JP2004274333A - Camera platform controller - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make a camera platform small as a whole by making it possible to operate the camera platform and a camera with a touch operation on the display screen of a liquid crystal display part with a touch panel provided in a camera platform controller, for example, by dividing an operation screen about many control functions for the camera platform and the camera into some switchable and displayable operation screens to be able to make the liquid crystal display part small and meanwhile, to reduce lowering in operability by making it possible to perform an operation with an individual operation member about panning/tilting operations of the camera platform, a zooming operation of the camera and a focusing operation, wherein operations made by mechanically configured operation members are desirable. <P>SOLUTION: A joy stick 20 for panning/tilting operations, a focus knob 22, a zoom lever 24, the liquid crystal display part 26 with a touch panel for performing various operation with operations on the screen, and function keys 28A to 28E to which desired operation procedures on the screen can be assigned are arranged on an operation surface of the camera platform controller 12. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a pan head controller, and more particularly to a pan head controller that remotely controls a pan head that rotatably supports a camera.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, a pan head controller is connected to a pan head equipped with a camera such as a television camera via a cable, a communication line, and the like, and various operation members of the pan head controller are operated so that pan / tilt of the pan head and the camera can be performed. 2. Description of the Related Art A pan head system capable of remotely controlling zoom, focus, and the like is known (for example, see Patent Document 1). The head controller includes, for example, a joystick for pan / tilt operation, a focus knob for focus operation, a zoom lever for zoom operation, and a preset shot function for reproducing shots stored in advance. Many operation members related to the control functions of the camera platform and the camera (camera body and lens) such as switches are arranged.
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-10-153813
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, in recent years, with the increase in the functions of the camera platform and the camera, the number of operating members such as switches of the camera platform controller has been increasing. For this reason, there is a problem that the pan head controller becomes large and the arrangement of the operation members becomes complicated.
[0005]
On the other hand, there is a concept that a commercially available computer such as a personal computer is used as a pan head controller and dedicated software is introduced to construct the pan head controller. In this case, for example, an operation screen with limited functions that can be operated is displayed on the monitor screen, and an operation screen of a necessary function can be switched and displayed. For example, a function of a camera platform, a function of a camera body, and a lens It is possible to perform operations related to these functions using a mouse or keyboard while looking at the operation screen displayed for each function. In this way, it is not necessary to change the hardware configuration due to the increase in functions, and it is possible to respond only by changing the software, and it is also possible to reduce the situation in which the operation screen that organizes the functions that can be operated causes confusion of operation Is done.
[0006]
However, when a computer is used as the camera platform controller, there is a problem in operability even if a portable computer can be used to reduce the size. For example, if the function is sufficient for a digital operation such as an on / off switch, the switch displayed on the display screen may be clicked with a mouse, or if the screen has a touch panel, the switch may be touched. There is almost no difference in operability from operating hardware operating members.
[0007]
On the other hand, in the case of pan / tilt operation of the camera platform, focus operation of the camera (lens), and zoom operation, an analog operation is required. That is, an operation of adjusting a set value related to a position, a speed, or the like that can take a continuous value is required instead of an operation of simply pressing / releasing. In particular, in these operations, not only the adjustment of the set value but also the speed of changing the set value is important. When these operations are performed using hardware operation members, operation members (joysticks, knobs, etc.) whose operation amount is variable are usually used, but operation on the display screen is equivalent to such operation members. Cannot be obtained.
[0008]
Further, when the operation screen for each function can be switched and displayed as described above, it takes time and effort to display the operation screen of a desired function. In particular, if the number of operations for displaying the operation screens of the frequently used function and the less frequently used function is the same, there is a problem that efficiency is low.
[0009]
The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a pan head controller that achieves miniaturization and minimizes a decrease in operability accompanying the miniaturization.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, an invention according to claim 1 is a head controller that transmits various commands to a head that rotatably supports a camera, wherein an operation related to various control functions of the head and the camera is performed. Display means for displaying a switch for performing on a display screen, touch operation detection means for detecting a touch operation on the switch on the display screen, a rotation operation operation member for operating a rotation operation of the camera platform, A zoom operation member for operating the zoom of the camera, a focus operation member for operating the focus of the camera, a touch operation detected by the touch operation detection means, an operation of the rotation operation operation member, and the focus operation Command transmitting means for transmitting a command to the camera platform based on the operation of the member and the operation of the zoom operation member. It is characterized in that was.
