JP2010213249A - Video camera imaging apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a structure of a camera-mounting camera platform facilitating correct positioning of a plurality of cameras and camera operation thereof, and facilitating operation while always correctly keeping the positional relationship among the plurality of cameras, and a fixed base supporting the camera platform for mounting the plurality of cameras thereon; an electronic camera system device for controlling and operating them; and a camera system device having further advanced functions such as speedy and proper acquisition of target objects of the camera platform-mounted cameras, recognition of the positional relationship of the objects and high-speed zoom focusing by being controlled and operated while keeping the linkage between a positional relationship screen of images obtained from the images of the plurality of cameras mounted on the fixed base and the cameras mounted on the camera platform. <P>SOLUTION: In the electronic camera system device including a plurality of cameras, a camera 100 mounted on a camera platform 101 controllable in a pan direction and a tilt direction and a plurality of cameras mounted on a fixed base 102 supporting the camera platform can be respectively operated in cooperation with one another. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a video camera imaging apparatus and system in which a plurality of video cameras including a wide camera and a zoom video camera can be operated in conjunction with each other.

  Video camera systems have been used in various fields such as security cameras, broadcast cameras, and conference cameras as surveillance cameras and security cameras, and imaging systems, captured image quality, convenience, etc. according to the respective usage purposes are required. ing. In particular, recently, an imaging site and a monitor or display site are located away from each other, or remote control / control of a camera is required. Also, captured video signals can be transmitted to remote locations via various network lines such as LAN and WAN, as well as wired and wireless networks, and can be operated and controlled from remote locations via network lines. It has become like this.

  The imaging camera needs to accurately capture an object to be imaged and to capture the object with a desired angle frame. For this purpose, the imaging lens is first picked up with a zoom lens system, and the imaging display angle frame is variable and imaged with an accurate size. In this zoom lens camera system, the imaging angle frame can be varied. Therefore, in order to capture the object, the object is first aimed at a wide angle and zoomed in (narrow angle display, telephoto imaging).

  For the operation of these cameras, a pan head for performing pan (left / right) direction and tilt (up / down) direction operations is used. Mount the camera on the pan head, move the camera up and down, left and right, and monitor the zoom in and out of the camera lens on the monitor screen. In such a video camera system, in order to operate the camera from a remote monitor screen, the target is first aimed at a wide-angle image on the monitor screen, and a pan / tilt head operation signal is sent to the target. The desired angle frame is determined by moving the camera in the vertical and horizontal directions and simultaneously using the camera zoom.

However, it is difficult to determine the target for enlargement from the wide-angle video on the monitor screen and perform zoom-in in this way because it is difficult to operate because it is necessary to find the target from the wide-angle image screen. Then, the inconvenience such as returning to the wide-angle screen again, searching for the enlargement object, and enlarging occurs.
Various methods have been proposed to solve these disadvantages, and one effective method is to provide an additional sub (or slave) camera. By using a plurality of camera systems of the sub camera and the main camera, it is possible to project a wide angle or all directions with one camera, specify an object to be enlarged, and enlarge (zoom in) the object with the other camera. Patent Document 1 discloses a method for calculating an object to be enlarged from a wide-angle or omnidirectional image as a position coordinate of a wide-angle image and specifying it with a zoom camera. Another method for enlarging an imaging target with the other camera while monitoring an imaging range with a wide-angle camera is also disclosed in Patent Document 2.

  In order to operate these video cameras in cooperation with each other, it is difficult to realize them because it is necessary to strictly perform the installation method, the installation interval, and the operation interlocking method. In particular, to calculate the position of the object to be magnified from the wide-angle screen or omnidirectional screen, and to obtain a magnified image with the other zoom camera or magnifier camera, set the distance / distance, target direction, position reference value of both cameras, etc. Is required.

  In a state where one of these video cameras is fixed, the fixed camera is composed of an omnidirectional camera or an ultra-wide-angle camera and is used mainly for grasping the entire image and measuring the position reference. (Patent Document 1).

It is difficult to use the video output of both (multiple) cameras, such as switching images using the mutual image output in the same way, taking advantage of multiple cameras, overlapping, two-screen display, image complementation, etc. It was.
JP 2006-128932 A JP 2008-507229 A

    In the present invention, accurate positioning and camera operation of a plurality of cameras, which has been difficult in the past to accurately determine the positional relationship between a plurality of cameras and effectively using the plurality of cameras, are facilitated, and the positional relationship between the plurality of cameras is always maintained. It is an object of the present invention to provide a plurality of camera mounting head configurations that are easy to operate while maintaining accuracy, and a plurality of camera system devices that control them.

  It is another object of the present invention to provide a hybrid camera device and system that allow multiple cameras to be installed using an existing facility such as a single surveillance camera or CCTV camera that has already been installed.

