Control device, control method, program product, and storage medium

Abstract

The present application relates to a control device, a control method, a program product, and a storage medium. The control device: acquires control information indicating an amount of change in a pan direction and an amount of change in a tilt direction of an imaging device; acquires a current pan direction and a current tilt direction of the imaging device; acquires a first movable range limit that is a movable range limit of the pan direction of the imaging device and a second movable range limit that is a movable range limit of the tilt direction of the imaging device; controls a change in the pan direction and the tilt direction of the imaging device based on the acquired control information; and stops the change in both the pan direction and the tilt direction in a case where the current pan direction reaches the first movable range limit or in a case where the current tilt direction reaches the second movable range limit.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to angle control for cameras. Background Technology

[0002] In recent years, cameras, such as camcorders, have typically been equipped with both wireless and wired connectivity. Furthermore, applications for remotely controlling cameras via wireless or wired networks (camera control applications) have become publicly available on information terminals such as smartphones. Camera control applications provide functions such as camera video display, video control, video assistance, camera information display, and camera setting adjustment.

[0003] Furthermore, remotely controlled cameras (such as surveillance cameras) are equipped with PTZ (Pan / Zoom) functionality, enabling pan / tilt / zoom (PTZ) control. Devices controlling such cameras have, for example, the ability to control pan and tilt. External controllers for pan and tilt are equipped with joysticks for freely controlling the direction of pan and tilt. On the other hand, smartphone applications are designed to be operated using touch panels. For this purpose, a joystick user interface (UI) is used as the UI for controlling the pan and tilt of the camera on the touch panel. The joystick UI can control the pan / tilt drive of the camera by generating control values ​​based on the joystick's position and sending these control values ​​via a network to the PTZ-enabled camera.

[0004] Japanese Patent Application 7467229 discloses a technique for controlling a camera to stop by adjusting the speed in the direction exceeding the movement range limit when the camera is about to exceed the movement range limit in the pan or tilt direction. Summary of the Invention

[0005] However, in the conventional technology disclosed in Japanese Patent Application 7467229, when the pan and tilt of the camera are driven in the tilt direction, there is a risk that the pan and tilt may be unintentionally driven by the user because the drive of only one of them is limited by its movable range. For this reason, there has been room for improvement in the control of pan and tilt in the past.

[0006] Therefore, this disclosure provides techniques for improving roll / pitch control.

[0007] According to an embodiment, a control device includes: a first acquisition component configured to acquire control information indicating the amount of change in the pan direction and the amount of change in the pitch direction of a camera device; a second acquisition component configured to acquire the current pan direction and the current pitch direction of the camera device; a third acquisition component configured to acquire a first movable range limit as a movable range limit for the pan direction of the camera device and a second movable range limit as a movable range limit for the pitch direction of the camera device; and a control component configured to control the changes in the pan direction and the pitch direction of the camera device based on the acquired control information, and to stop the changes in both the pan direction and the pitch direction when the current pan direction reaches the first movable range limit or when the current pitch direction reaches the second movable range limit.

[0008] The features of this disclosure will become apparent from the following description of embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following description of the embodiments will be given by way of example. Attached Figure Description

[0009] Figure 1 This is a configuration diagram of the system according to the first embodiment.

[0010] Figure 2 This is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the camera 100 according to the first embodiment.

[0011] Figure 3 This is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a portable telephone 200 according to a first embodiment.

[0012] Figure 4A and Figure 4B This is an example of the screen UI of a camera control application according to the first embodiment.

[0013] Figures 5A to 5D This is an example of a screen UI related to the display of markers in a camera control application according to the first embodiment.

[0014] Figure 6A and Figure 6B This is an example of a screen UI related to PTZ operation of a camera control application according to the first embodiment.

[0015] Figures 7A to 7C These are examples of images captured by the camera 100 according to the first embodiment.

[0016] Figure 8 This is a diagram illustrating the direction and displacement input by the PTZ operation of the camera control application according to the first embodiment.

[0017] Figure 9This is an illustrative flowchart of the pan / tilt drive process of the portable telephone 200 according to the first embodiment.

[0018] Figure 10 This is an explanatory diagram of the movable range of the pan / tilt drive of the camera 100 according to the first embodiment.

[0019] Figure 11 This is an illustrative flowchart of the pan / tilt drive processing in the pan / tilt drive mobility range limitation of the portable telephone 200 according to the first embodiment.

[0020] Figures 12A to 12C This is an explanatory diagram of the angle of incidence relative to the movable range of the roll / pitch drive according to the first embodiment.

[0021] Figure 13 This is an illustrative flowchart of the pan / tilt drive process of the portable telephone 200 according to the second embodiment.

[0022] Figure 14 This is a diagram illustrating a method in the second embodiment for calculating control values ​​when the roll / pitch position reaches the limit of the movable range after movement. Detailed Implementation

[0023] In the following description, the accompanying drawings will be used to illustrate the modes for implementing this disclosure. Furthermore, the structures used to implement this disclosure are not limited to those described in the embodiments. To the extent that similar effects can be obtained, some of the constituent elements described in the embodiments may be omitted or replaced with equivalents. <First Embodiment> System Configuration

[0024] Figure 1 This is a system configuration diagram of a system according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. The system 10 includes a camera 100 and a mobile phone 200 connected via a network 112. Although the network 112 in this embodiment uses Wi-Fi, the network 112 is not limited to this. The network 112 can be replaced by, for example, Bluetooth or a proprietary wireless communication scheme. Furthermore, the network 112 can also be a wired communication network instead of a wireless communication network. In other words, the network 112 can communicate regardless of the communication scheme, such as RS-232C, RS-422A, Universal Serial Bus (USB), or Ethernet. However, the network 112 needs to support schemes that can send and receive video and camera settings. <Camera Configuration>

[0025] Figure 2This is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a camera 100 according to a first embodiment. The camera 100 is an example of a data processing device. Although the camera 100 will be described herein as an example of a data processing device, the data processing device according to this disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the data processing device according to this disclosure may be an information processing device such as a so-called tablet device or a personal computer. The camera 100 is an example of a recording device.

