JP4968936B2 - Control device, control method and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention, control apparatus, control is related control method, and a program, particularly suitable are applied to the imaging apparatus can move the imaging unit for capturing an image.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known a photographing apparatus capable of photographing a wide range by rotating a photographing unit for photographing an image vertically and horizontally. By connecting this photographing apparatus to a PC (personal computer) via a network or the like, the user can remotely perform operations such as rotating the photographing apparatus up and down, left and right.

  In addition, a so-called panoramic image can be created by shooting a plurality of ranges that can be shot by the shooting device in such a shooting device and combining the shot images into a single image (for example, patents). Reference 1). By displaying the created panorama image on the monitor, the user can easily understand the shooting range that can be shot, and it is easy to determine which range of the total shooting range is currently shot. Can understand. Further, if the user designates a position where the user wants to photograph from the panoramic image and moves the photographing apparatus so as to be within the photographing range of the designated position, user convenience is improved.

JP 2004-186907 A

  When installing an imaging device such as that described above, depending on how it is used, for example, the imaging device may be installed on the ceiling, on the floor, or on a surface above the ground, such as on a desk or table. Sometimes. When the shooting device is installed on the ceiling surface, if the shooting device has a structure in which the shooting angle can be rotated upward from the horizontal, if the entire shooting range is created as a panoramic image, the panoramic image captures the ceiling Is included. Similarly, when the photographing device is installed on the floor, in a photographing device having a structure in which the photographing angle can be rotated downward from the horizontal, if the entire photographing range is created as a panoramic image, the panoramic image has a floor. Includes the part being shot.

  However, there is a problem that it takes a long time to take a panoramic image when the photographing device shoots a part such as a ceiling or a floor in order to create a panoramic image.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to shorten the time for creating an image indicating a shooting range that can be shot by a shooting apparatus.

The control device of the present invention is a control device that controls a photographing device having a photographing unit that captures an image and a movable unit that moves the photographing unit, and the operation of horizontally moving the photographing unit from the end side in the vertical direction. An image creating unit that creates an image showing a photographing range that can be photographed by performing a plurality of times, and a movement of the photographing unit that is performed for photographing an image created by the image creating unit is not photographed. A movable part control means that controls based on a target part, and a boundary line in which an illuminance equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold continues in a horizontal direction and an illuminance equal to or less than a predetermined threshold continues in a horizontal direction from an image captured by the imaging unit Determining means for determining the non-photographing target portion included in the photographing range, and the movable part control means excludes the non-photographing target portion determined by the determining means. And controlling the horizontal movement of the imaging unit so that the end portion of the image to be the imaging performs imaging of the shadow area of the image matches the detected boundary lines by the determination means.
Control method of the present invention is a control method for controlling an imaging apparatus having a movable portion that moves the imaging unit and the imaging unit for taking an image, vertical operation for horizontally moving the imaging unit from the end side An image creating step for creating an image showing a photographing range that can be photographed by performing a plurality of times, and an illuminance that is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold from the image photographed in the photographing unit is continuous in the horizontal direction and less than or equal to the predetermined threshold A step of determining a non-shooting target portion included in the shooting range by detecting a boundary line in which the illuminance is continuous in a horizontal direction, and the shooting range excluding the non-shooting target portion determined in the determination step Yes for controlling the horizontal movement of the imaging unit so that the end portion of the image to be the imaging performs imaging of the image matches the detected boundary line in said decision step And having a section control step.
The program according to the present invention is a program for controlling a photographing apparatus having a photographing unit for photographing an image and a movable unit for moving the photographing unit, wherein an operation for horizontally moving the photographing unit from an end side is performed in a vertical direction. An image creation step for creating an image showing a photographing range that can be photographed by performing a plurality of times, and an illuminance that is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold is continuous in the horizontal direction from the image that is captured by the photographing unit, and the illuminance that is equal to or less than the predetermined threshold A determination step of determining a non-shooting target portion included in the shooting range by detecting a boundary line that continues in the horizontal direction, and shooting of an image in the shooting range excluding the non-shooting target portion determined in the determination step to control the horizontal movement of the imaging unit so that the end portion of the image to be the image capturing matches the detected boundary in said determination step performs a Characterized in that to execute a movable section control step, to the computer.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the time which produces the image which shows the imaging | photography range which an imaging device can image | photograph can be shortened.

