JP6573317B2 - Cleaning device, surveillance camera equipped with cleaning device, and control device therefor - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a cleaning device for removing dust adhering to the inner surface of a transparent container having an imaging camera therein, a surveillance camera provided with the cleaning device, and a control device therefor.

As a monitoring camera for safety measures installed on a ceiling of a closed space such as a bus or a train, a dome type camera shown in Patent Document 1 is known.
A dome-type camera disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a transparent shield case that is fixed on a base and has a light-shielding portion that shields a part of incident light, and a tilt rotation axis that is installed inside the shield case. And a rotatable imaging camera.

In the dome type camera shown in Patent Document 1, dirt attached to the outer surface of the shield case may be removed with a cloth or the like, but in the case of dirt attached to the inner surface of the shield case, the shield case is removed from the main body. It is not easy because it requires extra work such as removal.
In addition, in the dome type camera, water droplets may be generated in the shield case due to the temperature difference between the inside and the outside, and this may cause dirt to adhere to the inner surface of the shield case. Shooting may be hindered.

In order to solve such a problem, for example, it is conceivable to use a dome inner wall cleaning device disclosed in Patent Document 2.
The dome inner wall cleaning apparatus shown here includes a base having a guide rail installed at the center of a hemispherical dome, a rotary table that can rotate substantially horizontally along the rail, and is supported by the rotary table and supported by the rotary table. A support column that is rotatable in the vertical direction, a cleaning brush provided at the tip of the support column, a first drive unit that is provided on a base and rotates the rotary table, and the support column provided on the rotary table. Second driving means for rotating in the vertical direction.

JP 2014-41380 A JP-A-8-33600

  However, the dome inner wall cleaning device disclosed in Patent Document 2 is a large-sized device provided with a dedicated driving means for rotating a cleaning brush, and is expensive to apply to a small dome-type camera. For this reason, it has been expected to provide an optimum technique applicable to a small dome type camera.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and includes a cleaning device having a simple structure that can be applied to a small device such as a surveillance camera having a transparent container having an imaging camera therein, and the cleaning device. The surveillance camera provided and the control device therefor are provided.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention proposes the following means.
The present invention provides a motor for rotationally driving an imaging camera that is rotatably supported around a first support shaft in a transparent container, and is rotatably supported around a second support shaft that is parallel to the first support shaft. And a clutch mechanism that is provided at a base end portion of the arm and is driven by the motor to transmit or release the rotational force of the first support shaft to the second support shaft, and an inner surface of the transparent container And a cleaning member which is provided at the tip of the arm so as to come into contact with the inner surface of the transparent container when the motor rotational force is transmitted by the clutch mechanism.

  According to the present invention, it is not necessary to separately provide a drive motor for cleaning the inner surface of the transparent container, and the entire structure can be made small and simple.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a surveillance camera according to an embodiment of the present invention, cut along a vertical plane along the center of a dome-shaped transparent container. It is sectional drawing which showed schematic structure of the surveillance camera which concerns on other embodiment of this invention, and was cut | disconnected by the perpendicular surface along the center of a dome-shaped transparent container. It is a top view at the time of cut | disconnecting a transparent container along III-III of FIG. It is a front view which shows the arm of FIG.2 and FIG.3 in detail. It is a flowchart which shows the control content of a surveillance camera.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a schematic configuration of a monitoring camera 100 including a cleaning device 1 according to the embodiment.
The monitoring camera 100 includes an imaging camera having a transparent container 2 serving as a casing, and a lens 4A that is disposed in the transparent container 2 and is rotatably driven around a first support shaft 3 by a motor (not shown). 4 is provided.
The imaging camera 4 captures an external image of the transparent container 2 by reciprocating in the directions of arrows (A) to (B) about the first support shaft 3.

