JP2008118271A - Remote control system of imaging apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide the remote control system of an imaging apparatus that can remotely control the operation of the imaging apparatus with ease even when a large transmission delay is caused during transmission of a video signal output from the imaging apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: The remote control system 1 of the imaging apparatus according to the present invention includes: an operation video signal generating means 6 of processing an original video signal output from the imaging apparatus 3 to generate an operation video signal which is smaller in data amount and shorter in delay time than the original video signal; a first transmission means 10 of compressing the original video signal and operation video signal respectively and transmitting compressed data thereof through a communication line 2; a second transmission means 20 of receiving the compressed data of the original video signal and operation video signal from the first transmission means 10 through the communication line 2 and decompressing those compressed data respectively; and a display device 5 which is arranged at a position where the operator of an operation device 4 can view and displays the decompressed operation video signal. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a remote control system for an imaging apparatus.

  In recent years, an imaging device including a television camera and a pan head, and an operation device (remote controller) for controlling the operation of the imaging device are arranged remotely from each other, and both are connected to a communication line (IP network such as the Internet). The remote control system connected with) is widespread. In this remote control system, an image captured by a television camera can be transmitted to a remote place via a communication line and displayed on a monitor, and an operator can visually check this image while operating the operation tool (joystick, dial) of the operating device. , Buttons, etc.) can be operated to remotely control the operation of the imaging device (for example, zoom, focus, pan / tilt drive, etc.).

  Such a remote control system for an imaging apparatus is useful for television broadcast applications such as weather forecasts and news program back scenes. In the case of such broadcast use, a high-quality video signal, for example, a video signal for high definition television broadcasting (HDTV: High Definition Television) (hereinafter referred to as “HD video signal”) is transmitted via a communication line. And high-speed transmission is required. At present, for example, when HD video signals are compressed and transmitted by HD MPEG2 (Moving Picture Expert Group Phase 2), a transmission speed of 16 to 64 Mbps is required. In order to transmit high-quality video signals at high speed via communication lines with limited communication speeds, it is necessary to increase the compression rate of the video signals. Therefore, in recent years, compression at a higher compression rate is required. A compression method such as “H.264” has been developed.

JP 2000-358239 A JP 2001-333320 A

  However, the higher the video signal compression rate, the longer the compression / decompression processing (encoding / decoding) takes, and the transmission delay due to this compression / decompression processing increases. For this reason, a large time lag (for example, about several seconds) occurs between the video displayed on the monitor visually recognized by the operator during the operation and the video currently captured by the imaging device. As a result, the operator operates the operating device while viewing the delayed video on the monitor, and the operation amount is inevitably excessive. Therefore, there has been a problem that it is very difficult to remotely control the operation of the imaging apparatus such as zoom, focus, pan / tilt drive and the like. In particular, with regard to focus adjustment, even if the operator adjusts the operation amount in anticipation of transmission delay, it has hardly been possible to accurately focus on the subject.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to operate the imaging apparatus even when a large transmission delay occurs in the video signal output from the imaging apparatus. It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved remote control system for an image pickup apparatus that can be remotely controlled easily.

  In order to solve the above problems, according to an aspect of the present invention, an imaging device and an operation device are connected via a communication line, and a control signal is transmitted from the operation device to the imaging device via the communication line. An imaging device remote control system is provided for remotely controlling the apparatus. The remote control system for the imaging apparatus includes an original video signal output from the imaging apparatus, an operation video signal generating means for generating an operation video signal with a smaller amount of data, an original video signal output from the imaging apparatus, And a first transmission unit that compresses the operation video signal output from the operation video signal generation unit and transmits the compressed data of the original video signal and the compression data of the operation video signal via the communication line, respectively. Receiving the compressed data of the original video signal and the compressed data of the operation video signal from the first transmission means via the communication line, and expanding the compressed data of the original video signal and the compressed data of the operation video signal, respectively. A transmission means for displaying an operation video signal which is disposed at a position where the operator of the operating device can visually recognize and expanded by the second transmission means. Characterized in that it comprises a; display device and that. The operation video signal generation means may generate the operation video signal by processing the original video signal, or generate the operation video signal independently of the original video signal. Also good.

  With this configuration, it is necessary for the operation video signal generation means to operate the operation video signal having a data amount smaller than that of the original video signal, for example, the operation of the imaging device (zoom, focus, pan / tilt drive, etc.) An operation video signal having a minimum amount of data is generated, the operation video signal is compressed by the first transmission unit, and then transmitted to the second transmission unit via the communication line. Can be decompressed by the second transmission means and displayed on the display device. Since this video signal for operation has a low data amount, compression / decompression processing can be executed at high speed and transmission delay is small. Therefore, as described above, by transmitting the operation video signal together with the original video signal and displaying the operation video on the display device, the operator who has viewed the operation video with a small transmission delay can The operation can be easily operated.

  The first transmission means includes a first encoder that compresses the original video signal using the first compression method, and a second encoder that compresses the operation video signal using a second compression method different from the first compression method. The second transmission means includes: a first decoder that decompresses the original video signal by the first compression method; and a second decoder that decompresses the operation video signal by the second compression method. You may make it prepare. As a result, the original video signal and the operation video signal can be transmitted by different compression methods, so that the transmission delay of the operation video signal can be further reduced.