Embodiments according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an imaging system 100 to which the present invention is applied.
In FIG. 1, the photographing system 100 includes a personal computer 18 and a network camera that is the photographing device 14. The personal computer 18 includes a control device 11, a display device 12, and an input device 13. Each device is connected via connection means 15 such as a LAN, Ethernet (registered trademark), or a bus. On the display screen of the display device 12 in FIG. 1, a panoramic image 16 created by processing to be described later is displayed.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an internal configuration of the imaging system 100.
In FIG. 2, the control device 11 includes a control unit 21, a storage unit 22, and a communication unit 23. The control unit 21 is a CPU that reads and executes a panoramic image creation program for creating a panoramic image stored in the storage unit 22 and a program for controlling the photographing apparatus 14. In addition, the control unit 21 displays an image photographed by the photographing device 14 based on the above-described program on the display device 12 or controls the photographing device 14 based on information input via the input device 13 by the user. Or The storage unit 22 which is a storage device is a ROM, a RAM, an HD, or the like, and stores the above-described program or image data captured by the image capturing device 14. The communication unit 23 is a communication interface, and transmits control data for controlling the photographing device 14 and receives image data photographed by the photographing device 14.

The display device 12 is a monitor, and displays an image photographed by the photographing device 14.
The input device 13 is a keyboard, a mouse, or the like. The user can input an instruction to the control device 11 via the input device 13.

  The imaging device 14 includes an imaging unit 41, an image processing unit 47, a movable unit 48, and a communication unit 49. The imaging unit 41 includes a lens 42, an imaging element, and the like, and performs zooming and imaging of images based on control data transmitted by the control device 11. The image processing unit 47 performs image processing such as color conversion processing on the image photographed by the photographing unit 41. The movable part 48 is configured by a motor or the like so that the photographing part 41 can move. Details of the movable portion 48 will be described later with reference to FIG. The communication unit 49 is a communication interface, and receives control data for controlling the photographing device 14 and transmits image data photographed by the photographing unit 41.

  Next, the photographing apparatus 14 will be described more specifically with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a state when the imaging device 14 is installed on the ceiling 30. When the imaging device 14 is used as a surveillance camera, it is installed above the ceiling or the like so as to cover a wide imaging range. As shown in FIG. 3, the imaging device 14 includes an imaging unit 41, a support body 43, a rotating body 45, and a mounting base 46. The support body 43 supports the imaging unit 41 via a tilt shaft 44 along the horizontal direction. Therefore, the photographing unit 41 can be rotated around the tilt shaft 44 by a motor (not shown) as shown in FIG. 3 (this rotational direction is referred to as a tilt direction). The imaging device 14 of the present embodiment is configured such that the imaging unit 41 can rotate at an angle of several tens of degrees upward and downward from a horizontal state. The rotating body 45 supports the support body 43, and the mounting base 46 is accommodated therein. The mounting base 46 has an installation surface in contact with the ceiling 30 or the floor. Here, the rotating body 45 can be rotated with respect to the mounting base 46 by a motor (not shown) around a vertical pan axis as shown in FIG. 3 (this rotational direction is referred to as the pan direction). The photographing apparatus 14 of the present embodiment is configured to be able to rotate at an angle of 100 degrees or more from the position serving as the reference of the photographing unit 41 to the left and right.

  Thus, a structure for rotating and moving the photographing unit 41, that is, a structure for moving between the photographing unit 41 and the support 43 using a motor and a structure for moving between the rotating body 45 and the mounting base 46 by a motor. Is referred to as a movable part 48. The movable part 48 is not limited to that shown in FIG. For example, it may be a universal joint that can move the photographing unit 41 freely. The movable unit 48 moves the photographing unit 41 based on control data from the control unit 21 of the control device 11.

  Next, a process of creating a so-called panoramic image in which a plurality of ranges that can be captured by the imaging unit 41 using the imaging system 100 and combining the captured images into one image will be described. . The process of creating the panoramic image is executed when the execution of the panoramic image creation program is instructed via the input device 13 by the user when the photographing apparatus 14 is installed.

First, the control unit 21 of the control device 11 reads the panorama image creation program stored in the storage unit 22 when detecting the execution instruction of the panorama image creation program by the user.
Next, the control unit 21 of the control device 11 generates control data for rotating the imaging unit 41 in the pan direction and the tilt direction with respect to the movable unit 48 of the imaging device 14, and zooms the imaging unit 41. Control data to be generated. The control unit 21 transmits the generated control data to the imaging device 14 via the communication unit 23. That is, the control unit 21 controls the movable unit 48 to move the photographing unit 41 or controls the photographing unit 41 to perform zooming or the like.

