JPH0946731A - Positioning adjustment device for stereoscopic camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide the positioning adjustment device of a stereoscopic camera with improved operability by providing a pair of left and right stages for mounting two cameras and a parallel movement mechanism for parallelly moving the supporting members for an equal amount each in left and right inverse directions. SOLUTION: This device is provided with the supporting members 3-6 for supporting camera stages 1 and 2, guide shafts 9 and 10 for parallelly moving the camera stages 1 and 2 so as to adjust the left and right positions of left and right cameras and the angle of convergence adjustment knob for adjusting the angle of convergence which is the angle formed by the left and right cameras and an object. At the time of parallelly moving the pair of the left and right stages 1 and 2, by equally dividing the moving amount of the supporting members 3-6 of both stages 1 and 2 in back and forth directions by the guide shafts 9 and 10, the supporting members 3-6 are parallelly moved for the equal amount each in the left and right inverse directions. Also, by turning a shaft 13 to a disconnected state at an intermediate position by a clutch mechanism 13c, the angle of convergence is varied. Thus, parallel movement and the varying of the convergence angle are performed by one shaft 13.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for adjusting the positions of two cameras according to the position of a subject in a three-dimensional camera which captures a stereoscopic image using two cameras.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As is well known, images captured by the human eyes have a stereoscopic effect because images captured by the left and right eyes from different directions are captured as images synthesized by the brain. Utilizing this, two cameras are installed on the left and right,
By synthesizing the images shot toward the respective subjects, it is possible to obtain a stereoscopic image even if the images are projected on a plane.

Therefore, there has been proposed a stereoscopic camera which supports two cameras on one table and can perform stereoscopic photographing while adjusting the relative position. That is, as shown in FIG. 10, when shooting at the same size, in order to obtain a stereoscopic effect similar to the image captured by the human eyes, the lens positions of the left and right cameras are set to the distance between the left and right eyes of the human (about 65 mm). ) You can take pictures of each subject after separating them. Also, if a zoom lens is used, even if the distance between the human and the subject is rearward, the distance between the left and right cameras is increased so that the left and right eyes of the human are in the same direction as the direction of the subject. By taking a zoom image with the aiming at, it is possible to obtain a stereoscopic image with the same sensation as the image captured by a human nearby.

As described above, in a stereoscopic camera in which two cameras are incorporated into one, a mechanism for adjusting the distance between the left and right cameras and a mechanism for adjusting the angle toward the subject are required.

[0005]

By the way, in the conventional position adjusting device for a stereoscopic camera, the parallel and angular movements are
Each operation was performed separately, so the operation was complicated. Also, when aligning the optical axes of the two cameras, the right camera was fixed, and the left camera was operated by installing spherical adjustment plates at the front one place and the rear two places and moving them up and down. It was difficult to match.

The present invention has been made in view of such conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a positioning adjustment device for a stereoscopic camera which has good operability.

[0007]

Therefore, in the apparatus according to the invention of claim 1, in a stereoscopic camera which stereoscopically shoots by using two cameras, it is an apparatus for positioning and adjusting each camera according to the object position. , A pair of left and right stages on which the two cameras are mounted, and each stage,
Forward and backward with respect to the reference axis that is oriented toward the subject,
The amounts of movement of the movably supporting member, the right stage supporting member, and the left stage supporting member are equally distributed through one shaft, and the supporting members are equally spaced in the left and right opposite directions. A parallel movement mechanism for parallel movement, and a clutch mechanism provided at an intermediate position of the one shaft and interrupting rotation of the shaft at the intermediate position so as to change a secondary convergence angle are provided.

According to this structure, when the pair of left and right stages are moved in parallel, the parallel movement mechanism distributes the amount of movement of the support members of both stages equally in the front-rear direction, so that the support members move in the opposite left and right directions. Move in parallel by an equal amount. In addition, the secondary convergence angle is changed by disconnecting the shaft at the intermediate position by the clutch mechanism. Therefore, 1
It becomes possible to perform parallel movement and change of the sub-convergence angle with the book shaft.

In the apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention, the parallel movement mechanism includes a pair of guide members which are arranged in parallel with each other on both the left and right sides of the reference shaft to guide the support member, and the reference shaft. On the other hand, a pair of members that are arranged in parallel to the guide member in the left-right direction, are reversely wound with the reference axis as a boundary, and have screws engraved at equal intervals to mesh with the support member and rotate to move the support member. A lead screw and the one shaft for rotating the pair of lead screws via a bevel gear are provided.

