Patent Publication Number: US-2022223016-A1

Title: Image capturing apparatus

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Field of the Invention 
     The present invention is related to an image capturing apparatus, and in particular, is related to decreasing the size of a surveillance camera. 
     Description of Related Art 
     A surveillance camera that synthesizes video images that are captured by a plurality of image capturing units, and outputs a panorama image is known. 
     For example, the surveillance camera that is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 10,674,048 can capture a 180-degree panorama image by synthesizing the video images from a plurality of image capturing units. In addition, the plurality of image capturing units can pan and tilt rotate while maintaining their relative positions, and the angle of view of the panorama image can be adjusted according to the location that the user would like to capture. In this surveillance camera, pan/tilt rotation adjustments are performed manually. 
     In the surveillance camera that is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 10,721,400 as well, a panorama image can be captured by a plurality of pan/tilt rotatable image capturing units. In this surveillance camera, pan/tilt adjustment is also carried out manually by the user. 
     In the above explained conventional surveillance cameras that output panorama images that have been disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 10,674,048 and 10,721,400, it is necessary to manually perform adjustments to the pan and tilt directions directly on the surveillance camera at the installation location. Due to this, it is difficult to adjust the angle of view while checking the panorama image that is actually being captured. 
     If a drive mechanism that can perform pan and tilt rotation electrically is disposed in the above explained surveillance cameras, it would make the adjustment of the angle of view by remote operation while checking the image that is being captured possible. However, in surveillance cameras that capture images with a plurality of image capturing units, there is the problem that disposing the drive mechanism in such a way that the drive mechanism does not enter into the angle of view is difficult. In particular, in a tilt drive mechanism, it is necessary to dispose mechanisms such as gears and the like close to the image capturing units. Due to this, when attempting to dispose a drive mechanism that avoids the angle of view of the image capturing units, there is the problem that it is necessary to maintain a distance between the image capturing units and the drive mechanism, and the entirety of the surveillance camera will increase in size. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Embodiments of the present invention are provided with a plurality of image capturing units, and allow for a decrease in the size of an image capturing apparatus in which electrically adjusting the image capturing direction is possible. 
     One embodiment of the present invention is provided with a plurality of image capturing units that capture images in directions that differ from one another, an approximately spherical housing that houses the plurality of image capturing units and is rotatable around a tilt axis, and a drive unit that drives the housing to rotate around the tilt axis, wherein at least a portion of the drive unit is disposed inside of the housing. 
     Further features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a surveillance camera in the first embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of the surveillance camera that is shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a block diagram showing the configuration of a surveillance system including a surveillance camera. 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective diagram showing the internal structure of a tilt drive unit of the surveillance camera that is shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective diagram showing the internal structure of a pan drive unit of a surveillance camera. 
         FIG. 6  is an exploded perspective diagram showing the internal structure of a surveillance camera in the second embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     First Embodiment 
     The details of a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be explained in detail below with reference to the attached drawings. 
     First, a surveillance camera  100  of the first embodiment will be explained.  FIG. 1  is a perspective diagram of the surveillance camera  100  in the first embodiment. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the surveillance camera  100  has four image capturing units  10  disposed along the surface of a housing  110 , a dome  20 , and a case  30 . Note that, in this context, although the housing  110  is spherical as an example, it does not need to be a perfect sphere. That is, the housing  110  may be approximately spherical. 
     For example, the surveillance camera that is shown in  FIG. 1  can output a 180-degree panorama image (video image) by synthesizing the images that are captured by the plurality of image capturing units  10 . That is, the surveillance camera  100  may be provided with an image generating unit  120  (shown in  FIG. 3 ) that generates a panorama image by synthesizing a plurality of images that are captured by the plurality of image capturing units  10 . In the present embodiment, four image capturing units  10  are used as an example. For example, the surveillance camera  100  can be disposed on the ceiling of a building, the side of a utility pole in the center of an intersection, or the like as its instillation surface. The surveillance camera  100  in the present embodiment can capture panorama video images in a wide range of, for example, 180 degrees, and can help to ensure security. 
       FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of the surveillance camera  100  that is shown in  FIG. 1 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , the four image capturing units  10  are fixed to an image capturing unit support member  13 . The image capturing unit support member  13  has a tilt shift  14  (tilt axis), and for example, is supported with respect to a tilt support member  40  so as to make 90-degree tilt rotation around the tilt shaft  14  possible. In addition, the tilt support member  40  is supported so as to be pan rotatable by a base unit  31 . That is, the four image capturing units  10  are able to pan and tilt rotate while maintaining their respective relative positions. This is advantageous in generating the synthesized images, particularly a panorama image. 