  The first compression method may be an inter-frame compression method, and the second compression method may be an intra-frame compression method. As a result, an original video signal with a large amount of data can be compressed and transmitted using an inter-frame compression method with a high compression rate, while an operation video signal with a small amount of data has a low compression rate but is not compressed or expanded. It can be compressed and transmitted using a high-speed intra-frame compression method.

  The operation video signal generating means generates an operation video signal by converting a high-quality original video signal (for example, an HD video signal) into a low-quality video signal (for example, an NTSC-compliant SD video signal). You may make it do. As a result, the data amount of the operation video signal can be greatly reduced within a range in which the operator who has visually recognized the operation video can suitably operate the imaging apparatus.

  Further, the operation video signal generation means may generate the operation video signal by reducing the color, gradation and / or number of frames of the original video signal. As a result, the data amount of the operation video signal can be suitably reduced within a range in which the operator who has visually recognized the operation video can suitably operate the imaging apparatus.

  Further, the operation video signal generation means may generate the operation video signal by extracting a part of the video signal of the screen area represented by the original video signal. As a result, the data amount of the operation video signal can be suitably reduced within a range in which the operator who has visually recognized the operation video can suitably operate the imaging apparatus.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to easily remotely control the operation of the imaging apparatus even when a large transmission delay occurs in the video signal output from the imaging apparatus.

  Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, in this specification and drawing, about the component which has the substantially same function structure, duplication description is abbreviate | omitted by attaching | subjecting the same code | symbol.

(First embodiment)
First, with reference to FIG. 1, a remote control system for an imaging apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a remote control system 1 for an imaging apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  The remote control system 1 of the imaging apparatus according to the present embodiment is used for broadcasting applications (television camera systems) such as weather forecasts and news program back scenes, monitoring applications (surveillance camera systems) for disaster prevention and crime prevention, and the like. This is a remote controllable imaging system used.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the remote control system 1 of the imaging device includes an imaging device 3 that images a subject and outputs a video signal, an operating device 4 for remotely operating the imaging device 3, and an operating device 4. And a display device 5 arranged adjacent to each other and displaying an image corresponding to an input video signal. Among these, the imaging device 3 is disposed at an imaging location where a subject to be imaged is present (for example, a shooting location in the case of a television broadcast application, a monitoring location in the case of a surveillance camera application, or the like). On the other hand, the operation device 4 and the display device 5 are arranged at an operation location (for example, a television broadcast station, a monitoring camera monitoring room, etc.) where a system administrator (an operator of the imaging device 3) is located. . As described above, the imaging device 3, the operation device 4, and the display device 5 are arranged at locations separated from each other.

  Further, at the imaging location, corresponding to the imaging device 3, the operation video signal generation means 6 that processes the video signal output from the imaging device 3 to generate the operation video signal, and the output from the imaging device 3. The first transmission means 10 (encoder) for compressing the video signal to be transmitted and transmitting it through the communication line 2 is provided. On the other hand, a second transmission means 20 (decoder) that receives and expands a video signal transmitted via the communication line 2 is provided at the imaging location corresponding to the operation device 4 and the display device 5. . Note that a part or all of the operation video signal generation unit 6 and the first transmission unit 10 may be built in the imaging device 3, and a part or all of the second transmission unit 20 includes the operation device. 4 or the display device 5.

  As described above, the remote control system 1 of the imaging apparatus according to the present embodiment is a device group (imaging system) including the imaging apparatus 3, the operation video signal generation unit 6, and the first transmission unit 10 arranged at the imaging location. And a device group (operation system) including the operation device 4, the display device 5, and the second transmission unit 20 arranged at the operation location are connected via the communication line 2. Thereby, the video imaged by the imaging device 3 is transmitted and displayed on the display device 5, and the operation of the imaging device 3 can be remotely controlled by the operation device 4. Below, each part which comprises the remote control system 1 of this imaging device is demonstrated in detail.

  The imaging device 3 is an imaging means that functions as, for example, a television camera such as a weather camera, a surveillance camera, or the like. The imaging apparatus 3 includes a camera 31 that captures an image of a subject, a camera platform 32 on which the camera 31 is mounted, and an imaging device control unit 33 that controls the operation of the camera 31 and the camera platform 32.

  The camera 31 includes, for example, a lens device 31a and an image pickup device (not shown) such as a CCD, and has a structure that allows manual adjustment of focus, zoom, iris, and the like. The camera 31 images a subject, generates a video signal of a moving image (such as a television video), and outputs the video signal. Specifically, the camera 31 photoelectrically converts a subject optical image captured via the lens device 31a into a video signal, performs amplification processing and predetermined signal processing on the video signal, and outputs the video signal to the outside. The video signal output by the imaging device 3 may be either a digital video signal or an analog video signal. In the following description, an example of a digital video signal will be described.

  The pan / tilt head 32 includes a pan driving mechanism and a tilt driving mechanism (not shown), and rotates the camera 31 in the pan direction and the tilt direction (panning / tilting) to change the imaging direction of the camera 31. The imaging device control unit 33 includes various control circuits and the like. Based on the control signal transmitted from the operation device 4, the operation of the camera 31 and the camera platform 32 (for example, focus adjustment, zoom adjustment, iris adjustment, Pan drive, tilt drive, etc.).

