JP2021033177A - Adapter, imaging apparatus, support mechanism, and moving object - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an adapter for a camera capable of performing imaging in a desired direction, while an unmanned air-vehicle is flying.SOLUTION: The adapter used for an imaging apparatus having a first lens and a second lens includes an optical path direction change mechanism for changing the optical path of light made incident on the second lens to a predetermined direction, when the adapter is attached to the imaging apparatus. The optical path direction change mechanism is arranged in a position facing the second lens, when the adapter is attached to the imaging apparatus.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

The present invention relates to an adapter, an imaging device, a support mechanism and a moving body.

In Patent Document 1, in order to economically provide an adapter for a film unit with a lens that can imprint the date and title at the same time as shooting, the film unit with a lens is a telephoto lens in a straight line along the feeding direction of the film. A film unit with a lens is described in which a wide-angle lens and a wide-angle lens are arranged so that shooting can be performed simultaneously in one shooting operation, and a mounting means for mounting a title display adapter is provided on the front surface of the telephoto lens. .. Further, an engaging claw that engages with a groove provided on the front surface of the telephoto lens is formed on the rear end side and is bent so as not to enter the photographing range of the wide-angle lens, and faces the inner wall of the light-shielding cylinder. An adapter is composed of two mirrors for bending the optical path, a close-up lens provided on the rear end side, and a title mounting frame provided on the front end side, and a telephoto lens of a film unit with a lens. It is described that the image of the title attached to the title mounting frame is formed on the film by the telephoto lens and the close-up lens.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 6-130562

Unmanned aerial vehicles (“Unmanned Aerial Vehicles”, “UAVs”), also called “drones”, can be remotely controlled by the user, can be automatically flown by flight programs, and are unmanned in various sizes and configurations. Including aircraft. In a camera provided by an unmanned aerial vehicle or a camera supported by a gimbal provided in an unmanned aerial vehicle, the rotation angle of the camera is often limited. Therefore, the range that can be imaged by the camera is also limited. In particular, the upward direction seen from the unmanned aerial vehicle may deviate from the imageable range of the camera.

However, there is a need to fly an unmanned aerial vehicle, capture an image in the upward direction with a camera, and use the captured image for inspection by image analysis or the like. For example, when an unmanned aerial vehicle is flown under a bridge and a visual inspection of the bridge is performed. In such a case, the current unmanned aerial vehicle cannot perform upward imaging from under the bridge due to the above-mentioned limitation of the imaging range.

Therefore, it is an object of the present disclosure to provide a camera adapter capable of capturing an image in a desired direction while an unmanned aerial vehicle is in flight.

In one aspect, an adapter used in an image pickup apparatus having a first lens and a second lens defines an optical path of light incident on the second lens when the adapter is attached to the image pickup apparatus. The optical path direction changing mechanism is provided, and the optical path direction changing mechanism is arranged at a position facing the second lens when the adapter is attached to the imaging device.

In the above configuration, the optical path direction changing mechanism may include a mirror.

In the above configuration, the optical path direction changing mechanism may further include an angle adjusting mechanism for adjusting the angle of the mirror.

In the above configuration, the angle adjustment direction by the angle adjustment mechanism may be the tilt direction of the image pickup device when the adapter is attached to the image pickup device.

In the above configuration, the adapter may have electrical contacts in at least a portion of the area in contact with the imaging device when attached to the imaging device.

In the above configuration, the adapter may include an identifier that causes the imaging device to detect that the adapter has been attached to the imaging device.

In the above configuration, the adapter may have a bayonet or magnetic mechanism for attachment to the imaging device.

In one aspect, the imaging device may include the adapter described above.

In the above configuration, the angle of view of the second lens may be smaller than the angle of view of the first lens.

In the above configuration, the focal length of the second lens may be longer than the focal length of the first lens.

In the above configuration, the image pickup apparatus includes a processor and a detection mechanism for detecting that the adapter is attached to the image pickup apparatus, and the detection mechanism detects that the adapter is attached to the image pickup apparatus. , The processor may execute an image inversion process that inverts an image captured by the second lens.

In one aspect, the support mechanism may include the image pickup device described above.

In one aspect, the moving body may include the support mechanism described above.

The outline of the above invention does not list all the features of the present disclosure. Sub-combinations of these feature groups can also be inventions.

The present disclosure can provide a camera adapter capable of capturing an image in a desired direction while the unmanned aerial vehicle is in flight.

Side view showing an unmanned aerial vehicle 100 equipped with a camera 300 with a gimbal Side view showing that the imaging ray range fluctuates due to the rotation of the camera 300 by the gimbal 200. Block diagram showing a hardware configuration example of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 It is a conceptual diagram which shows that the imaging ray range of a camera 300 has a limit, and is the side view which shows the state which the camera 300 is directed in the horizontal direction. It is a conceptual diagram which shows that the imaging ray range of a camera 300 has a limit, and is the side view which shows the state which the camera 300 is rotated maximum upward. Conceptual diagram showing the change of the optical path direction by the adapter 400 Front view showing a camera 300 equipped with a twin-lens lens The figure which shows the light ray range of the 2nd lens 330b in the camera 300 which includes a twin-lens lens. A perspective view showing a state in which the adapter 400 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is attached to the camera 300. An exploded perspective view of the adapter 400 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure attached to the camera 300. Conceptual diagram showing the relationship between a lens and a mirror Side view showing the angle position indicator S and the indicator Ind The figure which illustrates the mounting method which mounts the adapter 400 which concerns on embodiment of this disclosure to a camera 300. The figure which illustrates the mounting method which mounts the adapter 400 which concerns on embodiment of this disclosure to a camera 300.

Hereinafter, the present disclosure will be described through embodiments of the invention, but the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims. Not all combinations of features described in the embodiments are essential to the solution of the invention.

The claims, description, drawings, and abstracts include matters that are subject to copyright protection. The copyright holder will not object to any person's reproduction of these documents as long as they appear in the Patent Office files or records. However, in other cases, all copyrights are reserved.

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an unmanned aerial vehicle 100 equipped with a camera 300 with a gimbal. FIG. 2 is a side view showing that the imaging light range fluctuates due to the rotation of the camera 300 by the gimbal 200. Hereinafter, a basic configuration example of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 provided with the camera 300 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. The camera 300 is an example of an imaging device. The gimbal 200 is an example of a support mechanism. The unmanned aerial vehicle 100 may be a mobile body. A moving body is a concept including a robot, a vehicle moving on the ground, a ship moving on water, and the like. For example, in the case of a dog-shaped robot, the neck portion of the dog-shaped robot may function as a support mechanism. In this case, the eye portion of the dog-shaped robot becomes the image pickup device.

The unmanned aerial vehicle 100 flies when a user controls a remote control aircraft (not shown). The unmanned aerial vehicle 100 can communicate with the remote control by wired communication or wireless communication (for example, wireless LAN (Local Area Network)). The remote control device may be a transmitter (propo) including a remote control device main body held by the user and a monitor that presents image information or the like to the user. In addition, the remote control may be, for example, a smartphone, a PC, a server, or the like, and the image information is presented on the screen of the smartphone, a monitor connected to the PC, the server, or the like, and the user remotely controls the image information based on the image information. The unmanned aerial vehicle 100 is operated by using the pilot.

Further, the unmanned aerial vehicle 100, which has received a command from the user from the outside, may autonomously determine the flight path and fly.

The unmanned aerial vehicle 100 includes a gimbal 200 and a camera 300. The unmanned aerial vehicle 100 may include other components. As shown in the figure, the camera 300 is rotatably mounted on the gimbal 200, and the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 can change the direction of the camera 300 to perform an image while flying or hovering.

The unmanned aerial vehicle 100 includes a rotary wing 120 (propeller). However, there is no intention to exclude flight means other than the rotor 120. The unmanned aerial vehicle 100 flies the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 by controlling the rotation of the rotor blades 120.

The camera 300 can capture a desired subject (for example, a state of the sky to be aerial photographed, a landscape such as a mountain or a river, or a building on the ground such as a bridge). The chain line portion shown in FIG. 1 indicates the imaging light range (angle of view) that the camera 300 can image.

The gimbal 200 may rotatably support the camera 300 about a yaw axis, a pitch axis, and a roll axis. The gimbal 200 may change the imaging direction of the camera 300 by rotating the camera 300 around at least one of the yaw axis, the pitch axis, and the roll axis. In the example of FIG. 2, the gimbal 200 rotates (tilts) the camera 300 by + A degrees around the pitch axis.

