Television – Camera – system and detail – Solid-state image sensor
Reexamination Certificate
1997-02-05
2001-03-13
Lee, Michael (Department: 2714)
Television
Camera, system and detail
Solid-state image sensor
C348S335000, C348S036000, C348S143000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06201574
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The invention relates to an apparatus and algorithm for transforming a hemispherical field-of-view image into a non-distorted, normal perspective image at any orientation, rotation, and magnification within the field-of-view. The viewing direction, orientation, and magnification are controlled by either computer or remote control means. More particularly, this apparatus is the electronic equivalent of a mechanical pan, tilt, zoom, and rotation camera viewing system with no moving mechanisms. It relates to previous patent U.S. Pat. No. 5,185,667 by implementation of the distortion correction using a specialized physical layout of the elements that convert light to electrical charge.
BACKGROUND ART
Camera viewing systems are utilized in abundance for surveillance, inspection, security, and remote sensing. Remote viewing is critical for robotic manipulation tasks. Close viewing is necessary for detailed manipulation tasks while wide-angle viewing aids positioning of the robotic system to avoid collisions with the workspace. The majority of these systems use either a fixed-mount camera with a limited viewing field, or they utilize mechanical pan-and-tilt platforms and mechanized zoom lenses to orient the camera and magnify its image. In the applications where orientation of the camera and magnification of its image are required, the mechanical solution is large and can subtend a significant volume making the viewing system difficult to conceal or use in close quarters. Several cameras are usually necessary to provide wide-angle viewing of the workspace.
In order to provide a maximum amount of viewing coverage or subtended angle, mechanical pan/tilt mechanisms usually use motorized drives and gear mechanisms to manipulate the vertical and horizontal orientation. An example of such a device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,728,839 issued to J. B. Coughlan, et al, on Mar. 1, 1988. Collisions with the working environment caused by these mechanical pan/tilt orientation mechanisms can damage both the camera and the worksite and impede the remote handling operation. Simultaneously, viewing in said remote environments is extremely important to the performance of in-on and manipulation activities.
Camera viewing systems that use internal optics to provide wide viewing angles have also been developed in order to minimize the size and volume of the camera and the intrusion into the viewing area. These systems rely on the movement of either a mirror or prism to change the tilt-angle of orientation and provide mechanical rotation of the entire camera to change the pitch angle of orientation. Using this means, the size of the camera orientation system can be minimized, but “blind spots” in the center of the view result Also, these systems typically have no means of magnifying the image and or producing multiple images from a single camera.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus that can provide an image of any portion of the viewing space within a hemispherical field-of-view without moving the apparatus.
It is another object of the present invention to provide horizontal orientaton (pan) of the viewing direction with no moving mechanisms.
It is another object of the present invention to provide vertical orientaton (tilt) of the viewing direction with no moving mechanisms.
It is another object of the present invention to provide rotational orientaton (rotation) of the viewing direction with no moving mechanisms.
It is another object of the present invention to provide the ability to magnify or scale the image (zoom in and out) electronically.
It is another object of the present invention to provide electronic control of the image intensity (iris level).
It is another object of the present invention to be able to change the image intensity (iris level) without any mechanisms.
It is another object of the present invention to be able to accomplish said pan, tilt, zoom, rotation, and iris with simple inputs made by a lay person from a joystick, keyboard controller, or computer controlled means.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide accurate control of the absolute viewing direction and orientations using said input devices.
A further object of the present invention is to provide the ability to produce multiple images with different orientations and magnifications simultaneously.
A further object of this invention is to embed the image correction algorithm in the physical image sensing electronic component placement on the picture elements on the Charge Coupled Device (CCD) video sensor.
A further object of the invention is to be able to scan the CCD element by direct addressing of the individual CCD picture elements in any order during the scan using the CCD array in a manner similar to addressable video memory.
Another object of the present invention is to be able to provide these images at real-time video rates, that is 30 transformed images per second, and to support various display format standards such as the National Television Standards Committee RS-170 display formal
These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent upon consideration of the drawings hereinafter in combination with a complete description thereof.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided an omnidirectional viewing system that produces the equivalent of pan, tilt, and zoom within a hemispherical field-of-view with no moving parts. This device includes a means for converting light energy into electronic charges commonly referred to as a charge coupled device (CCD) geometrically arranged in a non-standard pattern so as to remove the distortion associated with a specific lens configuration. The geometric arrangement is described by the equations developed within this patent. This device also includes a means to selectively scan the CCD so that the entire CCD need not be scanned to generate an image. The selective scanning of the device allows the CCD array to support a much larger number of elements than are typical of standard resolution systems by scanning only the elements in the region of interest as selected by an external input. In one preferred embodiment, the incoming image is produced by a fisheye lens which has a hemispherical field-of-view. This hemispherical field-of-view image is captured into the special CCD array. A portion of the captured image containing a region-of-interest is scanned by the associated electronics to create an output image. The viewing orientation is designated by a command signal generated by either a human operator or computerized input The transformed image is deposited in a second electronic memory buffer where it is then manipulated to produce the output image as requested by the command signal.
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Banner & Witcoff , Ltd.
Interactive Pictures Corporation
Lee Michael
LandOfFree
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