JP3225423B2 - Traffic condition photographing device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention includes a photographing optical axis diverting function, zooming function, or related to <br/> to traffic conditions photographing equipment having a focusing function, and more particularly, for example, a red signal In order to be able to reliably capture the offending vehicle that runs ignoring or the vehicle that exceeds the speed limit, the photographing optical axis is appropriately driven,
Appropriately changing the shooting angle, or the taking lens is relates to a traffic state imaging equipment which can be driven focus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, unmanned monitoring that a vehicle traveling on a traffic lane such as a public road is approaching an intersection irrespective of a red light, and photographing the vehicle when the traffic light is ignored,
Warning the driver or owner of the vehicle at a later date,
Prescribed fines and fines are imposed.

[0003] In addition to unmanned monitoring that a vehicle enters an intersection despite being a red light, it is also monitored unmanned that a running speed exceeds a predetermined speed limit. In the same manner as above, shooting is also performed. The following are specific examples of unmanned monitoring that the vehicle enters the intersection ignoring the traffic light and photographing the offending vehicle. That is, 60-150531
As described in the above document, the photographing apparatus main body is installed at a position where the intersection can be overlooked, and when the vehicle is ignored by a red light ignoring signal by an appropriate detecting means such as a pressure sensor embedded in the road, the violating vehicle is detected. At the time of shooting, three types of screens are collectively printed on one photograph.

The three types of screens are as follows. First, a license plate on which a registration number for specifying a vehicle is written and a focal length of a telephoto system are set so that a driver's face is clearly photographed at a large magnification. Second, a wide area including a violating vehicle and a vehicle existing around the offending vehicle was photographed using a photographing lens having a wide-angle focal length. Screen.

[0005] The reason why the second screen is photographed here is that it is not possible to simply determine that all vehicles traveling at a red light are violating vehicles. For example, if the traffic light changes from a yellow traffic light to a red traffic light as soon as the vehicle enters the intersection, it is severe for a violating vehicle.

For this purpose, the first screen is photographed, and the license plate of the vehicle and the driver's face are photographed at the same time, and the surrounding state is photographed as the second screen. It is possible to reconfirm, for example, to determine whether or not it is legal to turn right or left after entering the intersection.

On the third screen, data such as the date and time when the violation occurred, for example, regardless of the year, month, day, hour, minute, and second, regardless of whether the traffic light is red, the number of seconds after the vehicle arrives at the intersection It is a screen displaying data such as violation time-related data such as entry and a number specifying an installation location of the apparatus.

The above-mentioned photographing apparatus is often used in a state of continuous operation for a considerably long time due to its nature, and a part of the members constituting the whole apparatus which requires regular maintenance. It is necessary to make attachment and detachment easy. Because of this, the period of regular maintenance is short,
The unit of the shutter mechanism is actually disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 60-150529.
It is desirable to make it detachable by screwing or the like.

Now, in these various traffic condition photographing devices, special circumstances of the place where the devices are installed, specifically, "number of traveling lanes, width of traveling lanes, installation position of photographing section, speed limit of traveling lanes, The photographing optical axis in the photographing unit is set (fixed) in accordance with the circumstances such as "the configuration of the building adjacent to the traveling lane, etc."

The photographing device (subject position to be photographed) in these various traffic condition photographing devices is fixed to a predetermined position set by aiming near the position where the means for detecting the vehicle is installed. Have been. Therefore, by setting (fixing) the distance drive ring of the taking lens to the value of the subject distance corresponding to the above-described predetermined position when the apparatus is installed, the subject is photographed in a focused state.

That is, the photographing optical axis is set so as to include all of a plurality of photographing positions such as a photographing position when the offending vehicle illegally crosses the stop line and a photographing position where the vehicle has traveled for a predetermined time. When manufacturing equipment, we design the equipment according to special circumstances such as the installation location. Therefore,
The device itself is a traffic condition photographing device dedicated to the installation location.

[0012]

Since the setting of the photographing optical axis in the conventional traffic condition photographing device is adjusted each time according to the special circumstances of the installation place of the photographing unit, the traffic condition photographing device is installed. It is peculiar to the road, requires considerable expertise, and has a plurality of photographing positions, that is, a photographing position when a signal is ignored, a photographing position when a predetermined time has elapsed since the signal turned red, and a signal in red. It is only possible to set the shooting optical axis to a compromised position at the expense of shooting to some extent, such as the shooting position at the time of traveling to the predetermined position after reaching the predetermined position, making the device versatile could not.

The setting of the photographing angle of view in the conventional traffic condition photographing device is adjusted each time in accordance with the special circumstances of the installation location of the photographing unit, so that it is unique to the road on which the traffic condition photographing device is installed. This requires considerable expertise, and when taking a picture of one offending vehicle at multiple times, multiple shooting positions, that is, shooting positions at the time of ignoring the signal and the signal turns red. Setting of the shooting angle of view to a compromised position that sacrifices some of the shooting position, such as the shooting position at the time when a predetermined time has elapsed since the time has elapsed or the shooting position when the vehicle has traveled to the predetermined position after the signal turns red And could not provide the versatility of the device.

That is, the photographing location is the first location near the traffic light.
The point and the second point are separated by a predetermined distance from the traffic signal, and the perspective relationship of the distance from the imaging unit to the two points is that the first point is located on the far side and the second point is the short distance If the camera is located on the side and the setting is made uniformly so as to obtain the optimum shooting angle of view at the first point, the shooting magnification is too high at the second point, and conversely the optimum shooting angle at the second point is obtained. If you set it uniformly so that it becomes a corner, the first
At the point, the photographing magnification is too low.

For this reason, it is only possible to set the photographing angle of view to a compromised position at the expense of photographing one of the two places to some extent, and there is a problem that the apparatus cannot have versatility. It is. Such a problem is promoted as the number of shooting locations increases, and the problem is further promoted by increasing the number of traveling lanes in which the offending vehicle is to be photographed.

In setting the subject distance in the conventional traffic condition photographing apparatus, since the photographing point is specified in one place in advance, the value of the subject distance at that point is set at the time of installation of the apparatus by focusing drive of the photographing lens. Once set on the ring, it is possible to perform in-focus shooting. Therefore, focus adjustment can be performed in a so-called fixed distance manner.

For this reason, if the mode of photographing the offending vehicle is at one location in a certain position, one of a plurality of scheduled locations is sequentially selected, although no particular problem occurs. For example, when a traffic violation is detected in each of a plurality of vehicle driving lanes, and when the vehicle located in the lane in which the violation occurred is photographed, photographing of any of a plurality of scheduled points is performed to some extent. Only the sacrificed, so-called compromised focus settings could be made.

For example, the driving lane is composed of four lanes, a first lane to a fourth lane. Violation detecting means is provided in each lane. Is performed, at least four shooting locations are provided, so that the subject distance is at least 4
Accordingly, there are four distances of the subject to be photographed.

Accordingly, the focus of the photographing lens is adjusted to a position including four object distances within the depth of field, so that all four photographing positions are brought into a focused state. However, since the traffic condition photographing device is generally installed along the lane, the distance range of each photographing position of the plurality of lanes becomes large, and it is difficult to include the photographing position within the depth of field. .

Therefore, if the photographing is performed with the aperture diameter of the photographing lens reduced, the depth of field becomes deeper, so that the above-mentioned problem is solved to some extent. This makes it impossible to take a picture without any problem, so that the problem cannot be solved. In addition, if the strobe light is emitted to compensate for the decrease in the exposure amount due to the reduction of the aperture diameter, some improvement can be achieved, but there is a limit naturally, and when the amount of the strobe light is extremely large, This poses a new problem of causing a traffic accident danger to the driver.

On the other hand, the subject distance is measured each time a photograph is taken.
It is conceivable to drive the focus drive ring of the photographing lens in focus based on the result, but in such a case, the time required for ranging from the time when the violation is detected,
Since the time required for the distance measurement calculation and the time required for in-focus driving of the focus drive ring are required, the timing of the photographing start is delayed, and the time exceeds the predetermined photographing position. There is a risk that the intended photographing cannot be performed because the vehicle is photographed,
Since the vehicle is running during the above-mentioned delay, a complicated distance measurement must be performed in consideration of the prediction of the moving object, resulting in a complicated configuration.

In the case where the subject distance is measured, if the shooting screen is fixedly set so as to encompass all of the plurality of shooting positions, the position of the offending vehicle in the shooting screen is displayed in the screen. It is difficult to make the ranging area correspond to the position of the vehicle to be photographed, so the ranging area has to be enlarged, and the focusing accuracy is reduced accordingly. In this case, a new problem arises because the configuration becomes complicated.

Further, it is conceivable to change the direction of the photographing optical axis toward a plurality of photographing points so that the vehicle to be photographed is located at a specific position on the photographing screen (for example, at the center of the screen). In such a case, although the vehicle to be photographed is located in the predetermined ranging area, the time required for the turning drive is inevitably generated as an operation delay time,
Since the timing of starting the photographing is delayed, there is a possibility that the intended photographing cannot be performed, so that the above problem cannot be solved. The above various problems are further promoted by increasing the number of driving lanes in which the offending vehicle should be photographed.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and a first object of the present invention is to provide a method for installing a traffic condition photographing apparatus, even if the condition and various conditions of the place are largely different.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a traffic condition photographing apparatus having a photographing optical axis turning function capable of sufficiently adapting to these differences and photographing the offending vehicle and its driver most rationally.

Further, a second object of the present invention is to provide a method for photographing a violating vehicle using a traffic condition photographing apparatus, which can sufficiently cope with these differences even if the installation locations are greatly different. A traffic condition photographing device with a deflecting optical axis that can adapt and capture the offending vehicle and its driver in the most rational way.
To provide a location .

A third object of the present invention is to obtain an optimum photographing angle of view at each of a plurality of photographing points even if the state of a place where the traffic condition photographing device is installed is greatly different. can be can be made wide use range of the imaging unit is to provide a traffic condition photographing <br/> equipment with variable magnification functions.

[0027] A fourth object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problem, and even if the state of the place where the traffic condition photographing device is installed is largely different, the optimum at each of the plurality of photographing points is taken into account for these differences. Do focus driving in the photographing distance can be done quickly, it is possible to improve the response of the imaging unit is to provide a focusing function of traffic conditions photographing equipment.

[0028]

[0029]

[0030]

[0031]

In order to achieve the first object, the invention according to the first aspect of the present invention is directed to a vehicle which reaches a predetermined position in a vehicle lane composed of a plurality of traveling lanes. A traffic condition photographing device with a photographing optical axis turning function for photographing a photographing optical axis of a photographing unit installed along the vehicle traffic path toward the violating vehicle when detecting a violation. First vehicle detection means for detecting that a vehicle traveling on a traveling lane on a road has reached a first predetermined position set in each traveling lane, and a vehicle traveling on a traveling lane on a vehicle traffic lane Vehicle detecting means for detecting that the vehicle has reached a second predetermined position located in a traveling lane closer to the traveling direction than the first predetermined position, and the vehicle is detected by the first or second vehicle detecting means. When the vehicle is detected Violating detection means for determining whether or not the vehicle is violated, lane specifying data for specifying which of the plurality of driving lanes the vehicle is traveling on, and the vehicle A violating position specifying means for generating position specifying data for specifying which of the first and second predetermined positions is located; and a photographing optical axis direction from a place where the photographing unit is installed, and Input means for storing in advance a plurality of photographing optical axis deflection angle data corresponding to each of the photographing positions at the first and second predetermined positions in a storage unit when the photographing unit is installed; When a violation is detected by the violation detection means among vehicles traveling on a plurality of traveling lanes constituting a road, the vehicle in which traveling lane should be photographed and the order in which the vehicle should be photographed are selected. A first selection unit, and a plurality of imaging optical axis deflection angle data stored in advance in a storage unit by the input unit, corresponding to the imaging lane selected by the first selection unit, and A second selecting unit for selecting photographing optical axis turning angle data corresponding to the position specifying data detected by the position specifying unit; and receiving the photographing optical axis turning angle data selected by the second selecting unit. A turning drive shooting means for driving the shooting optical axis in the shooting unit toward the violating vehicle to shoot, and a shooting optical axis in a standby state in the turning drive shooting mode by the turning drive shooting means. And a driving means for driving to an intermediate angle of a deflection angle range based on a plurality of imaging optical axis deflection angle data stored in a storage unit in advance by the input means.

In order to achieve the first object,
According to a second aspect of the present invention, when a traffic violation of a vehicle that has reached a predetermined position in a vehicle lane composed of a plurality of traveling lanes is detected, a photographing unit installed along the vehicle lane is provided. A traffic condition photographing device with a photographing optical axis turning function for photographing a photographing optical axis toward the offending vehicle, wherein a vehicle traveling on a traveling lane in a vehicle traffic path has a predetermined condition set in each traveling lane. Vehicle detecting means for detecting that the vehicle has reached the position, violation detecting means for determining whether or not the vehicle is a traffic violation when the vehicle is detected by the vehicle detecting means; And a violating position specifying means for generating lane specifying data specifying which of the plurality of driving lanes the violating vehicle is traveling on and the position specifying data specifying the position of the vehicle. To The direction of the photographing optical axis from a place, as a plurality of photographing optical axis deflection angle data corresponding to each of the photographing positions at the predetermined positions of the plurality of traveling lanes, is stored in advance in the storage unit when the photographing unit is installed. The input means to be stored, and the vehicle in which traveling lane should be photographed when a violation is detected by the violation detecting means among the vehicles traveling on a plurality of traveling lanes constituting the vehicle traffic path, should be photographed. A first selecting unit for selecting an order, and a plurality of photographing optical axis deflection angle data stored in advance in the storage unit by the input unit, corresponding to the photographing lane selected by the first selecting unit. Second selecting means for selecting photographing optical axis turning angle data corresponding to the lane specifying data detected by the violation position specifying means, and photographing optical axis turning angle data selected by the second selecting means Receiving A turning drive shooting means for driving the shooting optical axis in the shooting unit toward the violating vehicle to shoot, and a shooting optical axis in a standby state in the turning drive shooting mode by the turning drive shooting means. Driving means for driving to an intermediate angle in a deflection angle range based on a plurality of imaging optical axis deflection angle data stored in a storage unit in advance by the input means.

Further, in order to achieve the first object,
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a photographing section, wherein a first setting means for holding the shutter open as necessary, a second setting means for holding the aperture at an arbitrary aperture, and an opening for film exposure. It is characterized by comprising: third setting means for abutting and holding the reticle; and fourth setting means for driving the photographing optical axis to an arbitrary position.

[0034]

[0035]

[0036]

[0037]

[0038]

[0039]

[0040]

In order to achieve the third object,
The invention according to claim 4 is configured by a plurality of driving lanes.
Traffic violation of a vehicle that has reached a predetermined position on the
When detected, the camera installed along the vehicle
The shooting angle of view of the shadow part is scaled according to the position of the offending vehicle.
A traffic condition photographing device with a zoom function for photographing,
Vehicles traveling on the driving lane on both roads
Reaching the first predetermined position set in the row lane
Vehicle detecting means for detecting a vehicle and traveling on a vehicle traffic path
The vehicle traveling on the lane traveling from the first predetermined position
Reach a second predetermined position located in the approaching lane
Second vehicle detecting means for detecting that the vehicle has
Or when a vehicle is detected by the second vehicle detection means.
Violation detection means for determining whether the vehicle is a traffic violation
And the number of violating vehicles detected by the
Which lane the vehicle is traveling in
Violating lane data and the vehicle
Violation position data specifying which of the predetermined positions
Violation position specifying means for generating data,
Adjust the focal length of the shooting lens to
Shooting positions at the first and second predetermined positions, respectively
As multiple shooting angle-of-view data corresponding to each of
Input means for storing in the storage unit in advance when the photographing unit is installed
And traveling on a plurality of traveling lanes constituting the above-mentioned vehicle traffic path
That the violation detection means detected a violation
Which lane should be photographed when
First selecting means for selecting an order to be performed, and the input means
Among the plurality of shooting angle-of-view data stored in the storage unit in advance
Corresponding to the shooting lane selected by the first selecting means.
And the position specifying data detected by the violating position specifying means.
Second selection method for selecting shooting angle-of-view data corresponding to data
Detects the step and the focal length of the photographing lens of the photographing unit
And angle detecting means for determining the current angle data, the angle
The current angle-of-view data detected by the detecting means and the second
Comparison with the shooting angle of view data selected by the selection means
A calculating means for obtaining the variable power driving amount data;
Therefore, the above-mentioned photographing unit is
Variable-power drive photography in which the angle of view in the camera is variable-powered
Means and a variable magnification drive photographing means, when in a standby state in a variable magnification drive photographing mode, set a photographing angle of view to a middle of a variable magnification range based on a plurality of photographing angle of view data previously stored in a storage unit by an input means. And an intermediate position return instructing means for driving to a position.

In order to achieve the third object,
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the photographing unit includes a first setting unit that holds the shutter open when necessary, a second setting unit that holds the aperture at an arbitrary aperture, and an opening for film exposure. The camera is characterized by comprising a third setting means for holding the reticle in contact with it and a fourth setting means for driving the focal length of the taking lens to an arbitrary position.

[0043]

[0044]

[0045]

[0046]

[0047]

[0048]

Further, in order to achieve the fourth object,
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, when a traffic violation of a vehicle that has reached a predetermined position in a vehicle lane composed of a plurality of traveling lanes is detected, a photographing unit installed along the vehicle lane is used. In a traffic condition photographing apparatus with a focusing function for focusing and photographing in accordance with the distance to the offending vehicle, a vehicle traveling on a traveling lane on a vehicle traffic path has a first set in each traveling lane. A first vehicle detecting means for detecting that the vehicle has reached a predetermined position, and a second vehicle which is located in a traveling lane closer to the traveling direction than the first predetermined position. A second vehicle detecting means for detecting that the vehicle has reached a predetermined position;
Alternatively, when the second vehicle detecting means detects the arrival of the vehicle, a violation detecting means for determining whether or not the vehicle is a traffic offense; Violation lane data for specifying which lane the vehicle is traveling on and a violating vehicle position for generating violating vehicle position data for specifying whether the vehicle is located in the first or second predetermined position. Identifying means and a plurality of photographing distance data respectively corresponding to photographing distances from the photographing lens of the photographing unit to the first and second predetermined positions of the plurality of traveling lanes. Input means to be stored in the storage unit in advance, and a photographing lane to be photographed when a violation is detected by the violation detecting means among a plurality of traveling lanes constituting the vehicle traffic path. A first selecting means for selecting an order to be photographed, and a plurality of photographing distance data stored in advance in the storage unit by the input means, corresponding to the photographing lane selected by the first selecting means. A second selecting means for selecting shooting distance data corresponding to the offending vehicle position data detected by the offending vehicle position specifying means; and a distance for detecting a current focus position of the shooting lens to obtain current distance data. Detecting means; calculating means for comparing the current distance data detected by the distance detecting means with the photographing distance data selected by the second selecting means to obtain focusing drive amount data; Focusing drive photographing means for driving the distance drive ring of the photographing lens in accordance with the focusing drive amount data obtained by the photographing, and focusing drive by the focusing drive photographing means An intermediate position return instructing means for driving the photographing distance to an intermediate position of a focusing drive change range based on a plurality of photographing distance data previously stored in the storage unit by the input means during a standby state in the shadow mode; It is characterized by having.

In order to achieve the fourth object,
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, when a traffic violation of a vehicle that has reached a predetermined position in a vehicle lane composed of a plurality of driving lanes is detected, a photographing unit installed along the vehicle lane is used. In a traffic condition photographing apparatus with a focusing function for focusing and photographing in accordance with the distance to the offending vehicle, a vehicle traveling on a traveling lane in a vehicle traffic path is set at a predetermined position set in each traveling lane. Vehicle detection means for detecting that the vehicle has arrived, violation detection means for determining whether or not the vehicle is a traffic violation when the vehicle detection means detects the arrival of the vehicle, and detection by the violation detection means Violated lane data for specifying which lane of the plurality of driving lanes the violated vehicle is to travel, and violated vehicle position data for generating violated vehicle position data for specifying the position of the vehicle. Means and a plurality of photographing distance data corresponding to photographing distances from the photographing lens of the photographing unit to the predetermined positions of the plurality of traveling lanes, respectively, are stored in the storage unit in advance when the photographing unit is installed. Input means, and first selecting means for selecting a photographing lane to be photographed when a violation is detected by the violation detecting means from among a plurality of driving lanes constituting the vehicle traffic path and selecting a photographing order; From the plurality of shooting distance data stored in the storage unit in advance by the input means,
Second selecting means for selecting photographing distance data corresponding to the photographing lane selected by the selecting means and corresponding to the offending vehicle position data detected by the offending vehicle position identifying means, and the current focus of the photographing lens. A distance detecting means for detecting the position to obtain the current distance data; and comparing the current distance data detected by the distance detecting means with the photographing distance data selected by the second selecting means to determine a focus driving amount. Calculating means for obtaining data; focusing drive photographing means for driving a distance drive ring of the photographing lens in accordance with the focus driving amount data obtained by the calculating means; and focusing by the focus driving photographing means. In a standby state in the focus drive photographing mode, the photographing distance is moved to an intermediate position of the focusing drive change range based on a plurality of photographing distance data previously stored in the storage unit by the input means. It is characterized in that it comprises the intermediate position return command means for the.

