JP2010212941A - Imaging apparatus, and video doorphone system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate to discriminate an object by improving the visibility of the object immediately after starting photographing even in the case of obtaining a color photographed video image so as not to make illuminated light too bright for the object at a dark place, regarding an imaging apparatus and a video doorphone system. <P>SOLUTION: The imaging apparatus 9 includes an infrared light source portion 9a for photographing for illuminating the object, a visible light source portion 9b for photographing for illuminating the object, an imaging portion 9c for photographing the object, and a light emission control portion 9e for controlling light emission of the infrared light source portion 9a for photographing and the visible light source portion 9b for photographing, wherein the light emission control portion 9e starts to illuminate infrared light when imaging portion 9c starts photographing, and increases the light quantity of the visible light more gently than infrared light with the elapse of time after starting the light emission. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging device and a television door phone device that can capture a color image by photographing a subject.

  Conventionally, the captured video obtained by the camera installed in the child unit installed at the entrance is displayed on the monitor of the main unit installed in the room, and a call is made to the visitor at the entrance and the room There has been proposed a TV door phone device that allows a resident to check a photographed image of a visitor.

In the conventional TV door phone device, when a call button of the slave unit is pressed by a visitor at night, the visitor is illuminated and photographed with visible light. Moreover, the conventional television door phone apparatus has increased the light quantity of visible light with time so that the light illuminated for a visitor may not become dazzling (for example, refer patent document 1).
JP-A-2005-73060

  In the above-described conventional TV door phone device, visible light increases with time, so it took a while for the amount of visible light to reach an appropriate luminance for photographing, and the photographed image immediately after the start of photographing was dark. That is, when confirming the captured image on the monitor of the master unit immediately after the call button is pressed, there is a problem that the display image in the monitor is dark for a while and the visibility is not good and it is difficult to determine the subject who is a visitor. .

  On the other hand, it is conceivable to irradiate the subject with infrared light that does not feel dazzling for the subject to ensure the luminance component necessary for the captured image. However, since infrared light is outside the visible wavelength range, color information cannot be obtained. The captured video is black and white, making it difficult to distinguish visitors.

  Therefore, the present invention has an object of improving the visibility of a subject immediately after the start of photographing and making it easy to discriminate even when obtaining a color video signal so that the light illuminated for the subject does not become dazzling in a dark place. To do.

  In order to achieve the above object, an imaging apparatus according to the present invention includes a photographing infrared light source unit that illuminates a subject, a photographing visible light source unit that illuminates the subject, an imaging unit that photographs the subject, and a photographing infrared light source. A light emission control unit that controls light emission of the light source unit and the visible light source unit for photographing, and the light emission control unit starts to emit infrared light when shooting is started by the imaging unit, and time elapses after the light emission starts. At the same time, the configuration is such that the amount of visible light is increased more slowly than infrared light. With such a configuration, the intended purpose is achieved.

  Further, the television door phone device of the present invention includes the above-described imaging device, a slave unit having a call button for a visitor to call a resident, and a recording device that records a color video signal obtained by photographing with the imaging device. A control unit that controls the imaging device and the recording device in response to pressing of the call button from the slave unit, and the control unit starts shooting of the imaging device when the call button of the slave unit is pressed Both are characterized in that the recording device starts recording color video signals. With such a configuration, the intended purpose is achieved.

  As described above, the imaging apparatus of the present invention includes a photographing infrared light source unit that illuminates a subject, a photographing visible light source unit that illuminates the subject, an imaging unit that photographs the subject, a photographing infrared light source unit, and photographing. A light emission control unit that controls the light emission of the visible light source unit, and the light emission control unit starts emitting infrared light when shooting is started by the imaging unit, and after the start of light emission, the light emission control unit Since the amount of light is increased more slowly than infrared light, the brightness required for the captured image is secured by the infrared light that is not dazzling for the subject at the same time as the start of shooting, and then the light amount is gradually increased from the infrared light. A highly visible color video signal can be obtained by the increased visible light. That is, the luminance component of the captured image necessary for photographing the subject immediately after the start of photographing is ensured by infrared light, and the amount of visible light increases more slowly than infrared light according to the adaptation of the eyes. Thus, even when a color video signal is obtained so that the light illuminated for the subject does not become dazzling in a dark place, it is possible to improve the visibility of the subject immediately after the start of photographing and make it easy to determine.

  Further, the television door phone device of the present invention includes the above-described imaging device, a slave unit having a call button for a visitor to call a resident, and a recording device that records a color video signal obtained by photographing with the imaging device. A control unit that controls the imaging device and the recording device in response to pressing of the call button from the slave unit, and the control unit starts shooting of the imaging device when the call button of the slave unit is pressed Both of them are configured to start recording color video signals by the recording device, so that the light illuminated for the visitor is not dazzled in a dark place, and the visibility is immediately after the call button is pressed and the recording starts. A good color video signal can be recorded on the recording device, and the visitor can be easily identified when the recording is reproduced. As a result, it is possible to record the color video signal of the visitor on the recording device without missing the person who pushes and escapes the call button, which is very likely to appear in about 1 to 5 seconds after the call button is pressed. can do.