  More specifically, the control unit 21 controls the movable unit 48 to move the photographing unit 41 to the extreme end side in the pan direction and the tilt direction. Next, the control unit 21 controls the photographing unit 41 to photograph a plurality of images in the photographing range in order from the wide end of the zoom. The imaging unit 41 captures a plurality of images in the imaging range based on control by the control unit 21. Next, the image processing unit 47 performs image processing such as color conversion processing on the captured image. Next, the control unit 21 receives a plurality of images (images on which image processing has been performed) taken by the photographing unit 41 via the communication unit 49 and the communication unit 23 and stores them in the storage unit 22. Next, the control unit 21 synthesizes the received plurality of images so as to create a single panoramic image. Next, the control unit 21 stores the created panoramic image in the storage unit 22 and displays the created panoramic image on the display device 12. Note that when the storage unit is provided in the photographing device 14, the control unit 21 may store the created panoramic image in the storage unit of the photographing device 14.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the panoramic image 16 created by the control unit 21 and displayed on the display device 12. In photographing the panoramic image 16 shown in FIG. 4, the movable unit 48 moves the photographing unit 41 in order from the lower left image so that the lower right image can be photographed based on the control of the control unit 21. The imaging unit 41 captures six images A to F based on the control of the control unit 21. Next, based on the control of the control unit 21, the movable unit 48 moves the photographing unit 41 so that the second image from the bottom in the second row can be photographed in order from the left image in the second row from the bottom. The photographing unit 41 photographs six images G to L based on the control of the control unit 21. Similarly, the photographing unit 41 photographs six images M to R and then six images S to X based on the control of the control unit 21. The control unit 21 synthesizes a total of 24 images taken in this way to create a single panoramic image 16 as shown in FIG.

  Next, FIG. 5 shows an example of the panoramic image 17 created by the control unit 21 and displayed on the display device 12 when the photographing device 14 is installed on the ceiling surface. As shown in FIG. 5, the ceiling 30 is shown in a part of the image S to image X and the image M to image R in the created panoramic image 17 (the hatched portion indicates the ceiling portion). As described above, the panoramic image 17 includes the ceiling portion because of the structure in which the photographing unit 41 can rotate upward from the horizontal state as shown in FIG. 3 or the angle of view set in the photographing device 14. Is for etc. When creating the panoramic image 17 shown in FIG. 5, the control unit 21 combines the captured images A to R with the images S to X stored in the storage unit 22 in advance, for example. To do. Note that the ceiling 30, floor, wall, and the like are referred to as non-photographing target portions.

Next, for example, the method in which the control unit 21 determines that the image S to the image X illustrated in FIG. 5 or the image S to the image X and a part of the image M to the image R is a ceiling, that is, a non-photographing target unit. Will be described.
First, a case where the user recognizes the range of the non-photographing target part will be described. In this case, the user designates the image S to the image X that are the range of the non-photographing target portion via the input device 13 for the panorama creation tool displayed on the display device 12 by the control unit 21 according to the panorama creation program. The control unit 21 detects the range of the designated image S to image X, and determines the detected range as the range of the non-photographing target unit. Further, the control unit 21 stores the determined range information of the non-photographing target unit in the storage unit 22.
Accordingly, the photographing unit 41 only performs photographing of the portions of the images A to R based on the determined range of the non-photographing target portion.

  Next, a method in which the control unit 21 determines the range of the non-photographing target part from the image information of the photographed image will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, in step S <b> 10, the photographing unit 41 photographs the uppermost end side, that is, the corner portion of the range that can be moved by the movable unit 48 based on the control of the control unit 21. For example, the imaging unit 41 captures an image S (or image X) in the imaging range shown in FIG. The reason why the photographing unit 41 first captures the corner in this way is that there is a high possibility that the ceiling is captured in the image of the photographing range, and the range of the non-photographing target portion can be determined early. is there.