In order to achieve the fourth object,
According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, the photographing unit includes a first setting unit that holds the shutter open as necessary, a second setting unit that holds the aperture at an arbitrary aperture, and an opening for film exposure. A third setting means for contacting and holding the focusing screen, a fourth setting means for driving the subject distance of the taking lens to an arbitrary position, and a fifth setting means for driving the taking optical axis to an arbitrary position. It is characterized by having.

[0052]

[0053]

[0054]

[0055]

[0056]

[Action] traffic conditions photographing equipment with the imaging optical axis direction changing function constructed as described above, vehicle running lane of the vehicle traffic path is a predetermined position set in each of the traveling lane The arrival of the vehicle is detected by the vehicle detecting means, and when the vehicle reaching the predetermined position is detected, whether or not the vehicle is a traffic violation is determined by the violation detecting means.

When a violation is detected by the violation detecting means, the violating vehicle position specifying means determines which one of the plurality of driving lanes the vehicle is traveling on, and lane specifying data indicating whether the vehicle is traveling at the predetermined position. The position specifying data specifying the position is generated.

At the time of installation of the photographing section, a plurality of photographing optical axis deflection angle data corresponding to the photographing optical axis in the direction of the photographing position at the predetermined position of each of the plurality of traveling lanes is stored. Is stored in advance in the storage unit by the input means. The selecting means selects which one of the plurality of driving lanes constituting the vehicle traffic path should be photographed when a violation is detected, and the order in which the photographing should be performed.

Further, from a plurality of photographing optical axis turning angle data stored in advance in the storage unit, photographing optical axis turning angle data corresponding to the selected photographing lane and corresponding to the position specifying data is selected. Means to choose. The photographing optical axis in the photographing section is driven toward the offending vehicle based on the photographing optical axis turning angle data, and photographing is performed by the deflection driving means.

[0060] Further, traffic conditions photographing equipment with the imaging optical axis direction changing function constructed as described above, when the standby state of turning drive photographing mode by the deflection driving photographing means, as much as possible short time In order to be able to drive and set to the imaging optical axis deflection angle selected in the above, the imaging optical axis is set in the deflection angle range based on the plurality of imaging optical axis deflection angle data stored in advance in the storage unit by the input unit. The driving means is driven at an intermediate angle.

[0061] Further, traffic conditions photographing equipment with the imaging optical axis direction changing function constructed as described above, at the time of installation of the imaging unit is set to open the shutter in the first setting means, second
The setting means sets the aperture to the open side, the third setting means sets the reticle in contact with the aperture for film exposure, and the fourth setting means sets the photographing optical axis for each of a plurality of traveling lanes. The turning angle from the reference direction is sequentially stored in the storage unit as the shooting turning angle data by the input means in the direction of the predetermined position, so that it can correspond to any installation condition.

[0062] On the other hand, traffic conditions photographing equipment with zooming functionality that is configured as described above, vehicle running lane of the vehicle traffic path is, reaches a predetermined position set in each of the traveling lane This is detected by the vehicle detection means. In this way, when it is detected that the vehicle has reached the predetermined position, it is determined by the violation detecting means whether or not the vehicle is a traffic violation. The lane specifying data specifying which of the traveling lanes the vehicle is traveling and the position specifying data specifying the position of the vehicle are generated by the offending vehicle position specifying means.

A plurality of photographing angles of view in which the focal length of the photographing lens is set to correspond to each of the photographing positions at the first and second predetermined positions of the plurality of traveling lanes when the photographing unit is installed. The data is stored in advance in the storage unit by the input unit. When a violation is detected, a vehicle in which lane is to be photographed and a sequence in which the photographing is to be performed are selected by the selecting means.

Further, the selecting means selects, from among a plurality of photographing angle-of-view data stored in advance in the storage section, photographing angle-of-view data corresponding to the selected photographing lane and corresponding to the position specifying data. Then, the focal length of the photographing lens of the photographing section is detected by the angle-of-view detecting means to obtain current angle-of-view data, and the detected current angle-of-view data is compared with the photographing angle-of-view data selected by the selecting means. Then, the calculation means obtains the variable magnification drive amount data.

The photographic field angle in the photographing section is variably driven by the variably driving photographing means in accordance with the obtained variable magnification driving amount data, and photographing is performed. The traffic condition photographing apparatus with the focusing function configured as described above uses a vehicle detection unit to detect that a vehicle traveling on a traveling lane in a vehicle lane has reached a predetermined position set in each traveling lane. To detect.

In this way, when the vehicle detecting means detects that the vehicle has reached the predetermined position, the violation detecting means determines whether the vehicle violates the traffic, and the violating vehicle is detected in this determination. In some cases, the offending position specifying means generates lane specifying data for specifying which of the plurality of driving lanes the vehicle is traveling on and violating vehicle position data for specifying where the vehicle is located.

When a violation is detected by the violation detecting means, the selecting means selects a predetermined photographing lane to be photographed and also selects an order to be photographed, when a violation is detected by the violation detecting means. I do. When setting the photographing section, the first of each of a plurality of driving lanes from the photographing lens is set.
In addition, a plurality of shooting distance data corresponding to each of the shooting distances to the second predetermined position is stored in advance in the storage unit using the input unit.

The selection means selects shooting distance data corresponding to the selected shooting lane and corresponding to the offending vehicle position data from a plurality of shooting data stored in the storage unit in advance. Then, the distance detecting means detects the current focal position of the photographing lens of the photographing unit to obtain current distance data.

The calculating means compares the current distance data with the photographing distance data selected by the selecting means, and the calculating means obtains focus driving amount data. In accordance with the focus drive amount data obtained in this way, the focus drive photographing means:
An image is taken by driving a distance drive ring in the above-mentioned taking lens.

[0070]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. The first embodiment is an example in which the present invention is applied to a case where a vehicle traveling at an intersection crossing in a cross shape detects the vehicle when it travels irrespective of being a red light and takes a picture of the offending vehicle. It is shown. The overall configuration of the traffic condition photographing apparatus is as shown in the block diagram of FIG.
0, a control unit 30, and a strobe light emitting unit 50.

Further, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle lane 1 includes four vehicle lanes 1A, 1B, 1C, and 1D, and the vehicle lane 2 includes four lanes. On a four-lane road on one side, a vehicle lane 3 formed by four lanes and a vehicle lane 4 formed by a vehicle lane 4
At an intersection 5 where a lane road crosses in a cross shape, when a vehicle running on the vehicle passage 1 ignores a signal, the vehicle is photographed.

Although the details will be described later, the outline is as follows. When a traffic violation of a vehicle that has reached a predetermined position in a vehicle lane composed of a plurality of driving lanes is detected, the vehicle is moved along the vehicle lane. The photographing optical axis of the photographing unit set up is photographed toward the offending vehicle.

As shown in FIG. 2, a traffic light 6 is installed on the upper part of the vehicle traffic lane 1 toward the left of the intersection 5, and is installed immediately before the intersection 5 in each of the four traveling lanes 1A to 1D. On the road near the stop line (not shown)
A first vehicle detecting means 31 formed by four vehicle sensors 31A, 31B, 31C, 31D corresponding to each of the traveling lanes 1A to 1D is provided. This first vehicle detecting means 31 is provided for driving lanes 1 </ b> A to 1 </ b> A
It detects that the vehicle traveling in 1D has reached a first predetermined position set in each traveling lane, that is, near a stop line.

In front of the first vehicle detecting means 31, a vehicle traveling in a traveling lane is located in a traveling lane which is closer to the traveling direction (leftward) than the first predetermined position. Second vehicle detection means 32 for detecting that the vehicle has reached a predetermined position is provided. The second vehicle detecting means 32 includes vehicle sensors 32A, 3 provided respectively in the four traveling lanes 1A to 1D near the traveling directions.
2B, 32C, and 32D.

These vehicle sensors 31A to 31D, 32
In this embodiment, A to 32D are pressure sensors configured to detect the arrival of the traveling vehicle by stepping on the tires of the traveling vehicle. In the vehicle lane 1 formed of four lanes, the left traveling lane 1A in the traveling direction of the vehicle (indicated by a thick arrow in FIG. 2) can go straight and turn left, and the two traveling lanes 1B and 1C at the center can travel right and left. Only for straight ahead, right driving lane 1
D is set so that it can go straight and turn right.

Further, in front of the intersection 5, along the vehicle traffic path 1, a photographing unit 10, a turning drive unit 20, and a control unit 30 are installed, and at a position closer to the intersection 5 than the installation position of the photographing unit 10. A strobe light emitting unit 50 is provided. The strobe light emitting unit 50 sets an irradiation angle 9 for irradiating light over the entire angle change range 8 of the turning of the photographing optical axis by the photographing unit 10 installed along the road constituted by the vehicle traffic path 1. Have. From another point of view, the first vehicle detection means 3
Vehicle sensor 31 forming first and second vehicle detection means 32
Irradiation angle 9 is set so that even if vehicles are present at any of positions A to 31D and 32A to 32D, light irradiation is performed so that a license plate of these vehicles and a photograph of the driver's face can be clearly taken. I have.

Returning to FIG. 1, the photographing unit 10 detects the traffic-violating vehicle that has reached the first predetermined position in the vehicle traffic path, that is, the position of the first vehicle detection means 31 which is one of the vehicle detection means. In addition to photographing, the traffic-violating vehicle that has reached the second vehicle detecting means 32 as another vehicle detecting means is photographed again for confirmation. Specifically, the following five components, namely, a zoom unit 11, a film feeding unit 12, a data imprinting unit 13, a film exposing unit 14, and a focusing unit 1
Five.

The zoom unit 11 has a photographing lens provided in the photographing unit 10 so that the violating vehicle can be photographed at a predetermined magnification in the photographing screen based on the position of the violating vehicle or the position of the violating vehicle obtained by the focusing unit 15. Can be changed.

The film feeding section 12 winds the film by a predetermined amount at an appropriate timing based on the control of the control section 30. The film has a long length of 35 mm and is used for photographing several hundred frames. It can be performed by one film exchange.

The data imprinting unit 13 stores data such as the date and time when the violation occurred, for example, “How many seconds after the driving lane 1
This is for recording on the film surface data such as a violation relation of a signal ignoring that "the vehicle has traveled in any one of lanes A to 1D" and a number specifying the installation location of the traffic condition photographing apparatus.

The film exposure section 14 gives an appropriate exposure to the film based on a command from the control section 30. The film exposure section 14 controls the aperture and the shutter, and usually sets a shutter time for recording the running vehicle without blurring. The time is on the order of one thousandth of a second. Further, at the time of this photographing, the strobe light emitting unit 50 is made to emit light in order to clearly photograph the license plate of the offending vehicle and the photograph of the driver's face. The focus unit 15 controls the focus lens of the photographing lens included in the photographing unit 10 to be in a focused state under the control of the control unit 30. Then, the control unit 30
The zoom unit 11, the film feeding unit 12, the data imprinting unit 13, the film exposing unit 14, the focus unit 15, and the strobe light emitting unit 50 which form the photographing unit 10 are controlled based on the control of the microcomputer by using a microcomputer. Will be done.

Next, the details of the control unit 30 will be described. The first vehicle detecting means 31 includes a vehicle sensor 31A provided on each of driving lanes 1A to 1D forming the vehicle traffic path 1.
To 31D are connected to the input terminals of the violation detection means 33 in the next stage, and vehicle detection by the vehicle sensors 31A to 31D is repeatedly performed at a predetermined cycle. A code identifying whether the sensor is a sensor is added.

The second vehicle detecting means 32 is provided at a position separated from the first vehicle detecting means 31 by a predetermined distance, and travel lanes 1A to 1D forming the vehicle traffic path 1 in the same manner as described above. Sensors 32A to 32D provided in the vehicle
Are connected to the input terminal of the violation detection means 33 at the next stage, and vehicle detection by the vehicle sensors 32A to 32D is repeatedly performed at a predetermined cycle. A code specifying whether there is any is added.

The violation detecting means 33 determines whether or not the vehicle is a traffic violation when the first vehicle detecting means 31 or the second vehicle detecting means 32 detects the vehicle. As described above, the vehicle detection data from the first vehicle detection unit 31 and the vehicle detection data from the second vehicle detection unit 32 are supplied. The output end of the violation detecting means 33 is connected to the control means 35 via the next violation position specifying means 34.

The violating position specifying means (that is, violating vehicle position specifying means) 34 is a lane specification for specifying which of the plurality of driving lanes the violating vehicle detected by the violation detecting means 33 is traveling. The data and position specifying data for specifying whether the offending vehicle is located in the first or second predetermined position is generated.

More specifically, the first vehicle detecting means 31
And the vehicle sensor 3 forming the second vehicle detecting means 32.
It is position specifying data for specifying a total of eight locations including four installation locations of 2A to 32D.

Next, a mechanical configuration of the photographing unit 10 and the deflection driving unit 20 will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the deflection driving unit 20 has an outer shape formed in a rectangular box shape, and bearing portions 62 and 63 are fixed inside each of two opposing surfaces of a rectangular box-shaped frame body 61. The two end portions of the ball screw shaft 64 extend between the bearing portions 62 and 63.

One end of the ball screw shaft 64 is
The other end of the ball screw shaft 64 is also rotatably and axially restricted by the bearing 63 in the same manner. Engaged. A driven pulley 65 having a predetermined pitch groove surface for preventing slippage on its peripheral surface is concentrically fixed to the other end of the ball screw shaft 64.

A stepping motor 66 for driving a ball screw shaft 64 is fixed to the frame 61, and a drive pulley 68 is fixed to an output shaft 67 thereof. On the peripheral surface of the driving pulley 68, the driven pulley 6
The groove surface having the same pitch as the pitch of the groove surface formed on the peripheral surface of No. 5 is formed. A timing belt 69 is stretched between the driving pulley 68 and the driven pulley 65.

Therefore, the ball screw shaft 64 is rotated without causing a rotational deviation with the rotation of the output shaft 67 of the stepping motor 66. In addition, it has a guide rod 70 parallel to the ball screw shaft 64, and both ends thereof are fixed to the inner surface of the frame 61. A fixing member 71 is fixed to a substantially intermediate portion of the side of the frame 61, and a shaft 72 projecting perpendicular to the axial direction of the ball screw shaft 64 and the guide rod 70 is fixed to the fixing member 71. Have been. A rotating member 73 is rotatably engaged with the shaft 72.

The rotating member 73 is integrally connected to a pedestal 74 on which the photographing unit 10 described later is attached. The pedestal 74 has a back surface in contact with the guide rod 70 and the pedestal 74 is in a horizontal plane. There is a driven member 75 whose position is regulated so as to be movable in the inside, and which is integrally connected to the pedestal 74. The driven member 75 has one side fixed to and integrated with the pedestal 74, and the other side engaged with the thread groove of the ball screw shaft 64.

Accordingly, when the output shaft 67 is rotated by the rotation of the stepping motor 66, the drive pulley 68 is rotated integrally with this rotation, and this rotation causes the driven pulley 65 to rotate via the timing belt 69. The ball screw shaft 64 is rotated. On the other hand, a guide rod 70 parallel to the longitudinal axis direction of the above-described ball screw shaft 64 is fixed to the frame 61, and a fixing member is fixed to the inner wall of the frame 61 at a portion where the intermediate position of the guide rod 70 is extended at a right angle. 71 are attached.

A shaft 72 erected perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the ball screw shaft 64 is fixed to the fixing member 71, and a rotating member 73 rotatably fitted to the shaft 72 is engaged. The rotating member 73 is fixed to one end of a pedestal 74 having a square plate shape.
It is held on the guide bar 70.
A driven member 75 is fixed to the tip of the pedestal 74. The driven member 75 meshes with the ball screw shaft 64 and has a female screw for converting the rotational motion of the ball screw shaft 64 into a linear motion in a direction perpendicular to the axis.

Accordingly, when the ball screw shaft 64 is rotated with the rotation of the stepping motor 66, the driven member 75 makes a linear motion, and accordingly, the pedestal 74 is formed in an arc around the shaft 72. Will move. A camera bottom plate 77 is provided on the upper surface of the base 74.
Is removably attachable. When attaching the camera bottom plate 77, two positioning pins 76, 76 standing on the pedestal 74 are inserted into two positioning holes provided in the camera bottom plate 77, and two thumb screws 78 are attached. The pedestal 74 and the camera bottom plate 77 can be fixed by using.

On the upper surface of such a camera bottom plate 77, a camera body 79 having a square box shape as a whole is fixed integrally. A photographing lens barrel 80 is fixed in front of the camera body 79.
Has a built-in focus drive ring and zoom drive ring (not shown).

The camera body 79 has a zoom section 11, a film feeding section 12, and a data printing section 1 shown in FIG.
3, a film exposure unit 14 and a focus unit 15 are provided. A shutter mechanism (not shown) is stored in the camera body 79, an opening for film exposure is formed on the back of the camera body 79, and a film magazine 81
Is detachably attached.

This film magazine 81 can accommodate a long roll film having a photographing capacity of several hundred frames. Thus, the camera body 79, the photographing lens barrel 80, and the film magazine 8 are attached to the camera bottom plate 77.
The camera unit to which 1 is integrally fixed is detachable from the pedestal 74. Therefore, by rotating the stepping motor 66, the driven member 7
5 is driven to rotate between the axis P2 and the axis P3 in the ± direction around the axis 72 with the axis P1 as an intermediate angle, and the photographic optical axis of the photographic lens barrel 80 is accordingly changed.

In the present embodiment, the stepping motor 66 is set so as to be able to drive in the direction of ± 15 degrees.
Can be driven at evenly spaced angle steps proportional to the number of steps. The range of ± 15 degrees in which the deflection driving can be performed is a sufficient range for the intersection 5 as shown in FIG. 2. It has been produced.

Returning to FIG. 1, the input means 36
The direction of the photographing optical axis from the place where is installed is the photographing position at the first and second predetermined positions for each of the plurality of traveling lanes 1A to 1D, that is, the vehicle sensors 31A to 31C which form the first vehicle detecting means 31. 31D and four vehicle sensors 32A to 32D forming the second vehicle detecting means 32
The turning angles from the respective reference directions are sequentially stored as a plurality of shooting optical axis turning angle data D1 to D8 at the time of installation of the imaging unit 10 in order to sequentially aim at eight locations of the four installation positions. This is stored in the unit 37.

That is, by observing the actual photographing screen, the above-mentioned eight photographing optical axis deflection angle data D1 to D8 are input to the storage unit 37 via the input means 36, thereby being adapted to the installation site. The preset optical axis conditions can be preset.

As a specific example, the focus glass is set and held in contact with the exposure opening of the camera body 79 (the functional part set in this manner is referred to as "third setting means"). In this state, the shutter is turned into a valve (such a functional portion is referred to as "first setting means"), and the aperture is opened (such a functional portion is referred to as "second setting means"). The stepping motor 66 is step-driven while observing the photographed image on the focus glass (such a functional portion is referred to as “fourth setting means”) to obtain a desired deflection angle. Step number data is obtained, and this data is stored in the storage unit 37 as photographing optical axis deflection angle data.

The output terminal of the storage unit 37 in which data is stored by the input means 36 is connected to the control circuit 35. On the other hand, a first selector 38 and a second selector 39 are connected to the control circuit 35, and the output of the storage unit 37, the violation position specifying unit 34, and the first and second selectors 3
The turning command signal is supplied to the turning drive unit 20 based on the commands by the commands 8 and 39.

The first selecting means 38 takes an image of a vehicle traveling on any one of a plurality of driving lanes 1A to 1D constituting the vehicle traffic path 1 when a violation is detected by the violation detecting means 33. This is to select the order to be shot and the order to be shot. More specifically, the first vehicle detecting means 3
4 of the installation positions of the vehicle sensors 31A to 31D forming
The imaging optical axis deflection angles corresponding to each of eight locations, ie, four locations of the vehicle sensors 32A to 32D forming the second vehicle detection means 32, and a total of eight locations, are taken as imaging optical axis deflection angle data. D
1 to D8.

The second selecting means 39 selects the photographing selected by the first selecting means 38 from the plurality of photographing optical axis deflection angle data D1 to D8 stored in the storage section 37 by the input means 38 in advance. This is for selecting shooting optical axis deflection angle data corresponding to the lane and corresponding to the position specifying data detected by the violation position specifying unit 34.

Further, the deflection driving section 20 receives a deflection command signal corresponding to the imaging optical axis deflection angle data selected by the second selection section 39 from the control section 35, and the imaging optical axis of the imaging section 10 Is driven toward the offending vehicle, and shooting is performed. Such a functional part will be referred to herein as a turning drive photographing unit.

Next, the operation will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. When power is turned on in step # 0 (hereinafter, "step #" is abbreviated as "#"), power is supplied to each section of the circuit, and the process proceeds to the next step # 1, where the digital input / output circuit is reset. At the same time, other conditions are set. The initial settings are eight types of conditions # 1 to # 8 of # 30 shown in FIG. 5, and these conditions are executed in parallel or serially.

Condition 1 is the setting of an effective lane number.
The user selects which of the four driving lanes 1A to 1D forming the vehicle passage 1 to perform traffic violation detection and shoot. In addition, conditions for determining the order in which violations are detected in the selected driving lane can be set in advance.

In each of the settings of the conditions 2 to 5 described below, the conditions at the above-described eight photographing positions are input and set by observing the actual photographing screen. That is, since the focus glass is detachably attached to the exposure opening of the camera body 79, in this state, the shutter is set to a valve, the aperture is set to open, and various settings are made while observing the photographed image on the focus glass. is there.

The condition 2 is set so that the focus ring of the photographing lens barrel 80 in the photographing section 10 is manually or electrically driven to focus on a plurality of photographing positions (eight in this embodiment). The preset data is set in advance.