[0026] The camera 100 has a control unit 101. The control unit 101 controls various parts of the camera 100 according to input signals and the program described below. Alternatively, instead of the control unit 101 for controlling the entire device, multiple hardware components can share the processing for controlling the entire device.

[0027] The camera 100 includes an image-capturing unit 102. The image-capturing unit 102 converts the light from the subject, into an image formed by a lens contained within the image-capturing unit 102, into electrical signals, performs noise reduction processing, and outputs digital data as image data. The captured image data from the image-capturing unit 102 is stored in a buffer memory, and then the control unit 101 performs a predetermined calculation operation, causing the result of the predetermined calculation operation to be recorded on the recording medium 110. Furthermore, the image-capturing unit 102 has pan, tilt, and zoom mechanisms, and the pan, tilt, and zoom (telephoto control / wide-angle control) operations are performed by the control unit 101.

[0028] The camera 100 has a non-volatile memory 103. The non-volatile memory 103 is a non-volatile memory that can be electrically erased and recorded, and the following programs executed in the control unit 101 are stored in the non-volatile memory 103.

[0029] The camera 100 has a working memory 104. The working memory 104 serves as a buffer memory for temporarily storing captured image data from the imaging unit 102, a memory for displaying images on the display unit 106, and a working area for the control unit 101, etc.

[0030] The camera 100 includes an operation unit 105. The operation unit 105 receives commands from a user for the camera 100. The operation unit 105 includes, for example, operation components such as a power button for allowing the user to issue commands to turn the camera 100 on / off, a release switch for issuing recording commands, and a play button for issuing image data playback commands. Furthermore, a touch panel formed in the display unit 106 (described below) is also included in the operation unit 105. Additionally, the release switch included in the operation unit 105 has SW1 and SW2. When the release switch is in a so-called half-pressed state, SW1 is turned on. Therefore, commands for image preparation processing, such as autofocus (AF) processing, auto exposure (AE) processing, auto white balance (AWB) processing, and enhancement factor (EF) (flash pre-emission) processing, are received. Furthermore, SW2 is turned on by the release switch being in a so-called fully pressed state. Thus, commands for image processing are received. However, the operation unit 105 is not limited to the above, and the operation unit 105 only requires operation of the camera 100. Furthermore, the operation unit 105 does not necessarily need to be built into the camera 100, and the camera 100 can be operated from an external device, for example.

[0031] The camera 100 has a display unit 106. The display unit 106 displays the viewfinder image during image processing, displays captured image data, and displays text for interactive operation, etc. Furthermore, the display unit 106 does not necessarily need to be built into the camera 100. The camera 100 can be connected to an internal or external display unit 106, and the camera 100 only needs to have at least display control functions to control the display of the display unit 106.

[0032] Camera 100 has a recording medium 110. The recording medium 110 can record image data output from the imaging unit 102. The recording medium 110 can be configured to be attached to or detached from camera 100, or it can be built into camera 100. In other words, camera 100 only needs to have at least a component for accessing the recording medium 110.

[0033] The camera 100 has a connection unit 111. The connection unit 111 is an interface for connecting to an external device. In this embodiment, the camera 100 can exchange data with an external device through the connection unit 111. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the connection unit 111 includes an interface for communicating with an external device via a wireless local area network (LAN). The control unit 101 implements wireless communication with the external device by controlling the connection unit 111. Additionally, the communication scheme is not limited to a wireless LAN.

[0034] Furthermore, the camera 100 in this embodiment can operate as a client device in a wireless LAN communication infrastructure mode. When the camera 100 operates as a client device, it can participate in a network formed by an access point (hereinafter referred to as an AP) by connecting to a nearby AP. Although the camera 100 in this embodiment is a type of AP, it can also operate as a simple AP with more limited functionality (hereinafter referred to as a simple AP). Additionally, the AP in this embodiment is an example of a relay device. When the camera 100 is operating as a simple AP, it forms its own network. Devices around the camera 100 recognize it as an AP and can participate in the network formed by the camera 100. It is assumed that the program for operating the camera 100 as described above is stored in non-volatile memory 103. Although the camera 100 in this embodiment is a type of AP, it is not a simple AP that has the gateway function to send data received from client devices to an Internet provider, etc. Therefore, even if the camera 100 receives data from other devices participating in the network formed by itself, that data cannot be sent to a network such as the Internet. Alternatively, the connection unit 111 can be an interface for wired communication instead of wireless communication. In other words, regardless of the communication scheme such as RS-232C, RS-422A, USB, or Ethernet, the connection unit 111 can be an interface for wired communication.

[0035] The camera 100 has already been described above. Next, a portable telephone 200 will be described as an example of an external device. <Configuration of Display Control Device>

[0036] Figure 3 This is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a portable telephone 200 according to a first embodiment. The portable telephone 200 is an example of a display control device. Although a portable telephone will be described herein as an example of a display control device, the display control device is not limited thereto. For example, the display control device may be a digital camera with wireless capabilities, a portable media player, or other information processing devices such as a so-called tablet device, a personal computer, or a smartphone.

[0037] The portable phone 200 has a control unit 201. The control unit 201 controls various parts of the portable phone 200 according to input signals and the program described below. Alternatively, instead of the control unit 201 for controlling the entire device, multiple hardware components can share the processing for controlling the entire device.

[0038] The portable telephone 200 has a camera unit 202. The camera unit 202 converts the light of the subject, which forms an image by a lens contained in the camera unit 202, into an electrical signal, performs noise reduction processing, and outputs digital data as image data. The captured image data from the camera unit 202 is stored in a buffer memory, and then the control unit 201 performs a predetermined calculation operation, so that the result of the predetermined calculation operation is recorded on the recording medium 210.