With this structure, the left and right cameras can be moved in parallel via the support member and the pair of left and right stages. In the apparatus according to the invention of claim 3, the shaft is configured to be bendable by a flex shaft. With this configuration, the distance between the input and the output can be kept constant, and the rotation can be freely transmitted by changing the rotation in an arbitrary direction. Moreover, the arrangement of the equipment can be freely done,
Accurate centering is not required, and a constant torque can be accurately transmitted even if there is some eccentricity.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1 showing the present embodiment, a camera stage 1 is a stage for mounting a right camera, and a camera stage 2 is a stage for mounting a left camera. It should be noted that the subject is positioned in front of the reference axis indicated by the arrow in the figure, and the camera stage 1, 2
Are arranged such that the longitudinal direction is the front-back direction of the reference axis, and the left and right cameras are arranged symmetrically with respect to the reference axis.

The stereoscopic camera positioning apparatus of the present embodiment comprises a support mechanism for supporting the camera stages 1 and 2 and a parallel movement for moving the camera stages 1 and 2 in parallel to adjust the left and right positions of the left and right cameras. Mechanism, a convergence angle adjustment mechanism for adjusting the angle of convergence between the left and right cameras and the subject, a tilt angle adjustment mechanism for adjusting the tilt of the left and right cameras, and the height of the left and right cameras And a height adjustment mechanism for adjusting the height.

First, the support mechanism for the camera stages 1 and 2 will be described. In front of the camera stages 1 and 2,
The rear ends of the camera stages 1 and 2 are supported by the supporting members 3 and 4 via the supporting shafts 7 and 8, and
Supported by. The camera stage 1 is rotatable about a fulcrum of the support shaft 7 and the support member 5, and the camera stage 2 is rotatable about a fulcrum of the support shaft 8 and the support member 6. There is. The support member 5,
Since the position of the fulcrum of 6 changes when changing the angle of vergence,
It is not always one point. Therefore, the holes through which the support members 5 and 6 are inserted are long holes with a margin. This allows
The structure is such that the camera stages 1 and 2 can be moved in parallel and the angle of vergence can be varied.

Next, the parallel movement of the camera stages 1 and 2 and the sub-convergence angle adjusting mechanism will be described with reference to FIGS. In this embodiment, the parallel movement and the secondary convergence angle adjustment are
A switching mechanism is provided for switching between parallel movement and adjustment of the secondary convergence angle so that the knob of the shaft can be used.

The parallel movement mechanism includes guide shafts 9 and 10 for guiding the support members 3 to 6, lead screws 11 and 12 for moving the support members 3 to 6 in the left-right direction, and lead screws 11 and 12. A shaft 13 for rotating,
It is provided with. Guide shaft 9, 10
Are arranged in the left-right direction perpendicular to the reference axis, in front of and behind the photographing, respectively.

The lead screws 11 and 12 are arranged in parallel with the guide shafts 9 and 10, respectively, and a male left screw on the right camera side and a male right screw on the left camera side across the reference axis. Are formed at equal intervals. The support members 3 and 4 include
Holes 3a, 4a and female screws 3b, 4b are provided respectively, the guide shaft 9 is inserted into the holes 3a, 4a, and the lead screw 11 meshes with the female screws 3b, 4b. As a result, the support members 3 and 4 are guided by the guide shaft 9 and are moved in the left-right direction by the rotation of the lead screw 11. Similarly, for the support members 5 and 6,
Holes 5a, 6 into which the guide shaft 10 is inserted, respectively
a, female screws 5b and 6b that mesh with the lead screw 12
Is provided.

Bevel gears 11a and 12a are formed at one ends of the lead screws 11 and 12, respectively. Also,
A shaft 13 for parallel movement of the camera stages 1 and 2 and for adjusting the sub-convergence angle is arranged parallel to the reference axis, and a bevel gear 11a of the lead screws 11 and 12 is provided on a tip end portion of the shaft 13. The bevel gear 12a meshes with the gear 13a.
Is a bevel gear 13b provided at an intermediate portion of the shaft 13.
Mesh with.

The shaft 13 is rotatably held by a bearing 14, and the shaft 13 includes, for example, a flex shaft 1 composed of a spring coil.
The adjustment knob 16 is connected via 5. The flex shaft 15 is not limited to a spring coil, and other elastic body such as rubber may be used.

Shaft 13 and flex shaft 1
5 and 5 are connected by a rectangular spline joint.
That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the shaft 13, the flex,
Female and male square spline joints are formed on the shaft 15, respectively, and the shaft 13 and the flex shaft 15 are connected by engaging the female and male square spline joints.

A V-groove clutch 13c for connecting and disconnecting the shaft 13 is provided between the bevel gears 13a and 13b of the shaft 13.
Is provided. This V-groove clutch 13c is always
It is biased in the connecting direction by a spring / spring 17. By bringing the V-groove clutch 13c into the contact state, the camera stages 1 and 2 can be adjusted in parallel movement in the left and right opposite directions, and by bringing the camera stage 1 and 2 into the disconnected state, the sub vergence angle can be adjusted.