The condition 3 is set such that the zoom drive ring of the photographing lens barrel 80 in the photographing section 10 is driven manually or electrically so that the photographing magnification is optimal for each of a plurality of photographing positions (eight positions in this embodiment). The preset data for changing the magnification is set in advance.

The setting of the condition 4 is how many preset aperture values are set on the maximum open side when photographing.
The purpose of performing the preset setting is as follows. That is, since the purpose of photographing the device is to obtain a proof photograph of a traffic violation, it is required that the license plate of the offending vehicle and the photograph of the driver's face be clearly photographed, and that the subject be a moving vehicle. For this reason, it is necessary to set the shutter time to a high-speed shutter time of about one thousandth of a second or more, and the aperture value is inevitably set to the open side.

However, when the aperture is set to the open side, the depth of field becomes shallow, so that the subject cannot be clearly photographed. Therefore, at the time of photographing, the shutter time is secured to about one thousandth of a second at which no blur occurs, and the aperture value of the proper exposure obtained based on the shutter time is set to such an extent that the minimum depth of field cannot be secured. When it becomes, without using the aperture value of the appropriate exposure,
The intention is to ensure clear shooting by taking into account a certain degree of underexposure and shooting with the aperture value stopped down to an aperture value that can secure the minimum depth of field.

The setting of the condition 5 is for setting preset data for driving the photographing optical axis toward the offending vehicle, and the details will be described later with reference to FIG. The setting of the condition 6 is the setting of the film feeding condition,
This is for setting the number of images that can be taken when photographing is completed and the number of frames that can be taken, and setting in advance the imprint data when imprinting various data on the film simultaneously with the photographing of the offending vehicle.

The setting of the condition 7 is a preset setting of the light emission amount of the strobe light emitting section 50. Specifically, the light amount is changed by changing the capacity of the main capacitor of the strobe or stopping the strobe light emission halfway. be able to. That is, in the case of this embodiment, the number of photographing points is eight.
4 points on the short distance side and 4 points on the long distance side. Therefore, when the four points on the short distance side, that is, the photographing points of the vehicle sensors 32A to 32D of the second vehicle detection means 32, the light amount is reduced. , Four points on the far side, that is, the first vehicle detecting means 31
At the shooting points of the vehicle sensors 31A to 3D of
This is to set a large amount of light. More precisely, the guide number is set such that an appropriate exposure can be obtained from the set aperture value and shooting distance.

The setting of the condition 8 is a preset setting of a photographing cycle. The photographing is performed every time a violation is detected in the violation detection, or the photographing is performed by always detecting the violation and obtaining statistical data. The operation is performed in a specific time zone and set in advance. The settings of these conditions 1 to 8 can be input by using outputs of a potentiometer, a counter, or the like, or by using a keyboard switch, a digital switch, or a touch switch.

When the conditions 1 to 8 are set in # 30 as described above, the process proceeds to the next step # 31, where it is determined whether the conditions 1 to 8 have been set. Then, # 30 is executed again, and in the case of YES, the process proceeds to # 32, and it is determined whether or not the condition setting is set to a desired value, and whether or not the condition setting is reproduced is determined. In the case of YES, the process proceeds to # 33 and the demonstration operation is performed, that is, a series of photographing operations are actually performed on the assumption that a violation occurs at the effective lane number determined by the condition 1 set in # 30. .

At the next step # 34, it is determined whether or not the operation has been completed. If the determination is NO, the process returns to # 33. If the determination is YES, the process proceeds to # 40, the shutter is closed, and a series of operations is performed. Initial setting is completed. On the other hand, if NO in # 32,
In order to visually confirm the contents of the conditions 1 to 8 of # 30, the shutter is set to a valve in the next # 35, and the contents of the condition setting are reproduced.

As described above, the focusing means is temporarily attached to the exposure opening of the camera body 79 by the setting means 41. In this state, the shutter is opened by opening the shutter and the aperture is opened, and the photographed image on the focusing glass is obtained. It is done by observation. Then, after the driving of the condition setting is performed, the process proceeds to # 37, where a selection as to whether or not to change the reproduced setting condition is made in # 37, and in the case of YES,
The process proceeds to step # 38 to change the setting condition, and the changed condition is reproduced. The process proceeds to step # 37 to select whether or not to change the setting condition again. If YES, # 38 is executed again. .

If NO in # 37, that is, if it is not necessary to change the condition setting, the process proceeds to the next # 39, where it is determined that the setting change operation has been completed, and the flow branches to YES in # 39. In step # 40, the shutter is closed, and in step # 1 shown in FIG.
Is completed, and the routine goes to the next step # 2.

This step # 2 is for selecting whether or not to take a picture of the offending vehicle. If the photographing is not to be carried out, the process proceeds to step # 3, where the presence or absence of a condition change is selected. Is returned to # 2, and if YES, the condition is confirmed at # 4, and if there is no change in the condition, YES is selected and the process proceeds to # 5.

This step # 5 is for performing the actual operation under the set photographing conditions, and is returned to step # 2 after the operation is completed. On the other hand, if the answer is NO in # 4, the condition is changed in the next # 6, and after the content is confirmed, the process returns to # 2.

If YES in # 2, conditions # 1 to # 8 are set to a standby state immediately before the start of photographing so as to conform to the first photographing in # 7. The standby states of the conditions 1 to 8 are listed below. The setting of the condition 1 is the setting of the effective lane number, and the vehicle sensor 31A to 31D, 32A to 32D corresponding to the preset effective lane number to be detected is set in a detectable state.

The setting of condition 2 is a focus setting.
The rotation angle of the focus drive ring of the photographing lens barrel 80 is set to a predetermined photographing standby position. The photographing standby position may be set, for example, such that the focus drive ring is closest to the nearest or farthest away.

The setting of the condition 3 is a zoom setting, and the rotation angle of the zoom drive ring of the photographing lens barrel 80 is set to a predetermined photographing standby position. As the photographing standby position, for example, the zoom drive ring may be set to the widest angle or the telephoto position. The setting of the condition 4 is an aperture setting, and the aperture of the photographing lens barrel 80 is set to a predetermined photographing standby position. As the photographing standby position, for example, the aperture driving ring may be set to a preset limit aperture value or a minimum aperture value.

The setting of the condition 5 is the setting of the turning angle.
The camera bottom plate 77 to which the camera body 79 having the photographing lens barrel 80 is fixed is rotated to a predetermined photographing standby position in the horizontal plane. The shooting standby position may be set to the angle at which the camera bottom plate 77 is swung most counterclockwise or the angle at which it is swung clockwise most.

More specifically, the current angular position of the camera bottom plate 77 integrated with the photographing lens barrel 80 is detected by a position detecting encoder (for example, a rotary encoder) (not shown), and the position is compared with the photographing standby position (target value). The angle of the difference is calculated as drive angle data, the direction of driving from the current angle position to the shooting standby position (target value) is detected, and the number of steps of the stepping motor 66 corresponding to the drive angle data is determined.

By supplying a drive pulse signal to the stepping motor 66 by the determined number of steps,
The torque of the output shaft 67 of the stepping motor 66 is controlled by the driving pulley 68, the timing belt 69, and the driven pulley 65.
Are sequentially transmitted to rotate the ball screw shaft 64, and accordingly, the driven member 75 is rotated about the axis 72 in the horizontal plane, and the photographing optical axis of the photographing lens barrel 80 integrated with the driven member 75 is rotated. Is changed to the shooting standby position (target value).

The driving to the photographing standby position is performed by driving the so-called open loop drive to the intermediate position. However, the direction of the photographing optical axis of the photographing lens barrel 80 is not shown. , The stepping motor 66 is driven by a predetermined number of drive steps (small amount), and the drive is stopped when a desired angular position is reached, so-called closed loop drive control.

The setting of the condition 6 is the film feeding setting, in which the film stored in the film magazine 81 is fed and positioned at the exposure opening of the camera body 79.
Set to the standby state immediately before shooting.

The setting of the condition 7 is the setting of the amount of strobe light emission, and the vehicle sensor 3 forming the first vehicle detecting means 31
The light amount set when photographing the offending vehicle located at each of 1A to 31D and the light amount set when photographing the offending vehicle located at each of the vehicle sensors 32A to 32D forming the second vehicle detection means 32. It is necessary to make the light amount different from the light amount.

For example, the photographing of the offending vehicle is performed by first performing the first photographing on the offending vehicle located at any one of the vehicle sensors 31A to 31D located at a long distance, and then moving the offending vehicle to a short distance. Since the second photographing is performed when any of the vehicle sensors 32A to 32D is located, the strobe light emission amount (GNo) is prepared for the first photographing.
To a large amount of light.

The setting of the condition 8 is a cycle setting, in which a vehicle traveling on any of the plurality of traveling lanes 1A to 1D constituting the vehicle traffic path 1 is determined by the violation detecting means 33 when a violation is detected. The first selecting means 38 selects whether or not to shoot, and the order in which to shoot.

More specifically, the vehicle sensor 3 at the first predetermined position
If any of the vehicles passing through 1A to 31D is detected as a violating vehicle, the first photographing is performed.
Further, the vehicle is located at the second predetermined position in the vehicle sensor 32A.
The cycle is set so that the second shooting is performed when the image reaches any one of .about.32D. In addition, the second selecting means selects the lane to be photographed selected by the first selecting means 38 from a plurality of photographing optical axis deflection angle data stored in the storage unit 37 in advance by the input means 36. The imaging optical axis turning angle data corresponding to the position data detected by the violation position specifying unit 33 is selected.

As described above, when the conditions 1 to 8 are executed as # 7 shown in FIG. 4, the process proceeds to the next # 8.
It is determined whether or not the operation has been stopped, in other words, whether or not actual shooting can be performed when a violation occurs. If the operation has been stopped, the process branches to YES and returns to # 2.

On the other hand, if NO, the process proceeds to the next step # 9, where the vehicle sensor 31 forming the first vehicle detecting means 31
Vehicle detection is performed in A to 31D. In the case of NO, that is, when the vehicle has not passed through the first vehicle detecting means 31, the process returns to # 8, and the process of # 8 is executed again.
This operation is repeated until becomes YES. If # 8 becomes YES during the repetition, # 2 and #
After step 7 is executed again, step # 9 is executed and the vehicle detection operation is performed again.

The operation of step # 9 is described in detail with reference to the vehicle sensor 3 forming the first vehicle detecting means 31 as shown in FIG.
Whether or not each of the outputs 1A to 31D has been generated is repeatedly detected by the violation detection means 33. When an output signal indicating the passage of the vehicle is detected, the output signal and the plurality of vehicle sensors 3 are detected.
The vehicle passage data including the address information of the vehicle sensor that has output the output signal among the 1A to 31D is transmitted to the violation detection unit 3.
3 is input.

Then, if YES in # 9, the next # 10
And the violation is determined. That is, the red signal data input from the traffic light 6 to the violation detection means 33 is generated when a predetermined delay time has elapsed since the traffic light 6 was turned on in red. The data is input to the violation detecting means 33 together with the above-mentioned vehicle passage data.

The violation detecting means 33 determines whether or not the signal is ignored based on the two states of the red signal data and the vehicle passing data. The above-described red signal data is generated after a predetermined delay time has elapsed since the traffic light 6 turned red, for the following reason.

That is, when the above-mentioned delay time is added to one of the factors for determining whether or not to ignore the signal, when the signal is red, it is determined that all the signals are simply ignored. This is because it occurs. For example, traffic light 6
If the vehicle cannot be stopped safely at the stop line when is lit in yellow, that is, if the vehicle is stopped by sudden braking, there is a risk of an accident such as a rear-end collision of the following vehicle. That is, a vehicle that is running legally is not determined to be a violating vehicle.

For this reason, from the moment when the traffic light 6 changes from yellow to red, a time that allows for a sufficient time (for example, 0.3 seconds) to pass the intersection 5 from the stop line at a predetermined speed limit is defined as a delay time. It is set as. Now,
If NO in # 10, that is, if the vehicle has passed any of the vehicle sensors 31A to 31D as the first vehicle detecting means 31, the process proceeds to # 15 and the four traveling lanes 1
In any one of A to 1D, when the statistical traffic information indicating when the vehicle has passed is stored, the flow returns to step # 8, and the detection of the vehicle and the storage of the statistical data are performed again in the same manner as described above.

If the answer is YES in # 10, that is, if the passing vehicle is judged by the violation detecting means 33 to ignore the signal, the flow proceeds to # 11, where 1 is set in the first set condition.
The second photograph is taken. As shown in the flow chart of FIG. 6, this detailed operation is performed by the vehicle passing data output from the violation detecting means 33 to the violation position specifying means 34 by the vehicle passing data output from the violation detecting means 33 to the violation position specifying means (or the vehicle violating position specifying means) 34, the violation lane is specified, the control circuit 35 is activated, and # 50 is controlled under the control of the control circuit 35.
Is performed. In # 50, four types of driving, namely, focus driving, zoom driving, aperture driving, and diversion driving are performed.

First, the data of the lane number (for example, traveling lane 1C) specified by the violation position specifying means 34 is input to the control circuit 35. This violation position specifying means 34
Is lane identification data for identifying which of the plurality of driving lanes the offending vehicle detected by the offending detection means 33 is traveling on, and whether the vehicle is located at one of the first or second predetermined position. This is to generate position specifying data for specifying whether or not to perform.

More specifically, the first vehicle detecting means 31
And the vehicle sensor 3 forming the second vehicle detecting means 32.
It is position specifying data for specifying a total of eight locations including four installation locations of 2A to 32D.

In the following operation, it is assumed that the lane in which the violation has occurred is defined as the traveling lane 1C, and the position of the vehicle sensor 31C is specified as the position specifying data. As described above, the control unit 35 uses the input unit 36 to select the position of the vehicle sensor 31C from the focus drive data stored in correspondence with the eight positions already stored in the storage unit 37. Is extracted, and the focus drive ring of the focus unit 15 at the shooting standby position is preset-driven to bring the vehicle positioned above the vehicle sensor 31C into a focused state.

At the same time, zoom driving is performed. As described above, the zoom driving is performed by using the input means 36 and selecting the position of the vehicle sensor 31C from the zoom driving data stored in correspondence with the eight positions already stored in the storage unit 37. Is retrieved, and the zoom drive ring of the zoom unit 11 at the shooting standby position is preset-driven so that the vehicle positioned above the vehicle sensor 31C can shoot at a predetermined shooting magnification.

Aperture drive is performed simultaneously with such focus preset drive and zoom preset drive. This aperture drive is to drive the aperture drive ring, which is already at the photographing standby position, to an aperture value necessary for giving proper exposure according to the output of a photometric circuit (not shown). And these focus preset drive,
Deflection driving is performed simultaneously with zoom preset driving and aperture driving. This turning drive is performed as follows.

As described above, the input means 36 is used to change the position of the vehicle sensor 31C from the deflection driving data stored in correspondence with the eight positions already stored in the storage unit 37. The corresponding data is extracted, and the imaging optical axis of the imaging lens barrel 80 set at the imaging standby position is set to the imaging optical axis deflection angle D3 toward the vehicle sensor 31C based on the extracted data.

More specifically, the current angular position of the camera bottom plate 77 integral with the taking lens barrel 80 is detected by a position detecting encoder (not shown), and the difference between the current angular position and the taking optical axis deflection angle D3 (target value) is detected. Is calculated as drive angle data, the direction and angle at the time of driving from the current angular position to the imaging optical axis deflection angle D3 are detected, and the number of steps of the stepping motor 66 corresponding to the drive angle data is obtained.

By supplying a drive pulse signal to the stepping motor 66 by the determined number of steps,
The rotation of the output shaft 67 of the stepping motor 66 is sequentially transmitted to the driving pulley 68, the timing belt 69, and the driven pulley 65, and the ball screw shaft 64 rotates.
Accordingly, the driven member 75 is rotated about the axis 72 in the horizontal plane, and the photographic optical axis of the photographic lens barrel 80 integrated with the driven member 75 is changed to the photographic optical axis deflection angle D3. become.

As described above, when the focus drive, the zoom drive, the aperture drive, and the diversion drive are executed in # 50, the next # 51 is executed.
In the state where the violating vehicle traveling on the traveling lane 1C is located at the position of the vehicle sensor 31C and the violating vehicle is positioned at the center of the photographing screen, a large photographing is performed. The photograph is taken at the magnification, and the license plate and the driver's face are clearly photographed.

Next, at # 52, the film is wound up and the data is imprinted. The contents of the data imprint include unique data for specifying the location where the photographing unit 10 is installed, a display for specifying that the lane in which the violation was detected is the driving lane 1C, and the date and time when the red light was displayed. The time data of day, hour, minute, and second, and the vehicle sensor 31A after a few seconds (one hundredth of a second) after the red light is turned on.
Is stepped on the front wheels of the vehicle, in other words, a signal indicating that the vehicle has traveled beyond the stop line where the vehicle sensor 31A is installed while ignoring the signal is displayed in the upper or lower part of the screen of the film with predetermined characters or symbols. And so on.

When the first photographing is completed in this way, the flow shifts to # 53, where a shutter charge is performed. At the next # 54, it is determined whether or not the second photographing is performed. , Returned to # 50 and # 51 described so far
To # 53 are executed again. And # 54
Is YES, a series of photographing operations is completed.

When the photographing of the first image is completed under the first set condition of # 11 shown in FIG.
It is determined whether or not vehicle detection has been performed by the vehicle detection means 32, and in the case of NO, the process returns to # 12, and the detection operation is repeated until the vehicle is detected by the second vehicle detection means 32 and the result becomes YES. When the vehicle is detected by the second vehicle detecting means 32 in # 12, the second image is shot under the second setting condition in # 13.

The storage section 37 has already been stored in the storage section 37 by using the input section 36 at the four installation positions of the vehicle sensors 31A to 31D forming the first vehicle detection section 31 and the second vehicle detection section 32. The focus drive data, the zoom drive data, and the deflection drive data corresponding to each of a total of eight locations, that is, four installation positions of the vehicle sensors 32A to 32D that form the above are stored.

Here, the above-mentioned first setting condition means the vehicle sensors 31A to 31D forming the first vehicle detecting means 31.
The focus driving data, the zoom driving data, and the turning driving data corresponding to the four installation positions are selected. The second setting condition is defined as focus drive data, zoom drive data, and deflection drive data corresponding to the four installation positions of the vehicle sensors 32A to 32D forming the second vehicle detection means 32. To choose.

Then, the photographing under the second setting condition is performed as shown in FIG.
First, the focus drive ring of the focus unit 15 installed at the position driven by the first photographing is preset and the position of the vehicle sensor 32C installed in the traveling lane 1C is determined in the same manner as the flowchart shown in FIG. The vehicle in focus is brought into focus.

At the same time, zoom driving is performed. As described above, the zoom driving is performed by using the input means 36 from among the zoom driving data stored in correspondence with the eight positions already stored in the storage unit 37, and the position of the vehicle sensor 32C. Fetch the data corresponding to
Zoom unit 11 at a position driven by the second shooting
Preset drive of the zoom drive ring of the vehicle sensor 3
The violating vehicle located above 2C can photograph a wide area including the other vehicles existing therearound at a predetermined photographing magnification.

Aperture drive is performed simultaneously with such focus preset drive and zoom preset drive. This aperture drive is to drive the aperture drive ring, which is located at the position driven by the first photographing, to an aperture value necessary for giving proper exposure according to the output of a photometric circuit (not shown). is there.

It should be noted that the time difference between the first shooting time and the second shooting time is very short, and the subject conditions of the first and second shootings are large. Since there is no change, there is no substantial inconvenience even if the proper aperture value at the time of the first photographing is adopted as it is for the second photographing, so that the aperture drive is omitted at the time of the second photographing, and The state of the aperture driven by one photographing operation may be held. Then, the deflection driving is performed simultaneously with the focus preset driving, the zoom preset driving, and the aperture driving. This turning drive is performed as follows.

As described above, the input means 36 is used to change the position of the vehicle sensor 32C from the deflection driving data stored in correspondence with the eight positions already stored in the storage unit 37. The corresponding data is taken out, and the position of the camera bottom plate 77 at the position driven by the first photographing, that is, the taking optical axis of the taking lens barrel 80 is directed toward the vehicle sensor 31C by the taken data. The axis turning angle (the turning angle from the reference direction) D6 is set.

More specifically, the current angular position (direction) of the camera bottom plate 77 integrated with the taking lens barrel 80 is detected by a position detecting encoder (not shown), and the taking optical axis changing angle D is obtained.
6 (target value) as drive angle data, detects the direction of driving from the current angular position to the shooting optical axis deflection angle D6, and determines the stepping motor 66 corresponding to the drive angle data. Is obtained.

By supplying a drive pulse signal to the stepping motor 66 by the determined number of steps,
The rotational force of the output shaft 67 of the stepping motor 66 is controlled by the driving pulley 68, the timing belt 69, and the driven pulley 6.
5 are sequentially transmitted to rotate the ball screw shaft 64. Accordingly, the driven member 75 is rotated about the axis 72 in the horizontal plane, and the photographic optical axis of the photographic lens barrel 80 integrated with the driven member 75 is changed to the photographic optical axis deflection angle D6. become.

Then, driving is performed in step # 50 so that the focus driving data, the zoom driving data, and the deflection driving data stored in the storage unit 37 in advance using the input means 36 in accordance with the position of the vehicle sensor 32C. As well as
It is driven to an appropriate aperture value obtained by the output of a photometric circuit (not shown).