On the other hand, the cleaning device 1 incorporated in the monitoring camera 100 includes a motor (not shown) that rotates the imaging camera 4 around the first support shaft 3 in the transparent container 2, and a first parallel to the first support shaft 3. 2 An arm 6 supported rotatably around the support shaft 5, a clutch mechanism 7 that transmits or releases the rotational force of the first support shaft 3 to the second support shaft 5, and a tip of the arm 6. And a cleaning member 8 that slides on the inner surface of the transparent container 2.
The arm 6 has a base end portion that is rotatably supported around a second support shaft 5 parallel to the first support shaft 3. A cleaning member 8 for cleaning the inner surface of 2 is installed.

The clutch mechanism 7 has a second support shaft so that the gear 5A of the second support shaft 5 that supports the arm 6 is closely spaced from the gear 3A of the first support shaft 3 driven by a motor (not shown). 5 is moved in the direction of arrow (c)-(d).
In this clutch mechanism 7, when the second support shaft 5 is moved in the direction of the arrow (c) with respect to the first support shaft 3 and the gears 3A and 5A of the support shafts 3 and 5 are engaged with each other, The rotational force of the first support shaft 3 driven by the motor is transmitted to the second support shaft 5.
In this state, when the motor is driven, the driving force of the motor is transmitted to the arm 6 via the first support shaft 3 and the second support shaft 5, thereby centering on the second support shaft 5. The arm 6 rotates in the direction of arrows (A)-(B), and the inner surface of the transparent container 2 is cleaned by sliding with the cleaning member 8 at the tip of the arm 6.
Further, in this clutch mechanism 7, when the second support shaft 5 is moved in the direction of the arrow (d) with respect to the first support shaft 3, and the gears 3A and 5A of the support shafts 3 and 5 are separated from each other, The power transmission from the motor-driven first support shaft 3 to the second support shaft 5 is released.

The operation of the monitoring camera 100 configured as described above will be described.
First, the motor is driven in a state where the connection between the first support shaft 3 and the second support shaft 5 is released by the clutch mechanism 7 (the second support shaft 5 is moving in the direction of arrow (d)). In this case, the imaging camera 4 rotates about the first support shaft 3 in the directions of arrows (A) to (B), and thereby a monitoring image outside the transparent container 2 is captured by the imaging camera 4.
At this time, since the first support shaft 3 and the second support shaft 5 are not connected by the clutch mechanism 7, the arm 6 remains stopped at the initial position.

In this surveillance camera 100, the clutch mechanism 7 connects the first support shaft 3 and the second support shaft 5 to transmit power (the second support shaft 5 moves in the direction of the arrow (c)). When the motor is driven in this state, the arm 6 is centered on the second support shaft 5 by the power transmission via the first support shaft 3 and the second support shaft 5. ) Direction. As a result, the cleaning member 8 at the tip of the arm 6 also rotates in the directions of arrows (A) to (B), and the inner surface of the transparent container 2 is cleaned by sliding with the cleaning member 8.
In the state where the first support shaft 3 and the second support shaft 5 are connected by the clutch mechanism 7, the imaging camera 4 and the cleaning member 8 rotate simultaneously in the directions of arrows (A) to (B). Whether the imaging camera 4 is turned on and the outside of the transparent container 2 is photographed may be appropriately set.

As described in detail above, in the surveillance camera 100 provided with the cleaning device 1 shown in the present embodiment, the first support shaft that is driven by the motor that rotates the imaging camera 4 when the clutch mechanism 7 operates. 3 can be transmitted to or released from the second support shaft 5 of the arm 6 on which the cleaning member 8 is supported at the tip.
When the rotational force of the first support shaft 3 is transmitted to the second support shaft 5 by the clutch mechanism 7, the cleaning member 8 at the tip of the arm 6 that rotates about the second support shaft 5 serves as the transparent container 2. The inside of the transparent container 2 is thereby cleaned.
That is, according to the monitoring camera 100 shown in the present embodiment, the rotational force of the first support shaft 3 driven by the motor that rotationally drives the imaging camera 4 is used for the rotation of the arm 6 with the cleaning member 8 supported at the tip. 2 Since the clutch mechanism 7 for transmitting or releasing the transmission to the support shaft 5 is provided, it is not necessary to provide a separate dedicated drive motor for cleaning the inner surface of the transparent container 2, thereby making the whole small and simple. It can be configured.

