JPH02220570A - Video camera system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To commonly use the system for pickup indoors, outdoors and underwater locations by providing a water-proof housing mounting an outdoor water- proof cap or an underwater water-proof cap replaceably and an underwater water-proof cover in which an universal head is contained removably. CONSTITUTION:In the case of picking up an object indoor by using a television camera, a universal head 3 is fitted directly to a mount plate of a support base 1 and a mount bracket 6 is mounted to the universal head 3, and a camera assembly 7 is fitted to the bracket 6. On the other hand, in the case of picking up an object outdoor, the assembly 7 is housed in a cylinder 11 of a water-proof housing 10 to fix the assembly 7 to a camera mount 14. When water drops or the like adhere to a window 22 of the outdoor water-proof cap 20, a wiper 25 is operated. In the case of picking up an object underwater, an underwater water-proof cap 30 is fitted to the cylinder 11 in place of the cap 20 and a connecting metallic fixture 13 is locked to the cap to attain water-tight protection to the assembly 7.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION FIELD 1 The present invention relates to a television camera system capable of shooting indoors such as in a studio, outdoors shooting, and underwater shooting. [Prior Art] A television camera has a camera assembly consisting of a lens and a camera, and there are two types: a handheld type, and a camera assembly that can be placed on a tripod or other support base to take pictures. There is something that can be done. Here,
The camera head is used to direct the camera assembly in a desired direction, so-called panning and tilting operations, and such panning and tilting operations can be performed manually or automatically by remote control. It is configured as follows. By the way, filming with a television camera is not only carried out in a studio or other layer, but also outdoors or underwater. Therefore, the outdoor shooting environment is worse than the indoor shooting environment, such as when shooting under rainy weather, and for this reason, the TV camera must be protected against water.
In order to prevent water droplets from adhering to the lens, the front surface of the lens is covered with transparent glass, and a wiper is attached to the transparent glass, making the structure different from that of a television camera for indoor photography. The waterproof protection for this TV camera for outdoor shooting is sufficient for everyday use, but for the TV camera for underwater shooting, a certain degree of pressure resistance waterproofing is required to ensure liquid-tight protection of the TV camera. Moreover, when filming underwater, not only the television camera but also the pan head, which is equipped with a mechanism for panning the television camera, must be held in a liquid-tight manner. When photographing underwater, unlike when photographing outdoors, a wiper is not required. In this way, TV cameras for indoor shooting, outdoor shooting, and underwater shooting have different structures, so conventionally, three types of cameras were used, each specially designed for each shooting environment. I tried to use a TV camera. [Problem to be solved by the invention Bl By the way, as mentioned above, when the shooting environment is different,
Although there are differences in the necessity of waterproof structure and the degree of waterproofing,
There is no need to change the camera assembly itself or the pan head even if the shooting environment changes. Therefore, it would be extremely wasteful to prepare three types of television cameras based solely on differences in waterproof structure. The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and its object is to provide a television camera system equipped with a television camera that can be used commonly for indoor photography, outdoor photography, and underwater photography. There is a particular thing. [Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention includes a pan head that is removably attached to a support base, a lens and a camera, and that is removably attached to the pan head. a camera assembly to be attached to the camera assembly; a waterproof housing in which the camera assembly is removably housed and to which an outdoor waterproof cap or an underwater waterproof cap with a wiper attached can be attached replaceably; The feature is that it is configured to include an underwater waterproof cover that is housed.