Immediately thereafter, the exposure is started at the next step # 51 and the strobe light emission is started, and the offending vehicle traveling on the traveling lane 1C forming the vehicle traffic path 1 is detected by the vehicle sensor 32.
Immediately before the traveling direction of the position C, in a state where the offending vehicle is located at the center of the photographing screen, a wide range including other vehicles located around the violating vehicle is photographed.

Next, as in the case of the first photographing, # 5
In step 2, the film is wound up and the data is imprinted. In this way, when the second shooting is completed, the flow shifts to step # 53 where the shutter charge is performed. In this case, since the second shooting has been completed, # 54 is YES.
And a series of photographing processing ends at # 55.

In this way, when the processes of # 11 to # 13 (see FIG. 4) are performed for the first and second shootings as shown in FIG. 6, as shown in # 14 shown in FIG. Then, statistical data such as the date and time of violation, the state of violation, the violation data, etc. relating to the first and second shootings are recorded, and the process returns to the next step # 7, where the vehicle is put on standby until the offending vehicle is detected again. .

Therefore, immediately after a violation is detected at the position of the first vehicle detecting means 31, the license plate of the vehicle located at the center of the screen with a large photographing magnification is clearly photographed. It will be. Further, at the time of this photographing, since the strobe light is emitted by the strobe light emitting unit 50, the strobe light is normally applied to the face of the driver in the vehicle which is underexposed. Will be clearly photographed. In addition, in the second photographing, not only the offending vehicle but also a wide range including the surrounding situation is photographed, so that the state of the offending vehicle can be comprehensively determined.

In the present embodiment, in detail, a plurality of photographing points set in advance (4
The optimum focus drive data, zoom drive data, and turning drive data at each of the points and the four points of the second vehicle detecting means 32) are stored in the storage unit 37 as preset data when the traffic condition photographing apparatus is installed. Each time a vehicle is detected by the first vehicle detection means 31, it is determined whether or not the passing vehicle violates the signal neglect based on the state of the traffic light 6. Running lane 1A
To 1D, and when the violation is determined, the focus drive data in the storage unit 37 corresponding to the corresponding position of any of the four vehicle sensors 31A to 31D,
The zoom drive data and the deflection drive data are extracted, and the focus drive, the zoom drive, and the deflection drive are performed according to the extracted data, so that the optimum focal length, subject distance, and deflection direction at the shooting position can be obtained. Can be.

Further, the installation of the traffic condition photographing apparatus can be optimized according to the number of traveling lanes at the installation place, the width of the lanes, the position of the traffic light, and the like, so that it has great versatility. .

Further, when the focus driving data, the zoom driving data, and the turning driving data are stored as preset data in the storage unit 37 when the traffic condition photographing apparatus is installed, the reticle is removably attached to the exposure opening. Since the so-called initial setting is performed while visually checking the actual subject image with the shutter fully opened, the state of the place where the traffic condition photographing device is installed, specifically, the number and width of the driving lane and its surroundings It is possible to set an optimal photographing screen that comprehensively takes into account the situation.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. In this embodiment, in the configuration in the first embodiment described above, the photographic optical axis is stored in advance in the storage unit by the input unit in the standby state in the diverting drive photographing mode by the diverting drive photographing unit. An intermediate position return instructing means for driving to an intermediate angle in a deflection angle range based on a plurality of imaging optical axis deflection angle data is added.

The overall configuration of the traffic condition photographing apparatus is as shown in the block diagram of FIG. 7, in which the intermediate position return command means 40 is added to the configuration of FIG. 1 in the first embodiment. The output terminal of the intermediate position return command means 40 is connected to the control circuit 35.

That is, the intermediate position return instructing means 40
In the standby state in the diverting drive photographing mode by the diverting drive photographing means constituted by the photographing unit 10 and the deflecting drive unit 20, the photographing optical axis is stored in the storage unit 37 in advance by the input means 36. It is designed to be driven to an intermediate angle position in a deflection angle range based on a plurality of imaging optical axis deflection angle data.

In the standby state in the photographing mode, the respective drive angle positions of the zoom drive, the focus drive, and the aperture drive are driven to the intermediate angle positions in the drive angle range in the same manner as in the case of performing the diversion drive. It is controlled.

Next, the operation of the second embodiment will be described more specifically with reference to FIGS. The flowchart shown in FIG. 8 shows the operation of the second embodiment.
From 60 to # 73 are the same or similar to # 0 to # 13 in FIG. 4 showing the operation of the first embodiment described above.
To avoid duplication, the description of the same parts will be omitted, and only different parts will be described.

When the power is turned on in # 60, the power is supplied to each section of the circuit, and the process proceeds to the next # 1, where the digital input / output circuit is reset and other conditions are set.

As shown in detail in FIG. 9, this initial setting is similar to the setting of condition 1 in the first embodiment described above.
This is a setting of an effective lane number for selecting which of the four driving lanes 1A to 1D forming the vehicle lane 1 to perform traffic violation detection and shoot. In addition, it is possible to specify a condition for determining a violation order of the selected driving lane in the order.

Next, the flow shifts to # 80, from condition A to condition E.
Are set in parallel or in series. In any case, the settings of the conditions A to E described below can be performed by observing the actual shooting screen,
This is an input setting of conditions at several shooting positions.

That is, the focus glass is removably attached to the exposure opening of the camera body 79, and in this state, various settings are made while observing the photographed image on the focus glass by opening the shutter with the shutter as a valve and opening the aperture. It is.

The condition A is set according to the condition 2 in the above embodiment.
The setting of the condition B is the same as the setting of the condition 3 in the above embodiment, the setting of the condition C is the same as the setting of the condition 4 in the above embodiment, and the setting of the condition D is the same as the above. This is the same as the setting of condition 5 in the example.

The setting of the condition E includes the setting of the condition 6 (setting of the film feeding), the setting of the condition 7 (preset setting of the light emission amount of the strobe light emitting unit 50), and the setting of the condition 8 (photographing). Cycle preset setting). The setting of these conditions A to E is performed by a keyboard switch, a touch switch, a potentiometer,
It can be input by a rotary encoder or the like.

When the conditions A to E are set in # 80 as described above, the flow shifts to the next # 81, where these conditions A to E are set.
The four conditions D are executed in parallel or serially, and drive to an intermediate value.

In the driving to the intermediate value under the condition A, the rotation angle of the focus drive ring of the photographing lens barrel 80 is set to the intermediate position. That is, among a plurality of subject distance data preset corresponding to the effective lane number detected in the condition 1, the rotation angle position of the focus drive ring necessary for focusing on the closest object,
Although it is closest to the longest distance, it is set to an intermediate angle with the rotational angle position of the focus drive ring.

In the drive to the intermediate value under the condition B, the rotation angle of the zoom drive ring of the photographing lens barrel 80 is set to the intermediate position. That is, of the plurality of zoom data preset corresponding to the valid lane number detected in condition 1, the rotational angle position of the zoom drive ring closest to the wide angle and the zoom drive ring closer to the telephoto end Is set to an intermediate angle with respect to the rotation angle position.

The driving to the intermediate value under the condition C is performed by moving the diaphragm of the photographing lens barrel 80 to the intermediate position between the rotation angles of the diaphragm driving ring corresponding to the preset limit aperture value and the preset minimum aperture value. It is set to the angular position of.

Driving to the intermediate value under the condition D is performed by setting the maximum deflection angle and the minimum deflection angle data among the plurality of photographing optical axis deflection angle data preset corresponding to the already specified effective lane number. The stepping motor 66 is driven so as to be at an intermediate angle position of the turning angle.

In this embodiment, the number of valid lanes set in advance is the four traveling lanes 1A to 1D.
The imaging optical axis deflection angle D1 becomes the minimum deflection angle, the imaging optical axis deflection angle D8 becomes the maximum deflection angle, and the imaging optical axis of the imaging lens barrel 80 is set to this intermediate angle position. It turns and drives.

Driving to such an intermediate value is performed as in the steps of the flowchart shown in FIG. Although this step is expressed so as to be applicable to any of the above-described conditions A to D, the case of the turning operation of the condition D will be specifically described, and the intermediate value in the other conditions A to C will be described. The detailed description of the driving operation is omitted.

First, the current value is detected in # 82.
This detection is performed by the camera body 7 having the taking lens barrel 80.
9 is required to drive the fixed camera bottom plate 77 to a predetermined intermediate position in the horizontal plane. More specifically, the current angular position of the camera bottom plate 77 integrated with the taking lens barrel 80 is not shown. The output detected by the position detection encoder is obtained.

Next, a target value is set in # 83.
This target value is set to four effective lanes in advance, that is, the traveling lanes 1A to 1D. Therefore, the imaging optical axis deflection angle D1 is the minimum deflection angle, and the imaging optical axis deflection angle D8 is the maximum. In the next step # 84, the difference data between the current value data obtained in # 82 and the target value data obtained in # 83 is calculated. Accordingly, the target step number C of the step rotation drive corresponding to this is calculated. At the same time, the polarity of the difference data,
That is, the drive direction is specified, and the routine goes to the next step # 85.

In step # 85, the rotation direction of the stepping motor 66 is set so as to correspond to the polarity of the difference data obtained in step # 84. Then, the flow shifts to step # 86, where the stepping motor 66 moves in the direction set in step # 85. 66 is step-rotated, and the flow shifts to # 87. In # 87, the actual driving step number N of the stepping motor 66 actually driven is detected, and in the next # 88, it is determined whether or not C ≧ K · N.

It is to be noted that K is a coefficient existing between the rotation of the stepping motor 66 and the turning angle of the photographing optical axis.
If C ≧ K · N is NO in step # 88, the stepping motor 66 is continuously step-driven, and again
At 88, it is determined that C ≧ K · N.
Is continued while the answer is NO, and when the answer is YES, the process proceeds to the next step # 89, and the brake is applied simultaneously with the stop of the stepping motor 66. At this time, the photographing optical axis is driven to the target angular position. The operation will be completed.

Incidentally, such driving to the photographing standby position is to drive the photographing optical axis of the photographing lens barrel 80 to a position detecting encoder (not shown). Detected by
It is also possible to perform so-called open-loop drive control in which the stepping motor 66 is driven by a predetermined number of drive steps and then stopped.

When the initial setting in # 61 is performed as described above, the following # 62 to # 73 are executed in the same manner as the above-described # 2 to # 13, and the ## following the # 73.
The flow shifts to 74, where the drive to the intermediate position is performed as in # 81.

Further, in this embodiment, the driving position for photographing the offending vehicle driven by the first photographing under the first setting condition shown in # 71 is held as it is, and from this state, the second setting is performed. It is driven to the target position corresponding to the second image capturing under the condition, but is # 7 shown by a broken line in FIG.
A step # 77 for performing the same intermediate position driving step as the step # 74 may be additionally provided in parallel with the step # 72 as in the step # 7.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, for each of the focus drive under the condition A, the zoom drive under the condition B, the aperture drive under the condition C, and the diversion drive under the condition D, the intermediate position is set before the drive to the target value. Since the amount of driving before the photographing can be reduced as a whole, the preparation time prior to the photographing can be shortened. Along with this,
At the time of the shooting start command (the first vehicle detecting means 31 or the second
The time lag between the time when the offending vehicle arrives at the vehicle detection means 32) and the time when the actual shooting is started can be minimized.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the above-described first and second embodiments, when the first vehicle detecting means 31 detects the offending vehicle, the first photographing is started, and the second vehicle detecting means 32 determines that the offending vehicle has arrived. 2 when detected
Although the timing is set so as to start the photographing of the first sheet, in the third embodiment, this timing setting is performed when the first vehicle detecting means 31 detects a violating vehicle, and the first photographing is performed. The second photographing is performed when a predetermined time has elapsed from this point.

The overall configuration of this traffic condition photographing apparatus is shown in FIG.
1 is a block diagram, and the main parts thereof are constituted by a photographing unit 10, a deflection driving unit 20, a strobe light emitting unit 50, and a control unit 100. Further, the photographing unit 10, the turning drive unit 20, and the strobe light emitting unit 50 are the same as those in the first and second embodiments.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 12, the vehicle lane 1 is formed by four traveling lanes 1A, 1B, 1C and 1D, and the vehicle lane 2 is formed by four lanes. A vehicle traveling on the vehicle lane 1 at an intersection 5 in which a vehicle lane 3 formed by four lanes and a vehicle lane 4 having a one-sided four-lane road cross each other on a four-lane road. When the vehicle ignores the signal, the vehicle is photographed.

As shown in FIG. 12, a traffic light 6 is installed above the vehicle traffic path 1 in front of the intersection 5, and a stop line (just before the intersection 5) is installed in each of the four traveling lanes 1A to 1D. (Not shown), four vehicle sensors 91 corresponding to each of the traveling lanes 1A to 1D on the road surface near
A, 91B, 91C, and 91D are provided.

The vehicle detecting means 91 detects that a vehicle traveling on the traveling lanes 1A to 1D in the vehicle lane 1 has reached a predetermined position set in each traveling lane, that is, near a stop line. Is what you do. These vehicle sensors 91A to 91D are configured by pressure sensors that detect arrival of the vehicle by being stepped on by a tire of the traveling vehicle.

Each output terminal of the vehicle sensors 91A to 91D forming the vehicle detection means 91 is connected to the input terminal of the next violation detection means 33. And the vehicle sensor 9
Vehicle detection by 1A to 91D is repeatedly performed at a predetermined cycle. The violation detecting means 33 determines whether or not the vehicle is a traffic violation when the vehicle detection means 91 detects the passage of the vehicle. As described above, the vehicle detecting means 33 detects the vehicle from the vehicle sensors 91A to 91D. Detection data is supplied.

Then, the violation (vehicle) position specifying means 3
No. 4 generates lane specifying data for specifying which of the plurality of driving lanes the offending vehicle is traveling on. Specifically, four of the installation positions of the vehicle sensors 91A to 91D are specified. Location identification data.

Further, to the violation detecting means 33, a start input terminal and an output terminal of a timer circuit 92 having a set time of t seconds are connected. The provision of the timer circuit 92 means that when the vehicle that has reached the vehicle detection means 91 is in violation, the first photographing is performed, and the time until the second photographing is performed thereafter is set by the timer circuit 92. The time is determined.

Since the second shooting is performed to reconfirm the state of the offending vehicle, a wide range of imaging including not only the offending vehicle but also the situation of other vehicles located around the offending vehicle is performed. It is done. T of this set time
The second is determined as follows.

That is, the first photographing is performed when the vehicle passing through the vehicle detecting means 91 is violated, and the second photographing is performed after a predetermined time. There is a problem as to which position of the traveling lanes 1A to 1D constituting the target 1 should be targeted.

This can be done by setting the time required to reach the second photographing position in the above-described embodiment, that is, the position of the second vehicle detecting means 32 (see FIG. 2).
Since the speed of the passing vehicle is not specified, the traveling distance is not specified.

For example, during the time t seconds, the traveling distance L1 of the vehicle traveling below the prescribed speed, the traveling distance L3 of the vehicle traveling significantly above the prescribed speed, and the traveling distance of the vehicle traveling at the prescribed speed L2 may be adopted. The situation cannot be determined without statistically examining the situation of vehicles traveling on this road. However, since the second shooting is aimed at shooting the surrounding situation including the offending vehicle, the shooting position is slightly different. In this embodiment, the vehicle detection means 9 does not cause any particular problem even if
The distance L3 reached by the vehicle traveling at the specified speed from 1 to t seconds was adopted as the second shooting position.

[0209] Now, the offending position specifying means 34 includes lane specifying data for specifying which of the plurality of driving lanes the offending vehicle detected by the offending detecting means 33 is traveling on, and whether or not the offending vehicle is in the second lane. This is to generate position specifying data for specifying the position of the first or second predetermined position.

More specifically, four first imaging positions (predetermined positions), which are installation positions of vehicle sensors 91A to 91D forming vehicle detection means 91, and a second imaging position (scheduled position) Traveling lane 1 orthogonal to the direction of the distance L3
It is position specifying data for specifying a total of eight locations including four locations A to 1D.

[0211] The input means 36 is used to change the direction of the photographing optical axis from the place where the photographing unit 10 is installed into a plurality of traveling lanes 1.
Vehicle sensors 91A to 91D that are the first and second photographing positions of A to 1D, that is, the first photographing positions.
When a total of eight positions, ie, four positions of the installation position and four positions of the second imaging position, are directed to the specified positions, a plurality of imaging optical axis deflection angle data from the reference direction are obtained. As E1 to E8,
When the photographing unit 10 is installed, it is stored in the storage unit 37 in advance.

The storage of the photographing optical axis deflection angle data E1 to E8 is performed by obtaining angles at which the photographing optical axis deflection angles coincide with the above eight photographing positions using accurate road drawings. 37. However, in the case of this embodiment, by observing the actual photographing screen, the above-mentioned eight photographing optical axis deflection angles are input to the storage unit 37 via the input means 36.

That is, as a specific example, a focusing glass is detachably attached to the exposure opening of the camera body 79, and in this state, the shutter is set as a valve and the aperture is opened to observe a photographed image on the focusing glass. Then, the stepping motor 66 is step-driven to obtain the step number data at which the desired turning angle is obtained, and this data is stored in the storage unit 37 as the shooting optical axis turning angle data.

[0214] The first selecting means 38 takes an image of any one of the vehicles traveling on the plurality of traveling lanes 1A to 1D constituting the vehicle traffic path 1 when the violation detecting means 33 detects a violation. In this case, the photographing order and the order to be photographed are determined and selected.

More specifically, the installation positions (predetermined positions) of vehicle sensors 91A to 91D forming vehicle detection means 91
Since the imaging optical axis deflection angles corresponding to each of the eight locations, ie, the four locations and the second imaging position (scheduled position), are respectively defined as the imaging optical axis deflection angle data E1 to E8. is there.

[0216] The second selecting means 39 selects the photographing selected by the first selecting means 38 from the plurality of photographing optical axis deflection angle data E1 to E8 previously stored in the storage section 37 by the input means 38. This is for selecting shooting optical axis deflection angle data corresponding to the lane and corresponding to the position data detected by the violation position specifying unit 34.

Further, the photographing unit 10 is obtained based on the photographing optical axis turning angle data E1 to E8 selected by the second selecting means 39.
In this case, a turning driving photographing means for photographing by driving the photographing optical axis toward the offending vehicle is constructed.

Next, the operation of the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The flowchart shown in FIG.
This shows the operation of the embodiment, and # 90 to # 101 show the operation of the above-described first embodiment.
11 are similar or similar to those of FIG. 11, and the description of the same parts will be omitted to avoid duplication, and only different parts will be described.

When the power is turned on in # 90, power is supplied to each section of the circuit, and the process proceeds to the next # 91, where the digital input / output circuit is reset and other conditions are set. This initial setting is the same as in the above-described first embodiment, and up to the following # 101, is the same as the operation in the above-described first embodiment.

In step # 102 executed after step # 101, the timer circuit 92 is started when the first photographing is started. In step # 103, the timer elapsed time reaches the time t. Is determined, and if NO, YE
Step # 103 is repeatedly executed until S is reached, and when YES is determined, the process proceeds to the next step # 104, and the second shooting under the second setting condition is performed in the same manner as in the above-described first embodiment.

The storage unit 37 uses the input unit 36 when installing the photographing unit 10 and uses the input unit 36 to store the four installation positions of the vehicle sensors 91A to 91D forming the vehicle detection unit 91 and the planned imaging positions. Focus driving data, zoom driving data, and deflection driving data corresponding to each of eight locations, that is, four locations, are stored in advance.

Here, the above-mentioned first setting conditions are the focus drive data, the zoom drive data, and the deflection drive corresponding to the four installation positions of the vehicle sensors 91A to 91D forming the vehicle detection means 91. These are conditions related to data. The second setting condition is a condition relating to focus driving data, zoom driving data, and turning driving data corresponding to four locations of the second shooting position.

In the photographing under the second setting condition, the focus driving ring of the focus unit 15 set at the position driven by the first photographing is preset-driven to perform predetermined photographing of the traveling lane 1C in the same manner as described above. The violating vehicle traveling near the shooting position scheduled to arrive after time (t) is brought into focus.

At the same time, zoom driving is performed. As described above, the zoom driving is performed by using the input means 36 and selecting the schedule of the traveling lane 1C from the zoom driving data stored respectively corresponding to the eight positions already stored in the storage unit 37. The vehicle corresponding to the shooting position is taken out, and the violating vehicle positioned near the planned shooting position by preset driving the zoom drive ring of the zoom unit 11 set to the position driven by the first shooting, A wide range including other vehicles existing therearound can be photographed at a predetermined photographing magnification.

Aperture drive is performed simultaneously with such focus preset drive and zoom preset drive. This aperture drive is to drive an aperture drive ring set at a position driven by the first photographing to an aperture value necessary for giving an appropriate exposure according to an output of a photometric circuit (not shown). It is. Then, the deflection driving is performed simultaneously with the focus preset driving, the zoom preset driving, and the aperture driving. This turning drive is performed as follows.

As described above, using the input means 36, the turning drive data stored in the storage section 37 and corresponding to the eight positions are respectively stored in the driving lane 1C. Take out the data corresponding to the shooting position of 2,
The position of the camera bottom plate 77 set at the position driven by the first shooting by the extracted data, that is, the shooting optical axis of the shooting lens barrel 80 is directed to the second shooting position. The turning angle E6 is reset.

