KR102390406B1 - Method and apparatus for power management of multi-sensor camera - Google Patents

Abstract

A power management method of a multi-sensor camera having a plurality of sensors according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: obtaining an operation control signal including a control signal of at least one sensor; calculating an expected power consumption expected to be consumed when the at least one sensor operates according to the operation control signal; and when the expected power consumption exceeds the available power of the multi-sensor camera during operation according to the operation control signal, the power consumption when the multi-sensor camera operates according to the operation control signal does not exceed the available power It may include; calculating each of the driving time period of the at least one sensor and the driving power in each of the driving time periods.

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR POWER MANAGEMENT OF MULTI-SENSOR CAMERA

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a power management method and apparatus for a multi-sensor camera.

Today, due to the development of information and communication technology, surveillance cameras are being installed everywhere, and the configuration and form of the installed surveillance cameras are diversifying day by day.

In particular, a surveillance camera equipped with several sensors is being developed so that one surveillance camera can act as a plurality of surveillance cameras, and accordingly, the need for a new power management method of the surveillance camera is emerging.

An object of the present invention is to provide a multi-sensor camera capable of acquiring an image in all directions and a power management method of the multi-sensor camera.

In particular, an object of the present invention is to provide a power management method and apparatus for a multi-sensor camera that processes by dividing time or properly distributing power when the operation control signal of a surveillance camera includes control signals of a plurality of sensors.

In addition, in the present invention, in the multi-sensor camera, the power of the multi-sensor camera can generate an effect similar to that of simultaneous operation of a plurality of sensors by dividing the operation time period of each sensor, but alternately arranging the time periods repeatedly It is intended to provide a management method and apparatus.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a power management method and apparatus for a multi-sensor camera capable of simultaneously operating a plurality of sensors while satisfying driving power conditions.

A power management method of a multi-sensor camera having a plurality of sensors according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: obtaining an operation control signal including a control signal of at least one sensor; calculating an expected power consumption expected to be consumed when the at least one sensor operates according to the operation control signal; and when the expected power consumption exceeds the available power of the multi-sensor camera during operation according to the operation control signal, the power consumption when the multi-sensor camera operates according to the operation control signal does not exceed the available power It may include; calculating each of the driving time period of the at least one sensor and the driving power in each of the driving time periods.

The operation control signal includes a control signal for each of the first sensor and the second sensor, and the calculating of the driving time period and driving power of each of the at least one sensor includes the first sensor and the second sensor, respectively. determining one or more driving time periods of each of the first sensor and the second sensor so that the one or more driving time periods do not overlap each other; dividing the operation of the first sensor according to the operation control signal into at least one or more first division operations, and matching the divided one or more first division operations with at least one driving time period of the first sensor; dividing the operation of the second sensor according to the operation control signal into at least one or more second division operations, and matching the divided one or more second division operations with one or more driving time periods of the second sensor; and determining the driving power of the first sensor in at least one driving time period of the first sensor to be equal to or less than the available power, and determining the driving power of the second sensor in at least one driving time period of the second sensor as the Determining the available power or less; may include.

Each of the driving time periods of the first sensor and the second sensor is plural, and the step of determining one or more driving time periods of each of the first sensor and the second sensor includes the driving time period of the plurality of first sensors and the plurality of driving time periods. It may be determined that the driving time periods of the second sensor are repeatedly arranged alternately with each other.

In the power management method of the multi-sensor camera, after calculating the driving time period and driving power of each of the at least one sensor, the calculated driving time period of each of the at least one sensor and each driving time period The method may further include controlling an operation of the at least one sensor based on driving power.

The operation control signal includes a control signal for each of a first sensor and a second sensor, and the calculating of a driving time period and driving power of each of the at least one sensor includes the first operation according to the operation control signal. calculating a first time period in which a sensor and the second sensor operate simultaneously; and the first time pitch such that the sum of the driving power of the first sensor in the first time period and the driving power of the second sensor in the first time period does not exceed the available power in the first time period. determining the driving power of the first sensor in the liver and the driving power of the second sensor in the first time period.

The determining of the driving power of the first sensor in the first time period and the driving power of the second sensor in the first time period may determine the driving power of each sensor equally.

The step of determining the driving power of the first sensor in the first time period and the driving power of the second sensor in the first time period is the minimum supply power required for each sensor to operate according to the control signal. can be decided to be proportional.

Calculating the driving time period and driving power of each of the at least one sensor may include calculating a second time period in which only one of the first sensor and the second sensor operates according to the operation control signal. step; and determining the driving power of any one of the first sensor and the second sensor to be less than or equal to the available power in the second time period.

