JP6583914B2 - Camera installation system and vending machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a camera installation system capable of ensuring the sharpness of a captured image and a vending machine equipped with the camera installation system.

  Conventionally, for example, in vending machines such as beverages, there are cases where a monitoring camera (security camera) is installed. This is mainly due to fraudulent operation of vending machines, that is, money that is illegally removed using counterfeit bills or coins, or a part of the vending machine is broken to steal goods or sales. This is to suppress the damage and identify the criminal from the image recorded by the surveillance camera. The surveillance camera also has a function of monitoring the surroundings of the installation site for crime prevention.

  As shown in FIG. 9C, when the surveillance camera 2 is installed in the casing of the vending machine, specifically, the small surveillance camera 2 is installed inside the transparent front panel Fp. Thereby, an image of a product purchaser or the like is captured.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-93652 JP 2000-113293 A JP 2001-126129 A JP 2004-216958 A

  However, in the installation state of the monitoring camera 2 as described above, for example, when the surroundings of the vending machine are dark and the inside of the front panel Fp is bright, the light Lt is emitted from the front panel Fp and the imaging lens unit 21 of the monitoring camera 2. , The light is reflected on the inside of the front panel Fp, and reflection of reflected light or goods occurs inside the front panel Fp. For this reason, the captured image of the monitoring camera 2 has a problem that the reflection is reflected and the sharpness is lowered and the image becomes unclear.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a camera installation system capable of ensuring the sharpness of a captured image and a vending machine including the camera installation system.

The camera installation system according to claim 1 is a light-shielding plate-shaped contacted body, a camera body having an imaging lens unit, and a light shielding covering the periphery of the imaging lens unit and projecting in the imaging direction. A camera unit provided with a flexible elastic member, and the elastic member has a hollow and substantially cylindrical main body part, and a closing part formed on one surface side of the main body part. The closed portion is formed with a cut in the radial direction, and is brought into contact with the contacted body so as to be in close contact therewith.

  The camera installation system can be applied to, for example, vending machines, show windows, indoor windows, vehicle windshields and rear windows. The scope of application is not limited to a specific one.

In addition, the image captured by the camera body may be a moving image or a still image. The format of the image is not limited. Furthermore, the elastic member is preferably made of a rubber material, but is not particularly limited as long as it has a predetermined elasticity.
A camera installation system according to a second aspect is the camera installation system according to the first aspect, wherein a light source is arranged inside the contacted body.

According to a third aspect of the present invention , in the camera installation system according to the first or second aspect , the elastic member is provided in a cover case that covers the camera body.

The vending machine according to claim 4 includes a housing and a front panel as the contacted body provided in the housing, and the vending machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The camera installation system is provided.

  According to the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a camera installation system capable of ensuring the sharpness of a captured image and a vending machine including the camera installation system.

1 is a perspective view showing a camera unit according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a side view which shows the camera unit. It is sectional drawing which shows the camera unit. It is a perspective view which shows the cover case in the camera unit. It is a perspective view which isolate | separates and shows the camera main body and cover case in the camera unit. The elastic member is shown, (a) is a perspective view, (b) is a side view. It is explanatory drawing which shows the installation state (before installation) of a camera unit. It is explanatory drawing which shows the installation state (after installation) of a camera unit. (A) And (b) is explanatory drawing which shows typically the installation state of a camera unit, (c) is explanatory drawing which shows typically the installation state of the camera of a prior art example. It is a perspective view which shows the vending machine which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. Similarly, it is a perspective view which shows a vending machine.

Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 is a perspective view showing a camera unit, FIG. 2 is a side view showing the camera unit, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the camera unit. 4 is a perspective view showing the cover case, FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the camera body and the cover case separately, FIG. 6 shows an elastic member, and FIG. ) Is a perspective view, and FIG. 6B is a side view. Further, FIGS. 7 to 9 are explanatory views showing the installation state of the camera unit.
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 6, the camera unit 1 is configured by combining a camera body 2 and a cover case 3.

  As representatively shown in FIG. 5, the camera body 2 is a small surveillance camera, that is, a small security camera, and includes an imaging lens unit 21, a case unit 22, and a mounting stand 23. The imaging lens unit 21 has an outer appearance formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, has an imaging lens, and is provided so as to extend from the case unit 22 in the imaging direction.

