Display system, infrared camera, and display control method

Abstract

To provide a display system which allows a desired parameter to be selected and displayed with good workability regardless of restrictions on the number of operation tools such as buttons and a screen size.SOLUTION: The display system displays icons representing parameters of image processing one by one in sequence (S14) each time a user depresses a switching button (S16), and the display system switches an image being displayed as an object of the image processing to an image appropriate for adjustment of a parameter represented by an icon (S23) which is displayed when the user depresses a determination button (S15).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a display system, an infrared camera, and a display control method. [Background technology]

[0002] Small handheld imaging devices such as home video cameras are equipped with a display of about 3 inches that displays the subject and captured images, and the user can, for example, flip the display 90 degrees from the side of the housing to view the image while capturing. Such imaging devices can also display operation guides for setting conditions for capturing and displaying images on the display, and some imaging devices are also known that have a touch panel function and display a GUI (Graphical User Interface), thereby reducing the number of mechanical buttons on the housing.

[0003] Furthermore, facilities such as production facilities for producing natural gas or oil, and production plants that use gas to produce chemical products, have pipes and devices through which gas flows and tanks for storing gas located within their premises or buildings. In these facilities, leaks of flammable or toxic gases are detected early by capturing images of structures such as tanks using infrared cameras that detect and visualize gas (e.g., Patent Documents 1 to 4). Infrared cameras for gas monitoring detect gas based on the temporal difference between video infrared images, convert the difference into gas concentration, and generate a visualized gas image by coloring it according to the concentration. Infrared cameras for gas monitoring can also be equipped with a visible light imaging camera, which can superimpose (overlap) the gas image on a visible light image captured simultaneously with the infrared image, thereby visually indicating the location of the leak. Infrared images can also be used to generate thermal distribution images and detect abnormally high temperatures. Such infrared cameras are used as fixed-point devices installed within the facility or as handheld devices carried by workers patrolling the facility. Conventional handheld infrared cameras are connected to a mobile information terminal such as a tablet or laptop, and the presence or absence of abnormalities such as gas leaks is observed by visually viewing the synthesized image on the display. However, to reduce the burden on workers and improve workability, there is a demand for infrared cameras that have a built-in display like a home video camera and do not require the connection of an external display.

[0004] Due to the need for miniaturization and weight reduction, it is difficult to provide such infrared cameras with many mechanical buttons like a keyboard. Therefore, as with the video camera, it is desirable to display a menu screen for selecting imaging conditions and image display modes on the display, and select the menu using directional keys and push buttons, or to operate the menu screen by tapping, etc., on a touch-panel display. As described above, an infrared camera for gas monitoring detects gas from captured infrared images, etc., but it is preferable that the user be able to adjust image processing parameters such as range and sensitivity so that the user can immediately determine whether a gas leak is minor or not. Such parameter adjustments are preferably performed while images processed using parameter values ​​entered by the user are displayed sequentially on the display. Therefore, it is conceivable to display a menu screen showing multiple parameters as options on the display, alongside or overlaid on the processed or unprocessed image. However, if the display is small enough for the infrared camera, it is difficult to distinguish the parameters, and it is not easy to tap on an icon representing a desired parameter on such a menu screen. Therefore, a system has been disclosed in which only one item is displayed as a menu screen, and each time a switching button is pressed, the display switches to the next item, and when the desired item is displayed, a selection button is pressed to select the displayed item (for example, Patent Document 5). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2017 / 122660 [Patent Document 2] International Publication No. 2020 / 090229 [Patent Document 3] International Publication No. 2019 / 171777 [Patent Document 4] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2020-115082 [Patent Document 5] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-128952 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] In the system described in Patent Document 5, each time a switching button is operated, the image to be processed is switched along with the parameters on the menu screen. The user must repeatedly press the switching button until the parameters to be adjusted are displayed, which increases the amount of information processing required to switch the display. In addition, if the interval between button presses is particularly short, the display may flicker, placing a strain on the user's eyesight.

[0007] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a display system that displays an image on a display that allows a user to easily select and set desired parameters even when there are constraints on the number of operating tools such as buttons or the size of the display, an infrared camera equipped with this display system, and a display control method that displays an image for selecting and setting desired parameters. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The above-mentioned problems of the present invention can be solved by the following configuration.