  In the monitoring camera 1 shown in the above embodiment, the transparent container 2 is disposed upward. However, when the camera is installed on the ceiling in actual use, the transparent container 2 is disposed downward.

(Other embodiments)
A monitoring camera 101 including a cleaning device 10 that further embodies the configuration of FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIGS.
2-4 is sectional drawing which shows schematic structure of the monitoring camera 101 provided with the cleaning apparatus 10 which concerns on this embodiment.
The monitoring camera 101 is provided in a dome-shaped transparent container 12 serving as a casing installed on the base 11 and is arranged in the transparent container 12 so as to be rotatable around the first support shaft 13 by a motor M. And an imaging camera 14 having a lens 14A.
The imaging camera 14 captures an image outside the transparent container 12 by reciprocating around the first support shaft 13 in the directions of arrows (A) to (B). The lens 14A is directed so as to be at the 9 o'clock position.

  On the other hand, the cleaning device 10 incorporated in the monitoring camera 101 includes a motor M that rotates the imaging camera 14 around the first support shaft 13 in the transparent container 12, and a second support shaft that is parallel to the first support shaft 13. 15, an arm 16 rotatably supported around 15, a clutch mechanism 17 for transmitting or releasing the rotational force of the first support shaft 13 to the second support shaft 15, and a transparent container provided at the tip of the arm 16 And a cleaning member 18 that slides on the inner surface of 12.

The arm 16 has a base end portion rotatably supported around a second support shaft 15 parallel to the first support shaft 13, and contacts the inner surface of the container 12 at the distal end portion of the arm 16. A cleaning member 18 that slides on the inner surface of 12 is installed.
Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the arm 16 is formed to be extendable and retractable corresponding to the distance between the second support shaft 15 and the inner peripheral surface of the transparent container 12.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, the arm 16 includes two arm members 20 and 21 that can be expanded and contracted along the length direction, and an arrow (e) that separates the arm members 20 and 21 from each other. A spring member 22 biased in the direction (f), and the biasing force of the spring member 22 causes the cleaning member 18 provided at the tip of the arm 16 to be in close contact with the inner surface of the dome-shaped transparent container 12. I try to let them. Instead of the configuration in which the arm 16 can be expanded and contracted, the contact force of the cleaning member 18 may be secured by elastically deforming and flexing.
It should be noted that the arm 16 has an angle so that when the imaging camera 14 is at “9 o'clock position” which is the “initial position” shown in FIG. Is set.
The cleaning member 18 is provided with a cleaning pad 18A so that it can be replaced when it becomes dirty.

The clutch mechanism 17 meshes or separates the first gear 13A fixed to the first support shaft 13, the second gear 15A fixed to the second support shaft 15, and the second gear 15A with respect to the first gear 13A. A gear moving mechanism 23 including an actuator such as a solenoid.
In the clutch mechanism 17, the gear moving mechanism 23 is operated to move the gear 15 A of the second support shaft 15 that supports the arm 16 to the gear 13 A of the first support shaft 13 driven by the motor M. (C) The gears 13A and 15A are meshed and disengaged by approaching and separating in the (d) direction.
Here, the gear moving mechanism 23 performs engagement and release of the gears 13A and 15A by translating the second support shaft 15 of the gear 15A with respect to the first support shaft 13 of the gear 13A. is there.

In the clutch mechanism 17 as described above, when the second support shaft 15 is translated in the direction of the arrow (c) by the gear moving mechanism 23 with respect to the first support shaft 13, The gears 13A and 15A are meshed with each other.
When the motor M is driven in this state, the driving force of the motor M is transmitted to the arm 16 via the first support shaft 13 and the second support shaft 15, and the second support The arm 16 rotates about the shaft 15 in the direction of arrow (A)-(B). As a result, the cleaning member 18 at the tip of the arm 16 slides on the inner surface of the transparent container 12 to clean the inside of the transparent container 12.

