JPH0799864B2 - Video camera - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a video shooting apparatus, and more particularly, to a single video shooting apparatus that can be used for various kinds of shooting purposes. Scientific measurement for which image analysis is an effective means, for example, car running, collision, engine combustion, destruction phenomenon, explosion phenomenon, flow phenomenon, microbial movement, industrial robot movement, heart and body movement, IC manufacturing The present invention relates to a video shooting device which is preferably used for observation and analysis of high-speed processing steps in.

In particular, the present invention enables a user to select one of the shooting conditions listed below for shooting with a set of video shooting devices in accordance with the purpose of each shooting. Is.

1) High-speed video shooting that requires a high frame rate even if the resolution is reduced due to the small number of pixels, or high-resolution video shooting that has a large number of pixels and a high resolution but a frame rate lower than the above high-speed video shooting.

2) Monochrome photography with high resolution when the number of pixels and frame rate are the same, or color photography although the resolution is lower than the monochrome photography.

3) Monochrome with an imaging unit in which an image intensifier is bonded to the front surface of the image sensor by fiber bonding or direct bonding, but the resolution is a little low, but shooting in weak light, or a color filter array in front of the image intensifier Color shooting under low-resolution low light installed.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various video devices have been provided for home use and scientific measurement.In a normal video device, the output from the image sensor is processed by a signal processing circuit to a standard video signal such as NTSC or PAL. After being converted to, it is stored in the screen display and memory.

In the above conventional video device, the image sensor built in the video camera body can only be replaced by the manufacturer,
The structure was such that the user could not arbitrarily replace it according to the purpose of use. This is because the external connection electrodes (pins) of the image sensor, the signal format, and other ratings are not compatible, and it may be necessary to change the signal processing circuit itself.

For example, when all pixels are independently read in monochrome, output signals from a set of 3 to 4 pixels adjacent to each other in color are collectively processed, and red, green at the center point of the set of pixels,
When calculating and outputting the intensity of blue, the signal processing circuit is completely different. Further, for example, in NTSC, the frame rate is determined to be 30 sheets / second, so the signal read clock also changes when an element with a large number of pixels is used and when an element with a small number of pixels is used.

Therefore, when the image pickup device is replaced, it is necessary to replace the signal processing circuit, the code and the like, and it is necessary to replace all the contents except the lens system of the video camera and the outer frame.

Actually, in a home video device, there are few kinds of photographing conditions required, and it is possible to previously incorporate a signal processing circuit capable of dealing with these plural conditions. For example, since it is easy to enable both monochrome and color photography, even the current NTSC signal has 1 series of luminance information and 2 color information. In monochrome, only the former is used and color is used. The remaining one from the former and the latter
I am able to calculate the intensity of the color.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION However, in a video device for scientific measurement, it is difficult to prepare a signal processing circuit that can handle various shooting conditions.

Since an ordinary video device has a limit on the number of signals that can be processed per second, when large high-speed shooting is required, the higher the speed of shooting, the smaller the number of pixels of the shooting element. In this case, since the area of each pixel can be increased, the problem of insufficient light quantity, which is always a problem in high-speed photography, can be solved, but the resolution is lowered. On the other hand, when an image pickup device having a large number of pixels is used, the frame rate decreases, and high-speed shooting has a limit, but the resolution is high. As described above, due to the competitive relationship between the resolution and the frame rate, that is, depending on whether the high-speed shooting is required even if the resolution is slightly decreased or the resolution is required even when the frame rate is decreased, It is preferable that the number of pixels can be arbitrarily changed.

For example, consider a case where the clock can be switched in several stages and the clock is set to the high speed side. It is assumed that the maximum speed is about 30MHZ, and it is 40μ in 256 rows × 256 columns.
It is assumed that a pixel with m pixel pitch is a standard product (light receiving area is constant) and 16 lines are output in parallel. It is also assumed that 20% of the time required to read one image is required for signal manipulation of elements other than reading. In this case, the frame rate is 30,000,000 / (256 x 256) x 16 / 1.2 = 6,103 frames / sec.

