JPH1075387A - Image input device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To attain pickup of an image at various field angles by varying the position and the posture of one camera freely. SOLUTION: This image input device comprises an arm mechanism 16 consisting of arms 14-1, 14-2, 14-3 and joints 15-1, 15-2, 15-3 and 15-4, a camera 17 supported by a joint at a tip of the arm mechanism, and a support 18 supporting the arm mechanism freely turnably on a base, the support supports turnably horizontally the are mechanism, the joint 15-2 supports the arm 14-2 and the joint 15-3 supports the arm 14-3 freely thrnanbly in the vertical direction and the joint 15-14 supports the camera freely oscillably in vertical direction. Each arm and the camera are turned by an actuator.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image input device for inputting an image by freely driving a video camera using a CCD area sensor or the like by rotating or linearly moving it.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, a home video camera using a CCD area sensor is a handy type, and a user takes a picture of the surroundings with a camera, stores the image on a video tape or the like, and later mounts the video deck. It uses a method of playing back and watching it on a TV.

On the other hand, in an office, a video camera is installed in a conference room, for example, and a TV conference system is constructed by combining the video camera with a television monitor. This TV conference system has a configuration in which a person at another location can have a conversation using a television monitor. Recently, TVs using personal computers and communication networks
Conference systems are also becoming widespread, connecting a video camera as a peripheral device of a personal computer, capturing the face of the user watching the monitor with the video camera, and connecting it to the monitor of another personal computer installed at a remote location. By photographing, the opponent's faces are displayed mutually while operating the personal computer.

A TV conference system using such a personal computer and a communication network includes:
For example, JP-A-7-135594 is known.
As shown in FIG. 8, a plurality of terminal devices 2-1, 2-2, and 2-3 are connected to a communication network 1 and a server 3 for managing the terminal devices is connected to each of the terminal devices 2-1, 2 and 2. -2,2
4-1 and 4-
2, 4-3 are installed, and each terminal device 2-1, 2-2, 2-
Document camera 5- that captures originals, printed matter, and three-dimensional objects beside 3
1,5-2,5-3 are installed. And each terminal device 2-
Monitors 6-1, 6-2, and 6-3 having a multi-window display function are used as monitors for 1, 2-2, and 2-3. Opponent's camera 4-1 and 4-
Display images from 2, 4-3, 5-1, 5-2, 5-3, and give each terminal device control functions such as pan and tilt angles, zoom, and exposure of the other camera. The operator can remotely control the camera of the other party using a pointing device such as a mouse while watching the image on the monitor.

[0005]

In this system, however, cameras 4-1, 4-2 and 4-3 for capturing the face of a person and document cameras 5-1 and 5- for capturing an original, a printed matter, and a three-dimensional object are provided. 2,5
Since -3 is provided separately, the number of cameras to be used increases, and there is a problem that economy is poor. Also, since a camera is controlled using a pointing device such as a mouse, it is good for a user who is accustomed to operating a personal computer, but it is very difficult for a user who is not accustomed to such an operation. Was.

In addition, there is no problem when the movement of the camera is relatively simple such as rotation in the pan / tilt direction or zooming, that is, when the number of moving axes is small, but the position and orientation of the camera can be multidimensionally and simultaneously. If the user tries to move, there is a problem that the operation on the monitor screen which is a two-dimensional display device is troublesome.

Therefore, according to the first to fifth aspects of the present invention, various viewing angles can be imaged by freely changing the position and posture of one camera, and therefore, the face of a person can be copied with a single camera. Provided is an image input apparatus capable of imaging printed and three-dimensional objects and improving economic efficiency.

[0008] The invention according to claim 3 further provides an image input apparatus that can easily perform zooming of a camera.

Further, the invention according to claim 4 further provides an image input device capable of reliably detecting the movement of a camera.

[0010] The invention according to claim 5 further provides an image input device capable of easily reproducing the movement of the camera.

