JPH0746454A - Image pickup device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable the camera operator to recognize the bearing and the zooming position of a camera. CONSTITUTION:A CPU 72 of a camera 40 stores information such as panning, tilt and zoom position to an internal memory in the initial state. A camera control signal 44 includes control signals for panning, tilt and zoom. The CPU 72 revises the information of a pan, a tilt and a zoom position stored in the internal memory according to the camera control signal 44. The information in the internal memory is fed to a data processing circuit 74. The circuit 74 applies packet processing to input data and gives the result to a multiplexer circuit 76. The multiplexer circuit 76 superimposes data from the circuit 74 onto the image pickup signal outputted from a camera signal processing circuit 66.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image pickup device, and more particularly to an image pickup device suitable for remote control.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a video conference system, not only an image transmitting side terminal but also an image receiving side terminal can operate a camera for photographing a user, and a control signal system for that purpose is defined. FIG. 2 shows a basic configuration block diagram of a terminal of the video conference system.

In FIG. 2, 10 is a camera for photographing a conference participant, 12 is a camera control circuit for controlling pan, tilt and zoom of the camera 10, 14 is an image monitor for displaying transmitted and received images, and 16 is a monitor. It is a video codec that encodes a video signal to be transmitted and decodes a received encoded video signal.

Reference numeral 18 is a microphone for voice input, 20 is a speaker, 22 is a voice codec for coding a voice signal to be transmitted and decoding the received coded voice signal, and 24 is video, voice and control on a communication line. A transmission control circuit for controlling signal transmission, 26 is a system control circuit for controlling the whole, 2
An operation device 8 inputs a predetermined instruction, for example, a pan, tilt, and zoom instruction of the camera 10 to the system control circuit 26.

The transmission operation will be described. Video codec 16
Encodes the imaged video signal of the camera 10 and outputs it to the transmission control circuit 24. The audio codec 22 encodes the audio signal input by the microphone 16 and transmits the transmission control circuit 24.
Output to. The transmission control circuit 24 is also supplied with the control signal of the partner station from the system control circuit 26. The transmission control circuit 24 multiplexes these pieces of information and outputs it to the communication line.

The reception operation will be described. The transmission control circuit 24 separates the information from the partner station into video, audio and control signals, and supplies the video information to the video codec 16, the audio information to the audio codec 32 and the control signal to the system control circuit 26, respectively. The video codec 16 decodes the video information from the transmission control circuit 24, that is, the coded video information from the partner station, and outputs it to the monitor 14. This allows
The image from the partner station is displayed on the monitor 14. The audio codec 32 decodes the audio information from the transmission control circuit 24, that is, the encoded audio information from the partner station, and outputs the decoded audio information to the speaker 20. As a result, the voice from the partner station is output from the speaker 20.

The control signal from the partner station is supplied to the system control circuit 26. When this is the control signal for the camera 10, the system control circuit 26 transfers the control signal from the transmission control circuit 26 to the camera control circuit 12. . The camera control circuit 12 controls pan, tilt, and zoom of the camera 10 according to a control signal from the system control circuit 26. As a result, the terminal user can operate not only the camera of the own station but also the camera 10 of the other station.

A speaker 20 of the own station is operated by the operating device 28.
The audio output level, the orientation (pan and tilt), and the magnification (zoom) of the camera 10 of the own station and the partner station can be operated.
FIG. 3 shows a plan view of the operating device 28 in the form of an operating tablet.

Reference numeral 30a denotes a switch for instructing an upward tilt, 30b denotes a switch for instructing a rightward pan, 3
Reference numeral 0c is a switch for instructing a downward tilt, 30d is a switch for instructing a pan to the left, 32 is a zoom switch for instructing zoom, and 34 is an input pen for operating these switches.

After specifying whether the operation target is the camera of the own station or the camera of the partner station by a predetermined key operation, when the right pan is desired, the switch 30b is continuously pressed by the input pen 34, and when the left pan is desired. Switch 30d
When the tilt is desired to be tilted upward, the switch 30a is pressed continuously when the tilt in the upward direction is desired, and the switch 30c is pressed continuously when the tilt is desired to be lowered in the downward direction. When the user wants to zoom up, the + side of the switch 32 is continuously pressed, and when the zoom is desired to be down, the negative side of the switch 32 is continuously pressed.

The operating device 28 includes switches 30a-30
While d and 32 are being pressed, the ON signals corresponding to them are output to the system control circuit 26. If the operation target is the camera of the own station, the system control circuit 26 sends the operation device 2 to the camera control circuit 12, and if the operation target is the camera of the partner station, to the partner station via the transmission control circuit 24.
A control signal is output according to the ON signal from 8.

For example, as shown in FIG. 4, there are three persons A, B, and C in front of the camera 36 to be operated, and when the person A is being photographed, the person C is panned in the direction in which the person C is photographed. If desired, the switch 30d is continuously pressed until the camera 36 captures the person C. Specifically, while watching the image captured by the camera 36 on the monitor screen, the camera 3
The switch 30d will continue to be pressed until 6 is in the desired orientation.

