JP2011141414A - Camera with integrated camera platform - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to reduce adhesion of dirt to a windshield.
SOLUTION: Air discharged from a heat radiating fan mounted inside a camera is led out and blown to a windshield. Specifically, a body having a hermetically sealed housing that houses the driving means for the pan axis and the tilt axis, and an outer case that covers the outside of the casing, and is rotatably supported by the tilt axis of the body. In a pan head integrated camera comprising a camera unit and a base that supports the pan axis of the body, a fan that generates an air flow for air-cooling the housing in a space between the housing and the outer case And an air guide means for injecting at least a part of the airflow onto the windshield of the camera unit.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a pan / tilt head-integrated camera used outdoors, in which an electric pan head and a television camera are integrally formed.

Conventionally, an outdoor pan / tilt head integrated camera is known (for example, see Patent Document 1).
FIG. 8 is an external view of a conventional pan / tilt head integrated camera. This pan / tilt head-integrated camera is for outdoor surveillance photography, and the windshield provided in front of the camera body for taking imaging light is defrosted glass that can be heated by a heater. In addition, an electric wiper is provided for wiping off rain and the like adhering to the outside of the windshield. Furthermore, there are some provided with a washer (not shown) for injecting cleaning water toward the windshield.

In addition, as a technique related to the present invention, there is known an environment-resistant camera housing provided with a cooling device for radiating heat inside the main body, heat absorption and heat radiation fins, etc., in a supply path of purge air blown to a window member ( For example, see Patent Document 2).
There is also known an air purge hood that is attached to the front surface of a camera case and prevents the entry of dust and the like by filling the front surface with separately supplied compressed air (see, for example, Patent Document 3).

Design Registration No. 1348897 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-203950 JP 2001-108880 A

With conventional pan / tilt head-integrated cameras, especially when the windshield defroster is activated, dirt that adheres to the windshield dries out and hardens. There was a problem that. For example, in places where waves are splashed, such as near the coast, the visibility is significantly deteriorated due to the fixation of salt.
Although there is a method of applying washing water with a washer, the amount of use is limited because water stored in a tank in advance is used. Moreover, it cannot be used easily in an environment where it is expected that the wash water will scatter and pass on to passersby. For this reason, there was no other way for the worker to go to the installation location of the pan head integrated camera and clean it manually with a towel or the like.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a pan head integrated camera that can reduce the adhesion of dirt to a windshield at a low cost.

  In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a body having a sealed structure housing panning and tilting axis driving means, an outer case covering the outside of the casing, and a tilt axis of the body. In a pan / tilt head-integrated camera comprising a camera unit rotatably supported by a base and a base that supports the pan axis of the body, the housing is disposed in a space between the housing and the outer case. The apparatus further includes a fan that generates an air-cooling airflow, and an air guide unit that injects at least a part of the airflow onto the windshield of the camera unit.

  In the above configuration, the windshield further includes a defroster, and the casing has a two-piece configuration made of die-casting, and fixes driving means for the pan axis and the tilt axis in one piece. The fan is operated simultaneously with the deft star.

  In the above configuration, the camera unit further includes a camera case having the windshield on the front surface and sealingly storing the camera body, a camera cover covering the upper surface of the camera case, the camera case, and the camera cover Constitutes a part of the air guide means.

  According to the pan / tilt head integrated camera of the present invention, since the airflow generated for air-cooling the pan / tilt head part is blown toward the windshield of the camera part, the adhesion of dirt to the windshield is reduced. be able to.

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating an embodiment of the present invention. The pan / tilt head integrated camera according to this embodiment includes a camera unit 1, a body 2, and a base 3.
The camera unit 1 includes a camera body 11, a lens 12, and a video signal circuit board 13 (all of which are not shown) accommodated in a camera case 14. The camera case 14 is a box-shaped container, and includes a front glass 15 made of a transparent glass plate that takes in imaging light and an electric wiper 16 that wipes the outside of the front glass 15 on the front surface.