Next, a hardware configuration example of an unmanned aerial vehicle 100 equipped with a gimbal 200 and a camera 300 will be shown. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration example of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100. In the illustrated example, the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 includes a UAV control unit 110, a rotor blade 120, a communication interface 130, and a memory 140, and the UAV control unit 110 and the gimbal 200 are connected to each other. The UAV control unit 110 and the image pickup control unit of the camera 300 are also connected. The unmanned aerial vehicle 100 may include other components. For example, the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 may be equipped with a GPS receiver, an inertial measurement unit (IMU), a magnetic compass, a barometric altimeter, a TOF (Time of Flight) sensor, and the like. The UAV control unit 110 controls these components included in the unmanned aerial vehicle 100.

The UAV control unit 110 is configured by using, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), or a DSP (Digital Signal Processor). The UAV control unit 110 performs signal processing for controlling the operation of each part of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100, data input / output processing with and from other parts, data calculation processing, and data storage processing.

The UAV control unit 110 controls the flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 according to the program stored in the memory 140.

The UAV control unit 110 may acquire image pickup range information indicating the image pickup range of the camera 300. The UAV control unit 110 may acquire the angle of view information indicating the angle of view of the camera 300 from the camera 300 as a parameter for specifying the imaging range. The UAV control unit 110 may acquire information indicating the imaging direction of the camera 300 as a parameter for specifying the imaging range. The UAV control unit 110 may acquire posture information indicating the posture state of the camera 300 from the gimbal 200, for example, as information indicating the imaging direction of the camera 300. The attitude information of the camera 300 may indicate the rotation angle from the reference rotation angle on the yaw axis, pitch axis, and roll axis of the gimbal 200. The reference here is, for example, a predetermined angle around the yaw axis, the pitch axis, and the roll axis when the UAV control unit 110 executes initialization.

The UAV control unit 110 controls the gimbal 200 and the camera 300. The UAV control unit 110 may control the imaging range of the camera 300 by changing the imaging direction or the angle of view of the camera 300. The UAV control unit 110 may control the imaging direction of the camera 300 supported by the gimbal 200 by controlling the rotation mechanism of the gimbal 200.

The imaging direction of the camera 300 may be defined from the direction in which the front of the camera 300 provided with the lens 330 faces (the direction of the optical axis of the lens 330). The imaging direction of the camera 300 may be a direction specified from the orientation of the nose of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 and the attitude of the camera 300 with respect to the gimbal 200.

The UAV control unit 110 controls the flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 by controlling the rotary wing 120. In this flight control, the communication interface 130 receives a command from a remote control operated by the user, and this command is received. It may be done based on.

The communication interface 130 communicates with the remote controller. The communication interface 130 may perform wireless communication by any wireless communication method. The communication interface 130 may perform wired communication by any wired communication method. The communication interface 130 may transmit the aerial image and additional information (metadata) related to the aerial image to the remote control.

The memory 140 stores programs and the like necessary for the UAV control unit 110 to control the gimbal 200 and the camera 300. Further, the memory 140 stores a program or the like necessary for the UAV control unit 110 to control the components included in the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 such as the rotary blade 120. The memory 140 may be a computer-readable recording medium, and may be SRAM (Static Random Access Memory), DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory), EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), EPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), and It may include at least one of flash memories such as USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory. The memory 140 may be removable from the unmanned aerial vehicle 100. The memory 140 may operate as a working memory.

The camera 300 captures a desired subject and generates data of the captured image. The image data (for example, an aerial image) obtained by imaging the camera 300 may be stored in the memory 360 of the camera 300 or a storage (not shown).

Next, the hardware configuration on the camera 300 side will be described. The camera 300 includes an image pickup control unit 310, an image pickup element 320, a lens 330, a lens drive unit 340, a lens control unit 350, and a memory 360. The camera 300 may include other components such as an acceleration sensor, a shutter drive unit, a gain control unit, a flash, and the like.

As will be described later based on FIG. 5, when the camera 300 is a binocular type, the camera 300 may include a plurality of lenses.