[0039] The portable phone 200 has a non-volatile memory 203. The non-volatile memory 203 is a non-volatile memory that can be electrically erased and recorded, and stores basic software, the operating system (OS), and various types of programs to be executed by the control unit 201. It is assumed that the program for communicating with the camera 100 is also stored in the non-volatile memory 203 and installed as a camera control application. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the processing of the portable phone 200 is achieved by reading the program provided by the camera control application. It is assumed that the camera control application has a program for using the basic functions of the OS installed on the portable phone 200 (e.g., wireless LAN function, Bluetooth function, and the function of calling other applications). In addition, the camera control application has a remote video recording function for performing video processing by remotely controlling the camera 100 from the portable phone 200 while viewing a live view image obtained from the camera 100 on the portable phone 200. Furthermore, the camera control application has the function of remotely viewing image data recorded on a recording medium mounted on the camera 100 and the function of remotely viewing and receiving this image data.

[0040] Additionally, the OS of the portable phone 200 may have a program for implementing the processing described in this embodiment.

[0041] The portable telephone 200 has a working memory 204. The working memory 204 is used as a buffer memory for temporarily storing image data generated by the camera unit 202, an image display memory for the display unit 206, or a working area for the control unit 201, etc.

[0042] The portable telephone 200 has an operation unit 205. The operation unit 205 is used to receive instructions for the portable telephone 200 from the user. The operation unit 205 includes, for example, a power button for allowing the user to issue instructions for turning the portable telephone 200 on / off and a touch panel formed on the display unit 206.

[0043] The portable telephone 200 has a display unit 206. The display unit 206 displays image data and performs text display for interactive operation, etc. Furthermore, the display unit 206 does not necessarily need to be built into the portable telephone 200. The portable telephone 200 can be connected to the display unit 206, and the portable telephone 200 only needs to have at least display control functions to control the display of the display unit 206.

[0044] The portable telephone 200 has a recording medium 210. The recording medium 210 can record image data output from the camera unit 202 or image data received from the data processing device. The recording medium 210 can be configured to be attached to or detached from the portable telephone 200, or it can be built into the portable telephone 200. In other words, the portable telephone 200 only needs to have at least a component for accessing the recording medium 210.

[0045] The portable telephone 200 has a connection unit 211. The connection unit 211 is an interface for connecting to an external device. In this embodiment, the portable telephone 200 can exchange data with an external device through the connection unit 211. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the connection unit 211 includes an interface for communicating with an external device via a wireless LAN. The control unit 201 implements wireless communication with the external device by controlling the connection unit 211. Additionally, the camera 100 in this embodiment can operate as a client device, at least in an infrastructure mode of wireless LAN communication, and can participate in a network formed by nearby access points (APs). Moreover, the camera 100 can operate as a simple access point (AP), and the portable telephone 200 can participate in the simple AP of the camera 100.

[0046] The portable telephone 200 has a public network connection unit 212. The public network connection unit 212 is an interface for public wireless communication. The portable telephone 200 can make calls and conduct data communication with other devices through the public network connection unit 212. When a call is connected, the control unit 201 inputs an audio signal through the microphone 213 and outputs an audio signal through the speaker 214. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the public network connection unit 212 includes an interface for communication using 3G (third-generation mobile communication system). However, this disclosure is not limited to 3G, and other communication schemes such as LTE, WiMAX, ADSL, FTTH, and so-called 4G (fourth-generation mobile communication system) can be used. LTE is an abbreviation for Long Term Evolution. WiMAX is an abbreviation for Global Microwave Access Interoperability. ADSL is an abbreviation for Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line. FTTH is an abbreviation for Fiber to the Home. Furthermore, the connection unit 211 and the public network connection unit 212 do not necessarily need to be configured with separate hardware and can be used, for example, with a single antenna.

[0047] The portable phone 200 has been described above. Here, in the following description, the portable phone 200 can be described as the main processing entity. However, in reality, the control unit 201 reads the program stored in the non-volatile memory 203 and implements various types of processing. Similarly, even in the part where the camera 100 appears to be described as the main processing unit, the control unit 101 also reads the program stored in the non-volatile memory 103 and implements various types of processing. <Description of the screen of the camera control application of the portable phone 200>

[0048] Figure 4A , Figure 4B , Figure 5A , Figure 5B , Figure 5C , Figure 5D , Figure 6A and Figure 6B This is an example of a camera control application screen displayed on the display unit 206 of the portable phone 200. Here, the camera control application can connect to multiple cameras simultaneously and operate each camera. Furthermore, the camera control application can receive video footage captured by the cameras and various current camera settings by communicating with the cameras, and displays the video and various current settings on the camera control application screen.

[0049] Figure 4A This is an example of a camera control application screen. Figure 4A In the example of camera control application screen 400, the captured video and various current settings of the camera are received from the camera via a communication connection and displayed on the screen.

[0050] Application settings area 410 is located within the camera control application screen 400. Application settings area 410 contains settings buttons for changing various types of settings within the camera control application. Figure 4A In the example of the camera control application screen 400, the camera connection settings button 411, the full-screen display button 412, and the marker settings button 413 are arranged in the application settings area 410. When the user touches and presses the camera connection settings button 411, the screen switches to the camera connection settings screen.

[0051] When the user touches and presses the full-screen display button 412, such as Figure 4B As shown, the camera control application screen 400 displays the camera's video, which is shown in the main video area 450, in full-screen mode. For example... Figure 4BAs shown, when the camera's video is displayed in full screen, the camera control application screen 400 displays the application settings area 410 overlaid on the camera's video. Furthermore, in the application settings area 410 when the camera's video is displayed in full screen, as... Figure 4B As shown, an operation screen display button 414 and a marker setting button 413 are arranged. When the user touches and presses the operation screen display button 414, the camera control application screen 400 changes to... Figure 4A The screen shown is shown below. When the user touches and presses the marker setting button 413, the camera control application screen 400 changes to... Figures 5A to 5D The image shown.

[0052] like Figure 4A As shown, a main video area 450 and a secondary video area 460 are arranged in the camera control application screen 400. The main video area 450 and the secondary video area 460 are areas for displaying images received from the cameras. In this example, the camera control application is connected to multiple cameras simultaneously, and the videos captured by the cameras are displayed side-by-side in the secondary video area 460. Furthermore, the video from the camera controlled by the camera control application is displayed in the main video area 450.

