JPH0631822Y2 - Video phone - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION A Industrial Field of Application The present invention relates to a videophone device, and is particularly suitable for application to a videophone device having a document image capturing function in addition to a face-to-face call function.

B. Outline of the Invention In the present invention, in the videophone device, the image pickup unit is rotatably held by a holding mechanism separate from the display device, so that the usability can be further improved.

C Conventional Technology As a conventional videophone device 1 of this type, first, as shown in FIG. 6, a display device 2 including a CRT (cathode ray tube) for displaying an image of a communication partner and a display device 2 are provided. An image pickup unit 3 for picking up an image of a caller is fixed to the upper surface.

The display device 2 and the image pickup unit 3 are housed in a housing having an integrated structure, and when the calligraphy 4 is picked up in place of a caller, a calligraphy board 5 is specially provided in front of the image pickup unit 3 to hold the calligraph 4 there. Then, the calligraphy 4 is taken on the image pickup section 3.

Secondly, as shown in FIG. 7, the image pickup unit 3 can be rotated by 90 ° with respect to the display device 2, and a writing table 5 is installed beside the videophone device 1 to display the writing image 4. The one that is made possible is used.

Thirdly, as shown in FIG. 8, a document 4 is placed on a desk 21 and, for example, a mirror 7 is provided on the front surface of the image pickup unit 3 (Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 49-29539).

That is, the mirror 7 is held on the upper side of the image pickup unit 3 by the pull-out mechanism 8 so that the mirror surface of the mirror 7 can be drawn obliquely downward so as to cover the image pickup unit 3, and thus the document image on the desk 21 is mirrored. An image is picked up by the image pickup unit 3 via 7.

In this case, by moving the mirror 7, it is possible to selectively move the caller in front and the calligraphy 4 below.

D Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, all the conventional videophone devices have the display device 2
Since the image pickup unit 3 has an integral structure, the above-mentioned complicated operation is required when the caller and / or the calligraph is to be picked up, which is still insufficient from the viewpoint of user convenience.

Further, in the videophone device as shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, when the caller reads the calligraphy 4 read by the caller, the caller 4 is directed toward the caller by the image pickup unit 3. Reorienting the top, bottom, left, and right in a direction that allows correct imaging requires some complicated operation, which is still insufficient from the viewpoint of usability.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6 to FIG.
By mounting it on the 0 through the tilt mechanism 6,
When the caller can tilt the screen of the display device 2 so that the screen can be easily viewed, the optical axis of the image pickup unit 3 tilts accordingly. As a result, the caller and the calligraphy 4 standing in the vertical direction are not captured vertically, and a distorted image is sent to the caller. Therefore, in order to obtain a correct image, it is necessary to orient the calligraphy 4 and the caller at an angle according to the angle of the imaging unit 3.

In consideration of the above points of the present invention, there is provided a videophone device in which the display device and the image pickup unit are separately structured, and the position and orientation of the image pickup unit can be rotated as necessary. It is a proposal.

E Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the problems, in the present invention, an image pickup unit 3 for picking up an image pickup target including a caller and a document 4 oriented in a direction read by the caller, and a callee. And calligraphy 4
In a videophone device 1 having a display device 2 for displaying a video object including, a display device 2 is provided separately from the display device 2.
A holding unit 17 for holding the image pickup unit 3, and a rotating shaft provided at a mounting position of the holding unit 17 and the image pickup unit 3 and extending in a direction perpendicular to an optical axis of an image pickup optical system 3A built in the image pickup unit 3. A first rotation unit 3C for vertically rotating the imaging unit 3 held by the holding unit 17 around 15C,
15C and 42, and the imaging optical system 3C, which is provided in the imaging unit 3, and rotates the imaging optical system 3C around the optical axis of the imaging optical system 3C in response to the rotation operation by the first rotating means 3C, 15C, and 42. Then, the second rotation means 20, 21A to 21C, 22, 23, for rotating the imaging optical system 3C so as to be turned upside down.
When the imaging direction of the imaging unit 3 is switched from the direction in which the caller is imaged to the direction in which the calligraphy 4 is imaged, the imaging unit 3 is rotated so as to be upside down from the case in which the caller is imaged. By capturing the calligraphy 4 by the image pickup optical system 3C after that, the calligraphy 4 directed to the caller can be correctly imaged vertically and horizontally while keeping the reading direction of the caller.

F action The first imaging position where the imaging unit 3 images the caller and the second imaging position where the calligraphy 4 oriented in a direction readable by the caller is correctly imaged vertically and horizontally without changing the direction. Since it is held by the holding mechanism 17 so as to rotate between the two, it is possible to pick up an image of the caller and the calligraphy 4 that is easy to see by a simple operation.

G Embodiment One embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

(G1) First Embodiment In FIG. 1 in which parts corresponding to those in FIGS. 6 to 8 are designated by the same reference numerals, the image pickup unit 3 and the display device 2 have a separate structure, and the display device base 10 is used. Place the display device 2 on the front part of the
The support member 11 is erected on the rear side portion.

The tip of the support member 11 is hollow so that the root of the L-shaped support member 12 can be pulled out or pushed into the telescope. Here, a vertical adjustment mechanism 13 having a screw structure for holding the height position of the L-shaped support member 12 is provided, and the vertical adjustment mechanism 13 is loosened to adjust the height of the L-shaped support member 12 to a vertical position. The height position can be maintained by tightening the adjusting mechanism 13.

A groove 14 is provided at the tip of the L-shaped support member 12, and the slide wheels 15A and 15B attached to the pair of plate-shaped image pickup unit support members 15 are fitted into the groove 14, whereby the image pickup unit support member 15 is formed. Moves linearly to be pulled forward or pushed backward. Thus, the image pickup unit support member 15 and the image pickup unit 3 can be moved in the front-rear direction as indicated by the arrow a.

As described above, the groove 14 and the image pickup unit support member 15 provided in the L-shaped support member 12 constitute the slide mechanism 16 as a whole.

Further, a shaft 15C extending in a substantially horizontal direction is provided at the tip of the image pickup unit support member 15, and the image pickup unit 3 is inserted and attached so that the image pickup unit 3 swings its neck in the vertical direction as shown by an arrow b around the shaft 15C. As a result, the supporting member 11, the L-shaped supporting member 12, the vertical adjustment mechanism 13, the imaging unit supporting member 15, and the slide mechanism 16 constitute a holding mechanism 17.

Thus, the imaging unit 3 directs the imaging lens optical system 3A forward as shown by the solid line, and the desk 21 with the imaging lens optical system 3A facing downward as shown by the broken line. A second image pickup position for picking up an image of the calligraphy 4 placed thereon can be set.

Here, FIG. 2 shows the detailed structure of the image pickup section 3, and when the neck of the image pickup section 3 is swung in the vertical direction, the camera unit 24 is rotated by 180 ° about the optical axis.

That is, the case 3B of the image pickup unit 3 is connected to the shaft 1 via the bearing 3C.
It is rotatably held so that the head can be swung in the vertical direction about 5C. A shaft gear 20 is attached to the tip of one of the shafts 15C, and is engaged with a camera gear 22 via connecting gears 21A and 21B connected by a shaft 21C. CCD (charge
The camera unit 24 having a coupled device structure is provided with a bearing 23 provided on the case 3B so that the imaging lens optical system 3
The case 3B is rotatably held around the optical axis of A, so that the case 3B moves from the first image pickup position (FIG. 1) where the caller is imaged to the second image pickup position where the calligraphy 4 is imaged. When rotated, the camera unit 24 is rotated by 180 degrees through the gears 20, 21A, 21B, and 22 so that the camera unit 24 is rotated by 180 degrees.

In the above configuration, the caller can adjust the height of the image pickup unit 3 by the vertical adjustment mechanism 13 as necessary, and the length by which the image pickup unit support member 15 slides forward by the slide mechanism 16. Can be adjusted, and the image pickup unit 3 can be directed forward or downward with respect to the image pickup unit support member 15.

Therefore, the vertical position, the front-back position, and the vertical direction of the image pickup unit 3 can be set with a remarkably large degree of freedom as compared with the conventional case, whereby the usability of the videophone device can be further improved.

Further, even when the display device 2 is provided with the tilt mechanism 6, the display device 2 and the image pickup unit 3 are separated from each other.
Even if the direction of is changed to an arbitrary direction, the imaging range is not affected.

In this way, the calligraphy 4 can be easily imaged without preparing the calligraphy table 5 (FIGS. 6 and 7) and the mirror (FIG. 8) which are conventionally required.

Further, when the document 4 is to be taken in FIG. 1, the image pickup unit 3 is pulled out toward the caller and the lens of the image pickup unit 3 is directed downward. At this time, the camera unit 24 rotates 180 ° while the image pickup unit 3 moves to the second image pickup position which is turned downward from the first image pickup position where the caller is imaged forward.

Therefore, when the image pickup unit 3 is at the first image pickup position, the image pickup unit 3 is changed to the second image pickup unit 3 while the camera unit 24 is picking up the facing image 31 of the caller as shown in FIG. 3 (A).
When the calligraphy 4 is rotated to the image pickup position and the calligraphic image 4 on which the character image 32 is written as shown in FIG. 3 (B) is taken, if the calligraphic image 4 is properly oriented toward the caller, The camera unit 24 shows the same image 33 that the caller is reading.
An image signal representing (FIG. 3 (C)) can be transmitted.

Incidentally, if the camera unit 24 is prevented from rotating when the image pickup unit 3 is rotated to the second image pickup position, the image signal that can be sent from the camera unit 24 is as shown in FIG. As shown, the top, bottom, left, and right represent images that are reversed. Therefore, the caller actually changes the orientation of the calligraphy 4 to the third
Compared with the case of FIG. 6B, there is a troublesome work of replacing the top and bottom and the left and right so that the top and bottom and the left and right are reversed (that is, the drawing 4 is rotated 180 ° when viewed from the caller side). With respect to this point, the configuration as shown in FIG. 2 can eliminate such troublesomeness.

According to the above configuration, when the image pickup unit 3 is pulled out forward and is directed downward to capture the document 4, the camera unit 2
Since the camera unit 24 can be set at an appropriate position by rotating 180 inside the image pickup unit 3 by 180 °, even if the caller looks at the drawing 4 naturally, However, an image signal that allows the calligraphy 4 to be viewed naturally can be transmitted.

(G2) Second Embodiment FIGS. 4 and 5 in which parts corresponding to those in FIG. 1 are assigned the same reference numerals show other embodiments, in which the display device 2 is mounted on the display device base 10. It is attached via a tilt mechanism 6. In addition to this, the display device 2 on the display device base 10
The support member 11 is erected at a position beside the.

At the tip of the support member 11, the arm 4 is rotated by a rotation mechanism 40 that rotates in the direction of arrow c about a vertical rotation axis.
1 is rotatably inserted. The imaging unit 3 is rotatably attached to the tip of the arm 41 via a rotation mechanism 42 that rotates in the direction of arrow d about a horizontal rotation axis. Thus, the support member 11, the rotation mechanism 40, and the arm 41 constitute the holding mechanism 17.

With the above configuration, when the normal caller is imaged,
The image pickup unit 3 is located above the display device 2, and the arm 41 and the image pickup unit 3 are drawn in solid lines. Here, the arm 41 can be rotated in the c direction by the rotation mechanism 40. Therefore, when the imaging target is switched from the caller to the calligraphy 4, the arm 41 is rotated to move the imaging unit 3 from the original position to a position symmetrical with respect to the rotating mechanism 40 as indicated by a broken line, and at the same time, a rotating mechanism. By 42, the direction of the image pickup unit 3 is rotated downward by 90 ° and a document image is picked up.

Thus, when the image pickup unit 3 at the position where the caller can be picked up is moved to the position where the document 4 can be picked up by the rotation mechanism 40 and the turning mechanism 42, the image pickup unit 3 is turned by the turning mechanism 42. ° Rotated downward while rotating mechanism 4
With 0, the camera unit 24 is rotated by 180 ° so that the captured image is upside down, and the calligraphy 4 oriented almost in the direction of the caller can be captured as a vertically correct image.

According to the above configuration, the arm 41 is rotated by the rotation mechanism 40, and the image pickup unit 3 is directed downward by the rotation mechanism 42, so that the arm 41 is rotated at the third position at any position within the rotation range of the arm 41. As described above with reference to the drawing, while the caller is looking at the document 4 in the normal direction, the imaging unit 3
Therefore, the image signal in the normal direction can be transmitted.

As compared with the case of FIG. 1, the image pickup unit 3 is not pulled out by the slide mechanism 16, so that it is not necessary to consider the strength of the image pickup unit support member 15. That is, it is not necessary to consider the weight of the image pickup unit 3 or the position at which the image pickup unit 3 can be pulled out from the display device 2.

Further, the configuration of the image pickup unit 3 can be further simplified as compared with the case of the first embodiment.

H Effect of the Invention As described above, according to the present invention, the second image capturing the calligraphy image facing the caller from the first image capturing position capturing the caller.
When the direction of the image pickup unit is changed to the image pickup position of 1, the image pickup unit is directed downward by the first rotation unit and the optical system (camera unit) is centered on the optical axis by the second rotation unit. Then, by rotating it 180 degrees, it is possible to correctly capture the calligraphy image directed to the caller vertically and horizontally.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing a first embodiment of a videophone device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view showing a detailed structure of an image pickup unit according to the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an image to be captured, FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 are plan views and front views showing a second embodiment of a videophone device according to the present invention, FIG. 6, FIG. 7 and FIG. A schematic side view, a front view, and a side view, respectively, showing a conventional videophone device. 1 ... Videophone device, 2 ... Display device, 3 ... Imaging unit, 4 ... Document, 11 ... Supporting member, 15 ... Imaging unit supporting member, 16 ... Slide mechanism, 24 ... Camera unit, 41 …… Arm.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A videophone device having an image pickup unit for picking up an image pickup target including a caller and a document oriented in a direction to be read by the caller, and a display device for displaying an image pickup target including the callee and the caller. , A holding unit that is provided separately from the display device and that holds the image capturing unit, a mounting position of the holding unit and the image capturing unit, and a light of an image capturing optical system built in the image capturing unit. First rotating means for vertically rotating the image pickup portion held by the holding means about a rotating shaft extending in a direction perpendicular to the axis; and the first rotating means provided in the image pickup portion. Second rotation for rotating the image pickup optical system about the optical axis of the image pickup optical system in response to the rotating operation of the rotating means, and rotating so that the image pickup optical system is turned upside down. And a means for When the direction is switched from the direction in which the caller is imaged to the direction in which the calligraphy is imaged, the imaging optical system after being rotated so as to be inverted up and down as compared with the case of imaging the caller A videophone device characterized in that by capturing an image of a calligraphy, the calligraphy directed to the caller can be correctly imaged vertically and horizontally while keeping the direction in which the caller reads.