JP2008236632A - Image processing apparatus and method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processing apparatus and method thereof suitable for a monitoring system by switching and photographing a panorama image and a normal size image. <P>SOLUTION: An image processing apparatus comprises: an image compression section 103 for compressing an image signal from a pan/tilt camera 101 which changes an imaging direction by intermittently rotating the camera 101; a recording and playback control section 105 for recording or playing back the compressed image signal onto or from a recording medium 106; an image expansion section 104 which expands the compressed image signal played back from the recording and playback control section 105 to the original image signal; and an image link display processing section 108 which inputs an image signal and converts it into a signal displayable on a display means. In the image processing apparatus, the image link display processing section further comprises a function for inputting an image signal from the camera or from a recording and playback section and linking images, such that a plurality of image signals picked up in different imaging directions of the pan/tilt camera can be linked and images in different sizes can be displayed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a video signal image processing apparatus and method, and more particularly to an image processing apparatus that can arbitrarily generate and display a panoramic image or a normal size image from a captured image. And its method.

  Conventionally, as a method for capturing a panoramic image, a method using a camera equipped with a wide-angle lens has been generally used. However, with recent development of image processing technology, a camera equipped with a relatively inexpensive ordinary lens. There has already been proposed a method for obtaining the panoramic image by using. For example, Patent Document 1 below discloses a method for generating a panoramic image by rotating a camera to take a plurality of images and connecting the plurality of images as the related art.

JP 2005-348448 A

  As described above, the prior art discloses a method for generating a panoramic image from an image of a normal size. However, the use of the panoramic image obtained by the method has not been particularly taken into consideration.

  For example, according to the inventor's study, a camera capable of panoramic photography can be applied to, for example, a surveillance system. In this case, for example, panoramic photography is performed during normal surveillance, while in an emergency. In such a case, it is conceivable that the specific position is photographed at a fixed position. However, in the above-described prior art, the case where the panoramic image and the normal size image are switched and taken is not considered at all.

  The present invention has been achieved by considering a case where a camera capable of panoramic photography is applied to, for example, a surveillance system, in view of the above-described prior art. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image processing apparatus and method suitable for a monitoring system by enabling switching between normal size images and photographing.

  According to the present invention, the above object is to first compress the image signal from the camera that outputs the captured image signal, the rotating means that intermittently rotates the camera to change the imaging direction, and the camera. Image compression means, recording / reproduction means for recording or reproducing the compressed image signal from the image compression means on a recording medium, and image expansion means for expanding the compressed image signal reproduced from the recording / reproduction means to the original image signal And an image connection display processing means for inputting the image signal and converting the image into a signal that can be displayed on the display means, wherein the image connection display processing means further includes the camera Or a plurality of images captured in different imaging directions by the rotating means of the camera, the image processing apparatus comprising means for inputting image signals from the recording / reproducing means and connecting the images. By connecting the items, it is achieved by an image processing apparatus to enable the display of images having different sizes.

  According to the present invention described above, it is possible to provide a suitable image processing apparatus and method.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
First, FIG. 1 attached herewith shows the overall configuration of the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 101 denotes a pan / tilt camera, and the rotation position of the pan / tilt camera 101 is controlled by the rotation control unit 102. On the other hand, an image obtained by the pan / tilt camera 101 is input to the image compression unit 103 and recorded on the recording medium 106 via the recording / playback control unit 105. On the other hand, the image recorded on the recording medium 106 is similarly input to the image expansion unit 104 via the recording / playback control unit 105 and input to the image connection display processing unit 108 via the selection unit 107. In the figure, reference numeral 109 denotes a memory, 110 denotes an output terminal, 111 denotes a continuous intermittent control unit, 112 denotes a system control unit, and 113 denotes an input terminal.

  In the above configuration, the input terminal 113 is an input terminal to which a signal from a so-called user interface unit such as an operation unit of a device (not shown) operated by a user or a remote controller is input. For example, the person records (1) whether to shoot a panoramic image while rotating the camera, (2) whether to shoot a normal size image with the camera fixed, and (3) record the captured image. Whether (4) whether to display the image being captured in real time, (5) whether to reproduce and display the recorded image, and (6) the rotational position of the camera during real-time display It is possible to do. Further, the system control unit 112 controls the mode or timing of the system (image processing apparatus) in accordance with a user instruction input from the input terminal 113.

