JP2005311761A - Omni-directional camera - Google Patents

Abstract

A camera capable of photographing a wide range with high resolution is provided. A camera capable of shooting a moving subject is also provided.
A hollow sphere 1 having at least a part formed of a transparent material and having a spherical shape and an inside, a camera unit 2 provided inside the hollow sphere 1 so as to be three-dimensionally rotatable, and a camera unit Drive motor 6 that drives 2 with respect to the hollow sphere 1, and transmission means 9 that wirelessly transmits image data captured by the camera unit 2 to the outside of the hollow sphere 1.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus capable of changing an imaging direction by remote control.

According to Patent Document 1, it is shown that there is a method described below for photographing a wide range such as an omnidirectional (all sky).
(1) Photographing a plurality of cameras arranged radially from a virtual spherical surface (see, for example, Patent Document 2).
(2) Rotate the camera around the axis and take a picture.
(3) With respect to a reflecting mirror composed of a convex mirror constituted by a hyperboloid, a camera is arranged at the second focal point of the hyperboloid and an image reflected on the reflecting mirror is taken by the camera (for example, see Patent Document 3). .
(4) A camera is arranged opposite to each surface of a reflecting mirror configured by arranging a plane mirror in a regular polygonal pyramid shape, and images reflected on each surface of the reflecting mirror are photographed and synthesized.
JP 2003-005273 A JP 2003-244511 A JP 2001-154295 A

  However, the above-described methods have the following problems.

  First, as shown in Patent Document 2, in the method of arranging a plurality of cameras of (1) so as to radiate from the center of the virtual spherical surface, the photographing apparatus becomes large and occupies a place. Is away from the center of the virtual sphere. For this reason, since the shooting positions of the cameras are separated from each other, parallax (parallax) is generated in the images shot by the cameras, and a complicated operation is required when combining the images shot by the cameras. was there.

  Next, in the method of rotating the camera around the axis in (2), when shooting the whole sky range, a multi-axis rotating spindle is required, the mechanism and control are complicated, and the whole sky is shot at high speed. It becomes difficult to do.

  Further, in the method (3) in which the camera is arranged at the second focal point of the reflecting mirror composed of a hyperboloid as shown in Patent Document 3, all-sky (omnidirectional) shooting can be performed. Since only one can be placed, there was a limit to increasing the resolution. That is, the whole sky could not be photographed with high resolution.

  Further, in the method (4) of arranging a plane mirror in a regular polygonal pyramid shape and photographing images reflected by a plurality of cameras, the angle of view is 90 ° or less because the image is reflected by the plane mirror, and the whole sky is photographed. Was not enough.

  An object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems and provide a camera capable of photographing a wide range with high resolution. A camera capable of shooting a moving subject is also provided.

  In order to achieve the above object, a camera of the present invention is at least partially formed of a transparent material, is a spherical spherical sphere that is empty, and is provided inside the hollow sphere so as to be three-dimensionally rotatable. A camera unit and driving means for driving the camera unit with respect to the hollow sphere. According to this configuration, since the three-dimensional rotation of the camera unit is easy, photographing in three-dimensionally different directions is possible. In addition, it is easy to shoot at high resolution.

  Furthermore, the camera of the present invention has transmission means for wirelessly transmitting image data photographed by the camera unit to the outside of the hollow sphere. According to this configuration, the three-dimensional rotation of the camera unit can be further facilitated.

  Furthermore, the camera of the present invention may include a receiving unit that wirelessly receives a control signal for controlling the camera unit and / or the driving unit from the outside of the hollow sphere. According to this configuration, since wireless control is possible to control the camera unit, the wiring for transmitting the control signal does not get in the way regardless of the direction of the camera unit. Therefore, the camera unit can freely rotate in the hollow sphere.

  Furthermore, the camera of the present invention may have a recording medium for recording image data captured by the camera unit. According to this configuration, it is not necessary to sequentially transmit the captured image data to the outside of the hollow sphere. In addition, since the image data is recorded on the recording medium, even if a failure occurs while the image data is being transmitted to the outside of the hollow sphere, the image data can be lost by transmitting the failed image data again. Can be prevented.

  Here, the camera of the present invention may wirelessly transmit the image data stored in the recording medium to the outside of the hollow sphere by a transmission unit at every predetermined time or every predetermined amount of data. According to this configuration, even a recording medium with a small recording size can shoot a moving image for a long time or record a number of still images.

  The receiving means may receive a control signal for controlling wireless transmission by the transmitting means from the outside of the hollow sphere. According to this configuration, image data can be transmitted in consideration of the transmission / reception environment.

  In the camera of the present invention, a rotating body that is spherical and rotatable is attached to the camera unit. The camera unit is rotatably held when the rotating body contacts the inner wall of the hollow sphere. The camera unit may be driven by rotating one rotating body.

  Here, the rotating body may be made of a material softer than the inner wall of the hollow sphere. According to this configuration, the inner wall of the hollow sphere can be prevented from being damaged.

  Further, the inner wall of the hollow sphere may be coated. Similarly, the inner wall of the hollow sphere can be prevented from being damaged.

