JPS6059873A - Video camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve general-purpose applicability by moving the optical axis of a lens system in parallel, and obtaining a shift effect in an industrial video camera to attain the supervision of an object in an oblique direction. CONSTITUTION:The center of the lens system 3 is placed on a line tying the center of the object 2 and an image pickup element 4 in a camera 1A. In other words, the optical axis 6 of the lens system 3 is moved in parallel toward the object 2 by a distance L to a broken line orthogonal to the plane of the image pickup element 4 and the line is extended from the center of element 4. Thus, the shift effect is obtained in the camera 1A and the image of the range of the object with an apparently wide picture angle is picked up.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Subject of the Invention] The present invention relates to an industrial video camera used for visual purposes of robots and other industrial equipment, and particularly to an omnidirectional industrial video camera that improves its versatility. It is.

[Background of the invention]

First, a conventional industrial video camera (hereinafter simply referred to as a camera) will be explained.

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing a conventional camera.

In FIG. 1, 1 is a camera body, and 2 is a subject. In the camera 1, 3 is a lens system, 4 is an image sensor,
Reference numeral 5 indicates a circuit section such as a video amplification circuit and a signal synchronization circuit attached to the image pickup device 4, and 6 indicates an optical axis of the lens system 30. Although this lens system 3 is actually composed of a plurality of lenses, it is shown here in a simplified manner.

FIG. 2 shows the optical system of FIG. 1, and 7 is an image formed on the imaging probe 4 (see FIG. 1).

As shown in these figures, the conventional camera 1 is configured such that the center of the imaging probe 4 coincides with the optical axis 6 of the lens system 3. Therefore, due to this relationship, the subject 2 must necessarily be located on an extension of the optical axis 6. In other words, the conventional camera 1 must be installed at a position where the subject 2 can be captured on the optical axis 6.
There were restrictions.

Figure 3 shows the 1. This figure shows an example of the conventional camera 1 shown in Fig. 2 attached, and here it is a vertically articulated robot with visual functions. This is an indication.

In FIG. 6, 8 is the robot body), 9 is a support stand for the robot 8, and 1o is an arm attached to the support stand 9.
b. The 37th module IQc is sequentially connected. 11 is a manipulator attached diagonally to the arm 10 by an auxiliary arm 12.

As mentioned above, the conventional camera 1 has a restriction that it must be installed in a position where the subject can be captured on the original axis.
Generally placed on a plane parallel to the floor.
Therefore, due to these constraints, in a general robot, the camera 1 must be attached to the tip of the arm 10 to which the manipulator 11 is originally attached. was able to be captured on the optical axis.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 3, the conventional camera 1 has an arm 1
Since the manipulator 11 is installed at the tip of the auxiliary arm 12, the manipulator 11 must be attached to the side of the auxiliary arm 1o.
For these reasons, the configuration of the robot main body 8 is unique and different from that of general robots, causing the structure and control system to become complicated.

As mentioned above, the conventional camera 1 has various limitations, which complicates the structure and control of the equipment that uses it, and its fraying has become a major cause of hindering its widespread use.

[Purpose of the invention]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art and to provide a video camera that is more versatile than Vc by eliminating all optical constraints.

[Summary of the invention]

The configuration of the robot according to the present invention is such that the optical axis of the lens system is moved in parallel in a video camera composed of a lens system, an image sensor, an image amplification circuit of the image sensor, and a signal synchronization circuit. By adjusting the lens system to obtain a shift effect, it is possible to monitor the subject from an oblique direction.In some cases, the optical axis of the lens system is
It is configured to be moved in parallel by a step motor.

[Embodiments of the invention]

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained by examples.

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view showing the camera according to the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the optical system of FIG. 4.

In these figures, the same parts are denoted by the same numbers as in FIGS. 1 and 2.

In the figure, in the camera 1A of the present invention, the center of the lens system 6 is placed on a line connecting the centers of the subject 2 and the image sensor 4. In other words, the optical axis 6 of the lens system 3
is in a state where it has moved in parallel toward the subject 2 by a distance with respect to a broken line extending perpendicularly from the center of the image sensor 4 (that is, the optical axis 6 in the conventional example shown in FIGS. 1 and 2).

By doing this, the camera 1A of the present invention can obtain a complicated shift effect, and can capture a subject range with an apparently wider angle of view than that normally determined by the image sensor 4 (/C). Also, at this time, it is possible to obtain a smaller image by reducing the change in imaging magnification.Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the camera 1 of the present invention
A: The object 2 can be monitored from all angles, the limitations of the conventional example described above can be eliminated, and versatility can be improved.

6 and 7 show a second embodiment of the present invention, and the same parts as in FIG. 4 are denoted by the same numbers.

