JP3298534B2 - Automatic turning monitoring camera device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic turning surveillance camera device, and more particularly to an automatic turning surveillance camera device capable of improving the recognizability of a monitored area when monitoring a dark place such as at night.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An automatic turning surveillance camera device for industrial or security use always turns a turntable,
The CCD (Charge Coupled Device)
e) Monitoring is performed by displaying video information from the camera on a display device. When monitoring a dark place such as at night, the sensitivity has been increased by increasing the amplification factor of the video signal processing circuit of the CCD camera. However, this conventional technique has a problem that a noise component of a displayed image increases and it is difficult to recognize a monitored range. Therefore, an attempt was made to solve the above problem by increasing the exposure time of the CCD mounted on the CCD camera to increase the sensitivity.

[0003]

However, in this prior art, since the turntable is rotated even during long exposure of the CCD, an image flows, and the recognizability of the monitored area is poor. there were.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to provide an automatic turning monitoring camera device in which an image does not flow even if the exposure time is lengthened to increase the sensitivity.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automatic turning monitoring camera apparatus comprising: a solid-state imaging device capable of controlling a charge accumulation time in a light receiving unit; A monitoring camera, a turntable for intermittently turning the monitor camera, a monitor device for monitoring a video signal from the monitor camera, and controlling rotation of the turntable according to the charge accumulation time of the monitor camera. And a control device for controlling the timing of the monitor device.

According to the invention having such a configuration, when the charge accumulation time of the solid-state imaging device of the surveillance camera is increased to improve the sensitivity, the control means sets the turntable for rotating the surveillance camera to the time of the charge accumulation time. While turning, the control is performed so as to stop at a predetermined position, and the timing of the monitor device is controlled according to the charge accumulation time, so that it is possible to prevent the image from flowing while improving the sensitivity. .

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automatic turning monitoring camera apparatus according to the first aspect.
The control device is configured to perform control for stopping the turntable at a predetermined location during the charge accumulation time.

According to the invention having such a configuration, even if the charge accumulation time of the solid-state imaging device of the surveillance camera is increased to improve the sensitivity, it is possible to reliably prevent the image from flowing.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automatic turning surveillance camera device according to the first or second aspect, wherein the monitor device transmits a video signal from the surveillance camera to a plurality of video signals via a video switch. Stored in the video storage device,
The control device is configured to control switching timing of the video switch.

According to the invention having such a configuration, by controlling the timing of the video switch according to the transmission interval of the video signal of the surveillance camera, proper monitoring becomes possible.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the automatic turning surveillance camera device according to the third aspect, the control device transmits a video signal of the surveillance camera while the turntable is rotating. It is configured to control so as not to accumulate in the video holding device.

According to the invention having such a configuration, when the surveillance camera is turning, an image may flow. Therefore, by ignoring the image being turned, the flow of the image can be prevented. .

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automatic turning monitoring camera device according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the setting of the charge accumulation time is performed by a control panel. The set charge accumulation time information is transmitted to the control device and the monitoring camera.

According to the invention having such a configuration, the sensitivity of the surveillance camera can be adjusted by setting the charge accumulation time by operating the control panel according to the brightness of the object monitored by the surveillance camera. .

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the automatic turning surveillance camera device according to the fifth aspect, the solid state of the surveillance camera is controlled according to the charge accumulation time information sent to the surveillance camera. The configuration includes a driving device that controls the driving of the imaging element.

According to the invention having such a configuration, the sensitivity can be adjusted by controlling the charge accumulation time of the solid-state imaging device of the monitoring camera by the driving device.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the automatic turning monitoring camera device of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the configuration of the automatic turning monitoring camera device of the present invention. The automatic turning monitoring camera device 1 includes a monitoring camera 10 having a solid-state imaging device such as a CCD capable of controlling a charge accumulation time in a light receiving unit and outputting a video signal, and a turning table for turning the monitoring camera 10 intermittently. 20, a monitor device 30 for monitoring a video signal from the surveillance camera 10, a control panel 40 for setting a charge accumulation time and the like, and a surveillance camera 1
0, a swivel 20, and a control device 50 that performs various controls of the monitor device 30. Surveillance camera 10 is housing 6
0 and protected from disturbances such as rain.

The charge storage time information of the charge storage time set on the control panel 40 is output to the control device 50 and also to the monitoring camera 10.

As shown in FIG. 2, the surveillance camera 10 includes, as a light receiving unit, a CCD 11 as a solid-state imaging device that receives light to be monitored and converts the light into an electric signal. The CCD 11 has a characteristic that the signal current increases in proportion to the light receiving time. Therefore, the sensitivity can be adjusted by changing the charge accumulation time. The surveillance camera 10 includes a shutter speed control circuit 12, and when the charge accumulation time is set on the control panel 40, the charge accumulation time information is given to the shutter speed control circuit 12, and the shutter speed control circuit 12 A signal for controlling each shutter speed is output to the CCD drive circuit 13.