[0053] like Figure 4A As shown, the recording information area 470 is arranged in the camera control application screen 400. The recording information area 470 is an area that displays the recording information of the controlled object's camera and the recording button. The recording information includes, for example, the remaining media time and timecode of the controlled object's camera. Furthermore, when the recording button is touched and pressed, the camera control application starts or stops the processing for recording video captured by the controlled object's camera.

[0054] like Figure 4A As shown, the operation area 480 is arranged within the camera control application screen 400. The operation area 480 is an area where operation buttons for manipulating the camera are arranged. These operation buttons include, for example, buttons for manipulating the camera's exposure, shutter speed, zoom, and focus. When a user touches and presses an operation button, the camera control application screen 400 performs an operation or displays an operation screen. Within the operation area 480, for example, a PTZ operation button 481 is arranged to receive a screen display command for performing PTZ operation on the camera. Furthermore, the user can display operation buttons arranged outside the operation area 480 by performing an operation to scroll through the operation area 480.

[0055] Figures 5A to 5D This is an example of a camera control application screen used for displaying icons. It is arranged on... (The sentence is incomplete and requires more context to translate accurately.) Figure 4A The application settings area 410 contains the label settings button 413, and the screen switches to... Figures 5A to 5D The camera control application screen 400 is shown. Figure 5A In the example of the camera control application screen 400 shown, the back button 431, the marker display toggle button 432, and the marker detail settings button 433 are arranged in the application settings area 410. When the user touches and presses the back button 431, the camera control application screen 400 changes to... Figure 4A The image shown.

[0056] When the user touches and presses the marker display toggle button 432, the camera control application screen 400 switches the status of the marker display superimposed on the main video area 450 to either an active or inactive state. Figure 5A The marker display toggle button 432 indicates that the marker display is invalid. In this case, as shown... Figure 5A As shown, the main video area 450 displays the video from the camera of the controlled object when the markers are not overlaid.

[0057] Figure 5B , Figure 5C and Figure 5D The marker display toggle button 432 indicates that the marker display is active. In this case, as... Figure 5B , Figure 5C and Figure 5D As shown, the main video area 450 displays the camera's video overlaid with marked control objects. Figure 5B In the main video area 450, center marker 510 and grid marker 540 are displayed. Figure 5C In the main video area 450, the 4:3 aspect marker 560 shows a mask with 50% opacity. Figure 5D In the main video area 450, the 4:3 aspect ratio marker 560 shows a mask with 100% opacity.

[0058] When the user touches and presses the marker details setting button 433, such as Figure 5B , Figure 5C and Figure 5DAs shown, the camera control application screen 400 displays a marker detail settings screen 500. The marker detail settings screen 500 includes interfaces for setting the display format of various marker types, such as a close button 501, center marker setting 511, grid marker setting 541, and aspect ratio marker setting 551. The marker detail settings screen 500 also includes interfaces for setting the marker display format, such as center marker type setting 521, horizontal marker setting 531, and marker aspect ratio setting 561. Furthermore, the marker detail settings screen 500 includes interfaces for setting the marker display format, such as safe zone marker setting 571, safe zone area setting 581, and marker opacity setting 591. When the user touches and presses the close button 501, the camera control application screen 400 hides the marker detail settings screen 500.

[0059] When Figure 5B , Figure 5C and Figure 5D When the indicated marker toggle button 432 is active, the camera control application screen 400 displays the marker in the main video area 450 according to the settings of the marker detail settings screen 500.

[0060] exist Figure 5B In the marker detail settings screen 500, the center marker setting 511 is set to blue, and the grid marker setting 541 is set to yellow. Therefore, in Figure 5B In the main video area 450, a blue center marker 510 and a yellow grid marker 540 are displayed.

[0061] exist Figure 5C In the marker detail settings screen 500, the marker width and height settings 551 are set to a 50% mask, and the marker aspect ratio settings 561 are set to 4:3. Therefore, in Figure 5C In the main video area 450, the 4:3 aspect ratio marker 560 is displayed using a mask with 50% opacity.

[0062] exist Figure 5D In the marker detail settings screen 500, the marker width and height settings 551 are set to a 100% mask, and the marker aspect ratio settings 561 are set to 4:3. Therefore, in Figure 5D In the main video area 450, the 4:3 aspect ratio marker 560 is displayed with a mask that has 100% opacity.

[0063] Figure 6A and Figure 6B This is an example of a camera control application screen used for PTZ operation. As described in detail below, the operating state of the orientation limit button 623 is... Figure 6A Camera control application screen 400 and Figure 6BThe camera control application screens differ between versions 400. When the user touches and presses the... Figure 4A When the PTZ operation button 481 is in the operation area 480, the screen switches to... Figure 6A and Figure 6B The camera control application screen 400 shown is shown.

[0064] exist Figure 6A and Figure 6B The camera control application screen 400 displays the PTZ operation screen 600. The PTZ operation screen 600 includes a power off button 601, a zoom operation button 611, a directional button 621, a joystick 622, and a directional limit button 623. When the user touches and presses the power off button 601, the camera control application screen 400 hides the PTZ operation screen 600.

[0065] When a user touches and presses the zoom operation button 611, the camera control application changes the zoom ratio of the camera 100, which is the controlled camera. Specifically, the camera control application controls the zoom ratio of the camera 100 so that touching and pressing the zoom operation button 611 upwards performs a zoom-in operation, and touching and pressing the zoom operation button 611 downwards performs a zoom-out operation. Furthermore, the camera control application displays the video received from the camera 100 after the zoom ratio change in the main video area 450 and the secondary video area 460 of the camera control application screen 400. When a zoom operation is performed on the camera 100, the field of view (view) of the captured video, for example, from... Figure 7A Change to Figure 7B Furthermore, when zooming out is performed in camera 100, the angle of view of the captured video, for example, changes from... Figure 7A Change to Figure 7C If it is possible to change the zoom ratio of camera 100, the operation is not limited to using the zoom operation button 611. While the zoom operation button 611 is touched and pressed in the camera control application, the mobile phone 200 sends the change in zoom ratio to camera 100 at regular intervals. The change in zoom ratio can be a predetermined value or a value set by the user.