     The housing  110  is provided with a first image capturing unit case  11 , and a second image capturing unit case  12 . The first image capturing case  11  and the second image capturing case  12  are fixed to the image capturing unit support member  13  so as to cover the four image capturing units  10 . In other words, the housing  110  houses the plurality of image capturing units  10 . The housing  110  is made rotatable around the tilt shaft  14  by a tilt drive unit  50  to be described below. In addition, a tilt support member case  41  is fixed to the tilt support member  40 , and is disposed so as to cover the first image capturing unit case  11  and the second image capturing unit case  12 . 
       FIG. 3  is a block diagram showing the configuration of a surveillance system  1000  that includes the surveillance camera  100 . The surveillance system  1000  includes the surveillance camera  100 , and a client apparatus (an information processing apparatus)  300 . The surveillance camera  100  is communicably connected with the client apparatus  300 , which is an external device, via a network  400 . The surveillance camera  100  is provided with a tilt drive unit  50 , which is described in detail in  FIG. 4 , and a pan drive unit  60 , which is described in detail in  FIG. 5 , and can tilt or pan rotate the four image capturing units  10  electrically. The tilt drive unit  50  and the pan drive unit  60  drive the image capturing units  10  based on commands from the client apparatus  300 . That is, using the client apparatus  300 , a user can pan/tilt drive the four image capturing units  10  by remote operation, and adjust the image capturing direction (the pan/tilt direction) of the surveillance camera  100 . 
       FIG. 4  is a perspective diagram showing the internal structure of the tilt drive unit  50  of the surveillance camera  100  that is shown in  FIG. 1 . The four image capturing units  10  are, for example, disposed along the top of an approximately 180-degree arc on top of the housing  110  so as to make capturing a 180-degree panorama video image possible. That is, the plurality of image capturing units  10  are disposed so as to capture images in directions that differ from one another and are centered on a predetermined axis X. The axis X is approximately the same as the central axis of the housing  110 , and is approximately orthogonal to the tilt axis. Due to this, in the interior of the housing  110 , there is space that is enclosed by a plurality of image capturing units  110  and space in which image capturing units  10  are not disposed. At least a portion of the tilt drive unit  50  is disposed inside the housing  110 , in other words, by disposing at least a portion the tilt drive unit  50  in the space that is surrounded by the plurality of image capturing units  10 , the empty space is utilized and the enlargement of the entirety of the surveillance camera  100  can be prevented. In addition, the tilt drive unit  50  can also be prevented from entering into the angle of view of the image capturing units  10 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 4 , the tilt drive unit  50  is provided with a tilt pulley  51 , a timing belt  52 , a pinion  53 , a tilt motor  54 , and a tilt motor bracket  55 . In this context, the tilt motor  54  is fixed to the tilt motor bracket  55 , and the tilt motor bracket  55  is fixed to the tilt support member  40 . In addition, the tilt pulley  51  is fixed to the approximate center of the tilt shaft  14 , and is disposed in the interior of the housing  110 . 
     The timing belt  52  is disposed so that the driving force of the pinion  53 , which is fixed to the shaft of the tilt motor  54 , is transmitted to the tilt pulley  51 , and the image capturing units  10  can thereby be electrically tilt driven. That is, the timing belt  52  can be said to be a power transmitting unit. At least a portion of the timing belt  52  is disposed to overlap with the axis X. In other words, the timing belt  52  is disposed on the approximate center of the housing  110 , which is spherical in the direction of the tilt axis. An even further decrease in size is thereby possible. 
     The tilt motor bracket  55  is fixed on the bottom unit  40  B of the tilt support member  40 , and is also disposed in the space that is interposed between the pair of tilt support units  40  A. In addition, a portion of the tilt drive member  50  is disposed in the interior of the housing  110 . In a case in which, for example, the tilt rotatable range of the surveillance camera  100  is 0° to 90°, even if a portion of the tilt drive unit  50  has been disposed outside of the housing  110 , the tilt rotation will not be hindered. Note that, the entirety of the tilt drive unit  50  may also be disposed in the interior of the housing  110 . In this case, it is possible to widen the tilt rotatable range of the surveillance camera  100 . 
       FIG. 5  is a perspective diagram showing the internal structure of the pan drive unit  60  of the surveillance camera  100  that is shown in  FIG. 1 . As shown in  FIG. 5 , the pan drive unit  60  is provided with a pan pully  61 , a timing belt  62 , a pinion  63 , and a pan motor  64 . At this time, the pan motor  64  is fixed to the tilt support member  40 , and the pan pulley  61  is fixed to the base member  31 . In addition, the timing belt  62  is disposed in such a way that the driving force of the pinion  63 , which is fixed to the pan motor  64 , is transmitted to the pan pulley  61 . The tilt support member  40  can thereby be electrically pan driven. 
