JP7490391B2 - Imaging device, computer program, and storage medium - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an imaging device having multiple imaging units.

In recent years, multi-directional camera units (hereafter referred to as multi-lens cameras) that have multiple cameras arranged side by side have been proposed. Multi-lens cameras can simultaneously capture a wider area than when using a single camera, allowing for greater freedom in surveillance, etc.

For example, Patent Document 1 proposes a multi-directional camera that is equipped with cameras on the front, back, left and right, and can capture images in up to four directions simultaneously by selectively operating the cameras in any one of the four directions.

In addition, as an imaging device that can be used when a user wishes to change the monitoring direction after the imaging device is installed, a so-called PTZ (pan-tilt-zoom) device that allows the imaging direction of the imaging device to be controlled has been proposed. Furthermore, an imaging device has also been proposed that allows the imaging direction of the imaging device to be remotely controlled via the user interface of an external device.

JP 2002-218450 A

In the imaging device shown in Patent Document 1, the position of each camera is fixed. In contrast, by adding a mechanism for controlling the shooting direction of each camera and a user interface for controlling said mechanism, the location that the user wants to monitor can be easily changed on the user interface of the user terminal.

However, in imaging devices where the angle of view can be easily changed on the user interface, the angle of view once set may be shifted by an erroneous operation on the user interface. Also, in a multi-lens camera, the angle of view of each of the multiple cameras can be changed independently, so the possibility of erroneously changing the angle of view of a camera once it has been set increases even more.
SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT DISCLOSURE An object of the present invention is to provide an imaging device in which a shooting range once set for a specific imaging unit is less likely to be mistakenly operated when operating another imaging unit.

In order to achieve the above object, an imaging device according to one aspect of the present invention comprises:
a first imaging unit and a second imaging unit each having at least one driving unit for changing a photographing range;
a receiving unit that receives, from an external device, a disable instruction for disabling an operation of at least one driving unit of at least one of the first imaging unit and the second imaging unit, and a release instruction for releasing the disablement caused by the disable instruction;
a control unit that controls the drive unit that has been disabled by the disable instruction so that the drive unit is not driven even if the drive unit is instructed to be driven by the external device until the disablement is released by the release instruction ,
The receiving unit is characterized in that it receives the disable instruction for either an operation of individually disabling a selected driving unit of a selected imaging unit or an operation of collectively disabling multiple driving units of the selected imaging unit .

The present invention makes it possible to realize an imaging device that makes it difficult for the shooting range once set for a specific imaging unit to be mistakenly operated when operating another imaging unit.

FIG. 2 is a layout diagram of the imaging device according to the first embodiment. 1 is a block diagram of an imaging apparatus according to a first embodiment. 3A and 3B are diagrams illustrating the relationship between a user interface and an imaging device according to the first embodiment. 4A to 4C are diagrams illustrating a change in the shooting direction in the imaging device of the first embodiment. 4A to 4C are diagrams illustrating a method for fixing an imaging unit in the imaging device of the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the continuation of FIG. 5 . FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the continuation of FIG. 6. 10 is a flowchart showing an operation flow regarding invalidation of the imaging device according to the first embodiment. 11A and 11B are diagrams illustrating two-axis simultaneous driving in an imaging apparatus according to a second embodiment. 13A and 13B are diagrams illustrating a user interface in the imaging apparatus according to the third embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a user interface in the imaging apparatus according to the fourth embodiment. 13A and 13B are diagrams illustrating a user interface and an imaging direction in an imaging device according to a fifth embodiment.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In each drawing, the same members or elements are given the same reference numerals, and duplicated descriptions will be omitted or simplified.
In the embodiment, the present invention will be described as being applied to a network camera as an imaging device. However, the imaging device also includes electronic devices having imaging functions, such as digital still cameras having multiple imaging units, digital movie cameras, smartphones with cameras, tablet computers with cameras, and vehicle-mounted cameras.