[0066] When the user touches and presses the directional button 621, the camera control application changes the pan / tilt position of the camera 100. When the touched and pressed directional button 621 indicates the up direction, the camera control application tilts the camera 100 upwards. When the touched and pressed directional button 621 indicates the down direction, the camera control application tilts the camera 100 downwards. When the touched and pressed directional button 621 indicates the left direction, the camera control application pans the camera 100 to the left. When the touched and pressed directional button 621 indicates the right direction, the camera control application pans the camera 100 to the right. When the touched and pressed directional button 621 indicates the upper right direction, the camera control application pans the camera 100 to the right and tilts the camera 100 upwards. When the touched and pressed directional button 621 indicates the lower right direction, the camera control application pans the camera 100 to the right and tilts the camera 100 downwards. When the directional button 621, which has been touched and pressed, indicates the lower left direction, the camera control application pans the camera 100 to the left and tilts it downwards. When the directional button 621, which has been touched and pressed, indicates the upper left direction, the camera control application pans the camera 100 to the left and tilts it upwards. During the touching and pressing of the directional button 621 in the camera control application, the mobile phone 200 sends pan and tilt movements to the camera 100 at regular intervals. The pan and tilt movements can be predetermined values ​​or values ​​set by the user.

[0067] The joystick 622 is an interface that uses a center as a reference position and inputs direction and displacement relative to the reference position based on sliding operations. It can be... Figure 6A The joystick 622 operates in a 360° direction. In this case, such as Figure 6A As shown, the background of the joystick 622 is colored in all 360° directions, making it clear that the operable direction is 360°. Furthermore, it can be determined by... Figure 6B The joystick 622 can be operated in four directions (i.e., up, down, left, and right). In this case, as... Figure 6B As shown, the background of the joystick 622 is colored in four directions (i.e., up, down, left, and right) to clearly indicate that the four operable directions are up, down, left, and right. The user touches and presses the direction restriction button 623 to switch the operable directions of the joystick 622. When the operable direction of the joystick 622 is 360°, the camera control application screen 400 displays as shown. Figure 6AThe direction restriction button 623 is shown. When the directions operable by the joystick 622 are four (i.e., up, down, left, and right), the camera control application screen 400 is displayed. Figure 6B The direction restriction button 623 is shown.

[0068] When the user makes a sliding operation on the joystick 622, the camera control application determines, based on the input direction θ and displacement d, how... Figure 8 The horizontal displacement dh and vertical displacement dv are shown. Horizontal displacement is an example of the change in the roll direction. Vertical displacement is an example of the change in the pitch direction. Direction θ is the angle of the joystick 622 centered on the reference position, and has a value range of 0° to 360° (greater than or equal to 0 rad and less than 2π rad). Additionally, if the directions operable by the joystick 622 are four (i.e., up, down, left, and right), then direction θ is limited to 0°, 90°, 180°, and 270° (0 rad, π / 2 rad, π rad, and 3π / 2 rad). Horizontal displacement dh is calculated by d × cosθ. Furthermore, vertical displacement dv is calculated by d × sinθ.

[0069] When the horizontal displacement dh has a positive value, the camera control application causes the camera 100 to pan to the right at a speed corresponding to the absolute value of the horizontal displacement dh. When the horizontal displacement dh has a negative value, the camera control application causes the camera 100 to pan to the left at a speed corresponding to the absolute value of the horizontal displacement dh. When the vertical displacement dv has a positive value, the camera control application causes the camera 100 to tilt upwards at a speed corresponding to the absolute value of the vertical displacement dv. When the vertical displacement dv has a negative value, the camera control application causes the camera 100 to tilt downwards at a speed corresponding to the absolute value of the vertical displacement dv.

[0070] Furthermore, if the horizontal and vertical displacements of the joystick 622 can be obtained from a reference position, this disclosure is not limited to the calculation method described above. During the sliding of the joystick 622 in the camera control application, the portable telephone 200 sends pan and pitch movements to the camera 100 at regular intervals. The pan movement is a value obtained by multiplying the horizontal displacement by a predetermined coefficient. The pitch movement is a value obtained by multiplying the vertical displacement by a predetermined coefficient. Here, the predetermined coefficient can be a predetermined value or a value set by the user. Furthermore, if the pan and pitch movements can be determined based on the operation of the joystick 622, this disclosure is not limited to the calculation method described above. The camera control application controls the camera 100 to move the pan and pitch positions in the direction input by the joystick 622 at a unique ratio. <Description of the roll / pitch drive process>

[0071] Figure 9 The flow of pan / tilt drive control operation in portable telephone 200 is shown. Figure 9 The flowchart shown illustrates how the control unit 201 loads the program recorded in the non-volatile memory 203 into the working memory 204 to execute the program. This, along with the above... Figure 1 Start Description Figure 9 The process. When the user touches and presses the PTZ operation button 481 and the PTZ operation screen 600 is displayed, Figure 9 The flowchart shown begins.

[0072] In step S901, the control unit 201 detects the input of a pan / tilt operation and determines whether a pan / tilt operation has been input. A pan / tilt operation is, for example, used for touching and pressing as... Figure 6A and Figure 6B The operation of the directional button 621 or the sliding joystick 622 is shown. When it is determined that a pan / tilt operation has been input, the control unit 201 executes the processing in step S902. When the control unit 201 determines that a pan / tilt operation has not been input, it continues the processing in step S901 and continues to detect the input of a pan / tilt operation. This pan / tilt operation is an example of a first acquisition component, which is configured to acquire control information for indicating the amount of change in the pan direction and the amount of change in the pitch direction of the camera device.

