JP2006121584A - Camera operating device, pan / tilt camera, camera operating device control method, pan / tilt camera control method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve operability of a panning/tilting camera that is rotated at 360° or more in a panning direction. <P>SOLUTION: When a horizontal angle is 180° or more separated from a reference angle position in a clock-wise direction or in a counter-clock-wise direction, a command for correcting horizontal and vertical angles of the panning/tilting camera is issued to the panning/tilting camera so that the horizontal angle falls within 180° from the reference angle position in both the clock-wise direction and the counter-clock-wise direction, and an imaged image is rotated to keep the image angle before subjected to the angle correction. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a pan / tilt camera that can rotate in a horizontal direction and a vertical direction, a camera operation device for the pan / tilt camera, and a control method thereof.

  Many pan-tilt cameras that can be rotated in the horizontal direction (pan direction) and vertical direction (tilt direction) by a drive device have a movable range in the tilt direction of 90 ° to 180 ° and a movable range in the pan direction of 90 ° to 360 °. It has been released. However, some products used for surveillance cameras and the like have been put on the market in which the movable range in the pan direction is made endless. As a structure, for example, as described in Patent Document 1 and the like, a slip ring is used as a means for transmitting a power source and an electric signal without using a flexible cable as a movable part. However, if a slip ring is used in a pan / tilt camera, there are disadvantages such as an increase in cost and an increase in the size of the apparatus.

In view of this, there has been devised a product that uses a flexible cable or the like for electrical connection without using a slip ring and has a pan movable range of, for example, about 720 ° instead of endless.
JP 2001-183738 A

  However, the pan movable range is 720 °. In other words, even if the pan can be rotated 360 ° clockwise or counterclockwise from the center of the movable range, for example, the operator operates the pan tilt camera to stop the pan. If the position is at a position rotated 300 ° counterclockwise from the center position, the operator can move only 60 ° counterclockwise from that position. If the operator wants to rotate counterclockwise urgently, the limiter immediately You may not be able to rotate as you think. Therefore, even if a wide range of movement is taken, there is a possibility that the merit cannot be fully utilized.

  The present invention is for solving the above-described problems, and a camera operating device, a pan / tilt camera, a control method for the camera operating device, and a pan / tilt camera that greatly improve operability when rotating in the pan direction by 360 ° or more. The purpose is a control method.

  In order to achieve the above object, the camera operating device of the present invention is configured to be rotatable at least 360 ° in the horizontal direction and rotatable in the clockwise direction and the counterclockwise direction with respect to the horizontal rotation axis in the vertical direction. A camera operation device for operating the pan / tilt camera, an image acquisition unit for acquiring a captured image from the pan / tilt camera, an angle acquisition unit for acquiring an angle between a vertical direction and a horizontal direction of the pan / tilt camera, When the horizontal angle acquired by the angle acquisition means is 180 degrees or more clockwise or counterclockwise from the reference angle position, the horizontal angle is 180 degrees clockwise or counterclockwise from the reference angle position. When a command for correcting the horizontal and vertical angles of the pan / tilt camera is issued to the pan / tilt camera so that the pan / tilt camera falls within Moni, characterized in that it and a control means for performing rotation processing of the captured image acquired by the image acquiring means so as to keep the image angle before the angle modification.

  The pan / tilt camera of the present invention is a pan / tilt camera configured to be able to rotate at least 360 ° or more in the horizontal direction and to rotate clockwise and counterclockwise with respect to the horizontal rotation axis in the vertical direction. Image acquisition means for acquiring a captured image, angle acquisition means for acquiring the vertical and horizontal angles of the pan / tilt camera, and the horizontal angle acquired by the angle acquisition means is clockwise from a reference angular position, or If the angle is 180 ° or more in the counterclockwise direction, the horizontal and vertical angles of the pan / tilt camera are corrected so that the horizontal angle is within 180 ° in both the clockwise and counterclockwise directions from the reference angle position. And a control means for rotating the captured image acquired by the image acquisition means so as to maintain the image angle before the angle correction. The features.

