporting suspicious person intrusions. As this home monitoring camera, a camera having simple installation and simple operability is desired.

In addition, it is desired to provide a pan head device that enables a digital camera that is not currently used as a surveillance camera in a home that owns a plurality of digital cameras. A pan head apparatus that satisfies the above-described requirements is disclosed in Patent Document 1.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-060937

  As the above-described pan head device, from the viewpoint of easy installation and simple operability, an apparatus having a function of transferring or notifying an image captured by the mounted image capturing device or a monitoring result to a designated mobile phone or the like is considered. It is done. Further, it is conceivable that a recording medium (detachable memory, ream bubble hard disk, etc.) is provided in the pan head device and has a function of recording an image captured by the imaging device on the recording medium.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a pan / tilt head device that can easily configure a surveillance camera system using an imaging device and can prevent an operation that may destroy a captured image recorded on a recording medium. Is to provide.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a pedestal equipped with an imaging device and having at least one of a panning mechanism and a tilting mechanism for changing the orientation of the imaging device, and an image signal output from the imaging device Recording means for recording the recording medium on the recording medium, wherein the recording means includes a mounting mechanism for mounting the recording medium, a detaching mechanism for removing the recording medium mounted on the mounting mechanism from the recording medium, and the detaching mechanism. There is provided a pan / tilt head device having a removal prohibiting mechanism for prohibiting the removal of the recording medium.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, while being able to comprise a surveillance camera system simply using an imaging device, operation which may destroy the captured image recorded on the recording medium can be prevented beforehand.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a pan head device according to an embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the front side. FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the pan / tilt head device of FIG. 1 viewed from the back side.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the camera platform device includes a main body 4 and a recording medium device 5 for mounting a removable hard disk device (hereinafter referred to as HDD) 13. The main body 4 is provided with a rotating portion 6 of a panning mechanism, and the rotating portion 6 rotates around the pan axis by the panning mechanism. The rotating part 6 is provided with a pair of support parts 7 and 8 arranged so as to face each other in the diameter direction. The support portions 7 and 8 support the camera attachment portion 2 for attaching the digital camera 1 so as to be rotatable around the tilt axis. The camera mounting portion 2 is angularly rotated around the tilt axis by a tilting mechanism (not shown; hereinafter referred to as a tilt mechanism). The camera mounting portion 2 is provided with a tripod screw 3 (not shown) at the bottom of the digital camera 1 and a tripod screw 3 that is screwed. The digital camera 1 is fixed to the camera mounting portion 2 by screwing the tripod screw 3 and the tripod screw of the digital camera.

  The main body 4 is provided with a power connector 9, a video signal connector 10, a LAN connector 11, and the like (see FIG. 2). The power connector 9 is connected to an external power source, and supplies power supplied from the external power source to a motor, a substrate, and the like in the main body 4. The video signal connector 10 is a connector for outputting an imaging signal output from the digital camera 1 to the outside. The LAN connector 11 is connected to a LAN (Local Area Network). The main body 4 can communicate with a terminal on the LAN via the LAN.

  The panning mechanism and the tilt mechanism are configured to be remotely operated by a remote controller (not shown), and light receiving sensors 66 and 67 for receiving infrared rays indicating operation instructions from the remote controller are provided in the main body 4. Is provided.

  The recording medium device 5 is provided with a recording medium insertion slot 12, and an HDD 13 is inserted into the recording medium insertion slot 12. Further, an eject lever 14 for taking out the HDD 13 from the recording medium insertion opening 12 is provided.

  Next, the internal mechanism of the pan head apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the internal mechanism of the pan / tilt head device of FIG. 1 as viewed from the front side. 4 is a perspective view of the internal mechanism of the pan / tilt head device of FIG. 3 as viewed from the back side.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the rotating unit 6 is supported by the chassis 26 of the panning mechanism. A pair of attachment plates 15 and 16 are attached to the rotating portion 6, and tilt columns 17 and 18 are attached to the attachment plates 15 and 16, respectively. A rotation shaft 20 that rotatably supports a tilt pulley 19 is attached to the tilt column 17. In addition, a rotation shaft (not shown) that rotatably supports the rotating unit 21 is attached to the tilt column 18.