  It is another object of the present invention to provide a method that is excellent in a user interface that is highly convenient for performing zoom-in and zoom-out operations using a hybrid camera.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic camera system device comprising a plurality of cameras, a zoom camera mounted on a camera platform that can be controlled in a pan direction and a tilt direction, and the camera platform. The zoom camera and the plurality of wide-angle cameras can be operated in cooperation with each other. A plurality of wide-angle camera images mounted on the fixed part are combined as an all-around video signal, converted into one video signal, and further combined with a zoom camera video signal and displayed on a monitor. A horizontal wide-angle screen around the entire circumference is displayed at the bottom of the monitor screen, and the zoom camera image on the pan head is displayed at the top.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the direction and the angle of view of the area designated on the substantially wide horizontal wide-angle screen obtained by the first aspect are reflected on the zoom camera, and the object is extracted from the substantially full-circumference image. Get the zoom camera image. The zoom lens has an autofocus function and displays the range of the selected area in detail.

  The invention described in claim 3 has a function of further enlarging and displaying an image obtained by the zoom lens. A region on the monitor of the video obtained from the zoom camera is designated, and the direction of the region and enlargement information are given to the zoom lens to obtain a detailed image.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, by mounting a plurality of sound collecting microphones on the fixed portion, sound field information around the video camera device is obtained, and direction information of the sound source is designated to indicate the direction of the zoom camera. is there.

  The invention according to claim 5 is the one in which a speaker for generating sound is installed in the fixed part, can generate guidance and warning sound, and transmits sound information as well as obtaining video information and sound field information. Make it possible.

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, a plurality of zoom cameras mounted on the pan / tilt head can be provided, and stereoscopic image and distance information of the object can be obtained. The two zoom cameras are arranged on the camera platform at predetermined intervals, at the same focal length, and in parallel with the optical axis toward the subject. It is characterized by performing distance measurement.

  The seventh and eighth aspects of the invention are characterized in that the horizontal wide-angle screen and the zoom camera screen area on the substantially entire circumference of the monitor are designated and target capture control of the zoom camera is performed.

  In the camera system using the present invention, the wide angle of the pan / tilt zoom camera and the fixed part that supports the pan / tilt head is provided. Because the structure of the sound field direction is the same by the camera and the whole sound field collecting microphone, it has been difficult to determine the positional relationship of multiple cameras accurately and use multiple cameras effectively. Accurate positioning and camera operation of a plurality of cameras can be facilitated, and operation can be facilitated while always maintaining the positional relationship between the cameras. The screen of multiple cameras in the fixed part and the zoom camera screen on the camera platform are displayed on a single monitor screen, and it is possible to control the zoom camera and at the same time reduce the transmission load. There is an effect that it is possible to easily perform an object capturing operation of accurately zooming in (enlarging) or zooming out (widening). Various user interfaces have been proposed for operating a plurality of cameras. In the present invention, a method excellent in a user interface with a high convenience by using a touch panel or a touch pen for performing zoom-in and zoom-out operations of a plurality of cameras is proposed. Can be achieved.

  Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an example of a camera unit according to the present invention. A front view, a side view, and a plan view of a camera unit 100 that includes a zoom camera mounted on a camera platform and a fixed unit that supports the camera platform. Indicates. The drawing is schematically drawn for convenience of explanation.

  In FIG. 1, a camera unit unit 100 includes a platform 101 that is a pan head that pans (rotates in the horizontal direction) and tilts (rotates in the vertical direction), and a fixing unit 102 that supports the platform. A housing 108 of the zoom camera 103 is coupled to the tilt shaft 110 on the pan head 101 so that the tilt rotation is possible. A pan portion 109 that is a pedestal that supports the tilt rotation shaft is coupled to the fixed portion 102 and can be panned (rotated in the horizontal direction). A plurality of wide-angle cameras 104, 105, 106, and 107 and a plurality of sound collecting microphones 111, 112, 113, and 114 are arranged at 90 ° division in the fixed portion. Further, speakers 115 and 116 as sound generating members are installed in the fixed portion.

  FIG. 2 shows a pan / tilt operation state of the camera unit 100. The plane pan diagram shows a state in which the housing 108 of the zoom camera 103 is panned (rotated in the horizontal direction). The pan angle is θp 117. The side tilt diagram shows the state of the tilt angle θt 118.

  FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the angle of view 120, 121, 122, 123 of a plurality of wide-angle cameras in the fixed portion and the angle of view 119 of the zoom camera on the camera platform. The angle of view of the wide-angle camera of the fixed part is set to approximately 90 °, and the omnidirectional angle of view is obtained using four units. The angle of view 119 of the zoom camera is variable and the direction is also free.

