JP2743855B2 - Document camera device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a document camera apparatus.
More particularly, the present invention relates to a document camera apparatus that converts an optical image of a three-dimensional object such as an OHP film or a model into a video signal using a television camera.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Many conventional document camera apparatuses of this type include an illumination device for uniformly illuminating a document or the like placed on a stage, and a television camera for optically obtaining an image of the document or the like obtained by the illumination. And a television camera for converting an optical image incident by the optical system into an electric signal.

[0003] Here, the above optical system may be only an imaging lens mounted on a television camera when a document or the like is directly photographed. As is well known, it is necessary to use two mirrors in pairs in order to avoid inverted images up, down, left and right.

FIG. 4 shows a practical application filed by the present applicant in the Japanese Patent Application No. Sho 59-782.
29 is an external view of a document camera apparatus proposed by Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 29 (Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. Sho 60-189176) and currently marketed under the name of "DT-63A", which includes a side view (A) and a front view (B). It is shown. The document camera device is provided for supporting the stage 51 and the television camera 52, the imaging lens 53, the first mirror 54, the second mirror 55, the illumination devices 56 and 57, the above 52 to 57, and blocking the illumination light. Hood 58 and a pole 59.

In FIG. 1, an optical image from a document 60 or the like placed on a stage 51 is reflected twice by a first mirror 54 and a second mirror 55 and guided to an imaging lens 53 as an erect image. Then, the video signal is converted into a normal video signal by the television camera 52 and displayed on a television monitor or the like (not shown). In the figure, a document 60 is illuminated by illumination devices 56 and 57 installed on the left and right sides of a hood 58 so as to be as uniform as possible.

The document camera apparatus of the present invention has a simple structure and is used in many fields.

There are several examples in which a projector type light source is used as an illumination system of a document camera apparatus. FIG. 5 shows one example. The example of FIG. 5 is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-13916, and shows a side view (A) and a plan view (B).

This document camera apparatus comprises a stage 61, a television camera 62, an imaging lens 63, a projector type light source 64, an imaging lens 65, a first mirror 66,
, And an arm 68 for supporting the first mirror 66. In the figure, light from a projector type light source 64 is
5. The light is reflected twice by the second mirror 67 and the first mirror 66 to illuminate the document 69 and the like placed on the stage 61 at a predetermined angle.

The light source image from the document 69 is divided by the first mirror 66 and the second mirror 67 in the same manner as in the case of FIG.
It is reflected once and guided to the taking lens 63 as an erect image,
The video signal is converted into a normal video signal by the television camera 62 and displayed on a television monitor or the like (not shown).

The document camera shown in FIG.
Since the rays from 4 illuminate the document 69 at a predetermined angle,
There is an advantage that light leakage due to diffusion of illumination light is very small. In addition, since the light source 64 can be freely cooled by a fan or the like, the generated heat is less likely to be transmitted to a speaker or an operator located in front of the document camera apparatus of the present invention, thereby deteriorating the working environment. Further, if a zoom lens is used as the imaging lens 63 and the projection lens 65 and both are linked, there is a byproduct advantage that the illumination range and the imaging range match.

[0011]

The conventional document camera shown in FIG. 4 has several disadvantages. First, the first drawback is that the illumination devices 56 and 57 usually use rod-shaped fluorescent lamps, so that the illumination light is diffused to areas other than the document 60, and the light leaks around the document camera device.

Particularly, when the projector is used together with a large projector in a decision room, a conference room, or the like, it is often used by reducing indoor illumination light to cover the low brightness of the projector. It is often pointed out that leakage of light from the document camera apparatus is reflected on a projector screen and significantly degrades display quality. It is also known that a speaker or an operator located in front of the present document camera apparatus is significantly fatigued.

A second disadvantage of the present document camera device is that heat generated from the lighting devices 56 and 57 is transmitted to a speaker or an operator located in front of the present document camera device, thereby significantly deteriorating the working environment. is there. There is also a risk that the speaker or the operator may accidentally touch the lighting devices 56 and 57 and cause burns.

Further, the document camera apparatus shown in FIG.
Since expensive lenses having almost the same specifications are used for the imaging lens 63 and the projection lens 65, there is a disadvantage that the manufacturing cost is increased.