  Next, the operation of the image processing apparatus whose configuration has been described above, in particular, the operation during panorama image capturing and recording will be described below. First, the pan / tilt camera 101 is a camera that can rotate vertically and horizontally. The rotation angle is controlled by a rotation control signal 102 a output from the rotation control unit 102. On the other hand, the rotatable pan / tilt camera 101 outputs the captured image signal 101 a to the image compression unit 103. Note that when the output of at least one image captured by the pan / tilt camera 101 is completed, the rotation control unit 102 rotates the pan / tilt camera 101 by a predetermined rotation amount. Hereinafter, similarly, the pan / tilt camera 101 and the rotation control unit 102 capture an image and output the image to the image compression unit 103, thereby repeating the operation of rotating the pan / tilt camera 101.

  On the other hand, the image compression unit 103 receives the image signal from the pan / tilt camera 101 and compresses the image. At this time, the continuous intermittent control unit 111 outputs a control signal 111a so that the image compression unit 103 intermittently compresses the input image. That is, the image output while the pan / tilt camera 101 is rotating is not compressed, and on the other hand, the image compression is controlled only for the stable image signal supplied after the rotation is completed. The image-compressed signal is then recorded on the recording medium 106 configured by, for example, a hard disk or the like via the recording / playback control unit 105.

  Next, an operation during playback of a panoramic image will be described. First, a signal reproduced from the recording medium 106 is supplied to the image expansion unit 104 via the recording / reproduction control unit 105. The image expansion unit 104 expands the input compressed signal to the original image signal, and further outputs the expanded signal to the image connection display processing unit 108 via the selection unit 107. The image connection display processing unit 108 sequentially writes input image signals to the memory 109, reads out the image signals from the memory 109 at the timing when the images are connected, and further monitors the image, etc. After adding a synchronization signal or the like necessary for display, the data is output to the output terminal 110. According to this, the user can view a panoramic image by using a monitor device (not shown) connected to the output terminal 110.

Subsequently, the operation of the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment, particularly the intermittent operation at the time of recording, will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS.
In FIG. 2, reference numeral 101 a indicates an output signal of the pan / tilt camera 101, 102 a indicates a rotation control signal output by the rotation control unit 102, and 111 a indicates a compression control signal output by the continuous intermittent control unit 111. In FIG. 3, reference signs D <b> 1 to D <b> 8 indicate shooting ranges that are shot by the rotating pan / tilt camera 101.

  As shown in the upper part of FIG. 2, the pan / tilt camera 101 continuously outputs images regardless of the presence or absence of the rotation. On the other hand, the rotation control unit 102 outputs a control signal 102a so as to rotate the pan / tilt camera 101 by a rotation amount necessary to obtain a panoramic image, as shown in the middle part thereof. At that time, the pan / tilt camera 101 is stopped during a period including a video signal for at least one field. Further, as shown in the lower part, the continuous intermittent control unit 111 also includes a compression control signal 111a so that the image compression unit 103 compresses the image of the camera output signal 101a during at least one field period of the period when the camera is stopped. Is output. In FIG. 2, the periods indicated by reference signs “A” and “B” are periods during which image compression is performed, and the image of the field indicated by reference signs “F2” and “F5” in the camera output signal 101a. The signal is subjected to image compression by the image compression unit 103.

  At this time, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3 attached, the pan / tilt camera 101 shoots all directions by equally dividing the shooting direction into eight and changing the camera eight times. That is, in this example, the amount of rotation per rotation is 22.5 degrees.

  According to the present embodiment described above, during the period in which the pan / tilt camera 101 is rotating, the image is not compressed and is not recorded, so that the reproduced image is not disturbed.

  Next, the operation of the image connection display processing unit 108 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 601 denotes a virtual memory space of the memory 109, and 602 denotes an example of a display screen on a monitor (not shown) connected to the output terminal 110.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the memory 109 has memory areas corresponding to the eight shooting directions D <b> 1 to D <b> 8 of the pan / tilt camera 101. Then, the video signal from the image expansion unit 104 is sequentially written in the memory area of the memory 109 corresponding to each direction according to the shooting direction. As a result, images in all directions of the pan / tilt camera 101 are written in the memory area of the memory 109, that is, the virtual memory space 601 as shown in the upper part of FIG. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the actual physical space of the memory 109 does not necessarily have to be continuous as illustrated.

