JPH0450792B2 - - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention "Field of Industrial Application" This invention is applicable to video judgment used for determining the finishing order in horse races, bicycle races, boat races, auto races, etc., and for determining the shape of objects moving at high speed and reading characters. Regarding equipment.

"Prior Art" For example, slit-type cameras are widely used to determine the finishing order in horse races, bicycle races, and the like. The schematic structure of this slit type camera is as shown in FIG. In this figure, 1 is a lens, 2 is a slit plate having a slit 2a, and 3 is a film.
These are housed in a camera case C.
The film 3 is placed so that the image of the object on the goal line 4 is formed on the film 3 through the lens 1 and the slit 2a, and the film 3 is attached to a moving object (in this case, a racehorse) 5 passing on the goal line 4. By moving at a corresponding speed and in the opposite direction to the moving direction of the moving object 5 and rewinding, only the moving object images 5, 5, . . . that have passed over the goal line 4 are The images are continuously imprinted onto the film 3 over time. In this case, the image of the stationary object (for example, the background) on the goal line 4 always passes through the slit 2a and reaches the film 3, so it is imprinted in a band shape along the moving direction of the film 3, and the actual shape is It is not imprinted as such.
Furthermore, when the movement of the film 3 is temporarily stopped, the light rays passing through the slit 2a continuously reach a line on the film 3, so as shown in FIG.
Black linear display marks L ₁ and L ₂ are imprinted in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the film 3. Here, the judge visually checks the developed film 3 to determine the order of arrival of the plurality of moving objects 5 that have passed over the goal line _{4 .} This makes it possible to easily identify places where the passage of time is interrupted.

``Problems to be Solved by the Invention'' By the way, in horse racing, bicycle racing, etc., there is a desire for quick finish determination. However, in the method of determining the finish order using the slit camera described above, the slit camera must be placed on the line of sight M of the goal line 4, and all moving objects 5 must be placed on the line of sight M of the goal line 4. After passing, the film 3 must be taken out from the slit camera, developed, and then the developed film 3 must be handed over to the judge as a judging material. Therefore, even if the film 3 capable of high-speed processing is used, it will take some time after all the moving objects 5 reach the goal until the developed film 3, which will serve as the judgment material, is handed over to the judge. This required time, which was an impediment to speeding up the judgment work.

Therefore, the present applicant has proposed the Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No.
No. 60-133355 was proposed first. This image judgment device detects a moving object 5 passing over a goal line 4.
A line sensor camera having a plurality of photosensitive elements arranged one-dimensionally captures an image in the vertical direction, and sequentially converts the video output signal output from the line sensor camera into digital pixel data and stores it in an image memory. Then, by reading out the pixel data corresponding to the required screen from this image memory, converting it into an analog video signal, and supplying this video signal to the monitor TV, a still image of the desired screen is displayed on the monitor TV. It was designed so that However, in this video judgment device, when the writing of pixel data to the image memory is temporarily interrupted and the writing is started again, the display marks L ₁ and L ₂ shown in FIG. marks are not written to the image memory, and therefore, when a still image is displayed on a TV monitor, it is not possible to clearly identify the points where the time has elapsed, which hinders accurate determination of finish order. I was afraid that it would come.

This invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and it is possible to perform the determination work quickly and easily, and in addition, it is possible to record a display mark indicating a temporary interruption of the image capture operation together with the still image. The purpose is to provide an image judgment device that can perform the following tasks.

"Means for Solving the Problem" The present invention provides a method for generating a one-line image of a moving object passing on a predetermined reference line along the reference line into a one-dimensionally arranged plurality of images for each charge accumulation time. a line sensor camera that captures data simultaneously by a photosensitive element and sequentially outputs each pixel signal output from each of the photosensitive elements as a video output signal; and a line sensor camera that sequentially converts the video output signal of the line sensor camera into pixel data. an A/D converter, a video memory for sequentially storing pixel data for a plurality of screens, a writing means for writing pixel data output from the A/D converter into the video memory, and a video memory for sequentially storing pixel data for a plurality of screens; a selection means for selecting a portion;
readout means for sequentially reading out pixel data corresponding to a portion selected by the selection means from among pixel data for a plurality of screens written in the video memory; and pixel data read out by the readout means. a D/A converter that converts the image into a video signal, a monitor television that displays an image based on the video signal supplied from the D/A converter, and an operation that instructs the writing means to temporarily suspend the writing operation. and a switching means for supplying specific pixel data to the video memory in place of the pixel data output from the A/D converter when the operating means is operated, and the writing means includes: When the operating means is operated, the specific pixel data is written into the video memory together with the still image as a display mark indicating temporary suspension of the image capturing operation.