To disconnect the V-groove clutch 13c,
The crank mechanism 18 and the shaft 19 are operated.
The crank mechanism 18 includes a crank 18a and a crank shaft 1
8b, and a guide pin 18c that is connected to one end of the crank 18a and guides the V-groove clutch 13c in the axial direction of the shaft 13.

The bearing 14 is provided with a groove in the circumferential direction, and the guide pin 18c is adapted to engage with this groove. Therefore, the shaft 13 can be rotated, and the guide pin 18c can be used to rotate the V-groove clutch 13.
It is also possible to guide c in the axial direction of the shaft 13. The shaft 19 is a shaft for performing parallel movement of the camera stages 1 and 2 and switching between sub-convergence angle adjustments. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 which are partially enlarged views,
It is gripped by the stopper 20, and its tip end is connected to the other end of the crank 18 a via a screw 21 and a connecting member 22. With such a structure, the shaft 19 can freely rotate with respect to the crank 18a, and can also freely rotate. Then, the shaft 19 is operated by a switching knob 19a formed at the base end portion.

A stopper pin 19b is provided on the shaft 19.
Is provided. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the stopper 20 is provided with a through hole 19a having a shape through which the stopper pin 19b can penetrate. Next, the tilt angle adjusting mechanism will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. The tilt angle adjusting mechanism 30 mechanically incorporates the contradictory operations of rotation and tilt, and is mounted on the camera stage 1.

Rotation mechanism 31 and tilt mechanism 32
Is a mechanism that performs the same operation in the direction of 90 °, the rotation rotates in the left-right direction about a rotation axis parallel to the reference axis, and the tilt is a direction perpendicular to the reference axis in the horizontal direction. This is an operation of rotating around the tilt axis of. The right camera is fixed by the camera fixing portion 33 and the mount 34 on the tilt angle adjusting mechanism 30.

Rotation mechanism 31 and tilt mechanism 3
6, the teeth 35a are formed on the lower surface of the stage 35, and the teeth 35a and the worm gear 37 mesh with each other. The worm gear 37 is rotatably supported by the support stage 38, and the worm gear 3
By rotating 7, the stage 35 rotates and the inclination of the stage 31 changes. The rotation center of the stage 31 is located at a position substantially coincident with the optical axis of the camera.

The camera is attached to the V-edge fitting 34 with screws or the like. The camera fixing part 33 has a V
An inverted V groove is formed so as to fit with the edge fitting 34. Further, the camera fixing portion 33 is provided with a lever 35 for attaching and detaching the camera. Since this lever 35 has a cam mechanism, by rotating the lever 35 to the left, the camera fixing portion 33 is opened and the V edge fitting 34 can be freely attached and detached, so that the V edge fitting 34 is fixed to the camera. When the lever 35 is placed on the portion 33 and rotated to the right, the lever 35 is pressed and the reverse V groove of the camera fixing portion 33 and the V edge of the V edge metal fitting 34 are fitted to each other. At the same time, the camera is fixed to the camera fixing portion 33.

Next, the height adjusting mechanism will be described with reference to FIGS. The height adjusting mechanism 40 is mounted on the camera stage 2. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9,
An L-shaped L angle 41 is attached to the support stage 42 rotatably around a fulcrum O, and an adjustment screw 43 is provided.
Is also attached so as to contact the other end of the L angle 41.

A pin 45 is provided on the stage 44 at a position where it abuts on the other end of the L angle 41.
The height adjustment stage may be of a rack and pinion type, for example. Although not shown, the shaft for adjusting the tilt angle and the shaft for adjusting the height may be provided with a flex shaft as shown in FIG. 2 in the middle.

Next, a series of positioning adjustments by the apparatus of this embodiment will be described. At the time of shooting, when the stereoscopic camera is directed to the front of the subject, and when the left and right cameras are moved in equal amounts in the left and right directions, the stopper pin 19b is aligned with the through hole 20a of the stopper 20. 1
9b is passed through the through hole 20a of the stopper 20. As a result, the V-groove clutch 13c has the spring / spring 17
It is connected by the urging force of. When the adjusting knob 16 is rotated in this state, the bevel gears 11a and 13 are rotated.
The direction of rotation is changed by 90 ° by a and the bevel gears 12a and 13b, and the lead screws 11 and 12 rotate.
Since the lead screws 11 and 12 have different winding directions across the reference axis, the support members 3 to 6 are moved in the right and left opposite directions by equal amounts.

Next, when adjusting the secondary convergence angle, the switching knob 19a is pulled and the stopper pin 19b is pulled out from the through hole 20a. As a result, the crank 18a is
The crankshaft 18b pivots against the urging force of the spring 17 to turn the V-groove clutch 13c into a disengaged state. Then, rotate the switching knob 19a to rotate the stopper pin 1
9b is engaged with the stopper 20.