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

(Embodiment)
With reference to FIGS. 1-10, the television door phone apparatus in embodiment of this invention is demonstrated. Here, a TV door phone device that can check a visitor by a color photographed image will be described as an example.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a TV door phone device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The TV door phone device 1 includes a slave unit 2 and a master unit 3, and the slave unit 2 and the master unit 3 are connected via a communication line. Are electrically connected. And the subunit | mobile_unit 2 is each installed in the entrance, and the main | base station 3 is each installed in the living room. Thereby, the visitor 4 can talk with the resident 5 via the subunit | mobile_unit 2 in a front door, and the main | base station 3 in a living room.

  First, the structure of the subunit | mobile_unit 2 is demonstrated, referring FIG. 2, FIG. FIG. 2 is a circuit block diagram of the television door phone device 1, and the handset 2 includes a call button 6, a handset control unit 7, a handset call unit 8, and an imaging device 9. The imaging device 9 includes a photographing infrared light source unit 9a that illuminates the visitor 4, a photographing visible light source unit 9b that illuminates the visitor 4, an imaging unit 9c that photographs the visitor 4, and a video interface ( (Hereinafter referred to as “video I / F”) 9d and a light emission control unit 9e.

  FIG. 3 is a front view of the slave unit 2. In the slave unit 2, a call button 6 that is pressed by the finger of the visitor 4 is provided on the lower front side of the slave unit body 2a.

  The imaging infrared light source unit 9 a and the imaging visible light source unit 9 b of the imaging device 9 are provided above the position of the call button 6. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the illumination light from being blocked by the finger or hand of the visitor 4. Further, the infrared light illumination direction from the photographing infrared light source unit 9a and the visible light illumination direction from the photographing visible light source unit 9b are in the same direction as viewed from the image pickup unit 9c. An infrared light source unit 9a and a photographing visible light source unit 9b are arranged. Thereby, the shadow generated by the illumination light is made the same by the uneven portions of the face of the visitor 4, and the contour region of the visitor 4 in the captured video generated from the respective light quantity changes of the infrared light and the visible light The influence of the change etc. is suppressed.

  As shown in FIG. 2, when the call button 6 is pressed by the finger of the visitor 4, a push signal is notified to the handset controller 7.

  The handset control unit 7 controls the entire handset 2 and, when the call button 6 is pressed by the visitor 4, transmits a call notification to the base unit 3 and activates the handset call unit 8 and the imaging device 9. . In addition, when receiving the notification of the response end signal from the parent device 3, the child device control unit 7 ends the operations of the child device calling unit 8 and the imaging device 9.

  The slave unit call unit 8 includes a microphone (hereinafter referred to as “microphone”) 8a, a speaker 8b, and a call interface (hereinafter referred to as “call I / F”) 8c, and is provided on the front surface of the slave unit body 2a. ing. The microphone 8a outputs the voice of the visitor 4 as a voice signal. The speaker 8b outputs the audio signal from the parent device 3 as audio. The call I / F 8c performs voice input / output with the parent device 3.

  When the imaging device 9 is activated by the slave control unit 7, the light emission control unit 9e controls the light emission of the imaging infrared light source unit 9a and the imaging visible light source unit 9b, and the visitor 4 is controlled by the imaging unit 9c. And a color video signal (for example, a color difference signal and a luminance signal) is output to the parent device 3 via the video I / F 9d. The control operation of the light emission control unit 9e in the imaging device 9 and the configuration of the imaging unit 9c will be described later.

  Next, the configuration of the base unit 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. The base unit 3 in FIG. 2 includes an operation button 10, a base unit control unit 11, a base unit call unit 12, a display device 13, and a recording device 14.

  FIG. 4 is a front view of the master unit 3, and the operation buttons 10 of the master unit 3 are provided on the lower front side of the master unit body 3a. Further, the microphone 12a and the speaker 12b of the base unit call unit 12 are provided at the front center of the base unit main body 3a, that is, above the operation buttons 10. The display device 13 is provided on the upper front side of the main body 3a.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the operation button 10 is a response button used when the resident 5 in the room talks with the visitor 4, and is connected to the parent device control unit 11.

  The base unit control unit 11 has a function for overall control of the base unit 3. When a call notification is received from the handset control unit 7 of the handset 2 by pressing the call button 6, the base unit call unit 12, The display device 13 and the recording device 14 are activated to enter an operating state. That is, when the call button 6 is pressed, voice signals can be input / output between the slave unit call unit 8 and the base unit call unit 12 via the call I / F 8c and the call I / F 12c described later, and a call can be made. . The base unit control unit 11 stops the base unit call unit 12, the display device 13, and the recording device 14 by a signal from the operation button 10 that is pressed when the resident 5 finishes the call with the visitor 4. It has a function to do. The master unit control unit 11 and the slave unit control unit 7 cooperate with each other and are control units of the respective units of the TV door phone device 1.

  The base phone call unit 12 includes a microphone 12a, a speaker 12b, and a call I / F 12c. The microphone 12a outputs the voice of the resident 5 as a voice signal. The speaker 12b outputs the sound signal from the child device 2 as sound. The call I / F 12c performs input / output of audio signals with the slave unit 2.

  The display device 13 includes a video I / F 13a and a display panel 13b. The display device 13 receives the color video signal from the slave unit 2 through the video I / F 13a, and displays the input color video signal (color difference signal, luminance signal) as a color photographic video on the display panel 13b.