  The operation device 4 is an operation panel for an operator to operate the various operations of the imaging device 3, and a control signal (for example, focus control) that controls the various operations of the imaging device according to an input operation by the operator. A signal, a zoom control signal, an iris control signal, a pan drive control signal, a tilt drive control signal, etc.) are generated and output to the second transmission means 20.

  In order to accept the various input operations, the operation device 4 includes a plurality of operation tools corresponding to the operations of the imaging device 3. Specifically, the operating device 4 in the example of FIG. 1 is provided with a focus dial 41, a zoom dial 42, and a joystick 43. For example, the operator can adjust the focus or zoom of the camera 31 by rotating the focus dial 41 or the zoom dial 42, and can tilt the joystick 43 up and down and left and right to move the camera platform 32. The camera 31 can be panned and tilted by panning and tilting. In addition to these operating tools, the operating device 4 includes switches for operating various functions of the camera 31 and the pan head 32 (for example, shot function, iris adjustment, gain adjustment, extender magnification setting, etc.). An operation tool may be provided.

  The display device 5 is a monitor that displays an image corresponding to an input video signal. The display device 5 displays video corresponding to the video signal output from the imaging device 3 and transmitted via the communication line 2. The display device 5 is arranged adjacent to the operation device 4 at a position where the operator of the operation device 4 can visually recognize. Thus, the operator can operate the operation device 4 while viewing the video displayed on the display device 5. The display device 5 may be composed of two or more monitors including a monitor that displays an original video, which will be described later, and a monitor that displays an operation video, or the original video and the operation on the same screen. It may be composed of a single monitor that displays both video images.

  Next, a configuration for transmitting a video signal and a control signal between the imaging device 3 and the operation device 4 and the display device 5 through the communication line 2, that is, an operation video signal generating means 6, The first transmission means 10 and the second transmission means 20 will be described in detail.

  The communication line 2 is, for example, a public line network such as the Internet, a telephone line network, a satellite communication network, a LAN such as Ethernet (registered trademark), a dedicated line network such as WAN, IP-VPN, and / or a wired cable. A network for data communication composed of, for example, wired or wireless.

  The video signal output from the imaging device 3 by the imaging process (hereinafter, the video signal output from the imaging device 3 will be referred to as an “original video signal”) is described as the operation video signal generation means 6 and the first. 1 transmission means 10.

  First, the operation video signal generation means 6 will be described. The operation video signal generation means 6 includes, for example, a converter that converts the format of the video signal, an image processing device that processes color data, gradation, the number of frames, and the like of the video signal. The operation video signal generation means 6 processes the original video signal input from the imaging device 3 and generates an operation video signal having a data amount smaller than that of the original video signal. Specifically, the operation video signal generation means 6 generates, for example, an operation video signal having a low image quality and a small amount of data from an original video signal having a high image quality and a large amount of data.

  This video signal for operation is a video signal for displaying on the display device 5 a video (hereinafter referred to as “video for operation”) that is visually recognized when the operator operates the control device 4. This operation video does not necessarily have to be a high-quality and large-screen range image like the original video, and the minimum image quality and screen range within the range in which the operator who viewed the video can perform the desired operation Any video can be used. For example, when the operation video is used as the focus adjustment video, it is sufficient for the operation video to have a minimum image quality that allows the operator to visually observe the operation video and adjust the focus. .

  For this reason, the data amount of the operation video signal can be set to the minimum data amount necessary for the operator to perform the desired operation and display the image with the minimum image quality and screen range. is there. Therefore, as described above, the operation video signal generation means 6 generates the operation video signal having the minimum necessary data amount from the original video signal having a high image quality and a large data amount. Thereby, when the video signal is transmitted from the imaging device 3 to the display device 5 via the communication line 2, the transmission delay of the operation video signal can be greatly reduced as compared with the original video signal.

  Examples of the method for generating the operation video signal by the operation video signal generation unit 6 include the following methods (1) to (5).

(1) Method of converting high-quality original video signal to low-quality video signal The original video signal output from the imaging device 3 is a high-quality video signal (for example, HD for high-definition television broadcasting (HDTV)). In the case of a video signal, the operation video signal generating means 6 converts the HD video signal into a low-quality video signal (for example, an SD (Standard Definition) video signal conforming to NTSC (National TV Standards Committee)). The video signal for operation can be generated by converting the image quality into a low image quality. Thereby, it is possible to generate an operation video signal in which the data amount of the original video signal is reduced to, for example, about 1/4.

(2) Method of reducing / deleting color data of original video signal The operation video signal generating means 6 reduces or deletes the color data of the video included in the original video signal (for example, the color signal (C) The video signal for operation can be generated by deleting and setting only the luminance signal (Y). Thereby, it is possible to generate an operation video signal in which the data amount of the original video signal is reduced to, for example, about one half.

(3) Method of reducing the gradation of the original video signal The operation video signal generation means 6 generates the operation video signal by roughening the gradation of the original video signal (for example, performing bit reduction processing). can do. Thereby, it is possible to generate an operation video signal in which the data amount of the original video signal is reduced to, for example, about two thirds.