[0011]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
A camera comprising an image sensor and an imaging optical system for forming an image on the image sensor, a plurality of arms, a node connecting the arms, and an actuator for rotating the arm connected to the node; An arm mechanism supported by the unit, a support unit rotatably supporting the arm mechanism on a table such as a desk, an arm mechanism driving unit that drives the arm mechanism to freely change the posture and position of the camera, and a camera And drive unit control means for controlling the arm mechanism drive unit so as to automatically track a specific mark in the image captured in step (1).

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the driving unit control means automatically sets a light spot when a light beam is applied to an object to be imaged by a camera as a specific mark. An object of the present invention is to control an arm mechanism driving unit so as to track.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a camera comprising an image pickup device and an image forming optical system for forming an image on the image pickup device, a plurality of arms, a node connecting the arms, and an arm connected to the node. Consisting of an actuator that rotates
An arm mechanism that supports the camera at the tip, a support section that rotatably supports this arm mechanism on a table such as a desk, and an arm mechanism drive section that drives the arm mechanism to freely change the attitude and position of the camera And a driving unit control means for controlling an arm mechanism driving unit to automatically track a light spot when a light beam is applied to an object to be imaged by a camera as a specific mark, and a spatial change of the light spot. Alternatively, a zooming control means for detecting a temporal change and controlling zooming of the camera is provided.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a camera comprising an image pickup device and an image forming optical system for forming an image on the image pickup device, a plurality of arms, a node connecting the arms, and an arm connected to the node. Consisting of an actuator that rotates
An arm mechanism that supports the camera at the tip, a support section that rotatably supports this arm mechanism on a table such as a desk, and an arm mechanism drive section that drives the arm mechanism to freely change the attitude and position of the camera A driving unit control unit for controlling the arm mechanism driving unit; and a displacement amount detecting unit for detecting a displacement amount of each arm and the camera, based on displacement amount detection information of each arm and the camera by the displacement amount detecting unit. To detect camera movement.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a camera comprising an image pickup device and an image forming optical system for forming an image on the image pickup device, a plurality of arms, a node connecting the arms, and an arm connected to the node. Consisting of an actuator that rotates
An arm mechanism that supports the camera at the tip, a support section that rotatably supports this arm mechanism on a table such as a desk, and an arm mechanism drive section that drives the arm mechanism to freely change the attitude and position of the camera A driving unit control unit that controls the arm mechanism driving unit; and a storage unit that stores a procedure for changing the posture and the position of the camera. Based on the change procedure stored in the storage unit, the driving unit control unit The operation of the camera is reproduced by controlling the arm mechanism driving unit.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG.
The terminal device 12 and the image input device 13 are installed on the device. The terminal device 12 includes a control device 12-1, a television monitor 12-2, and an operation unit 12-3.
Is electrically connected to the television monitor 12-2, the operation unit 12-3, the image input device 13, and a communication network.

As shown in FIG. 2, the image input device 13 includes three arms 14-1, 14-2, and 14-3 and four nodes 1.
Arm mechanism 16 consisting of 5-1, 15-2,15-3,15-4
A camera 17 supported by a node 15-4, which is the tip of the arm mechanism 16, and the arm mechanism 16
And a supporting portion 18 which is rotatably supported above.
That is, the support portion 18 is connected to the node 15-1 of the arm mechanism 16.
Are supported rotatably left and right as indicated by arrow A in the figure. The node 15-2 of the arm mechanism 16 has the arm 14-2 with respect to the arm 14-1, and the node 15-3 has the arm 14-3 with respect to the arm 14-2 as indicated by arrows B and C in the figure. As shown, it is supported rotatably in the vertical direction. A joint 15-4 of the arm mechanism 16 supports the camera 17 so that the camera 17 can swing up and down as indicated by an arrow D in the figure. The camera 17 includes an image pickup device comprising a CCD area sensor and an image forming optical system for forming an image on the image pickup device.