When the adjusting knob 16 is rotated in this state, the bevel gear 13b is rotated while the tip end side of the V-groove clutch 13c of the shaft 13 is stopped to rotate by 90 °.
Will be converted. Since the lead screw 11 does not rotate but only the lead screw 12 rotates, the camera stage 1 rotates about the fulcrum of the support shaft 7 and the supporting member 5, and the camera stage 2 rotates the support shaft 8 and By rotating around the fulcrum of the support member 6, the sub-angle of convergence is changed.

Next, when adjusting the rotation of the left and right cameras, the rotation adjustment knob is rotated. As a result, the worm gear 3 shown in FIG.
7 rotates, the stage 35 rotates, and the inclination in the rotation direction changes, as shown in FIG. Similarly, when adjusting the tilt of the left and right cameras, the tilt adjustment knob is rotated. As a result, the worm gear 37 rotates, the tilt stage rotates, and the tilt angle changes.

When increasing the height of the left camera, the adjusting screw 43 of the height adjusting mechanism is rotated clockwise. As a result, the tip of the adjusting screw 43 presses the L angle 41,
The angle 41 rotates to push up the pin 45 as shown in FIG. 8B, and the stage 44 moves up. On the contrary, when lowering the height of the left camera, if the adjusting screw of the height adjusting mechanism is rotated counterclockwise, the L angle 41 is rotated and the pin is lowered as shown in FIG. 8 (A). , The stage 44 is lowered.

According to this structure, since the parallel movement and the sub-convergence angle can be adjusted with the knob of one axis, the operability is improved and the structure is simplified. Further, by using the flex shaft as the shaft, the distance between the input and the output is kept constant, and the rotation can be freely transmitted by changing the rotation in an arbitrary direction. Further, the devices can be freely arranged, accurate centering is not required, and even if there is some eccentricity, it is possible to accurately transmit a constant torque.

Further, regarding the optical axis alignment, accuracy and operability can be improved by providing a tilt stage on the left camera side and a height stage on the right camera side.
In this embodiment, the camera interval adjustment and the angle adjustment are both manually performed, but it goes without saying that they may be performed by driving a motor. Further, the stage on which the tilt stage and the height stage are mounted may be either left or right.

[0036]

As described above, according to the apparatus of the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to perform parallel movement of the stage and change of the sub-convergence angle by one axis. According to the apparatus of the second aspect, the left and right cameras can be moved in parallel.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the rotation can be changed in any direction to be freely transmitted, and a constant torque can be accurately transmitted even if there is some eccentricity. it can.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged view of a joint of the flex shaft shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged view of a V-groove clutch switching mechanism of FIG.

4 is a partially enlarged view of the stopper of FIG.

5 is a perspective view of a tilt angle adjusting mechanism on the camera stage of FIG.

6 is an explanatory view of the mechanism of FIG.

7 is a perspective view of a height adjusting mechanism on the camera stage of FIG.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view of the mechanism of FIG.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view of the same mechanism.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a positioning adjustment method for a stereoscopic camera.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 and 2 camera stage 3 to 6 support member 9 and 10 guide shaft 11 and 12 lead screw 13 shaft 13c V-groove clutch 15 flex shaft 18 crank mechanism 19 shaft

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A device for positioning and adjusting each camera according to a subject position in a stereoscopic camera for stereoscopic photography using two cameras, comprising a pair of left and right stages on which the two cameras are respectively mounted. A support member for movably supporting each stage in the front and rear with respect to a reference axis directed toward the subject, and a movement amount of the support member for the right stage and the support member for the left stage are set to 1 A parallel translation mechanism that evenly distributes the support members in parallel in the opposite directions to the left and right by a equal amount, and a parallel movement mechanism that is provided at an intermediate position of the one shaft so that the sub vergence angle can be changed. A positioning mechanism for a stereoscopic camera, comprising: a clutch mechanism for interrupting rotation of a shaft at an intermediate position. 2. The parallel movement mechanism includes a pair of guide members, which are arranged in parallel with each other on both sides of the reference shaft so as to guide the support member, and a guide member in the left-right direction with respect to the reference shaft. A pair of lead screws, which are arranged in parallel with each other and are wound in a reverse winding with the reference axis as a boundary, mesh with the support member and mesh with the support member to rotate and move the support member; and the pair of lead screws. The positioning adjustment device for a stereoscopic camera according to claim 1, further comprising: a single shaft that rotates via a bevel gear. 3. The flex shaft is configured to be bendable by a flex shaft.
Alternatively, the positioning adjustment device for the stereoscopic camera according to claim 2.