On the other hand, in the case of research themes that require the effect of high resolution, for example, the pixel pitch is 10 μm for a device of 1,024 rows × 1,024 columns.
Since the clocks are the same, the frame rate is inversely proportional to the number of pixels, which is 1/16, which is 381 images / sec. Conversely, the number of pixels is 64
With a pixel pitch of 160 μm in rows and 64 columns, the frame rate is 97,648 frames / second.

In the conventional technology, one image sensor with many pixels is fixedly used, all pixels are used for high-resolution shooting, and only part of it is read out for ultra-high-speed shooting to achieve a high frame rate. Some suggestions have been made. The problem in this case is that the pixel pitch becomes small and the light amount becomes insufficient at a frame rate of several thousand images / second, which causes serious difficulty in shooting. When enlarged to the screen, it is unavoidable that the resolution is reduced, such as the focus shift. In particular, ultra-high-speed shooting with a frame rate of 10,000 images / second or more is almost impossible with the partial scanning method. In the case of the partial reading method,
Extra circuits and wiring for partial reading are built in the chip of the image sensor, and the noise level rises accordingly and the SN ratio decreases, and a larger amount of light is required.

For the above-mentioned problems, it is desirable to be able to use by exchanging image pickup devices having different numbers of pixels (different pixel pitches), but as described above, it is not possible to arbitrarily replace them on the user side.

Further, when a video device is used for scientific measurement, it is desirable to add a light amount enhancement device when there is a problem of insufficient light amount in high-speed photography, and color photography may be desirable in some cases.

In the above-described shooting under weak light, it is extremely effective to shoot with an image sensor having a microchannel plate type image intensifier having a light enhancement function of 10,000 times or more attached on the front surface. However, the photocathode on the front surface of the microchannel plate emits electrons not only for visible light but also for infrared rays, ultraviolet rays, x-rays, etc.
It becomes a monochrome image with only luminance information. With the front surface of the photocathode as the imaging position by the lens, a color filter array is printed on that portion, and from the intensity of the color-separated light from the element having a set of adjacent 3 to 4 meshes, A method of obtaining the color images at the same time by using the image intensifier by obtaining the respective intensities of red, green, and blue lights can be considered, but there are many problems in practice. That is,
As shown in FIG. 13, the light separated by the color separation filter (color filter) 100 collides with the photocathode 101 to become electrons corresponding to the light intensity, and the electrons are diffused before entering the microchannel plate 102. Further, the electrons emitted from the microchannel plate 102 are also diffused before hitting the phosphor screen 103, and further enter the fiber glass 104 from the phosphor screen 103, when passing through the oil coupling part 104a of the fiber glass 104, and the fiber. Glass 104 and image sensor 1
It also diffuses in the binding process of 05. The total diffusion width is estimated to be about 40 μm. On the other hand, as a matter of course, it is desirable that the mesh size of the color filter array 100 on the first photocathode 101 and the pixel pitch of the last image pickup element 105 are approximately the same. Since the total diffusion width is about 40 μm, these mesh sizes should be at least 40 μm.
must be at least m. However, most of the commercially available image pickup devices have a pixel pitch of the order of 10 μm, so if an image intensifier is used and a color image is to be obtained at the same time, it is necessary to replace it with a device of that pixel size.

On the other hand, a method of using an ordinary small pixel size of the image sensor, considering several to several tens of pixels as one set of pixels, and matching the width thereof with the mesh size of the color filter array is also considered. . However, in the case of the above method, since the number of pixels is substantially reduced, the resolution of the image pickup using the image intensifier which is originally composed of a microchannel plate having a relatively low resolution is further lowered, and it is hardly practical. Further, it is difficult to match the phases of the color filter array of the photocathode and the pixel array of the image sensor. It is possible to make the mesh size extremely large, but it is not practical because the number of pixels decreases and the resolution decreases. Further, when the mesh size is about several tens of μm, the phases of the color filter array on the photocathode and the pixel array of the image sensor are completely deviated. In addition, due to the diffusion of light, it is unavoidable that the adjacent colors that have once been decomposed become blurred or mixed to some extent on the image sensor.