  Further, a motor mounting plate 22 is provided on the rotating unit 6, and a motor 23 is fixed to the motor mounting plate 22. A motor pulley 24 is attached to the shaft of the motor 23, and the motor pulley 24 is coupled to the tilt pulley 19 by a timing belt 25. Thereby, the power of the motor 23 is transmitted to the tilt pulley 19 via the timing belt 25, and the tilt pulley 19 is rotated. As the tilt pulley 19 rotates, the camera mounting portion 2 is rotated about the tilt axis. Here, as the motor 23, any motor such as a DC motor, a pulse motor, and an ultrasonic motor can be used.

  A circuit board 28 is mounted on the chassis 26. On the circuit board 28, the power connector 9, the video signal connector 10, the LAN connector 11, the light receiving sensors 66, 67 and the like described above are attached. Yes. A relay substrate 29 is attached to the tilt column 17. The relay board 29 connects a signal line (not shown) of the motor 23, an encoder signal line (not shown), a signal line of a sensor (not shown) for detecting the home position of the tilt position, and the like to the circuit board 28. It is a substrate for doing.

  When the digital camera 1 is attached to the camera attachment portion 2, the signal connector, power supply terminal, and the like of the digital camera 1 are electrically connected to a connector (not shown) disposed on the camera attachment portion 2. The connector of the camera mounting portion 2 is electrically connected to the circuit board 28 via a relay board 29 provided on the tilt column 17 and a relay board (not shown) provided on the tilt column 18. Yes. Here, signal lines such as the relay board 29 are inserted into the connectors 33, 34, and 35 on the circuit board 28 via the flexible cables 30, 31, and 32. As a result, the digital camera 1 and the circuit board 28 are electrically connected, and it is possible to receive an image signal from the digital camera 1, supply power to the digital camera 1, and exchange control signals with the digital camera 1.

  The recording medium device 5 has a chassis 27, and an insertion / removal drive unit (not shown) for the HDD 13 is mounted on the chassis 27. The HDD 13 as a recording medium is inserted into the recording medium insertion slot 12 in the direction indicated by the arrow A in FIG. The HDD 13 is pulled in from the recording medium insertion port 12 by the above-described insertion / removal drive unit (not shown), and a connector (not shown) attached to the circuit board 36 of the recording medium device 5 and a connector ( (Not shown). As a result, signals can be exchanged between the HDD 13 and the circuit board 36. In addition, the circuit board 36 is connected to the circuit board 28 via a flexible circuit, and records an image signal sent from the digital camera 1 through the circuit board 28 to the HDD 13.

  Next, the details of the panning mechanism will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing details of the panning mechanism of the pan head apparatus of FIG. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the panning mechanism of the pan / tilt head device of FIG. 1 as viewed from below. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a rotation range of the rotary unit 6 of the pan head apparatus of FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a bearing portion 37 is attached to the chassis 26 of the panning mechanism. A bush 38 is fixed to the rotating portion 6, and a shaft 39 is press-fitted into the bush 38. Two bearing metals 40 and 41 are press-fitted into the bearing portion 37, and each bearing metal 40 and 41 is rotatably fitted to a shaft 39. A motor attachment plate 44 is attached to the bearing portion 37, and a pan motor 45 is fixed to the motor attachment plate 44. A cassava gear 46 is attached to the pan motor 45, and the cassava gear 46 meshes with a cassava gear 47 attached to the bush 38. The pan motor 45 is connected to the circuit board 28 via the flexible cable 48.

  In addition, a home position detection rib 49 is formed in the rotating unit 6, and the home position detection rib 49 is detected by the photocoupler 50. Thereby, the home position of the rotation part 6 is detected. The rotation unit 6 is provided with a rotation detection unit 51 for detecting the rotation position, and the rotation detection unit 51 is detected by a rotation detection element 52 made of a photocoupler or the like. Here, the rotation detection unit 51 includes, for example, a ring-shaped member in which fine slits are formed by etching or the like, or a ring-shaped member in which “white” and “black” patterns are alternately printed by printing. Further, the rotation detector 51 may be composed of a ring-shaped member magnetized with a magnetic pattern. In this case, the rotation detection unit 51 is detected by a magnetic detection element (MR element, Hall element, or the like). The photocoupler 50 and the rotation detection element 52 are mounted on the circuit board 28.