  The body 2 is a part that realizes a function as an electric pan head. The camera unit 1 is pivotally supported by a tilt axis in the vicinity of the center of the left side surface (so-called cantilever type). It is supported by. The body 2 has two driving means 21 and 22 including stepping motors and gears for independently rotating a tilt axis and a pan axis orthogonal thereto, and a power source for supplying power to the camera unit 1 and the body 2 itself. The circuit 23, the outer case 24 that forms the outer shape of the body 2, and the blower fan 25 that generates an airflow for cooling the driving means 21 and 22 and the power supply circuit 23 are provided. The outer case 24 has a rounded and rounded box shape, and includes slit-like air holes 26 in the vicinity of four corners where the front surface, the back surface, the top surface, and the bottom surface are in contact, and the blower fan 25 has at least a front upper air hole. It operates so that air is exhausted from 26.

  The base 3 is a box-shaped pedestal having bolt mounting holes at the four corners of the bottom, and the body 2 is pivotally supported by the pan shaft, and the video signal and power source taken out through the pan shaft are connected to the rear terminal Stores wiring, terminal blocks, safety circuits, etc.

  In short, the pan / tilt head-integrated camera of FIG. 1 generates air currents on the surface of the windshield 15 by the air discharged from the vent holes 26 on the front upper side of the body 2, and water droplets such as splashes of seawater adhering to the surface. Is quickly eliminated (dropped out). It is desirable that the airflow generated near the surface of the windshield 15 is an airflow (laminar flow) having a stable direction and strength and close to the downward direction. For example, the arrangement and shape of the air holes 26 are selected so that the direction of ejection from the air holes 26 on the upper side of the front side is almost right side, or a nozzle-like structure is provided in the body 2 (outer case 24).

  FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the pan / tilt head integrated camera according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a left side view of the camera platform integrated camera. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the pan / tilt head integrated camera as seen from the arrow (front side) of the cross section taken along line AA shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the camera platform integrated camera as viewed from above. In the configuration of the pan / tilt head-integrated camera of this example, constituent elements that substantially correspond to the previous embodiment are given the same reference numerals for the sake of convenience, and redundant description is omitted. In the description of this example, when a direction is expressed, the reference is made with respect to any member in which the imaging direction of the camera in FIG.

The camera platform integrated camera of this example is installed outdoors or in an environment similar to the outdoors. Therefore, a casing 27 having a sealed structure for waterproofing is provided inside the outer case 24 constituting the outer shape of the body 2, and the driving means 21 and 22, the power supply circuit 23 and the like are all housed in the casing 27. .
The casing 27 includes an aluminum die-cast casing box 27a and a casing lid 27b that are divided in the left-right direction of the pan / tilt head integrated camera. A driving unit 21 that rotates the camera unit 1 in the tilt (up and down) direction and a driving unit 22 that rotates the photographing apparatus 70 in the pan (left and right) direction are attached to the housing box 27a. The housing box 27a and the housing lid 27b are sealed together with packing (not shown) by bolts to form a sealed structure box.

As shown in FIG. 2 and the like, the driving means 21 is provided at the approximate center in the front-rear direction on the left side surface in the housing box 27a, so that the tilt shaft can be taken out through the housing box 27a. Yes. The penetrating portion is sealed by providing double O-rings.
The driving means 22 is provided at the approximate center in the front-rear direction on the bottom surface in the housing box 27a, and the pan shaft can be taken out through the housing box 27a. The penetrating portion of the pan shaft is similarly sealed. The pan axis is shifted to the left from the left and right center of the body 2 when viewed from the front, but is a result of the pan axis being provided near the center of gravity including the weight of the camera unit 1 provided on the left side of the body 2.