In the power management method of the multi-sensor camera, after calculating the driving time period and driving power of each of the at least one sensor, the driving power of the first sensor in the determined first time period in the first time period and Control the operation of each sensor based on the driving power of the second sensor, and in the second time period, each of the sensors based on the driving power of at least one of the first sensor and the second sensor in the second time period It may further include; controlling the operation of the sensor.

A power management apparatus for a multi-sensor camera having a plurality of sensors according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a control unit, wherein the control unit obtains an operation control signal including a control signal of at least one sensor and calculating an expected power consumption expected to be consumed when the at least one sensor operates according to the operation control signal, and the estimated power consumption exceeds the available power of the multi-sensor camera when operating according to the operation control signal In this case, the multi-sensor camera calculates the driving power in each driving time period and each driving time period of the at least one sensor so that power consumption when the multi-sensor camera operates according to the operation control signal does not exceed the available power. can do.

The operation control signal includes control signals for each of the first sensor and the second sensor, and the control unit includes the first sensor and the second sensor so that one or more driving time periods of the first sensor and the second sensor do not overlap each other. determining at least one driving time period of each of the second sensors, dividing the operation of the first sensor according to the operation control signal into at least one or more first division operations, the divided one or more first division operations and the Corresponding to one or more driving time periods of the first sensor, dividing the operation of the second sensor according to the operation control signal into at least one or more second division operations, the divided one or more second division operations and the second division operation Corresponding to one or more driving time periods of the sensor, determining the driving power of the first sensor in one or more driving time periods of the first sensor to be less than or equal to the available power, and in one or more driving time periods of the second sensor may determine the driving power of the second sensor to be equal to or less than the available power.

The driving time period of each of the first sensor and the second sensor may be plural, and the controller may determine that the driving time period of the plurality of first sensors and the driving time period of the plurality of second sensors are alternately arranged and repeatedly arranged.

The controller may control the operation of the at least one sensor based on the calculated driving time period of each of the at least one sensor and driving power in each of the driving time periods.

The operation control signal includes control signals for each of the first sensor and the second sensor, and the control unit detects a first time period during which the first sensor and the second sensor simultaneously operate when operating according to the operation control signal. calculated, so that the sum of the driving power of the first sensor in the first time period and the driving power of the second sensor in the first time period does not exceed the available power in the first time period. The driving power of the first sensor in one time period and the driving power of the second sensor in the first time period may be determined.

The controller may equally determine the driving power of each sensor. In addition, the control unit may determine to be proportional to the minimum supply power required for each sensor to operate according to the control signal.

The control unit calculates a second time period in which only one of the first sensor and the second sensor operates during operation according to the operation control signal, and in the second time period, the first sensor or the second The driving power of any one of the sensors may be determined to be less than or equal to the available power.

The control unit controls the operation of each sensor based on the driving power of the first sensor and the driving power of the second sensor in the first time period determined in the first time period, and the determined in the second time period An operation of each sensor may be controlled based on the driving power of at least one of the first sensor and the second sensor in the second time period.

Other aspects, features and advantages other than those described above will become apparent from the following drawings, claims, and detailed description of the invention.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, when the operation control signal of the surveillance camera includes the control signals of a plurality of sensors, it is possible to prevent damage such as hardware damage by processing it by dividing it time or by properly distributing power. In addition, it is possible to implement a power management method and apparatus for a multi-sensor camera that can maintain high marketability.

In addition, in the multi-sensor camera, an effect similar to the simultaneous operation of a plurality of sensors can be generated by dividing the operation time period of each sensor, but the time periods are alternately arranged repeatedly, and the condition of driving power can also be satisfied. A multi-sensor camera power management method and device can be implemented.

1 schematically shows a multi-sensor camera system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2A and 2B are examples of a multi-sensor camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating expected power consumption of each sensor according to a predetermined operation control signal.
4 is a view for explaining a driving time period of a first sensor and a driving time period of a second sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a view for explaining the determined driving power in each driving time period of the first sensor and the second sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a diagram for explaining driving power when sensors divide and use power in the same time period according to an embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a flowchart illustrating a method of determining a noise level of an image performed by an image acquisition apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Since the present invention can apply various transformations and can have various embodiments, specific embodiments are illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the detailed description. Effects and features of the present invention, and a method for achieving them will become apparent with reference to the embodiments described below in detail in conjunction with the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below and may be implemented in various forms.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, and when described with reference to the drawings, the same or corresponding components are given the same reference numerals, and the overlapping description thereof will be omitted. .