  As described above, the rotating unit 6 is rotated about the shaft 39 by the driving force of the pan motor 45, and the home position and the rotation position thereof are detected by the photocoupler 50 and the rotation detection element 52. Here, at the time of photographing operation, as shown in FIG. 7, the rotating unit 6 sets the position B as the front position, and uses the front position B as a reference in the left and right directions C and D, respectively, by 17π / 18 (rad) angular. Is set to be rotatable. Further, a pin 53 is press-fitted into the rotating portion 6.

  Next, the ejection mechanism of the HDD 13 of the recording medium device 5 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the eject mechanism of the HDD 13 of the recording medium device 5 in the pan head device of FIG. FIG. 9 is a side view showing a state where the ejection operation of the HDD 13 of the recording medium device 5 is unlocked. FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a state where the ejection operation of the HDD 13 of the recording medium device 5 is unlocked. FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a state in which the HDD 13 is ejected from the recording medium device 5.

  As shown in FIG. 8, a shaft 54 is planted on the chassis 26, and a lever 55 is rotatably attached to the shaft 54. The lever 55 is provided with a long hole 57. A shaft 56 planted in the chassis 26 is inserted into the elongated hole 57. The lever 55 is biased by a spring (not shown) in a direction E indicated by an arrow in the drawing, and is held at a position where the shaft 56 and the end of the elongated hole 57 of the lever 55 abut. Normally, the lever 55 is held in the above state, and in this state, the pan operation is performed in a range of ± 17π / 18 (rad) with respect to the front position B.

  A holding member 58 is disposed on the chassis 27 of the recording medium device 5, and a small chassis 59 is attached on the holding member 58. A shaft 60 is planted in the small chassis 59, and a two-stage gear 61 is rotatably fitted to the shaft 60. In addition, two shafts 62 and 63 are planted in the small chassis 59, and the eject lever 14 is fitted to each of the shafts 62 and 63 so as to be movable in an arrow direction F in the drawing. The eject lever 14 is normally biased in the direction opposite to the direction F by a spring (not shown). Further, the rack portion 14a of the eject lever 14 and the gear portion 61a of the second gear 61 are engaged with each other, and the gear portion 61b of the second gear 61 and the rack 64 are engaged with each other.

  When the HDD 13 inserted in the recording medium device 5 is ejected, the eject lever 14 is pushed. Accordingly, the rack portion 14a and the gear portion 61a of the two-stage gear 61 are engaged with each other, and the force in the direction F is changed to the rotational motion of the gear. Further, the gear portion 61 b of the two-stage gear 61 and the rack 64 are engaged with each other, and a force in the direction opposite to the direction F acts on the rack 64. Although not shown in detail, a force in a direction opposite to the direction F of the rack 64 is transmitted to an internal mechanism (not shown), and the HDD 13 is ejected by the internal mechanism.

  In addition, a mechanism for locking the ejection operation of the HDD 13 is provided. That is, the distal end portion 14b of the eject lever 14 is in contact with the stopper shaft 65 press-fitted into the stopper portion 55a of the lever 55 so that the eject lever 14 cannot be pushed. Thereby, the ejection operation is locked.

  Here, in order to enable the pushing operation of the eject lever 14, that is, to enable the ejecting operation, the rotating portion 6 is rotated 182.5π / 180 (rad) counterclockwise. At this time, as shown in FIG. 9, the pin 53 attached to the rotating portion 6 rotates the cam portion 55b of the lever 55 in the direction G indicated by the arrow in the drawing. As a result, the pin 65 that locks the pushing of the eject lever 14 is released, and the eject lever 14 can be pushed in the direction H in the figure. Then, when the eject lever 14 is pushed, the HDD 13 is ejected as described above. As a result of this ejection operation, the HDD 13 is pushed out of the recording medium device 5 as shown in FIG. 11, and the user can take out the HDD 13 from the recording medium device 5.