  According to the present invention described above, a wide range can be photographed. In addition, it is possible to shoot with high resolution. Furthermore, it is possible to easily shoot a moving subject.

  The camera 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention can shoot by changing the direction three-dimensionally. Hereinafter, the camera 100 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 1 is a side view of the camera 100. In FIG. 1, for convenience, only the hollow sphere 1 is shown in cross section. The camera 100 includes a hollow sphere 1 and a camera unit 2. The camera unit 2 is provided inside the hollow sphere 1 so as to be three-dimensionally rotatable. In the present specification, the three-dimensional rotation means rotation that can change the direction of the rotation axis. On the other hand, planar rotation means rotation with the direction of the rotation axis fixed.

  The hollow sphere 1 is spherical and has an empty interior. The hollow sphere 1 is formed of a material that is at least partially transparent. Moreover, it is preferable that the hollow sphere 1 is uniform thickness. The hollow sphere 1 can be constituted by, for example, two hemispheres of the same size, and after the camera unit 1 is housed in the two hemispheres, the edges of the two hemispheres are connected with an adhesive or the like. Can be created. Further, instead of connecting with an adhesive, the two hemispheres may be tightened and fixed with a metal fitting or the like. Then, by releasing the tightening by the metal fittings, the two hemispheres may be separated so that the camera unit 2 can be taken out from the inside of the hollow sphere 1.

  The camera unit 2 includes an imaging unit 20, holding units 5 and 8, a driving ball 3, a driven ball 4, a driving motor 6, a battery 7, a transmitting unit 9, a receiving unit 10, and a recording medium 11.

  The imaging unit 20 captures a subject and generates image data. The imaging unit 20 can shoot at an angle of view θ. The imaging unit 20 can capture an image regardless of the orientation of the camera unit 2. The imaging unit 20 is provided with holding means 5 and 8. The driving ball 3 is provided at the tip of the holding means 5 so as to be three-dimensionally rotatable. The follower ball 4 is provided so as to be three-dimensionally rotatable. With this configuration, the camera unit 2 is rotatably held by the hollow sphere 2 when the driving ball 3 and the driven ball 4 contact the inner wall of the hollow sphere 2. The driving ball 3 and the driven ball 4 are in contact with the inner wall of the hollow sphere 2 no matter which direction the camera unit 2 is facing. With this configuration, the camera unit 2 can smoothly rotate without causing a backlash between the camera unit 2 and the inner wall of the hollow sphere 1. Further, the imaging unit 20 can shoot even while the camera unit 2 is rotating. Therefore, it is possible to shoot following a moving subject.

  The drive motor 6 rotates the drive ball 3. The camera unit 2 is rotationally driven three-dimensionally by the rotation of the drive ball 3. There are several methods for driving the camera unit 2 three-dimensionally. For example, one drive ball 3 may be rotated three-dimensionally, or two drive balls may be rotated in different planes.

  In order to rotate one drive ball 3 three-dimensionally, two drive motors 6 may be provided, and each drive motor 6 may provide rotation in different planes. The driving motor 6 may be configured to be rotatable around the holding unit 5, and the driving motor 6 may be configured to rotate the driving ball 3 in various planes.

  Further, in order to rotate the two drive balls 3 in different planes, two drive balls 3 and two drive motors 6 are provided, and each drive ball 3 is driven by each drive motor 6. Here, one drive ball 3 is rotated in a certain plane, and the other drive ball 3 is rotated in a plane different from the rotation plane of the one drive ball 3. As described above, when the two rotating bodies are rotated in different planes, a disk-shaped member may be used as the rotating body instead of the drive ball 3. In addition, an annular rotating body or a cylindrical rotating body may be used.

  As shown in FIG. 1, when the drive motor 6 is rotated in the direction A (clockwise) in the figure, the drive ball 3 is rotated in the direction B in the figure. Then, the camera unit 20 rotates in the direction C in the figure by the action between the drive ball 3 and the hollow sphere 1. As described above, the camera unit 2 is rotatable when the driving force of the driving motor 6 is transmitted to the driving ball 3.

  It is desirable to incorporate the camera unit 2 so that the center of gravity of the camera unit 2 matches the center of gravity of the hollow sphere 1 as much as possible. By doing so, even if the camera unit 2 rotates, the center of gravity of the camera 100 does not change, so that the camera 100 can be fixed well. If the center of gravity is shifted, the camera unit 2 may naturally rotate due to gravity, but this can be prevented by matching the center of gravity.

  The battery 7 supplies driving power to the camera unit 2.

  The transmission means 9 is means for wirelessly transmitting data to a controller (not shown) outside the hollow sphere 1. The data transmitted by the transmission means 9 is data such as image data generated by the imaging unit 20 or information indicating the state of the camera unit 2. The transmission means 9 is specifically composed of an antenna, an amplifier and the like.