  Next, in step S <b> 11, the control unit 21 receives the captured image and determines whether all of the captured images are non-photographing target portions. When all the captured images are dark, the control unit 21 determines that the image is a ceiling, that is, a non-photographing target portion. For example, since the image S (or image X) shown in FIG. 5 is all dark, the control unit 21 determines that the captured range of the image S (or image X) is the range of the non-capturing target portion. Here, it is determined whether or not all of the images are dark, for example, when the entire image has illuminance equal to or less than a predetermined threshold among the image information of the captured image, it is determined that all of the images are non-shooting target portions. To do. If the control unit 21 determines that all of the captured images are non-photographing target units, the control unit 21 proceeds to step S12. If part or all is a bright part, the process proceeds to step S14.

  In step S12, the control unit 21 determines whether or not the photographing unit 41 can be moved vertically downward. For example, in step S11, when the imaging unit 41 has captured the image S (or image X) shown in FIG. 5, it is determined that the image can be moved vertically downward. If it is determined that it can move vertically downward, the process proceeds to step S13. If it is determined that it cannot move vertically downward, the process proceeds to step S17.

  In step S <b> 13, the imaging unit 41 captures an image by moving vertically downward based on the control of the control unit 21. For example, when the imaging unit 41 captures the image S (or image X) in step S11, the imaging unit 41 captures the image M (or image R). Next, it returns to step S11 and the control part 21 determines whether all the image | photographed images are non-photographing object parts.

  In step S14, the control unit 21 determines whether or not the captured image has a boundary line that is divided into a dark part and a bright part. For example, since the image M (or image R) is divided into a dark portion and a bright portion, the control unit 21 determines that there is a boundary line in the captured range of the image M (or image R). Here, whether or not there is a boundary line is determined by continuously detecting, for example, a high frequency equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold among the frequency components of the image information of the captured image in the horizontal direction. Is determined. Further, from the image information of the captured image, for example, it may be determined that there is a boundary line when illuminance below a predetermined threshold value continues in the horizontal direction and illuminance above the predetermined threshold value continues in the horizontal direction. When it is determined that the captured image has a boundary line, the control unit 21 proceeds to step S15. If it is determined that there is no boundary line, the process is terminated.

  In step S <b> 15, the photographing unit 41 moves in the horizontal direction and photographs an image based on the control of the control unit 21. For example, when the imaging unit 41 captures the image M (or image R) in step S14, the imaging unit 41 captures the image N (or image Q). Next, the process proceeds to step S16.

  In step S16, the control unit 21 determines whether or not the boundary line determined in step S14 is continuous with the captured image. For example, the image N (or image Q) has a boundary line that is divided into a dark part and a bright part, and the boundary line is continuous with the boundary line determined in the image M (or image R). The unit 21 determines that there is a continuous boundary line. If it is determined that there is a continuous boundary line, the process proceeds to step S17. If it is determined that there is no continuous boundary line, the process ends.

  In step S <b> 17, the control unit 21 determines the range of the non-photographing target part. In step S16, the control unit 21 determines that the continuous boundary line is further horizontally continuous, and determines that the determined horizontal boundary line is within the range of the non-photographing target part. For example, when there is a continuous boundary line between the image M and the image N (or the image R and the image Q), the control unit 21 determines that the boundary line continues in the horizontal direction up to the image R (or the image M). Then, the control unit 21 determines the upper side of the boundary line, that is, the upper side of the boundary line of the image M to the image R and the entire range of the image S to the image X as the range of the non-photographing target unit. If it is determined in step S12 that the image cannot be moved vertically downward, in step S17, it is determined that the entire shooting range is the range of the non-shooting target portion. In addition, the control unit 21 stores the determined range information of the non-photographing target unit or boundary line information of the boundary line in the storage unit 22.

  By performing such processing, the control unit 21 can automatically determine the range of the non-photographing target part from the image information of the photographed image. If the control unit 21 can more accurately determine the range of the non-photographing target part, steps S15 and S16, which are processes for determining the range of the non-photographing target part, can be omitted. Panorama image creation time can be further shortened.

  Next, processing for creating a panoramic image after determining the range of the non-photographing target portion will be described. First, when the user designates the range of the non-photographing target part, the photographing unit 41 is based on the control of the control unit 21, that is, based on the determined non-photographing target part range information. Only shoot in the range excluding. More specifically, the imaging unit 41 captures images A to R excluding the ranges of the images S to X shown in FIG. At this time, the control unit 21 sequentially stores the captured images in the storage unit 22.