[0009] (1) A display means for displaying an image, an input means including a switching button and a decision button, and a plurality of configurable parameters. image a processing unit that executes processing; Multiple Parameters One of Icon representing together with the processing target image to be subjected to the image processing. a display control unit that causes the display means to display the image; The display control unit, each time the switching button is operated, icon to the plurality of Parameters the other one of Icon representing Switch to Display on the display means At the same time, the image to be processed is continuously displayed without being changed. When the decision button is operated, a parameter setting image for setting a parameter represented by an icon displayed on the display means is displayed. , together with an image associated with the parameter, which is one of the image to be processed, an image of the image to be processed before being subjected to image processing, and an image obtained by image processing of the image or the image to be processed,Display on the display means Characterized by Display system.

[0011] ( 2 )( 1 and an imaging unit that captures an infrared image, The processing unit of the display system executes image The processing includes image processing of the infrared image captured by the imaging unit.

[0012] ( 3 ) The processing unit executes at least one of a temporal difference processing of the infrared image, a difference enhancement processing for the difference processing, a visualization processing for visualizing a predetermined monitoring target extracted from the infrared image, and a thermal image processing for generating a thermal distribution image with colors corresponding to temperatures based on the infrared image. 2 ) An infrared camera according to the present invention.

[0013] ( 4 ) the imaging unit further captures a visible light image, The processing unit further executes at least one of a differential process between the visible light image and the infrared image, a differential enhancement process for the differential process, and a synthesis process between an image generated by the visualization process and the visible light image ( 3 ) An infrared camera according to the present invention.

[0014] ( 5 ) The configurable parameters of the image processing are at least one of sensitivity, intensity range, and contrast. 3 ) An infrared camera according to the present invention.

[0015] ( 6 ) The configurable parameters of the image processing are at least one of sensitivity, intensity range, contrast, and parallax correction between the infrared image and the visible light image. 4 ) An infrared camera according to the present invention.

[0016] ( 7) The object to be monitored is a gas that is at least one of flammable and toxic ( 3 )~( 6 ) An infrared camera according to any one of the preceding claims.

[0017] ( 8 ) A display means for displaying an image, an input means including a switching button and a decision button, and a plurality of configurable parameters. image a processing unit that executes processing, and a display control method for displaying a parameter setting image for setting the parameters on the display means, the display control method comprising: When the switching button is operated, multiple Parameters One of Icon representing together with the processing target image to be subjected to the image processing. performing a parameter display step of displaying the parameters on the display means; When the decision button is operated, the parameter setting image for setting the parameter represented by the icon displayed on the display means is displayed. , together with an image associated with the parameter, which is one of the image to be processed, an image of the image to be processed before being subjected to image processing, and an image obtained by image processing of the image or the image to be processed, performing a parameter setting image display step to be displayed on the display means; The parameter display step includes: icon to the plurality of Parameters to an icon representing another one of switching hand Show At the same time, the processing object Without changing the image Continue The display control method to display. [Effects of the Invention]

[0018] The display system and display control method according to the present invention allow for easy adjustment of desired parameters and execution of processing even with a small number of operation buttons and a small menu screen size.Furthermore, the infrared camera according to the present invention allows for image processing of captured images to be executed by adjusting desired parameters. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0019] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an infrared camera according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating a display control method for a display system of an infrared camera according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a method for displaying a parameter selection image including icons representing parameters by a display system of an infrared camera according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4A] 10 is an example of an image including icons representing parameters displayed on a display unit of a display system for an infrared camera according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4B] 10 is an example of an image including icons representing parameters displayed on a display unit of a display system for an infrared camera according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4C] 10 is an example of an image including icons representing parameters displayed on a display unit of a display system for an infrared camera according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4D] 10 is an example of an image including icons representing parameters displayed on a display unit of a display system for an infrared camera according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] 10 is an example of an image including a parameter setting image displayed on a display unit of a display system for an infrared camera according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0020] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A display system and an infrared camera including the same according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0021] [Gas monitoring camera] A gas monitoring camera according to an embodiment of the present invention is used to monitor leaked gas in natural gas production facilities and the like, carried by a user (operator), to capture images of structures (monitored objects) such as storage tanks to monitor for gas leaks. As shown in Fig. 1, a gas monitoring camera (infrared camera) 10 includes a display system 1 including a display device (display means) 4, an operation unit (input means) 3, an image processing unit (processing unit) 13, and a setting image control unit (display control unit) 14, and an imaging device (imaging unit) 6 including an infrared imaging unit 62 and a visible light imaging unit 63.