As described above, if the image intensifier and the color filter array are used, it is necessary to change the number of pixels and there are various problems.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned conventional video photographing apparatus, and particularly to solve the problem when it is used for scientific measurement. It is provided so that the user can easily replace and load these image pickup units in the main body of the video camera so that one video photographing device can be used according to various purposes.

Therefore, the present invention is provided with an image sensor including a plurality of pixels for converting light imaged by a lens into an electric signal corresponding to the amount of light, the type of the image sensor, the presence / absence of light enhancing means. Alternatively, a plurality of types of interchangeable image pickup units, each of which has a different type of filter attached to the image pickup element and which is detachably loaded in the image pickup unit loading section, and an image pickup including a clock frequency and a shutter speed of the image pickup unit A signal control unit that controls the conditions, a signal processing unit that performs amplification and AD conversion of the electric signal read from the image sensor, and a digital signal converted by the signal processing unit that is serially stored without being processed. The memory unit and the memory unit are directly accessed and the stored signals are set to the specifications of the imaging unit including the pixel array and the presence or absence of a filter. The present invention provides a video recording device including an image composing computer that reads out in a corresponding order and composes an image.

In the video device of the present invention, the light receiving area of the image pickup element of the image pickup unit is made substantially constant, the number of output pins and the number of pin pitches are made constant, and the formats of input / output signals are made the same, or An adapter is provided between the image pickup device and the image pickup unit loading section to connect them.

Further, the image pickup device has the same package, the chip size to be mounted in the package and the arrangement of connecting electrodes on the chip to the outside are the same, and only the wiring and circuit inside the chip are different.

The different types of cartridge type image pickup units are
An image sensor with a different number of pixels, an image intensifier mounted on the front surface of the light receiving surface of the image sensor, a color filter array mounted on the front surface of the light receiving surface of the image sensor, the image intensifier and the color filter array It is composed of both of them, or the image intensifier and the color filter array are not both mounted. In addition, it is also preferable that a plurality of signal output lines from the image pickup device be provided so that high-speed shooting at a high frame rate can be performed.

Operation As described above, according to the present invention, different image pickup devices or a cartridge type image pickup unit in which a filter is attached to the image pickup device is detachably mounted in the image pickup unit mounting portion provided in the video camera main body. It is possible to use an image pickup device according to the above.

Further, since the output signal of the image pickup device is recorded once in the memory unit by a so-called drifting method, even if the image pickup unit is replaced, other exchanges are hardly necessary in response to that, and the image pickup device is simply replaced. Alternatively, it is only necessary to slightly change the software of the image forming computer according to the pixel arrangement of the image pickup unit. In this way, as hardware, only the image pickup element or the image pickup unit can be replaced to enable video shooting for scientific measurement for various purposes.

Further, when an image intensifier is attached to the front surface of the light receiving surface of the image pickup device and a color filter array is attached to the photocathode of the image intensifier, the mesh size of the color filter array is set to be approximately the same as the pixel size of the image pickup device. First, red, green, and larger than the dispersion width of light due to the installation of the image intensifier.
When the intensity of the response of each element when monochromatic light such as blue is incident is measured, the response coefficient is input to the image composition computer, and when an image is captured, three to four adjacent pixels The intensity of the three colors at the center point can be calculated from the output signal of 1 and the response coefficient.

The manufacturing cost of a set of different image pickup devices can be reduced by making the packages of different image pickup devices, the size of the chip, the arrangement of the electrodes for external connection, and the like completely the same, and changing only the wirings and circuits within the pitch.

In addition, compared with the case of performing partial reading to increase the speed, when the image sensor having the same number of pixels as the partial reading is replaced, the pixel size becomes sufficiently large. Is eliminated.

Examples Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to Examples shown in the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, a video recording apparatus 11 according to an embodiment of the present invention has an image pickup unit 13 for converting light formed by a lens 12 into an electric signal on an image pickup unit mounting base 14. The image signal of the image pickup device mounted in the image pickup unit 13 is output to the signal processing unit 15 provided in the external signal processing mechanism 300 which is separate from the video camera book 200, and the signal processing unit 15 causes the memory unit 16 to output the image signal. It is configured to send to
An image forming computer 17, an image forming device 18, a display 19, and an external recording device 20 are connected to the memory section 16. In addition, the video camera body 200 has an imaging unit 1
3, signal processing unit 15, signal control unit 2 connected to the memory unit 16
Built in 1.

