JPH0685581B2 - Vision sharing device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Outline] The present invention relates to a field-of-view sharing apparatus that images an image viewed by a field worker with an imaging camera, transmits the image to a remote command station, and displays the image at the command station. A means for correcting the direction of the camera is provided so as to match the field of view of the worker.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a field-of-view sharing device that transmits an image viewed by a field worker to a remote command station by using an image and a sound.

[Prior Art] Support for collaborative work between remote locations using images and sound has begun to attract attention. In this case, one worker takes a picture of the work target with a shared field of view camera (video camera), displays the image (sound also) on a TV device at a remote location, and the orderer sees it and sees the scene. The method of giving instructions to is adopted.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of a conventional view sharing device.

In FIG. 6, 60 is a field-of-view sharing device, and 61 is a small field-of-view shared camera (thumb size camera thumb size camera attached to the head cap or glasses of workers on site).
Reference numeral 62, which is referred to as d camera), is a display device on which the view image sent from the view sharing camera is displayed, and the display screen is viewed by the instructor at a remote command station.

The worker at the site goes to a predetermined site and directs his line of sight to the observation target device in response to an instruction from the instructor at the command station by voice. Then, the field-of-view shared camera 61 sends the image of the observation target device to the command station via the communication line, and the visual field image of the worker is displayed on the display device 62. When a skilled instructor at the ordering place sees the displayed contents (for example, the indicated value of the instrument) and gives an operation instruction to the site by voice, a worker on the site operates the equipment according to the instruction.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In the view sharing operation described above, it is necessary that the image transmitted by the worker at the work site to the command station is the same as the image actually seen by the worker. If the image seen by the eyes and the image taken by the view sharing camera are misaligned,
There is a high possibility that the instructor of the command center will make an incorrect instruction.

However, such a deviation often occurs. The reason will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in A. of FIG. 7, when the human body direction (the direction of the body including shoulders, abdomen, etc.) is taken as the body line, when the human looks to the right (or left), the direction of the body is changed. In some cases, it is turned in that direction, but when looking at it for a short time, it is often the case that only the head is turned. In that case, the direction in which the head faces is the headline, and the angle formed by the body line and the headline is the headline angle.

In this way, when turning an object to see an object, the line of sight of a person who actually sees the object is outside the headline as shown by A, (on the right side in the figure, but on the left side when looking at the left). The survey found that it slipped. At this time, assuming that the angle of the headline with respect to the body line is the headline angle and the angle of the line of sight is the line-of-sight angle, the result of an actual investigation of the relationship between the line-of-sight angle and the line-of-sight angle is shown in FIG. 7B. .

The points surrounded by small squares in the figure are sample values,
As can be seen from the figure, the line of sight is ahead of the headline, and an accurate line of sight of the worker cannot be obtained simply by fixing the small camera to the head. If the line connecting the center points of these distributions is expressed by an equation, Y = 2.148 + 0.5905X.

As described above, in the conventional visual field sharing device, there is a problem that the image displayed at the remote command station does not match what the worker actually sees because the camera on the side transmitting the image is misaligned with the line of sight of the worker. there were.

[Means for Solving the Problems] FIG. 1 shows a basic configuration of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, 1 is a shared field of view camera, 2 is a camera rotation drive unit, 3 is a constant headline angle detection that generates a corresponding detection output when the difference between the headline angle and the view angle occurs at a certain angle on the right side or the left side The switch mechanism 4 is a body line instructing means for instructing the direction of the body line which is the reference of the headline angle and the line-of-sight angle.

According to the present invention, when the angle formed by the headline and the body line in the direction of the field-of-view shared camera, which is normally oriented in the same direction as the headline (this is referred to as the headline angle), is a certain angle or more, the line-of-sight camera is further aligned with the line of sight. The field-of-view shared camera is rotationally driven by a fixed angle in the outer direction (right side or left side) for correction.