Then, as in # 101 and # 104, the first
When the first and second shootings are performed, statistical data such as the violation date and time, the violation state, and the violation data regarding the first and second shootings are recorded in # 105 and returned to the next # 97. Then, the vehicle is put into a standby state until the offending vehicle is detected again.

Therefore, immediately after the traveling vehicle is detected as a violation at the position of the vehicle detecting means 91, the license plate of the vehicle located at the center of the screen with a large photographing magnification is clearly photographed. In addition, since this flash photography is performed by flash emission of the flash emission unit 50, the face of the driver in the vehicle in the under-exposure state is normally irradiated with the flash light, and the face of the driver is normally exposed. Will also be captured clearly.

Furthermore, in the second photographing, not only the offending vehicle but also a wide range including the surrounding conditions is photographed, so that the state of the offending vehicle can be comprehensively determined.

In the case of the above embodiment, at each of a plurality of preset photographing points (4 points of the vehicle detecting means 91 and 4 points of the second photographing position, a total of 8 points), optimum focus driving data, The zoom drive data and the deflection drive data are stored in the storage unit 37 as preset data when the traffic condition photographing device is installed.

Each time the vehicle is detected by the vehicle detecting means 91, it is determined whether or not the passing vehicle violates the signal ignorance based on the state of the traffic light 6, and the vehicle in which the violation has occurred runs. In which one of the lanes 1A to 1D the vehicle is traveling is specified, and when a violation is determined, the focus driving of the storage unit 37 is performed in accordance with the corresponding position of any of the four vehicle sensors 91A to 91D. Data, zoom drive data, and deflection drive data are read, and focus drive, zoom drive, and deflection drive are performed in accordance with the read data, so that the optimum focal length, subject distance, and deflection direction at the shooting position are obtained. Can be obtained.

Further, vehicles that have reached the vicinity of the second photographing position (scheduled position) after a predetermined time has elapsed after the completion of the first photographing are stored in the storage unit 37 corresponding to each of the four photographing positions. The focus drive data, the zoom drive data, and the deflection drive data stored in the second camera are read out, and the focus drive, the zoom drive, and the deflection drive are performed according to the read data. The focal length, subject distance, and turning direction can be obtained.

Hereinafter, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In this embodiment, in the configuration in the third embodiment described above, the photographic optical axis is stored in advance in the storage unit by the input means in the standby state in the diverting drive photographing mode by the diverting drive photographing means. An intermediate position return instructing means 40 for issuing a drive instruction at an intermediate angle in a deflection angle range based on a plurality of imaging optical axis deflection angle data is added.

The overall configuration of the traffic condition photographing apparatus is as shown in the block diagram of FIG. 14, in which the intermediate position return command means 40 is added to the configuration of FIG. 11 in the third embodiment. The output terminal of the intermediate position return command means 40 is connected to the control circuit 35.

That is, the intermediate position return command means 40
In the standby state in the diverting drive photographing mode by the diverting drive photographing means constituted by the photographing unit 10 and the deflecting drive unit 20, the photographing optical axis is stored in the storage unit 37 in advance by the input means 36. A drive command is issued so as to drive to an intermediate angle position in a deflection angle range based on a plurality of imaging optical axis deflection angle data.

In the stand-by state in the photographing mode, the drive angle positions of the zoom drive, the focus drive, and the aperture drive are controlled to the intermediate angle positions in the drive angle range in the same manner as in the case of performing the diversion drive. It is made to let.

Next, the operation of the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The flowchart shown in FIG.
This shows the operation of the embodiment, and is from # 200 to # 214.
Up to # 9 in FIG. 13 showing the operation of the third embodiment described above.
Since it is the same as 0 to # 104, its description is omitted to avoid duplication, and only different parts will be described.

When power is turned on in # 200, power is supplied to each section of the circuit, and the process proceeds to the next # 201, where the digital input / output circuit is reset and other conditions are set. This initial setting is the same as in the above-described third embodiment, and is the same as in the above-described third embodiment until # 214 below.

In step # 215 executed after step # 214, the respective drive angle positions of the zoom drive, focus drive, aperture drive, and redirection drive at the time when the second photographing is completed are set to the intermediate angles of the drive angle range. The drive is controlled to the position, which is the same as # 74 (see FIG. 8) in the second embodiment.

Also, in the present embodiment, the first
The driving position for photographing the offending vehicle driven by the first photographing under the set condition is held as it is, and from this state, it is driven to the target position corresponding to the second photographing under the second setting condition. The intermediate position driving step similar to step # 215 is performed in parallel with the steps # 212 and # 213, as indicated by a broken line # 218 in FIG.
18 may be additionally provided.

Therefore, in this embodiment, focus driving,
For each of the zoom drive, aperture drive, and deflection drive,
Since driving (returning) to the intermediate position is performed before driving to the target value, the amount of driving prior to photographing can be reduced, and preparation time prior to photographing can be shortened.
Along with this, the time lag between the photographing start command time (the time when the offending vehicle arrives at the vehicle detecting means 91) and the time when the actual photographing is started can be greatly reduced.

It is to be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described four embodiments, and it is needless to say that various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, the vehicle sensor as the vehicle detecting means according to the present invention may be not only a pressure sensing type but also another type such as a semiconductor sensor.

In the above embodiment, the number of various types of preset data such as the turning angle is eight. However, the number may be more or less than this, and the size of the It can be arbitrarily designed according to the road conditions in the area where it is used. Further, the detection of a violation can be used not only for ignoring a signal but also for shooting for various violations such as a speed violation or a temporary stoppage at a railroad crossing.

The setting of the time t in the third and fourth embodiments can be designed arbitrarily according to the traffic situation. Further, the driving to the intermediate position in the first and second embodiments is performed when the first photographing is completed.
The shooting may be performed before the first shooting, or when all the first and second shootings are completed.

For driving the angular position of the photographing optical axis, D
A C servo, an AC servo motor, or the like may be used. Regarding the photographing direction, if only the vehicle and the license plate are photographed, it can be arranged to photograph the rear of the vehicle. It is also possible to combine the photographing from behind and photographing from the front of the vehicle and arrange them at positions where the left and right lanes are covered by one vehicle.

Next, a fifth embodiment of the traffic condition photographing apparatus with the variable power function according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
This will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. In the fifth embodiment, as described above, when a vehicle traveling at an intersection that crosses in a cross shape travels in spite of being a red light, this is detected and the violating vehicle is photographed. It shows an example to which the present invention is applied.

The overall configuration of the traffic condition photographing apparatus with the variable power function is as shown in the block diagram of FIG. 16, the main parts of which are the photographing section 10, the reversing drive section 20, and the control section 3.
0 and a strobe light emitting section 50.

The positional relationship between a plurality of photographing points in the fifth embodiment is as shown in the plan view of FIG.

The fifth embodiment shown in FIG. 16 is substantially the same as the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 described above, and the difference is that in FIG. To the fourth setting means 41 ", the" shutter holding means 16 ", the" magnification driving means 17 ", the" angle-of-view detecting means 18 "and the" calculating means 2 "not shown in FIG.
1 ", and the other configurations have substantial commonality.

However, the embodiment shown in FIG. 16 substantially includes a configuration having the same function as the "first to fourth setting means 41" in the embodiment shown in FIG. .

Therefore, the configuration and operation (action) of the fifth embodiment shown in FIG. 16 are almost the same as those of the first embodiment, so that the configuration and operation of the first embodiment shown in FIG. And the flow chart for explaining the operation of the fifth embodiment, the above-described FIGS. 2 and 4 to 6 are used as they are, and most of the description is omitted. Only the part will be described.

In the fifth embodiment, when a traffic violation of a vehicle that has reached a predetermined position in a vehicle lane composed of a plurality of driving lanes is detected, a photographing unit installed along the vehicle lane. The photographing is performed in a state where the focal length of the zoom unit 11 in 10 is driven to an optimum value.

In the fifth embodiment, the vehicle sensor 31
A first vehicle detecting means 31 including A to 31D, a second vehicle detecting means 32 including vehicle sensors 32A to 32D, a traffic light 6, a violation detecting means 33, a violation position specifying means 34, a control means 35, an input means 36, Storage unit 37, first selecting unit 38, second selecting unit 39, strobe light emitting unit 50, zoom unit 11, film feeding unit 12, data imprinting unit 1
3, the film exposure unit 14, the focus unit 15, and the deflection driving unit 20 correspond to the respective units denoted by reference numerals described in FIG. 1 and therefore have the same configuration and operation. It is.

[0254] However, traffic conditions shooting <br/> equipment shown in the fifth embodiment, the first embodiment and some are equipped with the photographing optical axis diverting function shown in FIG. 1 in that it is equipped with variable magnification function The configuration is different.

[0255] For example, the input means 36 sets the photographing magnification from the place where the photographing section 10 is installed to a plurality of driving lanes 1A.
The photographing positions at the first and second predetermined positions for every 1D to 1D, that is, four installation positions of the vehicle sensors 31A to 31D forming the first vehicle detection means 31, and the second vehicle detection means 32 At four installation positions of the vehicle sensors 32A to 32D to be formed, a total of eight installation angle data F1 to F8 are stored in advance in the storage unit 37 when the imaging unit 10 is installed. is there.

Of course, at the same time, the direction of the photographing optical axis from the place where the photographing unit 10 is installed is changed to the photographing position at the first and second predetermined positions for each of the plurality of traveling lanes 1A to 1D, that is, the first photographing position. The four vehicle sensors 31A to 31D forming the second vehicle detecting means 32 and the four vehicle sensors 32A to 32D forming the second vehicle detecting means 32 have a total of eight positions. The turning angles from the reference direction are sequentially set to a plurality of shooting optical axis turning angle data D1 to D1.
D8 is stored in the storage unit 37 in advance when the imaging unit 10 is installed.

Further, not only the photographing view angle data F1 to F8 and the photographing optical axis turning angle data D1 to D8 are input to the storage unit 37 by using the input means 36, but also the focus data at each of the above-described eight positions. Can also be entered.

That is, by observing the actual photographing screen, the above-mentioned eight photographing angle-of-view data F1 to F8 and the photographing optical axis changing angle data D1 to D8 are input to the storage unit 37 via the input means 36. This makes it possible to preset optical axis conditions suitable for the installation site.

As a specific example, a holding unit (here, a holding unit) that holds the photographing unit 10 at least with the shutter open.
A "first setting means" 16 is provided, and a focus state checking means (herein referred to as a "third setting means") detachably attached to the film exposure opening is provided.
A variable magnification driving unit (herein, referred to as “fourth setting unit”) 17 for driving the focal length of the photographing lens to an arbitrary position is provided. Although not shown, the aperture is set to an arbitrary aperture. A second setting means is provided. These means are collectively referred to as setting means.

A focus glass as focus state checking means is temporarily attached to an exposure aperture of the photographing unit 10. In this state, a shutter holding means 16 is used to make a valve and an aperture is opened to obtain a photographed image on the focus glass. While observing, the variable magnification in the zoom unit 11 is step-driven to obtain data of the number of steps at which a desired magnification is obtained, and this data is stored in the storage unit 37 as shooting angle-of-view data F1 to F8.

The photographing section 10 is provided with angle-of-view detecting means 18 for detecting the focal length of the photographing lens of the photographing section to obtain the current angle-of-view data. Arithmetic means 21 for comparing the current angle-of-view data detected by the angle detecting means 18 and the photographing angle-of-view data selected by the second selecting means to obtain variable-power driving amount data
Is provided. A variable-power-drive photographing means configured to perform variable-power driving of the photographing angle of view in the photographing unit 10 in accordance with the variable-power drive amount data obtained by the arithmetic means 21 is configured.

The output end of the storage section 37 in which the data is stored by the input means 36 is connected to the control means 35. On the other hand, the control means 35 is connected to a first selection means 38 and a second selection means 39, and outputs the output of the storage unit 37 to the violation position identification means 34 and the first and second selection means 3.
It is supplied to the deflection driving unit 20 based on the instructions of 8 and 39.

The first selecting means 38 should take an image of a vehicle traveling on any one of the plurality of traveling lanes 1A to 1D constituting the vehicle lane 1 when the violation detecting means 33 detects a violation. And the order in which the images should be taken is determined and selected.

More specifically, the first vehicle detecting means 31
And the vehicle sensor 3 forming the second vehicle detecting means 32.
The focal lengths corresponding to each of the eight installation positions, ie, the four installation positions of 2A to 32D, are taken as the imaging angle-of-view data F1 to F8.

The second selecting means 39 includes a plurality of photographing angle-of-view data F1 to F1 stored in the storage unit 37 by the input means 38 in advance.
This is for selecting, from F8, shooting angle-of-view data corresponding to the shooting lane selected by the first selecting means 38 and corresponding to the position specifying data detected by the violation position specifying means 34.

Next, the operation of the fifth embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 4 to 6. Since the operation is the same as that of the first embodiment as described above, differences will be described. Step # 0 (hereinafter, "step #" is abbreviated as "#") to # 15, steps # 30 to # 4
0, steps # 50 to # 55 perform the same operations as in the first embodiment.

The zoom setting of the condition 3 in step # 30 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 5 will be additionally described. The rotation angle of the zoom drive ring of the photographing lens barrel is set to a predetermined photographing standby position. As the photographing standby position, for example, the zoom drive ring may be set to the widest angle or the telephoto position.

More specifically, the current angular position of the zoom drive ring is detected by the angle-of-view detecting means 18 and the angle of difference from the photographing standby position (target value) is calculated by the calculating means 21. Then, the direction at the time of driving from the current angular position to the photographing standby position (target value) is detected, and the step driving number corresponding to the driving angle data is obtained. Then, by supplying a drive pulse signal to the stepping motor for the determined number of steps, the zoom drive ring is rotated, and the focal length is changed to the photographing standby position (target value).

Incidentally, such driving to the photographing standby position is to drive to the intermediate position by so-called open loop driving control. For example, the present driving angle of the zoom driving ring of the photographing lens barrel is changed to the angle of view. A so-called closed-loop drive control, in which the detection means 18 always detects the drive, drives the stepping motor by a predetermined number of drive steps (a minute amount), and stops the drive when the desired angular position is reached, is also possible.

Here, focus drive and zoom drive in step # 50 of the flowchart shown in FIG.
The operation of the deflection driving will be supplementarily described. Control means 3
5 is already stored in the storage unit 3 using the input unit 36 as described above.
7, the data corresponding to the position of the vehicle sensor 31C is extracted from the focus drive data stored corresponding to the eight positions stored in the storage unit 7, and the focus drive of the focus unit 15 at the shooting standby position is performed. The ring is preset and the vehicle positioned above the vehicle sensor 31C is brought into focus.

At the same time, zoom drive is performed. As described above, the zoom driving is performed by using the input means 36 to select the vehicle angle from the shooting angle-of-view data F1 to F8, which are stored in correspondence with the eight positions already stored in the storage unit 37. The data corresponding to the position of the sensor 31C is taken out, and the zoom drive ring of the zoom unit 11, which is at the shooting standby position, is preset-driven so that the vehicle located above the vehicle sensor 31C can shoot at a predetermined shooting magnification. .

More specifically, the current angle position of the zoom drive ring of the photographing lens barrel is detected by the angle-of-view detecting means 18 and the angle and direction of the difference from the photographing angle-of-view data F1 to F8 (target value). Is calculated by the calculating means 21 as drive angle data, the direction of driving from the current angular position to the photographing optical axis changing angle D3 is determined, and the number of steps of the stepping motor corresponding to the drive angle data is determined.

If the drive pulse signal is supplied to the stepping motor by the number of steps in the determined direction, the angle of view corresponds to the angle of view data F3.

The focus preset driving, the zoom preset driving, and the aperture driving are performed at the same time. This aperture drive is to drive the aperture drive ring, which is already at the photographing standby position, to an aperture value necessary for giving proper exposure according to the output of a photometric circuit (not shown).

[0275] The deflection driving is performed simultaneously with the focus preset driving, the zoom preset driving, and the aperture driving. This turning drive is performed as follows.

As described above, from the photographing optical axis deflection angle data D1 to D8 already stored corresponding to the eight positions in the storage unit 37 using the input means 36, the vehicle sensor 31C The data corresponding to the position is taken out, and the taken-out data is used to set the camera bottom plate position at the photographing standby position, that is, the photographing optical axis of the photographing lens barrel to correspond to the predetermined turning angle data D3. It is.

After the focus drive, the zoom drive, the aperture drive, and the redirection drive are executed in # 50, the next # 5
In step 1, exposure starts and flash emission starts,
The offending vehicle traveling on the traveling lane 1C is the vehicle sensor 31
With the offending vehicle positioned at the center of the photographing screen at the position C, the photograph is taken at a large photographing magnification and the license plate and the driver's face are clearly photographed.

[0278] Next, FIG. 8 to the sixth embodiment of traffic condition photographing equipment with zooming function according to the present invention Figure 17 and described above
This will be described in detail with reference to FIG. In the sixth embodiment, the image capturing angle of view is stored in advance in the storage unit by the input unit when the variable magnification drive photographing unit is in the standby state in the variable magnification drive photographing mode. An intermediate position return instructing means for driving to an intermediate angle in a variable magnification angle range based on a plurality of pieces of photographing angle of view data added.

The overall configuration of this traffic condition photographing apparatus is as shown in the block diagram of FIG. 17, in which the intermediate position return command means 40 is added to the configuration of FIG. 16 in the fifth embodiment. The output terminal of the intermediate position return command means 40 is connected to the control circuit 35.

That is, the intermediate position return instructing means 40
In the standby state in the variable-power drive photographing mode by the variable-power drive photographing means constituted by the photographing unit 10 and the variable-power drive manual means 17, the focal length of the photographing lens is previously stored in the storage unit 37 by the input means. The lens is driven to an intermediate angle position in a variable-magnification angle range based on a plurality of stored shooting angle-of-view data.

Also in the standby state in the photographing mode, similarly to the case of performing the variable power drive, the respective drive angle positions of the redirecting drive, the focus drive, and the aperture drive are set to the intermediate angle positions of the drive angle range. The drive is controlled.

Next, the operation of the sixth embodiment will be described more specifically with reference to FIG. 17 and FIGS. 8 to 10. The flowchart shown in FIG. 8 shows the operation of the sixth embodiment. Steps # 60 to # 73 are the same as or similar to # 0 to # 13 in FIG. 4 showing the operation of the first embodiment. So to avoid duplication, similar parts are:
A description thereof will be omitted, and only different portions will be described.

When the power is turned on in # 60, the power is supplied to the circuit components, and the process proceeds to the next # 61, where the digital input / output circuit is reset and other conditions are set. As shown in detail in FIG. 9, this initial setting is a setting of an effective lane number similarly to the setting of the condition 1 in the first embodiment described above, and the four traveling lanes 1A to 1D forming the vehicle traffic path 1 are set. The user selects which of the above to perform traffic violation detection and shoot. In addition, it is possible to specify a condition for determining a violation order of the selected driving lane in the order.

Next, the flow shifts to # 80 in FIG. 9, where setting of five types of conditions A to E is executed in parallel or in series. The operations of steps # 80 and # 81 shown in FIG. 9 are the same as those of the second embodiment in the sixth embodiment, and therefore, the description of the corresponding portions in the second embodiment is cited.

Driving to such an intermediate value is performed as shown in the flowchart of FIG. The flowchart shown in FIG. 10 is for explaining the operation of the second embodiment. However, since the operation of the sixth embodiment is performed similarly, steps # 82 to # 8 in FIG.
In the description of the operation 9, the description of FIG. 10 is cited, and the description thereof is omitted here.

The drive to the photographing standby position is to drive to the intermediate position by so-called closed loop drive control. However, the current rotation angle of the zoom drive ring is detected, and the stepping motor is driven by a predetermined number of drive steps. It is also possible to perform so-called open-loop drive control in which the drive is stopped after only the drive.

In the sixth embodiment, # 61 in FIG.
Is performed, the next steps # 62 to # 73 are executed in the same manner as the above-described steps # 2 to # 13, as in the second embodiment, and the process proceeds to step # 74 following step # 73. Then, the drive to the intermediate position is performed as in # 81.

Further, in the sixth embodiment, the first
The driving position for photographing the offending vehicle driven by the first photographing under the set condition is held as it is, and from this state, it is driven to the target position corresponding to the second photographing under the second setting condition. As shown in FIG.
As in 77, # 77 for performing the same intermediate position driving step as in # 74 in parallel with the step in # 72 may be additionally provided.

Therefore, in the sixth embodiment, each of the focus drive under the condition A, the zoom drive under the condition B, the aperture drive under the condition C, and the diversion drive under the condition D is performed prior to the drive to the target value. Since the drive is performed at the intermediate position, the amount of drive prior to photographing can be reduced, so that the preparation time prior to photographing can be reduced.

Accordingly, the time lag between the photographing start command time (when the offending vehicle arrives at the first vehicle detecting means 31 or the second vehicle detecting means 32) and the time at which the actual photographing is started is minimized. It can be reduced.

[0291] Next, a seventh embodiment of a traffic state imaging equipment with zooming function according to the present invention, FIGS. 18 and 12 to 1
3 will be described. In the first and second embodiments and the fifth and sixth embodiments, when the first vehicle detecting means 31 detects a violating vehicle, the first photographing is started and the second vehicle detection is started. The timing is set so that the second photographing is started when the arrival of the offending vehicle is detected by the means 32. In the seventh embodiment, however, this timing setting is detected by the vehicle detecting means 91 when the offending vehicle is detected. In this case, the first image is photographed, and the second image is photographed when a predetermined time has elapsed from this point.