The image pickup unit 13 is a cartridge type and can be exchanged depending on the purpose of image pickup as will be described later, and is detachably attached to the image pickup unit attachment portion 14a of the image pickup unit attachment base 14.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the image pickup unit 13. This image pickup unit 13A is a type in which a microchannel plate type (MCP type) image intensifier 27 is integrally provided on the front surface of the image pickup element 26.

As shown in FIG. 3, the image pickup device 26 includes a chip 29 whose surface constitutes a light receiving surface 29a in a package 28 having an upper surface opening.
And a photodiode or a phototransistor (not shown) in the pixel of the chip 29 generates electric charge according to the intensity of received light. A thin elastic plastic (not shown) is interposed between the chip 29 and the package 28 to provide a cushioning action.

Each image pickup device included in each image pickup unit 13 of the present embodiment has a size of the package 28, a chip size, a light receiving surface 29a.
Area, connection electrode arrangement for external connection on the chip 29, pin
The masks that standardize the number of 30, the pin pitch, the format of input / output signals, etc., or adapt the above-mentioned standard by attaching an adapter described later, and configure the wiring and circuit inside the chip 29. The presence or absence of various filters is different.

In this way, since the standard of the connection part with the outside of the image sensor 26 is unified, it is possible to easily replace the image sensor in response to changes in shooting conditions, as will be described later. If only the element 26 is made to comply with the above standards, the manufacturing cost will be low. That is, when changing the package 28 of the image pickup device, a considerable cost is required for raising the mold, whereas the design change of the mask of the chip 29 is usually performed by CAD, so that the labor cost of the designer is increased. It can be performed at a relatively low cost only by using the above. In particular,
In the case of a set of image pickup devices having the same circuit or the like but only the pixel size changed, that is, in the image pickup device 26 of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the number of pixels is 64 rows × 64 columns, as shown in FIG. Although the pixel pitch is 160 μm, for example, the number of pixels is 512 rows × 512 columns and the pixel pitch is 20 μm, and 256 rows × 256 columns is 4 pixels.
When making a set of an element with a pixel pitch of 0 μm, an element with a pixel pitch of 80 μm in 128 rows × 128 columns, and an element with a pixel pitch of 160 μm in 64 rows × 64 columns, start with a standard product such as 256
If you make only 40μm elements in rows and 256 columns, and consider the problems clarified in the process of making them and their solutions, at the same time, complete the mask design only for other types of elements. good. Later, if necessary, those masks can be used to make other types of devices. Similarly, in the case of color, if a color filter array is made in advance and those with and without it are made, color and monochrome image pickup elements having the same pixel size can be made at almost no additional cost. it can.

As described above, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the image intensifier 27 is integrally assembled on the front surface of the light receiving surface of the image sensor 26, and the image intensifier 27 is
As shown in FIG. 4, in a vacuum tube 32, a photocathode 33 for converting light into electrons, a microchannel plate (MCP) 34 for multiplying the converted electrons, and the multiplied electrons are converted into light again. It has a fluorescent screen 35 for controlling the light and amplifies the light entering through the incident window 36 and radiates it through the output window 37 made of fiber glass. As the image intensifier 27, the one in which the micro channel plate type and the inverter type image intensifier are arranged in series, or only the inverter type image intensifier may be attached.

The image sensor 26 and the image intensifier 27 are respectively an image sensor fixed frame 41 and an image intensifier fixed frame.
It is fixed inside 42 and is firmly coupled by four L-shaped mounting plates 45A to 45D having bolt holes 44A to 44D at the ends, respectively, with a prismatic fiber glass 43 interposed therebetween.
The light emitted by the image intensifier 27 is guided to the light receiving surface 29a of the image pickup device 26 through the fiber glass 43.