[Operation] In FIG. 1, the field-of-view shared camera 1 is attached so as to face the headline of the head of a worker or the like. The field-of-view shared camera is rotated by the camera rotation drive unit 2 in right and left directions. On the other hand, the direction of the reference body line is instructed by the body line instructing means 4 and input to the constant headline angle detection switch mechanism 3. As the other input of the constant headline angle detection switch mechanism 3, the current direction (representing the headline) of the view sharing camera is input, and the constant headline angle detection switch mechanism 3 forms a headline formed by both angles. When the angle reaches a certain angle on the right or left side, a detection output is generated. In this case, the detection output corresponding to the right or left is generated.

The output from the fixed headline angle detection switch mechanism 3 drives the camera rotation drive unit 2 and the detection output on the right side causes the field-of-view shared camera 1 to move to the right at a predetermined angle (headline angle segment: headline and line of sight). The view sharing camera 1 is driven to rotate by a predetermined angle by the detection output on the left side.

[Embodiment] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an embodiment.

In Fig. 2, A. shows the overall structure, B. is a sectional view of the detection switch, C. is an external view of the detection switch, and D. is a switch contact portion.

In FIG. 2A, 20 is a small image pickup camera (corresponding to the view sharing camera in FIG. 1), 21 is a support housing for supporting the small image pickup camera, 22
Is a motor, 23 is a gear box that stores a gear that converts the rotation of the motor to a rotation in a perpendicular direction (vertical direction), and 24 is a gear that transmits the rotation of the gear 23 to the small camera support shaft (the shaft that supports the camera) , 25 is a drive shaft, 26 is a detection switch which is connected to the drive shaft 25 and detects a constant headline angle between the body line and the headline, 2
Both ends of 7 are fixed to the detection switch 26 and the body line indicator 28,
It is a wire that transmits mutual rotation (twist) between the body line and the headline.

In the case of this embodiment, a housing for supporting the small image pickup camera 20 and the like
21 is attached to the temple of glasses, but it is also possible to attach it to something that follows the movement of the head (horizontal rotation movement) of an operator, such as the edge of a hat. Further, the paired wire support plate 28 is attached (by a clip or the like) to the chest or the like of the clothes of the worker to follow the movement of the body and indicate the direction.

Next, the structure of the detection switch 26 of the embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

The upper plate 261 and the lower plate 262 are integrally formed on the support plate 260, and the upper plate 2
The 61 and the lower plate 262 are provided with holes so as to be rotatable with respect to the drive shaft 25 penetrating the respective plates. And
The tip of the upper plate 261 is a switch lever (indicated by SL) which is curved downward and becomes thinner as shown in B. and C.
Is configured as.

The upper plate 261 and the lower plate 262 are supported by support members (screws or the like) 264 attached at the positions (upper / lower) of the drive shaft 25 that sandwich the plates as shown in the figure.

In addition, the drive shaft 25 has a switch plate with a forked end.
263 is fixed, and two small switches SW1 and SW2 are provided on the inner side of the two legs as shown in C and D. Each of the switches SW1 and SW2 is a contact type switch which is composed of a movable contact and a fixed contact, and turns on when the movable contact is pushed by the switch lever SL of the upper plate 261 and turns off when the contact is separated.

Next, the motor drive circuit will be described with reference to FIG. 3. The motor (22 in FIG. 2) has a battery 30 when the switch SW1 is turned on.
When the switch SW2 is turned on, the battery 31 having the opposite polarity rotates in the negative direction.

The operation of the embodiment will be described with reference to the operation explanatory diagram of FIG.
In addition, in A. to C. of the figure, the left side shows the body line and head line of the worker and the direction of the small imaging camera (view sharing camera), and the right side is the switch contact part (SW1, SW2) of the detection switch.
Represents the state of the switch lever SL.

When the body line and the head line coincide with each other as shown in FIG. 4A, the tip of the switch lever SL is located between the two switches SW1 and SW2, and the motor does not rotate.