  The recording device 14 starts recording a color video signal (still image or moving image) when an instruction for recording is given from the parent device control unit 11. Further, the recording device 14 stops the recording of the color video signal when instructed to stop by the master control unit 11. As the recording device 14, a recording medium such as a semiconductor memory or a disk, a magnetic recording hard disk drive, or the like is used. The semiconductor memory has good responsiveness, so that the recording device 14 can immediately record a still image and a moving image from a color video signal.

  Next, when the configuration of the television door phone device 1 is understood, details of the imaging device 9 that is a feature of the present embodiment will be described.

  In the TV door phone apparatus 1 of FIG. 2, the visitor 4 is photographed by the imaging unit 9c of the imaging device 9 of the slave unit 2, and the captured video of the visitor 4 is confirmed by the display panel 13b of the master unit 3. The darker the area around the portion 9c, the lower the luminance necessary for shooting, and the darker the shot video, the worse the visibility. Therefore, in order to compensate for the insufficient brightness in the television door phone device 1, the visitor 4 is illuminated and photographed with visible light. However, when the visible light is illuminated toward the visitor 4 in a dark place, the illumination light is felt dazzling for the visitor 4. That is, the eyes of the visitor 4 are adapted to the brightness of the surroundings, and the degree of opening of the pupil of the visitor 4 increases in a dark place and decreases in a bright place. Due to this adaptation, the light of the same brightness feels dazzling in the dark and does not feel dazzling in the bright.

  For this reason, the imaging device 9 of the present embodiment emits infrared light when shooting of the visitor 4 is started, and, as shown in FIG. 5, the visible light is turned off (light amount 0) to a predetermined light amount. Control is performed so as to increase gradually with time until (Wb). In other words, the image pickup device 9 increases the light intensity up to the brightness necessary for photographing so that the visible light does not become dazzling while the visitor 4 is brightly adapted to the visible light.

  However, if the light amount of visible light is gradually increased with time when the call button 6 of the handset 2 is pressed at night, it takes a while (for example, FIG. 5) until the luminance necessary for photographing by the imaging unit 9c is obtained. Since the middle time t2) is required, the captured image after the start of imaging becomes dark for a while. For this reason, immediately after the call button 6 is pressed in the TV door phone apparatus 1, the captured image displayed on the display panel 13 b of the parent device 3 is dark for a while and is not highly visible, and it is difficult to determine the subject who is the visitor 4. . On the other hand, it is conceivable to irradiate the subject with infrared light that does not feel dazzling for the subject to ensure the luminance component necessary for the captured image. However, since infrared light is outside the visible wavelength range, color information cannot be obtained. The captured video is black and white, and it is difficult to distinguish the visitor 4.

  Therefore, the imaging device 9 improves the visibility of the subject and makes it easy to discriminate immediately after the start of photographing, even when obtaining a color photographing image so that the light illuminated for the subject in a dark place does not become dazzling. did.

  That is, the imaging device 9 includes a photographing infrared light source unit 9a that illuminates a subject, a photographing visible light source unit 9b that illuminates the subject, an imaging unit 9c that photographs a subject, a photographing infrared light source unit 9a, and a photographing unit. And a light emission control unit 9e for controlling the light emission of the visible light source unit 9b. The light emission control unit 9e starts to emit infrared light when the imaging unit 9c starts photographing, as shown in FIG. After the start of this light emission, the amount of visible light was gradually increased from infrared light over time.

  With this configuration, the imaging device 9 starts up the infrared light that is not dazzling for the subject at the same time as the start of shooting up to a light amount (for example, IRa) corresponding to the luminance required for the captured image, and then the light amount from the infrared light. By reducing the increase rate and gradually increasing the amount of visible light, a color video signal with good visibility is obtained. In other words, the imaging device 9 secures the luminance component of the captured image necessary for photographing the subject immediately after the start of photographing with infrared light, and the visible light is more gently visible than the infrared light according to the adaptation of the eye. Increase the amount of light.

  Specifically, for example, the amount of infrared light is raised to IRa by time t1 in FIG. 5, and the amount of visible light is raised to Wb by time t3 (t3> t1). Thus, even when a color video signal is obtained so that the light illuminated for the subject does not become dazzling in a dark place, it is possible to improve the visibility of the subject immediately after the start of photographing and make it easy to determine.

  Further, for example, even when the television door phone apparatus 1 includes the imaging device 9 and the captured video of the visitor 4 is recorded on the recording device 14, a highly visible video image is recorded on the recording device 14 immediately after the start of imaging. This makes it easy to identify the visitor 4 when reproducing the recording. Thereby, in the TV door phone apparatus 1, it is possible to record on the recording apparatus 14 without missing the visitor 4 that is very likely to be reflected in the first few seconds.

In addition, since the imaging device 9 illuminates the visitor 4 with infrared light and visible light together, the appropriate visible light luminance (luminance after rising) is, for example, a light amount corresponding to a luminance of 3000 cd / m ^{2 that} is not dazzling. (Wb in FIG. 5) is set to compensate for a decrease in luminance of a captured image obtained by the imaging device 9 by infrared illumination. Here, the brightness of the appropriate visible light is 5000 cd / ^{m 2,} the luminance is insufficient of minutes weakened visible light (2000 cd / ^{m 2)} more than the amount of light corresponding to content of the infrared light quantity (in FIG. 5 IRa ) And illuminate. Infrared light does not cause any contrast to the naked eye, so it is not dazzling for visitors 4.