[Effect]

With this configuration, when shooting indoors,
You only need to attach the camera assembly to the camera head, and when shooting outdoors, you can store the camera assembly in a waterproof housing and attach an outdoor waterproof cap with a wiper to this waterproof housing. Furthermore, if an underwater waterproof cap is attached to the waterproof housing instead of the outdoor waterproof cap, and the camera head is housed within the underwater waterproof cover, underwater photography becomes possible. In this way, parts related to the waterproof structure are used as detachable adapters, and when used in different shooting environments such as indoors, outdoors, and underwater, the camera assembly and pan head can be shared, and the adapters required for each shooting environment can be used. By appropriately assembling the parts, it becomes possible to take pictures with the television camera in different shooting environments such as indoors, outdoors, and underwater with a minimum number of parts. [Example 1] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings. First, FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of a television camera system. In the figure, 1 indicates a support base, and the support base 1 is provided with a mount plate 1a. A pan head 3 is attached to the mount plate 1a by a set screw 2.
is designed to be removably attached. Here, the pan head 3 has a pair of rotating members 4.5 that are connected in different directions by 90'', and one of the rotating members 4 has its rotating shaft 4a connected to the mount plate 1a, and thereby The table 3 is configured to rotate in the horizontal direction.The other rotating member 5 is provided with a rotating shaft 5a that rotates in a vertical direction with respect to the mount plate 1a.
A mounting bracket 6 is connected to a, and the mounting bracket 6 is configured to be able to swing up and down about this rotating shaft 5a. Camera assembly 7 comprising a camera 7a and a lens 7b
can be removably attached to the bracket 6 using a set screw 8. Then, when the rotating member 4 is rotationally driven, the pan head 3 is rotated in the horizontal direction, and a panning operation in which the camera assembly 7 is rotationally displaced in the horizontal direction is performed, and when the rotating member 5 is operated, the camera assembly 7 is rotated. When the bracket 6 is attached, the bracket 6 swings in the vertical direction, and a tilt operation is performed in which the camera assembly 7 is rotated and displaced in the vertical direction. Therefore, by appropriately operating the rotating member 4.5, the lens 7b in the camera assembly 7 can be directed in a desired direction. Here, this television camera is operated by remote control, and for this purpose, a cable ga is connected to the camera 7a for exchanging signals with one image processing device. Further, between the lens 7b and the pan head 3, there is a focus of the lens 7b. Cable 9b for transmitting and receiving signals to perform operations such as zooming
is connected. A cable 9C is connected between the pan head 3 and an externally installed control device, in addition to merging the cable 9b described above, and for performing panning, tilting, etc. of the pan head 3. Next, when taking pictures using this camera assembly 7, when taking pictures indoors, the camera assembly 7 can be attached as is to the bracket 6, but when taking pictures outdoors, for example, under rainy weather. An outdoor waterproof mechanism for taking pictures and an underwater waterproof mechanism for taking pictures underwater can be attached and detached. First, the outdoor waterproof mechanism is composed of a waterproof housing 10 and an outdoor waterproof cap 20. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the waterproof housing 10 has a cylindrical body 11 with one end closed and the other end open, and a cable 9a is connected to the closed end of the cylindrical body 11. Cable connection part 12 to which cable connection part 12a and cable 9b are connected
b is provided. On the other hand, a plurality of connecting fittings 13 are provided on the outer surface of the open end portion in order to removably attach an outdoor waterproof cap 20 or an underwater waterproof cap 30, which will be described later. A camera mount 14 for fixing the camera assembly 7 is fixed in the cylindrical body 11 of the waterproof housing 10, and a set screw 15 can be screwed into the camera mount 14 from the bottom surface, and the waterproof housing 10 itself In order to fix the camera to the bracket 6, a notch 11a is provided at the bottom of the cylinder 11, and a set screw 1 is inserted into the camera mount 14 at the position of this notch 11a.
6 is screwed in. In addition, in the figure, 17 is a heat shield plate mounted on the upper part of the cylindrical body 11. Next, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the outdoor waterproof cap 20 attached to the waterproof housing IO includes a window 22 in which a transparent glass is attached to a substantially rectangular face plate 21. A cylindrical connecting portion 23 that fits and connects to the cylindrical body 11 of the waterproof housing IQ is connected to the back side of the portion of the face plate 21 where the window 22 is formed. A locking portion 24 to which the connecting fitting 13 is engaged is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the connecting portion 23 . Further, a wiper 25 is attached to wipe off water droplets or the like when they adhere to the window 22. The wiper 2
5 can rotate around a shaft 26, and in order to rotate this shaft 26, the face plate 21
A wiper driving motor 27 is provided above the wiper. On the other hand, the underwater waterproof mechanism used during underwater photography is
The above-mentioned waterproof housing lO and underwater waterproof cap 30
and an underwater waterproof cover 40. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the underwater waterproof cap 30 has a main body 31 formed with a window 2 fitted with transparent glass, and the area around this window 32 is sealed by filling a sealant or the like. It has a closed structure. Further, a connecting portion 33 connected to the waterproof housing 1O is provided in series to the main body portion 31.