  Here, when the user instructs the system control unit 112 via the input terminal 113 to display a shooting direction to be displayed by an operating unit (not shown), the system control unit 112 displays the image connection display processing unit 108. The image signal is read from the memory 109 to control and allow the user to display the desired image area. For example, in the illustrated example, a part of the shooting direction D5 and a part of D4 are read and written in the virtual memory space 601. Through the above operation, the reproduced image reproduced from the recording medium 106 is sequentially written in the memory 109 in accordance with the shooting direction. On the other hand, an arbitrary space in the memory 109 is read regardless of the direction of the image being reproduced. Therefore, the user can display an image in any direction regardless of the eight shooting directions D1 to D8 of the pan / tilt camera 101 set in advance.

  When the user does not particularly indicate the shooting direction that the user wants to display, the image connection display processing unit 108 displays the image signal reproduced from the recording medium 106 at the closest timing in time. An image signal is read from the memory 109. That is, for example, when an image in the shooting direction D3 is reproduced and written in the memory 109, an image that has been written in the memory 109 immediately before that, that is, an image in the shooting direction D2 is displayed. When the image in the shooting direction D3 is written in the memory 109, the read address from the memory 109 is gradually changed so that the direction of the display image is gradually scrolled from D2 to D3.

  According to the operation of the image connection display processing unit 108 described above, the display image is repeatedly scrolled and stopped according to the rotation direction of the pan / tilt camera at the time of shooting when the user does not particularly indicate the shooting direction to be displayed. It becomes. Therefore, the user can confirm the image in all directions uniformly, and the image scrolls, so that the user can easily recognize which direction the display image is in the whole. I can do it. In this case, information regarding the shooting direction of each image may be stored by the system control unit or may be recorded by the storage medium 106.

  Here, referring back to FIG. 1 described above, an operation in the case of recording and reproducing a normal size image that is not a panorama without rotating the pan / tilt camera 101 will be described below.

  When recording a normal size image, the pan / tilt camera 101 outputs the captured image to the image compression unit 103. At this time, the rotation control unit 102 does not rotate the pan / tilt camera 101. The image compression unit 103 compresses an image signal from the pan / tilt camera 101. At this time, the continuous intermittent control unit 111 performs control so that the image compression unit 103 continuously compresses the input image. That is, image compression is continuously performed on image signals continuously output from the fixed pan / tilt camera 101. The signal compressed in this way is recorded on a recording medium 106 such as a hard disk via the recording / playback control unit 105.

  When the normal size image is reproduced, a signal continuously reproduced from the recording medium 106 is supplied to the image expansion unit 104 via the recording / reproduction control unit 105. The image expansion unit 104 continuously expands the input compressed signal to the original image signal, and outputs it to the image connection display processing unit 108 via the selection unit 107. As a result, the image connection display processing unit 108 sequentially writes the input image signals to the memory 109, simultaneously reads the image signals sequentially from the memory 109, and further displays the read image on a monitor or the like. Therefore, after adding a necessary synchronization signal or the like, it is output on the output terminal 110. As a result, the user can view the normal size image with a monitor device or the like (not shown) connected to the output terminal 110.

  Further, a case where only images in a specific direction among images recorded intermittently while rotating the pan / tilt camera 101 in the panoramic shooting mode will be described below. In this case, the system control unit 112 stores the write address information to the recording medium 106 together with the rotation direction information of the tilt camera 101 when the image is recorded on the recording medium 106. Then, from the images recorded on the recording medium 106, only an image when the pan / tilt camera 101 is facing a specific direction is selected and continuously reproduced. The operation after the image expansion is the same as that in the normal size image reproduction. As described above, even when the panoramic camera 101 is rotated and the panoramic camera 101 is rotated, the user can selectively view an image only in a specific direction. At this time, since only the image in a specific direction is selectively reproduced from the recording medium 106, the user can display the image in a shorter time than when reproducing the image in all directions. Can be confirmed.

  In addition, an operation in the case where an image taken by the pan / tilt camera 101 is displayed in real time will be described below. In this case, the system control unit 112 controls the rotation control unit 102 in accordance with the camera rotation position instruction signal designated by the user, which is input from the input terminal 113, so that the pan / tilt camera 101 is in the direction desired by the user. Move to rotate. On the other hand, an output signal from the pan / tilt camera 101 is output to the image connection display processing unit 108 via the selection unit 107. The image connection display processing unit 108 sequentially writes input image signals to the memory 109, and simultaneously reads the written image signals from the memory 109, and displays the images on a monitor or the like. After adding a synchronization signal or the like, the signal is output on the output terminal 110. As a result, the user can view the captured image in real time using a monitor device (not shown) connected to the output terminal 110.

  As described in detail above, according to the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the user can arbitrarily switch the shooting including a panoramic image and a normal size image. . Also, when shooting a panoramic image, the camera removes the rotating image and shoots, so that a recorded good panoramic image can be reproduced and displayed without causing unnecessary disturbance in the image. It becomes possible. In addition, when capturing a normal-size image, it is possible to capture and display a continuous moving image, so that a suspicious person or the like is not missed.

  Next, the image processing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6.

  In FIG. 5, reference numeral 401 denotes a communication interface unit, 402 denotes an input / output terminal, 403 denotes a communication network, and 404 denotes a selection unit. In FIG. 6, reference numeral 501 indicates an input / output terminal, 502 indicates a communication interface unit, 503 indicates a system control unit, and 504 indicates an input terminal. In addition, since it is the same as that of the same FIG. 1 about the part which is the other component requirements and was attached | subjected the same reference numeral as the said FIG. 1, the description is abbreviate | omitted here in order to avoid duplication.

  According to the second embodiment, the user can monitor an image from a camera installed at a remote place via a network. That is, FIG. 5 is a system block diagram including a transmitting device for transmitting camera video to a remote location, and FIG. 6 is a system block diagram including a receiving device for receiving camera video at a remote location.

  First, only parts different from the system of FIG. 1 will be described in FIG. When an image captured by the pan / tilt camera 101 is to be transmitted to a remote place in real time, the image signal compressed by the image compression unit 103 is supplied to the communication interface unit 401 via the selection unit 404. When an image signal reproduced from the recording medium 106 is to be transmitted to a remote place, the video signal reproduced from the camera recording medium 106 is supplied to the communication interface unit 401 via the recording / reproducing control unit 105. The communication interface unit 401 converts the input compressed image signal into a signal form capable of network communication, and then outputs the signal to the communication network 403 via the input / output terminal 402. Note that an instruction to perform network communication may be input by the user from the input terminal 113 at the installation location of the apparatus, or another user at a remote location may enter the apparatus via the communication network 403. You may enter.

  On the other hand, in FIG. 6, the compressed image signal output from the apparatus whose configuration is shown in FIG. 5 is input from the communication network 403 to the communication interface unit 502 via the input / output terminal 501. When it is desired to record the image signal once on the recording medium 106, the image signal is recorded on the recording medium 106 via the recording / playback control unit 105. On the other hand, in the case of reproduction, the compressed image signal is reproduced from the recording medium 106 and output to the image expansion unit 104 via the recording / reproduction control unit 105 and the selection circuit 107. Furthermore, when it is desired to immediately monitor the image signal received from the communication network 403, the output of the communication interface unit 502 is output to the image expansion unit 104 via the selection circuit 107. The subsequent image display operation is the same as the operation of the system of FIG. 1 described above, and the description thereof is omitted here to avoid duplication.

  As is clear from the above, according to the above-described image processing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention, a panoramic image and a normal-size image can be obtained even by a remote user, as described above. Shooting can be arbitrarily switched between and. In addition, the panorama image is taken with the rotating image removed, so that an undistorted image is obtained, and the recorded panorama image is played back and displayed at a remote location. It becomes possible. In addition, since a continuous moving image can be captured and displayed at a remote place even when capturing a normal size image, a suspicious person or the like is not missed. In addition, the received image can be recorded on a recording medium at a remote location and the panoramic image can be reproduced. At this time, the image to be communicated is not a panoramic image but a normal size image. Therefore, the interface for compression and communication does not need to be changed even if the displayed image is a panoramic image or a normal size image.

  In the first and second embodiments of the present invention described in detail above, the pan / tilt camera 101 has been described as being capable of imaging in all directions with one rotation (360 ° rotation). However, the present invention is not necessarily limited to this, and can be rotated at an angle smaller than this, and even if a plurality of images are connected to capture a wider range than a normal size image. It can be applied to such a device.