In the following embodiments, terms such as first, second, etc. are used for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another, not in a limiting sense. In the following examples, the singular expression includes the plural expression unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In the following embodiments, terms such as include or have means that the features or components described in the specification are present, and the possibility that one or more other features or components will be added is not excluded in advance. In the drawings, the size of the components may be exaggerated or reduced for convenience of description. For example, since the size and shape of each component shown in the drawings are arbitrarily indicated for convenience of description, the present invention is not necessarily limited to the illustrated bar.

1 schematically shows a multi-sensor camera system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1 , a multi-sensor camera system according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a multi-sensor camera 100 , an external device 200 , a user terminal 300 , and a network 400 .

The multi-sensor camera 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention may be a camera that includes a plurality of image sensors to acquire images in various directions. For example, the multi-sensor camera 100 may be a camera including a plurality of image sensors 121 to 124 as shown.

Looking at such a multi-sensor camera 100 in more detail, the multi-sensor camera 100 includes the image sensors 121 to 124 arranged at intervals of 90 degrees as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, in all directions. You can also acquire an image for However, this is an example, and the spirit of the present invention is not limited thereto.

The multi-sensor camera 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention may include, in addition to the image sensors 121 to 124 , the power management device 110 for controlling the above-described image sensors 121 to 124 . The power management device 110 may control and manage the image sensors 121 to 124 based on the operation control signal obtained from the external device 200 or the user terminal 300 .

In particular, when the power management device 110 controls the image sensors 121 to 124 according to the operation control signal, each image sensor ( 121 to 124), or the amount of power supplied at each time point may be adjusted. To this end, the power management apparatus 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a controller 111 and a memory 112 .

In the operation of the image sensors 121 to 124 according to the obtained operation control signal, the controller 111 may control the consumption of power to be within an available power range. In this case, the control unit 111 may include all kinds of devices capable of processing data, such as a processor. Here, the 'processor' may refer to a data processing device embedded in hardware having a physically structured circuit to perform a function expressed as, for example, a code or a command included in a program. As an example of the data processing device embedded in the hardware as described above, a microprocessor, a central processing unit (CPU), a processor core, a multiprocessor, an application-specific integrated (ASIC) Circuit) and a processing device such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA) may be included, but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto.

Meanwhile, the control unit 111 may be configured as a single processor, or may be configured as a plurality of processors divided into units of functions performed by the control unit. For example, the control unit 111 may include one processor and/or a calculation unit, obtain an operation control signal, calculate expected power consumption, and calculate a driving time period and driving power of each sensor. Also, unlike this, the control unit 111 may include a signal obtaining unit for obtaining an operation control signal, a power calculating unit for calculating expected power consumption, and a calculating unit for calculating the driving time period and driving power of each sensor. However, this is an example, and the spirit of the present invention is not limited thereto.

The memory 112 performs a function of temporarily or permanently storing data processed by the controller 111 , instructions, programs, program codes, or a combination thereof. The memory 112 may include a magnetic storage medium or a flash storage medium, but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. The memory 112 may temporarily or permanently store images acquired by the respective image sensors 121 to 124 of the multi-sensor camera 100 in addition to data and commands processed by the controller 111 .

Although not shown in the drawings, the power management device 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention may further include a communication unit (not shown) for transmitting and receiving data with the external device 200 and/or the user terminal 300 . there is. In this case, the communication unit (not shown) may be a device including hardware and software necessary for transmitting and receiving signals such as control signals or data signals through wired/wireless connection with other network devices, but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto.

Meanwhile, each of the image sensors 121 to 124 includes an optical unit (not shown) for acquiring an image, a sensor controller (not shown) for processing the acquired image, a driving unit for pan/tilt/zoom, and a temperature rise of the sensor. It may further include a heater, a light source unit for irradiating light to the object to be photographed. In this case, the optical unit (not shown) may include a lens and an image sensor for converting light into an electrical signal. The lens may be a lens group including one or more lenses. The image sensor may convert an image input by the lens into an electrical signal. For example, the image sensor may be a semiconductor device capable of converting an optical signal into an electrical signal (described as an image in the present invention), such as a charge-coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS).

The sensor controller (not shown) may control the sensor according to the control of the power management device 110 described above. At this time, since the control unit may include all types of devices capable of processing data, such as a processor, similar to the control unit 111 of the power management device 110 described above, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The external device 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention may be a variety of devices that receive an image acquired by the multi-sensor camera 100 from the multi-sensor camera 100 . For example, the external device 200 may be any one of a Video Management System (VMS), a Central Management System (CMS), a Network Video Recorder (NVR), and a Digital Video Recorder (DVR). However, this is an example, and the spirit of the present invention is not limited thereto, and if it is a device capable of receiving and storing or displaying an image obtained by the multi-sensor camera 100 through a network, the external device 200 of the present invention is used. It can be used without limitation.