"Operation" At the same time as the moving object passes the reference line, pixel data corresponding to the object image of the moving object is sequentially written into the video memory, and then among the pixel data for multiple screens once stored in this video memory. Pixel data corresponding to the desired portion selected by the selection means is read out from the pixel, and a still image of the desired portion is displayed on a monitor television.
Here, when a temporary interruption of the writing operation is instructed by the operating means, specific pixel data is supplied from the switching means to the video memory, and at the same time, the writing means writes the specific pixel data into the video memory.
This causes specific pixel data to be written into the video memory along with the still image as a display mark indicating a temporary suspension of the image capture operation.

"Embodiments" Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an image judgment device according to an embodiment of the present invention.The image judgment device shown in this figure is roughly divided into a line sensor camera 6, an image storage device 7, and an operator Control box 8, referee control box 8a, monitor television 9a, VTR (video tape recorder) 9b, and VTR monitor television 9c
It is composed of. The line sensor camera 6 is placed on a line of sight M parallel to the goal line 4, and also includes an image storage device 7, an investigator control box 8, a VTR 9b, and a monitor television 9.
A control box 8a for the referee is installed in the building where the operator performs the operation.
A monitor television 9a is installed at a place where the referee makes decisions.

The line sensor camera 6 has a lens 10 and a CCD
(Charge Coupled Device)
It is composed of a line sensor 11 and an output amplifier 12. The line sensor 11 is composed of a photoelectric conversion section 13 having a one-dimensionally arranged photodiode and a diode (photosensitive element) for 512 pixels, and an output shift register section 14, and captures an image on the goal line 4 in the vertical direction. It is arranged so that The object image of the moving object 5 passing over the goal line 4 is formed on the photoelectric conversion unit 13 via the lens 10, and is converted into an electric signal (charge) in the photoelectric conversion unit 13, and one charge is accumulated. Each pixel is simultaneously (in parallel) transferred to the output shift register unit 14 in synchronization with a scanning timing signal STS ₁ (phototransfer pulse) supplied from the outside every time, and then a scanning timing signal STS ₂ (transfer pulse) is output from the output shift register section 14 to the output amplifier 12, and the output amplifier 1
2 and output as a vertical scanning video signal VVS. Furthermore, the monitor televisions 9a and 9c are configured with CRTs (cathode ray tubes).

Next, in the image storage device 7, 21 converts the analog vertical scanning video signal VSS supplied from the line sensor camera 6 into 6-bit digital pixel data PD corresponding to the shading (brightness) of each pixel.
It is an A/D (analog/digital) converter that converts the vertical scanning video signal VSS to
If the level of VSS is the highest within the given range,
Outputs “111111” as pixel data PD. The pixel data PD output from this A/D converter 21 is transferred to the video memory 22 via the switching circuit 20.
is supplied to the data input terminal DI. This switching circuit 20 normally supplies pixel data PD supplied from the A/D converter 21 to the video memory 22, and when supplied with a switching signal KS from a control circuit 23 to be described later, the switching circuit 20 supplies pixel data PD supplied from the A/D converter 21. Black pixel data instead of pixel data PD
BPD (="000000") is supplied to the video memory 22. The video memory 22 also has an A/D
The pixel data PD output from the converter 21 is sequentially stored under the control of the control circuit 23.
It has a storage capacity that can store 16 frames (screens) of 6-bit pixel data PD, which is 64-level grayscale information for one pixel.

The control circuit 23 controls the writing and reading operations of the video memory 22, the conversion timing of the A/D converter 21 and the D/A converter 24, etc. under instructions from the control boxes 8 and 8a. Pixel data PD
When writing and reading, address data AD is supplied to the video memory 22, and a RAS (row address strobe) signal,
CAS (column address strobe) signal,
Provides WE (write enable) signal. In this case, when writing, one frame consists of 512 dots in the horizontal direction x 512 dots in the vertical direction,
When reading, one frame is horizontally
Consists of 512 dots x 489 vertical dots.

24 is a D/A (digital/analog) converter that converts the horizontal read pixel data HPD output from the data output terminal DO of the video memory 22 into a video signal VS, and 25 is a composite synchronization signal for the video signal VS.
A video synchronization synthesis circuit that combines SYNC and scale signal SS and outputs a composite video signal CVS, 26 is a composite synchronization signal SYNC and this composite synchronization signal SYNC
27 is a scale signal generation circuit that generates a scale signal SS based on the scale setting signal SSS supplied from the control circuit 23; 28 is a timer 28;
This is a time data generation circuit that generates elapsed time data TD based on a timer control signal TCS supplied from the control circuit 23.

Next, the control box 8 is operated by the operator to control the recording mode and
In the VTR recording mode, the control box 8a is used to instruct the control circuit 23 to perform various operations, and the control box 8a is operated by the referee to instruct the control circuit 23 in various ways in the scroll mode, which will be described later. It is used to instruct operations.

First, in control box 8, 30
is a recording start/interrupt switch, and when this recording start/interrupt switch 30 is pressed, an internal LED (light emitting diode) 30a lights up to enter the recording mode, and at the same time a recording mode display is displayed.
The LED 31 lights up, and the control circuit 23 starts writing the pixel data PD. If the recording start/interrupt switch 30 is pressed again during this recording mode, the LED 30a turns off and the writing operation by the control circuit 23 is temporarily interrupted. Furthermore, when the recording start/interrupt switch 30 is pressed again, the writing operation by the control circuit 23 is restarted, and when writing for 16 frames is completed,
The recording mode is canceled, and both the LED 30a and the recording mode display LED 31 are turned off. Reference numeral 33 denotes an LED that indicates that a recording start signal changeover switch (not shown) has been switched to the external side.
The camera enters recording mode. 32 _-1 to 32 _-8 and 32 a to 32 d indicate which address of the video memory 22 the control circuit 23 is currently sending pixel data to.
This LED indicates whether PD writing or reading is being performed by screen number.

34 is a VTR mode switch, and this VTR
When the mode switch 34 is pressed, the internal LED 34a lights up and the VTR recording mode is entered. In this VTR recording mode, the control circuit 23 records pixel data corresponding to the first screen.
The PDs are sequentially read from the video memory 22. As a result, the first screen is displayed on the monitor televisions 9a and 9c. Further, 35 is a VTR recording start switch, 36 is a VTR scroll speed setting knob, and when the VTR recording start switch 35 is pressed in the above-mentioned VTR recording mode, an internal LED 35a lights up.
At the moving speed set by the VTR scroll speed setting knob 36, the monitor TVs 9a and 9c
The still image being displayed is scrolled in the horizontal direction, and when the 16th screen is scrolled, the LED 35a is turned off. In this VTR recording mode, if you set the record button on the VTR9b, you can see how the still images scroll.
Recorded by VTR9b. Further, 37 is a reset switch that cancels the above-mentioned scrolling operation and returns to the first screen.

41 is a time start switch, and when this switch 41 is pressed,
The LED 41a lights up, and at the same time, the timer 28a in the time data generation circuit 28 starts timing operation, and the time data generation circuit 28 generates elapsed time data every 1/10 seconds or every 1/100 seconds.
TD is supplied to the elapsed time indicator 42 of the control box 8 and the A/D converter 21, respectively. 43 is a time on/off switch, and when this switch 43 is pressed, the built-in
If the LED 43a lights up and the recording mode is selected, the elapsed time data TD output from the time data generation circuit 28 is
1, it is superimposed on the pixel data PD and written into the video memory 22. 44 is a time reset switch, and when this switch 44 is pressed, the timer 28a is reset. Reference numeral 45 denotes an indicator lamp that indicates that a time start signal changeover switch (not shown) has been switched to the external side. Therefore, the timer 28a starts timing operation. The time counting operation of the timer 28a stops when the recording mode ends.

49 is a video out positive/negative changeover switch, and when this switch 49 is pressed, an internal LED 49a lights up, and the control circuit 23
The inverted signal IS is supplied to the video synchronous synthesis circuit 25 via the video synchronous synthesis circuit 25, where the composite video signal CVS is inverted and a negative screen is displayed on the display screen of the monitor television 9. Also,
When the switch 49 is pressed again, the LED 49a goes out and a normal positive screen is displayed. 5
0 is a video out on/off switch, and when this switch 50 is pressed, the built-in
The LED 50a lights up, and the erase signal ES is supplied to the video synchronization synthesis circuit 25 via the control circuit 23.
A black signal that does not display anything is output from the video synchronization synthesis circuit 25 as the composite video signal CVS.