  As described above in detail, the present invention relates to a video signal processing apparatus, and can be applied to, for example, a panoramic image capturing apparatus or a video signal compressing apparatus that compresses the captured image. is there.

  According to the present invention, in the image processing apparatus described above, the recording / reproducing unit compresses an image captured when the camera is not rotating and records the first recording operation together with rotation information of the camera. It is preferable to include a second recording operation mode for continuously compressing and recording image signals output from the camera together with the mode, or the image connection display processing means further includes It is provided with means for continuously storing image signals from the camera or the recording / reproducing means, and the storage means is configured to continuously read an arbitrary image from the stored images. preferable.

  In addition, according to the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, an image signal from a camera that is output while the imaging direction is changed intermittently is input, and images that can selectively display images of different sizes. A processing method in which an image captured when the camera is not rotating is compressed and recorded on a recording medium together with rotation information of the camera, or image signals output by the camera are sequentially and sequentially compressed. And recording on the recording medium, and based on the recorded image signal, a plurality of image signals captured in different imaging directions from the camera are connected and panorama displayed, or the recorded image signal is continuously displayed. In particular, an image processing method for displaying a normal size image is provided.

  In the present invention, in the image processing method described above, the image signal may be stored continuously, and an arbitrary image may be continuously read from the stored image to connect a plurality of image signals. preferable.

  According to the above-described present invention, it is practically excellent that an image processing apparatus suitable for a monitoring system and a method thereof can be provided by switching and capturing a panoramic image and a normal size image. Demonstrate the effect.

1 is a block configuration diagram showing an overall configuration of an image processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a time chart for illustrating operations in the image processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1. It is explanatory drawing for showing rotation operation | movement of the camera in the image processing apparatus shown in the said FIG. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the connection principle of the image in the image processing apparatus shown in the said FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of especially the transmitter which becomes the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the receiving apparatus which becomes said 2nd Embodiment especially.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 ... Pan / tilt camera 102 ... Rotation control part 103 ... Image compression part 104 ... Image expansion part 105 ... Recording / reproducing control 106 ... Recording medium 107 ... Selection part 108 ... Image connection display process part 109 ... Memory 110 ... Output terminal 111 ... Continuous intermittent Control unit 112 ... System control unit 113 ... Input terminal 401 ... Communication interface unit 402 ... Input / output terminal 403 ... Communication network 404 ... Selection unit 501 ... Input / output terminal 502 ... Communication interface unit 503 ... System control unit 504 ... Input terminal 601 ... Virtual memory space 602 ... Image display example

Claims (5)

A camera that outputs the captured image signal;
Rotating means for intermittently rotating the camera to change the imaging direction;
Image compression means for compressing an image signal from the camera;
Recording / reproducing means for recording or reproducing a compressed image signal from the image compression means on a recording medium;
Image expansion means for expanding the compressed image signal reproduced from the recording / reproduction means to the original image signal;
An image processing apparatus comprising: an image connection display processing unit that inputs the image signal and converts the image into a signal that can be displayed on a display unit;
The image connection display processing means further includes means for connecting images by inputting image signals from the camera or the recording / reproducing means, and the images are picked up by the rotation means of the camera in different imaging directions. An image processing apparatus characterized by connecting a plurality of image signals to enable display of images of different sizes.   2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording / reproducing unit compresses an image captured when the camera is not rotating and records the image together with rotation information of the camera together with the camera. And a second recording operation mode for sequentially compressing and recording image signals output from the image processing apparatus.   2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image connection display processing means further includes means for continuously storing image signals from the camera or the recording / reproducing means, and the storage means. Is an image processing apparatus configured to continuously read an arbitrary image from the stored image. An image processing method capable of selectively displaying images of different sizes by inputting an image signal from a camera that is output while intermittently changing the imaging direction,
The image captured when the camera is not rotating is compressed and recorded on a recording medium together with the rotation information of the camera, or the image signal output by the camera is sequentially and sequentially compressed and recorded on the recording medium. And
Based on the recorded image signal, a plurality of image signals captured in different imaging directions from the camera are connected to display a panorama, or the recorded image signal is continuously displayed as a normal size image. An image processing method.   5. The image processing method according to claim 4, further comprising: storing the image signal continuously, continuously reading an arbitrary image from the stored image, and connecting a plurality of image signals. Image processing method.

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