KR101791498B1 - Camera for electric device and viewing angle adjusting method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a camera device for an electronic apparatus and a method of adjusting an image pickup area thereof, which comprises a camera module for photographing an internal space of an electronic device, an image processor for cutting off an unnecessary peripheral portion in black from the image picked up by the camera module, A setting section for changing and setting the angle of view of the camera module so as to correspond to the photographing area using the detected coordinates, and a control section for photographing the internal space again based on the angle of view set by the setting section And a control unit for controlling the driving of the camera module. By adjusting the angle of view so as to correspond to an effective photographing area, unnecessary peripheral areas included in the images photographed by the camera device are removed, Compensating for errors in the work, It is possible to display only the corresponding image on the screen of the portable terminal or the electronic apparatus.

Description

[0001] CAMERA FOR ELECTRIC DEVICE AND VIEWING ANGLE ADJUSTING METHOD THEREOF [0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a camera device for an electronic apparatus and a method of adjusting an image pickup area thereof, and more particularly to a camera device for an electronic device that automatically adjusts an image angle of view to eliminate unnecessary images, And a method of controlling the same.

Recently, due to the development and miniaturization of camera technology, cameras that capture and provide internal images to various electronic devices such as refrigerators and electric ovens as well as mobile devices such as smart phones and tablet PCs are being applied.

For example, the following Patent Document 1 discloses a technique of applying a camera to a microwave oven.

Patent Document 1 discloses a microwave oven comprising a photographing means for photographing a cooking chamber of a microwave oven, a communication means for allowing cooking information including an image photographed by the photographing means to be exchanged with an external device, A control unit for controlling the operation of the microwave oven according to the information, and a storage unit for storing information updated via the communication unit.

1 is an exemplary view of a video image taken by a camera installed in an electric oven.

When a camera is applied to an electronic device such as a microwave oven, an electric oven, a refrigerator, or the like, if an error occurs at an accurate preset angle when the camera is installed, unnecessary Images are included.

Accordingly, conventionally, calibration work is performed when the camera is mounted, and the camera installation angle needs to be precisely adjusted.

Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2002-0036478 (published on May 16, 2002)

However, in the electronic device having the camera according to the related art, there is a problem that the difficulty of the camera mounting work increases and the workability is lowered.

1 (a)). In a computer terminal connected to a camera, an electronic device having a camera according to the related art is used to manually move a region (Fig. 1 (b)), and perform an additional post-correction operation to crop the designated area (Crop) (Fig. 1 (c)).

As a result, an electronic device having a camera according to the related art requires a separate control process and parts for performing a post-correction operation due to an installation angle error of the camera, so that the price of the product is increased, There was a problem.

Therefore, it is required to develop a technique of automatically recognizing an area to be photographed by adding an image processing function to a camera end, and photographing an image of a necessary area without performing a post-correction process.

An object of the present invention is to provide a camera device for an electronic device capable of automatically adjusting an area to be photographed by a camera module and a method of adjusting the photographing area thereof.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a camera device for an electronic apparatus which can compensate an installation angle error of a camera installed in an electronic device, and a method of adjusting the photographing area thereof.

Another object of the present invention is to provide

.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a camera device for an electronic device, including: a camera module that captures an internal space of an electronic device; an image processor that cuts off an unnecessary peripheral portion of the image captured by the camera module into black, A setting unit configured to change and set the angle of view of the camera module so as to correspond to the photographing area using the detected coordinates, a setting unit configured to change the angle of view of the camera module using the detected coordinates, And controlling a driving of the camera module so as to re-photograph the space, wherein an angle of view of the camera module is adjusted so as to correspond to the photographing area so as to compensate an installation angle error when installing the camera module.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of controlling an imaging area of a camera device for an electronic device, the method comprising: (a) photographing a space provided inside the electronic device using a camera module; (C) detecting coordinates of an image capturing area provided in the peripheral area using a coordinate detecting unit, and (d) detecting coordinates of an image capturing area provided in the peripheral area so as to correspond to the capturing area detected by the control unit And changing the angle of view of the camera module so as to re-capture the image.

As described above, according to the camera device for an electronic device and the photographing area adjusting method thereof, the angle of view can be adjusted so as to correspond to an effective photographing area, except for the unnecessary surrounding area included in the image photographed by the camera device Is obtained.