  The imaging infrared light source unit 9a is composed of, for example, an infrared light emitting diode (for example, a peak wavelength of 810 to 950 nm). Further, the photographing visible light source unit 9b is composed of, for example, a white light emitting diode. A white light emitting diode is a superposition of multiple light beams with different wavelengths, combining light emitting diodes of each color of three wavelengths (red, green, and blue), producing a blue light emitting diode and a yellow component light emitting color. A combination with a fluorescent material is used.

  The imaging unit 9c was obtained by illuminating and photographing the visitor 4 with the infrared light from the photographing infrared light source unit 9a and the visible light from the photographing visible light source unit 9b. The color video signal is output to the main unit 3 via the video I / F 9d. Details of the color signal processing of the imaging unit 9c will be described later.

The light emission control unit 9e controls light emission such as lighting timing and light quantity of the infrared light from the photographing infrared light source unit 9a and the visible light from the photographing visible light source unit 9b. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the light emission control unit 9e activates the imaging infrared light source unit 9a and the imaging visible light source unit 9b when imaging is started by the imaging unit 9c. The light emission is started at such a light amount, and the visible light is emitted so that the increase rate of the light amount of the visible light becomes smaller than the infrared light with the lapse of time after the light emission starts. That is, the light emission control unit 9e starts to emit infrared light with a predetermined light amount (IRa) as soon as shooting is started by the imaging unit 9c. After the light emission starts, the light emission control unit 9e converts the amount of visible light into infrared light. Increase more slowly. In the example of FIG. 5, the amount of infrared light is changed from 0 to IRa from time 0 to time t1, and the amount of visible light is changed from 0 to Wb from time 0 to time t3. When the light intensity increase rate of infrared light is A and the light intensity increase rate of visible light is B, the light intensity of visible light is increased more slowly than infrared light so that A> B. Moreover, the light emission control part 9e fixes the light quantity of visible light to Wb after time t3. For example, it is preferable that the time t1 is 0.03 seconds and the time t3 is about 1 to 5 seconds. In this way, the infrared light is emitted with a sufficient amount of light immediately after photographing to ensure the luminance required for the photographed image, and then the light amount of visible light is reduced while lightly adapting the eyes of the visitor 4 to the visible light. Increase gradually and gradually from outside light. In addition, the amount of visible light becomes Wa (FIG. 5) after time t2 (for example, from 0.5 seconds to 2.5 seconds), and color discrimination can be sufficiently performed from this light amount, so that a color video signal having visibility. Is obtained. In addition, although the light quantity of visible light was made to increase from 0 (light extinction state), you may make it increase from the light quantity of the grade which is not dazzling. For example, the luminance is increased from a luminance of 150 cd / m ^{2 which is} about 1/20 of a light amount Wb (a light amount corresponding to a luminance necessary for visible light).

  The light emission control unit 9e controls the light amounts of the photographing infrared light source unit 9a and the photographing visible light source unit 9b based on a table value in which the increment amounts of infrared light and visible light are set in advance. By controlling the amounts of infrared light and visible light based on this table value, the luminance component of the photographed image is secured by infrared light even when the surrounding of the imaging unit 9c is dark, and the eyes of the visitor 4 are visible. It is possible to increase the amount of light up to the required brightness by making the light adapt to light so that the visible light does not become dazzling.

  Next, color signal processing of the imaging unit 9c will be described. FIG. 6 is a block diagram including an imaging unit 9 c in the imaging device 9, and the imaging unit 9 c includes a lens unit 20, a color separation filter 21, a light receiving element 22, and a color signal processing unit 23.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the lens unit 20 is a lens group formed by combining a single lens or a plurality of lenses, and forms an image of a subject on the light receiving surface of the light receiving element 22 via the color separation filter 21. .

  The color separation filter 21 is provided in front of the light-receiving surface of the light-receiving element 22 and transmits only the red component (R), green component (G), and blue component (B) in visible light, and an infrared component. In this configuration, a plurality of filters that transmit only (Ir) light are arranged on the same plane. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the color separation filter 21 includes a red filter 21a that transmits only red component (R) light, a green filter 21b that transmits only green component (G) light, and a blue component (B ) And the infrared filter 21d that transmits only the infrared component (Ir) light, and the minimum unit is 2 × 2. Each filter is arranged such that the red filter 21a and the blue filter 21c are in an oblique positional relationship, and the green filter 21b and the infrared filter 21d are arranged in an oblique positional relationship.

  The color separation filter 21 configured in this manner exhibits the light transmission characteristics shown in FIG. That is, although there are some overlaps in the wavelengths of the filters that transmit visible light, the peak wavelength that maximizes the transmission of light is only one in the visible light range. The infrared filter 21d transmits only the infrared region.

  Returning to FIG. 6, the light receiving element 22 uses an imaging device such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) image sensor or a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) image sensor, and the red component from the pixels corresponding to each filter of the color separation filter 21. Is a red signal (R signal), a green component is a green signal (G signal), and a blue component is a blue signal (B signal), and primary color signals (R, G, B) are output.

  Next, the color signal processing unit 23 includes a luminance / color difference conversion unit 23a and a luminance synthesis unit 23b.