The imaging device 100 in the first embodiment and the surveillance system using the same are shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. 1 is a layout diagram of the imaging device 100 as viewed from above (+Z axis side), and Fig. 2 is a block diagram of the imaging device in the first embodiment. The imaging device 100 comprises a first imaging section 110 and a second imaging section 120, a first driving mechanism 111, a second driving mechanism 121, a control section 130, and a transfer section 140. The control section 130 has a built-in CPU as a computer, and functions as a control means that executes various operations of the entire device based on a computer program stored in memory.

The first drive mechanism 111 and the second drive mechanism 121 are each capable of controlling the shooting direction (shooting range) of the first imaging unit 110 and the second imaging unit 120 within the same plane (within the XY plane). Specifically, the first drive mechanism 111 and the second drive mechanism 121 are equipped with a motor and a gear, and are configured to be able to rotate the first imaging unit 110 and the second imaging unit 120 around the axis 101 by controlling the power that drives the motor.

The power for driving the motor is controlled by the control unit 130. That is, the imaging device 100 includes a drive mechanism capable of controlling the shooting direction (shooting range) of at least one of the first imaging unit 110 and the second imaging unit 120. Note that a zoom mechanism may be provided as a mechanism for changing the shooting range in addition to a pan mechanism or a tilt mechanism.
In this manner, each of the first imaging section 110 and the second imaging section 120 has at least one driving section for changing the imaging range.

The first imaging unit 110 and the second imaging unit 120 each have an imaging optical system 112, 122 and a solid-state imaging element 113, 123 such as a CMOS image sensor. In addition, an image is acquired by forming a subject image on the solid-state imaging element 113, 123 via the imaging optical system 112, 122. The drive and signal readout of each solid-state imaging element 113, 123 is controlled by the control unit 130, and the readout signal is sent to the transfer unit 140.

The transfer unit 140 receives the first image 114 and the second image 124 read out from the solid-state imaging elements 113, 123 via the control unit 130, and transfers them to a client device (external device) connected via a network, such as a wired or wireless network.
The external device transmits a command for controlling the image capture device 100 to the transfer unit 140 via the network. Upon receiving the command, the image capture device 100 executes an operation corresponding to the command and transmits a response to the command to the client device.

The client device is, for example, an external device such as a PC, and has a built-in CPU as a computer. The CPU of the external device functions as a control means that executes various operations of the entire external device based on a computer program stored in memory. The CPU of the external device is also configured to display a user interface 150, which allows the user to specify the shooting range, on a display unit (not shown) based on the computer program.

In the imaging device 100 of this embodiment, the user can change and fix the shooting direction and shooting range of the first imaging unit 110 and the second imaging unit 120 by controlling the drive unit via the user interface 150 displayed on the screen of the display unit.
The network is configured by a wired LAN, a wireless LAN, etc. Also, the imaging device 100 may be configured to be supplied with power via the network.

The imaging device 100 shown in this embodiment can receive a disable instruction from the user on the user interface 150 and fix (disable) the operation of at least one of the first drive mechanism 111 and the second drive mechanism 121 as drive units. Specifically, when a user issues a disable instruction to fix (disable drive) a specific drive mechanism, power is not supplied to that drive mechanism (motor) until a new release instruction to release the fix (disable) is issued from the user.

Therefore, even if an external device instructs it to be driven, the drive unit is not driven. At this time, the transfer unit 140 functions as a receiving unit that receives a disable instruction from the external device to disable the operation of at least one drive unit of at least one of the first imaging unit and the second imaging unit. The transfer unit 140 also functions as a receiving unit that receives a release instruction from the external device to release the disablement caused by the disable instruction.

As a result, even if the user mistakenly operates the user interface 150 to drive a fixed drive mechanism, the drive unit remains fixed without being controlled.
The actuation and fixation of the drive mechanism will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the user interface of the external device and the imaging device.
FIG. 3A is a diagram showing an example of a user interface 150, and FIG. 3B is a diagram showing the relationship between the image capturing directions of the first image capturing section 110 and the second image capturing section 120. As shown in FIG.

FIG. 3B shows the default initial state of the imaging direction before the user issues an instruction to change the imaging direction or fix the imaging unit.
In FIG. 3A, a first image 114 obtained from the first imaging section 110 and a second image 124 obtained from the second imaging section 120 are displayed on a user interface 150.