[0022] (imaging device) The imaging device 6 includes an imaging control unit 61, an infrared imaging unit 62, a visible light imaging unit 63, an inertial sensor 64, and a positioning unit (positioning means) 65. The infrared imaging unit 62 is adapted to infrared light in a wavelength band absorbed by hydrocarbon gases, and the visible light imaging unit 63 is a general color or monochrome imaging device adapted to visible light. The infrared imaging unit 62 and the visible light imaging unit 63, especially the infrared imaging unit 62, are preferably capable of capturing video. In this specification, an infrared image refers to an image captured by the infrared imaging unit 62, and a visible light image refers to an image captured by the visible light imaging unit 63. Unless otherwise specified, these images are assumed to be unprocessed. The imaging device 6 is configured so that the infrared imaging unit 62 and the visible light imaging unit 63 can simultaneously capture images of the same subject. For example, the respective lenses are arranged adjacent to each other on the front of the housing of the gas monitoring camera 10.

[0023] The imaging control unit 61 is a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or a microcomputer, and controls the image sensors of the infrared imaging unit 62 and the visible light imaging unit 63. The inertial sensor 64 is an angular velocity sensor (gyro sensor) or an acceleration sensor, and observes the attitude (tilt) of the imaging device 6 (gas monitoring camera 10). The positioning unit 65 is a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiving module equipped with an antenna 65a, and acquires position information (coordinates, longitude and latitude, altitude) of the current location of the imaging device 6 (gas monitoring camera 10) based on signals received from positioning satellites or base stations. With this configuration, when the imaging device 6 captures an image, it adds the coordinates and date and time of capture to the acquired infrared image and visible light image data, and stores the image in a memory unit of the display system 1 or a memory unit (not shown) built into the imaging device 6.

[0024] (Display System) The display system 1 includes a control unit 11, a gas detection unit 12, an image processing unit (processing unit) 13, a setting image control unit (display control unit) 14, a memory unit 2, an operation unit 3, and a display device 4, and may further include a communication unit 5. The control unit 11 is a CPU. The memory unit 2 is a flash memory, a RAM (Random Access Memory), an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), or the like, and stores images captured by the imaging device 6 and images obtained by processing these images as described below. The gas detection unit 12, the image processing unit 13, and the setting image control unit 14 each include a CPU, a RAM, or the like, and are configured as part of the control unit 11 and the memory unit 2, and perform the following processes.

[0025] The gas detection unit 12 detects an image of a substance suspected to be gas from the temporal difference (frame difference) of the infrared images (video) captured by the imaging device 6, and further determines whether the substance is a hydrocarbon gas (hereinafter referred to as gas) leaked from a structure such as a tank that is the subject of the infrared image, or a non-gas such as water vapor. These processes can be performed by the methods described in Patent Documents 1 to 4, for example. The difference is extracted by the image processing unit 13.

[0026] The image processing unit 13 processes the infrared image and visible light image captured by the imaging device 6 into images that make it easier to visually identify monitored objects such as leaked gas. Specifically, as described above, the image processing includes: difference processing, which extracts the temporal difference between the infrared image or the difference between the infrared image and the visible light image; difference enhancement processing, which emphasizes and extracts the difference in the difference processing; gas visualization processing, which converts the temporal difference extracted from the infrared image into the relative concentration of gas and processes it into a gradually colored image (hereinafter referred to as a gas image); gas cloud synthesis processing, which synthesizes (superimposes on top of) this gas image with the visible light image or the original infrared image; and thermal image processing, which converts the intensity of the infrared image into temperature and generates a gradually colored thermal distribution image from the infrared image. The gas visualization processing is preferably performed on the extracted differences that the gas detection unit 12 determines to be leaked gas (gas cloud).

[0027] At least one of these image processing methods has two or more parameters that can be adjusted by the user. These parameters include sensitivity (image processing resolution for intensity), intensity range (range, the range of intensity to be processed), contrast, and parallax correction between the infrared image and the visible light image. Intensity refers to the light intensity detected from the image captured by the imaging device 6, and in gas visualization processing and thermal image processing, it refers to the infrared intensity detected from the infrared image. Parallax correction is a correction value for the distance between the lenses of the infrared imaging unit 62 and the visible light imaging unit 63. For example, parallax correction is set when extracting the difference between the infrared image and the visible light image, or when combining a gas image generated from the temporal difference of the infrared image with a visible light image.

[0028] The image processing by the image processing unit 13 may be configured to be automatically performed, for example, after the imaging device 6 captures an image (operates the shutter button) using parameters that have been set in advance for the captured infrared image or the like, or parameters from the previous image processing, or may be configured to be performed when the user specifies an image and inputs to display an image that has been subjected to the desired image processing, as will be described later.

[0029] Table 1 shows the images that the gas monitoring camera 10 can acquire. The imaging device 6 of the gas monitoring camera 10 acquires unprocessed infrared and visible light images. The image processing unit 13 then acquires data for a gas image, a gas-visualized infrared image (a combination of a gas image and an infrared image), a gas-visualized visible light image (a combination of a gas image and a visible light image), and a thermal distribution image. In Table 1, a combination of two or more images is indicated by a "+." Furthermore, the camera can acquire a gas-enhanced image generated by subtracting the difference extracted from the infrared image through subtraction enhancement processing, a high-contrast gas image in which the contrast of the difference is increased by adjusting the frame interval of the infrared image in subtraction processing to make it easier to distinguish the gas cloud from other subjects (such as buildings), and an image in which a gas-enhanced or high-contrast gas image is combined with an infrared or visible light image. The processed images, excluding the thermal distribution image, are referred to as gas visualization images. The data for the infrared, visible light, gas-visualized, and thermal distribution images are stored in the memory unit 2.

[0030] [Table 1]

[0031] The gas visualization image and thermal distribution image are image processed using preset parameter values ​​(initial parameter values), but the image processing unit 13 can also process images using parameter values ​​set by the user. The display system 1 according to this embodiment is configured to allow the setting of the parameters shown in Table 2. In Table 2, the presence or absence of parameter adjustment is indicated by "○" or "-", and items marked with "( )" such as the gas visualization infrared image indicate whether or not the parameter has been adjusted in the pre-synthesis gas image or gas-enhanced image.

[0032] [Table 2]

[0033] The setting image control unit 14 generates a so-called menu screen for the user to select processing items and parameters for each image processing in image processing. However, in the present invention, a parameter selection image is generated that displays only one parameter as an icon, rather than listing all parameters. The setting image control unit 14 further generates a setting screen for the user to set parameters, and simultaneously displays an image suitable for setting the parameters. To this end, the setting image control unit 14 includes a parameter switching unit 15, a parameter setting unit 16, a setting image generation unit 17, and a display image instruction unit 18. The functions of these elements will be described below together with the display control method.

[0034] The operation unit 3 is a key, button, or touch panel for a user (operator) to input information. It may include a shutter button for operating the image capture device 6 in addition to operating the display system 1. The display device 4 displays the subject incident on the lens of the image capture device 6, captured images stored in the memory unit 2, images obtained by image processing of these images, and operation guides for the display system 1 and the image capture device 6. The display device 4 is preferably a liquid crystal display (LCD) or an organic electroluminescence (OEL) display, and is preferably a touch panel integrated with the operation unit 3. The display device 4 is installed on the side or top of the housing of the gas monitoring camera 10 and may be a movable panel with one side rotatably fixed to the housing. Alternatively, the display device 4 may be installed on the back of the housing and double as an electronic viewfinder. The communication unit 5 is a unit consisting of an antenna for wireless communication such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark) and analog circuits. It transmits, for example, infrared and visible light image data captured by the image capture device 6 to a system for administrators. The communication unit 5 may include a positioning unit 65 of the imaging device 6.