Reference numeral 52 denotes a right/left switching switch, which is set to the right side when the moving object 5 moves in front of the line sensor camera 6 from right to left, and set to the left side when the moving object 5 moves in front of the line sensor camera 6 from right to left. As a result, the order of specifying addresses when writing pixel data PD to the video memory 22 is changed, and a moving object image is displayed on the display screens of the monitor televisions 9a and 9c in the same direction as the actual moving direction of the moving object 5. be done.

53 is the scan speed for each line of the line sensor 11 in the line sensor camera 6 (one charge accumulation time of the photoelectric conversion element 13, that is, from the scan timing signal STS ₁ (phototransfer pulse) to the next scan timing signal STS This is a line scan time changeover switch for changing the line scan time (time up to ₁ ), 2msec (0.5KHz), 1msec (1KHz),
It can be switched to either 0.5msec (2KHz) or 0.25msec (4KHz). 51 is a vertical scanning video signal VVS output from the line sensor camera 6
This is a video signal level meter that displays the peak value of , and is used when setting the aperture value of the lens 10 of the line sensor camera 6.

Next, in the referee control box 8a, 55 is a scroll mode switch;
When this switch 55 is pressed, an internal LED 55a lights up and the scroll mode is entered. A scroll dial 56 is used to specify the scroll direction and scroll speed of the still image displayed on the monitor television 9a in the scroll mode. 57 is a scroll speed setting knob that adjusts the scroll speed in three stages. Further, 58 is a video scale on/off switch, and when this switch 58 is pressed, an internal LED 58a lights up, and the scale signal SS generated by the scale signal generation circuit 27 is sent to the video synchronization synthesis circuit 25. is superimposed on the video signal VS, and a video scale line is displayed on the display screen of the monitor television 9 in the vertical direction, that is, parallel to the scanning direction of the line sensor 11. In this case, the video scale position setting knob 58 sets the horizontal position of the scale line.

Next, a procedure for determining the finishing order of a horse race using the video determining device configured as described above will be described.
First, the line scan time changeover switch 53 is operated to set the scan speed of the line sensor 11 (one charge accumulation time of the photoelectric conversion unit 13) according to the approximate moving speed of the racehorse (moving object 5). This is because if the scanning speed of the line sensor 11 is too fast compared to the moving speed of the racehorse,
An object image that extends horizontally (in the direction of movement of the racehorse) than the actual object image of a racehorse is written to the video memory 22, and conversely, if the scan speed is too slow, an object image that has shrunk in the horizontal direction is written into the video memory 22. video memory 2
This is because it is written to 2. Next, take a picture of the white object with the line sensor camera 6, adjust the aperture value of the line sensor camera 6 so that the pointer of the level meter 51 does not exceed a predetermined value, and set the line sensor camera 6 on the line of sight of the goal line 4. Place it on M. Further, the right/left switch 52 is switched depending on the direction of movement of the racehorse, and the time on/off switch 43 is turned on if the time elapsed since the race started is desired to be captured together with the object image. Also, confirm that the LEDs 33 and 45 are turned off and that the recording signal changeover switch and time start signal changeover switch are not switched to the external side.

Next, when the racehorse starts, the time start switch 41 is pressed. As a result, the elapsed time since the start is sequentially displayed on the elapsed time display 42. Thereafter, just before the leading racehorse passes the finish line 4, the recording start/interrupt switch 30 is pressed. Then, the recording mode is entered, and the control circuit 23 sequentially supplies the address data AD to the video memory 22, and at the same time, the vertical scanning video signal supplied from the line sensor camera 6.
VVS is converted into pixel data PD by an A/D converter 21, and this pixel data PD is sequentially supplied to a video memory 22 via a switching circuit 20. The pixel data PD output from the A/D converter 21 is stored in the video memory 2 as shown in FIG.
The information is sequentially written in the direction of arrow V (vertical direction) from the first storage area _A1 corresponding to the first screen _F1 of No.2. Then, when the pixel data PD is written up to the 16th storage area _A16 corresponding to the 16th screen _F16 of the video memory 22, the recording mode is canceled.