  Also, the control method of the camera operating device of the present invention is a pan / tilt structure that can rotate at least 360 ° in the horizontal direction and can rotate clockwise and counterclockwise with respect to the horizontal rotation axis in the vertical direction. A method for controlling a camera operating device for operating a camera, an image obtaining step for obtaining a captured image from the pan / tilt camera, an angle obtaining step for obtaining vertical and horizontal angles of the pan / tilt camera, When the horizontal angle acquired in the angle acquisition step is 180 ° or more away from the reference angle position in the clockwise or counterclockwise direction, the horizontal angle is 180 ° from the reference angle position in both the clockwise and counterclockwise directions. When a command for correcting the horizontal and vertical angles of the pan / tilt camera is issued to the pan / tilt camera so that the pan / tilt camera falls within Moni, characterized in that it and a control step of performing rotation processing of the captured image acquired by the image acquiring step so as to keep the image angle before the angle modification.

  The pan-tilt camera control method of the present invention is a pan-tilt camera configured to be rotatable at least 360 ° in the horizontal direction and in the vertical direction to be rotated clockwise and counterclockwise with respect to the horizontal rotation axis. The image acquisition step for acquiring a captured image, the angle acquisition step for acquiring the vertical and horizontal angles of the pan / tilt camera, and the horizontal angle acquired by the angle acquisition step is a reference angle. When the position is clockwise or counterclockwise by 180 ° or more from the position, the horizontal and vertical directions of the pan-tilt camera are set so that the horizontal angle is within 180 ° from the reference angle position in both the clockwise and counterclockwise directions. In addition to correcting the angle of the direction, a control is performed to rotate the captured image acquired by the image acquisition step so as to maintain the image angle before the angle correction. And having a step.

  According to the present invention, the operability of a pan / tilt camera that rotates 360 ° or more in the pan direction is greatly improved.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining pan / tilt camera control according to the present invention, FIG. 1 (a) is a schematic side view of the pan / tilt camera viewed from the side, and FIG. 1 (b) is FIG. 1 (a). It is a graph showing the camera angle of the tilt part. FIG. 1C is a plan view of the view of FIG. 1A viewed from below, and FIG. 1D is a graph showing the camera angle of the pan portion of FIG. 1C. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a state in which the pan and tilt portions are rotated and angle is corrected by the angle correction control described later, and FIG. 2 (a) is a diagram of FIG. FIG. 2A corresponds to FIG. 1B, FIG. 2C corresponds to FIG. 1C, and FIG. 2D corresponds to FIG.

  In FIGS. 1A and 1C, reference numeral 1 denotes a drive motor for the pan unit 12, which is fixed to the base 2, and the base portion 2 is fixed to the lower case 3. An upper case 28 made of a transparent material is fixed to the base 2. The pan / tilt camera 30 is fixed to the ceiling plate 4 by the lower case 3. The motor 1 is provided with a shaft 1 a and is fixed to a pedestal 6, and support portions 7 a and 7 b are fixed to the pedestal 6. A tilt drive motor 8 is fixed to the support portion 7 a, and a motor shaft 8 a provided on the motor 8 is fixed to the camera unit 10. Further, the camera unit 10 is provided with a shaft 10a coaxially with the motor shaft 8a and is rotatably inserted into the support portion 7b, and a lens portion 11 is provided at the tip portion. The pan unit 12 and the tilt unit 14 are provided with home position sensors (not shown), and the motors 1 and 8 have built-in encoders so that the respective unit positions can be confirmed. A camera controller 101 controls the operation of the entire pan / tilt camera and the acquired video, and has a function of connecting to an operation device for operating the camera via a dedicated line or a communication line such as a network. The detailed internal configuration of the camera controller will be described later.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the appearance of the pan / tilt camera operation device 20 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, wherein 15 is a power switch, 16 is a monitor that displays the image of the pan / tilt camera, and 17 is a pan / tilt operation. 17a is a key for moving the pan unit 12 clockwise, 17b is the pan unit 12 counterclockwise, 17c is the tilt unit 14 clockwise, and 17d is a key for moving the tilt unit 14 counterclockwise. The pan unit 12 and the tilt unit 14 have a movable range, and LEDs 18a, 18b, 18c, and 18d that are turned on when the respective units are rotated to the limit of the movable range are provided corresponding to the respective keys. ing. 19a is an LED that lights when the pan unit 12 is at a position rotated 180 ° or more clockwise from the center position, and 19b is an LED that is turned at a position rotated 180 ° or more counterclockwise from the center position. It is an LED that lights up. The switch 21 is a switch for correcting the pan unit 12 to an appropriate position at that time, and the LED 22 is rotating when the switch 21 is pressed and the pan unit 12 is rotated to the proper position. It is LED showing that it is. The detailed internal configuration of the operating device will be described later.