[0035] [Display control method] A method for displaying a parameter selection / setting image for image processing (display control method) using the display system 1 of the gas monitoring camera 10 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 2, 3, and 4A to 4D. Fig. 2 is a sequence diagram illustrating the display control method used by the gas monitoring camera display system according to this embodiment. Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing a method for displaying a parameter selection image using the gas monitoring camera display system according to this embodiment. Figs. 4A to 4D are examples of images including a parameter selection image displayed on the display device of the gas monitoring camera display system according to this embodiment. Here, it is assumed that a user changes parameters for a gas-enhanced visible light image to perform image processing.

[0036] visible light image i vis Above is a gas-weighted image. gas When a gas-enhanced visible light image with a superimposed gas-enhanced visible light image is displayed in the image display area 41 of the screen 40 of the display device 4 (S11, see FIG. 4A), if the user uses the operation unit 3 to determine that image processing will be performed, display of an image for selecting parameters for image processing of the gas-enhanced visible light image begins. As shown in FIGS. 4A to 4D, the screen 40 is partitioned into the image display area 41, which displays a captured visible light image or an image processed by image processing such as a gas-enhanced visible light image, a setting guide display area 42, and an operation guide display area 43. The setting guide display area 42 displays a parameter selection image, a parameter setting image, etc., as described below. The operation guide display area 43 has buttons for changing the scale of the gas-enhanced visible light image or the like displayed in the image display area 41, shifting the area displayed in the image display area 41 of an enlarged image, and returning to full-area display.

[0037] As shown in Tables 2 and 3, image processing can be performed on a gas-enhanced visible light image by changing the parameters of sensitivity, infrared intensity range, and parallax correction. Here, as shown in Table 4, i (counter) = 1, 2, 3 is assigned in this order. Note that the display system 1 according to this embodiment converts infrared intensity into temperature and presents it to the user. Furthermore, the last counter i (i = 4) is assigned image switching to change the processed image from a gas-enhanced visible light image to another gas-visualized image, etc. Furthermore, m = 4 is set as the upper limit of counter i in correspondence with the gas-enhanced visible light image (S12).

[0038] [Table 3]

[0039] [Table 4]

[0040] Then, counter i is initialized to 1 (S13). Next, parameter switching unit 15 selects sensitivity, which is the i-th parameter, that is, the first parameter, and setting image generation unit 17 generates a parameter selection image including an icon 73 representing the sensitivity together with a parameter switching button 71 and a decision button 72, and displays the image in setting guide display area 42 as shown in FIG. 4A (parameter display step S14). If the user does not tap (press) decision button 72 (S15, NO) but taps (presses) parameter switching button 71 (S16, YES), i=1 at this time (S17, YES), and therefore counter i is incremented (S18). Next, parameter switching unit 15 and setting image generation unit 17 switch icon 73 to icon 74 representing the temperature range, which is the second parameter, and display the icon 73 (S14), as shown in FIG. 4B. In this way, if the user does not tap the decision button 72 (S15, NO), each time the user taps the parameter switching button 71 (S16, YES), the display in the setting guide display area 42 switches between the icon 75 representing parallax correction (FIG. 4C) and the icon 76 representing image switching (FIG. 4D), in that order. If the parameter switching button 71 is tapped after the counter i reaches m (=4) (S16, YES, S17, NO), the counter i is initialized without incrementing (S13), and the process is repeated again from the display of the icon 73 representing sensitivity (S14, FIG. 4A).

[0041] When the user taps the decision button 72 (S15, YES), the parameter setting unit 16 causes the setting image generating unit 17 to generate a parameter setting image corresponding to the value of the counter i and display it in the setting guide display area 42 (S21, parameter setting image display step S24). Furthermore, according to Table 4, when i=1 or i=2, the display image instructing unit 18 changes the gas-enhanced visible light image displayed in the image display area 41 to the gas-enhanced image i as shown in FIG. gas(S23). When i=3, a gas-enhanced visible light image is displayed, and therefore no switching occurs. When i=m (=4), a display image selection image for selecting an image to be displayed in the image display area 41 is displayed in the setting guide display area 42 (S22). Alternatively, the gas-enhanced visible light image in the image display area 41 is switched to another gas visualization image or the like. In this case, the image newly displayed in the image display area 41 can be configured to be switched in a predetermined order, or to be switched to a predetermined one of the visible light image, infrared image, gas visualization image, and thermal distribution image.