  The luminance / color difference conversion unit 23a converts each signal of the primary color signals (R, G, B) into a luminance signal and a color difference signal (for example, Cr signal, Cb signal). The luminance / color difference conversion unit 23a can be calculated using a known conversion formula. For example, if the luminance signal is Y, the red signal is R, the green signal is G, and the blue signal is B, Y = 0.30 × R + 0.59 × G + 0.11 × B, and the color difference signals (Cb, Cr) are , Cb = 0.564 × (B−Y), Cr = 0.713 × (R−Y). In addition, although the example using the thing of SDTV as said color matrix was demonstrated, it is not limited to this. Other color matrices such as Y, Pb, Pr for HDTV may be used.

  In addition, the luminance synthesis unit 23b outputs a luminance synthesized signal obtained by synthesizing the luminance signal (Y) and the infrared signal (Ir). The luminance synthesis unit 23b adds the luminance signal and the infrared signal at a predetermined ratio (for example, 1: 1) using an adder. As described above, the color signal processing unit 23 synthesizes an infrared signal and a luminance signal, and outputs a color video signal that secures a necessary luminance component of a captured video.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 9, a contour generation unit 24 that generates a contour signal obtained by extracting the contour information of the visitor 4 from the infrared signal, and a mixing unit 25 that mixes the infrared signal and the contour signal are provided. A signal in which the ratio of the high-frequency component of the infrared signal is increased (hereinafter, this signal is referred to as “mixed signal”) and the luminance signal as the luminance combining unit 23b increases the amount of visible light larger than the light amount setting reference value. It is also possible to output a luminance synthesized signal obtained by synthesizing. The mixing unit 25 acquires the light amount information of visible light from the light emission control unit 9e (FIG. 2), and changes the mixing ratio of the infrared signal and the contour signal based on the light amount information. In the example of FIG. 9, the luminance combining unit 23b adds the luminance signal and the mixed signal at a predetermined ratio (for example, 1: 1) and combines them.

  The contour generation unit 24 includes a known band pass filter (BPF) that extracts a high-frequency component of an infrared signal. Further, when the light quantity information from the light emission control section 9e, for example, the light quantity information of infrared light and visible light as shown in FIG. A mixed signal obtained by mixing the external signal and the contour signal is output. That is, as shown in FIG. 10, the mixing unit 25 sets the mixing ratio to 0. 0 as the light amount of visible light becomes larger than the light amount setting reference value Wa (time t2 in FIG. 5). By increasing from 0 to 1.0, the ratio of the high-frequency component of the infrared signal is increased from 0% to 100% in the interval from time t2 to time t3.

  As a result, the luminance synthesis unit 23b secures the luminance component of the photographed image with the infrared signal in the rising period of the visible light luminance (the time period from time 0 to time t2 in FIG. 10), and the amount of visible light increases. Brightness synthesis in which the ratio of the high-frequency component (contour signal) of the infrared signal, which is the contour information of the visitor 4 in the photographed video, is increased according to the time (interval from time t2 to time t3 in FIG. 10) Output a signal. Further, after the amount of visible light rises (after time t3), the luminance signal and the contour signal are combined, and therefore, the hue information is mainly obtained from the luminance signal outside the contour region of the visitor 4 in the captured video. Therefore, the change in the hue of the photographed image caused by the difference in the reflection characteristics between visible light and infrared light can be suppressed.

  That is, the color signal processing unit 23 can obtain the color information from the luminance signal and the contour information of the visitor 4 from the high-frequency component of the infrared signal. A signal can be output. According to the example of this embodiment, the color signal processing unit 23 can secure the luminance component of the photographed image that is necessary for the visitor 4 while suppressing the glare of the illumination light, and the color image close to the natural color. A signal can be output.

  Next, the operation of the TV door phone device 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the operation of the television door phone apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 11, when the call button 6 of the slave unit 2 is pressed by the visitor 4 in the television door phone apparatus 1 (S100), the imaging device 9 in the slave unit 2 starts shooting. Thereby, the visitor 4 is illuminated while controlling the light quantity of infrared light and visible light by the light emission control part 9e of the imaging device 9 (S102).

  Next, in the TV door phone apparatus 1, the slave unit control unit 7 notifies the master unit control unit 11 of the base unit 3 that the call button 6 has been pressed by the visitor 4 and activates the slave unit call unit 8. . The base unit control unit 11 of the base unit 3 operates the base unit call unit 12, the display device 13, and the recording device 14 in response to a call notification from the handset 2. As a result, the television door phone apparatus 1 receives the color video signal output from the handset 2 at the base unit 3, and displays the color on the display panel 13b of the base unit 3 based on the color video signal (color difference signal, luminance signal). Display the shot image. Also, voice signals are input / output between the slave unit call unit 8 and the base unit call unit 12 to enable a call. Thereby, the resident 5 can make a call with the visitor 4 while confirming the photographed image of the visitor 4 on the display panel 13b. Further, the slave unit 2 starts photographing the visitor 4, and the master unit 3 records the color video signal on the recording device 14 (S104, S106).

  Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the TV door phone apparatus 1 starts to emit infrared light with a light amount corresponding to the luminance required for the photographed image immediately after the start of photographing, and visible light with the passage of time after the light emission starts. Is gradually increased from the infrared light to a predetermined value by a predetermined time (S108, S110). For example, the amount of infrared light is increased to a sufficient amount of light in a short period of time from time 0 to time t1, and the amount of visible light is gradually increased from infrared light in the interval of time 0 to time t3. In this way, the eyes of the visitor 4 are brightly adapted to the visible light, and the amount of visible light is gradually increased so that the visible light does not become dazzling.