  The case portion 22 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and a circuit board on which electronic components including an image sensor such as a CCD element are mounted is built in the case portion 22. A lead wire 24 such as a power supply line or a signal line is led out from the back side of the case portion 22. The camera body 2 is connected to a video recording device (not shown) via the lead wire 24.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the cover case 3 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped box shape so as to cover the camera body 2 with a synthetic resin material or the like, and an elastic member 4 at the center of one side (front side). Is provided. Accordingly, the cover case 3 is formed with a circular hole 31 to which the elastic member 4 is attached at the central portion on one side, and an opening 32 is formed on the other side (back side). Note that the size of the cover case 3 can be appropriately changed according to the size of the camera body 2.

  The mounting stand 23 is preferably rotated 90 degrees clockwise from the state shown in FIG. 3 and fixed to the inner surface of the cover case 3 by a fixing means such as a screw. As a result, the camera body 2 is securely fixed to the cover case 3.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the elastic member 4 is a rubber bush having elasticity. The elastic member 4 is made of a rubber material, and includes a hollow main body portion 41 having a substantially short cylindrical shape, and flange portions formed on both end surfaces of the main body portion 41. Further, the elastic member 4 is black and has a light shielding property to block the transmission of light.

  Specifically, the elastic member 4 is formed with a flange portion 42 on the front side (upper side in the drawing) and a flange portion 43 on the rear side (lower side in the drawing). Further, a thin-walled film-like blocking portion 44 is formed on the back side of the main body portion 41. The closing portion 44 is formed on the back side of the main body 41 and is formed so as to close the opening on the back side of the main body 41.

  Specifically, the closing portion 44 has a substantially circular shape, and a plurality of cuts Ct are formed in the radial direction. The cuts Ct are formed at equal intervals of about 60 degrees, and a plurality of, that is, six film-like pieces 44a are formed by the cuts Ct.

  The film-shaped piece 44a is connected to the inner peripheral wall 41a of the main body 41 and has a substantially triangular shape. Therefore, each film-like piece 44a can be bent with elasticity in at least the vertical direction (the direction in which the tip approaches the inner peripheral wall 41a of the main body 41) as indicated by an arrow in FIG. ing.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the elastic member 4 having such a configuration is press-fitted into a circular hole 31 of the cover case 3 and is closely attached to the cover case 3. In addition, the elastic member 4 is not restricted to what is formed with the rubber material. As long as it has a predetermined elasticity, it may be formed of other materials. A hook-and-loop fastener 5 is provided on one side surface of the cover case 3 as an attaching means. The hook-and-loop fastener 5 is preferably attached to four surfaces of the cover case 3. As a result, any of the four surfaces can be used as a surface to be mounted, for example, a mounting surface on the housing side of the vending machine.
Next, the camera unit 1 configured by combining and combining the camera body 2 and the cover case 3 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the substantially cylindrical imaging lens portion 21 of the camera body 2 is inserted into the closing portion 44 of the elastic member 4 from the opening 32 on the back side of the cover case 3. When the imaging lens unit 21 is inserted into the elastic member 4, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 6 together, each film piece 44 a of the blocking unit 44 is surrounded by the distal end of the imaging lens unit 21. This is performed with elasticity while being bent and retracted to the side (the inner peripheral wall 41a side of the main body 41).

  As shown in FIG. 3, in a state where the imaging lens unit 21 is coupled to the camera body 2, the elastic member 4 covers at least the periphery of the distal end portion of the imaging lens unit 21 toward the imaging direction (front side). It is designed to protrude. That is, the distal end portion of the elastic member 4 protrudes in the imaging direction from the distal end portion of the imaging lens unit 21.

  Each film piece 44 a of the closing portion 44 comes into elastic contact with the substantially cylindrical outer peripheral wall 21 a of the imaging lens unit 21, and the main body 41 of the outer peripheral wall 21 a of the imaging lens unit 21 and the elastic member 4. It functions so that a gap does not occur between the inner peripheral wall 41a. Therefore, it is possible to block light from entering between the outer peripheral wall 21a of the imaging lens unit 21 and the inner peripheral wall 41a of the main body 41 in the elastic member 4.