[0011]
According to the present invention, it is possible to operate the camera platform and the camera by touch operation on the display screen of the display means provided in the camera platform controller, for example, to display various control functions for the camera platform and the camera. Since the screen (operation screen) can be divided into several operation screens that can be switched and displayed, the size of the display means can be reduced, and the overall size of the camera platform controller can be reduced. On the other hand, the operation of rotating the pan head (panning or tilting), zooming and focusing of the camera, which is desirable to be operated by mechanically configured operating members, is operated by individual operating members separately from the touch operation on the display screen As a result, it is possible to reduce a decrease in operability.
[0012]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, a series of desired operations on a switch displayed by the display means or a series of processes executed by the operation are assigned. A function switch for executing the assigned series of operations or the assigned series of processes by an ON operation is provided as an operation member, or is displayed on the display means. .
[0013]
According to the present invention, a desired touch operation (one or more touch operations) on the display screen of the display means can be assigned to the function switches. For example, a series of frequent touch operations on the display screen can be performed. It can be replaced with a simple function switch operation. In particular, when a display screen (operation screen) related to many control functions for the camera platform and the camera is divided into several operation screens that can be switched and displayed on the display means in order to reduce the size of the camera platform controller, a desired operation screen is obtained. By allocating the operations up to the display of the switches related to the control functions on the display means and the touch operations of the switches to the function switches, the number of operations can be reduced, and the number of operations increases due to downsizing of the pan head controller, etc. Can be prevented. In the function switch according to the second aspect of the present invention, the pan / tilt, zoom, and focus operation members (mechanically configured operation members) are provided in the pan head controller as in the first embodiment. It is valid regardless of whether it is.
[0014]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a pan head controller according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0015]
FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a camera platform system using a camera platform controller according to the present invention. The pan head system shown in FIG. 1 includes a remote control pan head 10 (hereinafter, simply referred to as a pan head 10) and a pan head controller 12 which is an operation unit. The camera platform 10 includes a housing 14 for accommodating a television camera (hereinafter simply referred to as a camera) (not shown), and panning (horizontal (panning) rotation) and tilting (vertical (tilting)) the camera together with the housing 14. And the pan head main body 16 to be rotated. A transparent front glass 18 is provided on a front surface of the housing 14, and a camera captures an image outside the housing 14 through the front glass 18.
[0016]
The housing 14 is cantilevered by a tilt shaft (not shown) extending from the camera platform main body 16, and the tilt shaft is rotationally driven by a tilt motor built in the camera platform main body 16. Thereby, the camera in the housing 14 is tilted together with the housing 14.
[0017]
The pan head main body 16 is supported by a pan shaft 19 fixed on a mounting table (not shown), and the pan head main body 16 is rotated around the pan shaft 19 by a built-in pan motor. Thereby, the camera in the housing 14 pans with the housing 14. The operation of the camera platform 10 for panning or tilting the camera is referred to as a pan / tilt operation of the camera platform 10.
[0018]
The camera platform controller 12 is connected to the camera platform 10 directly by a cable or through a communication line such as a dedicated line or a public line. Commands relating to various control functions of the camera (camera body and lens) mounted on the camera are transmitted to the camera platform 10.
[0019]
FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the configuration of the operation surface of the camera platform controller 12. As shown in the figure, on the operation surface of the camera platform controller 12, an operation stick (joystick) 20, a focus knob 22, a zoom lever 24, a liquid crystal display unit 26 with a touch panel, and function keys 28A to 28E are arranged. .
[0020]
The joystick 20 is an operation member mechanically configured to perform pan / tilt operations on the camera platform 10. When the joystick 20 is tilted forward, backward, left, and right, the joystick 20 moves in a direction and at a speed corresponding to the tilt direction and the tilt amount. The platform 10 can be panned / tilted.