The overall configuration of this traffic condition photographing apparatus is shown in FIG.
As shown in the block diagram of FIG. 8, the main part is composed of a photographing unit 10, a variable-power driving unit 17, a strobe light emitting unit 50, and a control unit 100. Also, this photographing unit 10
The variable-power driving means 17 and the strobe light emitting section 50 are the same as those in the fifth and sixth embodiments.

The seventh embodiment also has almost the same features as the third embodiment, except that the illustration of the "first to fourth setting means 41" in the third embodiment is omitted. This embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that “holding unit 16”, “magnification driving unit 17”, “angle-of-view detecting unit 18”, and “calculating unit 21”, which are not shown, are shown.

For this reason, the plan view showing the photographing positional relationship shown in FIG. 12 and the operation explanation of steps # 90 to # 106 in the flowchart shown in FIG.
Since the description can be applied to the seventh embodiment shown in FIG. 8 as it is, the description thereof is referred to, and the description thereof will not be repeated.

In FIG. 18, a zoom unit 11, a film feeding unit 12, and a data imprinting unit 1 constituting the photographing unit 10 are shown.
3. Vehicle detecting means 91 constituting the film exposure section 14, the focus section 15, the turning drive section 20, and the control section 100
(Vehicle sensors 91A to 91D), violation detection means 33, violation position identification means 34, control means 35, input means 36, storage unit 37, first selection means 38, second selection means 39,
Since the timer circuit 92 and the traffic light 6 have the same configuration as the corresponding components in the third embodiment shown in FIG. 11, the description thereof will be omitted with reference to them.

In FIG. 18, the input means 36 changes the direction of the photographing optical axis at the place where the photographing unit 10 is installed by using the first and second traveling lanes 1A to 1D.
, That is, four positions of the vehicle sensors 91A to 91D, which are the first photographing positions, and four positions of the second photographing positions. The turning angle from the reference direction in the case is obtained by converting a plurality of shooting optical axis turning angle data E1.
E8 are stored in the storage unit 37 in advance when the photographing unit 10 is installed. In addition, the shooting optical axis deflection angle data E
Focus data as well as 1 to E8 and shooting angle-of-view data F1 to F8 are simultaneously stored.

As described above, this storage is performed by directly inputting data such as the above-described eight shooting angle-of-view data into the storage unit 37 via the input means 36 by observing the actual shooting screen. The preset settings can be set in accordance with the actual conditions.

That is, as a specific example, a focusing glass is detachably attached to the exposure opening of the camera body 79, and in this state, the shutter is set as a valve and the aperture is opened to observe a photographed image on the focusing glass. Then, the stepping motor is step-driven to determine the number of steps data that provides a desired angle of view, and this data is stored in the storage unit 37 as the angle of view angle data.

Next, the operation of the seventh embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The flowchart shown in FIG. 13 shows the operation of the third embodiment. However, since the seventh embodiment has the commonality, the description of the same parts will be omitted to avoid duplication.

Next, an eighth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 19 and FIG. In the eighth embodiment, the image capturing angle of view is stored in advance in the storage unit by the input means in the standby state in the variable-power drive photographing mode by the variable-power drive photographing means. An intermediate position return instructing means 40 for issuing a drive instruction at an intermediate angle of the variable magnification angle range based on the plurality of photographing angle-of-view data thus obtained is added.

The overall configuration of the traffic condition photographing apparatus according to the eighth embodiment is as shown in the block diagram of FIG. 19, and an intermediate position return command is added to the configuration of FIG. 18 in the seventh embodiment. A means 40 is added, and the output terminal of the intermediate position return command means 40 is connected to the control circuit 35.

That is, the intermediate position return instructing means 40
In a standby state in the variable-power driving photographing mode by the variable-power driving photographing means, the photographing angle of view is set based on a plurality of photographing angle-of-view data F1 to F8 previously stored in the storage unit 37 by the input means. A drive command is issued so as to drive to an intermediate angular position in the range.

Also, in the standby state in the photographing mode,
In the same manner as in the case of performing the variable-magnification drive, the respective drive angle positions by the diversion drive, the focus drive, and the aperture drive are controlled to be at the intermediate angle positions in the drive angle range.

Next, the operation of the eighth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The flowchart shown in FIG. 15 also shows the operation of the eighth embodiment in common.
Steps up to 214 are the same as steps # 90 to # 104 in FIG. 13 showing the operation of the above-described seventh embodiment. Therefore, description thereof will be omitted to avoid duplication, and only different parts will be described.

When the power is turned on in # 200, power is supplied to each section of the circuit, and the process proceeds to the next # 201, where the digital input / output circuit is reset and other conditions are set. This initial setting is the same as in the above-described third and seventh embodiments.
Up to 214, it is the same as in the above-described third and seventh embodiments.

At step # 215 executed after step # 214, the respective drive angle positions of zoom drive, focus drive, aperture drive, and redirection drive at the time when the second shooting is completed are set to the intermediate angles of the drive angle range. The position is controlled to the position # 7 in the above-described second and sixth embodiments.
4 (see FIG. 8).

Also, in the present embodiment, the first
The driving position for photographing the offending vehicle driven by the first photographing under the set condition is held as it is, and from this state, it is driven to the target position corresponding to the second photographing under the second setting condition. However, as shown by a broken line in FIG. 15, # 21 is performed in parallel with the step # 213.
A step # 218 for performing the same intermediate position driving step as in step 5 may be additionally provided.

Therefore, in this embodiment, focus driving,
For each of the zoom drive, aperture drive, and deflection drive,
Since driving (returning) to the intermediate position is performed before driving to the target value, the amount of driving prior to photographing can be reduced, and preparation time prior to photographing can be shortened.
Accordingly, the time lag between the photographing start command time (the time when the offending vehicle arrives at the vehicle detecting means 91) and the actual photographing start time can be minimized.

[0309] Incidentally, traffic conditions photographing equipment with zooming function according to the present invention is not limited to the four embodiments described above, it can be various modifications within the scope not departing from the gist Of course, you can. For example, the vehicle sensor as the vehicle detecting means according to the present invention may be not only a pressure sensing type but also another type such as a semiconductor sensor.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the number of various preset data such as the zooming angle is eight, but may be more or less than that. Can be arbitrarily designed according to the road conditions in the area where the vehicle is used. Further, the detection of the violation can be used not only for ignoring the signal, but also for shooting in various violations such as a speed violation and a temporary stop at a railroad crossing.

The setting of the time t in the seventh and eighth embodiments can be designed arbitrarily according to traffic conditions. Further, the driving to the intermediate position in the fifth and sixth embodiments is performed when the first photographing is completed.
The shooting may be performed before the first shooting or when all the first and second shootings are completed.

In the above-described sixth and eighth embodiments, the drive to return to the intermediate position is performed for all four of zooming, changing direction, focusing, and aperture, but is not limited to this. For example, it is possible to omit the driving of the intermediate position of the aperture or the driving of the intermediate position of the focusing drive.

[0313] will be described with reference to the embodiment of the focusing function of the traffic conditions photographic equipment according to the present invention attached drawings. First, a ninth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. The ninth embodiment is an example in which the present invention is applied to a case where a vehicle traveling at an intersection that crosses in a cross shape detects a red traffic light and detects the traveling and shoots the violating vehicle. It shows.

The overall configuration of the traffic condition photographing apparatus with the focusing function is as shown in a block diagram of FIG. 20, and its main part is composed of a photographing unit 10, a control unit 30, and a strobe light emitting unit 50. Have been.

The ninth embodiment has a configuration similar to that of the above-described first embodiment, and includes first vehicle detecting means 31 including vehicle sensors 31A to 31D and vehicle sensors 32A to 32A.
2D second vehicle detection means 32, violation detection means 3
3. Violating vehicle position specifying unit 34, control unit 35, input unit 36, storage unit 37, first selection unit 38, second selection unit 39, control unit 30 including setting unit 41, traffic light 6, etc., zoom unit 11, film feeding unit 12, data imprinting unit 13, film exposing unit 14, focusing unit 15
The photographing unit 10 and the strobe unit 50 having the same configuration are the same as those in the first embodiment, and therefore, descriptions of the configurations will be omitted as much as possible to avoid duplication. And
In FIG. 20, a setting unit 41 having the same function as the “first to fourth setting units 41” in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is provided. However, there is a difference in that the distance detecting means 19 and the calculating means 21 not shown in FIG. 1 are not shown.

First, in the ninth embodiment, the plurality of photographing positional relationships are the same as in the first embodiment.
Is used in the ninth embodiment as it is.

The feature of the ninth embodiment is that it is installed along the vehicle traffic lane when a traffic violation of a vehicle reaching a predetermined position in the vehicle lane composed of a plurality of driving lanes is detected. The photographing is performed in a state where the photographing distance in the focusing unit 15 of the photographing unit 10 is driven to an optimum value.

In FIG. 1, the photographing section 10 photographs a traffic-violating vehicle that has reached a first predetermined position in the vehicle traffic path, that is, the position of the first vehicle detecting means 31, and detects a second vehicle. The traffic offending vehicle that has reached the means 32 is photographed again for confirmation. More specifically, in the case of the ninth embodiment, the following seven components are included: a zoom unit 11, a film feeding unit 12, a data imprinting unit 13, a film exposing unit 14, a focusing unit 15, and a distance detecting unit. 19, a deflection driving unit 20 is provided.

Since the zoom section 11 and the film exposure section 14 are exactly the same as those described in the first embodiment, the description thereof will be omitted. The distance detecting means 19 in FIG. 20 detects the current focal position of the focus lens of the photographing lens to obtain the current distance data.

The calculating means 21 compares the current distance data detected by the distance detecting means 19 with the photographing distance data selected by the second selecting means 39 to obtain focusing drive amount data. It is. Focus unit 15
Is for controlling the focus lens of the photographing lens included in the photographing unit 10 to be in a focused state under the control of the control unit 30 that receives the focusing drive amount data from the arithmetic unit 21.

[0321] Under the control of the control unit 30, the deflection driving unit 20 moves the direction of the photographing optical axis from the place where the photographing unit 10 is installed to the first and second predetermined positions for each of the plurality of traveling lanes 1A to 1D. It is driven toward.

[0322] Then, under the control of the control unit 30, the photographing unit 1
The zoom unit 11, the film feeding unit 12, the data imprinting unit 13, the film exposing unit 14, the focus unit 15, the deflection driving unit 20, and the strobe light emitting unit 50 for forming 0 are complexly controlled using a microcomputer. Will be.

Next, details of the control unit 30 will be described. The first vehicle detecting means 31 includes a vehicle sensor 31A provided on each of driving lanes 1A to 1D forming the vehicle traffic path 1.
To 31D are connected to the input terminals of the next violation detecting means 33, and vehicle detection by the vehicle sensors 31A to 31D is repeatedly performed at a predetermined cycle. Is added.

[0324] The second vehicle detecting means 32 is installed at a position separated from the first vehicle detecting means 31 by a predetermined distance, and travel lanes 1A to 1D forming the vehicle lane 1 in the same manner as described above. Sensors 32A to 32D provided in the vehicle
Are connected to the input terminal of the violation detecting means 33 at the next stage, and vehicle detection by the vehicle sensors 32A to 32D is repeatedly performed at a predetermined cycle. A code specifying whether there is any is added.

The violation detecting means 33 determines whether or not the vehicle is a traffic violation when the first vehicle detecting means 31 or the second vehicle detecting means 32 detects a vehicle. , The first vehicle detection means 3 as described above.
The vehicle detection data from the first vehicle detection data and the vehicle detection data from the second vehicle detection means 32 are supplied.

The output terminal of the violation detecting means 33 is connected to the control means 35 through the next offending vehicle position specifying means 34. The violating vehicle position specifying means 34 has substantially the same function as the violating position specifying means 34 shown in FIG.

[0327] The offending vehicle position specifying means 34 determines whether or not the offending vehicle detected by the offending detection means 33 is a vehicle traveling on any of the plurality of driving lanes. The offending vehicle position data for specifying which of the first and second predetermined positions is located is generated. More specifically, four installation positions of vehicle sensors 31A to 31D forming first vehicle detection means 31 and four installation positions of vehicle sensors 32A to 32D forming second vehicle detection means 32 are described. 8 in total
Violated vehicle position data specifying the location.

On the other hand, the input means 36 is a distance from the photographing lens of the photographing section 10 to each of the first and second predetermined positions of the four traveling lanes 1A to 1D, that is, the distance from the photographing lens to the first position. Four installation positions of vehicle sensors 31A to 31D forming the vehicle detection means 31, and
Sensors 32A to 32 forming the vehicle detection means 32
The photographing distance data L1 to L8 corresponding to a total of eight distances from the four installation positions of D are stored in the storage unit 37 in advance when the photographing unit 10 is installed. At the same time,
By the input means 36, the direction of the photographing optical axis from the place where the photographing unit 10 is installed is changed to the photographing positions at the first and second predetermined positions for each of the plurality of traveling lanes 1A to 1D, that is, the photographing of the eight places The turning angles from the reference direction are sequentially stored as a plurality of shooting optical axis turning angle data D1 to D8 in the storage unit 37 in advance when the shooting unit 10 is installed.

In this case, by observing the actual photographing screen, the above-mentioned eight photographing distance data can be input to the input means 36.
Is input to the storage unit 37 via the. Examples of this include:
A setting unit 41 for performing a setting operation on the photographing unit 10 is connected to the control unit 35.

The setting means 41 includes the following first to fifth setting means. That is, the first setting means is to hold the shutter open as required, and more specifically, to make the shutter of the taking lens barrel a valve, and the second setting means is to take the taking lens The aperture of the lens barrel has an arbitrary aperture, for example, an aperture or a predetermined value that can ensure a minimum depth of field,
The third setting means holds the reticle in contact with the opening for film exposure. Specifically, the third setting means abuts and holds the reticle made of ground glass so that the image formation state can be visually checked. In addition, the light receiving surface of an element for converting an optical image / electrical signal such as a CCD is held in contact with the device so that the image can be confirmed on a monitor television or the like.

The fourth setting means gives a command for driving the object distance of the photographing lens to an arbitrary position so that the distance drive ring can be driven to an arbitrary angle position.

The fifth setting means is for giving a command for driving the photographing optical axis of the photographing lens to an arbitrary angular position so that the photographing optical axis can be rotated to an arbitrary angular position. It is.

Therefore, while actually confirming the image formed on the opening surface for exposure, and observing the variable power state, the variable power state, and the focus state based on the depth of field, the input means 6 is used. Storing unit 3 with the optimal various data as preset data
7 is stored.

Further, the photographing section 10 is provided with distance detecting means 19 for detecting the current focal position of the photographing lens of the photographing section and obtaining current distance data, and the current distance detected by the distance detecting means 19 is provided. An arithmetic unit 21 for comparing the data with the photographing distance data selected by the second selecting unit to obtain focusing drive amount data is provided.

A focusing drive photographing means for driving the focus lens in the photographing section 10 to photograph according to the focusing drive amount data obtained by the calculating means 21 is constituted.

The output end of the storage unit 37 in which the data is stored by the input means 36 is connected to the control means 35. The control means 35 includes a first selection means 38 and a second selection means 38.
Selection means 39 is connected, and the output of the storage unit 37 is transmitted to the offending vehicle position identification means 34 and the first and second selection means 38, 3
9 is supplied to the focus unit 15 based on a command from the control unit 9.

The first selecting means 38 takes an image of a vehicle traveling on any one of a plurality of driving lanes 1A to 1D constituting the vehicle traffic lane 1 when the violation detecting means 33 detects a violation. In this case, the photographing order and the order to be photographed are determined and selected.

More specifically, four positions of the vehicle sensors 31A to 31D forming the first vehicle detecting means 31 from the photographing lens, and the vehicle sensors 32A to 32 forming the second vehicle detecting means 32 are provided. The subject distances up to a total of eight positions, including four of the 32D installation positions, are used as shooting distance data.

[0339] The second selection means 39 is provided with a plurality of photographing distance data L1 to L1 stored in the storage section 37 in advance by the input means 38.
This is for causing the photographing distance data corresponding to the photographing lane selected by the first selecting means 38 and corresponding to the offending vehicle position data detected by the offending vehicle position specifying means 34 to be selected from L8. .

Next, the operation of the ninth embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 4 to 6 for explaining the operation of the first embodiment. However, since the ninth embodiment and the first embodiment perform almost the same operation, overlapping description will be avoided as much as possible. When power is turned on in step # 0 (hereinafter, "step #" is abbreviated as "#"), power is supplied to each section of the circuit, and the process proceeds to the next step # 1, where the digital input / output circuit is reset. At the same time, other conditions are set. This initialization is performed at # 30 shown in FIG.
There are eight types, Condition 1 to Condition 8, which are executed in parallel or serially.

Condition 1 is the setting of the valid lane number.
The user selects which of the four driving lanes 1A to 1D forming the vehicle passage 1 to perform traffic violation detection and shoot. In addition, conditions for determining the order in which violations are detected in the selected driving lane can be set in advance.

In each case, the conditions 2 to 5 described below are set by observing the actual photographing screen by the first to fifth setting means included in the setting means 41 as described above. The conditions at the above-described eight photographing positions are input and set by driving to the photographing conditions described above. However, since the operation is almost the same as that of the first embodiment, description thereof will be omitted.

Also, regarding the assumptions of the conditions 6 to 8,
The description is omitted because it is the same as that of the first embodiment.
These conditions 1 to 8 can be set by directly inputting output values of a potentiometer, a counter, or the like, or by using a keyboard switch, a digital switch, a touch switch, or the like.

When the conditions 1 to 8 are set in # 30 as described above, the flow shifts to the next # 31 to determine whether or not the conditions 1 to 8 have been set. Then, # 30 is executed again, and in the case of YES, the process proceeds to # 32, and it is determined whether or not the condition setting is set to a desired value, and whether or not the condition setting is reproduced is determined. In the case of YES, the process proceeds to step # 33 to perform a demonstration operation, that is, a series of photographing operations is performed assuming that a violation occurs at the effective lane number determined by the condition 1 set in step # 30. Then, in the next # 34, it is determined whether or not the operation is completed. In the case of NO, the process returns to # 33. In the case of YES, the process proceeds to # 40, the shutter is closed, and a series of initial operations is performed. Setting is completed.

On the other hand, in the case of NO in # 32, in order to visually confirm the contents of the conditions 1 to 8 in # 30, the shutter is opened in the next # 35, and the contents of the condition setting are reproduced. . As described above, the focusing glass is detachably attached to the exposure opening of the photographing unit 10 by the third setting unit of the setting unit 41 as described above, and in this state, the shutter is set to the valve by the first setting unit. This is performed by observing a photographed image on the focus glass with the aperture opened by the second setting means.

Then, after the driving of the condition setting is performed, the flow shifts to # 37, where a selection as to whether or not to change the reproduced setting condition is made in # 37. In the case of YES, the flow shifts to # 38. Then, the setting condition is changed, and the changed condition is reproduced. Then, the process proceeds to # 37, where it is determined whether or not the setting condition is changed again. If YES, # 38 is executed again.

If NO in # 37, that is, if the setting conditions do not need to be changed, the process proceeds to the next step # 39, where it is determined that the setting change operation has been completed, and if YES in # 39, In step # 40, the shutter is closed in the next step # 40, the initialization routine # 1 shown in FIG. 4 is completed, and the process proceeds to the next step # 2.

[0348] It is to be noted that in the flowchart shown in FIG.
The operation of No. 15 is similar to that of the ninth embodiment. Therefore, the description of the operation is omitted. However, when the conditions 2 and 3 are supplementarily described, the setting of the condition 2 is a focus setting, and the rotation angle of the focus drive ring of the photographing lens barrel in the photographing unit 10 is set to a predetermined photographing standby position. The photographing standby position may be set, for example, such that the focus drive ring is closest to the nearest or farthest away.

More specifically, the current angle position corresponding to the current focus position of the focus drive ring is determined by the distance detecting means 1.
9 to calculate the angle of difference from the photographing standby position (target value), detect the direction when driving from the current angular position to the photographing standby position (target value), and use the drive angle data as the drive angle data. Find the corresponding step drive number.

If a drive pulse signal is supplied to the stepping motor (not shown) by the determined number of steps, the rotation rotates the focus drive ring, and the focal length is changed to the photographing standby position (target value). Become.
The setting of the condition 3 is a zoom setting, and sets the rotation angle of the zoom drive ring of the photographing lens barrel to a predetermined photographing standby position. As the photographing standby position, for example, the zoom drive ring may be set to the widest angle or the telephoto position.

More specifically, the current angular position of the zoom drive ring is detected by using a variable-magnification drive unit (not shown), and the angle of difference from the photographing standby position (target value) is calculated by the calculation unit 21. At the same time, the direction at the time of driving from the current angular position to the photographing standby position (target value) is detected, and the step driving number corresponding to the driving angle data is obtained.

By supplying a drive pulse signal to a stepping motor (not shown) by the determined number of steps, the zoom drive ring is rotated, and the focal length is changed to the photographing standby position (target value).

When the conditions 1 to 8 are set as # 7 shown in FIG. 4 as described above, the process proceeds to the next # 8, and whether or not the operation is stopped, in other words, a violation occurs. Then, it is determined whether or not the actual shooting can be performed. If the operation is stopped, the process branches to YES and returns to # 2.
Hereinafter, steps # 8 to # 15 are the same as those in the first embodiment in the ninth embodiment, and therefore the description of the operations is omitted. However, the description of FIG. 1 should be read as FIG.

