JPH10136237A - Image pickup device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To continuously or intermittently image-pick up the object of a whole peripheral range while it rotates with the optical axis of a lens system as a center by providing a reflection face so that it inclines against the optical axis of the lens system and it rotates with the optical axis of the lens system as a center. SOLUTION: The image of the object existing at the outer part of photographing window 27 is taken in through the photographing window 27 and it is reflected on the reflection face 24 of a reflecting mirror 23 and it reaches the lens system 22 by rotating a camera head part 12 fitted to a rotary stand 11. The object image is image-formed by a two-dimensional image pickup element 17 through a slit 21. If image data outputted from the two-dimensional image pickup element 17 is observed in a display device as it is when the camera head part 12 rotates, the image rotates by adjusting it to the rotation of the camera head part 12 and it is difficult to be viewed. Thus, rotation is corrected at the time of display and data are corrected so that they always erect by an image processing for coordinate-converting the addresses of output data from respective image elements in the two-dimensional image pickup element 17.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method for controlling a device around a device.
TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an imaging device capable of capturing an image of a degree.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various attempts have been made to record / reproduce an image closer to the state seen by human eyes over a wide range. For example, a normal 35 mm camera can only shoot in a predetermined range, but in order to obtain a wider-angle image, in the case of a subject such as a landscape, a method of connecting and viewing images taken by a normal camera, There is a so-called connecting panoramic photograph. According to this method, an image can be reproduced and viewed over 360 degrees around the camera.

Further, with the recent development of computer-related technology, there is a technique for actively reproducing a photographed image in a computer.
Such as TimeVR (Virtual Reality). Among them, a QuickTime VR Panor that shoots at a fixed angle about 360 degrees around the camera and reproduces the image on a computer screen
QuickTimeV which captures ama and 360 degrees around the subject at a predetermined angle and reproduces them on a computer screen
There are two types of R Object. This QuickTi
The shooting of the meVR Object is performed by repeating a procedure of placing a subject on a turntable or the like, turning the table at a predetermined angle, stopping the shooting, and shooting. However, when the subject is fixed or large like a building, it is necessary to move the camera around the subject to perform shooting.

[0004] The present invention provides a QuickTime VR Pa
It relates to norama. Therefore, an example showing a QuickTimeVR Panorama viewing method will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6A is an initial screen displayed on the computer screen, and the hand mark in the figure is a cursor that is moved by operating a pointing device such as a mouse connected to the computer. When the user moves the cursor while pressing the button of the pointing device, that is, drags, the image displayed in conjunction therewith becomes an image with a different viewing angle as shown in FIG. 6B. When the drag is continued, the image moves further and becomes as shown in FIG. Thus, FIG.
6 (c) shows only the front panel of the car,
If the user continues dragging, he can look inside 360 degrees including the inside rear of the car. Furthermore, when the user presses a predetermined button on the keyboard, the image is enlarged and enlarged in the same manner as when zooming the camera.
It is also possible to reduce. This allows the user to check everything in the car while staying at home. In addition to such interiors of automobiles, travel agencies and the like also take pictures of landscapes and use them as moving pamphlets.

Next, a conventional method for photographing these images will be described. Connect multiple images for viewing,
In order to take a so-called joint panoramic photograph, a normal film exposure type camera or an electronic camera is used to rotate the photographer or the photographing device around a predetermined angle (for example, 30 degrees)
A method has been adopted in which a plurality of images (12 in the case of 30 degrees) are photographed by dividing each image and these are joined manually or by using an image processing technique.

As an example of continuously photographing a 360-degree panoramic image around an imaging device, Japanese Patent Publication No.
There is a line scanning type panoramic camera described in Japanese Patent Publication No. This is for photographing inside a cylindrical tube,
It uses a rotating one-dimensional sensor, an imaging optical system, a multi-channel optical rotary joint, and the like.
Here, the structure and operation will be described with reference to FIG.
An image of the object surface 1 in the form of a cylindrical inner peripheral portion is formed on a line sensor 4 via a deflecting element 2 for bending a light beam by 90 degrees and a lens system 3. At this time, the camera head unit 5 composed of the deflection element 2, the lens system 3, the line sensor 4, etc.
Is rotated about the central axis of the lens system 3 (which substantially coincides with the optical axis of the lens system 3). Photographed by the sensor 4. On the other hand, a camera holding unit (not shown) is fixedly provided without rotating via a multi-channel optical rotary joint 6 mounted on the upper part of the camera head. The multi-channel optical rotary joint 6 is configured by a photocoupler using a plurality of light guides concentrically, and exchanges data between the rotating camera head unit 5 and the non-rotating camera holding unit. This is performed in parallel in a non-contact state by the multi-channel optical rotary joint 6. A rotary encoder 7 is provided on the fixed side, and the rotation is controlled using the rotary encoder 7. Further, on the rotation side, an illumination light source for irradiating the object surface 1 is provided, and the object surface 1 is illuminated via a condenser lens 8, a prism 9, and an optical fiber 10.