Further, a locking portion 34 is attached to the connecting portion 33 to which the connecting fitting 13 provided on the waterproof housing 10 is locked. Furthermore, the connecting portion 33 in this underwater waterproof cap 30
A sealing member 34 is attached to the inner surface of. Therefore, the camera assembly 7 is housed in the waterproof housing 60, and the underwater waterproof cap 30 is attached to the waterproof housing 10.
When installed in a water-resistant housing 10, it is pressure-proof and waterproof to prevent water from entering the waterproof housing 10 even if it is placed several meters below the water surface. On the other hand, the outdoor waterproof cap 20 described above is not necessarily designed to have such a pressure-resistant waterproof function, and the underwater waterproof cap 30 is not provided with a wiper. Next, as shown in FIGS. 8 to 1O, the underwater waterproof cover 40 has a box-shaped main body 41 with one end open.
and a lid 42 that covers this opening, and the main body 41 and the lid 42 are joined to each other,
By engaging the connecting fittings 43 provided at a plurality of locations on the side with the locking portions 44 formed on the lid body 42, the two can be fixed in a connected state. and,
A seal member 45 is attached to the inner surface of the lid body 42, and this protects the lid body 42 from entering the inside from between the joints when the two are connected. In addition, the main body portion 41 of this underwater waterproof cover 40 has a
The rotating shafts 4a of the rotating members 4 and 5, openings 46 and 47 for leading Sa to the outside are formed, and a cable connecting opening 48 to which the cable 9b from the camera assembly 7 is connected, and this cable 9b. A cable draw-out opening 49 is provided for pulling out a cable 9c for driving the rotating member 4.5. Here, the underwater waterproof cover 40 is attached to the camera platform 3, and the rotating shafts 4a and 5a of the rotating member 4.5 are led out from the opening 46.47, and the opening 46.47 is kept liquid-tight. For this purpose, a ring 50 shown in FIG. 11 is used. This ring 50 has two annular grooves 52a and 52b on the inner surface of a ring body 51, and these grooves 52a
, 52b includes a seal ring 5 consisting of an O ring or the like.
:fa, S3b is installed. Also, the groove 52a. An annular protrusion 51a is formed at a position between 52b and the outer diameter of the annular protrusion 51a is slightly smaller than the opening diameter of the openings 46 and 47 of the underwater waterproof cover 40. Furthermore, a threaded portion 54 is formed on the inner surface of this annular protrusion Sla. Therefore, the rotating shaft 4a connected to the mount plate 1a
The ring 50 is attached to the rotating member 4 having the
Shown in Figure 2. As is clear from the figure, the rotating shaft 4a is inserted into the housing 60 of the rotating member 4, and is rotationally driven by a driving means such as a motor. A support member 61 is fixedly provided to the housing sink 0, and a bearing 62 is interposed between the support member 61 and the rotating shaft 4a. The support member 61 is formed with a threaded portion 63 into which the ring 50 is screwed,
When the ring 50 is screwed onto this threaded portion 63, the seal ring 53a comes into contact with the support member 61, and the seal ring 5
'llb comes into contact with the housing 60, and as a result, the underwater waterproof cover 40 and the housing 6 of the rotating member 4
0 can be sealed. Furthermore, in order to seal the gap between the support member 61 and the rotating shaft 4a, a groove 64 is formed on the surface of the support member 61.