The image pickup control unit 310 may be composed of a microprocessor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), a microcontroller such as an MCU (Micro Control Unit), or the like. The image pickup control unit 310 controls the image pickup by the camera 300. This control may be performed in response to an operation command from the UAV control unit 110. Further, the image pickup control unit 310 determines imaging conditions such as an exposure time and an aperture (iris). The image pickup control unit 310 may send an image pickup instruction to the image pickup device 320.

Next, the configuration related to the lens 330 will be described. The light incident through the lens 330 included in the camera 300 is imaged on the image pickup surface of the image pickup device 320. The image sensor 320 photoelectrically converts the optical image formed on the image pickup surface and outputs it as an image signal. As the image pickup device 320, a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) image sensor or a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor: Complementary MOS) image sensor may be used.

The image pickup control unit 310 may generate image data by performing analog-digital conversion on the image signal output by the image pickup device 320. The image pickup control unit 310 may perform various image processing such as shading correction, color correction, contour enhancement, noise removal, gamma correction, debayer, and compression.

The lens control unit 350 controls the lens drive unit 340 in response to an operation command from the image pickup control unit 310. Then, the lens driving unit 340 drives the lens 330.

The memory 360 is a storage medium for storing various data and image data. The memory 360 may be a computer-readable recording medium, and may be a SRAM (Static Random Access Memory), a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory), an EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), and an EEPROM. It may be a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory or the like. The memory 360 may be provided so as to be removable from the camera 300. The memory 360 may store a program necessary for the image pickup control unit 310 to control the image pickup device 320 and the like. The memory 360 may hold, for example, exposure control information for calculating the exposure amount based on the shutter speed, the F value, the ISO sensitivity, and the ND value. The ISO sensitivity is a value corresponding to the gain. The ND value represents the degree of dimming by the dimming filter. The exposure control information includes an AE algorithm.

Next, reference is made to FIGS. 4A and 4B. 4A and 4B are conceptual views showing that the imaging light range of the camera 300 is limited, FIG. 4A is a side view showing a state in which the camera 300 is oriented in the horizontal direction, and FIG. 4B is an upper view of the camera 300. It is a side view which shows the state which was rotated maximum in the direction. When the gimbal 200 rotates the camera 300, the direction of the camera 300 and the range of the imaging light beam change. However, the rotation angle of the gimbal 200 may be limited depending on the arrangement of the gimbal 200 with respect to the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 and the arrangement of the camera 300. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 4B, the area A which is a part of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 and the area B which is the landing gear (landing gear) of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 physically prevent the rotation of the camera 300. Therefore, the rotation of the camera 300 supported by the gimbal 200 around the pitch axis is limited to +30 degrees to −90 degrees. The above has been described by taking the physical limit of the imaging ray range as an example. On the other hand, when the rotor 120, which is a part of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100, is present in the imaging light range, the rotor 120 does not physically block the rotation of the camera 300, but blocks the view of the camera 300. .. Therefore, in this case as well, it becomes the limit of the imaging light range. This state is also shown in FIG. Another example of blocking the imaging light range is a landing gear (leg of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100) that is a part of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100. When the landing gear is reflected in the camera 300, it is when the camera 300 is facing vertically downward.

In such a case, the camera 300 cannot image the image pickup object OBJ (subject) existing in the upward direction or vertically upward direction (hereinafter, simply "upward direction") as seen from the unmanned aerial vehicle 100. Although FIG. 4 shows a case where the gimbal 200 and the camera 300 are arranged on the nose side of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100, the gimbal 200 and the camera 300 may be arranged directly under the unmanned aerial vehicle 100. Even in such a case, the image pickup target OBJ cannot be imaged by the camera 300 as described above.

However, as described above, there are many needs for flying an unmanned aerial vehicle 100 and taking an image in the upward direction when inspecting a bridge or the like, for example. This is a case where the bridge is imaged from below and image analysis is performed based on the captured image.

Therefore, in the present disclosure, the adapter 400 is attached to the camera 300. FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram showing an optical path direction change by the adapter 400. As shown in FIG. 5, the adapter 400 is attached to the camera 300, and the optical path direction changing mechanism 420 of the adapter 400 changes the optical path direction of the light incident on the camera 300. For example, the mirror 422 included in the optical path direction changing mechanism 420 reflects light to change the optical path direction. With this configuration, the camera 300 can appropriately image the image pickup target OBJ existing in the upward direction while flying the unmanned aerial vehicle 100.