  Next, the control of this embodiment will be described. The pan / tilt camera 30 shown in FIG. 1 is operated by the controller 20 shown in FIG. 3 while the operator operates the pan / tilt camera 30 with the keys 17a, 17b, 17c, and 17d while viewing the image on the monitor 16 to rotate the tilt unit 14 clockwise. This represents a state in which the pan unit 12 is rotated clockwise to a position of 270 °. At this time, since the pan unit 12 is rotated by 180 ° or more from the center (FIG. 1B, 0 ° position), the LED 19a shown in FIG. 3 is in a lighting state. In this state, when the operator tries to rotate the pan unit 12 counterclockwise, the pan unit 12 can rotate only 90 ° counterclockwise. Accordingly, the operator presses the correction switch 21 at an appropriate time to the appropriate position where the pan unit 12 can rotate 180 ° or more in both the clockwise direction and the counterclockwise direction at the same position as the position where the pan / tilt camera 30 is currently monitored. The pan unit 12 and the tilt unit 14 can be rotated. FIG. 2 shows a state in which the pan / tilt camera 30 in the state of FIG. 1 is rotated to an appropriate position by pressing the correction switch 21.

  In FIG. 2, the tilt unit 14 is rotated from a position of 60 ° clockwise to a position of 60 ° counterclockwise, and the pan unit 12 is rotated counterclockwise from a position of 270 ° clockwise to a position of 90 ° clockwise. Represents a state. Although the tilt unit 14 is rotated to the opposite position with respect to the center position (0 °), the pan unit 12 is also rotated 180 ° with respect to the center position. It will be reflected. However, since the camera unit 10 is rotated counterclockwise from the center position, the video image displayed on the monitor 16 is signal-processed inside the camera unit 10 to display a video image rotated by 180 °. In this state, the operator can rotate 270 ° counterclockwise and 450 ° clockwise. While the pan / tilt camera 30 is in the correction rotation, the LED 22 is lit to inform the operator that the rotation is being corrected. Further, during the correction rotation, the image displayed on the monitor 16 may be output as a still image before rotation and a normal image may be output after correction.

  FIG. 4 shows a state in which the pan / tilt camera 30 is rotated to an appropriate position by pressing the correction switch 21 when the initial position of the pan unit 12 is 315 ° clockwise and the initial position of the tilt unit 14 is 60 ° clockwise. Yes. 4C is a plan view of the pan / tilt camera 30 viewed from below, and FIG. 4A is a side view of FIG. 4C viewed from the direction of arrow F. FIG. FIG. 4B is a graph showing the angle of the tilt unit 14, and FIG. 4D is a graph showing the angle of the pan unit 12.