A seal ring 65 is mounted in the recessed groove 64, and the seal ring 65 is in contact with the surface of the connecting portion of the rotating shaft 4a to the mount plate la. Note that the seal between the opening 47 and the lead-out portion of the rotating shaft 5a of the rotating member 5 is similar to this, so illustration and description thereof will be omitted. Furthermore, with the cables 9b and 9c inserted through the openings 48 and 49 in the underwater waterproof cover 40,
It is necessary to seal around it. Therefore, a mechanism for sealing the opening 48 is shown in FIG. 13. Also, regarding the sealing mechanism of the cable connecting portions 12a and 12b in the opening 49 and the waterproof housing IO. Substantially the same mechanism as the mechanism for sealing this opening 48 can be employed, so illustration and description thereof will be omitted. As is clear from the figure, a tapered portion 7oa having a reduced diameter is formed in the connector portion 70 of the cable 9b, and a rubber link 71 is inserted through the cable 9b. The rubber ring 71 has a threaded portion 72 formed on its inner surface at one end, and a tapered portion 71a having a reduced diameter at the other end. On the other hand, a ring body 73 is protruded around the opening 48 in the underwater waterproof cover 40, and a threaded portion 74 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the ring body 73. Therefore, the connector portion 70 of the cable 9b is connected to the opening 4.
By screwing the rubber ring 71 onto the ring body 73 while the rubber ring 71 is inserted into the underwater waterproof cover 40 through the
The threaded portion of the rubber song 71 is deformed to expand in diameter to ensure sealing between the parts, and the rubber ring 71
By tightening the tapered portion 71a of the connector portion 70 to the tapered portion 70a of the connector portion 70, it is possible to ensure sealing performance therebetween. This embodiment is constructed as described above, and the camera assembly 7 can be used not only for indoor photography, but also for outdoor photography in rainy weather and even underwater photography. In addition, the various parts that make up the outdoor waterproofing mechanism and the underwater waterproofing mechanism are made into units. Therefore, when shooting indoors using a television camera, or even when shooting outdoors, when protection from rain etc. is not necessary, the camera platform 3 can be attached directly to the mount plate 1a of the support base 1. At the same time, a bracket 6 is attached to the camera platform 3, and a camera assembly 7 is attached to the bracket 6 using a set screw 8.
As shown in the figure, by assembling it, you can take a picture. On the other hand, when shooting outdoors, especially in rainy weather,
To install the camera assembly 7, remove it from the bracket 6, store the camera assembly 7 in the cylindrical body 11 of the waterproof housing IO, and fix the camera assembly 7 to the camera mount 14 with a set screw 15. Then, this waterproof housing 10 is attached and fixed to the bracket 6 with a set screw 16. Further, the connecting portion 23 of the outdoor waterproof cab 20 is fitted onto the open end side of the cylindrical body 11 of the waterproof housing 10, and the connecting fitting 13 is engaged with the locking portion 24 (1). This makes it possible to protect the camera assembly 7 from rainwater, etc., and as shown in FIG.
A television camera for outdoor photography can be constructed. If water droplets or the like adhere to the window 22 of the outdoor waterproof cap 20, the water droplets or the like can be wiped away by operating the wiper 25. This outdoor waterproof protection may be sufficient to prevent rainwater etc. from directly adhering to the camera assembly 7, and the pan head 3 does not need to be particularly waterproof protected. Next, when taking pictures underwater, a waterproof protection mechanism that is more advanced than the outdoor waterproof mechanism described above is required, and is provided not only for the camera assembly 7 but also for panning and tilting the camera assembly 7. The pan head 3 must also be protected against water. Here, since the cylindrical body 11 in the waterproof housing IO has a sealed structure except for the open end portion, the waterproof housing IO can also be used as this underwater waterproof mechanism. However, the outdoor waterproof cap 20 has the following problems at the mounting part of the window 22, the mounting part of the shaft 26 of the wiper 25, and the connecting part to the waterproof housing 10.