(4) Method of reducing the number of frames of the original video signal The operation video signal generating means 6 reduces the number of frames of the original video signal (for example, the number of frames is changed from 30 frames / second to 10 frames / second). The video signal for operation can be generated. Thereby, it is possible to generate an operation video signal in which the data amount of the original video signal is reduced to, for example, about one third.

(5) Method for Extracting Part of Screen Area Represented by Original Video Signal Further, the operation video signal generating means 6 extracts a video signal of a part of the image area of the entire screen area represented by the original video signal. Thus, an operation video signal can be generated. For example, the screen represented by the original video signal can be divided into a plurality of areas, and only the video signals of a part of the divided areas (for example, the central part) can be extracted and used as the operation video signal. Thereby, it is possible to generate an operation video signal in which the data amount of the original video signal is reduced to, for example, about one third.

  In the above, examples of various methods for generating an operation video signal from an original video signal by the operation video signal generation unit 6 have been described. However, each of the above methods may be used alone, or two or more may be combined. May be used. For example, after reducing the image quality by reducing the image quality of the HD video signal to the SD video signal by the method (1), the SD video signal is further converted by the methods (2) to (4). The amount of data can be further reduced by reducing the color data, gradation, or number of frames.

  Next, the first transmission means 10 will be described. The first transmission means 10 performs compression processing of the video signal, and between the second transmission means 20 provided on the operation device 4 side, the compressed data of the video signal and the control signal via the communication line 2. Has the function of transmitting and receiving. Specifically, the first transmission unit 10 compresses the original video signal output from the imaging device 3 and simultaneously compresses the operation video signal output from the operation video signal generation unit 6. The compressed data of the original video signal and the compressed data of the operation video signal are transmitted to the second transmission means 20 via the communication line 2. The first transmission unit 10 receives a control signal for controlling the imaging device 3 from the second transmission unit 20 and outputs the control signal to the imaging device 3.

  Specifically, the first transmission means 10 is input from the first encoder 11 that compresses the original video signal directly input from the imaging device 3 by the first compression method and the operation video signal generation means 6. A second encoder 12 that compresses the video signal for operation using the second compression method, a mixer 13 that mixes the compressed data of the original video signal and the compressed data of the video signal for operation, and the communication line 2. A communication interface 14 for performing communication and a control signal receiving unit 15 are provided.

  The first encoder 11 compresses (encodes) the original video signal input from the imaging device 3 using the first compression method. As described above, since the original video signal is a video signal having a high image quality and a large amount of data such as an HD video signal, the original video signal is compressed at a high compression rate in order to maintain the transmission speed via the communication line 2. Need to be transmitted. Therefore, the first encoder 11 according to the present embodiment employs an inter-frame compression method (time compression method) as a first compression method for compressing the original video signal.

  This inter-frame compression method is a method for extracting and compressing only the difference between frames before and after the video signal, for example, between “1/2 second to several tens of seconds”. For example, “MPEG2”, “MPEG4” ”,“ H.264 ”,“ ACT-L3 ”from Streambox,“ WINDOWS (registered trademark) MEDIA VIDEO ”from Microsoft, and the like. This inter-frame compression method has an advantage that a high compression rate can be obtained as moving image compression. For this reason, an original video signal with a large amount of data can be compressed at a high compression rate to reduce the amount of transmission data, which is preferable from the viewpoint of maintaining high image quality of the original video signal.

  On the other hand, this inter-frame compression method has a drawback in that a delay occurs in transmission of a video signal because it takes time for compression / decompression processing. That is, since it is necessary to accumulate and analyze the video signal in the buffer for the time for extracting the difference, the encoder output is delayed. Further, in the decompression process in the decoder, it is necessary to store and decompress the decompressed video signal in order to refer to the video signals of the preceding and succeeding frames when the received compressed data is expanded in the buffer. There will be a delay in the output.

  Therefore, when only the original video signal is compressed and transmitted by the inter-frame compression method as in the past, a large delay (for example, about several seconds) is caused by the compression / decompression process, so that the operator can While viewing the image, the operation of the imaging device 3 such as focus adjustment could not be suitably operated. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the operation video signal generation means 6 generates an operation video signal with a data amount and a delay smaller than those of the original video signal, and the operation video signal is compressed by the second encoder 12. The transmission method is adopted.

  The second encoder 12 compresses (encodes) the operation video signal input from the operation video signal generation means 6 by the second compression method. In contrast to the first compression method (interframe compression method), the second compression method preferably employs an intraframe compression method (spatial compression method). This intra-frame compression method is a method for compressing a video signal frame by frame. For example, “MotionJPEG”, “Huffyuv”, “no compression AVI”, “RMS”, “DV format”, etc. Can be mentioned. Such an intra-frame compression method has an advantage that the compression / expansion processing is high-speed and the delay associated with the compression / expansion processing is small, although the compression rate is lower than the inter-frame compression method. For this reason, if the operation video signal with a small amount of data is compressed by the intra-frame compression method and transmitted, the operation video can be displayed with almost no delay (for example, within about 2/30 seconds). By visually recognizing this video signal for operation, the operation of the imaging device 3 can be accurately operated.