The camera 300 may be a twin-lens type camera, not a monocular lens type camera 300. 6A and 6B are conceptual views showing a camera 300 including a twin-lens lens, FIG. 6A is a front view, and FIG. 6B is a diagram showing a light ray range of a second lens 330b. As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the camera 300 may have a substantially rectangular parallelepiped outer shape, but the shape of the camera 300 is not particularly limited.

The camera 300 includes a first lens 330a and a second lens 330b. Here, the angle of view of the second lens 330b is smaller than the angle of view of the first lens 330a. The focal length of the second lens 330b is longer than the focal length of the first lens 330a. Further, the first lens 330a may be a wide-angle lens and the second lens 330b may be a telephoto lens. The user may switch which of these two types of lenses is used to display the image captured on the monitor of the remote control. The image captured by the camera 300 may be transmitted to the remote control via the communication interface 130 of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100.

The substantially quadrangular pyramid-shaped region in FIG. 6B shows the light ray range of the second lens 330b. When the adapter 400 is not attached, light is incident on the second lens 330b from the front direction of the camera 300 to perform imaging.

The adapter 400 is attached to, for example, a twin-lens type camera 300 as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B. Even if the camera 300 is a monocular lens type, the optical path direction of the incident light can be changed to a desired direction by attaching the adapter 400. That is, the upward imaging itself can be performed. However, when the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 is flown with the adapter 400 attached to the monocular lens, the image captured by the camera 300, for example, reflects the upward direction of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100. That is, the captured image is no longer an image of the nose direction of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100. Even if such a captured image is displayed on a monitor or the like of a remote control aircraft, it is difficult for the user to properly steer the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 based on the captured image.

Therefore, it is preferable that the camera 300 is a twin-lens type (twin-lens camera) so that the user can appropriately steer the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 and image the OBJ to be imaged in the upward direction. For example, the user steers the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 while looking at the image captured by one lens, and uses the other lens to image the image target OBJ existing in the upward direction. By doing so, the user can take an image of the image-imaging object OBJ while appropriately maneuvering the unmanned aerial vehicle 100.

Next, a configuration example of the adapter 400 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. 7A and 7B are views showing the adapter 400 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, FIG. 7A is a perspective view showing a state in which the adapter 400 is attached to the camera 300, and FIG. 7B is an exploded perspective view of the adapter 400 attached to the camera 300. Is.

As shown in FIG. 7A, the adapter 400 has an adapter main body 410, and an optical path direction changing mechanism 420 is provided on the adapter main body 410. Further, an opening 411 for passing light incident on the first lens 330a is provided on the adapter main body 410.

As shown in FIG. 7B, an opening 412 for passing light incident on the second lens 330b is provided on the adapter main body 410. An optical path direction changing mechanism 420 is provided so as to cover the opening 412. That is, the optical path direction changing mechanism 420 is arranged at a position facing the second lens 330b when the adapter 400 is attached to the camera 300.

The optical path direction changing mechanism 420 includes a base member 421, a mirror 422, and a cover 423. The base member 421 is made of, for example, a plastic material, and the side plates 421a and the side plates 421b are arranged in parallel. Each of these side plates 421a and 421b has a substantially trapezoidal shape. The first side, the second side, the third side, and the fourth side, which are the four sides constituting the substantially trapezoidal shape, are shown in FIG. 7B, respectively.

The side plate 421a and the side plate 421b are connected by a connecting pillar 424. A rectangular frame is formed by the sides of the adapter body 410, the fourth sides of each of the side plates 421a and 421b, and the connecting columns 424. The surface formed by the rectangular frame is oriented in a direction substantially orthogonal to the surface formed by the adapter body 410. By fitting, for example, an acrylic transparent plate 425 into this rectangular frame, a window portion is formed at a portion (inside the rectangular frame) indicated by reference numeral 426. Through this window, light from the outside enters the optical path direction changing mechanism 420.

A mirror 422 is rotatably attached near the third side of each of the side plate 421a and the side plate 421b. For example, holes H are provided in the side plates 421a and 421b, respectively, and the rotating shafts 4221a and 4221b of the mirror 422 are inserted into the holes H, respectively. Then, the mirror 422 can rotate in the tilt direction of the camera 300 when the adapter 400 is attached to the camera 300.