  Next, the camera installation system will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8 show the installation state of the camera unit 1, FIGS. 9A and 9B schematically show the installation state of the camera unit 1, and FIG. The installation state of the conventional camera is typically shown.

  First, in FIG. 9C, as described above, the small surveillance camera 2 is installed inside the transparent front panel Fp. In this case, the captured image of the monitoring camera 2 is reflected, and the sharpness is lowered.

  As shown in FIG. 7, a plate-like contacted body 10 having translucency is disposed. The abutted body 10 is formed of translucent glass or acrylic resin material, and corresponds to, for example, the front panel Fp of a vending machine.

  Further, a light source 20 is disposed inside the abutted body 10. The light source 20 is illumination that irradiates light inside the contacted body 10, and a fluorescent lamp, an incandescent bulb, LED illumination, or the like is used. Therefore, when the light source 20 is turned on, the inside of the abutted body 10 is bright and the outside is darker than the inside. In addition, the light source 20 should just illuminate the inner side of the to-be-contacted body 10, and the kind is not specifically limited.

  In the present embodiment, the camera unit 1 is installed from the state shown in FIG. 7 to the state shown in FIG. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, the camera unit 1 is installed in contact with the elastic member 4 so as to be in close contact with the inner surface of the contacted body 10. In this state, the elastic member 4 is brought into elastic contact with the contacted body 10 so that no gap is generated between the elastic member 4 and the contacted body 10. Therefore, the light Lt emitted from the light source 20 is blocked by the elastic member 4, the reflection due to the light Lt is prevented, and the reflection can be avoided from being reflected on the imaging lens unit 21.

  When the camera body 2 is driven, the imaging target outside the contacted body 10 is imaged as an image through the contacted body 10 and through the imaging lens unit 21. This video is recorded and held in the video recording device together with the shooting time.

  When installing the camera unit 1, the camera unit 1 can be attached to the inner region of the contacted body 10 using the hook-and-loop fastener 5 attached to the cover case 3. Moreover, you may make it install using the attachment stand 23 of the camera main body 2. FIG.

  Subsequently, FIG. 9A shows an installation state in the case where the abutted body 10 and the camera unit 1 are substantially vertical and parallel to each other. As described above, the camera unit 1 is installed in contact with the elastic member 4 so as to be in close contact with the contacted body 10.

  FIG. 9B shows a case where the abutted body 10 is inclined. That is, the contacted body 10 and the camera unit 1 are in a non-parallel state. Even in such a case, since the elastic member 4 has elasticity, the inclination of the contacted body 10 can be absorbed by its elastic deformation. Therefore, the elastic member 4 can be brought into close contact with the contacted body 10 in an elastic manner.

In addition, even when the contacted body 10 has some unevenness, the elasticity of the elastic member 4 can absorb the unevenness and bring the elastic member 4 into close contact with the contacted body 10. . Furthermore, since the elastic member 4 has elasticity, when vibration is generated from the contacted body 10, it is possible to reduce the transmission of the vibration to the camera body 2.
According to the configuration of the present embodiment as described above, it is possible to provide a camera installation system capable of ensuring the sharpness of a captured image.

  Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11 are perspective views showing the vending machine. The present embodiment shows an example in which the camera installation system is applied to a vending machine.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the vending machine 50 includes a square box-shaped casing 51 and a front door 52 that covers an opening on the front side of the casing 51. The front door 52 is provided with a front panel Fp as the contacted body 10. The front panel Fp is formed of a transparent acrylic resin material, and a product sample 53 such as a can drink or a bottle drink is displayed inside the front panel Fp.

  The front door 51 is provided with a product selection button 54 corresponding to the product sample 53, and further includes a coin insertion port 55, a bill insertion port 56, a money return port 57, a product take-out port 58, and a money return lever. 59 etc. are arranged.

  By inserting predetermined money into the coin insertion slot 55 or the bill insertion slot 56 and operating the product selection button 54, the selected product can be discharged to the product outlet 58 and taken out. Further, the change is taken out from the money return port 57 and returned.

