JP3814367B2 - Image input device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an image input device that operates with electric power supplied from a control device.
[0002]
[Prior art]
FIG. 4 shows the appearance of a conventional video camera. In the figure, reference numeral 50 denotes a camera head unit including an imaging optical system and an imaging element, and 51 denotes a video camera body including a recording unit, a signal processing unit, a display means, an operation unit, and the like. The battery 52 is attached to the video camera main body 51. The camera head unit 50 and the video camera body 51 are connected by a cable 53.
[0003]
The camera head unit 50 and the video camera body 51 are detachable from each other, and the use of the camera head unit 50 away from the video camera body 51 increases the degree of freedom of shooting. In the video camera having this configuration, power consumed by the camera head unit 50 is supplied from a battery 52 attached to the video camera body 51 through a cable 53.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, this conventional video camera does not have a battery in the camera head unit 50. The power required to drive the image pickup device and the like of the camera head unit 50 depends on the power supplied through the cable 53 from the battery 52 attached to the video camera main body 51. For this reason, it has been a problem in the following points.
[0005]
First, when an apparatus that requires electric power other than photographing, such as an electric head, is mounted on the camera head unit 50, power consumption on the camera head unit 50 side is increased by incorporating the electric head. That is, the camera head unit 50 includes a plurality of actuators such as a focus unit, an iris unit, a pan unit, and a tilt unit. The plurality of actuators are supplied from the video camera main body 51 in order to drive the plurality of actuators simultaneously with the electric head. The power to be done increases significantly. For this reason, it is necessary to use a cable having a capacity (thickness) suitable for such electric power. On the other hand, in order to improve the mobility of the camera head unit 50, the cable 53 cannot be made too thick. is there.
[0006]
On the other hand, with a thin cable, there is a limit in supplying electric power required to drive a plurality of actuators of the camera head unit 50 at the same time. Therefore, for example, when the electric pan head is to be moved obliquely, the pan motor and the tilt motor cannot be driven simultaneously because the supplied electric power is insufficient. In this case, after the pan motor is driven, the tilt motor must be driven, which greatly impairs the operability.
Further, if the battery 52 of the video camera body 51 is completely exhausted, for example, the lens cover of the camera head unit 50 is closed, or an operation such as taking out the recording tape stored in the video camera body 51 is hindered. .
[0007]
An object of the present invention is to provide an image input apparatus that can operate a plurality of functions in parallel without increasing the power supplied from the control apparatus.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
An image input device according to the present invention is, for example, an image input device controlled by a control device , and has a battery that can be charged by electric power supplied from the battery of the control device. Are operated in parallel, the first and second functions are operated in parallel using the power supplied from the battery of the control device and the power supplied from the battery of the image input device , Whether or not the power of the battery of the image input device is supplied to the control device is controlled according to the remaining amount of the battery of the control device .
[0014]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the imaging apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a video camera according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an external view thereof. As shown in the figure, the video camera of this embodiment includes a main body of a video camera composed of functional means such as a recording / playback unit, a video display unit, an operation unit, and a system control unit, an optical system, a video input unit, an audio input unit, and an electric motor. The camera head part which consists of functional means, such as a pan head, isolate | separates, and it has the form which connected with the cable between both.
[0015]
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a pan mechanism comprising a panning (FIG. 2, arrow X direction) motor, gears, a control circuit, and the like. A tilt mechanism 2 includes a tilting motor (FIG. 2, arrow Y direction), a gear, a control circuit, and the like. A lens unit 3 includes a focus actuator, an iris actuator, a lens, and the like. Reference numeral 4 denotes a lens cover and a lens cover driving motor, and 5 denotes a video input unit including a CCD, a CCD driving circuit, a video signal processing unit, and the like. Reference numeral 6 denotes an audio input unit including a microphone and a signal processing unit.
[0016]
Reference numeral 7 denotes an auxiliary battery (auxiliary power source) which is a feature of the present invention. The auxiliary battery 7 is smaller than a battery on the video camera main body side to be described later in order to facilitate handling of the camera head portion. Therefore, the storage capacity of the auxiliary battery 7 is smaller than that of the video camera body side battery. It is assumed that no electric power is stored in the initial state of the video camera. The camera head portion of the video camera is constituted by the above main members.
[0017]
Next, in the video camera main body, reference numeral 10 denotes a recording / playback unit including a video circuit, a recorder mechanism, and the like, and 11 denotes a video display unit. In this embodiment, liquid crystal display means is used. Reference numeral 12 denotes a video camera operation unit including a plurality of operation switches. Reference numeral 13 denotes system control means for controlling the video camera body and camera head according to the operation of the operation unit 12. Reference numeral 14 denotes a battery (main power supply), and the entire video camera is driven by the battery 14. The above are the main members on the main body side of the video camera.
[0018]
A cable 15 connects the camera head unit and the video camera main body. Video signals are sent from the camera head to the main body, and various control signals are sent from the main body to the camera head. Electric power for driving each component of the video camera is supplied to each other as will be described later. The cable 15 is set to a minimum thickness (capacity) from the amount of power that can be supplied and the amount of signal. In other words, by not making the thickness of the cable 15 thicker than necessary, the mobility required for handling the camera head can be ensured.
[0019]
Here, the predetermined power supplied from the video camera body to the camera head unit will be described. Until the auxiliary battery 7 of the camera head unit is fully charged, a predetermined amount of power per unit time is supplied from the battery 14 of the video camera body through the cable 15 to the camera head unit. The predetermined power amount means that the power amount necessary for imaging for driving the focus and iris actuators of the lens unit 3, the drive of the CCD and various signal processing circuits, and either the pan or tilt of the built-in pan head It is the sum total with the electric energy which can drive. By setting the power to be supplied to the camera head in this way, the proper operation of the functional means in the camera head is realized while effectively suppressing the thickness of the cable 15 as described above.
[0020]
When the auxiliary battery 7 of the camera head unit is fully charged, when the electric head is not driven, the amount of power obtained by subtracting the predetermined power from the power required for driving the head is supplied to the camera head unit.
[0021]
Next, the operation of the system control means will be described using the flowchart shown in FIG. Note that the battery 14 of the video camera body is already charged.
When the photographer turns on the power switch of the video camera, the predetermined power is supplied through the cable 15 from the video camera body to the camera head unit. The camera head sends a video signal to the video camera body (step S100). The system control means 13 determines whether or not the pan / tilt head switch has been operated (step S101). If the pan / tilt head switch is not operated, it is determined whether or not the auxiliary battery 7 is fully charged (step S103).
[0022]
If the auxiliary battery 7 is not fully charged, power is supplied to the video input unit 5 and the audio input unit 6 while the auxiliary battery 7 is charged (step S104). If the auxiliary battery 7 is fully charged, power is supplied only to the video input unit 5 and the audio input unit 6 (step S105).
[0023]
If it is determined in step S101 that the pan head operation switch has been pressed, it is further determined whether or not simultaneous pan and tilt driving is performed (step S106). If it is not simultaneous driving, it is determined whether pan driving or tilt driving is performed (step S107). When the pan switch is operated, the pan mechanism is driven in parallel with the photographing (step S108). When the tilt switch is operated, the tilt mechanism is driven in parallel with the photographing (step S109).
[0024]
If the pan switch and tilt switch are operated simultaneously, it is determined whether the auxiliary battery 7 is fully charged (step S110). If the auxiliary battery 7 is not fully charged, the pan mechanism is driven in parallel with photographing (step S111), and then the tilt mechanism is driven (step S112). If the auxiliary battery 7 is fully charged, the photographing, the driving of the pan mechanism, and the driving of the tilt mechanism are simultaneously processed in parallel (step S113).
[0025]
The above operation is repeated until the remaining amount of the battery 14 of the video camera main body becomes a predetermined amount or less (step S114). When the remaining amount of the battery 14 of the video camera main body is less than a predetermined amount, power is supplied from the auxiliary battery 7 to the system control means 13, so that the system control means 13 can continue to work.
[0026]
The lens cover drive motor is driven by the power of the auxiliary battery 7 to close the lens cover 4 of the camera head (step S115). Thereafter, when the photographer instructs the system control means 13 to take out the tape, electric power is sent from the auxiliary battery 7 to the video camera body, the tape removal process is performed (step S116), and the process ends.
[0027]
As described above, the auxiliary battery 7 is provided in the camera head, and a large number of functional means can be appropriately driven at a time by effectively using the power. Thus, by effectively realizing the multi-functionality, operability and usability can be improved. For example, since the pan head function can be operated while executing the shooting function and the video function, the shooting direction can be arbitrarily changed while monitoring the video display unit 11 of the video camera body. In this case, by setting the cable 15 to an appropriate thickness, it is possible to facilitate handling and secure good maneuverability of the camera head.
In addition, even if the battery 14 of the video camera body runs out, not only can the necessary operation such as closing the lens cover 4 be performed using the power of the auxiliary battery 7, but also the necessary operation such as removing the tape. It can be carried out.
[0028]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an image input device capable of operating a plurality of functions in parallel without increasing the power supplied from the control device. Further, according to the present invention, when the battery of the control device is low, the power of the battery of the image input device can be supplied to the control device.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a video camera in an embodiment of an imaging apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an external view of a video camera in an embodiment of an imaging apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart according to system control means in an embodiment of the imaging apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is an external view of a conventional video camera.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Pan mechanism 2 Tilt mechanism 3 Lens part 4 Lens cover and lens cover drive motor 5 Image | video input part 6 Audio | voice input part 7 Auxiliary battery 10 Recording part 11 Image | video display part 12 Operation part 13 System control means 14 Battery 15 Cable 50 Camera head part 51 Video camera body 52 Battery 53 Cable

Claims (3)

An image input device controlled by a control device,
A battery capable of being charged by electric power supplied from the battery of the control device;
When the first and second functions are operated in parallel, the first and second functions using the power supplied from the battery of the control device and the power supplied from the battery of the image input device. In parallel ,
An image input device that controls whether or not the power of the battery of the image input device is supplied to the control device according to the remaining amount of the battery of the control device. 2. The image according to claim 1, wherein when the first function and the second function are not operated, the battery of the image input device is charged according to a charge state of the battery of the image input device. Input device.   3. The function according to claim 1, wherein the first function is a function for operating the image input apparatus in a pan direction, and the second function is a function for operating the image input apparatus in a tilt direction. The image input device described.

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