[0021]
The focus knob 22 is an operation member mechanically configured to perform a focus operation of the camera (lens). When the focus knob 22 is rotated, the focus can be moved to a focus position corresponding to the position. it can.
[0022]
The zoom lever 24 is an operation member mechanically configured to perform a zoom operation of the camera (lens), and swings around a longitudinal axis at the center in the left-right direction. When one of the left and right sides of the zoom lever 24 is pressed, the zoom can be moved in a direction and at a speed corresponding to the pressed side and the pressing amount.
[0023]
The liquid crystal display unit 26 with a touch panel (hereinafter simply referred to as the liquid crystal display unit 26) is used to perform operations related to the control functions of the camera platform 10 and the camera other than the control functions of controlling the focus, zoom, and pan / tilt. And a liquid crystal panel and a touch panel provided on the surface of the liquid crystal panel.
[0024]
On the liquid crystal display unit 26, for example, an operation screen as shown in FIG. 3 is displayed as an initial screen. On the operation screen, switches related to the preset shot function are displayed. The preset shot function stores desired pan / tilt positions, focus positions, zoom positions, and the like of the camera platform 10 and the camera as shot positions in advance, so that the shot positions can be reproduced only by a shot reproduction instruction operation. This is the control function. Although not described in detail, as switches displayed on the operation screen, there are a memo switch 30 which is turned on when storing a desired shot, and six switches for specifying a shot number of the shot when storing or reproducing the shot. Shot switches 32A to 32F and four page switches 34A to 34D for switching pages so that a plurality of shots can be allocated to each of the shot switches 32A to 32F are displayed. When the position of the switch on the operation screen is touched with a finger or the like, the touched switch is determined by the touch panel, and the switch is turned on / off.
[0025]
Selection switches 36A to 36D for selecting the type of operation screen to be displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 26 are displayed at the top of the operation screen. For example, a selection switch 36A for selecting an operation screen related to the preset shot function, which is the main operation screen, a selection switch 36B for selecting an operation screen related to a control function of the camera (camera body), and a selection switch for selecting an operation screen related to a control function of the housing 14. A switch 36C and a selection switch 36D for selecting an operation screen related to a control function not included in other operation screens are displayed. When a selection switch of a desired operation screen is touched, the operation screen is displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 26.
[0026]
As another example of the operation screen, for example, when the selection switch 36B of the operation screen relating to the control function of the camera is touched, the display on the liquid crystal display unit 26 is switched to the operation screen as shown in FIG. Although details are omitted, the operation screen includes, for example, a switch 40 for turning on / off the power of the camera, a switch 42 for turning on / off the auto white balance, switches 44A and 44B for switching the camera gain to the front candidate or the rear candidate, Switches 46A and 46B for switching the shutter speed between the front candidate and the rear candidate are displayed. Further, selection switches 36A to 36D similar to those in FIG. 3 are displayed at the upper part of the operation screen. When these switches are touched on the operation screen, the touched switches are turned on / off.
[0027]
Function keys (function switches) 28A to 28E shown in FIG. 2 are switches for storing a series of operations (operation procedures) on the liquid crystal display unit 26 and reproducing a process for the stored series of operations with a single operation. It is. For example, when an operation of touching a desired switch on the operation screen of the liquid crystal display unit 26 while repeatedly holding down the function key 28A is sequentially repeated, those operations are stored together with the operation order. When the function key 28A is released, the storage process ends, and a series of stored operations are assigned to the function key 28A. Then, when the function key 28A to which the operation is assigned is turned on, the process for each operation is executed in the operation order when the operation is stored.
[0028]
The operation of the function keys 28A to 28E can also be stored as one of a series of operations assigned to them, and the series of operations assigned to a certain function key and the new operation on the operation screen of the liquid crystal display unit 26 can be stored. A combination with a simple operation or a combination of a series of operations assigned to a plurality of function keys can be newly assigned to another function key. For example, if the operation of setting the orientation of the camera platform 10 (camera) to the home position is assigned to the function key 28A and the operation of turning off the camera is assigned to the function key 28B, the camera platform 10 (camera) After turning the camera to the home position, the operation of turning off the power of the camera can be assigned to the function key 28C by the above-described method.