Also displayed are control buttons 151 that allow the user to change the shooting direction of each imaging unit, selection buttons 152 that allow the user to perform detailed settings such as fixing the imaging unit for each imaging unit, and tabs 153 that show the currently displayed content. In FIG. 3(A), tab 153 indicates that the currently displayed content is a live view.

4A and 4B, a means for a user to change the shooting direction of the first imaging unit 110 will be described. Fig. 4 is a diagram for explaining a shooting direction changing means in the imaging device of the first embodiment.
When the user wishes to change the shooting direction, first, the user selects an image obtained from an imaging unit whose shooting direction is to be changed using an input device such as a mouse or a touch screen on the user interface 150. In this example, the first image 114 is selected by the user.

Next, the user can change the direction of the selected image, i.e., the shooting direction (shooting range) of the imaging unit, by pressing the black arrow on control button 151. At this time, the black arrow on control button 151 corresponds to the direction of the displayed image, and for example, if the left-pointing arrow is pressed as in FIG. 4(A), the first imaging unit 110 rotates to the left around axis 101, as shown in FIG. 4(B). Since the orientation of the first imaging unit 110 and the orientation of the displayed image correspond, the range of the displayed image is shifted to the left.

Next, means by which the user fixes the shooting direction of the first imaging section 110 will be described with reference to FIGS.
Fig. 5 is a diagram for explaining a method for fixing the imaging unit in the imaging device of the first embodiment, Fig. 6 is a diagram for explaining a continuation of Fig. 5, and Fig. 7 is a diagram for explaining a continuation of Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is a flowchart showing an operation flow relating to disabling the imaging device 100, and shows a flow in which the control unit 130 operates based on a computer program.

When the user wants to fix the shooting direction of the imaging unit, first, in FIG. 5, the user selects the imaging unit whose shooting direction he/she wants to fix by using the selection button 152 .
In this embodiment, Camera 1 of the selection button 152 corresponds to the first imaging unit 110 , and Camera 2 corresponds to the second imaging unit 120 .

When Camera 1 is selected by the selection button 152, the display on the user interface 150 transitions to a setting screen for Camera 1, as shown in FIG.
At this time, the control unit 130 of the imaging device 100 determines whether an instruction to select an imaging unit has been received in step S801 of FIG. 8. If Yes, the process proceeds to step S802, and if No, the process returns to step S801 and waits.

Fixation control buttons 154 (Lock button, Unlock button) are displayed on the setting screen to fix (disable) the shooting direction of the imaging unit or release the fixation (disability). In this case, the shooting direction of the first imaging unit 110 is fixed when the user presses the Lock button of the fixation control buttons 154. Here, the Lock button functions as a disabling means for disabling the drive to change the shooting range.

At this time, the control unit 130 of the imaging device 100 determines whether or not the control of the imaging unit selected in step S802 of FIG. 8 is disabled, and if Yes (disabled), proceeds to step S803, and if No, proceeds to step S805. Also, in step S803, it determines whether or not an instruction to cancel the disablement has been received, and if Yes, proceeds to step S804, and if No, returns to step S801.

When the user presses the Unlock button of the fixed control buttons 154, the disablement of the drive for changing the shooting range is released. Here, the Unlock button functions as a release means for releasing the disablement by the disabling means. At this time, the control unit 130 of the imaging device 100 determines in step S803 of FIG. 8 that a disable release instruction has been received and proceeds to step S804, where it releases the disablement of the control of the imaging unit and returns to step S801.

After the shooting direction of the imaging unit is fixed, clicking LiveView on tab 153 on user interface 150 transitions from the detailed setting screen shown in Fig. 6 to the display screen in Fig. 7. Fig. 7 is a diagram for explaining the operation subsequent to that in Fig. 6.
In FIG. 7, a first image 114 obtained from the first imaging section 110 with a fixed shooting direction is selected on the LiveView display screen of the user interface 150.