  The receiving means 10 is means for wirelessly receiving a signal from a controller (not shown) outside the hollow sphere 1. The signal received by the receiving means 10 is a control signal or the like for controlling the camera unit 2. More specifically, this signal is a control signal for controlling the imaging unit 20 and the drive motor 6. When receiving a control signal from an external controller (not shown), the receiving means 10 transmits it to the control means (not shown). The control means (not shown) controls the imaging unit 20, the drive motor 6, the transmission means 9 and the like according to the received control signal. The transmission unit 9 and the reception unit 10 may be configured by one unit. As described above, since the wireless control is possible to control the camera unit 2, the wiring for transmitting the control signal does not get in the way regardless of the direction the camera unit 2 faces.

  The recording medium 11 records the image data generated by the imaging unit 20. The recording medium 11 may be detachable from the camera unit 2 such as a memory card, or may be built into the camera unit 2. The recording medium 11 may be constituted by a semiconductor memory such as a DRAM or a flash memory, or may be a medium such as a magnetic disk or an optical disk. When the recording medium 11 is detachable from the camera unit 2, the camera unit 2 has mounting means such as a card slot.

  The control means (not shown) may control the image data generated by the imaging unit 20 to be transmitted to the controller (not shown) at any time via the transmission means 9, and once recorded on the recording medium 11. You may control to transmit. When transmitting after recording once on the recording medium 11, a control means (not shown) may control to transmit at predetermined time intervals. Further, the control means (not shown) may control to transmit the image data recorded on the recording medium 11 every time the recorded data amount reaches a predetermined data amount. Then, the recording area of the recording medium 11 in which the transmitted image data is recorded is reused by erasing or overwriting new image data. In this way, even a recording medium with a small recording size can shoot a long time moving image or record a number of still images. Further, since the image data is temporarily recorded on the recording medium 11, even if a failure occurs during the transmission of the image data, the loss of the image data can be prevented by transmitting the failed image data again. it can.

  The driving ball 3 and the driven ball 4 are preferably formed of a material softer than the inner wall of the hollow sphere 1. This is because the inner wall of the hollow sphere 1 can be prevented from being damaged. Further, the inner wall of the hollow sphere 1 may be coated with a material that is not easily damaged. Similarly, the inner wall of the hollow sphere 1 can be prevented from being damaged.

  The camera 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention can be used with a pole 12 connected as shown in FIG. The pole 12 is fixed to the ground. With such a configuration, the camera 100 can be used as an outdoor surveillance camera or the like.

  The camera 100 can also be used with a rope 13 connected as shown in FIG. The rope 13 is fixed to the ceiling or the like. With such a configuration, the camera 100 can be used as an indoor surveillance camera or the like.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the camera 100 can also form the hollow sphere 1 integrally with the plate glass 14. With this configuration, the camera 100 can be used as a surveillance camera in which the camera 100 is incorporated in a window glass or the like.

  Although the camera 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes one imaging unit 20, the present invention is not limited thereto, and a plurality of imaging units 20 may be provided. Furthermore, it is good also considering the attachment direction of those some imaging parts 20 as a different direction. Thereby, even if the rotation amount of the camera unit 2 is small, a wide range can be imaged in a short time.

  The drive motor 6 is an example of the drive means of the present invention. The driving ball 3 and the driven ball 4 are examples of the rotating body of the present invention.

  Since the camera of the present invention can capture a wide range, it can be applied to a surveillance camera and a broadcast camera in addition to a consumer camera.

Side view of camera 100 of an embodiment of the present invention The side view of the state which fixed the camera 100 of embodiment of this invention The side view of the state which fixed the camera 100 of embodiment of this invention The side view of the state which fixed the camera 100 of embodiment of this invention

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Hollow sphere 2 Camera unit 3 Drive ball 4 Driven ball 6 Drive motor 9 Transmission means 10 Reception means 11 Recording medium

Claims (9)

A hollow sphere formed of at least a part of a transparent material, spherical and empty inside,
A camera unit provided inside the hollow sphere so as to be three-dimensionally rotatable;
Drive means for driving the camera unit with respect to the hollow sphere;
A camera characterized by comprising: The camera according to claim 1, further comprising a transmission unit that wirelessly transmits image data captured by the camera unit to the outside of the hollow sphere. The camera according to claim 1, further comprising a receiving unit that wirelessly receives a control signal for controlling the camera unit and / or the driving unit from the outside of the hollow sphere. The camera according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a recording medium for recording image data photographed by the camera unit. 5. The camera according to claim 4, wherein the image data stored in the recording medium is wirelessly transmitted to the outside of the hollow sphere by the transmitting unit at predetermined time intervals or at predetermined data amounts. The camera according to claim 4, wherein the reception unit receives a control signal for controlling wireless transmission by the transmission unit from the outside of the hollow sphere. A rotatable rotating body is attached to the camera unit,
The camera unit is rotatably held when the rotating body contacts the inner wall of the hollow sphere,
The camera according to claim 1, wherein the driving unit drives the camera unit by rotating at least one of the rotating bodies. The camera according to claim 7, wherein the rotating body is made of a material softer than an inner wall of the hollow sphere. The camera according to claim 7 or 8, wherein an inner wall of the hollow sphere is coated.

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