JP2011199503A - Imaging apparatus and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an imaging apparatus whose applications can be extended.SOLUTION: The imaging apparatus includes: a deformable flexible arm 2; a type-A plug 3 which is provided at one end of the flexible arm 2 and supports the flexible arm 2; a camera head 4 provided at the other end of the flexible arm 2; an image sensor 12 which is provided in the camera head 4 and picks up an image; a tilt sensor 13 which is provided in the camera head 4 and detects tilt of the image sensor 12; and a controller 14 which sets the number of pixels of the image to be picked up by the image sensor 12 based on the tilt of the image sensor 12 detected by the tilt sensor 13.

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus that captures an image and a program executed by a computer to which such an imaging apparatus is connected.

  As a peripheral device connected to a personal computer (PC), a scanner using a two-dimensional image sensor is used. The scanner is mainly used for reading a document or a business card placed on a desk. At that time, the image sensor of the scanner is directed on the desk, that is, the image sensor is oriented so that the depression angle is increased.

  Patent Documents 1 to 4 describe techniques for detecting the depression angle, inclination, and rotation angle of a camera or imaging means.

JP 2002-207160 A JP 2002-232753 A JP 2002-290818 A JP 2007-214999 A

  It is desired to expand the application of scanners using image sensors to other applications than reading documents and business cards placed on a desk.

  An object of the present invention has been made in view of the above, and relates to an imaging device capable of expanding the application of a scanner using an image sensor and a program executed by a computer to which such an imaging device is connected. Is to provide.

  An imaging apparatus according to the present invention includes a deformable arm member, a support member that is provided at one end of the arm member and supports the arm member, a head unit that is provided at the other end of the arm member, and an inside of the head unit. An image sensor that captures an image, an inclination sensor that is provided in the head unit and detects an inclination of the image sensor, and the image sensor based on an inclination of the image sensor detected by the inclination sensor And a control unit that sets the number of pixels of an image to be captured.

  In the imaging apparatus of the present invention, the control unit outputs an image captured by the image sensor and / or an inclination of the image sensor detected by the inclination sensor to an external device.

  In the imaging apparatus of the present invention, the support member is a USB (Universal Serial Bus) A-type plug, and the control unit is configured to detect an image captured by the image sensor and / or the image detected by the tilt sensor. The sensor inclination is output to an external device through the A-type plug.

  In the imaging device of the present invention, the control unit sets the number of pixels of the image captured by the image sensor to the first number of pixels when the depression angle of the image sensor is within a predetermined first range, When the depression angle of the image sensor is outside the first range, the number of pixels of the image captured by the image sensor is set to a second number of pixels that is smaller than the first number of pixels.

  In the imaging apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, the control unit may project-convert an image captured by the image sensor onto a horizontal plane when the depression angle of the image sensor is within the first range.

  In the imaging apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, when the depression angle of the image sensor is within a predetermined second range, the control unit corrects the image captured by the image sensor in the vertical direction. .

  In the imaging apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, the control unit captures an image by the image sensor when the depression angle of the image sensor is outside the predetermined first range and the azimuth angle of the image sensor is outside the predetermined range. The correction is performed in the horizontal direction of the image.

  In the imaging apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, the control unit performs face recognition processing of an image captured by the image sensor when the depression angle of the image sensor is outside the first range, and is captured by the image sensor. It is characterized by trimming the face portion of the captured image.

  In the imaging apparatus of the present invention, when the depression angle of the image sensor is within the first range, the image sensor operates as a scanner, and when the depression angle of the image sensor is outside the first range, the image sensor operates as a Web camera. It is characterized by doing.

  The program of the present invention is a program executed by a computer to which the imaging device of the present invention is connected, and when the depression angle of the image sensor is within a predetermined second range, the program is captured by the image sensor. The method includes a step of correcting the image in the vertical direction.

  According to the present invention, there is an effect that the application of the imaging apparatus can be expanded.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of an embodiment of an imaging apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of functions of the imaging apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1. 3A is a diagram illustrating a vertical inclination of the imaging apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1. 3-2 is a diagram illustrating a horizontal inclination of the imaging apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the imaging apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 5A is a diagram illustrating an example of an image captured by the imaging apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 5B is a diagram illustrating an example of an image obtained by correcting the image illustrated in FIG. FIG. 5C is a diagram illustrating an example of an image obtained by performing trimming on the image illustrated in FIG.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of an imaging apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, this invention is not limited by this embodiment. In addition, constituent elements in the following embodiments include those that can be easily assumed by those skilled in the art or those that are substantially the same.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of an embodiment of an imaging apparatus according to the present invention. The imaging device 1 includes a flexible arm 2 that is a deformable arm member. One end of the flexible arm 2 is provided with a USB (Universal Serial Bus) A-type plug 3. The A-type plug 3 is inserted into an A-type receptacle of a personal computer (PC) and supports the flexible arm 2. The A-type plug 3 may be inserted into the A-type receptacle of the USB hub and connected to the PC via the USB hub. In this way, the imaging device 1 can be used even at a location away from the PC.

  A camera head unit 4 is provided at the other end of the flexible arm 2. A substrate 10 is built in the camera head unit 4. An image sensor 12, an inclination sensor 13, and a control unit 14 are mounted on the substrate 10. The image sensor 12 is provided with an optical system 11 for focusing an image on the imaging surface of the image sensor 12. Since the flexible arm 2 is deformable, the camera head unit 4 can face in various directions.

  A wiring for connecting the substrate 10 and the A-type plug 3 is passed through the flexible arm 2, and USB bus power is supplied to the substrate 10 from the PC or USB hub via the A-type plug 3. 12, the tilt sensor 13 and the control unit 14 operate using USB bus power as a power source.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of functions of the imaging apparatus 1. The image sensor 12 is a two-dimensional sensor that captures an image, and has 3 million image sensors in this example. Note that the number of pixels of the captured image of the image sensor 12 can be set to 3 million pixels or 1 million pixels by the control unit 14.

The tilt sensor 13 is a biaxial acceleration sensor or the like. As shown in FIG. 3A, the tilt sensor 13 has a tilt in the vertical direction of the camera head unit 4, that is, a tilt (angle of depression) θ _V between the vertical direction of the image sensor 12, and as shown in FIG. In addition, the inclination of the camera head unit 4 with respect to the horizontal plane, that is, the horizontal inclination (azimuth angle) θ _{H of the} image sensor 12 is detected and output to the control unit 14.

  The control unit 14 is a processing unit that comprehensively controls the overall operation of the imaging apparatus 1, for example, a single chip microcomputer. The control unit 14 includes a USB interface 14 a and can communicate with a PC via USB via the A-type plug 3. The imaging device 1 is basically configured as described above.

  Next, the operation of the imaging apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing processing of the control unit 14 of the imaging apparatus 1.

First, in step S1, the control unit 14 determines whether or not the depression angle θ _V of the image sensor 12 is within the first range, for example, 45 ° <θ _V <135 °. Note that threshold values such as 45 ° and 135 ° are examples, and other threshold values may be used. The threshold value may be set by the user. For example, the threshold value may be settable from the PC side.