The light incident from the outside passes through the window portion of the optical path direction changing mechanism 420, is reflected by the mirror 422 to change the optical path direction, and is incident on the second lens 330b through the opening 412. The camera 300 generates an captured image from this incident light. A cover 423 is attached so as to cover the first side and the third side of the base member 421 in order to prevent light from entering the optical path direction changing mechanism 420 from a place other than the window portion.

When the adapter 400 is attached to the camera 300, the optical path direction changing mechanism 420 having the above configuration changes the optical path of the light incident on the second lens 330b in a predetermined direction.

An angle adjusting mechanism 430 is provided at the tip of the rotating shaft 4221a of the mirror 422. By adjusting the angle of the mirror 422 using the angle adjusting mechanism 430, a desired imaging direction can be captured by the camera 300. In this example, the angle adjustment direction by the angle adjustment mechanism 430 is the tilt direction of the camera 300 when the adapter 400 is attached to the camera 300.

A specific example of the angle adjusting mechanism 430 is the columnar knob shown in FIG. 7B. However, the shape and structure of the angle adjusting mechanism 430 are not limited to this. The angle of the mirror 422 can be adjusted as appropriate by twisting the columnar knob by hand or the like. However, this angle adjustment does not have to be a manual adjustment. For example, an electric angle adjusting mechanism is provided, and the mirror 422 is controlled by controlling the electric angle adjusting mechanism by the image pickup control unit 310 of the camera 300, the UAV control unit 110 of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100, or the remote control device. You may adjust the angle.

Here, an advantage caused by the optical path direction changing mechanism 420 being arranged at a position facing the second lens 330b when the adapter 400 is attached to the camera 300 will be described. The first advantage is that an appropriate image can be taken without bringing the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 close to the object to be imaged. If the optical path direction changing mechanism 420 is arranged on the side of the second lens 330b, it is the second lens 330b that is used to image the upward direction instead of the first lens 330a. Here, as described above, the angle of view of the second lens 330b is smaller than the angle of view of the first lens 330a. The focal length of the second lens 330b is longer than the focal length of the first lens 330a. Further, the first lens 330a may be a wide-angle lens and the second lens 330b may be a telephoto lens. That is, the second lens 330b can take an image of an object to be imaged farther than the first lens 330a. Therefore, the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 can be appropriately imaged without being brought close to the object to be imaged, and the risk of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 colliding with the object to be imaged or an object in the vicinity thereof is reduced. As a result, the safety of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 during flight can be ensured.

The second advantage that arises from the fact that the optical path direction changing mechanism 420 is arranged at a position facing the second lens 330b when the adapter 400 is attached to the camera 300 is that the optical path direction changing mechanism 420 can be miniaturized. is there. This miniaturization is related to the size of the mirror 422.

Here, reference is made to FIG. 8, which is a conceptual diagram showing the relationship between the lens and the mirror. Since the first lens 330a has a wide angle of view, it is necessary to increase the size of the mirror 422 in order to cover the entire angle of view. On the other hand, since the second lens 330b has a small angle of view, the size of the mirror 422 can be reduced. If the size of the mirror 422 is small, the size of the optical path direction changing mechanism 420 itself provided with the mirror 422 can be reduced. Further, if the size of the optical path direction changing mechanism 420 is reduced, the optical path direction changing mechanism 420 does not block the field of view of the first lens 330a.

Next, a configuration for stably performing manual adjustment of the mirror 422 using the angle adjusting mechanism 430 will be described. FIG. 9 is a side view showing the angle position indicator S and the indicator Ind. The base member 421 of the optical path direction changing mechanism 420 may include an angle position indicator S that indicates the angle position of the mirror 422 after the angle adjustment. The angle position indicator S may be, for example, a scale. In the example of FIG. 9, the angle position indicator S is provided on the side plate 421a of the base member 421.

For example, the angle position display S has a scale S1 indicating an appropriate angle position of the mirror 422 when the camera 300 is oriented in the horizontal direction. Further, the angle position display S has a scale S2 indicating an appropriate angle position of the mirror 422 when the gimbal 200 tilts the camera 300 to the maximum (tilt angle +30 degrees in this example). However, scales other than these two types of scales S1 and S2 may be provided.