The CCD drive circuit 13 controls the charge accumulation time of the CCD 11 for each field based on this signal. The analog electric signal output from the CCD 11 is subjected to predetermined processing by the signal processing circuit 14 and then output to the monitor device 30 as a video signal.

The swivel table 20 is provided with a drive motor (not shown), turns under the control of the control device 50, and determines the direction in which the monitoring camera 10 mounted on the swivel table captures images.

The control device 50 includes a control panel 40
The turning timing of the turntable 20 is controlled in accordance with the charge accumulation time set by the control unit. That is, the swivel 2
0 indicates that the monitoring camera 10 stops at the predetermined position to be monitored during the charge accumulation time, stops the monitoring camera 10 during the charge accumulation time, and captures an image into the CCD 11 of the monitoring camera. Is completed, the vehicle is controlled to perform an intermittent turning operation of turning to the next predetermined monitoring position.

The monitor device 30 includes a video switch 310 functioning as a switch for switching a video signal from the monitoring camera 10 and a memory for storing the video signal for one field taken in via the video switch 310. In this example, three first video holding devices 321, second video holding devices 322, and third video holding devices 323, and display devices for displaying video signals held in the respective video holding devices 321, 322, and 323 are provided. Three first monitors 3
31, a second monitor 332 and a third monitor 333.

The switching timing of the video switching device 310 is controlled by the control device 50 in accordance with the charge accumulation time set by the control panel 40, and the connection to the three video holding devices 321, 322, and 323 is sequentially performed. Switch to input video signal. Also, the image holding device 32
1, 322, and 323 are controlled in timing of capturing an image in accordance with the charge accumulation time set by the control panel 40, and are controlled so as not to capture an image signal while the swivel 20 is rotating. Video holding devices 321, 3
22 and 323 are always output from the monitors 331 and 3 respectively.
32 and 333 are input and displayed.

Next, the operation of the automatic turning monitoring camera device 1 will be described. FIG. 3 is an image diagram of a range captured by the monitoring camera 10. FIG. 4 is a timing chart until the video output from the monitoring camera 10 is displayed on the monitors 331, 332, and 333. Here, the left, center, and right directions are three monitors 331 arranged side by side,
It is assumed that monitoring is performed at 332 and 333, respectively.

The position information in the three directions is input to the control device 50, and the turntable 20 is operated by transmitting the position information to the turntable 20. First, CCD11
When the exposure time (charge accumulation time) is set to T [s] on the control panel 40, the video signal output from the monitoring camera 10 changes as shown in FIG. CC
The exposure time of D11 is controlled from the control panel 40, and the information is transmitted to the control device 50. Control device 5
From 0, an instruction is issued to the swivel 20 to move it to the position information in the left direction. At that time, the surveillance camera 10
A range of -1 is photographed during the exposure time, and a video signal 1A is output. The control device 50 controls the video switch 310 to switch to the first video holding device 321 side,
The first video holding device 321 is controlled to capture the video signal 1A. The video signal 1A captured by the first video holding device 321 is output to the first monitor 331.

Next, the control device 50 issues an instruction to the swivel base 20 to direct the turntable 20 to the position information in the center direction. The turntable 20 starts turning from the left to the center, and stops when it reaches the point of the designated position information. The video signals 1B, 1C, and 1D are output from the monitoring camera during turning.
0 controls so that the image is not taken into the image holding device and ignored.

When the monitoring camera 10 stops toward the center, the surveillance camera 10 captures an image of the range shown in FIG. 3B during the exposure time and outputs a video signal 2A. The control device 50 is a video switch 310
Is switched to the second video holding device 322 side, and the second video holding device 322 is controlled to capture the video signal 2A. The video signal 2A captured by the second video holding device 322 is output to the second monitor 332.

Similarly, the control device 50 issues an instruction to the swivel 20 to direct it to the position information in the right direction. The turntable 20 starts turning rightward from the center direction, and stops when the point of the designated position information is reached. The video signals 2B, 2C, and 2D are output from the surveillance camera 10 during turning, but during this time, the images flow and are ignored.

When stopped rightward, the surveillance camera 10 captures an image of the range shown in FIG. 3C during the exposure time and outputs a video signal 3A. The image switch 310 from the control device 50
Is switched to the third video holding device 323 side, and the third video holding device 323 is controlled to take in the video signal 3A. The video signal 3A captured by the third video holding device 323 is output to the third monitor 333.

Thereafter, the above operation is repeated from the left, and the surveillance camera 10 photographs the range of FIG. 3D during the exposure time and outputs the video signal 4A. The control device 50 controls the video switch 310 to switch to the first video holding device 321 side, and also controls the first video holding device 321 to capture the video signal 4A. First image holding device 32
The video signal 4 </ b> A captured at 1 is output to the first monitor 331. The video signal 1A is output to the first monitor 331,
While the next video signal 4A is output, the first monitor 221
Displays the video signal 1A.

Thereafter, FIGS. 3-5 and 3-6 are sequentially photographed, and the video signal 5A and the video signal 6A (not shown in FIG. 4) are displayed on the first monitor 332 and the third monitor 333, respectively.

The ignored video period during turning is CCD1
1 requires only a short time when the exposure time is short, and when the turning speed of the turntable increases.

Next, consider a case where the exposure time of the CCD 11 is set to 2T [s] by the control panel 40, which is twice that of the above-described example. The video signal output from the monitoring camera 10 changes as shown in FIG. The exposure time of the CCD 11 is transmitted from the control panel 40 to the control device 50. The basic operation is the same as that described above, except that the exposure time during which the control unit 50 stops at the left, center, and right positions of the swivel 20, the switching timing of the video switch 310, the video holding device 321, The timing of capturing the video into the 322 and 323 is performed at twice the cycle described above.

According to such an automatic turning monitoring camera device, when turning automatically in a dark place such as at night, the turning table is operated intermittently to perform monitoring with little noise and no image flowing. be able to.

Conventionally, the turntable is always rotated regardless of the accumulation time of the CCD. Therefore, when the accumulation time of the CCD is long, an image to be displayed on the monitor flows. When the sensitivity is increased by lengthening the accumulation time of the CCD, the swivel is temporarily stopped to display the captured image, so that monitoring with little noise and no flow of the image can be performed.

In the above description, the CCD driving device is provided in the surveillance camera. However, the CCD driving device may of course be incorporated in the control device. Although three monitor devices are used, the number of monitor devices is of course not limited. Furthermore, a CCD is described as an example of a solid-state imaging device capable of controlling a charge accumulation time in a light receiving unit. In addition, a BBD (bucket bridge device) and a CID (char
Ge injection device), MOS-FET, etc. may be used.

[0038]

As described above, according to the automatic turning surveillance camera device of the present invention, even if the sensitivity is increased, no image flows, and the recognizability of the monitored area can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of an automatic turning monitoring camera device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a monitoring camera.

FIG. 3 is an image diagram illustrating a range captured by a monitoring camera.

FIG. 4 is a timing chart until a video output from a monitoring camera is displayed on a monitor in the automatic turning monitoring camera device of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 automatic turning monitoring camera device 10 monitoring camera 11 CCD 13 CCD driving circuit 12 shutter speed control circuit 20 turning table 30 monitoring device 310 video switching device 321 first video holding device 322 second video holding device 323 third video holding device 331 first 1 monitor 332 second monitor 333 third monitor 40 control panel 50 control device

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-6-46424 (JP, A) JP-A-60-102076 (JP, A) JP-A-3-270586 (JP, A) JP-A-10-104 257479 (JP, A) JP-A-10-304341 (JP, A) JP-A-10-257374 (JP, A) JP-A-11-136566 (JP, A) JP-A-11-355635 (JP, A) (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H04N 7/18 H04N 5/222-5/257

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] A monitoring camera that includes a solid-state imaging device capable of controlling a charge accumulation time in a light receiving unit and outputs a video signal; a turntable that intermittently rotates the monitoring camera;
A monitoring device for monitoring a video signal from the monitoring camera, and a control device for controlling rotation of the turntable and controlling timing of the monitoring device in accordance with the charge accumulation time of the monitoring camera. An automatic turning monitoring camera device characterized by the above-mentioned. 2. The automatic rotation monitoring camera device according to claim 1, wherein the control device performs control for stopping the turntable at a predetermined position during the charge accumulation time. Surveillance camera device. 3. The automatic turning surveillance camera device according to claim 1, wherein the monitor device accumulates image signals from the surveillance camera in a plurality of image holding devices via an image switch, and the control device. Controlling the switching timing of the video switching device. 4. The automatic turning monitoring camera device according to claim 3, wherein the control device controls the video signal of the monitoring camera not to be stored in the video holding device while the turntable is rotating. Automatic turning surveillance camera device characterized by performing. 5. The automatic turning monitoring camera device according to claim 1, wherein the setting of the charge accumulation time is performed by a control panel, and the charge accumulation time information set by the control panel is used for the control. An automatic turning surveillance camera device, which is sent to the device and the surveillance camera. 6. The automatic turning monitoring camera device according to claim 5, wherein a driving device that controls driving of the solid-state imaging device of the monitoring camera according to the charge accumulation time information sent to the monitoring camera is provided. An automatic turning surveillance camera device, comprising: