JP2009212681A - Image capturing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image capturing device that is advantageous in improving the efficiency of mounting work. <P>SOLUTION: A housing 12 of the image capturing device 10 has mounting seats 58 for mounting the image capturing device 10 on a ceiling surface T. A screw insertion hole 60 is formed in the each mounting seat 58. A through-hole 68 of an inner diameter longer than the head 4 of a screw 2 is provided at the place of a wall 66 facing the screw insertion hole 60. A plurality of leg pieces 70 extending in the direction of a locking face 62 and flexibly deformable in the radial direction of the through-hole 68 are provided at the place of the circumferential wall 66 of the through-hole 68 at a plurality of places at intervals in a circumferential direction. Ends 72 of the plurality of leg pieces 70 in an extending direction are formed in dimensions where the inner diameter of an imaginary line connecting the inner circumference of the leg pieces 70 is shorter the outer diameter of the head 4 of the screw 2. The inner diameter of the imaginary line connecting the inner circumference of the plurality of leg pieces 70 is formed to be shorter toward the ends of the plurality of leg pieces 70 in the extending direction. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus.

Provided as an imaging device that can be attached to a building or indoor ceiling surface, etc., with a built-in casing and an imaging unit built in the casing to capture the subject image and generate image data (See Patent Document 1).
In many cases, a screw insertion hole is formed in the housing, and the housing is attached to the mounting surface by screwing the male thread portion of the screw inserted through the screw insertion hole with the female screw of the mounting surface such as the ceiling surface. It is configured to be.
JP 2000-155366 A

However, since the image pickup apparatus is often attached to the ceiling surface, and the attached surface faces downward in the vertical direction, the driver is engaged with the screw head while the male screw portion of the screw is applied to the female screw. In some cases, the screw may be accidentally dropped.
In particular, when attaching the imaging device to the ceiling or a wall near the ceiling, the worker is at a high place such as a stepladder or ladder, so that if the screw falls, the worker once gets off the stepladder or ladder. It is necessary to pick up the screws that have fallen on the floor and climb again to a high place such as a stepladder or ladder, which is a problem in improving the efficiency of installation work and reducing the fatigue level of workers. It has become.
The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an imaging apparatus that is advantageous in improving the efficiency of attachment work and reducing the fatigue level of workers.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a housing, a mounting seat provided in the housing and formed with a screw insertion hole, and an imaging device that captures a subject image incorporated in the housing and generates image data. And a head portion of the screw inserted through the screw insertion hole is engaged with an engagement surface around the screw insertion hole, and the male screw of the screw is screwed to the female screw of the attachment surface. Is attached to the surface to be mounted, and the housing is provided with a wall portion that faces the locking surface, and the wall portion has an inner diameter that is coaxial with the screw insertion hole and larger than the head of the screw. A plurality of through holes are provided, extending from the plurality of locations spaced in the circumferential direction around the through holes in the circumferential direction, and extending in the locking surface direction and elastically deformable in the radial direction of the through holes. The leg pieces are provided, and the end portions in the extending direction of the plurality of leg pieces are connected to the inner circumference thereof. The inner diameter of the line is formed by a dimension smaller than the outer diameter of the head of the screw.

  According to the present invention, the screws can be prevented from dropping by the plurality of leg pieces provided around the through hole of the mounting seat, so that it is possible to improve the efficiency of mounting the imaging device and reduce the fatigue level of the operator. It will be advantageous.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
1 is a perspective view of the imaging apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the imaging apparatus 10, FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the dome cover 18, and FIG. 4 is a plan view of the imaging apparatus 10 with the dome-shaped cover 18 removed. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG.
6 is a side view showing a state in which the inner cover 30 is removed from the rotation support mechanism 14, and FIG. 7 is a plan view of FIG.

In the present embodiment, the imaging device 10 is a monitoring camera that is attached to a ceiling or a wall surface of a room or a building and monitors or observes an indoor or outdoor subject.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the imaging device 10 includes a housing 12, a rotation support mechanism 14, an imaging unit 16, a dome-shaped cover 18, and the like.

The housing 12 has a main body case 20.
The main body case 20 is made of aluminum die casting, and includes an upper wall 26 and a cylindrical peripheral wall 28 erected from the periphery of the upper wall 26.

A substrate 22 is accommodated in the main body case 20.
The substrate 22 has a substantially disk shape with a size smaller than the inner diameter of the peripheral wall 28, and is disposed in parallel with the upper wall 26 at a distance.
The board 22 constitutes most of a control system described later, and is configured by mounting a plurality of electronic components on a printed board.

As shown in FIG. 2, the rotation support mechanism 14 is accommodated in the main body case 20 and includes a base portion 14 </ b> A, a first support member 14 </ b> B, a second support member 14 </ b> C, and a substrate cover 24.
The base portion 14A has a cylindrical wall portion 1402 having a diameter smaller than that of the substrate 22 in a plan view.
A mounting piece 1404 is formed to extend radially outward from the upper end of the cylindrical wall portion 1402.
The mounting piece 1404 is fastened to a plurality of bosses (not shown) projecting from the upper wall 26 together with the board 22 by screws, and the base case 14A is positioned coaxially with the central axis of the board 22. 20 is attached.
A substrate cover 24 is attached to the base portion 14A.
As shown in FIG. 7, the substrate cover 24 covers the substrate 22 between the inner periphery of the peripheral wall 28 of the main body case 20 and the outer periphery of the cylindrical wall portion 1402 of the base portion 14A, and has an annular plate shape. ing.
The substrate cover 24 is attached to the base portion 14A by engaging claws (not shown) formed on the inner peripheral portion of the substrate cover 24 with engagement grooves provided on the outer periphery of the cylindrical wall portion 1402. It is worn.
In the present embodiment, the base portion 14A and the substrate cover 24 constitute a part of the housing 12.
The first support member 14B is connected to the base portion 14A so as to be rotatable about a first virtual axis X that is the central axis of the base portion 14A.
14C of 2nd support members are connected with respect to the 1st support member 14B so that rotation around the 2nd virtual axis Y orthogonal to the 1st virtual axis X is possible.
In the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, an inner cover 30 that covers the second support member 14 is attached to the first support member 14 </ b> B. A notch 3002 that allows rotation about two virtual axes Y is formed.

The imaging unit 16 captures a subject image and generates an imaging signal.
The imaging unit 16 is accommodated and held in the second support member 14C, and therefore the imaging unit 16 rotates about the first and second virtual axes X and Y with respect to the housing 12 via the rotation support mechanism 14. Supported as possible.
Accordingly, the optical axis of the imaging optical system 15 can be directed in an arbitrary direction by moving the imaging unit 16 by hand, and the posture of the imaging unit 16 is maintained as it is by the rotation support mechanism 14 when the hand is released from the imaging unit 16. Then, the orientation of the imaging optical system 15 is fixed.
The imaging unit 16 includes a lens barrel 16A that accommodates the imaging optical system 15, and the imaging element 32 (see FIG. 6) that generates an imaging signal by imaging the subject image guided by the imaging optical system 15 in the lens barrel 16A. 8) is incorporated.

The dome-shaped cover 18 is detachably attached to the housing 12 and covers the rotation support mechanism 14 and the imaging unit 16.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the dome-type cover 18 includes a dome portion 18 </ b> A and an outer peripheral portion 18 </ b> B.
The dome portion 18 </ b> A is formed of a transparent synthetic resin or the like, and enables imaging by the imaging optical system 15 of the imaging unit 16.
The outer peripheral portion 18B extends annularly on the outer periphery of the dome portion 18A and is formed of an opaque synthetic resin material so that the inside of the outer peripheral portion 18B is not visually recognized.
In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of engaging projections 1802 projecting from the inner peripheral surface of the outer peripheral portion 18B at intervals in the circumferential direction are provided as shown in FIG. The dome-shaped cover 18 is attached to the housing 12 by engaging with an engaging piece portion 2802 protruding from the lower end of the peripheral wall 28.

Next, a control system of the imaging device 10 will be described.
FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control system of the imaging apparatus 10.
As shown in FIG. 8, the imaging apparatus 10 includes an image processing unit 34, a network communication unit 36, a network connector 38, and an interface communication unit in addition to the imaging optical system 15, the lens barrel 16, and the image sensor 32. 40, interface connector 42, power supply unit 44, first connector 46A, second connector 46B, audio signal processing unit 48, audio input connector 50A, audio output connector 50B, control unit 52, power lamp 54, network lamp 56 Etc.
The image processing unit 34 performs predetermined signal processing on the imaging signal supplied from the imaging element 32 to generate predetermined image data (still image data, moving image data). The generated image data is used as the control unit 52. To supply.

The network communication unit 36 is connected to an external device (a host device such as a server) via a network connector 38 and a network cable connected to the network connector 38, and is controlled by bidirectional communication. Information is exchanged between the unit 52 and the host device.
In the present embodiment, the network communication unit 36 performs communication using, for example, a LAN or Ethernet (registered trademark).
The information to be transmitted to the external device includes image data and audio data to be described later, and the information received from the external device is a control command for instructing adjustment of brightness and color tone of the captured image data, or Audio data input to an external device is included.
The interface communication unit 40 is connected to the interface connector 42, and performs bidirectional communication with the external device via the interface connector 42, thereby exchanging information between the control unit 52 and the external device. For example, it is used during maintenance work of the imaging apparatus 10.

The power supply unit 44 is connected to the first and second connectors 48A and 48B, and supplies power supplied from an external power supply device via a power cable (not shown) via the first and second connectors 48A and 48B to a predetermined level. The voltage and current are adjusted and supplied to the image sensor 32, the image processing unit 34, the network communication unit 36, the interface communication unit 40, the audio signal processing unit 48, the control unit 52, and the like.
The power supply unit 44 can selectively use three types of power. That is, any one of three types of AC power or DC power supplied via the first connector 46A and network power supplied via the second connector 46B is used.

The audio signal processing unit 48 is controlled by the control unit 52 and connected to the audio input connector 50A and the audio output connector 50B.
The audio signal processing unit 48 converts an audio signal input from a microphone or the like connected to the audio input connector 50 </ b> A into a digital signal and supplies the digital signal to the control unit 52. Sound is generated by converting the signal into an analog signal and supplying it to a speaker connected to the audio output connector 50B.
The power lamp 54 is an indicator lamp that indicates whether the power is on or off by turning on or off.

The network lamp 56 is an indicator lamp that is lit and extinguished to indicate whether or not a network connection operation is in progress.
The power lamp 54 and the network lamp 56 are provided so as to face the surface of the main body case 20 or the substrate cover 24, for example.
Further, the network connector 38, the interface connector 42, the first connector 46A, the second connector 46B, the audio input connector 50A, the audio output connector 50B, the power lamp 54, and the network lamp 56 described above are omitted. The main body case 20 or the substrate cover 24 is provided so as to face the surface.

The control unit 52 controls the image processing unit 34, the network communication unit 36, the interface communication unit 40, the power supply unit 44, the audio signal processing unit 48, the power lamp 54, and the network lamp 56, and includes a CPU and a ROM. And a microcomputer including a RAM and an interface LSI.
That is, the control unit 52 transmits the image data supplied from the image processing unit 34 and the audio signal input from the audio input connector 50A via the audio signal processing unit 48 to the network communication unit 36 and the network connector 38. Via an external device.
In addition, the control unit 52 supplies sound data supplied from an external device via the network connector 38 and the network communication unit 36 to the speaker via the audio signal processing unit 48 and the audio output connector 50B. generate.

9A to 9D are cross-sectional views taken along the line BB in FIG. 4. FIG. 9A is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state in which the head 4 of the screw 2 is inserted into the through hole 68, and FIG. Explanatory drawing which shows the state which the head 4 of the screw 2 pushed and spread the leg piece 70, (C) is explanatory drawing which shows the state which the head 4 of the screw 2 contact | abutted to the edge part 72 of the leg piece 70, (D ) Is an explanatory view showing a state in which the head 4 of the screw 2 is locked to the locking surface 62.
The housing 12 has an attachment seat 58 for attaching the imaging device 10 to the ceiling surface T (FIG. 5).
In the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the mounting seats 58 are provided at two locations spaced in the circumferential direction of the upper wall 26.
A screw insertion hole 60 is formed in each mounting seat 58.
The screw 2 is inserted through the screw insertion hole 60.
The screw 2 includes a head 4, a washer 5 having a diameter larger than that of the head 4 provided on the lower surface of the head 4, and a male screw portion 6 extending from the lower surface of the head 4.
A locking surface 62 for locking the head 4 (washer 5) of the screw 2 is formed at 58 mounting seats located at one end in the extending direction of the screw insertion hole 60.
An abutting surface 64 to be abutted against the ceiling surface T is formed at 58 attachment seats located at the other end in the extending direction of the screw insertion hole 60.

A wall portion 66 is provided on the substrate cover 24 so as to face the locking surface 62.
A through hole 68 having an inner diameter larger than that of the head portion 4 of the screw 2 is provided at a location of the wall portion 66 facing the screw insertion hole 60.
In the present embodiment, the through hole 68 is provided coaxially with the screw insertion hole 60.
A plurality of leg pieces 70 extending in the direction of the locking surface 62 and elastically deformable in the radial direction of the through hole 68 are provided at a plurality of positions spaced in the circumferential direction at the wall portion 66 around the through hole 68. It has been.
The housing 12 is made of synthetic resin, and the plurality of leg pieces 70 are formed integrally with the housing 12.
In the present embodiment, two leg pieces 70 are provided with a phase difference of 180 degrees.
A dimension larger than the height of the head 4 of the screw 2 is secured between the end portions 72 of the plurality of leg pieces 70 and the locking surface 62.

End portions 72 in the extending direction of the plurality of leg pieces 70 are formed such that the inner diameter of an imaginary line connecting the inner peripheries thereof is smaller than the outer diameter of the head 4 of the screw 2.
The inner diameter of the imaginary line that connects the inner peripheries of the plurality of leg pieces 70 is formed with a dimension that gradually decreases as it reaches the ends in the extending direction of the plurality of leg pieces 70.
Further, the leg piece 70 is formed so that its thickness gradually increases as it reaches the end portion 72 in the extending direction of the leg piece 70.

Next, a method for attaching the imaging device 10 will be described.
FIG. 10 is a view as viewed from the arrow Z1 with the screw 2 removed from FIG. 9A, FIG. 11 is a view as viewed from the arrow Z2 in FIG. 9B, and FIG. 12 is a view as viewed from the arrow Z3 in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, a mounting bracket 80 is attached in advance to a ceiling surface T to which the imaging device 10 is mounted, and the mounting bracket 80 has a portion corresponding to the screw insertion hole 60 of the mounting seat 58 of the imaging device 10. A female screw 82 is provided for each.
Prior to attachment, the dome cover 18 is removed from the imaging device 10 as shown in FIGS.
In this state, the upper wall 28 of the housing 12 of the imaging device 10 faces the mounting bracket 80, and the screw insertion hole 60 of the mounting seat 58 and the female screw 82 of the mounting bracket 80 are matched as shown in FIG. 10.
Next, with the tip of the driver engaged with the head 4 of the screw 2, the male screw portion 6 of the screw 2 is directed from the through hole 68 to the screw insertion hole 60 as shown in FIGS. Insert.
Further, when the head 4 of the screw 2 is pushed in, as shown in FIGS. 9B and 12, the outer periphery of the washer 5 comes into contact with the inside of each leg piece 70 and pushes the leg piece 70 apart.
Further, by pushing the head 4 of the screw 2, the outer periphery of the washer 5 gets over the end 72 of each leg piece 70 as shown in FIG. 9C.
In this way, even when the washer 5 is over the end 72 of each leg piece 70 and the tip of the driver is detached from the head 4 of the screw 2, the outer periphery of the washer 5 is engaged with the end 72 of each leg 70. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the screw 2 from coming off from the through hole 68.
In the present embodiment, the distal end of the male screw portion 6 faces the female screw 82 in a state where the washer 5 of the screw 2 is in contact with the end portion 72 of each leg portion 70.
Here, the head 4 of the screw 2 is rotated by a screwdriver and the male screw portion 6 is screwed into the female screw 82, whereby the washer 5 of the screw 2 is engaged with the locking surface as shown in FIGS. The abutting surface 64 is abutted against the ceiling surface T via the mounting bracket 80.
As a result, the housing 12 is attached to the ceiling surface T via the mounting seat 58.
Next, as shown in FIG. 2, the attachment of the imaging device 10 is completed by attaching the dome-shaped cover 18 to the housing 12.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, since the plurality of leg pieces 70 are provided around the through hole 68 of the mounting seat 58, the head 4 of the screw 2 pushes and spreads the leg piece 70, and then the head Since the outer periphery of the portion 4 engages with the end portion 72 of the leg portion 70, the screw 2 can be prevented from falling.
Therefore, when the screw is accidentally dropped when attaching the imaging device 10 to a ceiling surface or a wall surface near the ceiling, the operator picks up the screw once dropped from the stepladder or ladder and dropped on the floor, It is possible to prevent troublesome work such as climbing to a high place such as a stepladder or ladder, and this is advantageous in improving the efficiency of attaching the imaging device 10 and reducing the fatigue level of the operator.
In addition, since an extremely simple configuration in which the leg piece 70 is provided on the housing 12 is sufficient, it is advantageous for suppressing an increase in the cost of the imaging device 10.

Next, a modified example of the leg piece 70 will be described.
These modifications are similar to the embodiment in that the screw 2 can be inserted into the through-hole 68 and the screw 2 is prevented from falling.
That is, the plurality of leg pieces 70 extend in the direction of the locking surface 62 and can be elastically deformed in the radial direction of the through hole 68, and the end portions 72 in the extending direction of the plurality of leg pieces 70 have inner circumferences thereof. The inner diameter of the imaginary line connecting the two is smaller than the outer diameter of the head 4 of the screw 2.
In the first modification shown in FIG. 13A, the leg piece 70 is formed with a uniform thickness over the extending direction of the leg piece 70.
The inner diameter of the imaginary line that connects the inner peripheries of the plurality of leg pieces 70 is formed with a dimension that gradually decreases as it reaches the ends in the extending direction of the plurality of leg pieces 70.
In the second modification shown in FIG. 13B, the leg piece 70 has an inclined portion 7002 formed at a location near the end 72 of the leg piece 70.
The inner diameter of the imaginary line that connects the inner peripheries of the inclined portions 7002 of the plurality of leg pieces 70 is formed with a dimension that gradually decreases toward the end in the extending direction of the plurality of leg pieces 70.

In the third modified example shown in FIG. 13C, the leg piece 70 has a curved surface 7002 formed toward the inner periphery at a location near the end 72 of the leg piece 70.
The inner diameter of the imaginary line connecting the inner circumferences of the curved surfaces 7002 of the plurality of leg pieces 70 is formed with a dimension that gradually decreases as it reaches the end portions in the extending direction of the plurality of leg pieces 70.
In the fourth modified example shown in FIG. 13D, the leg piece 70 includes an inclined portion 7002 near the end 72 of the leg piece 70 and a flat portion 7006 connected to the inclined portion 7002 and reaching the end 72. And is formed.
An inner diameter of an imaginary line connecting the inner circumference of the flat portion 7006 is formed with a constant dimension along the extending direction of the plurality of leg pieces 70.
The inner diameter of the imaginary line that connects the inner circumferences of the inclined portions 7002 of the plurality of leg pieces 70 is formed with a dimension that gradually decreases toward the flat portion 7006.
In the first to fourth modified examples, the same effects as those of the first embodiment are achieved.