On the other hand, the angle adjusting mechanism 430 may include an indicator Ind. The indicator Ind points to the angle position displayed on the angle position indicator S. In the illustrated example, the indicator Ind is an arrow, and the user pinches and rotates the angle adjusting mechanism 430 so as to align the arrow with the scale S1 and the scale S2. By this rotation operation, the manual adjustment of the mirror 422 can be appropriately performed. It should be noted that the indicator Ind may have a form other than the arrow as long as it can indicate an appropriate angular position of the mirror 422. For example, the indicator Ind may be a triangular mark, a groove provided at the end of a columnar knob, or the like.

Further, contrary to the above, the base member 421 may be provided with the indicator Ind, and the angle adjusting mechanism 430 may be provided with the angle position indicator S.

Although the example of adjusting the angle of the mirror 422 by the angle adjusting mechanism 430 has been shown above, the installation angle of the mirror 422 can also be fixed. In this case, the installation angle of the mirror 422 may be determined based on the angle at which the gimbal 200 can tilt the camera 300 to the maximum. For example, if the tilt angle of the gimbal 200 mounted on the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 is limited to +30 degrees to -90 degrees, when the gimbal 200 tilts the camera 300 by +30 degrees, the object to be imaged is the second lens. Determine the installation angle of the mirror 422 so that it is reflected on the 330b. Then, the mirror 422 is fixed so as to have the installation angle. With this configuration, the user can appropriately image the image-imaging object simply by remotely controlling the gimbal 200 and setting the tilt angle to the maximum degree of +30 degrees. That is, it is not necessary to manually adjust the angle of the mirror 422.

Next, an example of an attachment method for attaching the adapter 400 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure to the camera 300 will be described. The bayonet-type mounting method is shown in FIG. 10, and the magnet-type mounting method is shown in FIG. 11, respectively.

In the case of FIG. 10 showing a bayonet-type mounting method, the adapter 400 is provided with bayonet hooks 440 at its four corners. On the other hand, the camera 300 is provided with bayonet fitting holes 370 at the four corners of the camera 300. The adapter 400 is attached to the camera 300 by fitting the bayonet hook 440 into the bayonet fitting hole 370. The above configuration is an example, and the positions where the bayonet hook 440 and the bayonet fitting hole 370 are provided and the number of these are provided are not limited to the illustrated example. Further, contrary to the illustrated example, the camera 300 may be provided with a bayonet hook and the adapter 400 may be provided with a bayonet fitting hole.

In the case of FIG. 11 showing a magnet type mounting method, the adapter 400 includes magnets 441 at its four corners. On the other hand, the camera 300 includes magnets 371 at the four corners of the camera 300. By bringing the magnet 371 closer to the magnet 441, both are attracted by a magnetic force, and the adapter 400 is attached to the camera 300. The above configuration is an example, and the positions of the magnets 441 and the magnets 371 and the number of the magnets 371 provided are not limited to the illustrated examples.

Further, the mounting method of the adapter 400 is not limited to the above.

Next, an image inversion process for inverting an image captured by the camera 300 to which the adapter 400 is attached will be described. When the adapter 400 having the structure shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B is attached to the camera 300, the incident light is reflected by the mirror 422 and incident on the second lens 330b. As a result, the captured image is inverted. Therefore, the camera 300 may perform an image inversion process in which the captured image captured based on the incident light is inverted again.

The above image inversion process may be executed when the adapter 400 is attached to the camera 300. The camera 300 detects that the adapter 400 is attached to the camera 300 so that the image inversion process can be performed when the adapter 400 is attached to the camera 300, for example, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11. A detection mechanism 380 may be provided. The detection mechanism 380 may be, for example, a metal terminal (electrical contact). On the other hand, the adapter 400 may also include a detection mechanism 450 that causes the camera 300 to detect that the adapter 400 is attached to the camera 300. The detection mechanism 450 may also be a metal terminal (electrical contact). The adapter 400 may have a unique ID (identifier). This ID (identifier) may be stored in a memory or the like of the adapter 400 (not shown). The camera 300 is electrically connected to the adapter 400 via a metal terminal (electrical contact). At this time, the camera 300 reads the ID (identifier) of the adapter 400 and transmits a drive signal to the adapter 400. The drive signal is, for example, a signal for adjusting the angle of the mirror 422 of the optical path direction changing mechanism 420 of the adapter 400.