Here, in the recording mode described above, when the recording start/interrupt switch 30 is pressed, the writing operation is temporarily interrupted. Then start recording again/
When the interrupt switch 30 is pressed, the control circuit 23 supplies a switching signal KS to the switching circuit 20, so that the switching circuit 20 replaces the pixel data PD supplied from the A/D converter 21 with black pixel data.
After the BPD is supplied to the video memory 22 and the control circuit 23 sequentially supplies predetermined addresses to the video memory 22, a normal write operation is started. As a result, the point at which the image capture was temporarily interrupted is marked on the video memory 2 as a black linear display mark in the direction of the arrow V, as shown by the symbol L in FIG.
Written within 2. In addition, in the recording mode described above, if the time on/off switch 43 is turned on, the time display reference line TSL,
This time display reference line since the horse racing started
There is a time display T that shows the elapsed time up to TSL, and a time display line TL that shows this every 1/10 second (however, 1/100 second if the scan speed is 0.25 msec) from the time display reference line TSL. is written into the video memory 22 together with the object image.

Next, the eighth screen F ₈ of the video memory 22
At the point in time when the pixel data PD has been written up to the eighth storage area _A8 corresponding to , the first screen _F1 is displayed on the display screen of the monitor television 9a. Next, after the race is over, when the judge presses the scroll mode switch 55 of the control box 8a, the mode becomes scroll mode.

Thereafter, by operating the scroll dial 56, the desired screen is searched and the order of arrival is determined. In this case, in the recording mode mentioned above,
Since the point where image capture is temporarily interrupted is displayed by the black linear display mark L shown in FIG. 2, the point where the passage of time is interrupted can be clearly identified. Also, press the video outscale on/off switch 58 to turn it on, superimpose and display the vertical video scale line on the display screen of the monitor television 9 on which the racehorse is displayed, and turn the video scale position setting knob. 59 to move the scale line left and right. As a result, even when multiple racehorses are displayed overlappingly on the display screen of the monitor television 9, for example, by aligning the scale line with the front end of the racehorses, the finishing order can be determined quickly and accurately. can be determined.

"Effects of the Invention" As explained above, according to the present invention, when a temporary suspension of the writing operation is instructed by the operating means, specific pixel data is supplied from the switching means to the video memory, and the writing operation is Since the loading means is configured to write specific pixel data to the video memory, the specific pixel data is written into the video memory together with the still image as an indicator indicating a temporary interruption of the image capturing operation, resulting in When displaying an image, it is possible to clearly identify parts where the passage of time is interrupted, and it is possible to accurately determine the order of arrival.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining images displayed on monitor televisions 9a and 9c in the same embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a conventional slit FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a conventional slit-type camera, and is a diagram for explaining a still image captured on a film by a conventional slit-type camera. 4... Goal line (reference line), 5... Moving object, 6... Line sensor camera, 7... Image storage device, 8... Control box for operator, 8
a...Umpire control box, 9a, 9
c...Monitor TV, 11...CCD line scan image sensor, 20...Switching circuit (switching means), 21...A/D converter, 22...Video memory, 23...Control circuit (writing means and reading means), 24...D/A converter, 25...
Video synchronization synthesis circuit, 30... Recording start/interrupt switch (operation means), 56... Scroll dial (selection means).

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An image of a moving object passing on a predetermined reference line for one line along the reference line is simultaneously captured every charge accumulation time by a plurality of one-dimensionally arranged photosensitive elements. a line sensor camera that captures and sequentially outputs each pixel signal output from each of the photosensitive elements as a video output signal; and an A/D converter that sequentially converts the video output signal of the line sensor camera into pixel data. a video memory that sequentially stores pixel data for a screen; a writing device that writes pixel data output from the A/D converter into the video memory; and a selection device that selects a desired portion from the plurality of screens. , readout means for sequentially reading out pixel data corresponding to a portion selected by the selection means from among pixel data for a plurality of screens written in the video memory; and pixels read out by the readout means. a D/A converter that converts data into a video signal; a monitor television that displays an image based on the video signal supplied from the D/A converter; and an instruction to the writing means to temporarily suspend a writing operation. an operating means; and a switching means for supplying specific pixel data to the video memory in place of the pixel data output from the A/D converter when the operating means is operated, the writing means . A video determining device, wherein when the operating means is operated, the specific pixel data is written into the video memory together with the still image as a display mark indicating a temporary suspension of the image capturing operation.