Here, when the gear 13A fixed to the first support shaft 13 serving as the drive shaft of the motor M and the gear 15A fixed to the second support shaft 15 pivotally supporting the arm 16 mesh with each other, imaging is performed. The rotation direction of the camera 14 and the rotation direction of the cleaning member 18 at the tip of the arm 16 are opposite to each other.
That is, when the imaging camera 14 rotates in the direction of arrow (A), the arm 16 and the cleaning member 18 rotate in the direction of arrow (B). At the same time, when the imaging camera 14 rotates in the direction of arrow (B) The arm 16 and the cleaning member 18 rotate in the direction of the arrow (A).

In the clutch mechanism 17, the second support shaft 15 is translated in the direction of the arrow (d) with respect to the first support shaft 13 by the gear moving mechanism 23, and the gears 13 A and 15 A of the support shafts 13 and 15 are moved. When the mesh release is performed, the power transmission from the motor-driven first support shaft 13 to the second support shaft 15 is released.
In this state, when the motor M is driven, the imaging camera 14 rotates about the first support shaft 13 in the directions of arrows (A) to (B), thereby the transparent container formed by the imaging camera 14. 12 monitoring images are taken.

An encoder 30 is installed on the second support shaft 15 that supports the arm 16, and the rotation angle of the cleaning member 18 is detected based on a pulse output every time the second support shaft 15 rotates by a predetermined angle from the encoder 30. Is done.
This encoder 30 is installed on the second support shaft 15 and has a rotating plate 31 in which slits (not shown) are formed at regular intervals in the circumferential direction, and a pulse counter 32 that counts the number of passages of the slit of the rotating plate 31. , And the rotation angle of the cleaning member 18 is detected by counting with the pulse counter 32.
A distance sensor 33 that detects the distance from the top surface of the base 11 is provided at the tip of the arm 16. The distance sensor 33 detects the height position of the cleaning member 18 from the distance from the upper surface of the base 11 and detects the rotation angle of the cleaning member 18 based on the height position.

The motor M and the gear moving mechanism 23 described above are driven by the control device C shown in FIG.
Specifically, in the control device C, time data from a separately provided timer (not shown) and rotation angle data from the encoder 30 and the distance sensor 33 are input. Based on this, drive control of the motor M and the gear moving mechanism 23 is performed.

Specific control contents of the control device C will be described for each step (SP) with reference to FIG.
<< Step 1 >>
This flow is started when the time preset by the timer is reached.

<< Step 2 >>
As shown in FIG. 2, the imaging camera 14 is at the “9 o'clock position”, which is the initial position, and accordingly, the cleaning member 18 at the tip of the arm 16 is at the “3 o'clock position” where it is 180 ° opposite. It is determined whether or not.
The determination as to whether or not the imaging camera 14 and the cleaning member 18 are in the initial position may be based on detection data from the encoder 30 or the distance sensor 33 obtained when the camera is driven last time, or a limit provided separately. It may be based on detection data from detection means such as a switch (not shown).

<< Step 3 >>
Based on the detection result of step 2, it is determined whether or not the imaging camera 14 is at the “9 o'clock position” that is the initial position. If NO, the previous step 2 is returned, and if YES, the process proceeds to the next step 4. .

<< Step 4 >>
Assuming that the imaging camera 14 and the cleaning member 18 are in the initial positions, the gear moving mechanism 23 of the clutch mechanism 17 is driven to move the second support shaft 15 in the direction of the arrow (c) close to the first support shaft 13. Thus, the gears 13A and 15A of the first support shaft 13 and the second support shaft 15 are engaged with each other.

<< Step 5 >>
The motor M is driven and the driving force of the motor M is transmitted to the arm 16 via the support shafts 13 and 15.
As a result, the arm 16 rotates about the second support shaft 15 in the directions of arrows (A) to (B), and the inner surface of the transparent container 12 is cleaned by the cleaning member 18 positioned at the tip of the arm 16.

The cleaning here is a reciprocating motion in which the arm 16 and the cleaning member 18 at the “3 o'clock position” are rotated 180 ° in the direction of arrow (b) and then rotated 180 ° in the direction of arrow (b). The operation is set to be performed once or a plurality of times.
At this time, the imaging camera 14 at “9 o'clock position” also rotates 180 ° in the direction of arrow (b) after rotating 180 ° in the direction of arrow (A). It may be set as appropriate.