When the adapter 400 is attached to the camera 300, the metal terminal included in the adapter 400 and the metal terminal included in the camera 300 come into contact with each other. The camera 300 detects that the adapter 400 is attached to the camera 300 by the contact between the metal terminals, and executes the image inversion process under the control of the image pickup control unit 310. Here, the program for image inversion processing may be stored in the memory 360. The metal terminals may be provided in at least a part of the area where the adapter 400 and the camera 300 come into contact with each other.

The mounting detection mechanism included in the adapter 400 and the camera 300 is not limited to the above configuration, and can be appropriately mounted by those skilled in the art. In the embodiment, a binocular type is taken as an example. However, a multi-eye type such as three eyes or four eyes may be used. When multiple eyes are used, an opening may be provided accordingly.

Although various embodiments have been described above with reference to the drawings, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to such examples. It is clear that a person skilled in the art can come up with various modifications or modifications within the scope of the claims, which naturally belong to the technical scope of the present invention. Understood. In addition, each component in the above embodiment may be arbitrarily combined as long as the gist of the invention is not deviated.

The execution order of each process such as the operation, procedure, step, and step in the device, method, and program shown in the claims, the specification, and the drawing is particularly "before", "prior to", etc. As long as the output of the previous process is not used in the subsequent process, it can be realized in any order. Even if the scope of claims, the specification, and the operation flow in the drawings are explained using "first", "next", etc. for convenience, it does not mean that it is essential to carry out in this order. Absent.

The present disclosure is also applicable to an image pickup device provided with an adapter, a support mechanism provided with the image pickup device, and a moving body provided with the support mechanism.

100 Unmanned aerial vehicle 110 UAV control unit 120 Rotating blade 130 Communication interface 140 Memory 200 Gimbal 300 Camera 310 Imaging control unit 320 Imaging element 330 Lens 330a First lens 330b Second lens 340 Lens drive unit 350 Lens control unit 360 Memory 370 Bayonet Fitting hole 371 Magnet 380 Detection mechanism 400 Adapter 410 Adapter body 411 Opening 412 Opening 420 Optical path direction change mechanism 421 Base member 421a Side plate 421b Side plate 422 Mirror 423 Cover 424 Connection pillar 425 Transparent plate 430 Angle adjustment mechanism 440 Bayonet hook 441 Magnet 450 Detection mechanism 4221a Rotating shaft 4221b Rotating shaft A, B Area H Hole Ind indicator OBJ Imaging object S Angle position indicator

Claims (13)

An adapter used in an imaging device having a first lens and a second lens.
When the adapter is attached to the imaging device, it includes an optical path direction changing mechanism that changes the optical path of light incident on the second lens in a predetermined direction.
The optical path direction changing mechanism is arranged at a position facing the second lens when the adapter is attached to the imaging device.
adapter. The adapter according to claim 1, wherein the optical path direction changing mechanism includes a mirror. The optical path direction changing mechanism further includes an angle adjusting mechanism for adjusting the angle of the mirror.
The adapter according to claim 2. The adapter according to claim 3, wherein the angle adjustment direction by the angle adjustment mechanism is the tilt direction of the image pickup device when the adapter is attached to the image pickup device. The adapter according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the adapter has an electrical contact in at least a part of a region in contact with the image pickup device when attached to the image pickup device. It comprises an identifier that causes the image pickup device to detect that the adapter is attached to the image pickup device.
The adapter according to claim 5. The adapter according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the adapter has a bayonet type or magnet type mechanism for being attached to the image pickup apparatus. An imaging device including the adapter according to any one of claims 1 to 7. The angle of view of the second lens is smaller than the angle of view of the first lens.
The imaging device according to claim 8. The imaging device according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the focal length of the second lens is longer than the focal length of the first lens. It includes a processor and a detection mechanism for detecting that the adapter is attached to the imaging device.
When the detection mechanism detects that the adapter is attached to the image pickup apparatus, the processor executes an image inversion process of inverting the image captured by the second lens.
The imaging device according to any one of claims 8 to 10. A support mechanism including the imaging device according to any one of claims 8 to 11. A mobile body having the support mechanism according to claim 12.

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