It does not have a pressure-resistant waterproof structure that exceeds everyday waterproofing. Therefore, instead of this outdoor waterproof cap 20, the connecting part 33 of the underwater waterproof cap 30 is fitted into the cylindrical body 11 of the waterproof housing 10, and the connecting fitting 13 is locked to this underwater waterproof cap 30, thereby assembling the camera. 7 is pressure-resistant and waterproof. Further, the pan head 3 is removed from the mount plate la, and the pan head 3 is separated from the mounting bracket 6. Then, the pan head 3 is housed in the main body portion 41 of the underwater waterproof cover 40, and the lid body 42 is fixed with four connecting fittings. Furthermore, as shown above, attach the camera platform 3 to the underwater waterproof cover 4.
Clouds when stored inside 0. A ring 50 is screwed onto a support member 61 located around the rotating shafts 4a, 5a of the rotating member 4.5 on the table 3. Thereby, the inside of the underwater waterproof cover 40 can be kept completely liquid-tight. Therefore, the rotating shaft 4a of the rotating member 4 of the pan head 3 housed in the underwater waterproof cover 40 is connected to the mount plate 1a, and the rotating shaft 5a of the rotating member 5 is connected to the mounting bracket 6. As a result,
The camera assembly 7 and the pan head 3 can be completely waterproofed, and a television camera for underwater photography can be constructed as shown in FIG. 16. By making the above-mentioned parts into a unit and using appropriate adapters in combination depending on the shooting environment, the camera assembly 7 and the camera head can be used for shooting in different environments such as indoors, outdoors, and underwater. can be shared. In the above embodiment, the pan head 3 is capable of panning and tilting operations, but if only panning is required, only the rotating member 4 is provided and the mounting is done using the bracket 6. may be fixed to the rotating member 4 or the like. Furthermore, if a rolling operation is required in addition to the panning and tilting operations, one more one-rotation member may be added. Effects of the Invention 1 As explained above, according to the present invention, there is provided a waterproof housing that removably houses a camera assembly, and an outdoor waterproof cap and an underwater waterproof cap that are equipped with a wiper that is removably attached to the waterproof housing. and an underwater waterproof cover that removably stores the pan head and holds the pan head in a liquid-tight manner, so that it can be used as an adapter to form a television camera system, so it can be used not only indoors but also outdoors and underwater. It becomes possible to share a camera assembly and a pan head when taking pictures under different environments.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a television camera system, FIG. 2 is a front view of a waterproof housing, FIG. 3 is a side view of FIG. 2, and FIG. A front view of the outdoor waterproof cap, Figure 5 is a side view of Figure 4, Figure 6 is a front view of the underwater waterproof cap, Figure 7 is a side view of Figure 6,
Figure 8 is a side view of the underwater waterproof cover, and Figure 9 is a rear view of Figure 8. Fig. 10 is a front view of Fig. 8, Fig. 11 is an external view of the ring, Fig. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the main part showing the connection state between the rotating member and the underwater waterproof cover, and Fig. 13 is a cross-section of the cable connection part. figure,
Figure 14 is an external view of the television camera assembly when shooting indoors.
Figure 15 is an external view of the television camera assembly during outdoor shooting.
FIG. 16 is an external view of the television camera assembly during underwater photography. 1: Support base, 2: Mount plate, 3: Pan head,
4.5: Rotating member, 4a, 5a: Rotating shaft, 6: Mounting bracket, 7: Camera assembly, 7a: Camera, 7b: Lens, 1 mouth: Waterproof housing, ll: Cylindrical body,
14: Camera mount, 20: Outdoor waterproof cap, 22
: window, 25: wiper, 30: underwater waterproof cap, 31:
Main body, 32: window, 40: underwater waterproof cover 41: main body, 42: lid, 50: ring.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A pan head detachably mounted on a support base; a camera assembly having a lens and a camera and removably mounted on the pan head; the camera assembly being removably housed and equipped with a wiper. A television camera system comprising a waterproof housing to which an outdoor waterproof cap or an underwater waterproof cap can be attached interchangeably, and an underwater waterproof cover in which the camera head is detachably housed.