Composite camera system, zoom camera image display control method, zoom camera control method, control program, and computer readable recording medium

• US 7,301,557 B2
• Filed: 02/27/2003
• Issued: 11/27/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.), TOA Kabushiki Kaisha
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Fukuhara, Yoshio, Kakou, Noritoshi, Misawa, Masahiro
• Primary Examiner(s): RAO, ANAND SHASHIKANT
• Application Number:
  US10/376,879
• Publication Number:
  US 20030160868A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,734 Days
• Field of Search: 348142-160, 348 36- 39
• US Class Current: 348/36
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19602 Image analysis to detect motion of the intruder, e.g. by frame subtraction
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19628 of wide angled cameras and camera groups, e.g. omni-directional cameras, fish eye, single units having multiple cameras achieving a wide angle view
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19643 wherein the cameras play different roles, e.g. different resolution, different camera type, master-slave camera
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19652 Systems using zones in a single scene defined for different treatment, e.g. outer zone gives pre-alarm, inner zone gives alarm
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19656 Network used to communicate with a camera, e.g. WAN, LAN, Internet
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/1968 Interfaces for setting up or customising the system
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19689 Remote control of cameras, e.g. remote orientation or image zooming control for a PTZ camera
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19691 Signalling events for better perception by user, e.g. indicating alarms by making display brighter, adding text, creating a sound
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/698 for achieving an enlarged field of view, e.g. panoramic image capture
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/188 Capturing isolated or intermittent images triggered by the occurrence of a predetermined event, e.g. an object reaching a predetermined position signal generation from motion picture films H04N5/253

Abstract

A composite camera system includes a control section for performing positional control and magnification ratio control of at least one zoom camera ratio for omnidirectional image data centered on a prescribed portion thereof, the omnidirectional image data being obtained by an omnidirectional camera capable of taking an omnidirectional image over a viewing angle of a maximum of 360 degrees; and a display section for displaying an omnidirectional image taken by the omnidirectional camera and a zoom image taken by the zoom camera.

Claims

1. A composite camera system, comprising:

a control section for performing positional control and magnification ratio control of at least one zoom camera ratio for omnidirectional image data centered on a prescribed portion thereof, the omnidirectional image data being obtained by an omnidirectional camera capable of taking an omnidirectional image over a viewing angle of a maximum of 360 degrees; and

a display section for displaying an omnidirectional image taken by the omnidirectional camera and a zoom image taken by the zoom camera,

wherein, when the omnidirectional image is circular, the control section equally divides the omnidirectional image concentrically and radially into a plurality of concentrically and radially divided image areas based on input data representing the number of image areas and presets control information for controlling the zoom camera in each of the plurality of concentrically and radially divided image areas.

2. A composite camera system according to claim 1, wherein the positional control for controlling a photographic position is performed by pan driving and tilt driving, and the magnification ratio control is performed by zoom driving.

3. A composite camera system according to claim 1, wherein the prescribed portion of the omnidirectional image data is a divided image area which is set in a photographed image.

4. A composite camera system according to claim 1, wherein the control section includes:

a dividing section for dividing the omnidirectional image displayed on a display screen of the display section into the plurality of image areas;

a specifying section for automatically or manually specifying at least one image area from the plurality of image areas;

a converting section for converting information on the at least one image area specified by the specifying section into control information for controlling the zoom camera to be at a prescribed position and to have a prescribed magnification ratio for photographing an image area specified by the specifying section; and

a zoom camera control section for controlling the zoom camera to be at the prescribed position and to have the prescribed magnification ratio for photographing the image area specified by the specifying section, based on the control information converted by the converting section.

5. A composite camera system according to claim 1, wherein the omnidirectional camera includes an optical system for projecting the omnidirectional image using a mirror of a parabolic or hyperbolic convex body of revolution, or a fish-eye lens.

6. A composite camera system according to claim 4, further comprising:

a control information setting section for presetting the control information for controlling the zoom camera to be at the prescribed position and to have the prescribed magnification ratio for each of the plurality of image areas obtained by the dividing section; and

a control information table for storing the preset control information in correspondence with the position of each of the plurality of image areas,

wherein the converting section obtains the control information for the image area specified by the specifying section from the control information table and/or from calculation using a prescribed calculation procedure.

