Industrial camera

Abstract

Industrial camera (20) which includes the following: - a camera body or camera housing (22) which carries image sensors (24) inside and is suitable for connecting an optical system (26); - a printed circuit board (28) housed in the camera body; - a first electrical connector (30) which is carried by the camera housing and is electrically connected to the printed circuit board (28), wherein: - the printed circuit board (28) comprises: at least one first circuit section (28a-28e) configured to accommodate electronic components for optical control or regulation, which serve to control or regulate a deformable optical element (32), and at least one second circuit section (28f-28i) configured to accommodate electronic interface components implementing a serial interface, - some pins of the first electrical connector (30) are connected to both the at least one first circuit section and the at least one second circuit section, so that control outputs of the deformable optical element (32) and control outputs of the serial interface can be implemented alternately.

Description

[0001] The subject of the present invention is an industrial camera.

[0002] Industrial cameras with CMOS image sensors are widely known and are used, for example, for the quality control of parts.

[0003] In some embodiments, an optical assembly is mounted on each of the industrial cameras, which includes a deformable optical element, also referred to as a liquid lens, which is deformable when exposed to an electric current or a voltage difference. Fig. Figure 1 schematically shows a typical design of an industrial camera 100, to which an optical assembly 102 is attached, comprising a prior art liquid lens 103. The liquid lens 103 is controlled by an external driver 104. The camera 100 and the external driver 104 are controlled by a processing unit 105.

[0004] It can be seen that the presence of the external driver 104 requires the use of at least three cables (a first cable for connecting the industrial camera 100 to the processing unit 105, a second cable for connecting the external driver 104 to the processing unit 105, and a third cable for connecting the external driver 104 to the liquid lens 103) and a complex configuration.

[0005] In some embodiments, the industrial camera 100 may be connected to an additional external device via a serial interface 106, e.g., RS232 or RS485.

[0006] The aim of the invention is to provide an industrial camera which, with the same dimensions and production costs, is significantly more flexible in its application possibilities and has a higher effectiveness and ease of use than the industrial cameras of the above-mentioned prior art.

[0007] Another object of this present invention is to propose an industrial camera that allows a simpler and more practical construction.

[0008] The technical characteristics of the invention in the sense of the aforementioned purposes are clearly evident from the content of the following claims, and the advantages of the invention will become more apparent in the following detailed description with reference to the attached drawings, which show one or more purely illustrative and non-limiting embodiments in which - Fig. Figure 1 shows an example of an industrial camera to which an optical assembly with a liquid lens according to the prior art is mounted; - Fig. Figure 2 is a rear perspective view of an industrial camera according to the invention; - Fig. 3 a perspective partial sectional view of the industrial camera from Fig. 2 is; - Fig. 4 a detail of the connector of the industrial camera from Fig. 2, which provides power and control to the camera; - Fig. 5 is a table showing the pin assignment of the connector Fig. 4 shows; - the Fig. 6 and Fig. 6a shows two plan views of the opposite sides of the printed circuit board of the industrial camera according to the invention, on which the components highlighted in the boxes for controlling a liquid lens are mounted; - the Fig. 7 and Fig. 7a shows two plan views of the opposite sides of the printed circuit board of the industrial camera according to the invention, on which the components for the RS232 / 485 serial interface highlighted in the boxes are mounted; - Fig. 8 shows an example of a structure of the industrial camera according to the invention, on which an optical system equipped with a liquid lens is mounted; and - the Fig. 9 and Fig. 9a are equivalent circuits illustrating the configuration of the circuit arrangement for the RS232 / 485 interface of the industrial camera according to the invention.

[0009] With reference to the attached drawings, the entirety of an industrial camera is designated 20.

[0010] The camera 20 has a camera body or a camera housing 22, e.g. in the form of a parallelepiped.

[0011] The camera housing 22 carries image sensors 24, e.g., CMOS image sensors, inside it.

[0012] The camera housing 22 is suitable for connecting an optical system 26 ( Fig. 8).

[0013] A printed circuit board 28 is housed in the camera housing 22.

[0014] The camera housing 22 carries a first electrical connector 30 which is electrically connected to the printed circuit board 28.

[0015] According to one aspect of the present invention, the printed circuit board 28 comprises first circuit sections 28a, 28b, 28c, 28d, 28e configured to accommodate electronic components for optical control ( Fig. 6 and Fig. 6a), which serve to control a deformable optical element 32, e.g. a liquid lens, and second circuit sections 28f, 28g, 28h, 28i, which are configured to accommodate electronic interface components ( Fig. 7 and Fig. 7a), which implement a serial interface.