  Note that the original video signal output from the imaging device 3 according to the present embodiment is a digital signal, but when the original video signal is an analog signal, the first encoder 11 and the second encoder 12 are An AD conversion unit that converts an original video signal that is an analog signal and an operation video signal into digital signals may be provided, and the digital signal after AD conversion may be compressed by the AD conversion unit.

  The mixer 13 mixes the compressed data of the original video signal input from the first encoder 11 and the compressed data of the operation video signal input from the second encoder 12 to the communication interface 14. Output.

  The communication interface 14 is an interface for performing IP communication between the first transmission unit 10 and the second transmission unit 20 via the communication line 2. For example, predetermined data is included in the compressed data of the video signal. Processing (for example, IP packetization processing) is performed. The communication interface 14 may be provided between the first encoder 11 and the mixer 13 and between the second encoder 12 and the mixer 13.

  The control signal receiving unit 15 receives the control signal generated by the operating device 4 to control the operation of the imaging device 3 from the second transmission unit 20 via the communication line 2 and receives the control signal from the imaging device. 3 to the imaging device control unit 33.

  Next, the second transmission means 20 will be described. The second transmission means 20 transmits / receives compressed data of the video signal and the control signal to / from the first transmission means 10 via the communication line 2 and decompresses the received compressed data of the video signal. Has a function to output. Specifically, the second transmission means 20 receives and expands the compressed data of the original video signal from the first transmission means 10 via the communication line 2 and simultaneously compresses the compressed data of the operation video signal. Is received and decompressed. The second transmission means 20 transmits a control signal for controlling the imaging device 3 input from the operation device 4 to the first transmission means 10 via the communication line 2.

  Specifically, the second transmission means 20 includes a first decoder 21 that decompresses the compressed data of the original video signal by the first compression method, and the compressed data of the operation video signal by the second compression method. A second decoder 22 that decompresses the data, a separator 23 that separates the compressed data of the original video signal and the compressed data of the operation video signal, a communication interface 24 for performing communication via the communication line 2, and control A signal transmission unit 25.

  The communication interface 24 is an interface for performing IP communication between the first transmission unit 10 and the second transmission unit 20 via the communication line 2. For example, predetermined data is included in the compressed data of the video signal. Processing (for example, IP packet alignment processing) is performed. The communication interface 24 may be provided between the first decoder 21 and the separator 23 and between the second decoder 22 and the separator 23, respectively.

  The separator 23 separates the compressed data of the original video signal and the compressed data of the operation video signal from the transmission data input from the communication interface 24, and sends the compressed data of the original video signal to the first decoder 21. The compressed data of the operation video signal is output to the second decoder 22.

  The first decoder 21 is a component corresponding to the first encoder 11, and decompresses the compressed data by the same first compression method (interframe compression method) as the first encoder 11. That is, the first decoder 21 decompresses the compressed data of the original video signal received from the first transmission means 10 by the first compression method, and returns it to the original video signal. Since this decompression process uses an inter-frame compression method, a relatively large delay occurs for the reason described above. The first decoder 21 outputs the expanded original video signal to the display device 5, and the display device 5 displays the original video corresponding to the original video signal.

  The second decoder 22 is a component corresponding to the second encoder 12, and decompresses the compressed data by the same second compression method (intraframe compression method) as that of the second encoder 12. That is, the second decoder 22 decompresses the compressed data of the operation video signal received from the first transmission means 10 by the second compression method, and returns it to the original operation video signal. Since this decompression process uses an intra-frame compression method, high-speed processing is possible, and the delay is significantly less than the decompression process of the original video signal. The second decoder 22 outputs the expanded operation video signal to the display device 5, and the display device 5 displays the operation video corresponding to the operation video signal.

  The control signal transmission unit 25 receives a control signal for controlling the operation of the imaging device 3 from the operation device 4, and transmits this control signal to the first transmission means 10 via the communication line 2.

  The configuration of each unit in the remote control system 1 of the imaging apparatus according to the present embodiment has been described above with reference to FIG. Next, the operation of the remote control system 1 for the imaging apparatus will be described.

  The imaging device 3 performs imaging processing on the subject, and outputs the original video signal obtained by the imaging processing to the first transmission unit 10 and the operation video signal generation unit 6, respectively. The first transmission means 10 compresses the original video signal continuously output from the imaging device 3 by the first encoder 11 using the inter-frame compression method (first compression method), and transmits compressed data for transmission. Then, the data is transmitted to the second transmission means 20 via the communication line 2. Further, the second transmission means 20 receives the compressed data of the original video signal transmitted from the first transmission means 10 and decompresses the compressed data by the first decoder 21 by the inter-frame compression method, The original video signal is returned to the display device 5. As a result, the display device 5 displays the original video corresponding to the input original video signal on the display screen.

