CAMERA DEVICE, CAMERA SYSTEM AND CAMERA CONTROL METHOD

• US 20120050550A1
• Filed: 08/23/2011
• Published: 03/01/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/27/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Oba, Eiji, Nakano, Hiroyasu, Katsui, Noboru, Tagami, Satoshi
• Granted Patent: US 9,118,827 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/207.99
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/26 to the rear of the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/40 characterised by the details of the power supply or the coupling to vehicle components
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/54 Mounting of pick-up tubes, electronic image sensors, deviation or focusing coils
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/651 for reducing power consumption by affecting camera operations, e.g. sleep mode, hibernation mode or power off of selective parts of the camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/66 Remote control of cameras or camera parts, e.g. by remote control devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/749 by influencing the pick-up tube voltages

Abstract

A camera device includes: an imaging unit taking image light to obtain a video signal; an output unit outputting the video signal obtained in the imaging unit to a connected cable; a detection unit detecting current variation or voltage variation of the video signal to be outputted from the output unit; and a control unit determining a control signal transmitted through the cable based on the signal variation detected by the detection unit and performing operation control corresponding to the determined control signal.

Claims

1. A camera device comprising:

an imaging unit taking image light to obtain a video signal;

an output unit outputting the video signal obtained in the imaging unit to a connected cable;

a detection unit detecting current variation or voltage variation of the video signal to be outputted from the output unit; and

a control unit determining a control signal transmitted through the cable based on the signal variation detected by the detection unit and performing operation control corresponding to the determined control signal.

2. The camera device according to claim 1,

wherein the detection unit detects the control signal from current variation in a vertical blanking interval of the video signal.

3. The camera device according to claim 2,

wherein the detection unit performs control of applying power of the camera device based on the control signal detected from current variation in the vertical blanking interval of the video signal by the detection unit.

4. The camera device according to claim 3,

wherein the control unit maintains a power-on state when further detecting the control signal in a given period of time after the power application and changes the state from power-on to power-of f when not detecting the control signal in the given period of time.

5. The camera device according to claim 1,

wherein the output unit includes a changeover switch for switching a signal obtained at the cable to a line to be supplied to the control unit based on the control signal determined by the control unit, and

the control unit can directly perform communication with the outside through the cable by changing over the changeover switch.

6. The camera device according to claim 1,

wherein the detection unit detects variation of voltage applied to the video signal through a low-pass filter.

7. A camera system comprising:

a camera device including

an imaging unit taking image light to obtain a video signal,

an output unit outputting the video signal obtained in the imaging unit to a connected cable,

a detection unit detecting current variation or voltage variation of the video signal to be outputted from the output unit, and

a control unit determining a control signal transmitted through the cable based on the signal variation detected by the detection unit and performing operation control corresponding to the determined control signal;

a monitor device receiving the video signal;

a synchronization signal detection circuit detecting a vertical synchronization signal of the video signal received by the monitor device; and

a control signal generation circuit generating the control signal to be generated in synchronization with the detected synchronization signal of the monitor device.

8. The camera system according to claim 7,

wherein the control signal generation circuit generates the control signals plural times so as to correspond to horizontal scanning synchronization periods of the video signal, which is generated in synchronization with the synchronization signal detection circuit detecting the vertical synchronization signal of the video signal in the monitor device, and generates the same waveform of the control signals repeatedly over plural frame periods, and

true-false determination is made by determining the control signal transmitted through the cable based on signal variation detected in the detection unit of the camera device and by repeating true-false determination of the determined control signal plural times.

9. A camera system comprising:

a camera device including

an imaging unit taking image light to obtain a video signal,

an output unit outputting the video signal obtained in the imaging unit to a connected cable,

a detection unit detecting current variation or voltage variation of the video signal to be outputted from the output unit, and

a control unit determining a control signal transmitted through the cable based on the signal variation detected by the detection unit and performing operation control corresponding to the determined control signal; and

a video processing device including

an input unit connected to the camera device through the cable to perform input of the video signal,

a video signal processing unit performing processing of the video signal inputted to the input unit; and

a control signal superimposition unit superimposing the control signal for the camera device on the video signal obtained in the video signal processing unit.

10. A camera control method comprising:

detecting current variation or voltage variation of a video signal in a cable outputting the video signal from the camera device,

determining a control signal transmitted through the cable based on the detected signal variation and

performing operation control based on the determined control signal.