JP2012019285A - Imaging device and imaging method - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to make it possible to continue a preset cyclic operation with respect to a preset position where the cyclic operation is possible even if a cyclic operation to some preset positions becomes impossible due to collision with an obstacle or the like. To do.
An imaging apparatus that includes a moving unit that moves an imaging unit to a plurality of specific imaging positions and repeatedly moves between the plurality of specific imaging positions. When there is at least one imaging position, it is possible to move the imaging direction by repeatedly moving between the plurality of specific imaging positions except for the movement to the immovable specific imaging position. It is possible to prevent the inconvenience that monitoring regarding a specific imaging position cannot be performed at all.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus and an imaging method, and more particularly to a technique suitable for use in an imaging apparatus having a pan / tilt control function and capable of moving a shooting direction.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known a surveillance camera system that monitors a video by controlling a camera by remote operation via a network or a dedicated line. A surveillance camera system having a pan / tilt control function capable of moving the shooting direction as well as controlling the camera's auto focus, zoom, exposure, resolution, white balance, shooting frame rate, etc. is there.

  As an example of operation of such a monitoring camera system, there is a usage method of remotely monitoring in an unattended state. In the case of the use method as described above, it is possible to automatically shoot a still image or a movie, transmit the image via a network or a dedicated line, and store the image using a recording means such as a recording server. Many. It is possible to automatically change the shooting conditions and shooting direction at a set specific time or every predetermined time, and record the shot video.

  Presets that store the pan / tilt position and zoom position in advance, and automatically move the shooting direction to the pan / tilt position and zoom position stored by the above-mentioned method of use simply by clicking a button on the viewer. What has a function is also known. In the case where there are a plurality of preset positions, a function of performing a monitoring operation while circulating around the preset positions in order at regular intervals is also known, which is called a preset circulating function.

  Improvement of pan / tilt stop accuracy is required when the camera's shooting direction is repeatedly moved by the preset function. For example, in Patent Document 1, an image in the shooting direction is also registered when a preset position is registered, and the registered image (registered image) is compared with an image in the shooting direction when the preset position is reproduced. A technique for correcting the amount of deviation of the stop position by correcting is disclosed. Further, in Patent Document 2, correction images having different focal lengths are stored when preset positions are registered, and positional deviation is corrected by calculating correction values of the preset positions in comparison with correction images during preset reproduction. . That is, a technique for accurately correcting both a large shift and a small shift is disclosed.

JP 2003-098576 A JP 2009-017302 A

  However, in the prior art disclosed in the above-described patent document, it is assumed that when a preset positional deviation occurs, the positional deviation can be corrected. If the shooting direction cannot be moved to the desired direction by colliding with an obstacle while moving the shooting direction to a preset position, a large amount of deviation can be detected from the desired shooting direction. However, there is a problem that the shift amount cannot be corrected.

  For example, when the camera collides with an obstacle in the middle of moving the shooting direction to the preset position, for example, an intruder intentionally places the obstacle in the camera movement direction and obstructs the shooting. In some cases, such as

Normally, if correction cannot be made after a predetermined number of corrections, a warning message is issued to the user, and an abnormality in the pan / tilt mechanism is added to the log to forcibly stop the pan / tilt operation. . However, in this case, even if it is desired to continue the preset patrol operation with respect to the preset position where the shooting direction can be moved without colliding with an obstacle, it becomes impossible to perform monitoring with pan-tilt operation at all. become.
In the present invention, in view of the above-described problems, even when a patrol operation to some preset positions becomes impossible due to collision with an obstacle, the preset patrol operation can be continued with respect to the preset positions where the patrol operation is possible. The purpose is to do so.

  An imaging apparatus according to the present invention is an imaging apparatus that includes a moving unit that moves an imaging unit to a plurality of specific imaging positions, and repeatedly moves between the plurality of specific imaging positions. When there is at least one specific imaging position that cannot be moved, the movement between the plurality of specific imaging positions is repeatedly performed except for the movement to the specific imaging position that cannot be moved.