Control unit 14, if it is determined that the depression angle theta _V of the image sensor 12 is 45 ° <θ _V <135 ° in step S1 (Yes), the step S2, to operate the imaging apparatus 1 as a scanner (scanner mode), The mode information is output to the PC, the scanner application program is started on the PC, and the number of imaging pixels of the image sensor 12 is set to the first pixel number, for example, 3 million pixels. Incidentally, depression theta _V is 45 ° of the image sensor 12 <θ _V <to the imaging apparatus 1 in the scanner mode when the 135 °, the depression angle theta _V is 45 ° of the image sensor 12 <θ _V <For 135 ° That is, when the image sensor 12 faces downward, it is considered that the user desires to read a document or the like placed on the desk. In addition, the reason why the number of image pickup pixels of the image sensor 12 is set to 3 million pixels is that the scanner needs high resolution to read characters such as documents and business cards. Next, the control part 14 calculates a spatial coordinate from the depression angle and an azimuth angle, and carries out projective transformation to the horizontal surface about the image of 3 million pixels imaged with the image sensor 12 as step S3. Projection conversion to the horizontal plane is because the desk on which a document or business card is placed for reading is generally a horizontal plane, so the above-mentioned projection conversion converts the shape seen from the front, that is, the image viewed perpendicular to the horizontal plane. This is to make an image that does not feel strange when viewed. Thereafter, in step S4, the control unit 14 outputs the projected 3 million pixel image to the external device (PC). The output image is sent to the scanner application.

If the control unit 14 determines in step S1 that the depression angle θ _V of the image sensor 12 is not 45 ° <θ _V <135 ° (No), in step S5, the control unit 14 operates the imaging device 1 as a Web camera (Web camera mode). ), The mode information is output to the PC, the Web camera application is started on the PC, and the number of imaging pixels of the image sensor 12 is set to a second number of pixels smaller than the first number of pixels, for example, 1 million pixels. At this time, the control unit 14 may cause the imaging device 1 to operate as a USB video class device. Also, depression theta _V is 45 ° of the image sensor 12 <theta _V <is to the imaging apparatus 1 to the Web camera mode when not 135 °, the depression angle theta _V of the image sensor 12 is 45 ° <θ _V <135 ° If this is not the case, that is, if the image sensor 12 is not facing downward, it is considered that the user desires to image a person or an object. The image sensor 12 is set to 1 million pixels because the Web camera application transmits an image to another PC via a network such as the Internet. This is because it is desirable to reduce the size of the.

Next, the control unit 14 determines whether or not the depression angle θ _V of the image sensor 12 is within the second range, for example, 135 ° ≦ θ _V <270 °, as step S6. Note that threshold values such as 135 ° and 270 ° are merely examples, and other threshold values may be used. The threshold value may be set by the user. For example, the threshold value may be settable from the PC side. When the depression angle θ _V of the image sensor 12 is 135 ° ≦ θ _V <270 °, as shown in FIG. 5A, an upside down image is captured. Therefore, when the control unit 14 determines in step S6 that the depression angle θ _V of the image sensor 12 is 135 ° ≦ θ _V <270 ° (Yes), in step S7, the image captured by the image sensor 12 is 180 °. Rotate.

If it is determined in step S6 that the depression angle θ _V of the image sensor 12 is not 135 ° ≦ θ _V <270 ° (No), or if the image is rotated by 180 ° in step S7, the control unit 14 sets the image as step S8. whether the azimuth angle theta _H of the sensor 12 is within a predetermined range, it is determined whether, for example _{-3 ° <θ H <3 °} . Note that threshold values such as −3 ° and 3 ° are examples, and other threshold values may be used. The threshold value may be set by the user. For example, the threshold value may be settable from the PC side. When the azimuth angle θ _H of the image sensor 12 is not −3 ° <θ _H <3 °, it is considered that the person viewing the image is concerned about the inclination of the image. Therefore, when the control unit 14 determines in step S8 that the azimuth angle θ _H of the image sensor 12 is not −3 ° <θ _H <3 ° (No), in step S9, the control unit 14 performs horizontal correction on the image (the horizontal direction of the image). Correction of the tilt). FIG. 5B is a diagram illustrating an image obtained by rotating the image illustrated in FIG. 5A by 180 ° and further performing horizontal correction.

If the controller 14 determines in step S8 that the azimuth angle θ _H of the image sensor 12 is −3 ° <θ _H <3 ° (Yes), or if the image is horizontally corrected in step S9, the control unit 14 performs step S10. Then, face recognition processing is performed on the image, and the face part is trimmed to an appropriate size according to the size of the face part at an aspect ratio of 3: 4 as shown in FIG. Note that this aspect ratio is an example, and trimming may be performed with other aspect ratios. The aspect ratio may be set by the user. For example, the aspect ratio may be settable from the PC side.