The fiber glass 43 is once received on the light receiving surface 29 of the image pickup device 26.
While it is bonded to a with an adhesive that has a refractive index almost equal to that of glass, the other end is output window 37 of image intensifier 27.
And oil bonded. As described above, since a thin elastic plastic is sandwiched between the chip 29 of the image pickup device 26 and the package 28, and the image intensifier 27 and the image pickup device 26 are firmly coupled, an excessive load is applied to the light receiving surface 29a. Moreover, dust and air bubbles can be prevented from entering the oil joint surfaces of the fiber glass 43 and the image intensifier 27.

As shown in FIG. 1, an image pickup unit mounting base 14 is provided on a video camera main body 200 to which the image pickup unit 13 is detachably mounted, and is incident on the front surface of the image pickup unit mounting substrate 14 and from the lens 12. An image pickup unit loading section 201 is provided at a position for receiving light. The image pickup unit loading section 201 is usually provided with an external opening which is closed by a cover (not shown). When the image pickup unit is replaced, the cover is removed and inserted from the outside to attach the image pickup unit 13 to the image pickup unit. It can be fixed to the base 14.

As shown in FIG. 5, the imaging unit mounting base 14 is provided with bolt holes 47A to 47D (only 47A and 47B are shown in FIG. 5) for mounting the imaging unit in the imaging unit mounting portion 14a, and the imaging is performed. Connector to connect with pin 30 of element 26
There are 48. At the time of mounting, bolts 49A to 44D of the image pickup unit 13A and bolts 49 to the bolt holes 47A to 47D are attached.
The imaging unit 13A is detachably attached by inserting A to 49D (only 49A and 49B are shown in FIG. 5).

In the present invention, the position, the number, the size of the package, etc. of the external connection electrodes of the image pickup device of the image pickup unit are unified as described above, or, as will be described later, between the image pickup device and the image pickup unit loading section. By providing an adapter for connecting the both, even the image pickup unit 13 other than the image pickup unit 13A can be attached to the image pickup unit attachment portion 14a of the image pickup unit attachment base 14.

The signal control unit 21 built in the video camera main body 200 sets the clock frequency, the shutter speed and the aperture in the image pickup unit 13 at the time of shooting, and sets the synchronization relationship between the image pickup unit 13, the signal processing circuit unit 15, and the memory unit 16. Have control.

The signal processing circuit unit 15 provided in the external signal processing mechanism 300, which is separate from the video camera main body 200, includes a preamplifier 50 for amplifying an electric signal read from the imaging unit 13 and an analog-
An AD converter 51 for performing digital conversion is provided, and an electric signal converted into a digital signal is serially sent as it is to a memory unit 16 including a high-speed IC memory.

The image composing computer 17 that directly accesses the memory unit 16 originally outputs the output signal recorded in the memory unit 16 based on the pixel arrangement on the imaging unit 13 and the data set by the signal control unit 21 at the time of imaging at the time of image composition. Are read out in the order in which they are constructed, the signals are calculated for correction, the image information for one screen is restored, and then the operation of writing the so-called frame memory into the memory section 16 again is repeated for all the screens. .

The image information on the frame memory stored in the memory unit 16 is recorded by the external recording device 7 as necessary.

The image composing device 18 converts the frame memory into image information conforming to the standard of the display 19 and displays it.
Display with. In this embodiment, the display 19 uses a model dedicated to image processing and can be displayed as it is recorded in the frame memory.
When a home-use television is used as 19, the image forming device 18 converts the frame memory into an NTSC signal.

An image processing computer may be connected to the memory section 16 to read out a frame memory to perform necessary image processing, and the analysis computer may calculate necessary quantitative information. A part or all of the control unit, the image composing computer, the image composing device, the image processing computer, and the analyzing computer may be composed of a common computer.

Next, the video shooting device 11 is provided with an image pickup unit 13 shown in FIG.
The operation when A is attached and low-resolution high-speed shooting is described.