  When the pan / tilt head device configured as described above receives the infrared signal from the remote controller described above via the light receiving sensors 66 and 67, the panning operation, the tilting operation, and the like according to the operation instruction indicated by the received infrared signal. Can be done. In addition, by connecting the LAN connector 11 to a LAN, it is possible to perform control such as panning and tilting operations while viewing an image captured by the digital camera 1 from a terminal on the LAN.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, if a digital camera at hand, for example, is mounted on the camera mounting portion 2 as the digital camera 1, a surveillance camera system can be easily configured. Further, when the rotational position of the rotating unit 6 is within a predetermined range, the eject lever 14 for taking out the HDD 13 from the recording medium device 5 is locked. As a result, it is prohibited to remove the HDD 13 while the image signal is being written to the HDD 13. In other words, an operation that may destroy the image signal recorded on the HDD 13 can be prevented.

It is the external appearance perspective view which looked at the pan head apparatus which concerns on one embodiment of this invention from the front side. It is the external appearance perspective view which looked at the pan head apparatus of FIG. 1 from the back side. It is the perspective view which looked at the internal mechanism of the pan head apparatus of FIG. 1 from the front side. It is the perspective view which looked at the internal mechanism of the pan head apparatus of FIG. 3 from the back side. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the detail of the panning mechanism of the pan head apparatus of FIG. It is the perspective view which looked at the panning mechanism of the pan head apparatus of FIG. 1 from the lower part. It is a perspective view which shows the rotation range of the rotation part 6 of the pan head apparatus of FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of an eject mechanism of an HDD 13 of a recording medium device 5 in the pan / tilt head device of FIG. 1. 6 is a side view showing a state in which the lock of the eject operation of the HDD 13 of the recording medium device 5 is released. FIG. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a state where the lock of the eject operation of the HDD 13 of the recording medium device 5 is released. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which the HDD 13 is ejected from the recording medium device 5. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Digital camera 2 Camera mounting part 3 Tripod screw 4 Main body 5 Recording medium apparatus 6 Structure rotation part 7, 8 Support part 12 Recording medium insertion port 13 HDD
14 Eject lever 17, 18 Tilt column 28 Circuit board 55 Lever 56 Axis 57 Long hole 58 Holding member 59 Small chassis 60, 62, 63 Axis 61 Two-stage gear 64 Rack 65 Stopper axis 66, 67 Remote control light receiving sensor

Claims (7)

A pedestal equipped with an imaging device and having at least one of a panning mechanism and a tilting mechanism for changing the orientation of the imaging device;
Recording means for recording an image signal output from the imaging device on a recording medium,
The recording means includes an attachment mechanism for attaching the recording medium, a removal mechanism for removing the recording medium attached to the attachment mechanism from the recording medium, and a removal prohibiting mechanism for prohibiting removal of the recording medium by the removal mechanism. A pan head device characterized by comprising:   2. The removal prohibiting mechanism prohibits the removal of the recording medium by the removing mechanism when the pedestal is in a panning or tilting operation by the panning mechanism or the tilting mechanism. Pan head device.   The removal prohibiting mechanism prohibits the removal of the recording medium by the removal mechanism while the recording unit is recording the image signal output from the imaging device onto the recording medium. The pan head apparatus according to claim 1. The recording means has a removal prohibition release mechanism for releasing the prohibition of removal of the recording medium by the removal mechanism;
4. The removal prohibition release mechanism releases the prohibition of removal of the recording medium by the removal mechanism when the pedestal is at a position outside a preset effective photographing range. The pan head apparatus as described in any one of these.   5. The pan / tilt head device according to claim 1, further comprising a remote operation unit for remotely operating the panning mechanism or the tilting mechanism of the pedestal. The recording means has a removal prohibition release mechanism that cancels the prohibition of removal of the recording medium by the removal mechanism when the pedestal is at a position outside the preset effective photographing range;
The remote control means is capable of giving an operation instruction to the panning mechanism or the tilting mechanism so that the pedestal is positioned outside the preset effective photographing range. Item 6. The pan head device according to Item 5.   7. The pan / tilt head device according to claim 1, wherein the recording medium is a memory card or a hard disk that is detachable from the mounting mechanism.

Images