  FIG. 4 is a top view of microphone arrangement in which a plurality of sound collecting microphones 111, 112, 113, and 114 are installed in the fixed portion. As an example, four sound collecting microphones were arranged in 90 ° divisions. In the front view in FIG. 1, the position of the wide-angle camera 104 of the fixed portion is the front. A front microphone 111, a right microphone 112, a rear microphone 113, and a left microphone 114 are installed in the fixed portion 102. As the sound collection microphones 111, 112, 113, and 114, unidirectional microphones were used.

  FIG. 5 is a top view showing the sound collection directivity of the microphone. A front microphone collected sound field 124 by the front microphone 111, a right microphone collected sound field 125 by the right microphone 112, a rear microphone collected sound field 126 by the rear microphone 113, and a left microphone collected sound field 127 by the left microphone 114. Indicates. The sound field characteristic 128 having a substantially narrow directivity is obtained by subtracting the right microphone sound collection field 125 and the left microphone sound collection field 127 from the front microphone sound field 124. Conversely, if all the microphone sound field characteristics are added, an all-around sound field can be obtained.

  FIG. 6 shows a monitor screen in which an all-around image 129 by a plurality of wide-angle cameras in a fixed part is displayed at the bottom and an image 131 by a zoom camera installed on a pan head at the top. The area 130 information specifying a part of the all-around video screen is sent to the zoom camera, and the video based on the specified direction and angle of view is displayed as 131.

  FIG. 7 shows a monitor screen in which an entire surrounding image 129 by a plurality of wide-angle cameras in a fixed part is displayed at the bottom and an image 132 by a zoom camera installed on a pan head at the top. When a partial area 133 of the image 132 by the zoom camera displayed on the monitor is designated, information on the angle of view and direction is sent to the zoom camera, and a detailed enlarged image can be obtained as the image 134.

  As described above, the omnidirectional video 129 and the zoom camera video by the plurality of fixed wide-angle cameras are displayed on the monitor, the area of the omnidirectional video or the zoom camera video is designated, and the direction angle information is easily transmitted to the zoom camera. It can be reflected. The area can be specified with a mouse or a touch pen using a touch panel, and the convenience of the user interface can be improved.

  FIG. 8 is an explanatory view of the structure of a camera that mounts two zoom cameras on a pan / tilt head that can perform panning and tilting operations and obtains a distance measurement and a stereoscopic image. In FIG. 8, two zoom cameras 135 and 136 are separated by a distance d 139 having a predetermined interval, and the respective imaging optical axes 140 and 141 are installed in parallel. The distance d was approximately 70 mm. This is set so that the distance between human eyes is almost equal, and allows parallax images of both eyes to be captured. It is necessary to use the same zoom lens, and binocular parallax images from the two zoom lenses must be taken synchronously. Calculation control (not shown) is synchronized using a single CPU, FPGA, etc. Get video.

  FIG. 9 shows an example of panning and tilting operations of the camera for acquiring distance measurement and stereoscopic video in FIG. By adopting this structure, it is possible to increase the speed and flexibility of capturing the imaging target.

  FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating video signal processing according to the present invention. A zoom camera 601 on the camera platform, a plurality of wide-angle cameras 602 to 605 are mounted on the fixed portion, and a CCD output signal is extracted from each camera by a TG (Timing Generator) 607 for driving the CCDs 606 and 608. The signal of the zoom camera on the camera platform is sent to the AD conversion ADC 623 via a slip ring 609 and a CDS (Correlated Double Sampling) circuit 621 for noise removal. The signals of the CCD 608 of the plurality of cameras in the fixed portion are sent to the ADC 623 via the CDS 622 without passing through the slip ring 609. The respective signals are processed by video signal processing circuits 624 and 625 to output a zoom camera video signal 626 and a wide-angle camera composite video signal 627. The zoom camera video signal 626 and the wide-angle camera composite video signal 627 are input to the PIP processing unit 630, and a PinP signal 634 is obtained. Upon receiving this PinP signal input, the monitor 710 displays an all-around image 711 at the bottom of the monitor and a zoom camera image 712 at the top. Control from a PC (not shown) is performed by an input means 714 and a control board 713. When the display screen 715 is a touch panel, input is possible with the touch pen 716. According to the present invention shown in claims 1, 7, and 8, a desired image can be obtained more easily.