  Further, in parallel with such transmission and display processing of the original video signal, transmission and display processing of the operation video signal are also executed. Specifically, the operation video signal generation unit 6 processes the original video signal output from the imaging device 3 to generate the operation video signal, and outputs it to the first transmission unit 10. As described above, the video signal for operation is a video signal having a minimum data amount necessary for displaying an image with a minimum image quality and a screen range in which the operator can perform a desired operation. High-speed transmission is possible even with a low compression rate. The first transmission means 10 compresses the operation video signal continuously output from the operation video signal generation means 6 by the second encoder 12 using the intra-frame compression method (second compression method), After being converted into compressed data for transmission, the data is transmitted to the second transmission means 20 via the communication line 2. Further, the second transmission means 20 receives the compressed data of the operation video signal transmitted from the first transmission means 10 and decompresses the compressed data by the second decoder 22 by the intra-frame compression method, The original video signal for operation is returned to the display device 5. The display device 5 displays an operation video corresponding to the input operation video signal on the display screen.

  Then, when the operator operates the operation device 4 to control the operation of the imaging device 3 while visually recognizing the operation video displayed on the display device 5, the operation device 4 responds accordingly. A control signal corresponding to the input operation is generated and output to the second transmission means 20. The second transmission unit 20 transmits the input control signal to the first transmission unit 10 via the communication line 2, and the first transmission unit 10 transmits the control signal to the imaging device control unit of the imaging device 3. To 33. Accordingly, the operation (for example, focus adjustment) of the imaging device 3 is remotely controlled based on the control signal generated by the operation device 4.

  Next, a more specific configuration of the remote control system 1 for the imaging apparatus according to the first embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of the remote control system 1 of the imaging apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the remote control system 1 includes the imaging device 3, “HD-SDI to NTSC downconverter 61” as an example of the operation video signal generation unit 6, and the first transmission unit 10. And the second transmission means 20, the operation device 4, and an HD monitor 5a and an RGB monitor 5b which are examples of the display device 5.

  The imaging device 3 includes an HDTV camera 31, the camera platform 32, and the imaging device control unit 33. The HDTV camera 31 images a subject and outputs an original video signal (HD) that is a high-quality HD video signal. The functional configurations of the camera platform 32 and the imaging device control unit 33 are as described above.

  The HD-SDI to NTSC down converter 61 (hereinafter referred to as “down converter 61”) functions as the operation video signal generation means 6. The down converter 61 generates an operation video signal (SD) by converting an original video signal (HD), which is an HD-SDI signal output from the imaging device 3, into an NTSC analog signal. Thereby, it is possible to generate an operation video signal (SD) whose data amount is significantly smaller than that of the original video signal (HD).

  Next, the first transmission means 10 will be described. The first transmission means 10 includes a first encoder 11 that compresses an original video signal (HD) input from the imaging device 3 by an inter-frame compression method, and an operation video signal (SD) input from the down converter 61. A second encoder 12 that compresses the video signal using an intra-frame compression method, a router 131 that mediates connection between different lines (for example, connection between a digital dedicated line and Ethernet (registered trademark)), a control signal receiving unit 15, Is provided.

  The first encoder 11 includes, for example, an HD-SDI capture unit 111 that captures (that is, captures) data as video from an original video signal (HD) that conforms to the HD-SDI communication format, and the captured original video signal. (HD) is compressed / coded using an interframe compression method (first compression method) such as “MPEG2”, and the compressed data output from the interframe data compression unit 112 is transmitted to the communication line 2. An IP packetizing unit 113 that packetizes the data so that it can be transmitted by the network, and a network circuit 114 that is hardware (for example, an Ethernet (registered trademark) circuit) for connecting to the communication line 2.

  The first encoder 11 configured as described above captures the original video signal (HD) input from the imaging device 3 and then compresses the original video signal (HD) using an inter-frame compression method to generate packetized compressed data. The (HD) compressed data is transmitted to the second transmission means 20 via the router 131 and the communication line 2.

  For example, the second encoder 12 captures (that is, captures) video data from an operation video signal (SD) that is an NTSC analog signal, and the captured operation video signal (SD). ) Is compressed / coded using an intra-frame compression method (second compression method) such as “MotionJPEG”, and the compressed data output from the intra-frame data compression unit 122 is transmitted over the communication line 2. An IP packetizing unit 123 that packetizes the network and a network circuit 124 that is hardware for connecting to the communication line 2 are provided.

  The second encoder 12 having such a configuration captures the operation video signal (SD) input from the down converter 61 and then compresses the operation video signal (SD) by the intra-frame compression method to generate packetized compressed data. The compressed data of the video signal (SD) is transmitted to the second transmission means 20 via the router 131 and the communication line 2.

  For example, the control signal receiving unit 15 performs data communication between the IP / RS-232C protocol conversion unit 151 that performs protocol conversion between IP and RS-232C, and the imaging apparatus 3 via an RS-232C cable. The RS-232C circuit 152, the router 131, and the network circuit 124. The control signal receiving unit 15 receives a control signal generated by the controller device 4 to control the operation of the imaging device 3 from the second transmission unit 20 via the communication line 2, and receives the control signal, for example, It outputs to the imaging device control part 33 of the imaging device 3 via RS-232C cable.

  The network circuit 114, the network circuit 124, and the router 131 in FIG. 2 are components corresponding to the mixer 13 in FIG. 1, and the IP packetizing unit 113 and the IP packetizing unit 123 in FIG. These are components corresponding to the communication interface 14 of FIG.