Therefore, according to the present invention, even when an error occurs in the installation work of the camera module, only the final image can be displayed on the screen of the portable terminal or the electronic device by compensating the angle of view so as to exclude the peripheral area including the instrument and the support Is obtained.

According to the present invention, by removing an operation of receiving an image photographed by a camera in an electronic device and correcting it afterwards, a camera device is installed in a general electronic device, unlike an electronic device having an expensive camera, It is possible to display an image of the inside of the cooking chamber in real time by adding only the configuration for receiving and displaying the image taken in the cooking chamber.

Further, according to the present invention, there is obtained an effect that cut-off processing of the peripheral area into black is performed through the calculation of the color limit point in the whole image, or detection of an area excluding the recognition member installed in the cooking chamber as an image pickup area, .

1 is an illustration of an image taken by a camera installed in an electric oven,
2 is a block diagram of a camera device for an electronic device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a process chart for explaining a step of adjusting a photographing area of a camera device for an electronic device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention,
4 is a diagram illustrating an image processed according to a photographing area adjusting method of the camera device for an electronic device shown in FIG. 3,
5 is an exemplary view of an image photographed including a recognition member in a camera device for an electronic device according to another embodiment of the present invention;

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention Hereinafter, a camera device for an electronic device and a photographing area adjusting method thereof according to preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The present invention automatically adjusts the photographing area in a camera such as an electronic oven or a refrigerator, which is applied to an electronic device in which food is housed and cooked or refrigerated or frozen.

Accordingly, in this embodiment, a configuration of a camera applied to an electronic oven, a microwave oven, and an electronic oven (hereinafter, abbreviated as 'an electronic oven') for cooking food stored in the cooking chamber will be described in detail.

Of course, the present invention is not necessarily limited to this, and it should be noted that the present invention may be applied to various electronic appliances such as a refrigerator in which an internal camera is used as well as an electronic oven.

2 is a block diagram of a camera device for an electronic device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 2, the camera device 10 for an electronic device according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a camera module 11 for photographing the inside of the cooking chamber, and an unnecessary peripheral portion in the image photographed by the camera module 11 as black A coordinate detecting section 13 for detecting the coordinates of the photographing area effective in the entire area of the image, and an image processing section 12 for changing the angle of view of the camera module 11 so as to correspond to the photographing area by using the detected coordinates And a control unit 15 for controlling the driving of the camera module 11 so as to retake the interior of the cooking chamber based on the set angle of view.

In addition, the camera device 10 for an electronic device according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a drive program for driving each device to adjust the angle of view using the images taken by the camera module 11, (17) for communicating with the portable terminal (20) and a storage unit (16) for storing the final image (hereinafter referred to as 'final image') and transmitting the final image to the portable terminal .

In addition, the camera device 10 for an electronic device according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention may further include a power supply unit (not shown) for receiving commercial power and supplying power to each device.

For this purpose, the communication module 17 can be connected to the Internet through a wired communication method using a communication cable or a wireless communication method such as Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi) through a router provided indoors.

The portable terminal 20 may be provided with a dedicated application for displaying an image received through the communication module on the screen.

The portable terminal 20 displays a final image of only the photographing area received through the communication module 17 on the screen.

Thus, the user can execute the dedicated application in the portable terminal 20 to check the cooking state of the food in real time through the image of the cooking chamber received by the camera device 10 for the electronic device.

In the present embodiment, the communication module 17 is provided in the camera device 10, but the present invention can also be applied to a communication module (not shown) Quot;) < / RTI >

Then, the portable terminal 20 displays an operation command menu for controlling the operation of the electronic oven and the camera device 10 by executing the dedicated application, and can transmit an operation command inputted through the user's operation.

The camera module 11 is installed at a preset position inside the cooking chamber of the electronic oven and can photograph the cooking state of the food stored in the cooking chamber.

The image photographed by the camera module 11 includes a photographing area effective for checking the cooking state of the food and a surrounding area outside the photographing area.

The peripheral region is an area in which a device such as a device or a support disposed in a peripheral portion of the interior of the cooking chamber is disposed.

The photographing area may be set to exclude a device such as the instrument or support from an image taken inside the cooking chamber, and may be set to a rectangular shape according to a predetermined horizontal and vertical length around a countertop on which the food is placed .