Each section 15-1, 15- of the arm mechanism 16
3, 15-3 and 15-4 are actuators 19-1, 19-2, 19-3 and 19 for rotating the arms 14-1, 14-2 and 14-3 and the camera 17, respectively, as shown in FIG. -4, encoders 14-1, 14-2, 14-3 and encoders 20-1, 20 as displacement amount detecting means for detecting the displacement amount of the camera 17.
-2, 20-3 and 20-4 are installed. The actuators 19-1, 19-2, 19-3, and 19-4 and the encoders 20-1, 20-2, 20-3, and 20-4 respectively connect cables 21 and 22 to the control device 12-1. Connected through.

As shown in FIG. 4, the control unit 12-1 of the terminal device 12 includes a main control unit 23, a signal generation unit 24, a signal reading unit 25, a storage unit 26, an editing unit 27, and a communication control unit 2.
And the main controller 23 controls the signal generator 24 to control the actuators 19-1, 19-2, 19-3, 19
-4, and the main control unit 23 controls the signal capturing unit 25 to control the encoders 20-1 and 20-2.
-2, 20-3, 20-4. The main control unit 23 stores the displacement amount detection signal captured by the signal capturing unit 25 in the storage unit 2.
6 is stored. The editing unit 27 stores the information in the storage unit 2 based on the information input from the operation unit 12-3.
6 is edited.
The main control unit 23 can communicate with another terminal device 31 via the communication network 30 by controlling the communication control unit 28.

When the apparatus having such a configuration is used, for example, for a video conference, the user must use the terminal device 12 in the office.
By operating the terminal device 12, the user participates in the conference while watching the expressions of other participants displayed on the television monitor 12-2. Although not shown, a telephone system such as a microphone and a speaker is also provided so that voice can be exchanged with the other party.

In the image input device 13, the arm 14-1 is rotated left and right with respect to the support section 18 by the actuator 19-1, and the arm 14-2 is rotated up and down with respect to the arm 14-1 by the actuator 19-2. The arm 14-3 moves up and down with respect to the arm 14-2 by the actuator 19-3, and the camera 17 is moved to the arm 1 by the actuator 19-4.
4-3, so that each actuator 1
By driving 9-1 to 19-4, the camera 17 can freely change its direction. That is, it is possible not only to capture the image of the user's face, but also to capture the document 29 such as a document or a printed matter placed on the table 11. Document 2 in this case
Even if the direction of the camera 9 is various, the direction of the camera 17 can be easily adjusted to the direction. Therefore, only one camera needs to be used, and the economy can be improved.

When the camera 17 is operated, it is possible to control the camera 17 using a pointing device such as a mouse. However, in the operation using the pointing device while watching the television monitor 12-2, a plurality of actuators are simultaneously operated. Since complicated operations such as moving are required, the work becomes extremely troublesome. In order to solve this, the image input device 13 is directly operated to adjust the camera 17 to a desired direction. That is, the user directly holds the camera 17 by hand and performs an operation of adjusting the camera 17 to a desired direction. At this time, each arm 14-1 ~
14-3 and changes in the posture and position of the camera 17, ie,
The encoders 20-1 to 20-4 detect the displacement amounts of the arms 14-1 to 14-3 and the camera 17, respectively.

In this case, the image input device 13 of its own
Is operated directly, but is not necessarily limited to this. An operation arm mechanism that performs exactly the same operation as the image input device 13 is provided separately from the image input device 13, and the operation arm mechanism is attached to the camera. In order to change the attitude and position of the camera 17 of the image input device 13 by attaching the corresponding pseudo camera and encoder and removing the encoder from the image input device 13, the user operates the operation arm mechanism. Thereby, the encoder detects the displacement amount of each arm of the operation arm mechanism and the pseudo camera, and the image input device 13 performs the same operation as the operation arm mechanism based on the detected displacement amount detection information. The posture and position of the camera 17 can also be changed.

As a method of controlling the attitude and position of the camera 17 of the image input device 13, there is a method of using a target of a specific mark other than a method of directly operating the image input device 13. In other words, this is a method in which the camera 17 automatically tracks a target of a specific mark in an image captured by the camera 17 so that the target is always located at the center of the display screen. For example, as shown in FIG. 5 (a), there is a blinking light 42 on the roof of the tow truck model 41, and when the camera 17 captures an image of the model 41, the light 42 as shown in FIG. The arm mechanism 16 of the image input device 13 is drive-controlled so that the position 42 is located at the center of the display screen of the television monitor 12-2, and the camera 17 automatically tracks the model 41.

To realize this, the control device 12-1
The main control unit 23 performs the control shown in FIG. That is, when an image is captured by the camera 17, the image signal is converted to an A / D signal.
The data is converted and displayed on the television monitor 12-2, and is subjected to appropriate processing such as image compression and stored in the storage unit 26. Then, the presence / absence of the target is detected based on the preset target information, and if no target is detected, a simple display is performed. When a target is detected, the position of the target is obtained by calculation, and the position of the target on the screen is detected. And camera 1
7, the camera performs an instruction calculation for controlling the zoom and iris, calculates an adjustment amount of the camera 17 so that the target position is located at the center of the screen, and adjusts the camera 17 based on the calculation information. . That is, the driving of the arm mechanism 16, the driving of the camera 17, the adjustment of the imaging optical system in the camera 17, and the like are performed.

By providing such a target automatic tracking function, for example, when a light spot such as a laser beam is used as a target, a remote control device 52 for irradiating a light beam 51 as shown in FIG. 7 is used. . That is, the user holds the remote control device 52 in his hand and
1 is irradiated on the object 53. The attitude and the position of the camera 17 are controlled such that the light spot 51a is located at the center of the display screen of the television monitor 12-2 when the image of the object 53 is taken.

The light spot 51 is provided on the remote controller 52.
Zoom button 54 to zoom in and zoom out a
The spot size is changed by operating the zoom button 54 to zoom in or zoom out the light spot 51a, and the camera 17 can be zoomed and controlled based on the spot size of the captured image. In this case, if the spot size is set to be small when zooming in (enlarged) and the spot size is set to be large when zoomed out (reduced), the spot size on the captured screen after enlargement or reduction can be set. The size can be made substantially constant, and spot detection and control can be simplified.

Here, the case where the zoom control of the camera 17 is performed by changing the spot size of the light spot 51a has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this case. It is also possible to control the zooming of the camera 17 by changing the blinking period of 51a and reading it from the imaged screen. The camera 17 can be driven only when the light spot 51a is irradiating the object 53, and the control of the camera 17 is stopped when the irradiation of the light spot 51a is stopped.

Also, by providing the arm mechanism 16 with a remote control function for driving each of the actuators 19-1, 19-2, 19-3, and 19-4, the user operating the terminal device 12 can move to another place. Other installed terminal device 31
It is also possible to remotely control the image input device installed together with the device. That is, each encoder 2 of the image input device 13
The displacement detection information detected by 0-1 to 20-4 is transmitted to the main control unit 23.
To the communication control unit 28 of the partner terminal device 31 via the communication control unit 28 and the communication network 30. The partner terminal device 31 that has received the displacement amount detection information drives each actuator of its own image input device based on the received displacement amount detection information, and changes the attitude and position of the camera. As described above, the direction of the camera of the conference partner installed at another place can be changed by remote control to the direction requested by the user.

Further, the procedure of the movement of the camera 17 of the image input device 13 is detected in advance by each of the encoders 20-1 to 20-4 and stored in the storage unit 26 as displacement amount detection information. A reproduction operation in which the camera 17 of the image input device 13 operates in the same procedure as previously performed based on the displacement detection information stored in the storage unit 26 is also possible. By doing so, it is not necessary to operate the camera 17 of the image input device 13 at the time of an actual conference, so that the conference can proceed smoothly. In this case, if the editing unit 27 can freely edit the speed of movement of the camera 17, the movement of the camera 17 can be adjusted to the actual progress of the conference. The procedure of the movement of the camera 17 is detected in advance by each of the encoders 20-1 to 20-4 and stored in the storage unit 26.
Various methods such as a method of directly operating the image input device 13, a method of operating the operation arm mechanism, and a method of using an automatic tracking function using a light spot can be adopted as the operation method stored in the memory.

Although this embodiment has been described with reference to a case where the present invention is applied to a video conference system, the present invention is not necessarily limited to this. For example, a case in which detailed information such as newspapers is projected by live broadcasting of a television news program or the like. And remote monitoring systems. Further, in this embodiment, an arm mechanism including three arms and four nodes is used as the arm mechanism. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration. Any arm mechanism may be used.

[0032]

As described above, according to the first to fifth aspects of the present invention, various viewing angles can be imaged by freely changing the position and posture of one camera, and therefore, a person can be shot by one camera. The face, the original, the printed matter, and the three-dimensional object can be imaged, and the economy can be improved. According to the third aspect of the invention, zooming of the camera can be further simplified. Further, according to the invention described in claim 4, the movement of the camera can be detected more reliably. According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the movement of the camera can be easily reproduced, and the practicality can be improved when the camera is automatically operated in accordance with the progress of the conference.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a configuration of the image input device according to the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of an image input device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of a main part of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an exemplary view for explaining a target automatic tracking function applied to the embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing automatic target tracking control applied to the embodiment;

FIG. 7 is an exemplary view for explaining a light spot automatic tracking function using a remote control function applied to the embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram showing a conventional example.

[Description of Signs] 11 stand 12 terminal 12-1 control unit 12-2 television monitor 13 image input unit 16 arm mechanism 17 camera 18 support unit

Claims (5)

[Claims] A camera comprising an image sensor and an image forming optical system for forming an image on the image sensor, a plurality of arms, a node connecting the arms, and an actuator rotating the arm connected to the node. An arm mechanism that supports the camera at the tip, a support section that rotatably supports the arm mechanism on a table such as a desk, and the arm mechanism is driven to freely change the attitude and position of the camera. An image input device, comprising: an arm mechanism driving unit for controlling the arm mechanism driving unit so as to automatically track a specific mark in an image captured by the camera. 2. The driving unit control unit controls an arm mechanism driving unit to automatically track a light spot when a light beam is applied to an object to be imaged by a camera as a specific mark. The image input device according to claim 1, wherein 3. A camera comprising an image pickup device and an image forming optical system for forming an image on the image pickup device, a plurality of arms, a node connecting the arms, and an actuator rotating the arm connected to the node. An arm mechanism that supports the camera at the tip, a support section that rotatably supports the arm mechanism on a table such as a desk, and the arm mechanism is driven to freely change the attitude and position of the camera. An arm mechanism drive unit, and a drive unit control unit that controls the arm mechanism drive unit to automatically track a light spot when a light beam is applied to an object to be imaged by the camera as a specific mark, An image input apparatus comprising: a zooming control unit that detects a spatial change or a temporal change of the light spot and controls zooming of the camera. 4. A camera comprising an image pickup device and an image forming optical system for forming an image on the image pickup device, a plurality of arms, a node connecting the arms, and an actuator rotating the arm connected to the node. An arm mechanism that supports the camera at the tip, a support section that rotatably supports the arm mechanism on a table such as a desk, and the arm mechanism is driven to freely change the attitude and position of the camera. An arm mechanism driving unit, a driving unit control unit for controlling the arm mechanism driving unit, and a displacement amount detecting unit for detecting a displacement amount of each of the arms and the camera. An image input device for detecting a movement of the camera based on displacement amount detection information of the camera. 5. A camera comprising an image pickup device and an image forming optical system for forming an image on the image pickup device, a plurality of arms, a node connecting the arms, and an actuator rotating the arm connected to the node. An arm mechanism that supports the camera at the tip, a support section that rotatably supports the arm mechanism on a table such as a desk, and the arm mechanism is driven to freely change the attitude and position of the camera. An arm mechanism driving section, a driving section control section for controlling the arm mechanism driving section, and a storage section for storing a procedure for changing the posture and the position of the camera, wherein the change procedure stored in the storage section is provided. The image input apparatus, wherein the driving unit control means controls the arm mechanism driving unit to reproduce the operation of the camera.