At the time of shooting, the light passing through the lens 12 forms an image on the photocathode 33 of the image intensifier 27, and the photocathode 33 serves as an image plane. The imaged light is amplified by the image intensifier 27 as described above, and guided by the fiber glass 43 to the light receiving surface 29a of the image pickup device 26 in the image pickup unit 13A. As described above, the photodiode (or phototransistor) in the pixel on the light receiving surface 29a of the image pickup device 26 generates electric charge according to the light receiving intensity. This amount is scanned and read as an electric signal, and the preamplifier 50 of the signal processing unit 15 is read.
After being amplified by, the signal is converted into a digital signal by the AD converter 51 and serially written in the memory unit 16 in the order of the output signal without performing image configuration or the like.

In the present embodiment, the signal reading method is actually 16 parallel reading, but in FIG. 6, two parallel reading is used for easy understanding. However, each element of the digital memory is composed of 8 bits, and a set of these elements represents the luminance information for one pixel.

At the time of image composition, the image composition computer 17 reads the 1st to 64th memories of the first block of the memory in the memory section 16 and sets them as the first line of the screen. Next, the 1st to 64th memories in the second block are read out and used as the second line on the screen. Next, the 65th to 128th memories in the first block are read out to be the third line on the screen. The same operation is continued thereafter, and the image information for one screen is corrected and sent to the memory section 16 as a frame memory.

By repeating the above-mentioned operation, the image composing computer 17 converts the signal serially input to the memory section 16 into a frame memory.

The image pickup unit 13A of the above-described embodiment is suitable for low-resolution black-and-white shooting and ultra-high-speed (97,648 frames / sec when the frame rate is 30 MHz, which is the highest clock frequency). However, various imaging units are provided corresponding to other imaging purposes.

The image pickup unit 13B shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 does not include an image intensifier, but is configured by the image pickup element 52. The image sensor 52 has 512 pixels × 512 columns, and as described above, in the present invention, since the chip size is constant, the pixel pitch is 20 μm. If the clock frequency is exactly the same as the number of pixels of 64 rows × 64 columns in the above embodiment, the frame rate is 30 MHZ and the frame rate is inversely proportional to the number of pixels. In the case of 1/4, it is 1,526 sheets / sec.

When the image pickup unit 13B is used, the light receiving surface 53a of the image pickup element 52 serves as an image forming surface of the light passing through the lens 12, that is, the distance from the lens 12 is the image pickup unit 13B.
To the lens 12 side so that the image pickup element 52 is attached to the image pickup unit attachment portion 14 via the adapter 54 so that it is located at the same position as the photocathode 33 of the image intensifier 27 when it is attached to the image pickup unit attachment base 14. It is moving.

The adapter 54 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape and includes a connector portion 56 that is connected to an electrode 55 for connecting to the outside of the image sensor 52, and the pin 55 of the image sensor 52 is provided on the other surface of the surface on which the connector portion 56 is provided. The image-forming electrodes 57 having the same arrangement are arranged and attached to the image pickup unit attachment base 14, and the image pickup electrodes 52 and the image pickup unit loading section 201 are interposed and connected to each other.

When the adapter 54 is interposed between the image pickup device and the image pickup unit loading section like the image pickup unit 13B, the standards of the number of pins 55 of the image pickup device, the pin pitch, the external connection electrode, etc. are as described above. Unlike the image pickup unit 13A, it is not necessary to unify them corresponding to the image pickup unit loading section 201. For example, in the image pickup unit 13B, the connector portion 56 is suitable for the number of pins 55 of the image pickup element 52 and the like, and the connection electrode
If 57 is compatible with the connection connector 48 of the image pickup unit mounting portion 14a, even if the number of pins 55 or the like is not suitable for the connection connector 48, it can be adjusted by wiring inside the adapter 54 or the like.