The user terminal 300 according to an embodiment of the present invention may be a fixed terminal implemented as a computer device or a mobile terminal. Examples of the user terminal 300 include a smart phone, a mobile phone, a navigation system, a computer, a notebook computer, a digital broadcasting terminal, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable multimedia player (PMP), a tablet PC, and the like.

Hereinafter, a method in which the controller 111 of the power management apparatus 110 controls power supplied to each of the image sensors 121 to 124 will be mainly described.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating expected power consumption of each sensor according to a predetermined operation control signal.

Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, in FIGS. 3 to 6 , two image sensors are included in the multi-sensor camera 100, and consumption of each sensor is expected in a specific time period (Ts to Tf) according to a predetermined operation control signal. It is assumed that the powers Ps1 and Ps2 are as shown, and the available power Pa is also as shown.

Under the above-mentioned assumption, when the controller 111 simultaneously operates two sensors according to the operation control signal, the power consumption of the multi-sensor camera 100 at all time points within the time period (Ts to Tf) is the available power (Pa) will exceed In this case, the multi-sensor camera 100 may not only be unable to perform an operation according to the operation control signal, but may even cause damage to hardware, resulting in greater damage.

As a method of solving this problem, a method of using a power supply having a larger capacity, etc. may be considered, but this not only sharply increases the manufacturing cost, but also increases the volume of the multi-sensor camera 100 to increase the commercial quality. There is a problem with dropping.

According to the present invention, when the operation control signal includes the control signals of a plurality of sensors, it is possible to prevent damage such as hardware damage by dividing the time as in the method to be described later or by appropriately distributing and processing power. Rather, it is possible to maintain high marketability.

To this end, the controller 111 according to an embodiment of the present invention may calculate an estimated power consumption that is expected to be consumed when the image sensors operate according to the operation control signal. In this case, the operation control signal is obtained by the control unit 111 from the external device 200 and/or the user terminal 300 through the network 400 or generated by an internal management schedule of the power management device 110 . It could be a signal. In addition, the operation control signal may include a control signal for at least one of a zoom operation, a focus operation, a heater on/off operation, a pan-tilt zoom operation, a WDR on/off operation, and a light source on/off operation of each sensor. there is.

For example, when the operation control signal includes a control signal for zoom operation of the first sensor and a control signal for focusing of the second sensor, the controller 111 predicts consumption expected to be consumed by each sensor during the corresponding operation. power can be calculated. For example, as shown in FIG. 3 , the control unit 111 may generate the expected power consumption Ps1 of the first sensor over time and the consumption of the second sensor over time within a specific time period Ts to Tf, as shown in FIG. 3 . The predicted power consumption may be calculated in the form of the predicted power Ps2, and the total estimated power consumption may be calculated based on the calculated power consumption.

Next, the controller 111 according to an embodiment of the present invention may compare the calculated total expected power consumption with the available power Pa in the corresponding time period Ts to Tf. In this case, when the calculated total estimated power consumption does not exceed the available power, the controller 111 may control each image sensor to perform an operation according to the operation control signal immediately (ie, without special control).

On the other hand, when the total estimated power consumption calculated as a result of the comparison exceeds the available power in the corresponding time period (Ts to Tf), the control unit 111 determines that the multi-sensor camera 100 operates according to the operation control signal. The driving power in each driving time period and each driving time period of each sensor may be calculated so as not to exceed the available power. Hereinafter, two driving time periods and a method of calculating driving power will be described.

< Actuation of sensors time period each other alternately How to make it array iteratively >

The control unit 111 according to an embodiment of the present invention causes the driving time period of the first sensor and the driving time period of the second sensor to be repeatedly arranged alternately with each other, so that the power consumption in each time period is equal to the available power (Pa). You can make sure not to exceed it.

4 is a view for explaining a driving time period of a first sensor and a driving time period of a second sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As described above, the control unit 111 according to an embodiment of the present invention controls each one of the first sensor and the second sensor so that the power consumption in each time period does not exceed the available power (Pa in FIG. 3 ). The time sections may be determined so that the above driving time sections do not overlap each other.

For example, as shown in FIG. 4 , the control unit 111 performs the first sensor driving time periods Ts to t1, t2 to t3, t4 to t5, t6 to t7, t8 to t9, t10 to t11, and t12 to t13 and The time sections may be determined so that the driving time sections t1 to t2, t3 to t4, t5 to t6, t7 to t8, t9 to t10, t11 to t12, and t13 to t14 of the second sensor do not overlap each other. On the other hand, the arrangement of the time period as shown in FIG. 4 is exemplary and the spirit of the present invention is not limited thereto.