  According to the present invention, even if a patrol operation to some preset positions becomes impossible due to collision with an obstacle or the like, the preset patrol operation can be continued for a preset position where the patrol operation is possible.

It is a flowchart at the time of preset patrol which shows 1st Embodiment. It is a block diagram explaining the whole system configuration of a surveillance camera. It is the block diagram which showed the detailed structure of the client. It is the block diagram which showed the detailed structure of the camera. It is the figure which showed an example of the panoramic image of a camera. It is the figure which showed an example of the order and position information which circulates a preset position. It is a flowchart at the time of preset patrol which shows 2nd Embodiment. It is the figure which showed the positional relationship of the Nth preset position and the preset position of the shortest distance from the Nth preset position.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
(First embodiment)
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the overall system configuration of the surveillance camera according to the preferred first embodiment of the present invention. The surveillance camera system of the present embodiment is a surveillance camera having a pan mechanism that can rotate 360 ° endlessly, and monitors a preset position (specific imaging position). First, system components will be described.

  Cameras 201 and 202 are network cameras for photographing a subject and distributing the video data, and have a pan / tilt control function. Video data captured by the camera 201 and the camera 202 is delivered via the network 203. Specifically, the client 204 and the client 205 are computers that receive and display video data transmitted from the camera 201. These camera 201, client 204, and client 205 are connected to a network 203 such as a LAN or the Internet.

  The client 204 and the client 205 can receive video data delivered from the camera 201 via the network 203. Further, by connecting a plurality of cameras such as the camera 202 to the network 203, it becomes possible to display video data of a plurality of remote locations on the client 204 and the client 205.

  The recording server 206 is a server for recording the video data received from the camera 201 and the camera 202 and recording the recorded video data. The number of cameras, the number of clients, and the number of recording servers are not limited to the numbers shown in FIG. 2, and the numbers can be arbitrarily increased or decreased.

The operation of the client 204 of this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIG.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a detailed configuration of the client 204. The configuration in the client 205 is the same as that of the client 204.

  A communication I / F 301, a CPU 302, a video output unit 303, and a pan / tilt operation unit 304 in the client 204 are connected to a bus 305. Videos from the camera 201 and the camera 202 are input to the communication I / F 301 in the client 204 via the network 203 and output from the video output unit 303 to the monitor 307.

  The pan / tilt operation unit 304 operates the camera 201, the pan mechanism unit and the tilt mechanism unit in the camera 202, respectively. A control command operated by the pan / tilt operation unit 304 is transmitted by the CPU 302 to the camera 201 or the camera 202 via the communication I / F 301 and the network 203. A preset registration operation unit 306 is provided in the pan / tilt operation unit 304. Presets can register parameters such as specific shooting directions such as pan direction (horizontal direction) and tilt direction (vertical direction), and can quickly change the desired shooting direction by reproducing the registered parameters. It is a function.

  By registering a pan / tilt position in an arbitrary photographing direction as a preset position, it is possible to move the photographing direction to the pan / tilt position registered as described above with only a button operation. Further, when a plurality of preset positions are registered, it is possible to perform a preset tour for monitoring while visiting some or all preset positions every predetermined time.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of the camera 201. The configuration inside the camera 202 is the same as that of the camera 201.
A communication I / F 402 in the camera 201, a CPU 403, an imaging control unit 404, a pan / tilt control unit 405, and a storage unit 406 are connected to a bus 407. The imaging control unit 404 and pan / tilt control unit 405 in the camera 201 are controlled by the CPU 403.

  It is possible to operate the imaging unit 401 in the camera 201 from the client side. When the control command output from the client is input from the network 203 to the communication I / F 402 in the camera 201, the CPU 403 controls the imaging control unit 404 and the pan / tilt control unit 405 according to the control command.

  The imaging unit 401 can capture images at an angle desired by the client in accordance with a control command output from the client. The imaging control unit 404 sets a resolution, an imaging signal reading method, a frame rate, and the like. The pan / tilt control unit 405 controls the pan / tilt mechanism by driving the pan mechanism unit 408 and the tilt mechanism unit 409 with a control signal output from the client side.