  Next, when the base unit control unit 11 receives a signal from the operation button 10 of the base unit 3 that is pressed when the resident 5 finishes the call with the visitor 4, the base unit control unit 11 11 stops the base phone call unit 12, the display device 13, and the recording device 14, and ends the recording of the recording device 14. Further, the base unit control unit 11 of the base unit 3 notifies the slave unit control unit 7 of a response end signal, and the slave unit 2 terminates the photographing operation of the slave unit call unit 8 and the imaging device 9 by the slave unit control unit 7. (S112, S114).

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 6, the imaging device 9 includes the imaging infrared light source unit 9 a that illuminates the subject and the imaging visible light source unit 9 b that illuminates the subject. And a light-emission control unit 9e that controls light emission of the imaging infrared light source unit 9a and the imaging visible light source unit 9b. The light-emission control unit 9e captures images with the imaging unit 9c. The infrared light is started to be emitted when starting, and the light amount of visible light is gradually increased from the infrared light with the passage of time after the light emission is started. With this configuration, the imaging device 9 obtains the luminance required for the captured image by the infrared light that is not dazzling for the subject at the same time as the start of the photographing, and then visually recognizes the visible light by which the light amount increases more slowly than the infrared light. A good color video signal can be obtained. That is, the imaging device 9 secures the luminance component of the photographed image necessary for photographing the subject immediately after the start of photographing by the infrared light, and the visible light gradually increases the amount of light as compared with the infrared light according to the adaptation of the eyes. Let Thus, even when a color video signal is obtained so that the light illuminated for the subject does not become dazzling in a dark place, it is possible to improve the visibility of the subject immediately after the start of photographing and make it easy to determine.

  In addition, the television door phone apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes an imaging device 9, a handset 2 having a call button 6 for a visitor 4 to call a resident 5, and a color video signal obtained by photographing with the imaging device 9. And when the call button 6 of the slave unit 2 is pressed, the imaging device 9 starts taking a still image or a moving image, and the master unit 3 records. Since the recording of the color video signal (still image or moving image) is started by the device 14, the light illuminated for the visitor 4 can be photographed in a dark place so as not to be dazzled, and the visibility is immediately after the photographing is started. A good color video signal can be recorded on the recording device 14, and the visitor 4 can be easily identified when the recording is reproduced. Thus, the color of the visitor 4 is displayed on the recording device 14 without missing a person who pushes and escapes the call button 6 that is very likely to appear in about 1 to 5 seconds after the call button 6 is pressed. Video signals can be recorded.

  The configuration of the color separation filter 21 in FIG. 7 is not limited to this. For example, FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing another example of the color separation filter 21 shown in FIG. 7, and the color separation filter 30 has a two-band transmission characteristic that transmits each color component region and the infrared region in each filter. It is a filter having. This color separation filter 30 includes a red / infrared filter 30a that transmits not only a red component (R) but also an infrared component (Ir), and light of not only a green component (G) but also an infrared component (Ir). The green / infrared filter 30b that transmits light, the blue / infrared filter 30c that transmits not only the blue component (B) but also the infrared component (Ir), and the infrared component (Ir) only. An infrared filter 30d, and the minimum unit is 2 × 2. With this configuration, compared to the color separation filter 21, the color separation filter 30 quadruples the size of the region through which infrared light is transmitted, and the amount of infrared light received by the light receiving element 22 is increased. For this reason, it is easy to obtain the luminance component of the captured image by the imaging device 9 even in a dark place, and a captured image with good visibility can be obtained. When this color separation filter 30 is used, since each color signal of the primary color signal includes an infrared component, a subtracter (FIG. 5) subtracts the infrared signal (Ir) from each color signal in the subsequent stage of the light receiving element 22 to remove the infrared component. (Not shown) to extract each primary color signal. As a result, similarly to the case of FIG. 6, a color video signal with high saturation can be obtained from each primary color signal.

  Further, a color separation filter having another configuration may be used. For example, FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing still another example of the color separation filter 21 shown in FIG. 7. Each filter of the color separation filter 31 transmits each color component in the visible light wavelength region and the infrared wavelength region. Has band transmission characteristics. The color separation filter 31 includes a red / infrared filter 31a that transmits not only a red component (R) but also an infrared component (Ir), and an infrared component (Ir) light as well as a green component (G). A green / infrared filter 31b that transmits light and a blue / infrared filter 31c that transmits not only the blue component (B) but also the light of the infrared component (Ir), and the minimum unit is 2 × 2. Yes. With such a configuration, compared with the color separation filter 21, the color separation filter 31 can quadruple the size of the region through which infrared light is transmitted, and the amount of infrared light received by the light receiving element 22 can be increased. .

  When the color separation filter 31 is used, a color signal processing unit 26 is used instead of the color signal processing unit 23. That is, as shown in FIG. 14, the color signal processing unit 26 includes a luminance / color difference conversion unit 26a and a color difference correction unit 26b.

  The luminance / color difference conversion unit 26a converts a mixed color signal (R + Ir, G + Ir, B + Ir), which is a plurality of color signals on which infrared components are superimposed, into a luminance signal and a color difference signal (for example, Cr signal, Cb signal). As a result, since the luminance signal output from the luminance / color difference conversion unit 26a includes an infrared component, a captured image with high contrast is obtained, and the face of the visitor 4 can be detected even when the image is captured in a dark place. It's easy to do.