  The driving means 21 and 22 in this example are a unit of a stepping motor, a pair of pulleys, a harmonic gear, a rotary encoder, and an electrical connection means, which are the mechanical parts, and are shared by the driving means 21 and 22. Yes. The electrical connection means is a so-called slip ring or the like, which maintains an electrical connection between both sides of the shaft so as to be infinitely or finitely rotatable, and transmits a power source and a video signal. Thereby, the electrical connection between the camera unit 1 and the body 2 and between the body 2 and the base 3 is realized in the through portions of these shafts, and the cables are not exposed to the outside. As described above, the camera unit 1 (camera case 14) and the body 2 are coupled by a special axis and cannot be exchanged except for a combination designed exclusively. This is called the pan head integrated type. However, the camera body 11 in the camera case 14 can be replaced if it fits in the camera case 14.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5 and the like, fans 28a and 28b are disposed in the casing 27. The fan 28a is arranged so as to be attached to the power supply circuit 23. Air is circulated in the housing 27 by the fans 28a and 28b, and the driving means 21 and 22 and the power supply circuit 23 are forcibly cooled by air.
In this example, as an option, the tilt axis extends to the side opposite to the side connected to the camera unit 1 so that a lighting device or the like connected to the tilt axis can be attached to the right side of the body 2.

Returning to FIG. 2 again, the outer case 24 is composed of a plurality of resinous or sheet metal members divided at least in the left-right direction, and each member is fixed to the outside of the housing 27 with screws or the like. 2 is formed. This external shape reduces the wind pressure by making it a rounded box shape as a whole. A gap (space) inevitably occurs between the outer case 24 and the housing 27 due to the difference in shape.
The outer case 24 has a vent hole 26a in front of the left side surface and a vent hole 26b (not shown) in the bottom surface. The vent hole 26a is located substantially beside the windshield 15 at the normal tilt position of the camera unit 1, and the exhaust gas flowing through the space and discharged from the vent hole 26a reaches the surface of the windshield 15. Yes.

  A blower fan 25 is provided on the housing 27. That is, an air flow is forcibly generated in the space between the outer case 24 and the housing 27 to promote heat transfer from the housing 27. The airflow (at least a part of the airflow) is sucked from the vent hole 26b and ejected from the blower fan 25, and then the front surface of the housing 27 is directed forward and turned downward on the front surface. The air passage 26a is exhausted while the cross section of the flow path is gradually narrowed by the ribs ** provided in The blower fan 25 uses an environment-adaptive AC fan or DC fan such as drip-proof to handle outside air. In addition, power is supplied to the fan 25 from the inside of the housing 27 through an introduction terminal having a sealed structure, a plug, and the like (not shown). As the blower fan 25, a sirocco fan is used in this example, but an axial fan may be used. The blower fan 25 can be operated by remote control and does not necessarily need to be operated at all times. As an example, when the temperature inside the casing 27 exceeds a predetermined value or the defroster of the windshield 15 is activated by advance setting. When it is made to operate automatically.

  In the present embodiment, if the dividing direction of the casing 27 is set to a direction other than the left-right direction of the pan / tilt head integrated camera, it becomes difficult to access the built-in components such as the driving means 21 and so on. It becomes. In addition, when such a casing 27 is die-cast without undercut, the direction of the radiation fins that can be applied to the casing 27 does not necessarily match the direction of the airflow of the blower fan 25. Therefore, the heat radiating fins are provided only on the left and right side surfaces of the housing 27.

  According to the present embodiment, the air blow of the windshield 15 can be realized by using most of the current configuration of the camera as it is without separately mounting an air supply source such as a compressor.

FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically illustrating the pan / tilt head integrated camera according to the second embodiment, in which a front surface and a left side surface thereof are illustrated. The pan / tilt head integrated camera of this example is obtained by externally attaching a nozzle 4 to the pan / tilt head integrated camera according to the embodiment described above.
The nozzle 4 is a resin-like cylindrical member, and is attached to the outer case 24 so that one port covers the vent hole 26a, the other port (injection port) faces the windshield 15, and the vent hole 26a. The exhaust gas from the air is injected to the windshield 15 at a higher flow rate. It is desirable that the injection port be as close as possible to the windshield 15 as long as it does not interfere mechanically with the camera unit 1 even when tilting and does not obstruct the field of view of the camera unit 1. In combination, produce several types. The nozzle 4 has four pawls fitted into the slits of the air holes 26a and fixed to the outer case 24, and the current outer case 24 does not require any special processing.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the camera platform integrated camera according to the third embodiment. The pan / tilt head integrated camera of this example is different from that of Example 1 in that exhaust is performed from the periphery of the tilt axis instead of the vent hole 26a and the exhaust reaches the windshield 15 through the camera cover.
As shown in FIG. 7, the camera unit 1 of the pan / tilt head-integrated camera of this example includes camera covers 17 a and 17 b on the upper surface side and the bottom surface side of the camera case 14. The camera covers 17a and 17b are members on a triangular roof that covers each surface, protect the camera case 14 from sunlight radiant heat and falling objects, prevent snow from adhering during snowfall, and the tilt angle greatly deviates from the horizontal. It functions to reduce the wind pressure when The wife side of the roof is rounded so that the tip of the kite (breaking wind) faces down.
The outer case 24 is opened in a circular shape so as to penetrate the tilt shaft. In this example, a cylindrical duct 24-1 coaxial with the tilt shaft is formed so as to surround the periphery of the opening. A coaxial semi-cylindrical duct is also formed in the camera covers 17a and 17b facing each other. However, the semi-cylindrical duct of the camera cover 17b works together with the cylindrical duct to block the airflow. The outer case 24 is appropriately provided with ribs or the like in order to guide the airflow generated by the blower fan 25 to the opening.
As a result, the air flow from the blower fan 25 exits from above the tilt axis of the outer case 24, but a part of the air is guided into the camera cover 17 a by the duct, and the space between the camera case 14 and the camera cover 17 a. The air travels forward through the windshield, becomes a downward airflow inside the bag, and is blown to the windshield 15.

  The removal of raindrops or the like by air blow that is combined with air cooling of the wind source is not limited to the camera case, but is also suitable for windshields with defrosters for vehicles, ships, and other buildings. If the blow wind pressure is increased, there is a possibility that it can be wiperless.

1 schematically illustrates a camera platform integrated camera according to an embodiment. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a pan head integrated camera according to Embodiment 1. FIG. Left side view of the pan / tilt head integrated camera according to Embodiment 1 Sectional view of the camera platform integrated camera along line AA shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a top sectional view of the camera platform integrated camera according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically illustrating a camera platform integrated camera according to a second embodiment. Sectional view of pan head integrated camera according to Embodiment 3 External view of a conventional camera platform integrated camera

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Camera part, 11 ... Camera body, 12 ... Lens, 13 ... Video signal circuit board, 14 ... Camera case, 15 ... Windshield, 16 ... Wiper, 17a, 17b ... Camera cover,
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 2 ... Body, 21, 22 ... Drive means, 23 ... Power supply circuit, 24 ... Outer case, 25 ... Blower fan, 26a, b ... Vent hole, 27 ... Housing, 28a, 28b ... Fan,
3 ... Base,
4 ... Nozzle.

Claims (3)

A body having a hermetically sealed casing that houses the drive means for the pan axis and the tilt axis, and an outer case that covers the outside of the casing;
A camera unit rotatably supported by the tilt axis of the body;
A camera platform integrated camera comprising a base that supports the pan axis of the body;
A fan that generates an airflow for air-cooling the housing in a space between the housing and the outer case;
A pan / tilt head-integrated camera, further comprising: air guide means for injecting at least a part of the airflow onto the windshield of the camera unit.   The windshield has a defroster, the housing has a two-piece structure made of die-casting, and one of the pieces fixes the driving means for the pan axis and the tilt axis. 2. The pan / tilt head-integrated camera according to claim 1, wherein the pan / tilt head integrated camera operates simultaneously with the Deftstar.   The camera unit includes a camera case having the windshield in front and enclosing and storing a camera body, a camera cover covering an upper surface of the camera case, the camera case and the camera cover, 3. The pan / tilt head-integrated camera according to claim 2, wherein the pan / tilt head camera is a part of the means.

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