  Next, the control part 14 converts an image into VGA (640x480) size as step S11. FIG. 5C is a diagram illustrating an image obtained by trimming the face portion of FIG. 5B and converting it to the VGA size. Then, the control part 14 outputs an image to an external apparatus (PC) as step S12. The output image is sent to the Web camera application.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the scanner operates as a scanner or a Web camera in accordance with the depression angle of the image sensor 12, so that the application can be expanded.

  In the present embodiment, the flexible arm 2 is used as the arm member, but a foldable arm or the like may be used.

In the present embodiment, the control unit 14 executes steps S1 to S12. However, the device driver program executed on the PC may execute steps S1 to S12. In that case, the control unit 14 outputs an image of 3 million pixels picked up by the image sensor 12 to the external device (PC) as it is, and sets the depression angle θ _V and the azimuth angle θ _H of the image sensor 12 to the external device (PC). Can be output. At this time, the device driver program running on the PC determines the scanner mode or Web camera mode based on the depression angle theta _V of the image sensor 12, it is possible to start the scanner application program or Web camera application program.

  In the present embodiment, the imaging apparatus 1 and the PC are connected by USB, but may be connected wirelessly.

  As described above, the present invention is useful for an imaging apparatus that captures an image and a program that is executed by a computer to which such an imaging apparatus is connected.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Imaging device 2 Flexible arm 3 A type plug 4 Camera head part 10 Board | substrate 11 Optical system 12 Image sensor 13 Inclination sensor 14 Control part 14a USB interface

Claims (10)

A deformable arm member;
A support member provided at one end of the arm member and supporting the arm member;
A head portion provided at the other end of the arm member;
An image sensor provided in the head unit for capturing an image;
An inclination sensor provided in the head portion for detecting an inclination of the image sensor;
A control unit that sets the number of pixels of an image captured by the image sensor based on the tilt of the image sensor detected by the tilt sensor;
An imaging apparatus comprising:   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit outputs an image captured by the image sensor and / or a tilt of the image sensor detected by the tilt sensor to an external device. The support member is a USB (Universal Serial Bus) A-type plug,
The control unit outputs an image captured by the image sensor and / or an inclination of the image sensor detected by the inclination sensor to an external device via the A-type plug. The imaging device described.   When the depression angle of the image sensor is within a predetermined first range, the control unit sets the number of pixels of the image captured by the image sensor to the first pixel number, and the depression angle of the image sensor 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein when the image sensor is out of the first range, the number of pixels of the image captured by the image sensor is set to a second number of pixels smaller than the first number of pixels. The imaging apparatus of Claim 1.   The said control part projectively transforms the image imaged by the said image sensor to a horizontal surface, when the depression angle of the said image sensor is in the said 1st range, The any one of Claims 1-4 characterized by the above-mentioned. The imaging device according to item.   The said control part performs correction | amendment of the up-down direction of the image imaged by the said image sensor, when the depression angle of the said image sensor is in a predetermined 2nd range. The imaging apparatus of Claim 1.   When the depression angle of the image sensor is out of the predetermined first range and the azimuth angle of the image sensor is out of the predetermined range, the control unit corrects the image captured by the image sensor in the horizontal direction. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the imaging apparatus is performed.   When the depression angle of the image sensor is outside the first range, the control unit performs face recognition processing on the image captured by the image sensor and trims the face portion of the image captured by the image sensor. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the image pickup apparatus is an image pickup apparatus.   The image sensor operates as a scanner when the depression angle of the image sensor is within the first range, and operates as a Web camera when the depression angle of the image sensor is outside the first range. Item 9. The imaging device according to any one of Items 4 to 8. A program executed by a computer to which the imaging device according to claim 2 is connected,
When the depression angle of the image sensor is within a predetermined second range, the program includes a step of correcting the image captured by the image sensor in the vertical direction.

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