  By the way, in the imaging device 9 of FIG. 14, the infrared light is started to be emitted when shooting is started, and the amount of visible light is gradually increased with the passage of time after the start of the light emission. The light quantity ratio between infrared light and visible light changes greatly. For this reason, if the luminance signal and the color difference signal obtained by color conversion by the luminance / color difference conversion unit 26a are directly output as a color video signal, a problem may occur. That is, due to the difference in the color balance characteristics of the filters constituting the color separation filter 31, there are cases in which the color conversion is performed by the luminance / color difference conversion unit 26a, resulting in problems such as a lighter hue or a color breakdown. is there.

  Therefore, in the color signal processing unit 26 of FIG. 14, a color difference correction unit 26b that corrects the saturation of the color difference signal is provided after the luminance color difference conversion unit 26a, and the color difference correction unit 26b is provided with a color difference signal according to the color balance. A corrected color difference signal with corrected saturation is output. That is, in the color separation characteristics of the color separation filter 31, for example, as shown in FIG. 16, the RGB filters are balanced so that the transmittance in the infrared wavelength region of the RGB filters is all broken line Ir. When the infrared component superimposed on each color signal increases, the color difference signal (Cr, Cb) has a lighter hue than the luminance component. In this case, as shown in FIG. 15, the color difference correction unit 26b responds when the light quantity ratio of infrared light to visible light becomes larger than the ratio setting reference value (for example, the light quantity ratio shown in FIG. 15 is 0.25). To correct the saturation of the color difference signal. That is, the Cr and Cb values of the color difference signals (Cr, Cb) are increased from 1.0 times to 2.0 times. The color signal processing unit 26 can increase the saturation of the color difference signal by this correction, and outputs a luminance signal and a corrected color difference signal with increased saturation as a color video signal, thereby enhancing visibility with a high hue. An enhanced color video signal can be output.

  On the other hand, in the color separation characteristics of the color separation filter 31, for example, as shown in FIG. 16, the transmittance in the infrared wavelength region is not balanced between the RGB filters (for example, Ir (R) in FIG. 16). , Ir (G), Ir (B) are not balanced), and the amount of the infrared component superimposed on each color signal changes, the balance of the mixed color signal is lost, resulting in an unnatural color. There is also a case of bankruptcy. In this case, as shown in FIG. 17, the color difference correction unit 26b responds when the light amount ratio of infrared light to visible light becomes larger than the ratio setting reference value (for example, the light amount ratio shown in FIG. 17 is 0.25). To correct the saturation of the color difference signal. That is, the Cr and Cb values of the color difference signals (Cr, Cb) are increased from 1.0 times to 0.5 times. The light intensity ratio of infrared light is corrected by reducing the saturation of the color difference signal to lighten the color to make it close to monochrome, and outputting the brightness signal and the corrected color difference signal with reduced saturation as a color video signal. When it becomes higher than visible light, the color changes to a color that is far from the actual color, such as changing to green. It is possible to prevent misjudgment such as a completely different color.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the imaging apparatus 9 of FIG. 2 is provided with the imaging infrared light source unit 9a and the imaging visible light source unit 9b and attached in advance to the slave main body 2a. And the visible light source section 9b for photographing may be detachable and attached later as an optional light source. In this case, when the optional light source is attached, the optional light source and the imaging unit 9c are operated in conjunction with each other. Further, the light emission control unit 9e electrically connects the photographing infrared light source unit 9a and the photographing visible light source unit 9b to the light emission control unit 9e. May be controlled.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 5, the imaging device 9 starts to emit infrared light when shooting is started, and after the light emission starts, the amount of visible light is increased more gradually than the infrared light over time. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The amount of infrared light may be reduced as necessary luminance is ensured as the amount of visible light is increased. Thereby, the color reproducibility of the color video signal obtained by the imaging device 9 can be improved. In addition, the power consumption of the imaging device 9 can be reduced.

  In the present embodiment, the TV door phone device 1 has been described. However, since it is possible to obtain a clear color image while suppressing glare caused by illumination even in a dark place, an electronic device (photographing a person or an animal at night) For example, the present invention can also be applied to surveillance cameras, digital cameras, digital movies, mobile phones, and the like.

  As described above, the present invention provides a photographing infrared light source unit for illuminating a subject, a photographing visible light source unit for illuminating a subject, an imaging unit for photographing a subject, a photographing infrared light source unit, and a photographing visible light source. A light emission control unit that controls the light emission of the light source, and the light emission control unit starts to emit infrared light when shooting is started by the imaging unit, and after the light emission starts, the light amount of visible light is reduced over time. Since it is configured to increase more slowly than the outside light, the brightness required for the captured image is obtained first by the infrared light that is not dazzling for the subject at the same time as the start of shooting, and then the light intensity increases more slowly than the infrared light. A color video signal with good visibility can be obtained by light. That is, the luminance component of the captured image necessary for photographing the subject after the start of photographing is ensured by infrared light, and the amount of visible light increases more slowly than the infrared light according to the adaptation of the eyes. Thus, even when a color video signal is obtained so that the light illuminated for the subject does not become dazzling in a dark place, it is possible to improve the visibility of the subject immediately after the start of photographing and make it easy to discriminate.

  For this reason, for example, even when a TV door phone device is equipped with the above-described imaging device and a visitor's captured video is recorded on a recording device, it is possible to record a highly visible captured video on the recording device immediately after the start of shooting, and playback the recording. This makes it easy to identify visitors. Thereby, it is possible to record on the recording device without missing a person who pushes and escapes the call button, which is very likely to appear in about 1 to 5 seconds after the call button is pressed.