[0042] The parameter setting image corresponds to a parameter and may display, for example, a text box displaying a numerical value, a spin button or slider bar to the right of the text box for increasing or decreasing the numerical value, and a confirm button for instructing the execution of image processing. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 5, three buttons 77, 78, and 79 for selecting "Auto," "Manual," and "Default" may be displayed first, and if the user selects "Manual," the spin button or the like may be displayed. Note that if "Auto" is selected, image processing is performed using the parameter values ​​currently set; if "Default" is selected, image processing is performed using the initial parameter values. The parameter setting image may also include an "ESC" button for returning to the previous parameter selection image.

[0043] When the user adjusts and determines the parameters in the parameter setting image, image processing unit 13 performs image processing using the parameters on the infrared image and visible light image that are the basis of the gas-enhanced visible light image. A new gas-enhanced image generated by the image processing is then displayed in image display area 41 (see FIG. 2). Furthermore, each time a parameter is adjusted, a new gas-enhanced image is displayed. Note that a button for instructing image switching may be displayed in setting guide display area 42 together with the parameter setting image, so that the image display area 41 can be switched to display a gas-enhanced visible light image synthesized with the new gas-enhanced image.

[0044] In this way, in this embodiment, in order for the user to adjust the parameters, an appropriate image is automatically displayed on the display device 4 according to the type of parameter, and the image does not change until the type of parameter is determined, so that screen flickering and the like are less likely to occur.

[0045] Image switching does not have to be included in the parameters, in which case m is set to 3 in Fig. 3 (S12). For example, the parameter selection image may include an image switching button that transitions from the parameter selection image to the display image selection image, or a button for selecting "ESC" that returns to the image before the parameter selection image was first displayed (before the user decided to execute image processing).

[0046] 4A to 4D, the icons 73 to 76 may be characters, etc. Furthermore, the parameter selection image and the parameter setting image may be displayed by superimposing them on the edge of the gas-enhanced visible light image, etc., without dividing the screen 40.

[0047] The parameter switching button 71 and the decision button 72 may be mechanical buttons. The parameter switching button 71 and the decision button 72 may be integrated. For example, if the button is a mechanical button, it may be configured so that it functions as the parameter switching button 71 when clicked and as the decision button 72 when pressed and held or double-clicked. If the operation unit 3 is a touch panel integrated with the display device 4, it may be configured so that it functions as the parameter switching button 71 when tapped or flicked and as the decision button 72 when pressed and held (long tapped) or double-tapped. The parameter switching button 71 may be, for example, an up / down or left / right directional key, or may be configured so that the parameters can be switched in reverse order depending on the direction of the flick. The icons 73 to 76 may function as the decision button 72. Alternatively, the parameter switching button 71 may not be provided, and an icon representing the next parameter may be displayed when the icons 73 to 76 are flicked.

[0048] In this embodiment, a gas-enhanced image, a high-contrast gas image, and a composite image of these images with a visible-light image or an infrared image are generated using initial parameter values, and the user adjusts the sensitivity and contrast of these gas-visualized images to perform image processing. However, the system may be configured so that the sensitivity and contrast of the gas-visualized visible-light image, etc. can be adjusted.

[0049] When selecting the type of image processing, icons representing the processing items may be displayed one by one in the setting guide display area 42 using the switch button, and the selected item may be selected using the confirm button. For example, if the image to be processed displayed in the image display area 41 is an infrared image, the image processing to generate a gas image, a gas-visualized infrared image, a gas-visualized visible light image, a thermal distribution image, etc. may be selected.

[0050] The imaging device 6 does not have to be equipped with the visible light imaging unit 63. Furthermore, in the gas monitoring camera 10, the imaging device 6 and the display system 1 are not integrated, and the display system 1 can be, for example, a small portable information terminal such as a smartphone, which is connected to the imaging device 6 wirelessly.