[0016] The Fig. 6 and Fig. Figure 6a shows two opposing top views of the printed circuit board 28 in the case of the camera 20, which serves to control the deformable optical element 32. The boxes a with solid lines indicate the first circuit sections 28a-28e, on which the electronic components of the optical element are mounted. The boxes with dashed lines indicate the second circuit sections 28f-28i without electronic interface components. In fact, only the pads for electrically connecting the electrical terminals of the electronic interface components are visible.

[0017] The Fig. 7 and Fig. 7a shows two opposing top views of the printed circuit board 28 in the case of the camera 20 configured for implementing a serial interface. The boxes a with solid lines indicate the second circuit sections 28f-28i, on which the electronic interface components are mounted. The boxes with dashed lines indicate the first circuit sections 28a-28e without electronic components of the optical element. In fact, only the pads for electrically connecting the electrical terminals of the electronic components of the optical element are visible.

[0018] It should be noted that the printed circuit board 28 is identical in terms of circuit layout for both camera configurations. The printed circuit board 28 therefore differs between the two configurations only in the presence or absence of the electronic components responsible for implementing the specific control functions of the deformable optical element and the serial interface.

[0019] During the assembly phase, it is therefore possible to choose which version should be mounted depending on the specific purpose of the camera.

[0020] In one embodiment (which could, however, entail an increase in production costs and assembly time), the printed circuit board 28 could be configured to allow the assembly of all the electronic components intended for the realization of both the control functions of the deformable optical element and the serial interface.

[0021] In one embodiment, the second circuit sections 28f-28i are configured to accommodate both electronic components suitable for implementing a serial RS232 protocol and electronic components suitable for implementing a serial RS485 protocol.

[0022] In this case, the electronic components include integrated devices that act as transceivers to enable switching from the RS232 serial protocol to the RS485 serial protocol and vice versa.

[0023] The Fig. 9 and Fig. 9a are equivalent circuits dedicated to configuring the serial interface circuitry to implement both the RS232 and RS485 protocols.

[0024] In one embodiment, the deformable optical element 32 is a liquid lens. In this case, the first circuit sections 28a-28e are configured to enable control of a current flowing through the liquid lens or a voltage difference at the ends of the liquid lens.

[0025] In one embodiment, the first circuit sections 28a-28e are further configured to accommodate electronic components suitable for implementing an I2C communication bus to exchange data with the deformable optical element 32, e.g., to read its identification and calibration parameters, as well as its operating temperature.

[0026] According to one aspect of the invention, the first electrical connector 30 is used to power and control the printed circuit board 28, both when it is configured to control the deformable optical element 32 and when it is configured to implement the serial interface.

[0027] For this purpose, some pins of the first electrical connector 30 are connected to both the first circuit sections 28a-28e and the second circuit sections 28f-28i in order to alternately realize both control outputs of the deformable optical element 32 and control outputs of the serial interface RS232 / 485.

[0028] The Fig. 4 and Fig. 5 shows an example of a twelve-pin first electrical connector 30.

[0029] In particular, Fig. Figure 5 is a table showing the pinout of the first electrical connector 30. In the table, the left column indicates the number of each pin, the middle column indicates the function of each pin in the case of a camera configured to control the deformable optical element 32, and the right column indicates the function of each pin in the case of a camera configured to implement the RS232 / 485 serial interface.

[0030] It should be noted in particular that pins 3, 5, 8, 9, 12 have a different function depending on whether they are connected to the respective terminals of the electronic components dedicated to the control of the deformable optical element 32 or whether they are connected to the respective terminals of the electronic components implementing the RS232 / 485 serial interface.

[0031] The industrial camera 20 is also equipped with a second electrical connector 40 for connecting the printed circuit board 28 to an external control and processing unit 42, e.g., a personal computer.

[0032] In one embodiment, the printed circuit board 28 and the second electrical connector 40 are adapted to implement an Ethernet interface.

[0033] Fig. 8 schematically shows an example of the structure of the industrial camera 20 when it is connected to an optical system comprising a liquid lens 32.

[0034] The industrial camera 20 is connected to the liquid lens 32 via the first electrical connector 30 and the associated first cable 46, e.g., a Hirose type with 6 to 12 pins. The industrial camera 20 is also connected to a personal computer 42 via an Ethernet interface using the associated Ethernet cable 44.