[0029]
Next, FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the camera platform controller 12. 2, the joystick 20, the focus knob 22, and the zoom lever 24 shown in FIG. 2 are shown as an operation unit 52, and operations on the operation unit 52 are detected by the CPU 50. The CPU 50 transmits a command corresponding to the detected operation to the camera platform 10 through the communication interface 54. Thus, the camera platform 10 and the camera are controlled according to the operation of the operation unit 52.
[0030]
The liquid crystal display unit with a touch panel 26 shown in FIG. 2 is shown as a liquid crystal panel 56 and a touch panel 58 in FIG. 5, and the liquid crystal panel 56 has an operation screen or the like shown in FIGS. The image is displayed via a driver (not shown) by a drive signal. Further, when the screen of the liquid crystal display unit 26 is touched, a signal indicating the position touched by the touch panel 58 is given to the CPU 50 via a driver (not shown). The CPU 50 detects which switch has been touched on the current operation screen displayed on the liquid crystal panel 56 by a signal from the touch panel 58, and when it is determined that any switch has been touched, performs a corresponding process. Execute For example, when a switch related to a control function of the camera is touched, a command corresponding to the touch is transmitted to the camera platform 10 through the communication interface 54. One of the selection switches 36A to 36D illustrated in FIGS. Processing for displaying the operation screen corresponding to the switch on the liquid crystal panel 56 when touched, processing for changing the brightness of the switch when the switch on the operation screen is switched from ON to OFF or OFF to ON when the switch is touched, etc. I do.
[0031]
The on / off operation of each of the function keys 28A to 28E shown in FIG. 2 is also detected by the CPU 50 as shown in FIG. 5, and any one of the function keys is turned on by the CPU 50 (see FIG. 5). If the function key is pressed, if an operation is already assigned to the function key, data that stores information on the operation procedure (or the content of processing for the operation procedure) is read out from the memory 60, and processing according to the operation procedure is executed. I do. When no operation is assigned to the turned on function key, the function key is turned off without performing a touch operation or the like on the liquid crystal display unit 26 (operation for assigning an operation to the function key). Sometimes no processing is performed.
[0032]
On the other hand, when a touch operation on the liquid crystal display unit 26 or another function key is turned on while the function key is turned on, a process of storing a series of operations (a process of assigning an operation to a function key) is executed. . For example, when the touch operation on the liquid crystal display unit 26 is performed a plurality of times while the function key is turned on, the order of each operation and the type of the operation screen when each operation is performed (however, it is not essential). The information of the type of switch touched by each operation is recorded in the memory 60 in association with the turned on function key. As a result, a series of operations of the function keys that have been turned on are assigned.
[0033]
Here, in the present embodiment, since it is assumed that a new operation can be assigned by overwriting a function key to which an operation has already been assigned, the function key is assigned to that function key when the function key is turned on. When the process for the operation that has been performed is executed, the process for the operation that has already been allocated is executed even if it is desired to allocate a new operation. Although there is no special problem even in this case, for example, when the function key switches from on to off, is there a touch operation or the like on the liquid crystal display unit 26 (that is, an operation of assigning a new operation procedure to the function key)? It is also possible to judge whether or not to execute the processing for a series of operations already assigned only when there is no operation.
[0034]
In the above embodiment, a series of operations is assigned to each of the function keys 28A to 28E, and the operation procedure is stored in the memory 60. However, a series of operations is assigned to each of the function keys 28A to 28E. A series of processes of the CPU 50 for an operation may be allocated, and the contents and order of each process of the series of processes may be stored in the memory 60. For example, it is assumed that, when an operation or a process is assigned to a certain function key, a predetermined switch is touched to switch the state from on to off. After that, when the function key is turned on to reproduce the operation or the process, the result differs between the case where the operation is assigned to the function key and the case where the process is assigned. When an operation is assigned to a function key, when the function key is turned on, the switch is turned off if the state of the switch at that time is on, and turned on if the state of the switch is off. On the other hand, when a process is assigned to a function key, the process of switching from on to off is reproduced. Therefore, when the function key is turned on, the switch is turned off regardless of the state of the switch at that time.