Furthermore, as described above, by the adapter 54, the imaging unit
Instead of adjusting the distance from the lens 12 when 13 is replaced, when the image pickup device 26 is directly attached to the image pickup unit mounting base 14, the light receiving surface 29a of the image pickup device 26 serves as an image forming surface. There is also a method of setting a distance to 12 and inserting an adjusting ring 58 for extending the length of the cylindrical portion 12a of the lens 12 as shown in FIG. 9 when using the image pickup unit 13A with the image intensifier. However,
In this case, in the lens system, the heavy adjustment ring 58 needs to be strong, and the size of the adjustment ring also needs to be large because the diameter of the image intensifier is as large as several tens of mm. Further, when the adjustment ring 58 is used, the standard such as the number of pins of the image pickup device needs to be adapted to the image pickup unit mounting portion 14a. On the other hand, the size of the image sensor is much smaller, so the adapter 54 shown in FIG.
This is advantageous because it can be made smaller and lighter than the adjustment ring 58. Furthermore, the lens mount from the imaging unit mounting board 14
Up to 202 may be replaceable.

Since the image pickup device 13B has a large number of pixels of 512 × 512 as described above, it is possible to perform high resolution monochrome photography. That is, at the time of image formation, the image forming computer 17 forms an image as in the case of using the image pickup device 13A. That is, as shown in FIG.
Of the memory in 16, the 1st to 512th memory of the 1st block is read as the 1st line of the screen, then the 1st to 512th memory of the 2nd block is read, and the 2nd line of the screen is read. To do. Next, the 513th to 1024th memories in the first block are read out to form the third line on the screen, and the same process is repeated.

FIG. 11 shows an image pickup unit 13C according to another embodiment,
The imaging unit 13C includes an image sensor 60, an image intensifier 61, and a color filter array (color separation filter).
62 are assembled together. That is, the fiber glass 63 is fixed to the front surface of the light receiving surface of the image pickup element 60, and the image intensifier 61 is provided on the front surface of the fiber glass 63. The image intensifier 61 includes a fluorescent screen 66, a microchannel plate 67, and a photocathode in a vacuum tube 65.
The color filter 62 and the color filter 62 are provided and fixed to the fiber glass 63 as described above.

The image pickup device 60 has a pixel count of 256 as shown in FIG.
The rows are 256 columns and the pixel pitch is 40 μm. Corresponding to the pixels of the image pickup device 60, the color filter 62 has a red (R) color on the photocathode 66 as in the conventional example shown in FIG.
The color filter array 62 for blue (B) and green (G) is printed, and the configuration is such that four meshes are set as one set with the brightness information measuring section in the part where the filters are not printed. The color-separated light is incident on the light-receiving surface of the pixel of the corresponding image sensor 60.

When the image intensifier and the color filter array are attached like the image pickup unit 13C, the color-separated light is diffused until the light enters the light receiving surface of the image pickup element, as described in the related art. The light is partially mixed on the surface of the image sensor. Although each pixel has only a color separation function such that red has relatively high sensitivity or blue has relatively high sensitivity, in this embodiment, the color filter 62, the image intensifier 61, and the image sensor 60 are After the above is integrated into an imaging unit, the sensitivity for each pixel set is experimentally obtained one by one, and the information is input to the image composing computer 17, thereby using the light intensifying mechanism of the image intensifier. Along with this, colorization can be achieved.

Needless to say, a color filter array may be simply attached to the front surface of the light receiving surface of the image pickup device without adding an image intensifier, and an image pickup unit incorporating the image pickup device may be provided for color image pickup. . Also,
The color filter array may be arranged in front of the photocathode with a space therebetween, and a parallel light beam may pass through the color filter by a lens system configuration (for example, two lenses are provided).

FIG. 12 shows an image structure at the time of color photographing by the image pickup device 13C. First, the first memory and the second memory of the first block, the first memory and the second memory of the second block.
The memory is called and the red, green and blue intensities of the first screen, first row and first column are calculated from the signals in these four memories. Next, from the signals in the second memory and the third memory of the first block, and the four memories of the second memory and the third memory of the second block, the red on the first screen, the first row and the second column,
Calculate the brightness of green and blue. In other words, the moving average operation is involved, and the number of pixels calculated is almost the same as the original number of pixels. Hereinafter, the same operation is repeated. Therefore, when the number of pixels of the monochrome and color image pickup elements is the same, the resolution does not decrease to 1/4 in area, and the resolution is not exactly the same, and is an intermediate value. Compared with the line resolution, the square root of the area value is about 70% of the original resolution.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and various types of image pickup units, such as those in which various filters for scientific measurement are attached to the front surface of the image pickup element by a method such as vapor deposition or adhesion, are available. is there.