At this time, the display frame of the first image 114 is displayed differently from the display frame of the second image 124. In this embodiment, the display frame of the first image 114 is displayed thicker than the display frame of the second image 124. Also, at this time, of the control buttons 151, the horizontal control button 151 that is fixed (disabled) is grayed out. This allows the user to recognize that the shooting direction of the first imaging unit 110 is fixed on the user interface 150.

Here, the grayed-out control button 151 also functions as a notification means for notifying the driving unit that has been disabled by a disable instruction that it remains disabled until the disablement is released by a release instruction.
In this way, even if the grayed-out control button 151 is clicked to instruct driving of a disabled driving unit, the driving of the disabled driving unit will not be performed until the disabling is released by the release means.

In the embodiment, as a means for notifying the user that the imaging unit is fixed, the arrow in the relevant direction on the control button 151 is grayed out, but a display such as "fixed in horizontal direction" may also be used. Alternatively, a sound notification or not displaying the arrow or menu in the relevant direction may also be used.

As a result, the user can change and fix the shooting direction of each shooting unit of the imaging device 100 on the user interface 150, and can easily distinguish between imaging units with fixed shooting directions and imaging units whose shooting directions can be changed.
Here, consider a case where the imaging direction of the second imaging unit 120 is changed after the imaging direction of the first imaging unit 110 has been changed as described above. In this case, the method for changing the imaging direction is the same as when the imaging direction of the first imaging unit 110 is changed, but the image to be selected on the user interface 150 is the second image 124.

However, at that time, if the user mistakenly selects the first image 114 and the shooting direction of the first imaging unit 110 is not fixed, the shooting direction of the first imaging unit 110 that was once set will be changed when the control button 151 is pressed. However, in this embodiment, since the shooting direction of the first imaging unit 110 is fixed as described above, even if the control button 151 is mistakenly pressed while the first image 114 is selected, power is not supplied to the first drive mechanism 111. Therefore, the shooting direction of the first imaging unit 110 remains fixed.

In this manner, in this embodiment, it is possible to reduce the risk that the angle of view of the first imaging unit 110, whose imaging direction has been once set, will be shifted due to an erroneous operation.
In addition, if the user wants to intentionally change the shooting direction of the first imaging unit 110 whose shooting direction is fixed, the lock can be released by pressing the Unlock fixed control button 154 on the detailed setting screen of the first imaging unit 110, making it possible to change the shooting direction.

That is, in step S803 in FIG. 8, it is determined that a disablement cancellation instruction has been received, and the process proceeds to step S804, where the disablement of control of the imaging unit is cancelled, and the process returns to step S801.
If the answer is No in step S802 of FIG. 8 (if the device is not being disabled), the process proceeds to step S805, where it is determined whether or not an invalidation instruction has been received. If the answer is Yes (an invalidation instruction has been received), the process proceeds to step S806; if the answer is No, the process returns to step S801.
In step S806, control of the image capturing unit is disabled, and then the process returns to step S801.

Next, an operation in a case where one axis is fixed and the other axis is not fixed with respect to the rotation directions of the two axes will be described with reference to Fig. 9. Fig. 9 is a diagram for explaining simultaneous driving of two axes in the imaging device of the second embodiment.
In the first embodiment, the imaging device 100 is shown to be capable of rotating only in the horizontal direction (pan direction), but FIG. 9 shows a case in which the imaging device 100 is capable of rotating in both the horizontal direction and the vertical direction (tilt direction).

In the control button 151 in FIG. 9, the right and left arrows indicate control buttons for horizontal rotation, and the up and down arrows indicate control buttons for vertical rotation. Furthermore, the diagonal arrows are control buttons for simultaneous horizontal and vertical rotation.

Here, we will explain the case where, with the horizontal rotation drive fixed as shown in FIG. 7, the control button with the upper left diagonal arrow as shown in FIG. 9 is pressed to instruct simultaneous horizontal and vertical rotation drive. In this case, since the horizontal drive mechanism is already fixed, the imaging device 100 is driven only in the vertical direction.