[0035] The use of a camera 20 according to the invention with a control of a liquid lens 32 enables the installation of a simpler system with fewer components than the systems according to the prior art ( Fig. 1) and with the possibility of taking advantage of the Ethernet cable. On production lines, the control PC 42 is often located far away from the industrial camera. The use of a camera that can control the liquid lens 32 makes it possible to have a single Ethernet cable 44, even a very long one, and to use a very short cable 46 to connect the camera 20 to the liquid lens 32.

[0036] The advantages of being able to control the liquid lens 32 via a printed circuit board 22 housed in the industrial camera 20 can be summarized as follows: - Simplification of the overall system, as no specific external control for the liquid lens is required; - The ability to control the lens via the camera's controls (no additional API or other control software required); - The ability to control the liquid lens directly from third-party software already designed for use with a camera, eliminating the need to integrate specific APIs into that software; - The ability to integrate an autofocus algorithm into the camera that uses images captured directly by the sensor, without having to transfer them to a PC for analysis. This makes the process faster and more deterministic.

[0037] The advantages of a dual serial RS232 and RS 484 protocol in the camera are: - The ability to communicate with external devices other than the PC 42 that controls the camera; - Flexibility in the choice of communication interface; - The ability to integrate more complex communication protocols into the camera, such as: - Binary, which allows sending binary data (for both RS232 and RS485); - ASCII, which presells (Italian: prevende) the sending and receiving of ASCII characters (for both RS232 and RS485); - Modbus RTU, a serial bus protocol based on request / response between client and server (RS485 only) and widely used in industry.

[0038] In both configurations of the camera 20, the control outputs for the liquid lens and the serial protocol are located on the same first electrical connector 30. Thus, both camera versions have the same external appearance and are equipped with the same connectors, facilitating user installation and reducing the inventory of accessories.

[0039] The development of a modular component also allows the manufacturer to reduce production and storage costs while increasing the inventory of models produced.

[0040] The invention thus conceived therefore achieves the objectives set.

[0041] Of course, in its practical implementation, it may also take on forms and designs other than those described above, without thereby departing from the scope of protection.

[0042] In addition, all parts can be replaced by technically equivalent elements, and the dimensions, shapes and materials used can be any, depending on requirements.

Claims

[1] Industrial camera (20) comprising: - a camera body or a camera housing (22) which carries image sensors (24) in its interior and which is suitable for the connection of an optical system (26); - a printed circuit board (28) housed in the camera body; - a first electrical connector (30) carried by the camera body and electrically connected to the printed circuit board (28), wherein: - the printed circuit board (28) comprises: at least a first circuit section (28a-28e) configured to accommodate electronic components for optical control or regulation used to control or regulate a deformable optical element (32), and at least a second circuit section (28f-28i) configured to accommodate electronic interface components that implement a serial interface, - some pins of the first electrical connector (30) are connected both to the at least one first circuit section and to the at least one second circuit section, so that both control or regulating outputs of the deformable optical element (32) and control or regulating outputs of the serial interface can be realized alternately. [2] Industrial camera according to claim 1, wherein the at least one second circuit section (28f-28i) is configured to accommodate both electronic components suitable for implementing a serial RS232 protocol and electronic components suitable for implementing a serial RS485 protocol, wherein said at least one second circuit section comprises integrated components acting as transceivers to enable switching from the serial RS232 protocol to the serial RS485 protocol and vice versa. [3] Industrial camera according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, when the deformable optical element (32) is a liquid lens, the at least one first circuit section (28a-28e) is configured to enable the control of a current flowing through the liquid lens or a voltage difference at the ends of the liquid lens. [4] Industrial camera according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one first circuit section (28a-28e) is configured to further accommodate electronic components suitable for implementing an I2C communication bus for data exchange with the deformable optical element (32). [5] Industrial camera according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the camera housing (22) further carries a second electrical connector (40) connected to the printed circuit board (28), the second electrical connector (40) and the printed circuit board (28) being configured to implement an Ethernet interface for connection to an external processing and control unit (42). [6] A machine vision system comprising an industrial camera (20) according to any one of the preceding claims, an optical system (26) connected to the industrial camera, the optical system (26) comprising a deformable optical element (32) connected to the printed circuit board (28) of the industrial camera (20) by means of the first electrical connector (30) and a corresponding first cable (46). [7] The system of claim 6, wherein the camera housing (22) further carries a second electrical connector (40) connected to the printed circuit board (28), the second electrical connector (40) and the printed circuit board (28) being configured to implement an Ethernet interface for connection to an external processing and control unit (42) via an Ethernet cable.

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