Effect As is clear from the above description, in the video photographing apparatus in which the cartridge type image pickup unit according to the present invention is loaded, a set of video photographing apparatus including the video camera body, the external signal processing mechanism and various image pickup units is used. Due to
Various video shootings such as ultra-high-speed shooting, high-density shooting, monochrome shooting, color shooting are possible. In addition, expensive imaging units can be purchased as needed, which is a great economic advantage for the user. Further, according to the present invention, the signals read out from the image pickup device and serially stored in the memory unit unprocessed are read by the image forming computer in the order corresponding to the specifications of the image pickup unit to form an image. By replacement,
Even when the specifications of the image pickup unit such as the number of pixels of the image pickup element, the presence or absence of light enhancement means, the presence or absence of a filter are changed, the circuit for processing the signal is not changed or added, or the minimum circuit is used. It is possible to take a picture only by making changes.

Furthermore, when a plurality of signal output lines from the image sensor are used, ultra-high-speed reading becomes possible, and when an image pickup unit in which the image intensifier is directly attached to the front surface of the image sensor is used, especially under a weak light. High-speed shooting is possible, which is a great advantage when shooting on scientific measurement.

Further, when performing ultra-high-speed reading with a small number of pixels to be read, replacing with an image pickup device having a sufficiently large pixel size greatly reduces the problem of insufficient light quantity, which is always a problem in ultra-high-speed photography.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a video recording apparatus according to the present invention,
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of an image pickup unit to be loaded in the video photographing apparatus, FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the image pickup element shown in FIG. 2 in detail, and FIG. 4 is an image intensifier. FIG. 5 is a front view showing the state in which the image pickup unit is attached to the image pickup unit attachment base of the video camera body, and FIG. 6 is a low-resolution monochrome image when the image pickup unit of the first embodiment is used. Drawing which shows the principle of a structure, FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view which shows another imaging unit, FIG. 8 is a front view which shows the state which attached the imaging unit of FIG. 7 to the imaging unit mounting base, and FIG. 9 is imaging. FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view showing a modified example when the unit is mounted, FIG. 10 is a drawing showing the principle of the image structure of high-resolution monochrome photography, and FIG. 11 is an imaging unit with a color filter and an image intensifier attached. FIG. 12 is a side view showing the principle of the image construction of color photography, and FIG. 13 is a view showing problems when a color filter and an image intensifier are attached to the front surface of the image sensor. 11 …… Video shooting device, 12 …… Lens, 13 (13A, 13B, 13C) …… Imaging unit, 14 …… Imaging unit mounting base, 15 …… Signal processing unit, 16 …… Memory unit, 17 …… Image Configuration computer, 18 ... Image configuration device, 26, 52, 60 ... Image sensor, 27, 61 ... Image intensifier, 28 ... Package, 30 ... Pin, 54 ... Adapter, 200 ... Video Camera body, 201 …… Imaging unit loading section, 300 …… External signal processing mechanism.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) Reference JP-A-1-175372 (JP, A) JP-A 61-124927 (JP, A) JP-A 2-53037 (JP, A) JP-A 49- 17928 (JP, A) JP-A-2-57074 (JP, A) Actually developed 56-104704 (JP, U)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An image pickup device comprising a plurality of pixels for converting the light imaged by a lens into an electric signal corresponding to the light quantity, the type of the image pickup device, the presence or absence of a light enhancement means, or a filter attached to the image pickup device. A plurality of types of interchangeable image pickup units, each of which is different in presence and type and which is detachably loaded in the image pickup unit loading unit, and a signal control unit which controls image pickup conditions including a clock frequency and a shutter speed of the image pickup unit. , A signal processing unit for amplifying and AD converting an electric signal read from the image pickup device, a memory unit for serially storing the digital signal converted by the signal processing unit without processing, and the memory unit. Directly access and read the stored signals in the order corresponding to the specifications of the image pickup unit including the pixel array and the presence / absence of a filter to obtain an image. Video imaging apparatus and an image configuration computer constituting Te.