[0073] In step S902, the control unit 201 determines the horizontal and vertical displacements based on the roll / pitch operation and stores the determined horizontal and vertical displacements in the working memory 204. When using... Figure 6A and Figure 6B In the case of pan / tilt operation of the control joystick 622 shown, according to Figure 8 To determine the horizontal displacement dh and the vertical displacement dv. In using Figure 6A and Figure 6B In the case of pan / tilt operation using the directional buttons 621, the horizontal displacement dh and vertical displacement dv are determined based on the direction of the button that has been touched and pressed. When the left / right directional button 621 is touched and pressed, the horizontal displacement dh is a predetermined value and the vertical displacement dv is 0. When the vertical directional button 621 is touched and pressed, the horizontal displacement dh is 0 and the vertical displacement dv is a predetermined value. When the diagonal directional button 621 is touched and pressed, both the horizontal displacement dh and the vertical displacement dv are predetermined values, and the ratio of the horizontal displacement dh to the vertical displacement dv is 1:1. Furthermore, the predetermined values ​​can be user-specified values.

[0074] In step S903, the control unit 201 acquires the current pan / tilt position of the camera 100 via the connection unit 211. This process is an example of a second acquisition component configured to acquire the current pan and current tilt directions of the camera device. (Refer to...) Figure 10 Describes the current roll / pitch position. The roll position is the position in the roll direction, and the pitch position is the position in the pitch direction. For example, the roll and pitch positions can be represented by coordinates in a roll coordinate system and a pitch coordinate system, respectively. Furthermore, the roll / pitch position can be represented by coordinates in a roll / pitch coordinate system. Additionally, the roll position can be represented by an angle (rotation position) relative to the rotation axis in the roll direction. Similarly, the pitch position can also be represented by an angle (rotation position) relative to the rotation axis in the pitch direction.

[0075] exist Figure 10 In the diagram, the horizontal axis represents the pan direction, the vertical axis represents the pitch direction, and the square frame represents the movable range of the pan / pitch drive. Figure 10 Reference numeral 1001 in the figure indicates the right limit of the movable range in the panning direction (i.e., the right movable range limit). Figure 10 Reference numeral 1002 in the figure indicates the left limit of the movable range in the panning direction (i.e., the left movable range limit). Figure 10 Reference numeral 1003 in the figure indicates the upper limit of the movable range in the pitch direction (i.e., the upper movable range limit). Figure 10 Reference numeral 1004 in the figure indicates the lower limit of the movable range in the pitch direction (i.e., the lower movable range limit). Figure 10 The reference numeral 1005 in the attached figure indicates the current pan / pitch position.

[0076] In step S904, the control unit 201 calculates the pan / tilt control value based on the horizontal displacement dh and vertical displacement dv stored in the working memory 204 in step S902 and the current pan / tilt position obtained in step S903. Furthermore, in step S904, the control unit 201 sends the calculated pan / tilt control value to the camera 100 via the connection unit 211. The detailed operation of step S904 will be described below. Figure 11 As described in the flowchart.

[0077] In step S905, the control unit 201 determines whether the input of the pan / tilt operation has ended by detecting the input of the pan / tilt operation. If the control unit 201 determines that the input of the pan / tilt operation has not ended, the process continues by returning to step S902. If the control unit 201 determines that the input of the pan / tilt operation has ended, after the stop control value for stopping the pan / tilt drive is sent to the camera 100 via the connection unit 211, Figure 9 The flowchart processing in step S904 ends. Since the stop control value for the roll / pitch drive has already been sent in step S904, the control unit 201 may choose not to send the stop control value for the roll / pitch drive in step S905.

[0078] Next, we will refer to Figure 11 Detailed description Figure 9 The calculation of the roll / pitch control values ​​in step S904. Figure 11 It is as a need to Figure 9 An illustrative flowchart of the pan / tilt drive process performed in step S904 at the limit of the movable range of the pan / tilt drive of the portable telephone 200.

[0079] In step S1101, the control unit 201 obtains the range of motion for pan / tilt operations on the camera 100 via the connection unit 211. The range of motion for pan / tilt operations is... Figure 10 The movable range limits are 1001, 1002, 1003, and 1004. The movable range limit for the pan / tilt drive is the physical movable range limit of the pan / tilt drive of the imaging unit 102 of the camera 100, but it can also be a movable range limit set by software. This process is an example of a third acquisition component configured to acquire a first movable range limit as a movable range limit in the pan direction of the imaging device and a second movable range limit as a movable range limit in the tilt direction of the imaging device.

[0080] In step S1102, the control unit 201 determines whether the current roll / pitch position 1005 obtained in step S903 has reached one of the movable range limits 1001 to 1004 of the roll / pitch drive. If the control unit 201 determines that the current roll / pitch position 1005 has reached one of the movable range limits 1001 to 1004, the process in S1103 is executed. If the control unit 201 determines that the current roll / pitch position 1005 has not yet reached one of the movable range limits 1001 to 1004, the process in S1105 is executed. Furthermore, when the current roll / pitch position 1005 reaches any one of the movable range limits 1001 to 1004 of the roll / pitch drive, the control unit 201 stores a setting value indicating that the current roll / pitch position 1005 has reached the movable range limit in the working memory 204. For example, when the current pan / pitch position 1005 has reached the right movable range limit 1001, the setting value indicating the right movable range limit 1001 is stored in the working memory 204.

[0081] In step S1103, the control unit 201 determines whether the incident angle for the roll / pitch operation with respect to the movable range limits 1001 to 1004 is greater than a predetermined value. When the control unit 201 determines that the incident angle for the roll / pitch operation with respect to the movable range limits 1001 to 1004 is greater than the predetermined value, the process in step S1104 is executed. When the control unit 201 determines that the incident angle for the roll / pitch operation with respect to the movable range limits 1001 to 1004 is less than or equal to the predetermined value, the process in step S1105 is executed. (Refer to the following...) Figures 12A to 12C To describe this.

[0082] Figure 12A The angle of incidence for roll / pitch operation with respect to the lower movable range limit 1004 is shown. Figure 12A In the attached figure, reference numeral 1201 indicates a predetermined value for the angle of incidence. Furthermore, in... Figure 12A In the attached drawing, reference numeral 1202 indicates the roll / pitch operation direction when the angle of incidence for the lower movable range limit 1004 is less than or equal to a predetermined value. Furthermore, in... Figure 12A In the attached drawing, reference numeral 1203 indicates the roll / pitch operation direction when the angle of incidence for the lower movable range limit 1004 is greater than a predetermined value. Furthermore, when a roll / pitch operation has been performed in the opposite direction from the reached movable range limit, the control unit 201 determines that the angle of incidence for the movable range limit has a negative value (i.e., less than or equal to a predetermined value).