[0035]
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the operation that can be stored in the function keys 36A to 36D (or the processing for the operation) is mainly related to the touch operation on the liquid crystal display unit 26, but is mechanically configured. The operation of the operating member (or the processing for the operation) may be stored.
[0036]
In the above-described embodiment, the mechanically configured operation members are the joystick 20, the focus knob 22, the zoom lever 24, and the function keys 36A to 36D, but are not limited thereto. For example, for a function controlled by an operation of continuously adjusting a value, a mechanically-configured operation such as a knob is performed rather than a touch operation of an up / down switch on the screen of the liquid crystal display unit 26. Since it is easier to operate using a member, such a function may be operated by a mechanically configured operation member. On the other hand, the function keys 36A to 36D may be displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 26 instead of the actual operation members.
[0037]
In addition, the function keys 36A to 36D as in the above embodiment can be applied regardless of the configuration of the pan head controller 12 as in the above embodiment. This is effective when you want to do it easily.
[0038]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the pan head controller according to the present invention, the pan head and the camera can be operated by a touch operation on the display screen of the display unit provided in the pan head controller, for example, Since the operation screen relating to many control functions for the base and the camera can be divided into several display screens (operation screens) that can be switched and displayed, the display means can be reduced, and the overall size of the pan head controller can be reduced. It becomes possible. On the other hand, the operation of rotating the pan head (panning or tilting), zooming and focusing of the camera, which is desirable to be operated by mechanically configured operating members, is operated by individual operating members separately from the touch operation on the display screen As a result, the reduction in operability due to the downsizing of the pan head controller can be reduced.
[0039]
Also, by allowing a desired touch operation (one or more touch operations) on the display screen of the display means to be assigned to the function switches, for example, a series of touch operations frequently performed on the display screen can be simplified. It is possible to replace the operation of a simple function switch. In particular, when a display screen (operation screen) related to many control functions for the camera platform and the camera is divided into several operation screens that can be switched and displayed in order to reduce the size of the camera platform controller, a switch related to a desired control function is provided. The number of operations can be reduced by assigning the operations up to display on the display means and the touch operations of the switches to the function switches, thereby preventing an increase in the number of operations due to downsizing of the pan head controller and the like. it can.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a camera platform system using a camera platform controller according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a configuration of an operation surface of a camera platform controller.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation screen displayed on a liquid crystal display unit of the camera platform controller.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation screen displayed on a liquid crystal display unit of the camera platform controller.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a camera platform controller.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... head, 12 ... head controller, 14 ... housing, 20 ... joystick, 22 ... focus knob, 24 ... zoom lever, 26 ... liquid crystal display part with a touch panel, 28A-28E ... function keys, 30 ... memo switch, 32A To 32F: shot switch, 34A to 34D: page switch, 36A to 36D: selection switch, 50: CPU, 52: operation unit, 54: communication interface, 56: liquid crystal panel, 58: touch panel, 60: memory

Claims (2)

In a pan head controller that sends various commands to a pan head that rotatably supports a camera,
Display means for displaying a switch for performing operations related to various control functions of the camera platform and the camera on a display screen,
Touch operation detecting means for detecting a touch operation on a switch on the display screen,
A rotation operation operating member for operating the rotation of the head,
A zoom operation member for operating the zoom of the camera,
A focus operation member for operating the focus of the camera,
A command transmission unit configured to transmit a command to the camera platform based on the touch operation detected by the touch operation detection unit, the operation of the rotation operation member, the operation of the focus operation member, and the operation of the zoom operation member; ,
A pan head controller comprising: A desired series of operations on the switches displayed by the display means, or a series of processes executed by the operations is allocated, and the processes for the series of operations allocated by the ON operation, or the allocated series The pan head controller according to claim 1, wherein a function switch for executing the processing of (1) is provided as an operation member or is displayed on the display means.

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