Then, the control unit 111 according to an embodiment of the present invention divides the operation of the first sensor according to the control signal for the first sensor into at least one or more divided operations, and divides the divided one or more divided operations and the first sensor. One or more driving time periods Ts to t1, t2 to t3, t4 to t5, t6 to t7, t8 to t9, t10 to t11, and t12 to t13 may correspond to each other.

In addition, in the same way, the control unit 111 divides the operation of the second sensor according to the control signal for the second sensor into at least one or more divisional operations, and divides the divided one or more divisional operations and one or more driving phrases of the second sensor. Intervals (t1 to t2, t3 to t4, t5 to t6, t7 to t8, t9 to t10, t11 to t12, and t13 to t14) may be mapped.

In this case, the control unit 111 may divide any one operation into a division operation based on time. For example, if any one operation is a 10-second operation, the controller 111 may divide the corresponding operation into 10 divided operations of 1-second length. In addition, the control unit 111 may divide one operation into a unit of power consumption or a unit of a divided step. However, this is an example, and the spirit of the present invention is not limited thereto.

Next, the controller 111 according to an embodiment of the present invention controls one or more driving time periods (Ts to t1, t2 to t3, t4 to t5, t6 to t7, t8 to t9, t10 to t11, and t12 to the first sensor). The driving power of the first sensor at t13) may be determined to be equal to or less than the available power Pa. Similarly, the driving power of the second sensor in one or more driving time periods (t1 to t2, t3 to t4, t5 to t6, t7 to t8, t9 to t10, t11 to t12, and t13 to t14) of the second sensor is available Power (Pa) or less can be determined.

As described above, the control unit 111 according to an embodiment of the present invention divides the operation time sections of each sensor, but by alternately arranging the time sections repeatedly, an effect similar to that of simultaneously operating a plurality of sensors can be generated. In addition, the condition of driving power can be satisfied.

5 is a view for explaining the determined driving power Pu1 in each driving time period of the first sensor and the second sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Two image sensors are included in the multi-sensor camera 100, and the expected power consumption of each sensor in a specific time period (Ts to Tf (not shown)) according to a predetermined operation control signal is as shown in FIG. , it is assumed that the available power Pa is also as shown in FIG. 3 .

Under the above-mentioned assumption, the controller 111 according to an embodiment of the present invention supplies power to each sensor as shown in FIG. 5 to perform an operation according to the operation control signal within the range of available power Pa. can

In other words, the controller 111 according to an embodiment of the present invention may control the operation of at least one sensor based on the calculated driving time period of each of the at least one sensor and the driving power in each driving time period. .

Accordingly, the present invention can generate an effect similar to that of simultaneously operating a plurality of sensors while satisfying the driving power condition.

< The sensors are the same in time period How to divide and use power >

The controller 111 according to another embodiment of the present invention appropriately distributes the power supplied to each sensor within a range in which the sum of the power supplied to each sensor is less than or equal to the available power so that the power consumption does not exceed the available power (Pa). you may be able to avoid it.

To this end, the control unit 111 according to an embodiment of the present invention may calculate a first time period in which the first sensor and the second sensor simultaneously operate during operation according to the operation control signal. In other words, the controller 111 may calculate a time period in which power consumption exceeds the available power Pa by simultaneously operating the two sensors.

Then, the controller 111 according to an embodiment of the present invention controls the driving power of each sensor so that the sum of the driving power of the first sensor and the driving power of the second sensor does not exceed the available power in the calculated first time period. can decide

For example, the controller 111 may determine the driving power of the first sensor and the driving power of the second sensor to be the same in the first time period. In other words, the controller 111 may determine the driving power of each sensor by dividing the available power by the number of simultaneously driven sensors.

Also, unlike this, the controller 111 may determine the driving power for each sensor to be proportional to the minimum supply power required for each sensor to operate according to the control signal. For example, when the first sensor has twice the lowest power supply than the second sensor, the controller 111 uses 2/3 of the available power as the driving power of the first sensor and the remaining 1/3 as the driving power of the second sensor. can be determined as

6 is a diagram for explaining driving power Pu2 when sensors divide and use power in the same time period according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As described above, the controller 111 determines the driving power of each sensor so that the sum of the driving powers in the first time period Ts to Tf (not shown) does not exceed the available power Pa, so that the driving of the sensors The sum of the powers Pu2 may be as shown.

Meanwhile, the control unit 111 according to an embodiment of the present invention may calculate a second time period in which only one of the first sensor and the second sensor operates according to the operation control signal. In this case, the second time period may have a complementary relationship with the above-described first time period.