[0083] In step S1104, the control unit 201 sends a pan / tilt drive stop control value to the camera 100 via the connection unit 211. If the camera 100 receives the pan / tilt drive stop control value from the mobile phone 200 via the connection unit 111, the pan / tilt drive of the camera unit 102 stops. Figure 12A As indicated by the operation direction 1203, when the angle of incidence for the pan / pitch operation relative to the lower movable range limit 1004 is greater than a predetermined value, because the processing of step S1104 is executed, therefore... Figure 12C As shown, the roll and pitch drives both to stop.

[0084] In step S1105, the control unit 201 calculates the pan / pitch control values ​​based on the horizontal displacement dh and vertical displacement dv stored in the working memory 204 in step S902 and the current pan / pitch position obtained in step S903. Furthermore, in step S1105, the control unit 201 sends the calculated pan / pitch control values ​​to the camera 100 via the connection unit 211. The pan control value is calculated by multiplying the horizontal displacement dh by a coefficient. The pitch control value is calculated by multiplying the vertical displacement dv by a coefficient. The coefficient can be a predetermined value or a value specified by the user. Figure 12A As indicated by the operation direction 1202, if the angle of incidence for the pan / pitch operation relative to the lower movable range limitation 1004 is less than or equal to a predetermined value, then because the processing in step S1105 is performed, therefore... Figure 12B Continue with the roll / pitch drive as shown.

[0085] thus, Figure 11 The flowchart processing in the process ends. Additionally, in step S1103, the control unit 201 can always proceed to step S1105. In this case, after the roll / pitch drive reaches the limit of its movable range, the roll / pitch operation stops in any direction. Although in Figure 11 The flowchart indicates that the input of pan / tilt operation is stopped, or the pan / tilt drive is stopped, until a pan / tilt operation in a direction other than the already reached movable range limit is input. However, the pan / tilt drive can be restarted after a predetermined time period. That is, in this case, the control unit 201 controls the camera 100 to stop both pan and tilt drive during the input of pan / tilt operation until a predetermined time has elapsed since the movable range limit was reached from any position of the camera 100 in the pan or tilt direction.

[0086] As described above, in the first embodiment, when the roll or pitch reaches its movement limit during roll / pitch operation, both roll and pitch drives can be stopped. Therefore, roll / pitch drives in unintended directions by the user can be prevented.

[0087] Although a method for sending horizontal displacement dh and vertical displacement dv to the camera for control values ​​of the pan / tilt drive has been described in this embodiment, the control values ​​for the pan / tilt drive can also be absolute position, relative position, or direction and velocity, if the pan / tilt drive can be controlled by any method. While in this embodiment a pan / tilt drive stop control value is sent to the camera when the pan / tilt drive's movable range limit is reached, the camera's pan / tilt drive can stop without sending a control value. Furthermore, once a pan / tilt drive stop control value has been sent, it is not necessary to send it again. Additionally, the pan / tilt drive stop control value can be a stop command, or if the movement of the pan / tilt drive is controlled by a relative position, a "0" can be sent. Furthermore, when the movement of the pan / tilt drive is controlled by an absolute position, the current position can be sent.

[0088] Although the process for stopping both roll and pitch operations at the limit of the movable range has been described in this embodiment, the state of this process can also be switched to an active or inactive state according to user settings. When the process is inactive, for example, in Figure 11 In step S1102 of the flowchart, the process always moves to the process in step S1105. <Second Embodiment>

[0089] A second embodiment of this disclosure will be described. In this second embodiment, a method for stopping pan / tilt drive at a limit of the movable range without changing the drive direction will be described. Because the camera 100 and display control device 200, which are constituent elements of this embodiment, are... Figures 1 to 3 The camera 100 and display control device 200 are similar, so their description will be omitted. <Description of the roll / pitch control process>

[0090] Figure 13 This is an illustrative flow of the pan / tilt control in the portable telephone 200 according to the second embodiment. Figure 13 In the steps of the flowchart, perform with Figure 11 The same processing steps in the flowchart are handled by the same process as... Figure 11 The same reference numerals are used in the accompanying drawings, and their descriptions will be omitted.

[0091] In step S1301, the control unit 201 calculates the panning / tilting position after movement based on the horizontal displacement dh and vertical displacement dv stored in the working memory 204 in step S902 and the current position of the panning / tilting operation acquired in step S903. Figure 10 The x-coordinate of the current panning / tilting position 1005 is represented by Ax, and the y-coordinate thereof is represented by Ay. When panning is driven by the horizontal displacement dh only in the right direction, the position in the panning direction after movement is represented by Ax+dh. When panning is driven by the horizontal displacement dh only in the left direction, the position in the panning direction after movement is represented by Ax-dh. When tilting is driven by the vertical displacement dv only in the upward direction, the position in the tilting direction after movement is represented by Ay+dv. When tilting is driven by the vertical displacement dv only in the downward direction, the position in the tilting direction after movement is represented by Ay-dv.

[0092] In step S1302, the control unit 201 determines whether the panning / tilting position after movement calculated in step S1301 exceeds Figure 10 any of the movable range limits 1001 to 1004 for panning / tilting driving shown. When the control unit 201 determines that the panning / tilting position after movement exceeds any of the movable range limits 1001 to 1004 for panning / tilting driving, the process of step S1303 is performed. When the control unit 201 determines that the panning / tilting position after movement does not exceed any of the movable range limits 1001 to 1004 for panning / tilting driving, the process of step S1105 is performed.