The image processing unit 12 functions to cut off unnecessary peripheral areas in black from the whole image.

To this end, the image processing unit 12 may cut off unnecessary peripheral areas around the photographing area in black through a threshold operation using the color of the image.

The coordinate detecting unit 13 detects coordinates of the photographing region in the image in which the peripheral region is cut off.

To this end, the coordinate detecting unit 13 detects coordinate values corresponding to the inner areas of the peripheral area, that is, the vertexes of the photographing area.

The setting unit 14 changes the angle of view of the camera module 11 so as to correspond to the photographing area by using the coordinate values of the detected vertexes.

The control unit 15 controls the driving of the camera module 11 so as to retake the inside of the cooking chamber according to the angle of view set to correspond to the shooting region in the setting unit 14. [

Here, the control unit 15 can control the angle of view of the camera module 11 in a digital zooming manner.

Although the present invention can adjust the angle of view of the camera module with an optical zooming method for changing the lens arrangement of the camera module, it is also possible to provide a camera module with an optical zoom function, Adjust the angle of view of the camera module using the digital zoom method so that it can be applied.

The control unit 15 is provided as a controller for controlling the driving of each device provided in the camera apparatus 10 and is connected to the main control unit (not shown) provided in the electronic equipment through the communication module 17 .

As described above, the present invention adjusts the angle of view according to the photographing area required by the camera device itself, and provides an image photographed with the adjusted angle of view.

Therefore, the present invention can eliminate an operation of receiving an image photographed by a camera in an electronic device and then correcting the image.

Accordingly, unlike the electronic apparatuses equipped with the recently released high-priced cameras, the present invention provides a configuration in which a camera apparatus is installed in a general electronic apparatus and only a configuration for receiving and displaying an image captured by the camera apparatus is added, Can be displayed in real time.

At the same time, the control unit 15 corrects the re-photographed image according to the set angle of view, compresses the raw data to the storage unit 16, and outputs the corrected image to a display unit Or display it on the screen of the portable terminal 20 or transmit it to the portable terminal 20 for display.

Next, referring to FIG. 3, a method of adjusting a photographing area of a camera device for an electronic device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

FIG. 3 is a process diagram for explaining steps of adjusting an image capturing area of a camera device for an electronic device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an image capturing process Fig.

When the power switch (not shown) provided in the electronic oven is turned on in step S10 of FIG. 3, the power supply unit receives the commercial power and supplies power to the devices provided in the camera apparatus 10, And controls the driving of the camera module 11 to photograph the inside of the cooking chamber by executing the driving program stored in the storage unit 16. [

In step S12, the camera module 11 photographs the interior of the cooking chamber, and the photographed image is transmitted to the image processing unit 12. [

4 (a), in step S14, the image processing unit 12 performs a threshold operation using the color of the image in the entire image received from the camera module 11, Only unnecessary peripheral areas are cut off in black.

In step S16, as shown in Fig. 4B, the coordinate detecting unit 13 detects the coordinates of the inner area of the cut-off-processed peripheral area, that is, the coordinates of each vertex of the photographing area.

In step S18, the setting unit 14 changes the angle of view of the camera module 11 so as to correspond to the photographing area by using the coordinate values of the detected vertexes.

Then, the control unit 15 controls the driving of the camera module 11 to re-photograph the inside of the cooking chamber according to the angle of view set to correspond to the shooting region in the setting unit 14 using the digital zoom system (S20).

In step S22, the control unit 15 generates a final image by correcting the re-photographed image in the camera module 11, compresses the data of the photographed whole image, and stores the compressed data in the storage unit 16 (S22).

In step S24, the control unit 15 controls the communication module 17 to transmit the final image to the main control unit of the electronic oven or to transmit it to the portable terminal 20 so as to display the final image on the screen.

Through the above process, the present invention can adjust the angle of view so as to correspond to an effective photographing area, except the unnecessary peripheral area included in the image photographed by the camera device.

Accordingly, even if an error occurs in the installation work of the camera module, only the final image excluding the apparatuses and supports included in the peripheral area can be displayed on the screen of the portable terminal or the electronic device.

In the above embodiment, the image detecting unit cuts off the peripheral area into black, and the coordinate detecting unit detects the coordinates of each vertex of the photographing area to change the angle of view. However, the present invention is not limited thereto .