While the switch 30d is being pressed as shown in FIG. 5A, the operating device 28 is operated by the system control circuit 2
6, the control signal indicating the left pan is repeatedly output at a constant cycle T as shown in FIG.
In response thereto, as shown in FIG. 5C, the left pan control signal line to the camera control circuit 12 is set to L (low) to instruct left pan. The camera control circuit 12 applies a drive pulse as shown in FIG. 5 (4) to the stepping motor for pan in response to the left pan control signal as shown in FIG. 5 (3).

The same applies to right pan, vertical tilt and zoom.

[0015]

In the conventional teleconference terminal, the camera of the communication partner terminal to be controlled is
It is not possible to know which direction is currently facing and how much zoom is in place. For example, when trying to right pan the camera of the communication partner terminal, the limit of right pan may already have been reached, and this cannot be known without trial.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an image pickup apparatus in which the azimuth of a camera to be operated can always be recognized on the operating side.

[0017]

An image pickup apparatus according to the present invention is an image pickup apparatus which converts an optical image into an electric signal and outputs the electric signal in a predetermined format. Status information of the image pickup apparatus is given for a predetermined period of the image pickup signal. Is superimposed and output.

[0018]

With the above means, the position information such as pan, tilt and zoom is superimposed on the image pickup signal and output, so that the state of the image pickup apparatus can be known without using another wiring.

[0019]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 shows a schematic block diagram of a video conference terminal using the apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 1 will be described. Reference numeral 40 is a camera, and 42 is a camera control circuit for controlling the azimuth (pan and tilt) of the camera 40.

In the camera 40, 50 is a photographing lens having a zooming function, 52 is a diaphragm, 54 is an optical low-pass filter, and a lens drive circuit 56 drives a focusing lens of the photographing lens and a zooming lens for zooming. The diaphragm drive circuit 58 drives the diaphragm 52 in the axial direction.
To control its aperture.

Reference numeral 60 is an image pickup device for converting an optical image formed by the taking lens 50, diaphragm 52 and optical filter 54 into an electric signal, and 62 is an image pickup device drive circuit for driving the image pickup device 60. Reference numeral 64 is an amplifier that amplifies the output of the image pickup device 60, and 66 is a camera signal processing circuit that performs predetermined camera signal processing on the output of the amplifier 64 and outputs the video signal in a predetermined standard format.

Reference numeral 68 denotes a distance measuring circuit for measuring the distance to the object. The focusing lens position of the photographing lens 50 is adjusted according to the measurement result, and the photographing lens 50 is controlled to be in focus. Reference numeral 70 denotes a photometric circuit that measures the brightness of the subject, and the diaphragm 52 is adjusted so that the appropriate exposure amount is obtained according to the measurement result.

A CPU 72 controls the entire camera 40.
Is. Specifically, the CPU 72 adjusts the focusing lens position of the taking lens 50 by the lens driving circuit 56 according to the measurement result of the distance measuring circuit 68, and controls the focusing state. The CPU 72 also adjusts the aperture of the diaphragm 52 by the diaphragm drive circuit 56 according to the measurement result of the photometric circuit 68, and adjusts the exposure amount to an appropriate value. Furthermore, CPU7
In 2 according to the zoom control signal of the camera control signal 44 from the outside, the lens drive circuit 56 adjusts the position of the zooming lens of the taking lens 50 to change the magnification of the taking lens 50.

The camera control signal 44 from the outside includes the pan and tilt control signals in addition to the zoom as described in the conventional example. The CPU 72 includes an area for storing information on the zoom position, the pan angle and the tilt angle in the internal memory, and stores the camera azimuth (pan and tilt) and the zoom position changed according to the camera control signal 44 from the outside. Remember in the area.

That is, the CPU 72 always stores the current information of the status of the camera 40 (in this embodiment, the azimuth and zoom position). For example, the camera 40 is initialized by an initialization process such as when the power is turned on, that is, the camera 40 is directed to the front and zooming is preset at a predetermined position, and thereafter, a movement amount according to a movement command by the camera control signal 44 is set. It may be added or subtracted from the preset value.

Reference numeral 74 is a data processing circuit for converting the status information output from the CPU 72 into a predetermined format for superimposing a video signal, and 76 is camera signal processing for processing the camera status information output from the data processing circuit 74. It is a data multiplexing circuit that is superimposed on the video signal output from the circuit 66.

The camera control circuit 42 drives the pan motor 78 for turning the camera 40 in the left and right direction, the tilt motor 80 for turning the camera 40 in the up and down direction, and the motors 78, 80 according to the camera control signal 44 from the outside. And a control circuit 82 for controlling. The motors 78 and 80 are mounted on the platform of the camera 40, for example, as is well known.