7. A composite camera system according to claim 4, further comprising:

an image memory section for temporarily storing the omnidirectional image taken by the omnidirectional camera frame by frame sequentially; and

a moving body detection section for detecting a movement of a moving body by performing pattern matching of successive frames of the omnidirectional image stored in the image memory section;

wherein the detected moving body is zoom-photographed by the zoom camera, and an enlarged image of the moving body is displayed on the display screen of the display section.

8. A composite camera system according to claim 4, wherein when the omnidirectional image is circular, the dividing section displays the plurality of concentrically and radially divided image areas of the omnidirectional image together with area frames defining the plurality of image areas.

9. A composite camera system according to claim 6, wherein the dividing section displays the plurality of image areas of the omnidirectional image together with area frames and area numbers defining the plurality of image areas, and the control information setting section presets the control information for controlling the zoom camera to be at the prescribed position and to have the prescribed magnification ratio for each of the plurality of image areas provided with the area numbers.

10. A composite camera system according to claim 4, further comprising an invalid area setting section for presetting, as invalid, an arbitrary area of the omnidirectional image which is unstable due to environmental influence,

wherein the invalid area setting section invalidates the specification of the image area by the specifying section.

11. A composite camera system according to claim 7, further comprising:

a monitoring area setting section for setting at least one monitoring area in the omnidirectional image; and

an alarm information output section for outputting alarm information when the moving body detecting section detects that the moving body has entered the monitoring area,

wherein the zoom camera zoom-photographs the moving body which has entered the monitoring area and displays the photographed image of the moving body on the display screen of the display section.

12. A composite camera system according to claim 1, further comprising a remote controller connected to the omnidirectional camera and the zoom camera via a wireless or wired communication line,

wherein an omnidirectional image taken by the omnidirectional camera and an image taken by the zoom camera are transferred to the remote controller via the communication line.

13. A composite camera system according to claim 12, wherein the remote controller includes at least the dividing section, the specifying section, and the converting section.

14. A composite camera image display control method, comprising the processing steps of:

performing positional control and magnification ratio control of at least one zoom camera for omnidirectional image data centered on a prescribed portion thereof, the omnidirectional image data being obtained by an omnidirectional camera capable of taking an omnidirectional image over a viewing angle of a maximum of 360 degrees; and

displaying an omnidirectional image taken by the omnidirectional camera and a zoom image taken by the zoom camera,

wherein, when the omnidirectional image is circular, the step of performing positional control and magnification ratio control includes equally dividing the omnidirectional image concentrically and radially into a plurality of concentrically and radially divided image areas based on input data representing the number of image areas and presetting control information for controlling the zoom camera in each of the plurality of concentrically and radially divided image areas.

18. A control program for causing a computer to execute the processing steps of a composite camera image display control method according to claim 14.

19. A computer readable recording medium having a control program according to claim 18 stored therein.

15. A zoom camera control method for performing positional control and magnification ratio control of at least one zoom camera for omnidirectional image data centered on a prescribed portion thereof, the omnidirectional image data being obtained by an omnidirectional camera capable of taking an omnidirectional image over a viewing angle of a maximum of 360 degrees, the method comprising the steps of:

displaying an omnidirectional image taken by the omnidirectional camera;

equally dividing the omnidirectional image displayed on a display screen of the display section concentrically and radially into a plurality of concentrically and radially divided image areas based on input data representing the number of image areas;

automatically or manually specifying at least one image area from the plurality of image areas;

converting information on the at least one image area specified by the specifying section into control information for controlling the zoom camera to be at a prescribed position and to have a prescribed magnification ratio for photographing the image area specified by the specifying section; and

controlling the zoom camera to be at the prescribed position and to have the prescribed magnification ratio for photographing the concentrically and radially divided image area specified by the specifying section, based on the control information converted by the converting section.

16. A control program for causing a computer to execute the steps of:

displaying an omnidirectional image taken by the omnidirectional camera;

equally dividing the omnidirectional image displayed on a display screen of the display section concentrically and radially into a plurality of concentrically and radially divided image areas;

automatically or manually specifying at least one image area from the plurality of image areas;

converting information on the at least one image area specified by the specifying section into control information for controlling the zoom camera to be at a prescribed position and to have a prescribed magnification ratio for photographing the image area specified by the specifying section; and

controlling the zoom camera to be at the prescribed position and to have the prescribed magnification ratio for photographing the concentrically and radially divided image area specified by the specifying section, based on the control information converted by the converting section.

17. A computer readable recording medium having a control program according to claim 16 stored therein.