Subsequently, the controller 111 according to an embodiment of the present invention may determine the driving power of any one of the first sensor and the second sensor to be less than or equal to the available power in the second time period. That is, when only one sensor operates, the driving power of each sensor may be determined again as in the original case.

Finally, the controller 111 according to an embodiment of the present invention controls the operation of each sensor based on the driving power of the first sensor and the driving power of the second sensor in the first time period determined by the above-described process. can do. Of course, the controller 111 may control the operation of each sensor based on the driving power of at least one of the first sensor and the second sensor in the second time period.

Accordingly, according to the present invention, it is possible to simultaneously operate a plurality of sensors while satisfying the driving power condition.

7 is a flowchart illustrating a method of determining a noise level of an image performed by the power management apparatus 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, descriptions of the contents overlapping those described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 will be omitted, but will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 together.

The power management apparatus 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention may obtain an operation control signal including a control signal of at least one sensor. (S71) In this case, the operation control signal is transmitted from the power management apparatus 110 to an external device. It may be a signal obtained from the device 200 and/or the user terminal 300 through the network 400 , or may be a signal generated by an internal management schedule of the power management device 110 . In addition, the operation control signal may include a control signal for at least one of a zoom operation, a focus operation, a heater on/off operation, a pan-tilt zoom operation, a WDR on/off operation, and a light source on/off operation of each sensor. there is.

The power management apparatus 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention may calculate the expected power consumption expected to be consumed when the image sensors operate according to the operation control signal (S72). For example, the first sensor in response to the operation control signal When the control signal for the zoom operation and the control signal for focusing the second sensor are included, the power management device 110 may calculate the estimated power consumption expected to be consumed by each sensor during the corresponding operation. . For example, as shown in FIG. 3 , the power management device 110 may be configured to predict power consumption Ps1 according to the passage of time of the first sensor and the time flow of the second sensor within a specific time period (Ts to Tf) as shown in FIG. The estimated power consumption may be calculated in the form of the estimated power consumption Ps2, and the total expected power consumption may be calculated based on the calculated power consumption.

Next, the power management apparatus 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention may compare the calculated total estimated power consumption with the available power Pa in the corresponding time period Ts to Tf. (S73) At this time, the calculated When the total expected power consumption does not exceed the available power, the power management apparatus 110 may control each image sensor to perform an operation according to the operation control signal immediately (ie, without special control). (S76)

On the other hand, the power management device 110, when the total estimated power consumption calculated as a result of the comparison exceeds the available power in the corresponding time period (Ts ~ Tf), the multi-sensor camera 100 is consumed during operation according to the operation control signal The driving power in each driving time period and each driving time period of each sensor may be calculated so that the electric power does not exceed the available electric power. (S74) Hereinafter, two driving time periods and a method of calculating driving power will be described.

< Actuation of sensors time period each other alternately How to make it array iteratively >

The power management apparatus 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention allows the driving time period of the first sensor and the driving time period of the second sensor to be repeatedly arranged alternately with each other, so that the power consumed in each time period is equal to the available power (Pa). ) may not be exceeded.

The power management apparatus 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention drives one or more of each of the first sensor and the second sensor so that the power consumption in each time period does not exceed the available power (Pa in FIG. 3 ). The time intervals may be determined so that the time intervals do not overlap each other.

For example, as shown in FIG. 4 , the power management device 110 may include driving time periods Ts to t1, t2 to t3, t4 to t5, t6 to t7, t8 to t9, t10 to t11, and t12 to t13 of the first sensor. ) and the driving time sections t1 to t2, t3 to t4, t5 to t6, t7 to t8, t9 to t10, t11 to t12, and t13 to t14) of the second sensor may not overlap each other. On the other hand, the arrangement of the time period as shown in FIG. 4 is exemplary and the spirit of the present invention is not limited thereto.

Then, the power management apparatus 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention divides the operation of the first sensor according to the control signal for the first sensor into at least one division operation, and divides the divided operation into one or more division operations and the first operation. One or more driving time periods (Ts to t1, t2 to t3, t4 to t5, t6 to t7, t8 to t9, t10 to t11, and t12 to t13) of the sensor may correspond to each other.

In addition, in the same way, the power management apparatus 110 divides the operation of the second sensor according to the control signal for the second sensor into at least one or more division operations, and divides the divided one or more division operations and one or more of the second sensors. The driving time periods t1 to t2, t3 to t4, t5 to t6, t7 to t8, t9 to t10, t11 to t12, and t13 to t14 may correspond to each other.