  Next, the second transmission means 20 will be described. The second transmission means 20 receives from the first transmission means 10 the first decoder 21 that decompresses the compressed data of the original video signal (HD) received from the first transmission means 10 by the inter-frame compression method. A second decoder 22 that expands the operation video signal (SD) by an intra-frame compression method, a router 231 that mediates connection between different lines, and a control signal transmission unit 25 are provided.

  The first decoder 21 has, for example, a network circuit 211 that is hardware for connecting to the communication line 2 and the packet order of the compressed data of the original video signal (HD) during transmission via the communication line 2 is disordered. In this case, the IP packet sorting unit 212 that arranges the order of the packets, and the inter-frame data decompression that decompresses the compressed data of the original video signal (HD) by the inter-frame compression method (first compression method) such as “MPEG2”. And an HD-SDI circuit 214 that performs processing for displaying the original video signal (HD) on the HD monitor 5a.

  The first decoder 21 having such a configuration decompresses the compressed data of the original video signal (HD) transmitted via the communication line 2 and the router 231 by the inter-frame compression method, and generates the original original video signal (HD The original video signal (HD) is output to the HD monitor 5a for display.

  The second decoder 22 has, for example, a network circuit 221 which is hardware for connecting to the communication line 2 and the packet order of the compressed data of the operation video signal (SD) during transmission via the communication line 2 is disturbed. An IP packet aligning unit 222 that arranges the order of the packets, and an in-frame that decompresses the compressed data of the operation video signal (SD) by an intra-frame compression method (second compression method) such as “MotionJPEG”. A data decompression unit 223 and an RGB circuit 224 that performs processing for displaying an operation video signal (SD) on the RGB monitor 5b.

  The second decoder 22 having such a configuration decompresses the compressed data of the operation video signal (SD) transmitted via the communication line 2 and the router 231 by using the intra-frame compression method, so that the original operation video signal is obtained. Returning to (SD), the operation video signal (SD) is output to the RGB monitor 5b and displayed.

  The control signal transmission unit 25 is, for example, an RS-232C circuit 251 for data communication with the controller device 4 via an RS-232C cable, and an RS that performs protocol conversion between RS-232C and IP. -232C / IP protocol conversion unit 252, the router 231 and the network circuit 221. The control signal transmission unit 25 receives a control signal for controlling the operation of the imaging device 3 from the operation device 4 via, for example, an RS-232C cable, and sends the control signal to the first via the communication line 2. Transmit to the transmission means 10.

  The network circuit 211, the network circuit 221 and the router 231 in FIG. 2 are components corresponding to the separator 23 in FIG. 1, and the IP packet alignment unit 212 and the IP packet alignment unit in FIG. Reference numeral 222 denotes a component corresponding to the communication interface 24 of FIG.

  The HD monitor 5 a is a display device that can display and output an HD video signal, and displays an original video corresponding to the original video signal (HD) input from the first decoder 21. The RGB monitor 5 b is a display device capable of displaying and outputting an SD video signal, and displays an operation video corresponding to the operation video signal (SD) input from the second decoder 22. By installing the two display devices in this manner, when the operator remotely operates the imaging device 3 using the operating device 4, the operator may view the operation image on the RGB monitor 5 b, while the imaging device For example, when checking the state and quality of the video imaged by 3 (for example, a high-quality video image broadcast on television), it is convenient to view the original video image on the HD monitor 5a.

  In such a remote control system 1 of the image pickup apparatus shown in FIG. 2, an original video signal (HD) that is an HD video signal is converted into an NTSC-compliant SD video signal, thereby reducing an operation video signal (data amount). SD) is generated, and the operation video signal (SD) is transmitted to the operation device 4 side through the communication line 2 together with the original video signal (HD) to display the operation video on the RGB monitor 5b. be able to.

  The remote control system 1 of the imaging apparatus according to the present embodiment has been described in detail above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. According to the remote control system 1 of the imaging apparatus according to the present embodiment, an original video signal having a high image quality and a large amount of data is compressed and encoded by the first encoder 11 as in the conventional encoder / decoder, and the communication line 2, the compressed data of the original video signal is decompressed by the first decoder 21 and returned to the original original video signal, and the original video is displayed on the display device 5. Can do.

  Further, in addition to the functions of the conventional encoder / decoder, in the present embodiment, an operation video signal (for example, of the imaging device 3) having a low image quality, a small amount of data, and a small delay time from the original video signal. A video signal having a minimum amount of data necessary for focusing), and compressed and encoded by the second encoder 12, and the compressed data of the video signal for operation together with the compressed data of the original video signal, It transmits to the 2nd transmission means 20 by the side of the operating device 4 via the communication line 2, The compressed data of the said video signal for operation is decompressed by the 2nd decoder 22, and it returns to the original video signal for operation, and displays An operation video can be displayed on the device 5.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the two video signals of the original video signal and the operation video signal are transmitted between the first transmission unit 10 (encoder function) and the second transmission unit 20 (decoder function). It can be transmitted.

  Since the operation video signal has a small amount of data, it can be transmitted using a relatively small transmission band even if it is compressed and transmitted at a low compression rate, and also has a delay time for compression / decompression processing. Few. Therefore, even when a large delay (for example, about several seconds) occurs in transmission of an original video signal that requires compression / expansion processing at a high compression rate, the operation video signal has a slight delay (for example, 2/30). At the same time, it is transmitted to the controller 4 side. Therefore, by displaying the operation video signal on the display device 5, the video image currently captured by the imaging device 3 can be displayed almost in real time.