  Next, when the control unit 21 determines the range of the non-photographing target part from the image information, the photographing unit 41 performs only the photographing of the range excluding the non-photographing target part range based on the control of the control unit 21. To do. Further, the control unit 21 controls the range of movement of the imaging unit 41 based on the range information or boundary line information of the non-imaging target unit (movable unit control), and the imaging unit 41 performs imaging so as to match the boundary line. Shift the position, determine the angle of view, and shoot. More specifically, when the image M to the image R have a boundary line as shown in FIG. 7A, the photographing unit 41 matches the upper edge of the image as shown in FIG. 7B. Thus, the movable range of the imaging unit 41 is controlled. Based on the control of the control unit 21, the photographing unit 41 does not shoot the images S to X shown in FIG. 7A, and shoots the images A to R shown in FIG. At this time, the control unit 21 sequentially stores the captured images in the storage unit 22.

  As described above, when shooting the panoramic image, the shooting unit 41 shoots the images S to X based on the range information or the boundary line information of the non-shooting target unit, for example, as illustrated in FIG. And only the image A to image R are taken. Accordingly, the number of images captured by the image capturing unit 41 may be 18 images from image A to image R, for example, compared to when all 24 images in the image capturing range are imaged. it can.

  Next, the control unit 21 combines the images stored in the storage unit 22 to create a panoramic image. At this time, the control unit 21 synthesizes a panoramic image by using an image stored in advance in the storage unit 22 for an image in a range where shooting has not been performed, that is, a range determined to be a non-shooting target range. Create For example, in the case illustrated in FIG. 7A, the control unit 21 displays the images in the upper side of the boundary line between the images M to R and the entire range of the images S to X stored in the storage unit 22 as illustrated in FIG. 7. As shown in (b), the images A to R are combined. Accordingly, since the control unit 21 does not need to capture the images S to X or store them in the storage unit 22, the time for creating the panoramic image is shortened compared to when capturing the entire imaging range. be able to.

  Note that, as in the images M to R shown in FIG. 7A, when the image to be photographed includes a dark part and a bright part, the aperture of the photographing unit 41 is opened, and the transmitted part is also white. It may be shot away and disappear. However, as described above, the photographing unit 41 controls the range of movement of the photographing unit 41 based on the control by the control unit 21 so that the boundary line between the dark part and the bright part coincides with the upper end of the image. To shoot. Therefore, the photographing unit 41 can photograph with an optimum automatic exposure and can photograph a good panoramic image.

After the control unit 21 creates a panoramic image, the imaging unit 41 performs imaging within a range in which the imaging unit 41 can move, including a range of non-imaging target units, according to a user instruction or a program for controlling the imaging device 14. Can do.
In the above description, only the ceiling has been described as the non-photographing target part. However, the present invention is not limited to this case. For example, when the imaging device 14 is installed on the floor, the non-imaging target part is the floor. In such a case, in the determination process of the non-photographing target portion in the flowchart shown in FIG. For example, in step S <b> 10, the photographing unit 41 photographs the lowermost end side of the range moved by the movable unit 48 based on the control of the control unit 21. Further, the control unit 21 may determine a wall or the like taken along the vertical direction as a non-photographing target part.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, it is possible to shorten the time for creating an image indicating a photographing range that can be photographed by the photographing apparatus, that is, a panoramic image.

(Second Embodiment)
In the second embodiment, in order to protect the photographing device 14 from dust, dirt, etc., or to hide the orientation of the photographing unit 41, the photographing unit 41 is referred to as a protective case (hereinafter referred to as a case). A case where the cover is covered will be described.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a state in which the case 61 is attached to the photographing apparatus 14. The rotating body 45 and the mounting base 46 of the imaging device 14 according to the second embodiment are embedded in the ceiling 30. The case 61 is formed in a substantially hemispherical shape having a space in which the photographing device 14 can be accommodated. The case 61 has a transparent portion 61A and an opaque portion 61B that is a non-photographing target portion. The imaging device 14 shown in FIG. 8 may have a large range of the opaque part 61B or the imaging device 14 may be embedded in the ceiling 30 depending on the structure of the case 61, for example. In such a case, even when the photographing unit 41 is rotated upward at a small angle in the tilt direction, the opaque portion 61B is blocked by the opaque portion 61B, and the range in which photographing cannot be performed becomes wide.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram schematically showing the angle of view of the lens of the photographing apparatus 14. In the photographing apparatus 14 shown in FIG. 9, the tilt shaft 44 is located behind the image sensor 70. In such a case, depending on the angle of view of the lens (the range of the dotted line shown in FIG. 9), when the photographing unit 41 is moved downward when installed on the ceiling 30, the transparent portion 61A and the opaque portion 61B of the case 61 are reversed. A portion 7A above the boundary line of the line can be seen. Therefore, the portion that can be photographed disappears at the boundary line depending on the photographing range and the composition method. The same applies when the photographing device 14 is installed on the floor.