  This makes it possible to improve the visibility of the subject immediately after the start of shooting and make it easy to discriminate even when obtaining a color shot image so that the light illuminated for the subject in a dark place does not become dazzling. It is useful for imaging devices, TV door phone devices, surveillance cameras, digital cameras, digital movies, mobile phones, and the like.

Schematic configuration diagram of a television door phone device in an embodiment of the present invention Circuit block diagram of the TV door phone device Front view of the slave unit of the TV door phone device Front view of the main unit of the TV door phone device The characteristic view explaining the control characteristic of the light emission control part of the imaging device in embodiment of this invention Block diagram of the imaging unit in the imaging apparatus Configuration diagram of color separation filter of image pickup unit in the same image pickup apparatus FIG. 7 is a characteristic diagram showing the light transmission characteristics of the color separation filter shown in FIG. Block diagram for explaining an outline generation unit and a mixing unit of an imaging unit in the imaging apparatus FIG. 9 is a characteristic diagram showing a control example of the mixing unit in FIG. The flowchart which shows operation | movement of the television door phone apparatus in embodiment of this invention. The block diagram which shows the other example of the color separation filter shown in FIG. Configuration diagram showing still another example of the color separation filter shown in FIG. The block diagram which shows the other example of the imaging part in the imaging device in embodiment of this invention Characteristic diagram showing a characteristic example of the color difference correction unit of the image pickup unit in the same image pickup apparatus FIG. 13 is a characteristic diagram showing the light transmission characteristics of the color separation filter shown in FIG. The characteristic view which shows the other characteristic example of the color difference correction | amendment part of the imaging part in the imaging device in embodiment of this invention

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 TV door phone apparatus 2 Child machine 2a Child machine main body 3 Parent machine 3a Parent machine main body 4 Visitor 5 Resident 6 Call button 7 Child machine control part 8 Child machine call part 8a, 12a Microphone 8b, 12b Speaker 8c, 12c Call I / F
9 Imaging device 9a Infrared light source unit for photographing 9b Visible light source unit for photographing 9c Imaging unit 9d, 13a Video I / F
9e Light emission control unit 10 Operation button 11 Base unit control unit 12 Base unit call unit 13 Display device 13b Display panel 14 Recording device 20 Lens unit 21, 30, 31 Color separation filter 22 Light receiving element 23, 26 Color signal processing unit 23a, 26a Luminance color difference conversion unit 23b Luminance composition unit 24 Contour generation unit 25 Mixing unit 26b Color difference correction unit

Claims (7)

An infrared light source for photographing that illuminates the subject;
A visible light source for photographing that illuminates the subject;
An imaging unit for photographing the subject;
A light emission control unit that controls light emission of the photographing infrared light source unit and the visible light source unit for photographing,
The light emission control unit is configured to start emitting infrared light when shooting is started by the imaging unit, and to gradually increase the amount of visible light over time after the start of light emission. An imaging apparatus characterized by the above. The imaging unit
A color separation filter that separates incident light into a plurality of color components and infrared components;
A light receiving element that receives the incident light through the color separation filter and outputs a plurality of color signals corresponding to the plurality of color components and an infrared signal corresponding to the infrared component;
A luminance color difference conversion unit that converts the plurality of color signals output from the light receiving element into a color difference signal and a luminance signal;
A luminance synthesis unit that outputs a luminance synthesis signal obtained by synthesizing the luminance signal and the infrared signal;
The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the color difference signal output from the luminance / color difference conversion unit and the luminance combination signal output from the luminance synthesis unit are output as a color video signal. 3. The luminance signal is combined with a signal in which a ratio of a high-frequency component of the infrared signal is increased in accordance with a light amount of the visible light being larger than a light amount setting reference value. Imaging device. The imaging unit
A color separation filter that separates incident light into a plurality of color components each including an infrared component;
A light receiving element that receives the incident light through the color separation filter and outputs a plurality of color signals on which the infrared components are superimposed;
A luminance color difference conversion unit that converts the plurality of color signals output from the light receiving element into a color difference signal and a luminance signal;
A color difference correction unit that outputs a correction color difference signal obtained by correcting the saturation of the color difference signal output from the luminance color difference conversion unit based on a light amount ratio between visible light and infrared light controlled by the light emission control unit. Prepared,
2. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the luminance signal output from the luminance / color difference conversion unit and the corrected color difference signal output from the color difference correction unit are output as a color video signal. The color difference correction unit outputs the corrected color difference signal obtained by correcting the saturation of the color difference signal to be higher in accordance with a ratio of the amount of infrared light to visible light that is larger than a ratio setting reference value. Item 5. The imaging device according to Item 4. The color difference correction unit outputs the corrected color difference signal in which the saturation of the color difference signal is corrected to be low as the light amount ratio of infrared light to visible light becomes larger than a ratio setting reference value. Item 5. The imaging device according to Item 4. The imaging device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
A handset having a call button for a visitor to call a resident;
A recording device for recording a color video signal obtained by photographing with the imaging device;
A control unit that controls the imaging device and the recording device in response to pressing of the call button from the slave unit;
The control unit is configured to start shooting of the imaging device and start recording of the color video signal by the recording device when the call button of the slave unit is pressed. Door phone device.

Images