Also, if only the vertical direction is fixed, the camera will only be driven in the horizontal direction. In this way, each drive direction can be fixed. This means that the user can fix only the shooting direction of their choice for each imaging unit.
In this way, even if an external device issues an instruction to drive a plurality of drive units simultaneously, only the disabled drive unit that has been disabled by a disable instruction will not be driven until the disablement is released by a release instruction.

In this case, the user may feel uncomfortable that the camera is not operating as instructed because one of the drive units is not driving, even though drive instructions are issued to the two-axis drive units simultaneously. Therefore, in such a case, it is desirable to notify the user of the fixed shooting direction, such as "fixed horizontal direction," so that the user can recognize that the reason the camera is not operating as instructed is due to the fixed setting.
When either the horizontal rotation or the vertical rotation is fixed, both the horizontal rotation and the vertical rotation may be fixed.

In other words, even if a command is issued to simultaneously drive multiple drive units including a disabled drive unit that has been disabled by a disable command, the multiple drive units including the disabled drive unit may not be driven until the disablement is released by a release command.
This makes it less likely that the user will feel uncomfortable with the operation caused by only one of the drive units being fixed.

Next, FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a user interface in an imaging device of Example 3, in which a zoom function has been added as a means for changing the shooting range compared to FIG. 9. If the imaging device 100 is equipped with a zoom function, as shown in FIG. 10, a button or bar 156 for instructing zooming is displayed in the user interface, for example, below the control button 151.

In this case, by making it possible to fix the zoom drive mechanism, it is possible to prevent erroneous operation by the user. The zoom function can be handled in the same way as horizontal rotation and vertical rotation.
10, the zoom magnification of the bar 156 for instructing zooming can be changed by dragging the white circle portion. However, the means for instructing zooming is not limited to such a control button, and may be a means for specifying the magnification by a numerical value.

Next, FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the user interface on the setting screen of the imaging device of Example 4. As in FIG. 10, the imaging device of Example 4 has a horizontal rotation drive mechanism, a vertical rotation drive mechanism, and a zoom drive mechanism. Furthermore, on the setting screen shown in FIG. 11, a pull-down menu 155 can be used to specify some or multiple (all) drive mechanisms, and the specified drive mechanisms can be locked or unlocked using a lock control button 154.

In the pull-down menu 155, the drive mechanism for horizontal rotation corresponds to PAN, the drive mechanism for vertical rotation corresponds to TILT, and the drive mechanism for zoom corresponds to ZOOM. Furthermore, by using ALL, which corresponds to all drive mechanisms, it becomes possible to select all drive mechanisms at the same time. Note that it is also possible to make it possible to select multiple drive mechanisms at the same time, rather than all drive mechanisms.

After selecting a drive mechanism from the pull-down menu 155, the lock control button 154 can be used to lock or unlock a pre-specified portion or all (multiple) drive mechanisms.

The fifth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 12. FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining the user interface and shooting direction of the fifth embodiment. FIG. 12(A) is a diagram for explaining the user interface of the fifth embodiment, and FIG. 12(B) is a diagram for explaining the controlled shooting direction.

The imaging device of the fifth embodiment is configured so that the horizontal rotation driving ranges of the first imaging unit 110 and the second imaging unit 120 overlap each other.
In Example 5, for example, when attempting to drive the first imaging unit 110 in a range that overlaps with the second imaging unit 120, if the second imaging unit 120 is not fixed, the second imaging unit 120 is driven in conjunction with the rotation of the first imaging unit 110.

In other words, when the first imaging unit 110 is rotated so that it enters the overlapping range, the second imaging unit also starts rotating at the same angle at the same time, but shifted by a certain angle. This prevents the first imaging unit 110 and the second imaging unit 120 from colliding with each other, and also makes it possible to maintain a wide total imaging angle range for both.

However, if the second imaging unit 120 is fixed, there is a possibility of collision with the second imaging unit 120, so the driving range of the first imaging unit 110 is restricted to prevent collision with the second imaging unit. In other words, if there is an overlapping range of driving ranges by the specified driving unit of the first imaging unit and the second imaging unit, and if the specified driving unit of the second imaging unit is disabled by a disable instruction, the driving range by the specified driving unit of the first imaging unit is restricted.