  Next, processing for creating a panoramic image in such a photographing apparatus 14 will be described. The process of creating the panoramic image is executed when the execution of the panoramic image creation program is instructed via the input device 13 by the user when the photographing apparatus 14 is installed.

First, the control unit 21 of the control device 11 reads the panorama image creation program stored in the storage unit 22 when detecting the execution instruction of the panorama image creation program by the user.
Next, the control unit 21 of the control device 11 displays the panorama creation tool on the display device 12 according to the panorama image creation program. In this panorama creation tool, for example, a check box that allows the user to input whether or not to use the case 61 is prepared.

  When a check is input to the check box that uses the case 61 in the panorama creation tool, the control unit 21 determines that the case 61 is attached to the photographing apparatus 14 based on the information (attachment determination). Here, the storage unit 22 stores a boundary line between the transparent portion 61A and the opaque portion 61B of the case 61 when the case 61 is attached. For example, the storage unit 22 stores boundary line information that the boundary line between the transparent part 61A and the opaque part 61B of the case 61 is positioned in the horizontal direction of the images M to R as shown in FIG. ing.

  Therefore, the control unit 21 controls the range of movement of the imaging unit 41 based on the boundary line information stored in the storage unit 22 according to the result of the case 61 attachment determination (movable unit control). Then, the photographing unit 41 shifts the photographing position so as to match the boundary line between the transparent portion 61A and the opaque portion 61B of the case 61, and determines the angle of view. More specifically, the photographing unit 41 controls the movable range of the photographing unit 41 so that the boundary line coincides with the upper end of the image as shown in FIG. Based on the control of the control unit 21, the photographing unit 41 does not shoot the images S to X shown in FIG. 7A, and shoots the images A to R shown in FIG. At this time, the control unit 21 sequentially stores the captured images in the storage unit 22.

  Next, the control unit 21 combines the images stored in the storage unit 22 to create a panoramic image. At this time, the control unit 21 synthesizes a panoramic image by using an image corresponding to the opaque part 61B stored in advance in the storage unit 22 for an image in the range where the photographing is not performed, that is, the range of the opaque part 61B. create.

  As described above, when the panorama image is shot, the shooting unit 41 does not take the images S to X as shown in FIG. Only the image A to image R are captured. Accordingly, the number of images captured by the image capturing unit 41 may be 18 images from image A to image R, for example, compared to when all 24 images in the image capturing range are imaged. it can.

  When the boundary line between the transparent portion 61A and the opaque portion 61B is in the image M to the image R shown in FIG. 7A, the aperture is opened by the automatic exposure (AE) function because the upper side is dark, and transmission is performed. Even the part that is being shot may be shot in white and disappear. However, as described above, the photographing unit 41 has a range of movement of the photographing unit 41 based on the control by the control unit 21 so that the boundary line between the transparent part 61A and the opaque part 61B coincides with the upper end of the image. Controlled shooting. Therefore, the photographing unit 41 can photograph with an optimum automatic exposure and can photograph a good panoramic image.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, it is possible to shorten the time for creating an image indicating a photographing range that can be photographed by the photographing apparatus, that is, a panoramic image.

(Third embodiment)
In addition, although the imaging | photography system 100 of 1st, 2nd embodiment mentioned above demonstrated the case where the control apparatus 11 and the imaging device 14 were included, it is not restricted to that case. For example, the imaging device 14 may be configured to include the control unit 21 and the storage unit 22 of the control device 11. That is, the imaging device 14 itself may determine whether or not there is a boundary line, or may determine the imaging range according to the setting of the case 61. By doing in this way, the structure of the imaging system 100 can be simplified.

  Each step of the photographing system, the control device, each means constituting the photographing device, and the control method in the embodiment of the present invention described above can be realized by operating a program stored in a RAM, a ROM, or the like of a computer. This program and a computer-readable recording medium recording the program are included in the present invention.

  Further, the present invention can be implemented as, for example, a system, apparatus, method, program, or recording medium, and may be applied to an apparatus composed of a single device.

  The present invention supplies a software program for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments directly or remotely to a system or apparatus. In addition, this includes a case where the system or the computer of the apparatus is also achieved by reading and executing the supplied program code.

  Accordingly, since the functions of the present invention are implemented by computer, the program code installed in the computer also implements the present invention. In other words, the present invention includes a computer program itself for realizing the functional processing of the present invention. In that case, as long as it has the function of a program, it may be in the form of object code, a program executed by an interpreter, script data supplied to the OS, and the like.

  Further, the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the computer executing the read program. Furthermore, based on the instructions of the program, an OS or the like running on the computer performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments can be realized by the processing.

  As another method, a program read from a recording medium is first written in a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer. Then, based on the instructions of the program, the CPU or the like provided in the function expansion board or function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are also realized by the processing.

1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a photographing system. It is a figure which shows the internal structure of an imaging | photography system. It is a figure which shows a state when an imaging device is installed in a ceiling surface. It is a figure which shows an example of the panoramic image displayed on the display apparatus. It is a figure which shows an example of the panoramic image produced when an imaging device is installed in a ceiling surface. It is a flowchart which shows the process which determines the range of a non-photographing object part. It is a figure which shows an example of the state which image | photographs by shifting an imaging position according to a boundary line. It is a figure which shows the state with which the case was mounted | worn with the imaging device. It is the figure which showed typically the field angle of the lens of an imaging device.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Imaging system 11 Control apparatus 12 Display apparatus 13 Input apparatus 14 Imaging apparatus 15 Connection means 41 Imaging part 43 Support body 44 Tilt axis 45 Rotating body 46 Mounting base 61 Case 61A Transparent part 61B Opaque part 70 Imaging element

Claims (4)

A control device for controlling a photographing device having a photographing unit for photographing an image and a movable unit for moving the photographing unit,
An image creating means for creating an image indicating a photographing range that can be photographed by performing an operation of horizontally moving the photographing unit from the end side a plurality of times in the vertical direction ;
A movable part control means for controlling movement of the photographing part performed for photographing an image created by the image creating means based on a non-photographing target part;
The non-shooting target portion included in the shooting range by detecting a boundary line in which an illuminance equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold is continuous in the horizontal direction and an illuminance equal to or less than the predetermined threshold is continued in the horizontal direction from an image photographed in the photographing unit Determining means for determining
The movable part control means captures an image in the photographing range excluding the non-photographing target part determined by the determination means, and an end of the photographed image is on the boundary line detected by the determination means. A control apparatus that controls horizontal movement of the photographing unit so as to coincide with each other . The image creating means creates an image indicating a photographing range that can be photographed by the photographing unit by combining an image stored in a storage device with the range of the non-photographing target portion. Item 2. The control device according to Item 1 . A control method for controlling a photographing device having a photographing unit for photographing an image and a movable part for moving the photographing unit,
An image creating step for creating an image indicating a photographing range that can be photographed by performing the operation of horizontally moving the photographing unit from the end side a plurality of times in the vertical direction ;
A non-shooting target portion included in the shooting range is detected by detecting a boundary line in which an illuminance equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value is continuous in a horizontal direction and an illuminance value equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value is continued in a horizontal direction from an image photographed in the photographing unit. A determination step for determining;
The photographing unit performs photographing of the image in the photographing range excluding the non-photographing target portion determined in the determination step and the end of the photographed image coincides with the boundary line detected in the determination step. And a movable part control step for controlling the horizontal movement of the control method. A program for controlling a photographing device having a photographing unit for photographing an image and a movable unit for moving the photographing unit,
An image creating step for creating an image indicating a photographing range that can be photographed by performing the operation of horizontally moving the photographing unit from the end side a plurality of times in the vertical direction ;
A non-shooting target portion included in the shooting range is detected by detecting a boundary line in which an illuminance equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value is continuous in a horizontal direction and an illuminance value equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value is continued in a horizontal direction from an image photographed in the photographing unit. A determination step for determining;
The photographing unit performs photographing of the image in the photographing range excluding the non-photographing target portion determined in the determination step and the end of the photographed image coincides with the boundary line detected in the determination step. And a movable part control step for controlling the horizontal movement of the computer.

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