In the case of B., if you turn your head to the right with respect to the direction of your body to look at the right one, the headline angle becomes a certain angle or more. Therefore, the body line indicator plate 28 rotates to the left relative to the headline, and the switch lever SL pushes the movable contact of the switch SW2 to turn it on.

Then, the motor 22 is rotated by the circuit of FIG. 3, the drive shaft 25 is rotated to the left, and the switch plate 263 is driven in the direction away from the switch lever SL (to the left) as shown in FIG. 4C. . At this time, the gear 24 attached to the drive shaft 25
Due to (inside the support housing 21), the orientation of the compact imaging camera 20 is driven to the right side in the direction opposite to the switch plate. In this way, when the switch SW2 and the switch lever SL are separated, the motor 22
Is stopped, and the small-sized image pickup camera 20 faces outward at a certain angle (headline angle) from the headline and stops as in C.

Headline from the position of C. to the front (same direction as body line)
Returning to, the switch SW1 is turned on contrary to the above case, and the motor 22 also rotates in the opposite direction to the original state of A.

Also, from the state of A., the head line is in the opposite direction to the case of B. (left side)
When it is turned to a predetermined angle or more by the action of the switch lever SL and the switch SW1, the small-sized imaging camera 20 is stopped at a position which is rotated outward (left side) from the headline by a certain angle (head viewing angle).

To correct the headline-line of sight correction correctly, switch lever SL
Adjust the width of switches SW1 and SW2. FIG. 5 shows the relationship between the line-of-sight angle and the camera angle (the angle of the camera with respect to the body line) when the field-of-view shared camera is used. This shows that the line of sight and the camera are almost the same.

If the motor drive unit of the view sharing camera is composed of a combination of a potentiometer, a microcomputer, and a servomotor, more accurate headline-line-of-sight correction can be performed (however, the weight of the device increases and the user is burdened. Cost).

As described above, the present invention transmits the image viewed by the worker at the site to the instructor at the remote place, which enables the instructor to give an accurate work instruction to the operator.
It can be applied to various application fields, and specifically, instructions to workers at construction sites, instructions to medical sites, instructions to maintenance inspectors at factories and power plants, etc. can be considered.

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, an image similar to the field of view of a worker can be seen at a remote command station, so that the field of view of the worker can be accurately shared, and the instructor can tell the worker. Can give accurate instructions.

In addition, when the worker is a veteran and on the contrary, when practicing education is given to the instructor, the point of view of the veteran worker can be directly given to the instructing company.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a basic configuration diagram of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of an embodiment, FIG. 3 is a motor drive circuit, FIG. 4 is an operation explanatory diagram of the embodiment, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a relationship between camera angles, FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional visual field sharing device, and FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a relationship between a headline angle and a line-of-sight angle. In Fig. 1, 1: shared view camera 2: camera rotation drive 3: constant headline angle detection switch 4: body line pointing means

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A field-of-view sharing device for transmitting an image of a work object directly operated by a worker to a remote place where the instructor is present, displaying the image, and transmitting a voice of the instructor according to the displayed image to the worker. In, a support housing mounted with a field-of-view shared camera (1) attached to a position representing a worker's headline, and provided on the support housing, the direction of the field-of-view shared camera (1) is rotated left and right. Camera rotation drive (2)
A body line indicating means (4) attached to the body of the worker for indicating a direction of a body line serving as a reference of a headline angle and a line-of-sight angle; a body line indicated by the body line supporting means; A constant headline angle detection switch mechanism (3) for detecting that the displacement of the headline represented by the body is equal to or greater than a predetermined angle, and detecting left and right directions from the constant headline angle detection switch mechanism (3) The camera rotation drive unit (2) is driven by the output to rotate the direction of the field-of-view shared camera (1) by a predetermined angle to the outside of the headline to the left or right, and the field of view between the worker and the instructor at a remote place is deviated. A field-of-view sharing device that corrects