  Therefore, the operator can easily operate the operation of the imaging device 3 by visually recognizing the operation video displayed on the display device 5. For example, when adjusting the focus of the imaging device 3, if the operator performs an operation of turning the focus dial 41, the operation is quickly reflected in the operation video being displayed. Therefore, it is possible to focus on a desired subject easily, accurately and quickly. Similarly, zoom adjustment and pan / tilt driving can be performed easily, accurately and quickly.

  In this way, if the operation of the imaging device 3 can be easily operated, for example, during live broadcasting of a television broadcast, a target subject can be accurately captured in the screen by panning / tilting, Since the subject that changes due to tilting can be accurately focused and imaged, the convenience of the remote control system 1 can be improved.

  As mentioned above, although preferred embodiment of this invention was described referring an accompanying drawing, it cannot be overemphasized that this invention is not limited to the example which concerns. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made within the scope of the claims, and these are naturally within the technical scope of the present invention. Understood.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which the compression method of the original video signal is the inter-frame compression method and the compression method of the operation video signal is the intra-frame compression method is described, but the present invention is not limited to such an example. For example, the compression method of the original video signal and the compression method of the operation video signal may be the same compression method (for example, both are inter-frame compression methods). Even in this case, if the data amount of the operation video signal is sufficiently smaller than that of the original video signal, the time required for the compression / decompression process can be shortened by shortening the inter-frame compression interval. The delay associated with the compression / decompression process can be reduced to such an extent that the operation of the imaging device 3 can be suitably executed.

  Further, by incorporating the operation video signal generating means 6 in the imaging device 3, it is possible to output an operation video signal from the camera 31 or the lens device 31a. In this case, instead of cutting out the SD video signal from the HD video signal or reducing the bit of the HD video signal, the operation video signal may be extracted using a CCD image sensor dedicated to the operation video signal. .

  Further, by using a plurality of lines as the communication line 2, it is possible to separate the line for transmitting the original video signal and the line for transmitting the operation video signal.

  In addition, a method of adding a correction packet at the time of packet loss at the time of sending the original video signal and a method of adding no correction packet at the time of sending the operation video signal makes it possible to reduce the transmission band accompanying the transmission of the video signal for operation. It is also possible to reduce the increase by a few percent.

  The present invention can be applied to a remote control system of an image pickup apparatus, and can be applied to, for example, a remote control system of an image pickup apparatus used for television broadcast use or surveillance camera use.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a remote control system of an imaging apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the detailed structure of the remote control system of the imaging device concerning the embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Remote control system of imaging device 2 Communication line 3 Imaging device 4 Operating device 5 Display device 6 Operation video signal production | generation means 10 1st transmission means 11 1st encoder 12 2nd encoder 13 Mixer 14 Communication interface 15 Control Signal receiver 20 Second transmission means 21 First decoder 22 Second decoder 23 Separator 24 Communication interface 25 Control signal transmitter 31 Camera 32 Camera platform 33 Imaging device controller 41 Focus dial 42 Zoom dial 43 Joystick 112 Frame Inter-frame data compression unit 122 In-frame data compression unit 213 Inter-frame data decompression unit 223 In-frame data decompression unit

Claims (6)

An imaging apparatus remote control system in which an imaging apparatus and an operation apparatus are connected via a communication line, and a control signal is transmitted from the operation apparatus to the imaging apparatus via the communication line to remotely control the imaging apparatus. :
An operation video signal generating means for generating an operation video signal having a smaller amount of data than the original video signal output from the imaging device;
The original video signal output from the imaging device and the operation video signal output from the operation video signal generation unit are respectively compressed to compress the compressed data of the original video signal and the operation video signal. First transmission means for transmitting data via the communication line;
The compressed data of the original video signal and the compressed data of the operation video signal are received from the first transmission means via the communication line, and the compressed data of the original video signal and the compressed data of the operation video signal are received. A second transmission means each extending;
A display device arranged to be visible to an operator of the operation device and displaying the operation video signal expanded by the second transmission means;
A remote control system for an imaging apparatus, comprising: The first transmission means includes
A first encoder for compressing the original video signal by a first compression method;
A second encoder for compressing the operation video signal by a second compression method different from the first compression method;
With
The second transmission means includes
A first decoder for decompressing the original video signal by the first compression method;
A second decoder for decompressing the operation video signal by the second compression method;
The remote control system for an imaging apparatus according to claim 1, comprising: The first compression method is an inter-frame compression method,
The remote control system for an imaging apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the second compression method is an intra-frame compression method.   The operation video signal generation unit generates the operation video signal by converting the high-quality original video signal into a low-quality video signal. The remote control system of the imaging device described in 1.   5. The operation video signal generation unit generates the operation video signal by reducing a color, a gradation, and / or a number of frames of the original video signal. A remote control system for an imaging apparatus according to claim 1.   6. The operation video signal generation unit generates the operation video signal by extracting a video signal of a part of a screen area represented by the original video signal. A remote control system for an imaging apparatus according to claim 1.

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