In this case, the power management device 110 may divide any one operation into a division operation based on time. For example, if any one operation is an operation with a length of 10 seconds, the power management apparatus 110 may divide the corresponding operation into 10 divided operations with a length of 1 second. Also, the power management apparatus 110 may divide one operation into a unit of consumed power or a unit of a divided step. However, this is an example, and the spirit of the present invention is not limited thereto.

Then, the power management apparatus 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention may include one or more driving time periods (Ts to t1, t2 to t3, t4 to t5, t6 to t7, t8 to t9, t10 to t11 and From t12 to t13), the driving power of the first sensor may be determined to be equal to or less than the available power Pa. Similarly, the driving power of the second sensor in one or more driving time periods (t1 to t2, t3 to t4, t5 to t6, t7 to t8, t9 to t10, t11 to t12, and t13 to t14) of the second sensor is available Power (Pa) or less can be determined.

As described above, the power management apparatus 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention divides the operation time period of each sensor, but by alternately arranging the time periods repeatedly, an effect similar to that of simultaneous operation of a plurality of sensors. Not only that, but also the condition of driving power can be satisfied.

Referring again to FIG. 5 , the determined driving power Pu1 in each driving time period of the first sensor and the second sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. For convenience of explanation, two image sensors are included in the multi-sensor camera 100, and the estimated power consumption of each sensor in a specific time period (Ts to Tf (not shown)) according to a predetermined operation control signal is shown in FIG. 3 As shown in FIG. 3 , it is assumed that the available power Pa is also as shown in FIG. 3 .

As shown in FIG. 5 , the power management device 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention, under the above assumption, supplies power to each sensor to perform an operation according to an operation control signal within the range of available power (Pa). In other words, the power management apparatus 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention may control the operation of the sensor to perform the operation. In other words, the calculated driving time period of each of at least one sensor and each An operation of the at least one sensor may be controlled based on the driving power in the driving time period.

Accordingly, the present invention can generate an effect similar to that of simultaneously operating a plurality of sensors while satisfying the driving power condition.

< The sensors are the same in time period How to divide and use power >

The power management apparatus 110 according to another embodiment of the present invention appropriately distributes the power supplied to each sensor within a range in which the sum of the power supplied to each sensor is less than or equal to the available power, so that the power consumption is the available power (Pa). You can also make sure not to exceed it.

To this end, the power management apparatus 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention may calculate a first time period in which the first sensor and the second sensor simultaneously operate during operation according to the operation control signal. In other words, the power management apparatus 110 may calculate a time period in which the power consumption exceeds the available power Pa by simultaneously operating the two sensors.

Then, the power management apparatus 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention drives each sensor so that the sum of the driving power of the first sensor and the driving power of the second sensor does not exceed the available power in the calculated first time period. power can be determined.

For example, the power management apparatus 110 may determine the driving power of the first sensor and the driving power of the second sensor to be the same in the first time period. In other words, the power management apparatus 110 may determine the driving power of each sensor by dividing the available power by the number of simultaneously driven sensors.

Also, unlike this, the power management apparatus 110 may determine the driving power for each sensor to be proportional to the minimum supply power required for each sensor to operate according to the control signal. For example, when the first sensor has twice the lowest supply power than the second sensor, the power management device 110 uses 2/3 of the available power as the driving power of the first sensor and the remaining 1/3 as the driving power of the second sensor. It can be determined by the driving power.

Referring back to FIG. 6 , as described above, the power management device 110 controls each sensor so that the sum of driving powers in the first time period Ts to Tf (not shown) does not exceed the available power Pa. Since the driving power is determined, the sum of the driving powers Pu2 of the sensors may be as shown.

Meanwhile, the power management apparatus 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention may calculate a second time period in which only one of the first sensor and the second sensor operates according to the operation control signal. In this case, the second time period may have a complementary relationship with the above-described first time period.

Subsequently, the power management apparatus 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention may determine the driving power of any one of the first sensor and the second sensor to be less than or equal to the available power in the second time period. That is, when only one sensor operates, the driving power of each sensor may be determined again as in the original case.

Finally, the power management apparatus 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention operates each sensor based on the driving power of the first sensor and the driving power of the second sensor in the first time period determined by the above-described process. (S75, second embodiment) Of course, the power management device 110 controls the operation of each sensor based on the driving power of at least one of the first sensor and the second sensor in the second time period. You can also control it.

Accordingly, according to the present invention, it is possible to simultaneously operate a plurality of sensors while satisfying the driving power condition.