In the embodiment, the case where the plurality of leg pieces 70 are formed integrally with the housing 12 has been described. However, the leg pieces 70 may be formed so as to be detachable from the housing 12. The screw 2 can be removed from the housing 12.
Moreover, although embodiment demonstrated the case where the screw 2 had the washer 5 larger diameter than the head 4, the screw 2 which does not have the washer 5 may be used. However, when the screw 2 having the washer 5 is used as in the present embodiment, the face of the washer 5 comes into contact with the end portion 72 of the leg piece 70, which is advantageous in stabilizing the posture of the screw 2. .
In the present embodiment, the case where the imaging device 10 is a surveillance camera has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to the surveillance camera, and can be widely applied to various imaging devices that photograph various subjects. is there.

It is a perspective view of imaging device 10 of this embodiment. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an imaging device 10. FIG. It is sectional drawing of a dome cover. It is a top view of the imaging device 10 which removed the dome shape cover. It is AA sectional view taken on the line of FIG. FIG. 4 is a side view showing a state where an inner cover 30 is removed from the rotation support mechanism 14. FIG. 7 is a plan view of FIG. 6. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control system of the imaging apparatus 10. FIG. (A) is explanatory drawing which shows the state which the head 4 of the screw 2 was inserted in the through-hole 68, (B) is explanatory drawing which shows the state which the head 4 of the screw 2 pushed and spread the leg piece 70, (C ) Is an explanatory view showing a state in which the head 4 of the screw 2 is in contact with the end 72 of the leg piece 70, and (D) is an explanatory view showing a state in which the head 4 of the screw 2 is locked to the locking surface 62. It is. It is the Z1 arrow directional view which removed screw 2 from Drawing 9 (A). FIG. 10 is a Z2 arrow view of FIG. FIG. 10 is a Z3 arrow view of FIG. (A) is explanatory drawing of the leg part 70 of a 1st modification, (B) is explanatory drawing of the leg part 70 of a 2nd modification, (C) is explanatory drawing of the leg part 70 of a 3rd modification. (D) is explanatory drawing of the leg part 70 of the 4th modification.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Imaging device, 12 ... Housing, 16 ... Imaging part, 58 ... Mounting seat, 60 ... Screw insertion hole, 62 ... Locking surface, 66 ... Wall part, 68 ... Through-hole, 70 …… Leg piece, 72 …… End.

Claims (7)

A housing,
A mounting seat provided in the housing and formed with a screw insertion hole;
An imaging unit that is incorporated in the housing and captures a subject image;
The housing is attached to the mounting surface by locking the head of the screw inserted through the screw insertion hole with a locking surface around the screw insertion hole and screwing the male screw of the screw with the female screw of the mounting surface. Attached to the
The housing is provided with a wall portion facing the locking surface,
A through hole having an inner diameter larger than the head of the screw is provided at the wall portion facing the screw insertion hole,
A plurality of leg pieces extending in the direction of the locking surface and elastically deforming in the radial direction of the through hole from a plurality of locations spaced in the circumferential direction around the through hole in the circumferential direction;
The ends in the extending direction of the plurality of leg pieces are formed with a size in which the inner diameter of an imaginary line connecting the inner circumferences thereof is smaller than the outer diameter of the head of the screw,
Imaging device. Between the ends of the plurality of leg pieces and the locking surface, a dimension larger than the height of the head of the screw is secured.
The imaging apparatus according to claim 1. The inner diameter of the imaginary line connecting the inner peripheries of the plurality of leg pieces is formed with a dimension that gradually decreases as it reaches the end in the extending direction of the plurality of leg pieces.
The imaging apparatus according to claim 1. At the place of the mounting seat opposite to the locking surface across the screw insertion hole, an abutting surface to be applied to the attached surface is formed,
The housing is attached to the attached surface in a state where the abutting surface is applied to the attached surface.
The imaging apparatus according to claim 1. The through hole is provided coaxially with the screw insertion hole.
The imaging apparatus according to claim 1. The housing is made of synthetic resin,
The plurality of leg pieces are formed integrally with the housing.
The imaging apparatus according to claim 1. The imaging device is a monitoring camera device in which the housing is attached to the attached surface facing downward.
The imaging apparatus according to claim 1.

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