  In such a vending machine 50, the camera unit 1 is attached using a hook-and-loop fastener 5. Specifically, a hook-and-loop fastener is also provided on the casing 51 side of the vending machine 50, and the hook-and-loop fastener 5 on the camera unit 1 side is engaged and the camera unit 1 is arranged correspondingly.

  Note that the attachment position of the camera unit 1 is not particularly limited as long as it is located in the casing 51 and faces the front panel Fp. For example, it may be a position such as an upper part, a side part, a lower part, or the vicinity of the product sample 53 facing the front panel Fp.

  As described above, the camera unit 1 is arranged on one side inside the front panel Fp with the imaging lens unit 21 facing the imaging direction, that is, the outside. Further, in this state, as shown in FIG. 8, the elastic member 4 is elastically in close contact with the front panel Fp, and a gap is generated between the elastic member 4 and the front panel Fp. There is no.

  During the operation of the vending machine 50, the camera body 2 is always in a driving state and records a captured image in a video recording device. Here, when the surroundings become dark, the light source 20 is automatically turned on by detecting that the illuminance has decreased. In particular, when the light source 20 is turned on, the inside of the front panel Fp is bright and the outside is dark. In this case, since the elastic member 4 is elastically in close contact with the front panel Fp, there is no problem that reflection is reflected in the captured image. In addition, condensation may occur in the casing 51 due to a temperature difference between the inside and the outside of the casing 51 of the vending machine 50. In this case as well, moisture can be prevented from entering the imaging lens unit 21. Can do.

  FIG. 11 has the same configuration as the vending machine in FIG. The difference is that the portion where the camera unit 1 is installed is masked. Specifically, only the imaging lens unit 21 is visible from the outside, and the cover case 3 is not visible. For example, a seal-like masking member Mk is attached to the front panel Fp so that a circular window W is formed only in a portion corresponding to the imaging lens unit 21 and a portion corresponding to the cover case 3 is hidden and covered. It is.

According to such a configuration, the camera unit 1 can be made inconspicuous from the outside, so that the aesthetic appearance of the vending machine 50 is not impaired and the user of the vending machine 50 is uncomfortable. Can be expected to reduce.
The vending machine may sell foods and magazines in addition to beverages, and the products to be sold are not particularly limited.
As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to provide the vending machine 50 capable of ensuring the sharpness of the video imaged by the camera unit 1.

  The present invention is not limited to the configuration of each of the embodiments described above, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. Moreover, each said embodiment is shown as an example and is not intending limiting the range of invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

For example, the camera installation system can be applied to a show window, an indoor window, a windshield and a rear glass of a vehicle. In this case, the glass to be displayed on the show window, the window glass in the indoor window, the windshield in the vehicle, and the rear glass correspond to the contact object.
In the case of a show window, a light source is disposed inside the tension glass, and the inside is bright and the outside is dark. Therefore, the present invention can be preferably used.
Further, the image captured by the camera may be a moving image or a still image, and is not particularly limited.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Camera unit 2 ... Camera body 3 ... Cover case 4 ... Elastic member 5 ... Surface fastener 10 ... Contacted body 20 ... Light source 21 ... Imaging lens part 22 ... Case portion 23 ... Mounting stand 24 ... Lead wire 41 ... Main body portion 42, 43 ... Flange portion 44 ... Closing portion 44a ... Membrane piece 50 ... Automatic Vending machine Ct ... cut Mk ... masking member

Claims (4)

A plate-like contacted body having translucency;
A camera unit having a camera body having an imaging lens unit and an elastic member having a light shielding property that covers the periphery of the imaging lens unit and protrudes in the imaging direction;
The elastic member has a hollow and substantially cylindrical main body portion and a closing portion formed on one surface side of the main body portion, and the closing portion has a cut in the radial direction. together it is a camera mounting system, characterized in that it is in contact the so as to be in close contact with the abutment body.   The camera installation system according to claim 1, wherein a light source is disposed inside the contacted body. The camera installation system according to claim 1 , wherein the elastic member is provided in a cover case that covers the camera body. A housing,
A front panel as the abutted body provided in the housing;
A vending machine comprising the camera installation system according to any one of claims 1 to 3 .

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