  It is explanatory drawing of the camera unit by this invention.   It is explanatory drawing of the pan and tilt of the camera unit by this invention.   It is a view angle explanatory view of the camera unit according to the present invention.   It is explanatory drawing of arrangement | positioning of the sound collection microphone by this invention.   It is explanatory drawing of the sound field directivity of the sound collection microphone by this invention.   FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a zoom camera according to the present invention, a display screen of a plurality of wide-angle camera images of a fixed portion, and region designation.   FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a zoom camera according to the present invention, a display screen of a plurality of wide-angle camera images of a fixed portion, and region designation.   It is explanatory drawing of the camera unit by this invention.   It is explanatory drawing of the pan and tilt by this invention.   It is explanatory drawing of the turtle signal processing by this invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Camera unit 101 Pan and tilt part 102 Fixed part 103 Zoom lens 104 Wide angle lens 105 Wide angle lens 106 Wide angle lens 107 Wide angle lens 108 Zoom lens housing 109 Pan part 110 Tilt axis 111 Sound collecting microphone 112 Sound collecting microphone 113 Sound collecting microphone 114 Sound collecting microphone 115 Speaker 116 Speaker 117 Pan angle 118 Tilt angle 119 Zoom camera imaging range 120 Front wide-angle camera imaging range 121 Right wide-angle camera imaging range 122 Rear wide-angle camera imaging range 123 Left wide-angle camera imaging range 124 Front sound collecting microphone pointing 125 Sound collecting microphone directivity 126 Rear sound collecting microphone directivity 127 Left sound collecting microphone directivity 128 Front sound collecting microphone narrow directivity example 129 All-around video display 130 Area designation portion 131 in all-around video zoom zoom camera Image display 132 Zoom camera image display 133 Area designation portion in zoom camera image 134 Zoom camera image display 135 Zoom camera 136 Zoom camera 137 Pan angle 138 Tilt angle 139 Zoom camera imaging optical axis 140 Zoom camera imaging optical axis 141 Zoom camera Distance 600 Zoom camera unit 601 Zoom camera 602 Fixed unit wide angle camera 603 Fixed unit wide angle camera 604 Fixed unit wide angle camera 605 Fixed unit wide angle camera 606 CCD
607 TG
608 CCD
609 Slip ring 610 Camera head unit 620 Video signal processor 621 CDS
622 CDS
623 ADC
624 Video signal processing circuit 625 Video signal processing circuit 626 Zoom camera video output 627 Wide-angle camera composite video output 630 PIP processing / encoding unit 631 PinP circuit 632 Output selection circuit 633 NTSC encoder 634 Zoom video wide-angle composite video PinP signal 710 Monitor 711 All Ambient image 712 Zoom camera image 713 Control board 714 Input means 715 Touch panel 716 Touch pen

Claims (8)

  In an electronic camera system consisting of a plurality of cameras, a zoom camera mounted on a camera platform that can be controlled in the pan and tilt directions and a horizontal image of 90 degrees or more as a single camera function on a fixed part that supports the camera platform A plurality of cameras having corners are mounted, and the plurality of cameras have means for synthesizing the obtained images to obtain a horizontal wide-angle image of a substantially omnidirectional image. An electronic camera system device comprising: a split display means for split display or picture-in-picture display of a corner signal and an image signal from the zoom camera mounted on a pan head on a single monitor or screen in a plurality of screens.     2. The electronic camera according to claim 1, wherein the direction and the angle of view of the zoom camera are controlled by designating a region of a substantially wide horizontal wide-angle image screen displayed on the monitor or the screen. System unit.     2. The electronic camera system device according to claim 1, wherein a direction and an angle of view of the zoom camera zoom camera are controlled by designating a zoom screen area obtained from the zoom camera mounted on the camera platform.   The direction of the generated sound source by collecting sound sources in all directions by installing a plurality of sound collecting microphones on the fixed base, and simultaneously calculating the output signal of the microphones and making the sound collection range of the microphones variable 4. The electronic camera system device according to claim 1, wherein the zoom camera mounted on the camera platform is controlled in a direction in which an image in a sound source direction is picked up. 5.   5. The electronic camera system device according to claim 1, wherein a speaker is attached to a fixed portion that supports the camera platform to generate sound.   The zoom camera mounted on the pan head is characterized in that two zoom cameras having the same function are horizontally arranged approximately 70 mm apart and arranged in parallel with the imaging optical axis. The electronic camera system apparatus according to claim 5.   A monitor that displays two video signals of a horizontal wide angle of view signal from the plurality of cameras and an image signal from the zoom camera mounted on a pan head as one screen has means for designating an area with a touch panel. Surrounding the desired range of the substantially wide horizontal wide-angle signal screen displayed above with the touch panel input means and marking, and enlarging the enlarged image frame of the circled range; 5. The method further comprising: transmitting a pan head control signal and a zoom control signal for capturing the enlarged image frame to the pan head control means and the zoom camera control means. The electronic camera system apparatus according to claim 5.   A monitor that displays two video signals of a horizontal wide angle of view signal from the plurality of cameras and an image signal from the zoom camera mounted on a pan head as one screen has means for designating an area with a touch panel. Surrounding the desired range of zoom camera image output displayed above with the touch panel input means, determining an enlarged image frame in the enclosed area, and capturing the enlarged image frame 6. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a step of transmitting a pan head control signal and a zoom control signal for the pan head control means and the zoom camera control means. Camera system device.

Images