[0354] Also, in step # 30 of the flowchart shown in FIG.
To # 40 and # 50 to # in the flowchart shown in FIG.
The operation in each step 55 is the same as that in the case of the ninth embodiment, so that the description thereof will be omitted as much as possible, but may be supplementarily described as necessary.

Therefore, the focus drive processing shown in FIG. 6 will be supplementarily described. The control unit 35 uses the input unit 36 as described above to select the position of the vehicle sensor 31C from the focus drive data stored corresponding to the eight positions already stored in the storage unit 37. Is extracted, and the focus drive ring of the focus unit 15 at the shooting standby position is preset-driven to bring the vehicle positioned above the vehicle sensor 31C into a focused state.

More specifically, the current angle position of the distance drive ring of the photographing lens barrel is detected by the distance detecting means 19, and the angle of difference from the photographing distance data L1 to L8 (target value) is determined. The data is calculated by the calculating means 21 and the direction at the time of driving from the current angular position is detected, and the number of steps of the stepping motor corresponding to the driving angle data is obtained.

If the drive pulse signal is supplied to the stepping motor by the determined number of steps, the photographing distance will correspond to the photographing distance data L3.

In the flowchart shown in FIG.
As in the case of the second photographing, the film is wound up and the data is imprinted in # 52. When the second photographing is completed in this way, the flow shifts to # 53, where the shutter charge is performed, and the next shutter charge is performed. It is determined in # 54 whether or not the second shooting has been performed. In this case, since the second shooting has been completed, # 54 is branched to YES, and a series of shooting processing ends in # 55.

In this way, when the processing of # 11 to # 13 (see FIG. 4) is completed after the first shooting and the second shooting as shown in FIG. 6 showing the details thereof, FIG. As shown in # 14, statistical data such as a violation date and time, a violation state, and violation data regarding the first and second shootings are recorded.
The process returns to the next step # 7, and the apparatus is put on standby until the offending vehicle is detected again.

Therefore, immediately after the traveling vehicle detects the violation at the position of the first vehicle detecting means 31, the license plate of the vehicle located at the center of the screen with a large photographing magnification is clearly photographed.

[0361] In this photographing, the strobe light emitting unit 50 is used.
, The strobe light is normally applied to the driver's face in the vehicle in the under-exposure state, and the driver's face is clearly photographed.

Furthermore, in the second photographing, not only the offending vehicle but also a wide range including the surrounding conditions is photographed, so that the state of the offending vehicle can be comprehensively determined.

In this embodiment, more specifically, a plurality of photographing points set in advance (4
The optimum focus driving data, zoom driving data, and turning driving data at each of the points and the four points of the second vehicle detection means 32) are stored in the storage unit 37 as preset data when the traffic condition photographing apparatus is installed. Each time a vehicle is detected by the first vehicle detection means 31, it is determined whether or not the passing vehicle violates the signal neglect based on the state of the traffic light 6. Running lane 1A
To 1D, and when the violation is determined, focus driving data in the storage unit 37 corresponding to any one of the four vehicle sensors 31A to 31D,
The zoom drive data and the diversion drive data are extracted, and the focus drive, the zoom drive, and the diversion drive are performed according to the extracted data, so that the optimum focal length, subject distance, and diversion direction at the shooting position can be obtained. Can be.

Further, the installation of the traffic condition photographing apparatus can be optimized according to the number of running lanes at the installation place, the width of the lanes, the position of the traffic light, etc., so that it has great versatility. .

Further, when the focus driving data, the zoom driving data, and the turning driving data are stored in the storage unit 37 as preset data when the traffic condition photographing apparatus is installed, a reticle is removably attached to the exposure opening. Since the so-called initial setting is performed while visually checking the actual subject image with the shutter fully opened, the state of the place where the traffic condition photographing device is installed, specifically, the number and width of the driving lane and its surroundings It is possible to set an optimal photographing screen that comprehensively takes into account the situation.

[0366] Next, FIG. 8 a tenth embodiment of the focusing function of the traffic conditions photographic equipment according to the present invention Figure 21 and described above
This will be described in detail with reference to FIG. This example is
In the configuration of the ninth embodiment, when the focusing drive photographing unit is in a standby state in the focus driving photographing mode, the photographing distance is set to a plurality of photographing distance data previously stored in the storage unit by the input unit. An intermediate position return instructing means for driving to an intermediate angle within the range of the change angle is added.

The overall configuration of this traffic condition photographing apparatus is as shown in the block diagram of FIG. 21. The intermediate position return command means 40 is added to the configuration of FIG. 1 in the ninth embodiment. The output terminal of the intermediate position return command means 40 is connected to the control circuit 35.

That is, the intermediate position return command means 40
In a standby state in a focusing driving photographing mode by the focusing driving photographing means constituted by the focusing unit 15 of the photographing unit 10, the in-focus position of the photographing lens is stored in the storage unit 3 by the input means.
7 is driven to an intermediate angle position in a change range based on a plurality of pieces of photographing distance data stored in advance.

Also, in the standby state in the photographing mode, similarly to the case of performing the focusing drive, the respective drive angle positions of the diverting drive, the variable power drive, and the diaphragm drive are set to the intermediate angle of the drive angle range. The position is driven and controlled.

Next, the operation of the tenth embodiment will be described more specifically with reference to FIGS. The flowchart shown in FIG. 8 shows the operation of the tenth embodiment together with the second embodiment, and # 60 to # 73 show the operation of the ninth embodiment together with the first embodiment. # 0 in
Since these are similar or similar to # 13, the description of the same parts will be omitted to avoid duplication, and only different parts will be described.

When power is turned on in # 60, power is supplied to each section of the circuit, and the process proceeds to the next # 61, where the digital input / output circuit is reset and other conditions are set. As shown in detail in FIG. 10, this initial setting is to set the effective lane number in the same manner as the setting of the condition 1 in the first embodiment, and the four driving lanes forming the vehicle traffic path 1 are set. The user selects any one of 1A to 1D to detect a traffic violation and take an image. In addition, it is possible to specify a condition for determining a violation order of the selected driving lane in the order.

Next, the flow shifts to # 80 in FIG. 8, where setting of five types of conditions A to E is executed in parallel or in series. The conditions A to E described below are set in the second
This is the same as the flowchart of FIG. 9 showing the operation of the embodiment, and the description thereof will be omitted.

When the conditions A to E are set in # 80 as described above, the flow shifts to the next # 81, where these conditions A to E are set.
The four conditions D are executed in parallel or in series and driven to an intermediate value. However, since the tenth embodiment is the same as the second embodiment, the conditions A to E For driving, refer to the description of the second embodiment,
Here, the description is omitted.

In the tenth embodiment, since the number of effective lanes set in advance is the four traveling lanes 1A to 1D, the photographic optical axis deflection angle D1 becomes the minimum deflection angle. The deflecting drive of the photographic optical axis of the photographic lens barrel is performed so that the axis deflection angle D8 becomes the maximum deflection angle and is at the intermediate angle position.

Driving to such an intermediate value is performed as in the steps of the flowchart shown in FIG. Although this step is expressed so as to be applicable to any of the above conditions A to D, the case of the focusing operation of the condition A will be specifically described, and the other conditions B to D will be described.
The detailed description of the driving operation to the intermediate value in is omitted. First, the current value is detected in # 82. In this detection, an output obtained by detecting the current angular position of the distance driving ring by the distance detecting means 19 of the photographing unit 10 is obtained.

Next, a target value is set in # 83.
This target value is a drive angle position corresponding to an intermediate distance between the minimum distance and the maximum distance of the data corresponding to the four effective lanes, which are four traveling lanes 1A to 1D. Then, in the next # 84, the calculation of the difference data between the current value data obtained in # 82 and the target value data obtained in # 83 is performed using the calculating means 21, and the corresponding step rotation is performed. The target number of driving steps C is calculated. At the same time, the polarity of the difference data, that is, the drive direction is specified,
The process proceeds to the next # 85.

In step # 85, the rotation direction of the stepping motor is set so as to correspond to the polarity of the difference data obtained in step # 84, and the flow advances to the next step # 86, where step rotation is performed in the direction set in step # 85. Then, the flow shifts to # 87.

In step # 87, the actual driving step number N of the stepping motor actually driven stepwise is detected, and in step # 88, it is determined whether or not C ≧ K · N. Note that K is a coefficient existing between the rotation of the stepping motor and the change in the shooting distance. In this # 88 C
If ≧ K · N is NO, the stepping motor is continuously step-driven, and the determination of C ≧ K · N is made again in # 88, and this state continues while # 88 is NO. When YES is reached, the process proceeds to the next step # 89, where the driving of the stepping motor is stopped and the brake is applied, and at this time, the operation of driving the shooting distance to the target angle position (shooting standby position) is performed. Will be completed.

Incidentally, such driving to the photographing standby position is to drive to the intermediate position by so-called closed-loop driving control. However, the current rotation angle of the distance driving ring is detected, and the stepping motor is driven to a predetermined position. It is also possible to perform so-called open loop drive control in which the drive is stopped after the number of drive steps.

When the initial setting in # 61 of FIG. 7 is performed as described above, the following # 62 to # 73 are executed in the same manner as the above-described # 2 to # 13, and the following # 73 is executed. The process proceeds to # 74, where the drive to the intermediate position is performed as in # 81.

In this embodiment, the driving position for photographing the offending vehicle driven by the first photographing under the first setting condition # 71 is held as it is, and from this state, the second setting is performed. It is driven to the target position corresponding to the second image capturing under the condition, but is # 7 shown by a broken line in FIG.
A step # 77 for performing the same intermediate position driving step as the step # 74 may be additionally provided in parallel with the step # 72 as in the step # 7.

Therefore, in the tenth embodiment, each of the focus drive under the condition A, the zoom drive under the condition B, the aperture drive under the condition C, and the diversion drive under the condition D is performed prior to the drive to the target value. Since the drive is performed at the intermediate position, the amount of drive prior to photographing can be reduced, so that the preparation time prior to photographing can be reduced.

Accordingly, a time lag between the photographing start command time (the time when the offending vehicle arrives at the first vehicle detecting means 31 or the second vehicle detecting means 32) and the time when the photographing is actually started can be set. It can be reduced as much as possible.

Next, an eleventh embodiment of a traffic condition photographing apparatus with a focusing function and a traffic condition photographing method according to the present invention will be described.
This will be described with reference to FIG. 22 and FIGS. 12 and 13 according to the third embodiment described above. In the ninth and tenth embodiments, when the first vehicle detecting means 31 detects the offending vehicle, the first image capturing is started, and the second vehicle detecting means 32 determines that the offending vehicle has reached. Although the timing is set so that the photographing of the second image is started when it is detected, in the eleventh embodiment, this timing is set to the first image when the vehicle detecting means 91 detects a violating vehicle. Shooting is performed, and when a predetermined time elapses from this time, 2
This is to take the second photograph.

The overall configuration of this traffic condition photographing apparatus is shown in FIG.
2, the main part of which is composed of a photographing unit 10, a strobe light emitting unit 50, and a control unit 100. Further, the photographing unit 10 and the strobe light emitting unit 5
0 is the same as in the first and second embodiments.

Although the eleventh embodiment also has almost the same features as the third and seventh embodiments, the "first to fourth setting means 41" in the third embodiment is replaced with the setting means 41. "Distance detecting means 19", "magnification driving unit 20", "calculating means 21" not shown in the third embodiment.
Are shown in the drawing.

Therefore, a plan view showing the photographing positional relationship shown in FIG. 12 and an explanation of the operation in steps # 90 to # 106 of the flowchart shown in FIG.
Since the description can be applied to the eleventh embodiment shown in FIG. 2 as it is, the description thereof is referred to, and the repeated description will be avoided as much as possible.

In FIG. 22, a zoom unit 11, a film feeding unit 12, and a data imprinting unit 1 constituting the photographing unit 10 are shown.
3. Vehicle detecting means 91 constituting the film exposure section 14, the focus section 15, the turning drive section 20, and the control section 100
(Vehicle sensors 91A to 91D), violation detection means 33, violation vehicle position specifying means 34, control means 35, input means 3
6, the storage unit 37, the first selecting means 38, the second selecting means 39, the timer circuit 92, and the traffic light 6 are shown in FIG.
Since the configuration is the same as that of the corresponding components of the third embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the description thereof will be omitted with the help of the configuration.

Here, the violating vehicle position specifying means 34 generates lane specifying data for specifying which of a plurality of driving lanes the violating vehicle is traveling on. Specifically, the vehicle sensor 91A Violating vehicle position data (same as the above-described position specifying data) for specifying four installation positions of ~ 91D is generated.

[0390] Further, to the violation detecting means 33, a start input terminal and an output terminal of a timer circuit 92 having a set time of t seconds are connected. The reason for providing the timer circuit 92 is that the first photographing is performed when the vehicle arriving at the vehicle detecting means 91 is a violating vehicle, and the time until the second photographing is performed thereafter is determined by the timer circuit 92. This is for determining the set time. Since the second shooting is performed to reconfirm the state of the offending vehicle, a wide range of shooting is performed including not only the offending vehicle but also the situation of other vehicles located therearound. is there.

The set time t seconds is determined as follows. That is, the first photographing is performed when the vehicle passing through the vehicle detecting means 91 is violated, and the second photographing is performed after a predetermined time. Traveling lanes 1A-1
There is a problem in which position of D should be targeted.

This is the same as the second embodiment in the tenth embodiment.
The second photographing position, that is, the second vehicle detecting means 32 (FIG. 2)
It is sufficient to set the time required to reach the position (see), but the traveling distance is not specified because the speed of the passing vehicle is not specified. For example, during the time t seconds, the travel distance L1 of the vehicle traveling below the prescribed speed, the traveling distance L2 of the vehicle traveling significantly above the prescribed speed, and the traveling distance L3 of the vehicle traveling at the prescribed speed are obtained. There is a case to choose.

Although it cannot be determined without statistically examining the situation of vehicles traveling on this road, the second shooting is intended to shoot the surrounding situation including the offending vehicle. In the third embodiment, the distance L3 reached by the vehicle traveling at the specified speed from the vehicle detection means 91 for t seconds is determined by the second time since the photographing position does not cause any problem even if the photographing position slightly changes. It was adopted as a shooting position.

That is, the offending vehicle position specifying means 34
Lane specifying data for specifying which lane of the plurality of driving lanes the violating vehicle detected by the violation detecting means 33 is traveling on, and whether the vehicle is in the first predetermined position or the second predetermined position ( (Predicted position; the same applies to the following).

More specifically, violating vehicle position specifying means 3
Reference numeral 4 denotes vehicle sensors 91A to 91A forming the vehicle detection means 91.
A total of eight locations including four locations of the first shooting position, which is the installation position of 91D, and four locations of each of driving lanes 1A to 1D orthogonal to the direction of the distance L3, which is the second shooting position, are specified. Is generated.

The input means 36 determines the direction of the photographing optical axis at the place where the photographing unit 10 is installed by changing the first and second photographing positions of the plurality of traveling lanes 1A to 1D, that is, the first photographing position. Vehicle sensors 91A to 91D that are positions
When a total of eight positions, ie, four positions of the installation position and four positions of the second imaging position, are directed to the specified positions, a plurality of imaging optical axis deflection angle data from the reference direction are obtained. As E1 to E8,
When the photographing unit 10 is installed, it is stored in the storage unit 37 in advance. Further, not only the photographing optical axis deflection angle data D1 to D8 and the photographing distance data but also the focus data are stored at the same time.

That is, as a specific example, a focusing glass is detachably attached to the exposure opening of the camera body 79, and in this state, the shutter is set as a valve and the aperture is opened to observe a photographed image on the focusing glass. Then, the stepping motor is step-driven to determine the number of steps data that provides a desired angle of view, and this data is stored in the storage unit 37 as the angle of view angle data.

[0398] The first selecting means 38 selects a vehicle traveling on any one of a plurality of traveling lanes 1A to 1D constituting the vehicle traffic lane 1 when the violation detecting means 33 detects a violation. This is for determining whether or not to shoot and the order in which to shoot.

More specifically, the installation positions (predetermined positions) of vehicle sensors 91A to 91D forming vehicle detection means 91
The four photographing distances and the four photographing positions (predicted positions) are used as photographing distance data.

[0400] The second selecting means 39 corresponds to the photographing lane selected by the first selecting means 38 from a plurality of photographing distance data stored in advance in the storage section 37 by the input means 38, and This is for selecting shooting distance data corresponding to the offending vehicle position data detected by the vehicle position specifying means 34. In addition, a focusing drive photographing unit configured to drive the photographing distance in the photographing unit 10 to an optimal distance for the offending vehicle and photograph according to the photographing distance data selected by the second selecting unit 39 is configured.

Next, the operation of the eleventh embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The flowchart shown in FIG.
This shows the operation of the embodiment, and # 90 to # 101 show the operation of the above-described first embodiment.
13 is the same as or similar to that of FIG. 13, and the operation of FIG. 13 has the same operation as that of the eleventh embodiment. I do.

When the power is turned on in # 90, power is supplied to each section of the circuit, and the process proceeds to the next # 91, where the digital input / output circuit is reset and other conditions are set. This initial setting is the same as in the above-described first embodiment, and is the same as in the above-described first embodiment until # 101 below.

Also, # 101 to # 106 correspond to the third
This is the same as in the embodiment. And # 101 and # 1
When the first shooting and the second shooting are performed as in 04, statistical data such as a violation date and time, a violation state, and violation data relating to the first and second shootings are stored in # 105. Is returned to # 97, and the apparatus is put on standby until the offending vehicle is detected again.

[0404] Therefore, immediately after a traveling vehicle is detected as a violation at the position of the vehicle detecting means 91, the license plate of the vehicle located at the center of the screen with a large photographing magnification is clearly photographed. In this shooting, since the flash shooting is performed by the flash emission of the flash emitting unit 50,
Normally, the face of the driver in the under-exposed vehicle is illuminated with strobe light, so that the driver's face is clearly photographed.

Further, in the second photographing, not only the offending vehicle but also a wide range including the surrounding conditions is photographed, so that the state of the offending vehicle can be comprehensively determined.

In this embodiment, at each of a plurality of photographing points set in advance (eight points of four points of the vehicle detecting means 91 and four points of the second photographing position), optimum focus driving data and zoom driving The data and the deflection driving data are stored in the storage unit 37 as preset data when the traffic condition photographing device is installed, and each time the vehicle is detected by the vehicle detection means 91, it is determined whether or not the passing vehicle violates the signal ignoring. In addition to the determination based on the state of the traffic light 6, it is specified which of the traveling lanes 1A to 1D the offending vehicle is traveling.
The focus drive data, the zoom drive data, and the deflection drive data of the storage unit 37 are read out corresponding to any one of the vehicle sensors 91A to 91D, and focus drive, zoom drive, Since the reversing drive is performed, the optimal focal length, subject distance, and redirection in the shooting position can be obtained.

Also, vehicles that have reached the vicinity of the second shooting position after a predetermined time has elapsed after the completion of the first shooting are stored in the storage unit 37 corresponding to each of the four shooting positions. Focus drive data, zoom drive data,
Since the deflection driving data is read and the focus driving, the zoom driving, and the deflection driving are performed according to the read data, the optimum focal length, the subject distance, and the deflection direction at the second shooting position are determined. Obtainable.

[0408] Finally, a twelfth embodiment of traffic condition photographing equipment with focusing function according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 23 and described above Figure 15. In the twelfth embodiment, the shooting distance is stored in advance in the storage unit by the input means in the standby state in the focus drive shooting mode by the focus drive shooting means in the configuration of the eleventh embodiment. Further, an intermediate position return instructing means 40 for driving to an intermediate angle of a change range based on a plurality of photographing distance data is added.

The overall configuration of the traffic condition photographing apparatus is as shown in the block diagram of FIG. 23, and is similar to that of FIGS. 10 and 22 in the third and eleventh embodiments.
And an output terminal of the intermediate position return command means 40 is connected to the control circuit 35.

That is, the intermediate position return instructing means 40
In a standby state in the focused drive photographing mode by the focused drive photographing means, the photographing distance is driven by the input means 36 to an intermediate position of a change range based on a plurality of photographing distance data stored in the storage unit 37 in advance. It has become.

[0411] In the standby state in the photographing mode,
In the same manner as in the case of performing the focusing drive, the drive angle positions of the diversion drive and the aperture drive are controlled to be at the intermediate angle positions in the drive angle range.

Next, the operation of the twelfth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The flowchart shown in FIG.
This shows the operation of the twelfth embodiment, but also shows the operation of the twelfth embodiment.
Up to this point are the same as # 90 to # 104 in FIG. 13 showing the operation of the third embodiment (and the eleventh embodiment).
The description is omitted to avoid duplication, and only different parts will be described.

When power is turned on in # 200, power is supplied to each section of the circuit, and the process proceeds to the next # 201, where the digital input / output circuit is reset and other conditions are set. This initial setting is the same as in the above-described third embodiment, and is the same as in the above-described third embodiment (and the eleventh embodiment) up to the following # 214.

[0414] In step # 215 executed after step # 214, the drive angle positions of zoom drive, focus drive, aperture drive, and redirection drive at the time when the second shooting is completed are set to the intermediate angles of the drive angle range. The drive is controlled to the position, which is the same as # 74 (see FIG. 8) in the second embodiment.

In the present embodiment, the first
The driving position for photographing the offending vehicle driven by the first photographing under the set condition is held as it is, and from this state, it is driven to the target position corresponding to the second photographing under the second setting condition. However, as shown by a broken line in FIG. 14, # 21 is performed in parallel with the step # 213.
A step # 218 for performing the same intermediate position driving step as in step 5 may be additionally provided.