  The pan sensor 410 is a sensor for detecting the initial position of the pan mechanism unit 408 at the time of initialization, and the tilt sensor 411 detects the initial position of the tilt mechanism unit 409 at the time of initialization. It is a sensor for. Further, the pan position detection unit 412 is a position detection unit in the pan direction of the camera 201, and the tilt position detection unit 413 is a position detection unit in the tilt direction of the camera 201.

  The pan position detection unit 412 and the tilt position detection unit 413 are encoder devices for detecting the physical absolute position of the shooting direction of the camera 201. When the absolute position in the pan direction and the tilt direction is detected to cause a deviation between the photographing direction desired by the user and the actual photographing direction of the camera 201, this is used to correct the amount of positional deviation. The storage unit 406 stores pan / tilt position information when a preset position registration instruction is issued from the client side.

  FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing when the camera 201 in the first embodiment performs a preset tour. Hereinafter, the flow of the preset tour process will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, it moves to the first preset position where N = 1 in the preset tour route (S101). Next, it is determined by the pan position detection unit 412 and the tilt position detection unit 413 whether a preset position deviation has occurred (S102). If the preset position shift occurs in S102, the pan position detector 412 and the tilt position detector 413 detect the stop position of the camera 201. Then, a deviation amount between the actual stop position and the preset position scheduled to move is calculated, and it is determined whether or not the deviation amount can be corrected (S103).

  Even in the normal case, that is, when the pan / tilt operation is not hindered by an obstacle or the like, the preset position deviation occurs. For example, the motors used for the pan mechanism unit 408 and the tilt mechanism unit 409 may overrun due to environmental changes and lifespans.

  In S103, the amount of deviation of the preset position is calculated, and whether or not the amount of deviation can be corrected is determined by determining that the amount of deviation can be corrected if the amount of position deviation is equal to or less than a predetermined angle. If a shift amount greater than the angle is detected, it is determined that the shift amount cannot be corrected. In the present embodiment, if the displacement amount detected by the pan position detection unit 412 and the tilt position detection unit 413 is 2 ° or more, it is determined that the pan / tilt operation is inhibited by an obstacle.

  As a result of the determination in S103, if the positional deviation amount is 2 ° or more, it is determined as abnormal, and the process proceeds to S108. If the positional deviation amount is within 2 °, it is determined normal, and the process proceeds to S104. In S104, if the preset position deviation can be corrected, the preset deviation amount is corrected. Thereafter, the process proceeds to S105, and photographing is started at the Nth preset position.

  After the process of S105, the process proceeds to S106, and it is determined whether or not all the tour routes have been photographed. If all the tour routes have been photographed, the preset tour ends. If all the traveling routes have not been photographed in S106, the process proceeds to S107, and the photographing direction of the camera 201 is moved to the (N + 1) th preset position, where N = N + 1.

  On the other hand, if the preset position deviation cannot be corrected in the determination of S103, conventionally, an error warning is given to the user, and the pan mechanism unit 408 and the tilt mechanism unit 409 are forcibly stopped. In the present embodiment, if the preset position deviation cannot be corrected in S103, it is determined that the position deviation cannot be corrected because the collision with the obstacle occurs while moving in the photographing direction. Then, without taking a picture at the Nth preset position, the camera 201 sends an error message to the client 204, warns the user on the viewer displayed on the monitor 307, and records it in the log (S108).

  After the processing of S108, it is determined in S109 whether or not all the tour routes have been photographed. If all the tour routes have been photographed, the preset tour is terminated. If all the tour routes have not been photographed in S109, the process proceeds to S110 to move to the (N + 1) th preset position, where N = N + 1. Details of the operation of S110 will be described later with reference to FIGS. After the end of the process of S110 or after the end of the process of S107, the process proceeds to S111.

  In S111, it is detected whether or not there is a preset tour end command from the recording server 206. If a preset tour end command is detected, the process ends. If not detected, the process returns to S102. Thereafter, when the preset position deviation does not occur, the process proceeds in the order of S105, S106, S107, and S111. Steps S102 to S111 are repeated until a preset tour end command is detected.

Next, details of the operation of S110 will be described.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a panoramic image of the camera 201. An example in which five preset positions are registered as in 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d, and 5e in FIG. 5 will be described. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of the order in which preset positions are circulated and preset position information. In the present embodiment, five positions 5a → 5b → 5c → 5d → 5e → 5a → 5b → 5c →.・ Continue the preset tour in the order of The movement between specific imaging positions is repeated.

  For example, when there is one obstacle between the preset position 5b and the preset position 5c in the pan direction, the following is performed. That is, the preset position 5c that moves third from the preset position 5b that moves second is skipped, the shooting direction is moved to the preset position 5d that moves fourth, and monitoring is started. In the present embodiment, the camera cannot move in the shooting direction at the shortest distance from the preset position 5b to the preset position 5d, but can turn 360 degrees endlessly in the pan direction. Therefore, it is possible to move the shooting direction from one direction of pan to the preset position 5d from the preset position 5b.

  A traveling error that cannot be performed to the preset position 5 c is stored in the storage unit 406 in the camera 201. When the recording server 206 detects the next round command from the preset position 5b to the preset position 5c, there is a possibility that an obstacle is removed between the preset position 5b and the preset position 5c. Try the patrol operation again. Similarly, when the shooting direction cannot be moved to the Nth preset position in the other preset positions, the shooting direction is moved to the (N + 1) th preset position, so that only the positions where the preset position can be moved are visited. Continue operation.

  As described above, in a surveillance camera system in which a plurality of preset positions are registered, even if it is impossible to move to some preset positions due to collision with an obstacle, etc. It became possible to continue the patrol movement. In this embodiment, when it is not possible to move to a specific preset position, a warning is given to the user and recorded in a log in S108 shown in FIG. 1. However, the monitoring camera has a speaker and a warning sound. You may make it emit.

Further, in the present embodiment, when it is not possible to move to the Nth preset position, it is moved to the (N + 1) th preset position. However, only the first to (N−1) th positions may be moved.
As mentioned above, although preferable embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to these embodiment, A various deformation | transformation and change are possible within the range of the summary.

(Second Embodiment)
Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The overall configuration of the second embodiment is similar to that of FIGS. 2, 3, and 4, and the description of the common parts is omitted.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing when the camera 201 in the second embodiment performs a preset tour. Steps common to the flowchart of FIG. 1 are given the same reference numerals, and descriptions of steps common to FIG. 1 are omitted.

  If it is not possible to correct the preset position deviation in S103, the preset position is moved from the Nth preset position to the preset position that can be moved at the shortest distance (S701). The angle of view is set to the wide side until the shooting direction at the Nth preset position can be covered, and shooting is started (S702). After the processing of S702, the process proceeds to S106.

Next, the setting method of the angle of view in S702 will be described.
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the positional relationship between the Nth preset position and the preset position located at the shortest distance from the Nth preset position. Assume that the Nth preset position is A, the preset position located at the shortest distance from the Nth preset position is B, and the normal shooting angle of view at the preset position A is β.

  The angle θ formed by the preset position A and the preset position B can be obtained from the pan position detector 412 and the tilt position detector 413. For example, in order for the camera 201 to reflect the shooting direction at the preset position B from the shooting direction at the preset position A, the angle of view α at the time of shooting may be 2θ or more. In the case of a lens having no distortion, the angle of view α is expressed by the relational expression (1), where f is the focal length and d is the diagonal dimension of the optical sensor.

  When the angle of view α and the dimension d of the diagonal line of the optical sensor are determined, the focal length f is uniquely determined from the following equation (2).

  Since it is necessary to satisfy the angle of view α ≧ 2θ, if the expression (2) is satisfied, it is possible to perform shooting so that the shooting direction at the preset position B is reflected from the shooting direction at the preset position A. In step S <b> 702, the camera 201 is set so that the focal length satisfies the expression (2), and the image is clearly shot so that the image can be taken with the angle of view α wider than the angle of view β when the direction of the normal preset position A is taken. Adjust the angle of view to adjust the range of possible angles. Thereby, the direction of the preset position B can be photographed from the direction of the preset position A.

As described above, in the present embodiment, even if a patrol operation to some preset positions becomes impossible due to collision with an obstacle, etc., the shortest distance from the preset position at which the preset patrol cannot be performed. The shooting direction of the camera 201 is moved to the preset position. Then, after moving to the specific imaging position with the shortest distance, the preset patrol operation can be continued by shooting with the angle of view set to the wide side so as to cover the shooting direction of the preset position where patrol is impossible. Became possible.
As mentioned above, although preferable embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to these embodiment, A various deformation | transformation and change are possible within the range of the summary.

(Other embodiments)
The present invention can also be realized by executing the following processing. That is, software (computer program) that implements the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus via a network or various computer-readable storage media. Then, the computer (or CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or apparatus reads out and executes the program.

401 imaging unit 402 communication I / F 403 CPU 404 imaging control unit 405 pan / tilt control unit 406 storage unit 408 pan mechanism unit 409 tilt mechanism unit 410 pan sensor 411 tilt sensor 412 pan Position detection unit, 413 Tilt position detection unit

Claims (10)

An imaging apparatus having a moving means for moving an imaging unit to a plurality of specific imaging positions, and repeatedly moving between the plurality of specific imaging positions;
When there is at least one non-movable specific imaging position among the plurality of specific imaging positions, movement between the plurality of specific imaging positions is repeatedly performed except for movement to the non-movable specific imaging position. An imaging apparatus characterized by that. An imaging apparatus having a moving means for moving an imaging unit to a plurality of specific imaging positions, and repeatedly moving between the plurality of specific imaging positions;
When there is at least one non-movable specific imaging position among the plurality of specific imaging positions, the movement to the non-movable specific imaging position is not performed, and the shortest distance is specified from the non-movable specific imaging position. An imaging apparatus that moves to an imaging position and repeatedly moves between the plurality of specific imaging positions. It has a field angle adjustment means that adjusts the angle of the range that can be clearly shot,
The imaging apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the angle-of-view adjustment unit adjusts the angle of view so that the unmovable specific imaging position can be captured after moving to the specific imaging position of the shortest distance. Storage means for recording the operation of the moving means;
4. In the process of repeatedly moving between the plurality of specific imaging positions, if the movement between the plurality of specific imaging positions is impossible, a log is left in the storage unit. The imaging device according to item.   5. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a warning unit configured to warn a user when the movement between the plurality of specific imaging positions is not possible in the imaging position. 5. The imaging device according to item. An imaging method having moving means for moving an imaging unit to a plurality of specific imaging positions, and repeatedly moving between the plurality of specific imaging positions;
When there is at least one non-movable specific imaging position among the plurality of specific imaging positions, movement between the plurality of specific imaging positions is repeatedly performed except for movement to the non-movable specific imaging position. An imaging method characterized by the above. An imaging method having moving means for moving an imaging unit to a plurality of specific imaging positions, and repeatedly moving between the plurality of specific imaging positions;
When there is at least one non-movable specific imaging position among the plurality of specific imaging positions, the movement to the non-movable specific imaging position is not performed, and the shortest distance is specified from the non-movable specific imaging position. An imaging method comprising moving to an imaging position and repeatedly performing movement between the plurality of specific imaging positions. It has a field angle adjustment means that adjusts the angle of the range that can be clearly shot,
The imaging method according to claim 7, wherein the angle-of-view adjustment unit adjusts the angle of view so that the unmovable specific imaging position can be photographed after moving to the specific imaging position of the shortest distance. Storage means for recording the operation of the moving means;
9. In the process of repeatedly moving between the plurality of specific imaging positions, if movement between the plurality of specific imaging positions is impossible, a log is left in the storage unit. The imaging method according to item.   10. The apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising: a warning unit configured to warn a user when the movement between the plurality of specific imaging positions is not possible in the imaging position. 10. The imaging method according to item.

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