[0007]

In the conventional line scanning type panoramic camera, the line sensor 4 which is the image pickup device on the data transfer side rotates and the arithmetic processing circuit on the data reception side does not rotate. The transfer of image data has a problem that complicated and expensive parts such as a multi-channel optical rotary joint 6 must be used. Further, since a one-dimensional image sensor such as the line sensor 4 is used, the camera head 5
Is essential, and it is not possible to capture an entire image of a certain area in real time.

In view of the above, according to the present invention, a subject in a full range of 360 degrees around an image pickup device can be rotated around the optical axis of a lens system without using a complicated device such as a multi-channel optical rotary joint. It is an object of the present invention to obtain an imaging apparatus that can perform imaging continuously or intermittently.

[0009]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
An image sensor, a lens system for forming an image of a subject on the image sensor, and a reflecting surface are provided so as to be inclined with respect to the optical axis of the lens system and rotate about the optical axis of the lens system. It consists of a reflecting mirror. Thus, an image that rotates with the rotation of the tilted reflecting mirror can be captured using the fixedly provided imaging element, so that a complicated and expensive member such as a multi-channel optical rotary joint is not required. An image of the subject around 360 degrees can be easily obtained.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a data output unit having rotation amount detecting means for detecting the rotation amount of the reflecting mirror, and outputting the rotation amount detected by the rotation amount detecting means together with the image data of the image sensor. It has. Thus, even if the image obtained by the reflecting mirror is rotated together with the reflecting mirror, it is possible to obtain image data having a relationship with the amount of rotation.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the data output from the data output unit is subjected to coordinate conversion according to the amount of rotation in the order of output and stored in a memory, and the stored data is stored in accordance with the order of the coordinate conversion. Since the data is output to the output device, the data captured as an image that rotates with the rotation of the reflecting mirror can be easily converted into a state in which the image looks natural by visual observation.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a slit member having a slit having a narrow central portion and gradually increasing in width toward both ends is positioned near a two-dimensional imaging area and is rotated integrally with the reflecting mirror. Therefore, the change in the light amount caused by the difference in the peripheral speed between the center and the periphery of the image sensor of the rotating image data can be canceled to make the light amount uniform over the entire surface.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. First, the imaging device shown in FIG. 1 includes a turntable 11 and a camera head unit 12. The turntable 11 includes a fixed portion 13 fixedly provided and a rotating portion 14 rotatably coupled to the fixed portion 13. Space 1 in the central part of the fixed part 13
A fixed base 16 is fixed in 5. This fixed base 1
A two-dimensional image pickup device 17 as an image pickup device is attached to the upper surface of 6 with its light receiving surface facing upward. An opening 18 corresponding to the space 15 is formed at the center of the rotating unit 14, and a cylindrical main body 19 of the camera head unit 12 is fixed to the opening 18. A slit plate 20 is provided on the bottom surface of the main body 19 near the two-dimensional image sensor 17. At the center of the slit plate 20, there is formed a slit 21 having a narrow central portion and a gradually increasing width toward both end portions. In addition, a lens system 22 is fixed in the main body 19 so that a rotation axis serving as a rotation center of the camera head unit 12 and an optical axis are aligned. A reflecting mirror 23 inclined at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the optical axis of the lens system 22 is located on the optical axis and fixed in the main body 19. The lower surface of the reflecting mirror 23 is a reflecting surface 24, and the reflecting surface 2
An opening 25 is formed on a side surface of the main body 19 facing the opening 4, and a cover glass 26 is attached to the opening 25 to form an imaging window 27.

In such a configuration, when the camera head unit 12 attached to the turntable 11 rotates, an image of a subject existing outside the photographing window 27 is taken in through the photographing window 27 and is reflected by the reflecting mirror 23. The light is reflected by the reflection surface 24 to reach the lens system 22, and the subject image is formed on the two-dimensional image sensor 17 through the slit 21 by the lens system 22. Now, assuming that the subject when the camera head unit 12 is at the initial position is A and the subject when rotated by the angle θ is B, the two-dimensional image sensor 17 is in the initial position.
As shown in FIG. 3, the image formed in the vertical direction is formed in the state shown in FIG.
When rotated only in FIG. 3, the image is formed in a state inclined by the angle θ in FIG. Therefore, if the image data output from the two-dimensional image sensor 17 is directly observed on the display device, the image is tilted by θ degrees in accordance with the rotation of the camera head unit 12 and becomes difficult to see. Therefore, rotation is corrected at the time of display by image processing, and correction is performed so as to be always erect. This can be realized by performing coordinate conversion on the address of output data from each pixel of the two-dimensional image sensor 17.
FIG. 4 shows this coordinate conversion. In the XY coordinates, the pixel at the position of the point P (x, y) is rotated by an angle θ around the origin to a position P ′ (x ′). ,
y ') and its position is

[0015]

(Equation 1)

[0016] Therefore, the rotation angle (θ) of the camera head unit 12 with respect to the initial position of the camera head unit 12 is detected using an encoder (not shown) or the like, and is output from the data output unit simultaneously with the image data. Then, the data output from the data output unit is subjected to coordinate conversion (address conversion) according to the angle θ in the order in which the data is output, temporarily stored in a memory, and output to a display device or the like in the converted order. Thus, erect images can be sequentially obtained.