In this embodiment, the parallel movement of the lens system 3 in the first embodiment of the present invention described above is performed by a step motor. In FIG. 6, 13 is a step motor, 15 is a binion gear rotated by the step motor 6 via a reduction gear 14, and 16 is a rack that meshes with the binion gear 15, one of which is fixed to the lens system 3. According to the configuration of this embodiment, the step motor 3 calculates the amount of movement Lf of the lens system 6 using the following Q equation (1), and calculates the amount of movement Lf of the lens system 6 using the following Q equation (1), and calculates the angle O obtained from the equation (2) by θ=: -, Z (21 πD). By rotating, the lens system 5 can be translated in parallel to the position in the first embodiment of the invention described above.

There are other ways to use the motor in this way, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, instead of the rack and pinion mechanism in FIG. 6, there is a ball screw 17? If we use the formula (1
) is divided by the amount of movement of the ball screw 17 per revolution of the step motor 1'5, and by rotating the step motor 13 by that value, the same effect as shown in Fig. 6 can be obtained. Obtainable.

In the embodiments described above, the image sensor 4 is a MOS
, CCD, CPD, etc., but an image pickup tube may also be used.

Next, an application example of the camera of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 8 to 11.
This will be explained with the help of a diagram.

FIG. 8 shows an example in which the camera 1Af of the present invention is applied to a vertically articulated robot 8, similar to the conventional example shown in FIG.

In FIG. 8, the same parts as those in FIG. 3 are denoted by the same numbers.

As mentioned above, since the camera 1A of the present invention can monitor the subject from an angle, there is no restriction on the mounting position as shown in the conventional example, and the camera 1A is mounted on the side of the arm 10 using the stand 18. By doing so, the manipulator 11 can be attached to the tip of the arm 10, which is the original attachment position, and the manipulator 11 can be mounted above the workpiece while being monitored by the camera 1A from all directions. You can work from

Similar to FIG. 8, FIG. 9 shows an example in which the camera 1A of the present invention is applied to a horizontally articulated robot 8.

In this application example, as in the case of FIG. 8, the camera 1A is attached to the side surface of the tip of the arm 10h, and the manipulator 11 is attached to the center of the tip of the arm IQb. Therefore, the manipulator 11, like a normal horizontal articulated robot,
Work is performed on the workpiece from above, and the camera 1A monitors the work from an oblique direction.

Figures 10 and 11 show all application examples when the camera and robot body are installed completely separate. Figure 10 is a perspective view showing the arrangement of both, and Figure 11 is the
This is a diagram viewed from above.

In this application example, the camera 1A of the present invention is installed outside the operating area 20 of the robot 8 using a stand 19. This is because, as mentioned above, the camera 1A of the present invention can monitor the subject from an oblique direction.
As shown in this application example, the camera 1,4Fi of the present invention,
From outside the operating area 20 of the robot 8, objects such as workpieces placed inside can be monitored.

As described above, according to the camera of the present invention, since it is possible to monitor a subject from an angle, the degree of freedom regarding attachment can be expanded and versatility can be improved. Moreover, since the camera of the present invention can be attached to commonly used robots, etc. without changing the basic configuration, it can greatly contribute to the spread of visual functions.

Furthermore, although the above embodiments are applied to vertically articulated robots and horizontally articulated robots, the present invention is not limited to these, but can also be applied to robots with other rectangular coordinates, one cylindrical coordinate, and polar coordinates. It can be applied to other devices other than robots that require full vision.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, the versatility of video cameras can be completely improved, and it can greatly contribute to the popularization of visual functions of industrial equipment such as robots and the like.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1 is a side sectional view showing a conventional video camera, Figure 2 is an explanatory diagram of the optical system in Figure 1, Figure 3 is a diagram showing an example of application of the conventional video camera, and Figure 4. 1 is a side sectional view showing a video camera according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
6 and 7 are side sectional views of a video camera according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 8 to 11 are application examples of the video camera of the present invention. FIG. 1 (1, 4)...Video camera 2...Subject 3.
...Lens system 4...Image sensor 6...Optical axis 8...Robot body 10...Arm 11...Manipulator housing] Figure 2, M3, Figure 10, and Bud 4 closed @ 5 Seki No. 6 Figure 5 Figure 7 Figure 8 Figure 10 97 Figure 10 Figure 11

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a video camera configured of at least a lens system, an imaging probe, and a video signal processing circuit of the imaging device, the optical axis of the lens system is moved in parallel to obtain a shift effect. A video camera characterized by being able to monitor a subject from all directions. 2. The video camera according to claim 1, wherein the original axis of the lens system is moved in parallel by a step motor.