[0093] In Figure 10 , the x-coordinate of the right movable range limit 1001 is represented by Rx, the x-coordinate of the left movable range limit 1002 is represented by Lx, the y-coordinate of the upper movable range limit 1003 is represented by Ty, and the y-coordinate of the lower movable range limit 1004 is represented by By. When panning is driven by the horizontal displacement dh only in the right direction, if Ax+dh>Rx, the control unit 201 determines in step S1302 that the position exceeds the movable range limit 1001. Furthermore, when panning is driven by the horizontal displacement dh only in the left direction, if Ax-dh<Lx, the control unit 201 determines in step S1302 that the position exceeds the movable range limit 1002. Furthermore, when tilting is driven by the vertical displacement dv only in the upward direction, if Ay+dv>Ty, the control unit 201 determines in step S1302 that the position exceeds the movable range limit 1003. Furthermore, when tilting is driven by the vertical displacement dv only in the downward direction, if Ay-dv<By, the control unit 201 determines in step S1302 that the position exceeds the movable range limit 1004.

[0094] In step S1303, the control unit 201 recalculates the horizontal and vertical displacements so that the roll / pitch position after the movement does not exceed the movable range limit 1001 to 1004. Figure 14 This is an explanatory diagram of a method for calculating the horizontal and vertical displacements at the right movable range limit. Because the x-coordinate of the right movable range limit 1001 is... Figure 10 The horizontal displacement dh' used to stop the roll drive at the right limit of the movable range is represented by Rx, so it is calculated by Rx-Ax. Furthermore, the vertical displacement dv' used to stop the roll / pitch drive at the right limit of the movable range without changing the drive direction is calculated by dv×(dh' / dh).

[0095] In step S1105, the control unit 201 calculates the pan / tilt control values ​​based on the horizontal displacement dh' and vertical displacement dv' calculated in step S1303, and sends the calculated pan / tilt control values ​​to the camera 100 via the connection unit 211. In this way, in this embodiment, the pan / tilt drive of the camera 100 can be... Figure 14 Stop at position 1401.

[0096] As described above, in the second embodiment, the roll / pitch drive can be stopped at the limit of the movable range without changing the drive direction. <Other Embodiments>

[0097] Although this disclosure has been described in detail based on preferred embodiments, it is not limited to these specific embodiments, and various forms are included in this disclosure without departing from the spirit of the invention. Some embodiments described above may be suitably combined. In order to implement the functional processing of this disclosure in a computer, the program code supplied to and installed on the computer also implements this disclosure. In other words, the computer program used to implement the functional processing of this disclosure is also included in this disclosure. In this case, the program form, including object code, programs executed by an interpreter, and script data supplied to the OS, is not limited as long as it provides the functionality of the program. Embodiments of the present invention can also be implemented by providing software (including computer program products of computer programs) that performs the functions of the above embodiments to a system or device via a network or various storage media, and the computer (central processing unit (CPU) or microprocessor unit (MPU) of the system or device) reads and executes the computer program. While this disclosure has been described with reference to embodiments, it should be understood that this disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. The scope of the appended claims should be given the broadest interpretation to cover all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions. This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application 2025-050978, filed on March 26, 2025, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Claims

1. A control device, comprising: The first acquisition unit is configured to acquire control information for indicating the amount of change in the pan direction and the amount of change in the pitch direction of the camera device; The second acquisition component is configured to acquire the current pan direction and current pitch direction of the camera device; The third acquisition component is configured to acquire a first movable range limit as a movable range limit in the pan direction of the camera device and a second movable range limit as a movable range limit in the pitch direction of the camera device. as well as A control unit is configured to control the camera device’s changes in the pan and pitch directions based on acquired control information, and to stop changes in both the pan and pitch directions when the current pan direction reaches the first movable range limit or when the current pitch direction reaches the second movable range limit.

2. The control device according to claim 1, wherein, The control unit outputs control values ​​to the camera device for changing the pan and pitch directions.

3. The control device according to claim 2, wherein, After the current panning direction reaches the first movable range limit or the current pitch direction reaches the second movable range limit, the control value is not output to the camera device.

4. The control device according to claim 1, wherein, The control unit sends information to the camera device, the information indicating a first position relative to the current rotation position corresponding to the current pan direction of the camera device and a second position relative to the current rotation position corresponding to the current pitch direction of the camera device.

5. The control device according to claim 4, wherein, After the current roll direction reaches the first movable range limit or the current pitch direction reaches the second movable range limit, the information used to indicate the relative first position and the relative second position is set to a value indicating 0.

6. The control device according to claim 2, wherein, After the current roll direction reaches the first movable range limit or the current pitch direction reaches the second movable range limit, the control value is set to a value indicating that there is no change.

7. The control device according to claim 1, wherein, The control unit sends information to the camera device, the information indicating a first rotational position corresponding to the panning direction of the camera device and a second rotational position corresponding to the pitch direction of the camera device.

8. The control device according to claim 7, wherein, After the current panning direction reaches the first movable range limit or the current pitch direction reaches the second movable range limit, the information used to indicate the first rotation position and the second rotation position is set to a value used to indicate the current first rotation position and the current second rotation position.

9. The control device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, in, The control information includes the amount of change in the roll direction and the amount of change in the pitch direction, and The camera device is controlled such that the panning direction and the pitch direction change at a unique ratio in the directions corresponding to the control information.

10. The control device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein, If the current roll direction reaches the first movable range limit or the current pitch direction reaches the second movable range limit, and the change in the roll direction of the first movable range limit and the change in the pitch direction of the second movable range limit are greater than a predetermined value, then the change in both the roll direction and the pitch direction shall be stopped.

11. The control device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein, Stop changing both the roll direction and the pitch direction until a predetermined time period has elapsed after the current roll direction reaches the first movable range limit or the current pitch direction reaches the second movable range limit.

12. A control method for a camera device, the control method comprising: Acquire control information to indicate the amount of change in the pan and pitch directions of the camera device; Obtain the current pan and pitch directions of the camera device; A first movable range limit is obtained as a limitation on the movable range in the pan direction of the camera device, and a second movable range limit is obtained as a limitation on the movable range in the pitch direction of the camera device; The camera device is controlled to change in the pan and pitch directions based on the acquired control information. as well as If the current roll direction reaches the first movable range limit or the current pitch direction reaches the second movable range limit, stop changing the roll direction and the pitch direction.

13. A computer program product comprising a program for causing a computer to perform the method of claim 12.

14. A computer-readable storage medium storing a program for causing a computer to perform the method according to claim 12.

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