First, the operation of the camera control circuit 42 will be described. The control circuit 82 extracts a control signal relating to pan and tilt from the camera control signal 44, and drives the motors 78 and 80 in accordance with them. This allows the camera 40
The direction of is changed.

The operation of the camera 40 will be described. CPU72
Controls the taking lens 50 to the in-focus state by the lens driving circuit 56 according to the measurement result of the distance measuring circuit 68, and
According to the measurement result of the photometric circuit 68, the aperture drive circuit 56 adjusts the aperture of the aperture 52 to adjust the exposure amount appropriately. The image sensor 60 converts the optical image that has passed through the lens 50, the diaphragm 52, and the filter 54 into an electric signal in accordance with the drive signal from the image sensor drive circuit 62, and outputs the pixel signals of one screen in a predetermined order. The output of the image sensor 60 is the amplifier 64
After being amplified by, the video signal is converted into a predetermined standard format by the camera signal processing circuit 66.

The CPU 72 also responds to the zoom control signal of the camera control signal 44 from the outside, to drive the lens drive circuit 5
The position of the zooming lens of the taking lens 50 is adjusted by 6, and the taking lens 50 is magnified. Simultaneously with this scaling operation, the CPU 72 stores zooming position information in the internal memory.

The CPU 72 of the present embodiment further updates the pan position and tilt position information stored in the internal memory according to the pan control signal and tilt control signal included in the camera control signal 44, and stores the current position.

The CPU 72 outputs the current pan, tilt and zoom position information stored in the internal memory to the data processing circuit 74 as camera status information. The data processing circuit 74 has, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, a data packet structure including a header part and a data part for each element of camera status information, and the header part has elements of camera status information (zoom, zoom, Information for specifying (pan or tilt) is entered, and position data of the element is entered in the data part. The data processing circuit 74 outputs such a data packet to the data multiplexing circuit 76 at the timing of being superimposed within one horizontal period of the data superimposition possible period shown in FIG. The data from the circuit 74 is superimposed on the video signal from the processing circuit 66.

In this way, the camera 40 outputs a signal in which the camera status information is multiplexed with the video signal of the captured image.

FIG. 6 will be described. The same components as those in FIG. 1 and the same components as those in FIG. 2 are designated by the same reference numerals. Reference numeral 84 is a data separation circuit for separating the camera status information from the output of the camera 40, and 86 is a system control circuit for processing the camera status information separated by the data separation circuit 84 in addition to the function of the system control circuit 26. is there.

The output of the camera 40, that is, the image signal on which the camera status information is superimposed is coded by the video codec 16 and transmitted from the transmission control circuit 24 to the communication partner, as in the conventional example. Then, by separating the camera status information from the received image signal, it is possible to know the azimuth and the zooming position of the camera on the image transmitting side. Therefore, it can be estimated to which extent and to what extent. Of course, if the information on the movable range is known in advance, the movable amount can be definitely known.

Since the camera status information is also transmitted to the system control circuit 86 of its own station, it is possible to notify the other station by data transfer, for example. Moreover, by displaying the camera status information on the monitor 14 or the like as necessary, the state of the camera 40 can be confirmed on the monitor screen without looking at the camera 40 itself. This is effective when it is desired to operate the camera 40 of the own station.

[0039]

As can be easily understood from the above description, according to the present invention, since the camera status information is superimposed on the output signal, the state of the image pickup apparatus can be easily known. There is also an advantage that no special wiring is required.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of a conventional example of a video conference terminal.

FIG. 3 is an example of an operating device 28.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory example of a pan operation.

FIG. 5 is a timing diagram showing the relationship between the operation of the operation device and the camera control signal.

FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration block diagram of a video conference terminal using the present embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a data packet structure diagram of camera status information.

FIG. 8 is a timing chart of a data superimposable period of an image signal.

[Explanation of symbols]

10: camera 12: camera control circuit 14: image monitor 16: video codec 18: microphone 20: speaker 22: audio codec 24: transmission control circuit 2
6: System control circuit 28: Operating device 30a: Upward tilt switch 30b: Rightward pan switch
30c: Downward tilt switch 30d: Leftward pan switch 32: Zoom switch 34: Input pen 36: Camera 40: Camera 42: Camera control circuit 44: Camera control signal 50: Photo lens 52: Aperture 54: Optical low pass Filter 56: Lens drive circuit 58: Aperture drive circuit 60: Image sensor 62: Image sensor drive circuit 64: Amplifier 66: Camera signal processing circuit 68: Distance measuring circuit 70: Photometric circuit 72: CPU 74: Data processing circuit 76: Data Multiplexing circuit 7
8: Pan motor 80: Tilt motor 82: Control circuit

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An image pickup apparatus which converts an optical image into an electric signal and outputs the electric signal in a predetermined format, wherein status information of the image pickup apparatus is superimposed and output during a predetermined period of the image pickup signal. apparatus. 2. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the status information includes pan, tilt, and zoom position information.