Further, a projector type light source 64, a projection lens 65, a second mirror 67 and a first mirror 66
In order to accurately match the optical axis of the illumination system including the optical system with the optical axis of the imaging system including the television camera 62, the imaging lens 63, the second mirror 67, and the first mirror 66, there is a disadvantage that the number of adjustment steps increases. .

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art, and it is an object of the present invention to reduce the leakage of light due to illumination light and reduce the heat generated from the illumination device. An object of the present invention is to provide a document camera apparatus which does not deteriorate a work environment and which has a low manufacturing cost and a small number of adjustment steps, transmitted to a speaker or an operator located in front of the document camera apparatus.

[0017]

According to the present invention, there is provided a document camera apparatus comprising: a stage on which a document or the like is placed; imaging means for capturing an optical image of the document or the like on the stage; First and second reflecting means sequentially arranged on an optical path between the stage and the imaging means to convert an optical path of an image by reflection; and the stage among the first and second reflecting means. Illumination means for irradiating light directly to the first reflection means disposed in the vicinity, and the light reflected by the first reflection means is directly radiated onto the stage.

The illumination means may include a lamp, a projection frame provided with an opening for defining an irradiation range of the irradiation light of the lamp, and a projection for enlarging and projecting the irradiation light passing through the opening. And a lens.

[0019]

The adjustment of the optical axis is simplified by using only one reflecting mirror to convert the optical path of the light emitted from the illumination lamp to irradiate the stage with light. Further, by providing the projection frame having an opening for defining the irradiation range of the irradiation light of the lamp and the projection lens on the front surface of the lamp, light does not leak to the outside unnecessarily.

[0020]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an external view of a document camera apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG.
(B) is a front view. This apparatus comprises a stage 1, a television camera 2, an imaging lens 3, a first mirror 4, a second mirror 5, an arm 6 for supporting the first mirror 4 and the second mirror 5, and an arm 6 And a lighting device 7 attached to the camera. As shown in detail in FIG. 2, the illumination device 7 includes a lamp 8, a projection frame 9, a projection lens 10, and a fan 11 for cooling the lamp 8 with air.

In FIG. 1, a lamp 8 is, for example, a halogen lamp with a reflection mirror, and unnecessary heat rays are transmitted backward by a dichroic film deposited on the mirror, and only visible light is substantially parallel light on the front. It is designed to be irradiated.

The projection frame 9 is a kind of light-shielding plate having an opening substantially similar to the shape of the irradiation range on the stage 1 at the center thereof, and prevents light from leaking to the periphery of the present document camera device. ing. The projection lens 10 is for projecting a light beam from the lamp 8 onto the stage 1 in an enlarged manner. The focal length (f-value) of the projection lens 10 is usually the image of the opening of the projection frame 9.
Selected to focus on the top.

The light from the illumination device 7 is
The light is reflected only once, the optical path is changed, and the document 12 or the like placed on the stage 1 is illuminated. The optical image from the document 12 or the like is reflected twice by the first mirror 4 and the second mirror 5 as in the conventional example, guided to the imaging lens 3 as an erect image, and is output by the television camera 2 to the normal image. It is converted to a video signal and displayed on a television monitor or the like (not shown).

The first advantage of the document camera apparatus according to the present invention is that the light from the illuminating device 7 illuminates the stage 1 at a predetermined angle, and the illuminating range is a projection frame 9 and a projection lens 10.
Therefore, light leakage to the surroundings is very small as compared with the conventional example (FIG. 4) using a fluorescent lamp as a lighting device.

In particular, when used together with a large-size projector having a low luminance in a decision room, a conference room, or the like, reflection on the projector screen can be reduced, and the effect is large. In addition, leak light is less likely to shine into the eyes of the speaker or operator located in front of the present document camera apparatus, thereby releasing the speaker or operator from fatigue.

A second advantage of the document camera apparatus according to the present invention is that the heat generated by the lamp 8 is removed to the rear or right and left of the apparatus by the fan 11, so that the conventional example in which a fluorescent lamp is provided close to above the stage ( As shown in FIG. 4), the heat generated by the lighting device 7 is not transmitted to the speaker or the operator located on the front of the document camera apparatus of the present invention, thereby deteriorating the working environment. Further, since the lighting device 7 is installed at a position as far as possible from the speaker or the operator, there is no possibility that the lighting device 7 may be erroneously touched with a hand or the like to cause burns.