     The pan motor  64  is fixed to the bottom unit  40  B of the tilt support member  40 , and is also disposed in the space that is interposed between the two tilt support units  40  A. As shown in  FIG. 4 , a main substrate  70  performs control of the tilt drive unit  50  and the pan drive unit  60 . The main substrate  70  is fixed to the bottom unit  40  B of the tilt support member  40 , and is also disposed in the space that is interposed between the two tilt support units  40  A. 
     By disposing the pan motor  64  and the main substrate  70  on the bottom unit  40  B of the tilt support member  40 , it is possible to dispose the drive mechanism in such a way that it does not enter into the angle of view of the image capturing units  10 . In addition, a first cable guide  71  and a second cable guide  72  are disposed in the space that is interposed between the tilt drive unit  50  and the tilt support units  40  A of the tilt support member  40 . A first through a fourth cable  73  A,  73  B,  73  C, and  73  D are each a cable that electrically transmits an image capturing signal from the four image capturing units  10 , and are connected to the main substrate  70  along either the first cable guide  71  or the second cable guide  72 . The main substrate  70  processes the image capturing signal. 
     In the above arrangement, the first through fourth cables  73  A,  73  B,  73  C, and  73  D do not interfere with the tilt drive member  50 , and can also be disposed in a way that utilizes the space inside of the housing unit  110 . The enlargement of the entirety of the surveillance camera  100  can thereby be prevented. 
     By the above configuration, in a surveillance camera, electrical pan and tilt driving is possible while also achieving space saving for the entirety of the surveillance camera, making a reduction in size possible. 
     Second Embodiment 
     Next, a surveillance camera  200  of a second embodiment will be explained. 
       FIG. 6  is an exploded perspective diagram showing the internal structure of the surveillance camera  200  in the second embodiment. Note that, in the present embodiment, the same reference numbers are attached to the members or elements that have the same configurations as those that have been explained in Embodiment 1, and redundant disclosures have been omitted. 
     In the present embodiment, the housing  210  is provided with a first image capturing unit case  80 , a second image capturing unit case  81 , and a third image capturing unit case  82 . The first image capturing unit case  80 , which has a tilt shaft  80  A, as well as the second image capturing unit case  81 , and the third image capturing unit case  82  are fixed to the image capturing unit support member  13 . 
     The first image capturing unit case  80  has a gear member  80  B, which is disposed on the inner side of the housing  110 , and is included in the tilt drive unit  50  along with the tilt motor  54 , the tilt motor bracket  55 , and a pinion  56 . The gear member  80  B may be, for example, a fan shaped gear. In a case in which, for example, the tilt rotatable range of the surveillance camera is 0° to 90°, the gear member  80  B is disposed on the opposite side of the four image capturing units  10  with the tilt axis serving as the reference. The gear member  80  B is engaged with the pinion  56 , and therefore, the four image capturing units  10  can be tilt rotated by driving the tilt motor  54 . 
     The tilt motor bracket  55  is fixed to the bottom unit  40  B of the tilt support member  40 , and is also disposed in the space that is interposed between the two tilt support units  40  A. In addition, a portion of the tilt drive unit  50  is disposed in the interior of the housing  110 , on which the four image capturing units  10  are disposed. In other words, a portion of the tilt drive unit  50  is disposed so as to push into the housing unit  110 . The enlargement of the entirety of the surveillance camera  200  can thereby be prevented, while the tilt drive unit  50  can also be prevented from entering into the angle of view of the image capturing units  10 . 
     Other Embodiments 
     Preferred embodiments of the present invention have been explained above, however, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various modifications or alterations can be made within the scope of the essentials thereof. 
     In the embodiments disclosed above, although a synthesized image is captured by four image capturing units  10 , the number of image capturing units may be two or more. In addition, in the embodiments disclosed above, an even greater effect can be achieved in a case in which synthesized images such as panorama images or the like are separately captured by the plurality of image capturing units  10 . However, the separate capturing of the synthesized images is not a prerequisite. 
     In addition, in the embodiments described above, the electrical transmission cables from the image capturing units are wired on either side of the tilt drive unit  50  by the first cable guide  71  and the second cable guide  72 . However, they may also be wired on just one side by one cable guide. 
     This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2021-004059, filed Jan. 14, 2021, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.