  As shown in FIG. 4B, in this case, even when the correction switch 21 is pressed, the tilt unit 14 does not rotate from the position of 60 ° clockwise. However, the pan unit 12 rotates 360 ° counterclockwise from a position of 315 ° clockwise to a position of 45 ° counterclockwise. By controlling in this way, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the tilt unit 14 is rotated to the position of 60 ° counterclockwise and the pan unit 12 is rotated to the position of the clock 135 as compared with the case. Since the corrected pan position approaches the center of the movable range, the range that can be operated by the operator is equalized.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the internal configuration of the operating device according to the present embodiment. Reference numeral 801 denotes an interface for connecting to a pan / tilt camera via a communication line, which transmits a camera control command to the pan / tilt camera, receives camera state information (angle information) from the pan / tilt camera, receives a video, and the like. Reference numeral 802 temporarily stores the received video and holds various control programs and the like. Reference numeral 803 denotes a CPU that controls the entire controller 20 and manages and controls processing shown in a flowchart described later. Reference numeral 804 denotes a ROM that stores programs for controlling the operation device and controlling the camera. Reference numeral 805 denotes an operation input unit that receives an operation input from each operation member shown in FIG. Reference numeral 806 denotes a display control unit that performs display control on the monitor 16 of FIG.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating the internal configuration of the camera controller of the present embodiment. An interface 901 is connected to each unit of the pan / tilt camera and receives a video signal. Further, unit position information inputted from the home position sensor of the pan unit 12 and the tilt unit 14 and an encoder of the motor can be inputted, and these are used as information for specifying an angle in the pan and tilt directions. Reference numeral 902 temporarily stores the received video and holds various control programs and the like. Reference numeral 903 denotes a CPU that controls the entire camera controller. A ROM 804 stores a program for camera control. Reference numeral 905 denotes an interface for connecting to the controller device 20 via a communication line, which receives a camera control command from the controller device, transmits camera state information (angle information) to the controller device, transmits video, and the like. .

  Next, processing related to the control of the pan / tilt camera 30 according to the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In the present embodiment, this flowchart is executed on the controller device side.

  In step S1, the angle of the pan unit 12 is confirmed based on the camera state information (camera angle information) received from the camera controller, and the process proceeds to step S2. In step S2, it is confirmed whether it is 180 ° or more away from the center position. If not, the process returns to step S1. When it is away, the process proceeds to step S3, and it is confirmed whether or not an angle correction command is input from the operation input unit 805. If the angle correction command has not been input, the process returns to step S1. If the angle correction command has been input, the process proceeds to step S4 to check whether the center position is away from the center position by 271 ° or more. If it is more than 271 °, the process proceeds to step S5, a command for rotating the pan unit 12 in the 360 ° center position direction is issued to the camera controller, and the process returns to step S1. If it is not 271 ° or more away from the center position, a command is issued to rotate the tilt unit 14 to an angle opposite to the current angle. In step S7, signal processing for rotating the image by 180 ° is performed. In step S8, a command for rotating the pan unit 12 by 180 ° toward the center position is issued. Finally, the process returns to step S1.

(Second embodiment)
In the first embodiment, when the pan unit 12 exceeds 180 °, the correction switch 21 is pressed to return the pan / tilt camera 30 to a position close to the center position. For example, the operation key 17 is not input for a certain period of time. In such a case, it may be automatically returned to a position close to the center position. Further, when the key 17 is pressed while the position of the pan / tilt camera 30 is automatically corrected, the control may be performed such that the key input is ignored or the position correction is stopped.

(Third embodiment)
In the first and second embodiments, the movable range of the pan unit 12 is 360 ° in both the clockwise direction and the counterclockwise direction, but the movable range may be doubled to 720 °, for example. An example of position correction when the movable range is 720 ° is shown as a graph in FIG.

  By pressing the position correction switch 21, the tilt unit 14 rotates from a position of 60 ° clockwise to a position of 60 ° counterclockwise, and the pan unit 12 counterclockwise from a position of 630 ° clockwise to a position of 90 ° clockwise. By rotating 540 ° clockwise, the pan unit 12 is returned to a position closer to the center position. As in the first embodiment, since the camera unit 10 of the tilt unit 14 is rotated counterclockwise from the center position, the image displayed on the monitor 16 is signal-processed inside the operation device 20 and the image rotated 180 ° is displayed. .

(Fourth embodiment)
In the first, second, and third embodiments, the center position is determined so that the movable range of the pan unit 12 is the same angle in both the clockwise direction and the counterclockwise direction. For example, when the pan unit 12 that rotates 720 ° in each direction as in the third embodiment is overwhelmingly rotated clockwise, the center position is shifted 360 ° counterclockwise, The angle may be 1080 ° in the clockwise direction and 360 ° in the counterclockwise direction. The graph in this case is shown in FIG.

  By pressing the position correction switch 21, the tilt unit 14 is rotated from a position of 60 ° clockwise to a position of 60 ° counterclockwise, and the pan unit 12 is 900 from a position of 990 ° clockwise to a position of 90 ° clockwise. By rotating counterclockwise, the pan unit 12 is returned to a position closer to the center position. As in the first embodiment, since the camera unit 10 of the tilt unit 14 is rotated counterclockwise from the center position, the image displayed on the monitor 16 is signal-processed inside the operation device 20 and the image rotated 180 ° is displayed. .

(Other embodiments)
In the above embodiment, the flowchart of FIG. 7 is executed on the controller device side, but a part or all of the processing may be executed on the camera controller side. For example, the camera controller holds camera state information (angle information) from the interface 901 in the RAM 902, and performs angle correction and image rotation processing in response to receiving a correction command based on the correction button 21 from the operation device. Can be started. In this case, the CPU 903 controls and manages the processing of the flowchart of FIG. In addition, it goes without saying that the present invention can take various embodiments, for example, only the rotation processing of the image in S7 can be performed on the operating device side.

(A) is the schematic side view which looked at the pan-tilt camera which concerns on this invention from the horizontal direction. (B) is a graph showing the camera angle of the tilt portion of FIG. (C) is the top view which looked at the figure of Fig.1 (a) from the bottom. (D) is the graph showing the camera angle of the pan part of FIG.1 (c). FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating a state in which the pan and tilt units of the pan / tilt camera in the state of FIG. 1 are rotated by angle correction control and the angle is corrected, and corresponds to FIG. FIG. 1B is a graph showing a state in which the pan / tilt unit in the state of FIG. 1 is rotated by the angle correction control and the angle is corrected by the angle correction control, and corresponds to FIG. (C) is a diagram showing a state in which the pan / tilt unit in the state shown in FIG. 1 has been rotated by the angle correction control, and the angle is corrected, and corresponds to FIG. 1 (c). FIG. 1D is a graph showing a state in which the pan / tilt unit in the state of FIG. 1 is rotated by the angle correction control and the angle is corrected, and corresponds to FIG. It is the schematic showing the operating device 20 of the pan / tilt camera. (A) is a figure for demonstrating control when the initial position of the pan unit 12 is clockwise 315 degrees, and is the schematic side view which looked at the pan-tilt camera from the arrow F direction of FIG.4 (c). FIG. 4B is a graph for explaining the control when the initial position of the pan unit 12 is 315 ° in the clockwise direction, and represents the camera angle of the tilt portion in FIG. (C) is a figure for demonstrating control when the initial position of the pan unit 12 is 315 degrees clockwise, and is the top view which looked at Fig.4 (a) from the bottom. FIG. 4D is a graph for explaining the control when the initial position of the pan unit 12 is 315 ° in the clockwise direction, and represents the camera angle of the pan portion in FIG. (A) is a graph showing the angle of the tilt part for demonstrating 3rd embodiment. (B) is the graph showing the angle of the bread | pan part for demonstrating 3rd embodiment. (A) is a graph showing the angle of the tilt part for demonstrating 4th embodiment. (B) is a graph showing the angle of the bread | pan part for demonstrating 4th embodiment. It is a flowchart figure showing control of a first embodiment. It is a figure explaining the internal structure of the operating device of this embodiment. It is a figure explaining the internal structure of the camera controller of this embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Pan motor 8 Tilt motor 10 Camera unit 12 Pan unit 14 Tilt unit 17a Pan operation key 17b Pan operation key 17c Tilt operation key 17d Tilt operation key 19a Pan part angle over LED
19b Pan angle over LED
21 Angle correction switch 22 Angle correction LED
30 Pan tilt camera

Claims (9)