[0051] The infrared camera according to the present invention is not limited to gas monitoring applications. It may also be used for maintenance and inspection, for example, to detect high temperatures due to electrical system failures or low temperatures due to water leaks. The display system according to the present invention may also be installed in a home video camera, allowing for efficient video editing and other operations without connecting to a PC or other device. Furthermore, the display system according to the present invention is not limited to image processing. In a camera, the system may be used to set imaging conditions. For example, once parameters are determined, an image of a subject may be captured using initial values, and each time the parameters are changed, the processed image may be displayed in the image display area 41 of the screen 40 of the display device 4. In a printer, the system may be used to set printing conditions, allowing a predicted image of the printed image based on the parameter values ​​to be displayed on a display device (display) installed in the printer. Therefore, even when printing data is not transmitted from a PC or other device but is instead printed using a connected USB memory (USB flash drive), adjustments can be easily made during printing.

[0052] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0053] 10 Gas monitoring camera (infrared camera) 1 Display System 11 Control section 12 Gas detection unit 13 Image processing unit (processing unit) 14 Setting image control unit (display control unit) 15 Parameter switching section 16 Parameter setting section 17 Setting image generation section 18 Display image instruction section 2 Storage section 3 Operation unit (input means) 4 Display device (display means) 5. Communications Department 6. Imaging device (imaging unit) 61 Imaging control unit 62 Infrared imaging unit 63 Visible light imaging unit 64 Inertial Sensor 65 Positioning unit 71 Parameter switching button (switch button) 72 Decision button 73, 74, 75, 76 Icons

Claims

1. a display means for displaying an image; an input means including a switch button and a decision button; a processing section for executing image processing having a plurality of settable parameters; and a display control section for causing the display means to display an icon representing one of the plurality of parameters together with a processing target image that is the target of the image processing; The display control unit switches the icon to an icon representing another one of the plurality of parameters and displays it on the display means each time the switching button is operated, while continuing to display the image to be processed without changing it, and when the decision button is operated, displays a parameter setting image for setting the parameter represented by the icon displayed on the display means on the display means, together with an image associated with the parameter, either the image to be processed, an image of the image to be processed before being image-processed, or an image obtained by image-processing the image or the image to be processed.

2. An infrared camera comprising the display system according to claim 1 and an imaging unit that captures an infrared image, The image processing performed by the processing unit of the display system includes image processing of an infrared image captured by the imaging unit of the infrared camera.

3. 3. The infrared camera according to claim 2, wherein the processing unit performs at least one of a temporal difference processing of the infrared image, a difference enhancement processing for the difference processing, a visualization processing for visualizing a predetermined monitoring target extracted from the infrared image, and a thermal image processing for generating a thermal distribution image with a color corresponding to temperature based on the infrared image.

4. the imaging unit further captures a visible light image, 4. The infrared camera according to claim 3, wherein the processing unit further performs at least one of a differential process between the visible light image and the infrared image, a difference enhancement process for the differential process, and a synthesis process of an image generated by the visualization process and the visible light image.

5. 4. The infrared camera according to claim 3, wherein the configurable parameters of the image processing are at least one of sensitivity, intensity range, and contrast.

6. 5. The infrared camera according to claim 4, wherein the configurable parameters of the image processing are at least one of sensitivity, intensity range, contrast, and parallax correction between the infrared image and the visible light image.

7. 7. The infrared camera according to claim 3, wherein the monitoring target is a gas that is at least one of flammable and toxic.

8. A display control method for a display system including a display means for displaying an image, an input means including a switching button and a decision button, and a processing unit for executing image processing having a plurality of settable parameters, the method comprising: displaying, on the display means, a parameter setting image for setting the parameters; a parameter display step of displaying, when the switching button is operated, an icon representing one of the plurality of parameters on the display means together with the processing target image that is the target of the image processing; a parameter setting image display step of displaying, when the decision button is operated, the parameter setting image for setting the parameter represented by the icon displayed on the display means, together with an image associated with the parameter, which is one of the image to be processed, an image of the image to be processed before being image-processed, and an image obtained by image-processing the image or the image to be processed, and The parameter display step is a display control method in which, each time the switching button is operated, the icon is switched to an icon representing another one of the plurality of parameters and the image to be processed is continuously displayed without being changed.

Images