<< Step 6 >>
An encoder 30 is installed on the second support shaft 15 that supports the arm 16, and the rotation angle of the cleaning member 18 is detected based on an output signal from the encoder 30.

<< Step 7 >>
The number of pulses from the encoder 30 obtained in step 7 is measured, and based on the measurement result, it is determined whether the arm 16 having the imaging camera 14 and the cleaning member 18 has performed a predetermined reciprocating motion. If YES at which the predetermined value has been reached, the process proceeds to the next step 8, and if NO at which the number of steps of the encoder 30 does not reach the predetermined value, the process returns to the previous step 5.

<< Step 8 >>
After confirming that the imaging camera 14 returns to the “9 o'clock position”, which is the initial position, and that the cleaning member 18 at the tip of the arm 16 has returned to the “3 o'clock position” located on the opposite side of 180 °, the next step 9 Proceed to
The confirmation process in this step may be performed based on detection data from the distance sensor 33 as well as detection data from the encoder 30.

<< Step 9 >>
Assuming that the imaging camera 14 and the cleaning member 18 at the tip of the arm 16 have returned to the initial positions, the gear moving mechanism 23 of the clutch mechanism 17 is released, and the second support shaft is moved in the direction of the arrow (d) away from the first support shaft 13. Move 15 As a result, the meshing of the gears 13A and 15A of the first support shaft 13 and the second support shaft 15 is released.

<< Step 10 >>
Through the above steps 1 to 9, the cleaning of the inner surface of the transparent container 12 is finished, and the routine returns to the normal monitoring routine by the imaging camera 14.

As described above in detail, in the monitoring camera 101 provided with the cleaning device 10 shown in the present embodiment, the first support that is driven by the motor M that rotationally drives the imaging camera 14 when the clutch mechanism 17 operates. The rotational force of the shaft 13 can be transmitted to or released from the second support shaft 51 of the arm 6 with the cleaning member 18 supported at the tip.
When the rotational force of the first support shaft 13 is transmitted to the second support shaft 15 by the clutch mechanism 17, the cleaning member 18 at the tip of the arm 16 that rotates about the second support shaft 15 serves as the transparent container 12. The inside of the transparent container 12 is thereby cleaned.

  That is, according to the monitoring camera 101 shown in the present embodiment, the rotational force of the first support shaft 13 driven by the motor M of the imaging camera 14 is used as the second support of the arm 16 with the cleaning member 18 supported at the tip. Since the clutch mechanism 17 for transmitting or releasing the transmission to the shaft 15 is provided, there is no need to provide a separate dedicated drive motor M for cleaning the inner surface of the transparent container 12, thereby making the whole small and simple. It can be.

The monitoring camera 101 provided with the cleaning device 10 shown in the above embodiment may be modified as follows.
(Modification 1)
The arm 16 is formed to be extendable and retractable corresponding to the distance between the second support shaft 15 and the inner peripheral surface of the transparent container 12, but the entire arm 16 is formed of a bendable elastic material and has a distal end. The cleaning member 18 may be brought into close contact with the inner surface of the transparent container 12.
Alternatively, the arm 16 may have a pantograph structure so that the cleaning member 18 is in close contact with the inner surface of the transparent container 12.

(Modification 2)
Although the solenoid is used for the clutch mechanism 17, the present invention is not limited to this, and the first support shaft 13 and the second support shaft 15 are arranged coaxially, and the first support shaft 13 and the second support shaft 15 are arranged. A clutch mechanism 17 that transmits or cuts power by a pair of clutch plates may be provided therebetween.