A third advantage of the document camera apparatus according to the present invention is that the illuminating device 7 can be composed of very simple and inexpensive components such as a lamp 8, a projection frame 9, a single projection lens 10 and a fan 11. In addition, the manufacturing cost can be reduced as compared with the conventional example (FIG. 4) in which expensive lenses having almost the same specifications must be used for the imaging lens and the projection lens.

Further, since the optical axis of the illumination type including the illumination device 7 and the first mirror 4 is reflected once, the adjustment of the optical axis is very simple, and the optical axis of the illumination system and the light of the imaging system are very simple. There is also an advantage that the number of adjustment steps can be greatly reduced as compared with the conventional example (FIG. 5) in which the axes must be accurately matched.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are external views of a document camera apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 3A is a side view and FIG. 3B is a plan view. This apparatus comprises a housing 13 and a stage 14, a television camera 15, an imaging lens 16, a first mirror 17, a lighting device 18, a second mirror 19, and a first mirror 17.
And an arm 20 for supporting the arm. This embodiment is different from the first embodiment (FIG. 1) in appearance.
The television camera 15 and the imaging lens 16 in the housing 13
The mirror 19 and the illumination device 18 are stored.

That is, in the second embodiment (FIG. 3), the side view of the first embodiment (FIG. 1) is rotated by 90 ° to the left, and the first embodiment is set so that the stage 14 is positioned on the television camera 15. It can be considered that the arm 20 supporting the mirror 17 is slightly elongated, and the functions and effects of the respective components are exactly the same. The structure and operation of the lighting device 18 are the same as those of the lighting device 7 of FIG.

In FIG. 2, light from an illumination device 18 is reflected once by a first mirror 17 to illuminate a document 20 or the like placed on a stage 14. The optical image from the document 20 or the like is reflected twice by the first mirror 17 and the second mirror 19 as in the conventional example, guided to the imaging lens 16 as an erect image, and is output by the television camera 13 to a normal image. It is converted to a video signal and displayed on a television monitor or the like (not shown). Note that the advantages of this embodiment are exactly the same as those of the first embodiment described above, and a description thereof will be omitted.

In the above-described embodiment, only two types of positional relations of the TV camera, the imaging lens, the mirror, and the stage on which documents are mounted have been described.
The present invention is not limited to this, and is applicable to document camera devices having many shapes within the scope of the claims.

[0034]

As described above, according to the document camera apparatus of the present invention, the leakage of light due to the illumination light is small, and the heat generated from the illumination apparatus is a speaker or an operator located at the front of the document camera apparatus. The work environment is not degraded and the manufacturing cost is low,
The effect is great because the number of adjustment steps is small.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1A is a side view of one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a front view thereof.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a lighting device used in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3A is a side view of another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
Is a front view thereof.

FIG. 4A is a side view of an example of a conventional document camera apparatus, and FIG. 4B is a front view thereof.

FIG. 5A is a side view of another example of the conventional document camera apparatus, and FIG. 5B is a plan view thereof.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1,14 stage 2,15 television camera 3,16 imaging lens 4,5,17,19 mirror 6,20 arm 7,18 lighting device 8 lamp 9 projection frame 10 projection lens 11 fan 12,20 document 13 housing

Continuation of front page (56) References JP-A-3-264938 (JP, A) JP-B-4-13916 (JP, B2) US Patent 3,816,654 (US, A)

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A stage on which a document or the like is placed, an imaging means for capturing an optical image of the document or the like on the stage, and the stage for converting an optical path of the optical image of the document or the like on the stage by reflection. First and second reflecting means sequentially arranged on an optical path between the image pickup means and the first and second reflecting means;
Illumination means for irradiating light directly to the first reflection means disposed closer to the stage among the reflection means, the illumination means comprising: a lamp; and irradiation of the lamp with irradiation light on the stage.
An opening similar in shape to this irradiation area is provided to define the area.
Enlarged projection frame and irradiation light passing through the opening
A document camera device , comprising: a projection lens for projecting light; and a light reflected by the first reflecting means being directly irradiated onto the stage. 2. The lamp according to claim 1, wherein said lamp is a halogen with a reflection mirror.
2. The document camera device according to claim 1 , wherein the document camera device is a lamp . 3. A fan for cooling the lamp by air.
3. The document camera apparatus according to claim 2, wherein