Therefore, in the twelfth embodiment, each of the focus drive, the zoom drive, the aperture drive, and the deflection drive is driven (returned) to the intermediate position prior to the drive to the target value. In addition, the amount of driving prior to shooting can be reduced, and the preparation time prior to shooting can be reduced. Accordingly, the time lag between the photographing start command time (the time when the offending vehicle arrives at the vehicle detecting means 91) and the actual photographing start time can be minimized.

[0417] Incidentally, traffic conditions photographing equipment with focusing function according to the present invention, in without being limited to the four embodiments described above (ninth to twelfth exemplary embodiment), without departing from the spirit scope Of course, various modifications can be made.

For example, the drive for returning to the intermediate position in the above-described tenth and twelfth embodiments is performed for all four of magnification, redirection, focusing, and aperture, but is not limited to this. Without driving, the driving of the intermediate position of the diaphragm and the driving of the intermediate position of the focusing drive can be omitted. Also,
A DC servomotor, an AC servomotor, or the like may be used for driving the angular position of the photographing optical axis and driving the focusing of the photographing lens.

[0419] Regarding the photographing direction, if only the vehicle and the license plate are photographed, the arrangement may be such that the rear of the vehicle is photographed. Furthermore, it is also possible to combine the photographing from behind and the photographing from the front of the vehicle and arrange them at positions where the left and right lanes are covered by one vehicle.

[0420]

As apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, traffic conditions photographing equipment with the imaging optical axis direction changing function according to the present invention, the optimum deflection drive data in each of a plurality of photographing points set in advance Is stored in the storage unit as preset data at the time of installation of the traffic condition photographing device, and it is determined whether the passing vehicle has committed a traffic violation such as a signal ignoring violation, and the violation has occurred at any of a plurality of photographing points. Is determined, the deflection driving data stored in the storage unit is extracted in accordance with the identified position, and the deflection driving is performed according to the extracted data. The axis can be quickly set in the optimal turning direction.

[0421] In addition, the traffic state taking equipment with the photographing optical axis diverting function, lane number of the location, lane width,
The deflection driving data at each of a plurality of photographing points can be arbitrarily set in consideration of the position of the traffic light and the like, so that there is great versatility or flexibility.

Further, when storing the above-mentioned turning drive data as preset data at the time of installation of the traffic condition photographing apparatus, the focusing screen can be attached to and detached from the exposure opening by using the first to fourth setting means. In the state where the traffic condition photographing device is installed, specifically, the number and width of the driving lane, so-called initial setting is performed while visually checking the actual subject image with the shutter fully opened. It is possible to set the optimal photographing conditions that take into account the situation and the surrounding conditions.

[0423] Next, traffic conditions photographing equipment with zooming function according to the present invention, preset data optimal magnification drive data in each of a plurality of photographing points set in advance, at the time of installation of a traffic state imaging device And determine whether the passing vehicle has committed a traffic violation, such as a signal violation violation, and specify at which of the plurality of shooting points the violation has occurred, and determine the identified position. , The variable-power driving data stored in the storage unit is read out, and the variable-power driving is performed according to the read data, so that the optimum photographing angle of view at the photographing position can be quickly obtained. . In particular, in the present invention, the focus
Target for each of drive, zoom drive, and deflection drive
Drive (return) to an intermediate position before driving to the value
Therefore, the amount of driving prior to shooting can be reduced.
The preparation time prior to shooting can be reduced. This
As a result, the shooting is actually started when the shooting start command is issued.
The time lag from the point in time can be minimized.

[0424] In addition, traffic state taking equipment with a zoom function according to the present invention, the driving lane number of the location, lane width,
Since the variable magnification drive data at each of the plurality of photographing points can be arbitrarily set in consideration of the position of the traffic light and the like, it can be adapted to any installation environment.

Further, when storing the above-mentioned variable-magnification driving data in the storage unit as preset data when the traffic condition photographing apparatus is installed, the reticle is attached to and detached from the exposure aperture by using the first to fourth setting means. It is possible to perform so-called initial setting while visually confirming the actual subject image with the shutter fully opened and the state of the place where the traffic condition photographing device is installed, specifically, the number and width of the traveling lane It is possible to set an optimal photographing condition in which the surrounding conditions are comprehensively taken into consideration.

[0426] Therefore, when photographing only the offending vehicle, the photographing magnification can be increased, and when photographing including the periphery of the violating vehicle, the photographing magnification can be reduced. In addition, photographing is performed when a road is constituted by a plurality of lanes. Since the shooting angle of view can be matched to the optimum shooting lane, a highly reliable recording screen can be obtained.

[0427] In addition, the focus function traffic conditions photographic equipment according to the present invention, the storage unit the optimum shooting distance data in each of a plurality of photographing points set in advance, as the preset data at the time of installation of a traffic state imaging device Stored in
In addition to determining whether the passing vehicle has committed a traffic violation such as a signal ignoring violation, it specifies the location of the violation at which of the multiple shooting points, and stores it in the storage unit according to the specified location. Since the stored focus drive data is taken out and the focus drive is performed in accordance with the taken out data, the optimum focus state at the shooting position can be quickly obtained.

[0428] In addition, traffic state taking equipment with a focus function according to the present invention, the driving lane number of the location, lane width,
The photographing distance data at each of the plurality of photographing points can be arbitrarily set in consideration of the position of the traffic light and the like, so that it can be adapted to any installation environment.

Further, when the photographing distance data is stored as preset data in the storage unit when the traffic condition photographing apparatus is installed, a focusing screen is removably attached to an exposure opening, and actual photographing is performed with the shutter fully opened. The initial setting can be performed while visually checking the subject image.
It is possible to set an optimal photographing condition that comprehensively takes into account the state of the place where the traffic condition photographing device is installed, specifically, the number and width of the traveling lanes and the surrounding conditions.

[0430] Therefore, when the traveling vehicle is detected as satisfying the traffic violation state, when the vehicle is photographed, it is possible to obtain an optimum in-focus state at each of a plurality of photographing points. Since an in-focus state is not detected each time an arbitrary point is focused, focus driving to an optimum shooting distance at each of a plurality of shooting points can be quickly performed, and the shooting unit Since the responsiveness can be improved, a highly reliable recording screen can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a traffic condition photographing apparatus with a photographing optical axis turning function according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a plurality of photographing positional relationships common to the first, fifth, and ninth embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a mechanism of a deflection driving unit shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation common to the first, fifth, and ninth embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing details of an initial setting step shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing details of some of the steps shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a traffic condition photographing apparatus with a photographing optical axis turning function according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 shows a second embodiment, a sixth embodiment, and a tenth embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation common to the embodiments.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing details of an initial setting step shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing details of steps of intermediate value driving shown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a traffic condition photographing apparatus with a photographing optical axis turning function according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 shows a third embodiment, a seventh embodiment, and a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a plurality of photographing positional relationships common to one embodiment.

FIG. 13 shows a third embodiment, a seventh embodiment, and a first embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a flowchart showing an operation common to one embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a traffic condition photographing apparatus with a photographing optical axis turning function according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 shows a fourth embodiment, an eighth embodiment, and a first embodiment of the present invention.
It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement common to 2 Example.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a traffic condition photographing apparatus with a zoom function according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a traffic condition photographing apparatus with a zoom function according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a traffic condition photographing apparatus with a variable power function according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a traffic condition photographing apparatus with a zoom function according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a block diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a traffic condition photographing apparatus with a focusing function according to a ninth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a traffic condition photographing apparatus with a focusing function according to a tenth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a traffic condition photographing apparatus with a focusing function according to an eleventh embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 23 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a traffic condition photographing apparatus with a focusing function according to a twelfth embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1-4 Vehicle lane 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D Driving lane 5 Intersection 6 Traffic light 8 Deflection angle range (angle change range) 9 Irradiation angle 10 Imaging unit 11 Zoom unit 12 Film feeding unit 13 Data imprinting unit 14 Film exposure unit 15 Focus unit 16 Shutter holding unit 17 Variable magnification drive unit 18 Angle of view detection unit 19 Distance detection unit 20 Deflection drive unit 21 Computation unit 30 Control unit 31 First vehicle detection unit 31A, 31B, 31C, 31D Vehicle Sensor 32 Second vehicle detecting means 32A, 32B, 32C, 32D Vehicle sensor 33 Violation detecting means 34 Violating position specifying means (violating vehicle position specifying means) 35 Control means 36 Input means 37 Storage unit 38 First selecting means 39 First Second selection means 40 Intermediate position return command means 41 First to fourth setting means (setting means) 50 Toro light emitting unit 61 Frame 62, 63 Bearing 64 Ball screw shaft 65 Followed pulley 66 Stepping motor 67 Output shaft 68 Drive pulley 69 Timing belt 70 Guide rod 71 Fixed member 72 Shaft 73 Rotating member 74 Base 75 Follower member 76 Positioning pin 77 Camera Bottom plate 78 Thumbscrew 79 Camera body 80 Shooting lens barrel 81 Film magazine 91 Vehicle detection means 91A, 91B, 91C, 91D Vehicle sensor 92 Timer circuit

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (31) Priority claim number Japanese Patent Application No. 5-248591 (32) Priority date September 10, 1993 (September 10, 1993) (33) Priority claim country Japan (JP) (72) Inventor Takehisa Sarayama 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Ricoh Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-58-82399 (JP, A) JP-A-58-163100 (JP, A) JP-A-5-37937 (JP, A) JP-A-2-78000 (JP, A) JP-A-3-37596 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) ) G08G 1/054 G02B 7/08 G02B 7/28 G03B 15/00

Claims (8)

(57) [Claims] When detecting a traffic violation of a vehicle that has reached a predetermined position in a vehicle lane composed of a plurality of traveling lanes, a photographing optical axis of a photographing unit installed along the vehicle lane is detected. A traffic condition photographing device with a photographing optical axis redirection function for photographing toward the offending vehicle, wherein a vehicle traveling on a traveling lane in a vehicle traffic path has a first predetermined position set in each traveling lane. First vehicle detecting means for detecting that the vehicle has arrived at the vehicle, and a vehicle traveling on a traveling lane on the vehicle traffic path is located at a second predetermined position located on the traveling lane closer to the traveling direction than the first predetermined position. Second vehicle detection means for detecting that the vehicle has arrived, violation detection means for determining whether the vehicle is a traffic violation when a vehicle is detected by the first or second vehicle detection means, Detected by this violation detection means Generating lane specifying data specifying which of the plurality of driving lanes the anti-vehicle is traveling on and the position specifying data specifying whether the vehicle is located at the first or second predetermined position Violating position specifying means, and a plurality of photographing optical axis directions from a place where the photographing unit is installed corresponding to the photographing positions at the first and second predetermined positions of the plurality of traveling lanes, respectively. Input means for storing in the storage unit in advance when the photographing unit is installed as the photographing optical axis deflection angle data, and a violation is detected by the violation detecting means among vehicles running on a plurality of traveling lanes constituting the vehicle traffic path. First selecting means for selecting a vehicle in which traveling lane to be photographed when detected, an order of photographing, and a plurality of photographing lights stored in a storage unit in advance by the input means From the axis turning angle data, the shooting optical axis turning angle data corresponding to the shooting lane selected by the first selecting means and corresponding to the position specifying data detected by the violation position specifying means is obtained. Second selecting means for selecting, and changing driving for receiving the shooting optical axis turning angle data selected by the second selecting means and driving the shooting optical axis in the shooting section toward the offending vehicle to shoot. A photographing unit, based on a plurality of photographing optical axis turning angle data stored in a storage unit in advance by the input unit in a standby state in the turning driving photographing mode by the turning driving photographing unit; A driving means for driving to an intermediate angle in a turning angle range, comprising: a traffic state photographing apparatus with a photographing optical axis turning function. 2. When a traffic violation of a vehicle reaching a predetermined position in a vehicle lane composed of a plurality of driving lanes is detected, a photographing optical axis of a photographing unit installed along the vehicle lane is changed. A traffic condition photographing device with a photographing optical axis turning function for photographing toward the offending vehicle, wherein a vehicle traveling on a traveling lane in a vehicle traffic path has reached a predetermined position set in each traveling lane. Vehicle detection means for detecting that the vehicle is detected by the vehicle detection means; and a violation detection means for determining whether the vehicle is a traffic violation when the vehicle is detected by the vehicle detection means. Violating position specifying means for generating lane specifying data specifying which of the plurality of driving lanes the vehicle is traveling and position specifying data for specifying the position of the vehicle; and An input to store the photographing optical axis direction in the storage unit in advance when the photographing unit is installed, as a plurality of photographing optical axis deflection angle data corresponding to each of the photographing positions at the predetermined positions of the plurality of traveling lanes. Means for selecting a vehicle in which traveling lane should be photographed when a violation is detected by the violation detecting means among vehicles traveling on a plurality of traveling lanes constituting the vehicle traffic path, and selecting an order in which the vehicle should be photographed. A first selecting unit that performs the operation, and the violation position corresponding to the photographing lane selected by the first selecting unit from a plurality of photographing optical axis deflection angle data stored in a storage unit in advance by the input unit. Second selecting means for selecting photographing optical axis turning angle data corresponding to the lane specifying data detected by the specifying means; and receiving the photographing optical axis turning angle data selected by the second selecting means. the above A turning drive shooting means for shooting by driving the shooting optical axis in the shooting unit toward the offending vehicle; and, in a standby state in the turning drive shooting mode by the turning drive shooting means, the shooting optical axis Driving means for driving to an intermediate angle of a deflection angle range based on a plurality of imaging optical axis deflection angle data stored in a storage unit in advance by an input means; Traffic condition shooting device. 3. A photographing section includes a first setting means for holding a shutter open as required, a second setting means for holding an aperture at an arbitrary aperture, and a reticle for applying an aperture for film exposure. third setting means and the photographing optical axis deflection of claim 1 or claim 2, characterized by comprising a fourth setting means for driving the photographing optical axis to an arbitrary position, a to contact held Traffic condition photographing device with function. (4)Vehicle traffic consisting of multiple driving lanes
A traffic violation of a vehicle that has reached a predetermined position on the road is detected.
Of the shooting unit installed along the above-mentioned vehicle traffic path
The angle of view is scaled according to the position of the offending vehicle.
A traffic condition photographing device with a double function, Vehicles traveling in the driving lane on the vehicle
The vehicle has reached the first predetermined position set during the driving lane.
First vehicle detection means for detecting The vehicle traveling on the traveling lane in the vehicle traffic path is the first vehicle.
A position located in the traveling lane closer to the traveling direction than the predetermined position
Second vehicle detection for detecting that the vehicle has reached the second predetermined position
Means, A vehicle is detected by the first or second vehicle detection means.
Violation to determine whether the vehicle is a traffic violation
Detecting means; The offending vehicle detected by the offense detection means
The difference that identifies which vehicle is traveling
The anti-lane data and the vehicle are in the first or second predetermined
Violation location data that identifies which location
A violation locating means to be generated; The focal length of the taking lens of the
The first and second predetermined positions of each of the traveling lanes
Multiple shootings corresponding to each shooting position
The angle of view data is stored in advance in the storage unit when the imaging unit is installed.
Input means to be stored, The vehicle travels on a plurality of traveling lanes that make up the vehicle traffic path.
Violation detection of the above vehicles When a violation is detected
Which shooting lane should the vehicle be photographed
First selecting means for selecting an order; A plurality of photographing angles of view stored in the storage unit in advance by the input means
The photographing selected by the first selecting means from the data
Corresponding to the lane and detected by the above violation location specifying means.
Select the shooting angle-of-view data that corresponds to the specified location data
Second selecting means; The focal length of the photographing lens of the photographing unit is detected and
Angle-of-view detecting means for obtaining angle-of-view data; The current angle-of-view data detected by the angle-of-view
Ratio with the photographing angle-of-view data selected by the second selecting means
Computing means for comparing and obtaining variable-power driving amount data; The variable drive amount data obtained by this arithmetic means
In the same way, the shooting angle of view in the
Variable magnification driving photographing means,  Standby state in variable-power drive shooting mode by variable-power drive shooting means
The angle of view is stored beforehand in the storage unit by the input means.
Position of the zoom range based on multiple captured angle-of-view data
And an intermediate position return command means for driving the
Traffic condition photographing device with variable magnification function. 5. The traffic condition photographing apparatus with a variable power function according to claim 4 , wherein the photographing section holds the shutter at an open position as required and a diaphragm at an arbitrary aperture. A second setting unit, a third setting unit for holding the reticle in contact with the opening for film exposure, and a fourth setting unit for driving the focal length of the taking lens to an arbitrary position. A traffic condition photographing device with a variable magnification function. 6. When a traffic violation of a vehicle that has reached a predetermined position in a vehicle lane composed of a plurality of driving lanes is detected, a traffic from a photographing unit installed along the vehicle lane to the offending vehicle is detected. In a traffic condition photographing device with a focusing function for focusing and photographing according to the distance of the vehicle, a vehicle traveling on a traveling lane in a vehicle traffic path is located at a first predetermined position set in each traveling lane. A first vehicle detecting means for detecting that the vehicle has arrived, and a vehicle traveling on a traveling lane in a vehicle traffic path.
A second vehicle detecting means for detecting that the vehicle has reached a second predetermined position located in a traveling lane closer to the traveling direction than the predetermined position of the vehicle; and detecting the arrival of the vehicle by the first or second vehicle detecting means. Violation detecting means for determining whether or not the vehicle is a traffic violation when the vehicle is violated; and determining which of the plurality of driving lanes the vehicle violates the violating vehicle detected by the violation detecting means. Violating vehicle position specifying means for generating violating lane data to specify and violating vehicle position data for specifying whether the vehicle is located at the first or second predetermined position; A plurality of shooting distance data corresponding to the respective shooting distances to the first and second predetermined positions of the plurality of traveling lanes are stored in the storage unit in advance when the shooting unit is installed. Means, first selecting a sequence to be photographed with selecting shooting lane to be taken when a fault in the violation detection unit among the plurality of traveling lanes constituting the vehicle traffic channel has been detected
Selecting means corresponding to the photographing lane selected by the first selecting means from among a plurality of photographing distance data previously stored in the storage unit by the input means, and detected by the violating vehicle position specifying means. Second selecting means for selecting photographing distance data corresponding to the detected offending vehicle position data, distance detecting means for detecting a current focal position of the photographing lens to obtain current distance data, and detecting by the distance detecting means. Calculating means for comparing the current distance data with the photographing distance data selected by the second selecting means to obtain focusing drive amount data; and calculating the focus driving amount data obtained by the calculating means. Focusing drive driving means for driving the distance drive ring of the photographing lens to perform photographing; and photographing when the focusing drive photographing means is in a standby state in a focus driving photographing mode. An intermediate position return instructing means for driving the separation to an intermediate position in a focusing drive change range based on a plurality of photographing distance data stored in the storage unit in advance by the input means; Traffic condition shooting device. 7. When a traffic violation of a vehicle that has reached a predetermined position in a vehicle lane composed of a plurality of traveling lanes is detected, the traffic from a photographing unit installed along the vehicle lane to the offending vehicle is detected. A traffic condition photographing device with a focusing function for focusing and photographing according to the distance of the vehicle, wherein a vehicle traveling on a traveling lane in a vehicle traffic path has reached a predetermined position set in each traveling lane. Vehicle detection means for detecting a vehicle, violation detection means for determining whether or not the vehicle is a traffic violation when vehicle arrival is detected by the vehicle detection means, and a violating vehicle detected by the violation detection means Violation lane data that specifies which lane of the plurality of driving lanes the vehicle is traveling on, and violating vehicle position specifying means that generates violating vehicle position data that specifies the position of the vehicle, Input means for storing a plurality of photographing distance data corresponding to each of photographing distances from the photographing lens of the photographing unit to the predetermined position of each of the plurality of traveling lanes in a storage unit in advance when installing the photographing unit; A first lane to select a photographing lane to be photographed and a sequence to photograph when a violation is detected by the violation detecting means, from among a plurality of traveling lanes constituting the vehicle traffic path;
Selecting means corresponding to the photographing lane selected by the first selecting means from among a plurality of photographing distance data previously stored in the storage unit by the input means, and detected by the violating vehicle position specifying means. Second selecting means for selecting photographing distance data corresponding to the detected offending vehicle position data, distance detecting means for detecting a current focal position of the photographing lens to obtain current distance data, and detecting by the distance detecting means. Calculating means for comparing the current distance data with the photographing distance data selected by the second selecting means to obtain focus driving amount data; and calculating the focus driving amount data obtained by the calculating means. A focusing driving photographing means for photographing by driving a distance driving ring in the photographing lens; and a photographing distance when the focusing driving photographing means is in a standby state in a focusing driving photographing mode. Traffic with a focusing function, comprising: an intermediate position return instructing means for driving to an intermediate position in a focusing drive change range based on a plurality of photographing distance data stored in the storage unit in advance by the input means. State photographing device. 8. A photographing unit includes: first setting means for holding a shutter open as required; second setting means for holding an aperture at an arbitrary aperture; and a focusing screen at an opening for film exposure. A third setting means for holding the contact lens, a fourth setting means for driving the object distance of the taking lens to an arbitrary position, and a fifth setting means for driving the taking optical axis to an arbitrary position. A traffic condition photographing apparatus with a focusing function according to claim 6 or claim 7 .