A camera operation device for operating a pan / tilt camera configured to be rotatable at least 360 ° in the horizontal direction and rotatable in the clockwise direction and the counterclockwise direction with respect to the horizontal rotation axis in the vertical direction,
Image acquisition means for acquiring a captured image from the pan-tilt camera;
An angle acquisition means for acquiring an angle between a vertical direction and a horizontal direction of the pan-tilt camera;
When the horizontal angle acquired by the angle acquisition means is 180 degrees or more clockwise or counterclockwise from the reference angle position, the horizontal angle is 180 degrees clockwise or counterclockwise from the reference angle position. A command for correcting the horizontal and vertical angles of the pan / tilt camera is issued to the pan / tilt camera so that the angle is within the range, and the image acquisition unit acquires the image angle before the angle correction. And a control means for performing rotation processing of the captured image. It further comprises an input means for inputting an angle correction command according to the operation of the operator,
2. The camera operating device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit performs the angle correction and image rotation processing when an angle correction command is received from the input unit. 3.   The angle correction command is automatically issued when the horizontal angle is 180 ° or more clockwise or counterclockwise from the reference angle position and there is no horizontal and vertical driving for a predetermined time. The camera operating device according to claim 2.   The camera according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising display means for displaying that the horizontal angle is 180 degrees or more clockwise or counterclockwise from the reference angle position. Operating device.   2. A display unit is provided for notifying that the pan / tilt camera is rotating when the pan / tilt camera is rotated in a horizontal direction or a vertical direction when the angle correction command is issued. 4. The camera operating device according to any one of 3 above.   When the angle correction command is issued and the pan / tilt camera rotates in the horizontal or vertical direction, the image before rotation of the pan / tilt camera is continuously output as a still image, and a normal image is output after the rotation is stopped. The camera operation device according to claim 1, wherein the camera operation device is a camera operation device. A pan / tilt camera configured to be able to rotate at least 360 ° in the horizontal direction and in the vertical direction to rotate clockwise and counterclockwise with respect to the horizontal rotation axis;
Image acquisition means for acquiring a captured image;
An angle acquisition means for acquiring an angle between a vertical direction and a horizontal direction of the pan-tilt camera;
When the horizontal angle acquired by the angle acquisition means is 180 degrees or more clockwise or counterclockwise from the reference angle position, the horizontal angle is 180 degrees clockwise or counterclockwise from the reference angle position. Control means for correcting the horizontal and vertical angles of the pan / tilt camera so as to be within, and for rotating the captured image acquired by the image acquisition means so as to maintain the image angle before the angle correction; And a pan-tilt camera. A control method of a camera operating device for operating a pan / tilt camera configured to be able to rotate at least 360 ° in the horizontal direction and in the vertical direction to be rotated clockwise and counterclockwise with respect to the horizontal rotation axis. There,
An image acquisition step of acquiring a captured image from the pan-tilt camera;
An angle obtaining step for obtaining an angle between a vertical direction and a horizontal direction of the pan-tilt camera;
When the horizontal angle acquired in the angle acquisition step is 180 ° or more away from the reference angle position in the clockwise or counterclockwise direction, the horizontal angle is 180 ° from the reference angle position in both the clockwise and counterclockwise directions. The command for correcting the horizontal and vertical angles of the pan / tilt camera is issued to the pan / tilt camera so as to be within the range, and the image acquisition step is performed so as to maintain the image angle before the angle correction. And a control process for performing rotation processing of the captured image. A control method of a pan / tilt camera configured to be rotatable at least 360 ° in a horizontal direction and rotatable in a clockwise direction and a counterclockwise direction with respect to a horizontal rotation axis in a vertical direction,
An image acquisition step of acquiring a captured image;
An angle obtaining step for obtaining an angle between a vertical direction and a horizontal direction of the pan-tilt camera;
When the horizontal angle acquired in the angle acquisition step is 180 ° or more away from the reference angle position in the clockwise or counterclockwise direction, the horizontal angle is 180 ° from the reference angle position in both the clockwise and counterclockwise directions. A control step of correcting the horizontal and vertical angles of the pan / tilt camera so as to be within, and a rotation process of the captured image acquired by the image acquisition step so as to maintain the image angle before the angle correction; And a pan-tilt camera control method.

Images