This prevents the user from erroneously rotating the first imaging unit 110, which could result in a collision with the second imaging unit 120 and damage, an excessive load current flowing through the motor, or the second imaging unit 120 being pushed out of place by the first imaging unit.
In addition, it is preferable to display the drive range limit so that the range fixed by the user can be easily understood.

As shown in FIG. 12(A), a bar showing the total driving range can be displayed, and the current rotational position of the imaging unit and the total driving range can be displayed at the same time. This allows the user to recognize the fixed status of the imaging unit and the range in which the angle of the imaging unit can be changed, improving operability.

As described above, the first imaging unit 110 and the second imaging unit 120 may each be configured to rotate horizontally around the axis 101 as the central axis of rotation, and may each also be configured to rotate vertically. Furthermore, the imaging optical systems 112 and 122 in each imaging unit may be driven to enable zooming. In this case, the first driving mechanism 111 and the second driving mechanism 121 each include a motor and gear corresponding to each component for driving them, and the power to drive each motor is controlled by the control unit 130.

In addition, at this time, the imaging device 100 selects at least one of the first imaging unit 110 and the second imaging unit 120 based on an instruction from an external device, and selectively drives at least one of the horizontal rotation, vertical rotation, and zoom control of the selected imaging unit. Alternatively, it is configured to be able to selectively fix (disable) it. In other words, the transfer unit 140 as a receiving unit can receive a disable instruction from an external device to select an operation to individually disable the selected drive unit of the selected imaging unit.

Furthermore, the transfer unit 140 has a function of collectively fixing all three of the drive mechanisms of a selected imaging unit. That is, the transfer unit 140 as a receiving unit can receive a disabling instruction from an external device for selecting an operation of collectively disabling a plurality of drive units of a selected imaging unit.
Furthermore, it may be possible to fix one or more selected driving mechanisms among the above three driving mechanisms collectively for all the imaging units.

That is, for a specific selected driving unit or units, it may be possible to select between an operation of disabling each selected imaging unit and an operation of disabling the multiple imaging units collectively. That is, when the transfer unit 140 as a receiving unit receives a disabling instruction such as the above from an external device, it executes the respective disabling operations accordingly.

In this way, it is possible to simplify the instructions for fixing by the user. For releasing the fixation, the same method as the fixation operation described above can be selected. In addition, in the embodiment, as a specific method of fixing (disabling), power is not supplied to the drive mechanism (motor) that rotates the imaging unit for which a fixation instruction has been given. However, this is not limiting, and the rotation position or zoom position may be fixed electromagnetically using a plunger or the like, or a locking mechanism for mechanically locking (fixing) may be provided.

The present invention has been described in detail above based on its preferred embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. Various modifications are possible based on the gist of the present invention, and these modifications are not excluded from the scope of the present invention.
A computer program for implementing all or part of the control in this embodiment may be supplied to the imaging device via a network or various storage media. Then, a computer (or a CPU, MPU, etc.) in the imaging device may read and execute the program. In this case, the program and the storage medium storing the program constitute the present invention.

100: Imaging device 110: First imaging unit 111: First driving mechanism,
112, 122: Imaging optical system 113, 123: Solid-state image sensor 114, 124: Image 120: Second imaging section 121: Second driving mechanism 130: Control section 140: Transfer section 150: User interface 151, 154: Control button 152, 155: Selection button 153: Tab