Further, since the rotation of the camera head section 12 is performed around the center of the imaging area, there is a difference in peripheral speed between the vicinity of the center and the end. Therefore, the light receiving element at the end of the two-dimensional image sensor 17 has a shorter light irradiation time than the light receiving element at the center, and the output image data is dark. Therefore, immediately before the two-dimensional image sensor 17, there is a slit 21 having a narrow central portion and gradually widening toward an end portion as shown in FIG. As a result, an image with a uniform exposure amount can be obtained over the entire surface of the two-dimensional image sensor 17.

There are the following two methods of using such a device. The first is a method in which the output of the two-dimensional imaging device 17 is subjected to coordinate conversion as described above and is viewed as a two-dimensional image. As an example of this application, for example, the camera head unit 12 is rotated at a constant speed to constantly display a 360-degree image to be used as a security camera, or a rotation means such as a stepping motor or the like is used by a driving means capable of intermittent rotation. In a video conference or the like, it is possible to arbitrarily rotate and stop, and use it for tracking a speaker or the like.
In this case, it is better not to have the slit 21. Therefore, it is desirable to provide the slit plate 20 in a detachable manner so as to select the slit plate 20 as needed.

A second method of use is a method of extracting only a specific area from the imaging area of the two-dimensional image sensor 17 and connecting it as a continuous image to view as a single panoramic image. Specifically, this is an image portion of the region of the subjects A and B shown in FIG. 2, that is, an image portion of a vertically long space obtained by dividing a 360-degree space around the device at a predetermined angle by the camera head at a predetermined angle. Is extracted, and these are sequentially connected to form a panoramic photograph. In this case, since the image on the imaging region rotates as shown in FIG. 3, the portion to be extracted is also a strip-shaped region that rotates on the imaging region. According to this imaging method, it is possible to very easily perform panoramic photography and QuickTime VR photography.

In the above-described embodiment, a state in which a two-dimensional image sensor is used as an image sensor has been described. However, even when a one-dimensional image sensor is used, a multi-channel optical rotary joint or the like can be used as in the related art. Necessary image data can be obtained without using complicated and expensive members.

[0021]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image pickup device, a lens system for forming an image of a subject on the image pickup device, and a reflecting surface inclined with respect to an optical axis of the lens system. And a reflecting mirror provided so as to rotate about the optical axis. Thus, an image that rotates with the rotation of the tilted reflecting mirror can be captured using the fixedly provided imaging element, so that a complicated and expensive member such as a multi-channel optical rotary joint is not required. This has an effect that an image of a subject around 360 degrees can be easily obtained. .

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a data output section having a rotation amount detecting means for detecting the rotation amount of the reflecting mirror, and outputting the rotation amount detected by the rotation amount detecting means together with the image data of the image sensor. It has. Thereby, even if the image obtained by the reflecting mirror is rotated together with the reflecting mirror, it is possible to obtain image data having a relationship with the rotation amount.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the data output from the data output unit is subjected to coordinate conversion according to the amount of rotation in the order of output and stored in the memory, and the stored data is stored in accordance with the order of the coordinate conversion. Since the data is output to the output device, there is an effect that the data captured as the image that rotates with the rotation of the reflecting mirror can be easily converted into a state where the image looks natural by visual observation.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, a slit member having a slit having a narrow central portion and gradually increasing in width toward both ends is positioned near a two-dimensional imaging area and is rotated integrally with the reflecting mirror. Therefore, there is an effect that a change in the light amount caused by a difference in the peripheral speed between the center and the periphery of the image sensor of the rotating image data is canceled out, and the light amount can be made uniform over the entire surface.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional side view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an overall perspective view thereof.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the image sensor.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating coordinate conversion.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a relationship between an image sensor and a slit.

FIG. 6 shows a conventional QuickTime VR Panora.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the interior of the vehicle ma is being viewed.

FIG. 7 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing an example of a conventional imaging device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 17 Image sensor 22 Lens system 23 Reflecting surface 24 Reflecting mirror

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ───

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] December 16, 1996

[Procedure amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Drawing

[Correction target item name] Fig. 6

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

FIG. 6

Claims (4)

[Claims] An image pickup device, a lens system for forming an image of a subject on the image pickup device, and a reflection surface inclined with respect to an optical axis of the lens system and rotated about the optical axis of the lens system. An imaging device comprising a reflecting mirror provided as described above. 2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a rotation amount detection unit configured to detect a rotation amount of the reflecting mirror; and a data output unit configured to output the rotation amount detected by the rotation amount detection unit together with image data of an image sensor. The imaging device according to claim 1. 3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the data output from the data output unit is subjected to coordinate conversion according to the amount of rotation in the order of output and stored in a memory, and the stored data is output to an output device in accordance with the order of the coordinate conversion. 3. The imaging device according to claim 2, wherein: 4. A slit member having a slit having a narrow central portion and a width gradually increasing toward both ends is provided near a two-dimensional imaging area and is provided so as to rotate integrally with a reflecting mirror. The imaging device according to claim 1, wherein: