JPH10178568A - Video camera equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make the size small and to simplify a configuration and wiring of a drive circuit. SOLUTION: Video camera equipment is provided with head parts 12-1 to 12-5 . Each head part is formed by placing an image pickup element 12b and an image pickup lens 12d on a board 12a. A drive IC 16 provides a drive pulse or the like in parallel with the image pickup elements 12b of the head parts 12-1 to 12-5 to allow the image pickup elements to pick up an image. Image pickup signals E1 to E5 outputted from the image pickup elements 12b of the head part 12-1 to 12-5 are selectively taken out by a switch circuit 17 to supply to a process IC 15 and to obtain a video signal so to be supplied to a monitor. Since the equipment is provided with plural the head parts without including the process IC and the drive IC, the size of the equipment is made smaller than conventional equipment provided with plural board cameras. Since only the single drive IC 16 is operated, interference with a noise or a signal resulting from plural clock signals in not caused principally and then it is not required to take synchronization of plural image pickup systems and the configuration and the wiring are simplified.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a video camera device which can switch a plurality of video signals and is suitable for use in monitoring and the like. More specifically, a plurality of head units each having an imaging element and an imaging lens mounted on a substrate, a signal processing circuit for processing an imaging signal to obtain a video signal, and a drive for driving the imaging element to the imaging signal are provided. The present invention relates to a video camera device which is reduced in size by providing only one set of circuits, and which simplifies the configuration and wiring of a drive circuit.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a plurality of video signals can be switched using a plurality of board cameras (video cameras having an image sensor, an imaging lens, a drive circuit, a signal processing circuit, etc. mounted on a substrate). Video camera devices have been proposed.

FIG. 5 shows a video camera apparatus 100 of this kind.
Is schematically indicated. On a mounting plate 101 for installation on a ceiling, five board cameras 102 _{-1 to} 102 _-5 (only board cameras 102 _{-1 to} 102 _-3 are shown) for monitoring five directions right below, right and left, and front and rear are provided. Fixed.
Further, these board cameras 102 are attached to the mounting plate 101.
_A dome-shaped cover 103 made of a transparent member is fixed so as to cover the whole of _{-1 to} 102 _-5 .

The board camera 102 (102 _-1 to 10 _-1)
2-5 ) is configured as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B. That is, an image sensor, for example, a CCD solid-state image sensor 102b is mounted and fixed on the substrate 102a. The substrate 10
A lens mount member 102c is attached to 2a, and an imaging lens 102d is fixed to the lens mount member 102c.

The substrate 102a has an image sensor 102
b) a process IC (signal processing circuit) 102e for processing the image signal output from b to obtain a video signal, and a drive IC (supplying a drive pulse such as a shift pulse and a gate pulse) and power to the image sensor 102b Drive circuit) 102f is also mounted.

FIG. 7 shows an example of a circuit configuration of the video camera device 100. The power Ba is supplied to each of the five board cameras 102 _{-1 to} 102 _-5 constituting the video camera device 100. In addition, each board camera 102
_The video signals S _{1 to} S ₅ output from the process ICs 102e of _{−1 to} 102 _-5 are respectively connected to the switch circuits 10.
4 are supplied to the fixed terminals a to e. Switch circuit 10
4 is supplied with a switching control signal SW to perform switching. The video signal So selectively extracted by the switch circuit 104 is supplied to a monitor (not shown) for monitoring, and an image based on the video signal So is displayed on the monitor screen.

FIG. 8 shows another example of the circuit configuration of the video camera device 100. Switch circuit 105
Are switched in conjunction with the switch circuit 104. The power Ba is supplied to each of the board cameras 102 _{-1 to} 102 _-5 via the fixed terminals a to e of the switch circuit 105. As a result, power can be supplied only to the board camera that attempts to obtain a video signal by capturing an image, thereby saving power consumption. In the switching state shown in the figure, the power supply Ba is applied to the board camera 102 _-1, video signals S ₁ output from the process IC102e the board camera 102 _-1 is obtained as a video signal So..

[0008]

In the above-described video camera apparatus 100, the image pickup device 102 is mounted on the substrate 102a.
b and the imaging lens 102d, a process IC 1
02e and a plurality of board cameras 102 on which the drive ICs 102f are mounted, the size of the entire apparatus is increased.

Further, each board camera 102 _{-1 to} 102 _-5
Have a dedicated drive IC 102f.
Therefore, for example, as shown in FIG.
In the 2 _-1 to 102 _-5 supplies power Ba in parallel, in order to prevent interference of noise or signals of a plurality of clock signals, the synchronization of each board camera 102 _-1 to 102 _-5 And the configuration of the drive IC 102f becomes complicated. In addition, since wiring for external synchronization is required, the wiring is also complicated.

In view of the above, the present invention provides a video camera device capable of reducing the size and simplifying the configuration and wiring of a drive circuit.

[0011]

A video camera apparatus according to the present invention includes a plurality of head units each having an image pickup element and an image pickup lens mounted on a substrate, and also outputs an image pickup signal output from the image pickup element. A set of a signal processing circuit for processing and obtaining a video signal and a drive circuit for supplying a drive pulse and power to the image pickup device, and any one of the image pickup signals output from the image pickup devices of the plurality of head units are further provided. It is provided with a switch circuit for selectively taking out and supplying it to the signal processing circuit.

A plurality of head units each having an imaging element and an imaging lens mounted on a substrate are provided. The plurality of head units are installed at the same location or at different locations. Any one of the imaging signals output from the imaging elements of the plurality of head units is selectively extracted by the switch circuit and processed by the signal processing circuit to obtain a video signal. By supplying this video signal to the monitor,
It is possible to switch and display the images captured by the image sensors of the plurality of head units on the screen of the monitor.

The drive circuit outputs a drive pulse such as a shift pulse or a gate pulse to be supplied to the image pickup device and a power supply. The drive pulse and the power supply are supplied in parallel to, for example, image sensors of a plurality of head units, or selectively supplied only to an image sensor that outputs an image signal extracted by a switch circuit in order to save power consumption. Supplied.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 schematically shows a configuration of a video camera device 10 as an embodiment.

The video camera apparatus 10 includes a mounting plate 11 for installation on a ceiling, for example, and 5
Five heads 12 _{-1 to} 12 for monitoring directions
_-5 (only the head portions 12 _{-1 to} 12 _-3 are shown) is fixed. The mounting plate 11 has these head portions 12 _-1 to 12 _-1 .
Domed cover 13 is fixed made of a transparent member so as to cover the entire 12 _-5.

The head section 12 (12 _{-1 to} 12 _-5 ) is shown in FIG.
A and B are configured as shown. That is, the substrate 1
An image sensor, for example, a CCD solid-state image sensor 12b is mounted and fixed to 2a. A lens mount member 12c is attached to the substrate 12a.
An imaging lens 12d is fixed to 2c. Head part 1
Reference numeral 2 does not include the process IC 102e or the drive IC 102f in the board camera 102 (see FIG. 6B), and the substrate 12a is smaller than the substrate 102a in the board camera 102. Therefore, the mounting plate 1 described above
1 and the dome-shaped cover 13 are the video camera device 1 shown in FIG.
The size can be made smaller than the mounting plate 101 and the dome-shaped cover 103 at 00.

The mounting plate 11 includes a dome-shaped cover 1.
A CCD driving board 14 is provided in the apparatus 3. This C
Although not shown in FIG. 1, the CD drive board 14 includes a process IC (signal processing circuit) 15 for processing an image signal output from the image sensor 12 b to obtain a video signal, and the image sensor 1.
A drive IC (drive circuit) 1 for supplying a drive pulse such as a shift pulse or a gate pulse and power to the 2b
6 and one head set 12 _-1 to 12 _-1 .
12 _-5 to any one of the image signal E ₁ to E ₅ respectively outputted from the image pickup device 12b selectively removed in and a switching circuit 17 for supplying a process IC15 described above.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a circuit configuration of the video camera device 10. CCD drive board 14, ie, process IC 15, drive IC 16, and switch circuit 1
7 is supplied with power Ba. The drive pulse and the power output from the drive IC 16 are applied to each head unit 1.
It is supplied in parallel to 2 _{-1 to} 12 _-5 imaging elements 12b.
Thereby, the image pickup device 12 of each head unit 12 _{-1 to} 12 _-5 is provided.
In b, an imaging operation is performed.

The image pickup signals E _{1 to} E ₅ output from the image pickup elements 12 b of the head sections 12 _{-1 to} 12 _-5 are supplied to fixed terminals a to e of the switch circuit 17, respectively. The switching circuit 17 is supplied with a switching control signal SW to perform switching. Then, the imaging signal selectively taken out by the switch circuit 17 is supplied to the process IC 15 for processing, and the video signal So obtained by the process IC 15 is supplied to a monitor (not shown) for monitoring, and is displayed on the monitor screen. Is displayed with the video signal So. Thereby, in the video camera device 10, it is possible to switch and display the images captured by the imaging elements 12b of the respective head units 12 _{-1 to} 12 _{-5 on} the screen of the monitor.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the imaging element 12b and the imaging lens 12 are mounted on the substrate 12a.
d are mounted on a plurality of head units 12 (12 _-1 to 1 _-1).
2 _-5 ) The video signal S
Only one set of a process IC 15 and a drive IC 16 for obtaining o is provided. Therefore, the substrate 102a
The image pickup device 102b and the image pickup lens 102d are mounted on the substrate, and the process IC 102e and the drive IC 10
The size can be reduced as compared with the conventional video camera device 100 including a plurality of board cameras 102 on which 2f is mounted.

The process IC 15 and the drive IC 1
6 and only one set is provided, and drive pulses and power are supplied in parallel from a single drive IC 16 to the imaging elements 12b of the respective head sections 12 _{-1 to} 12 _-5 . Therefore, each board camera 1 in the conventional video camera device 100 is used.
A device for supplying power in parallel to 02 _{-1 to} 102 _-5 (FIG. 7)
), Power consumption by the process IC and the drive IC can be significantly reduced, and power consumption can be reduced. Further, since a plurality of drive ICs are not operated in parallel, noise and signal interference due to a plurality of clock signals do not occur. Therefore, in the conventional video camera apparatus 100, each board camera 102 _{-1 to} 102 _-5
It is not necessary to synchronize a plurality of imaging systems as in the case where power is supplied in parallel to the power supply, and the configuration and wiring of the drive circuit can be simplified.

FIG. 4 shows another example of the circuit configuration of the video camera device 10. As shown in FIG. The switch circuit 18 is provided on the CCD drive board 14 similarly to the switch circuit 17, and switches in conjunction with the switch circuit 17.
The drive pulse and the power output from the drive IC 16 are supplied to the imaging elements 12b of the heads 12 _{-1 to} 12 _-5 via the fixed terminals a to e of the switch circuit 18. The other configuration is the same as the circuit configuration shown in FIG.

By adopting the circuit configuration shown in FIG. 4, the drive pulse and the power can be selectively supplied only to the image pickup device 12b that outputs the image pickup signal taken out by the switch circuit 17, thereby saving power consumption. . In the switching state shown in the figure, the head portion 12 _-1 from drive IC16 with drive pulses and power is supplied, the image signal E ₁ outputted from the image pickup device 12b of the head portion 12 _-1 is supplied to the process IC15 Thus, a video signal So is obtained.

In the above-described embodiment, there is shown an example in which five head sections 12 _{-1 to} 12 _-5 are provided and each of the head sections 12 _{-1 to} 12 _-5 is fixed to the mounting plate 11. The number and location of the heads are not limited to these. For example, the present invention can be similarly applied to a case where the heads 12 _{-1 to} 12 _-5 are separately installed at different places. In the above-described embodiment, the CCD driving substrate 14 is provided on the mounting plate 11, and the process IC 15 and the drive IC
Although C16 and the switch circuits 17 and 18 are provided near each of the heads 12 _{-1 to} 12 _-5 , the process IC 15 and the like may be provided near the monitor.

[0025]

According to the present invention, a plurality of head units each having an imaging element and an imaging lens mounted on a substrate are provided, a signal processing circuit for processing an imaging signal to obtain a video signal, and a video signal. It has only one set of a drive circuit for driving the image sensor, and can be made smaller than the conventional one having a plurality of board cameras. Can be simplified.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of a video camera device as an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a head unit constituting the video camera device.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a circuit configuration of the video camera device.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing another example of the circuit configuration of the video camera device.

FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of a conventional video camera device.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration of a board camera constituting a conventional video camera device.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a circuit configuration of a conventional video camera device.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing another example of a circuit configuration of a conventional video camera device.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 video camera device, 11 mounting plate, 1
2, 12 _{-1 to} 12 _-5 head part, 12a substrate, 12b CCD solid-state imaging device, 12c lens mount member, 12d imaging lens, 13,.
・ Dome type cover, 14 ・ ・ ・ CCD drive board, 15 ・
..Process IC (signal processing circuit), 16 ... Drive IC (drive circuit), 17, 18 ... Switch circuit

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A signal processing circuit comprising: a plurality of head units each including an image pickup element and an image pickup lens mounted on a substrate; a signal processing circuit for processing an image pickup signal output from the image pickup element to obtain a video signal; A drive circuit for supplying a drive pulse and power to the image sensor; and a signal processing circuit for selectively extracting any one of image signals output from the image sensors of the plurality of head units. A video camera device comprising a switch circuit for supplying a video signal to a video camera. 2. The video camera device according to claim 1, wherein the drive pulse and the power output from the drive circuit are supplied in parallel to the image sensors of the plurality of head units. 3. The device according to claim 1, wherein the drive pulse and the power output from the drive circuit are selectively supplied only to an image sensor that outputs an image signal extracted by the switch circuit. Video camera device.