For example, FIG. 5 is an exemplary view of an image photographed including a recognition member in a camera device for an electronic device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in Fig. 5, the camera device 10 for an electronic device according to another embodiment of the present invention is provided with a plurality of recognition members 30 in advance in the peripheral region B inside the cooking chamber, It may be changed to detect the coordinates of the photographing area A except for each recognition member 30. [

Here, the recognition members 30 may be formed in a plurality of stripe shapes or lattice shapes arranged in parallel in the horizontal or vertical direction.

Alternatively, the recognition member 30 may be formed in a plurality of lines or block shapes displayed in various colors.

Therefore, the present invention can detect only the effective photographing area except the recognition member installed in the cooking chamber.

Although the invention made by the present inventors has been described concretely with the above embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and it goes without saying that various changes can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

Although the present invention has been described using an electronic oven for cooking food, the present invention is not limited thereto. The present invention can be applied not only to an electronic oven, but also to a refrigerator that houses refrigerated foods or refrigerated foods, The present invention can be applied to electronic apparatuses of various forms and uses to photograph and display the space, and to compensate for an installation angle error of the camera.

The present invention is applied to a camera device for an electronic apparatus that adjusts the angle of view so as to correspond to an effective photographing area except an unnecessary peripheral area, even if an installation angle error of a camera module for photographing an internal space provided in an electronic device occurs.

10: Camera device for electronic equipment
11: Camera module
12:
13:
14: Setting section
15:
16:
17: Communication module
20:
30: absence of recognition

Claims (10)

A camera module for photographing an internal space of the electronic device,
An image processing unit for performing a cut-off process on an unnecessary peripheral area of the image photographed by the camera module into black,
A coordinate detector for detecting the coordinates of the photographing area in the image in which the peripheral area is cut off,
A setting unit for changing and setting an angle of view of the camera module so as to correspond to the photographing area using the detected coordinates;
And a control unit for controlling driving of the camera module to re-photograph the internal space based on an angle of view set by the setting unit,
Wherein an angle of view of the camera module is adjusted so as to correspond to the photographing area so as to compensate an installation angle error when installing the camera module. The method according to claim 1,
A driving program for adjusting the angle of view using the image captured by the camera module, a storage unit for storing the captured image,
Further comprising a communication module for communicating with the portable terminal and transmitting an image photographed by the adjusted angle of view to the portable terminal. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the image processing unit cuts off only the peripheral area into black through a threshold value calculation using an image color,
Wherein the coordinate detecting unit detects a coordinate value corresponding to each vertex of the photographing region provided in the peripheral region. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the image processing unit excludes an area including a recognition member previously installed in the internal space so as to correspond to the peripheral area in the photographed image,
Wherein the coordinate detecting unit detects the coordinates of the photographing area excluding the area including the recognizing member. 5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
Wherein the control unit controls the driving of the camera module so as to re-photograph the inside of the cooking chamber according to an angle of view set to correspond to the photographing area by the setting unit in a digital zooming manner. (a) photographing a space provided inside the electronic device using a camera module,
(b) excluding an unnecessary peripheral region from the photographed image using the image processing section,
(c) detecting a coordinate of an imaging region provided in the peripheral region using a coordinate detection section; and
(d) changing the angle of view of the camera module so as to correspond to the photographing area detected by the controller, and controlling the camera module to re-photograph the photographing area. The method according to claim 6,
(e) correcting the resampled image in the camera module, compressing the data of the entire image, and storing the compressed data in the storage unit, and
(f) transmitting the resampled image to the portable terminal through the communication module, and displaying an image on the screen of the portable terminal. The method according to claim 6,
In the step (b), the image processor cuts only the peripheral area into black by performing a threshold value calculation using an image color,
Wherein in the step (c), the coordinate detecting unit detects a coordinate value corresponding to each vertex of the photographing region provided in the peripheral region. The method according to claim 6,
In the step (b), the image processing unit may exclude a region including a recognition member previously installed in the internal space so as to correspond to the peripheral region in the photographed image,
Wherein the coordinate detecting unit detects the coordinates of the photographing area provided in the excluded region in the step (c). 10. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 9,
Wherein the control unit controls the driving of the camera module to re-photograph the interior of the cooking chamber according to an angle of view set to correspond to the shooting area in the setting unit in a digital zoom mode in the step (d) Way.

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