(Modification 3)
In the above example, the initial position of the imaging camera 14 is “9 o'clock position” and the initial position of the cleaning member 18 at the tip of the arm 16 is “3 o'clock position”, but these initial positions can be set as appropriate. For example, an intermediate gear is interposed between the gear 13A of the first support shaft 13 and the gear 15A of the second support shaft 15, and the initial positions of the imaging camera 14 and the cleaning member 18 are both set to “9 o'clock position”. It may be driven in the direction.
In the above example, since the gear ratio of the gear 13A of the first support shaft 13 and the gear 15A of the second support shaft 15 is 1: 1, the imaging camera 14 and the cleaning member 18 rotate by the same angle. It may be determined as appropriate. For example, the gear ratio is set to 1:10 or the like, and the cleaning member 18 is rotated largely with respect to the rotation of the imaging camera 14 (cleaning is performed larger than the rotation range of the imaging camera 14), or conversely, the gear ratio is set to 10: 1. For example, the arm 16 that requires a larger torque than the imaging camera 14 may be rotated.
When a torque limiter (sliding clutch) or the like is provided between the support shafts 13 and 15 and the gears 13A and 15A supported by the support shafts 13 and 15, and the imaging camera 14 or the cleaning member 18 rotates out of a predetermined operating range for some reason. Alternatively, the drive system may be idled to prevent damage.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was explained in full detail with reference to drawings, the concrete structure is not restricted to this embodiment, The design change etc. of the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention are included.

  The present invention relates to a cleaning device for removing dust adhering to the inner surface of a transparent container serving as a housing, and a surveillance camera including the cleaning device.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cleaning device 2 Transparent container 3 1st support shaft 3A Gear 4 Imaging camera 5 2nd support shaft 5A Gear 6 Arm 7 Clutch device 8 Cleaning member 10 Cleaning device 11 Base 12 Transparent container 13 1st support shaft 13A Gear 14 Imaging camera 15 Second Support Shaft 15A Gear 16 Arm 17 Clutch Device 18 Cleaning Member 20 Arm Member 21 Arm Member 22 Spring Member 23 Gear Movement Mechanism 30 Encoder 33 Distance Sensor 100 Monitoring Camera 101 Monitoring Camera

Claims (7)

A motor that rotationally drives an imaging camera that is rotatably supported around a first support shaft in a transparent container;
An arm rotatably supported around a second support shaft parallel to the first support shaft;
A clutch mechanism that is provided at the base end portion of the arm and that transmits or releases the rotational force of the first support shaft driven by the motor to the second support shaft;
A cleaning member that is provided at the tip of the arm so as to contact the inner surface of the transparent container and slides on the inner surface of the transparent container when the motor rotational force is transmitted by the clutch mechanism. Cleaning device to do.   The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the transparent container is formed in a dome shape.   The clutch mechanism includes a first gear fixed to the first support shaft, a second gear fixed to the second support shaft, and a gear that meshes or separates the second gear with respect to the first gear. The cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a moving mechanism.   The arm is formed to be deformable corresponding to a distance between the second support shaft and an inner peripheral surface of the transparent container. The cleaning device described. A control device for controlling driving of the motor and the clutch mechanism;
The said control apparatus detects the position of the said cleaning member in the said transparent container based on the positional information from the encoder which detects rotation of the said motor, The any one of Claims 1-4 characterized by the above-mentioned. Cleaning equipment. The cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, a transparent container that houses the cleaning device, and a motor that is disposed in the transparent container and can be driven to rotate around the first support shaft by a motor. An imaging camera provided, and
The imaging camera captures an image outside the transparent container by reciprocating around the first support shaft. A motor that rotationally drives an imaging camera that is rotatably supported around a first support shaft in a transparent container;
An arm rotatably supported around a second support shaft parallel to the first support shaft;
A clutch mechanism that is provided at the base end portion of the arm and that transmits or releases the rotational force of the first support shaft driven by the motor to the second support shaft;
A cleaning member that is provided at the tip of the arm so as to contact the inner surface of the transparent container and slides on the inner surface of the transparent container when the motor rotational force is transmitted by the clutch mechanism. A control device for the cleaning device,
The said control apparatus detects the position of the said cleaning member in the said transparent container based on the positional information from the encoder which detects rotation of the said motor, The control apparatus of the cleaning apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned.

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