Claims (9)

a first imaging unit and a second imaging unit each having at least one driving unit for changing a photographing range;
a receiving unit that receives, from an external device, a disable instruction for disabling an operation of at least one driving unit of at least one of the first imaging unit and the second imaging unit, and a release instruction for releasing the disablement caused by the disable instruction;
a control unit that controls the drive unit that has been disabled by the disable instruction so that the drive unit is not driven even if the drive unit is instructed to be driven by the external device until the disablement is released by the release instruction ,
An imaging device characterized in that the receiving unit receives the disable instruction for either an operation to individually disable a selected driving unit of a selected imaging unit or an operation to collectively disable multiple driving units of the selected imaging unit . a first imaging unit and a second imaging unit each having at least one driving unit for changing a photographing range;
a receiving unit that receives, from an external device, a disable instruction for disabling an operation of at least one driving unit of at least one of the first imaging unit and the second imaging unit, and a release instruction for releasing the disablement caused by the disable instruction;
a control unit that controls the drive unit that has been disabled by the disable instruction so that the drive unit is not driven even if the drive unit is instructed to be driven by the external device until the disablement is released by the release instruction ,
An imaging device characterized in that the receiving unit receives the disable instruction for either an operation to disable one selected imaging unit at a time for a specified driving unit or an operation to disable the multiple imaging units collectively . a first imaging unit and a second imaging unit each having at least one driving unit for changing a photographing range;
a receiving unit that receives, from an external device, a disable instruction for disabling an operation of at least one driving unit of at least one of the first imaging unit and the second imaging unit, and a release instruction for releasing the disablement caused by the disable instruction;
a control unit that controls the drive unit that has been disabled by the disable instruction so that the drive unit is not driven even if the drive unit is instructed to be driven by the external device until the disablement is released by the release instruction ,
An imaging device characterized in that, when there is an overlapping range of driving ranges by a predetermined driving unit between the first imaging unit and the second imaging unit, and when the predetermined driving unit of the second imaging unit is disabled by the disable instruction, the imaging device limits the driving range by the predetermined driving unit of the first imaging unit . a first imaging unit and a second imaging unit each having at least one driving unit for changing a photographing range;
a receiving unit that receives, from an external device, a disable instruction for disabling an operation of at least one driving unit of at least one of the first imaging unit and the second imaging unit, and a release instruction for releasing the disablement caused by the disable instruction;
a control unit that controls the drive unit that has been disabled by the disable instruction so that the drive unit is not driven even if the drive unit is instructed to be driven by the external device until the disablement is released by the release instruction ,
An imaging device characterized in that, when the driving ranges of a predetermined drive unit of the first imaging unit and the second imaging unit have an overlapping range, the predetermined drive unit of the second imaging unit is driven in conjunction with the driving of the first imaging unit by the predetermined drive unit within the overlapping range . a first imaging unit and a second imaging unit each having at least one driving unit for changing a photographing range;
a receiving unit that receives, from an external device, a disable instruction for disabling an operation of at least one driving unit of at least one of the first imaging unit and the second imaging unit, and a release instruction for releasing the disablement caused by the disable instruction;
a control unit that controls the drive unit that has been disabled by the disable instruction so that the drive unit is not driven even if the drive unit is instructed to be driven by the external device until the disablement is released by the release instruction ,
An imaging device characterized in that, for a drive unit that has been disabled by the disable instruction, the disabled drive unit is not driven even if the external device instructs the drive unit to drive multiple drive units simultaneously until the disablement is released by the release instruction . a first imaging unit and a second imaging unit each having at least one driving unit for changing a photographing range;
a receiving unit that receives, from an external device, a disable instruction for disabling an operation of at least one driving unit of at least one of the first imaging unit and the second imaging unit, and a release instruction for releasing the disablement caused by the disable instruction;
a control unit that controls the drive unit that has been disabled by the disable instruction so that the drive unit is not driven even if the drive unit is instructed to be driven by the external device until the disablement is released by the release instruction ,
an imaging device characterized in that, when the external device instructs the driving unit, which has been disabled by the disable instruction, to drive multiple driving units including the disabled driving unit simultaneously, the imaging device does not drive the multiple driving units including the disabled driving unit until the disabling is released by the release instruction . The external device connected to the imaging device according to any one of claims 1 to 6 ,
An external device characterized by having a notification means for notifying the driving unit that has been disabled by the disable instruction that the driving unit is disabled until the disablement is released by the release instruction. A computer program for causing a computer to function as each of the means of the imaging device according to any one of claims 1 to 6 . A computer-readable storage medium storing the computer program according to claim 8 .

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