The above-described embodiment according to the present invention may be implemented in the form of a computer program that can be executed through various components on a computer, and such a computer program may be recorded in a computer-readable medium. In this case, the medium includes a hard disk, a magnetic medium such as a floppy disk and a magnetic tape, an optical recording medium such as CD-ROM and DVD, a magneto-optical medium such as a floppy disk, and a ROM , RAM, flash memory, and the like, and hardware devices specially configured to store and execute program instructions. Furthermore, the medium may include an intangible medium implemented in a form that can be transmitted on a network, for example, may be a type of medium that is implemented in the form of software or an application and can be transmitted and distributed through a network.

Meanwhile, the computer program may be specially designed and configured for the present invention, or may be known and used by those skilled in the computer software field. Examples of the computer program may include not only machine code generated by a compiler, but also high-level language code that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like.

The specific implementations described in the present invention are only examples, and do not limit the scope of the present invention in any way. For brevity of the specification, descriptions of conventional electronic components, control systems, software, and other functional aspects of the systems may be omitted. In addition, the connection or connection members of lines between the components shown in the drawings illustratively represent functional connections and/or physical or circuit connections, and in an actual device, various functional connections, physical connections that are replaceable or additional may be referred to as connections, or circuit connections. In addition, unless there is a specific reference such as “essential” or “importantly”, it may not be a necessary component for the application of the present invention.

Therefore, the spirit of the present invention should not be limited to the above-described embodiments, and the scope of the spirit of the present invention is not limited to the scope of the scope of the present invention. will be said to belong to

100: multi-sensor camera
110: power management device
111: control unit
112: memory
121-124: image sensor
200: external device
300: user terminal
400: network

Claims (19)

delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete In the power management device of a multi-sensor camera having a plurality of sensors, the device includes a control unit,
the control unit
obtaining a motion control signal comprising a control signal of at least one sensor,
calculating an expected power consumption expected to be consumed when the at least one sensor operates within a predetermined time period according to the operation control signal,
When the expected power consumption exceeds the available power of the multi-sensor camera during operation according to the operation control signal at at least one point in time within the predetermined time period, the multi-sensor camera operates according to the operation control signal A power management apparatus for a multi-sensor camera that calculates driving power in each driving time period and each driving time period of the at least one sensor so that power consumption of the sensor does not exceed the available power. 12. The method of claim 11
The operation control signal is
Containing a control signal for each of the first sensor and the second sensor,
the control unit
determining one or more driving time periods of each of the first sensor and the second sensor so that one or more driving time periods of each of the first sensor and the second sensor do not overlap each other;
dividing the operation of the first sensor according to the operation control signal into at least one or more first division operations, and matching the divided one or more first division operations with one or more driving time periods of the first sensor;
dividing the operation of the second sensor according to the operation control signal into at least one or more second division operations, and matching the divided one or more second division operations with one or more driving time periods of the second sensor;
The driving power of the first sensor in one or more driving time periods of the first sensor is determined to be equal to or less than the available power, and the driving power of the second sensor in one or more driving time periods of the second sensor is set as the available power. Power management device for multi-sensor cameras, determined by power or less. 13. The method of claim 12
Each of the first sensor and the second sensor driving time period is plural,
the control unit
A power management apparatus for a multi-sensor camera that determines that the driving time period of the plurality of first sensors and the driving time period of the plurality of second sensors are alternately arranged repeatedly. 13. The method of claim 12
the control unit
A power management apparatus for a multi-sensor camera that controls an operation of the at least one sensor based on the calculated driving time period of each of the at least one sensor and driving power in each of the driving time periods. 12. The method of claim 11
The operation control signal is
Containing a control signal for each of the first sensor and the second sensor,
the control unit
calculating a first time period in which the first sensor and the second sensor simultaneously operate during operation according to the operation control signal,
the first time period such that the sum of the driving power of the first sensor in the first time period and the driving power of the second sensor in the first time period does not exceed the available power in the first time period To determine the driving power of the first sensor in the driving power and the driving power of the second sensor in the first time period, the power management apparatus of a multi-sensor camera. 16. The method of claim 15
the control unit
A power management device for a multi-sensor camera that equally determines the driving power of each sensor. 16. The method of claim 15
the control unit
A power management device for a multi-sensor camera that determines that each sensor is proportional to the lowest supply power required for operation according to the control signal. 16. The method of claim 15
the control unit
calculating a second time period in which only one of the first sensor and the second sensor operates during operation according to the operation control signal;
A power management apparatus for a multi-sensor camera that determines the driving power of any one of the first sensor and the second sensor to be less than or equal to the available power in the second time period. 19. The method of claim 18
the control unit
controlling the operation of each sensor based on the driving power of the first sensor and the driving power of the second sensor in the determined first time period in the first time period,
In the second time period, the power management apparatus of the multi-sensor camera for controlling the operation of each sensor based on the driving power of at least one of the first sensor and the second sensor in the determined second time period.

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