Industrial camera

Abstract

An industrial camera (20) comprises a printed circuit board (28) connected to an electrical connector (30). The printed circuit board (28) comprises at least a first circuit portion (28a-28e) configured to accommodate electronic optical control components, dedicated to controlling a deformable optical element (32), and at least a second circuit portion (28f-28i) configured to accommodate electronic interface components, which implement a serial interface. Some pins of the electrical connector (30) are connected to both the at least one first circuit portion and the at least one second circuit portion, so as to alternatively realize both control outputs of the deformable optical element (32) and control outputs of the serial interface.

Description

"INDUSTRIAL CAMERA"DESCRIPTION

[0001] The object of the present invention is an industrial telecamera.

[0002] Industrial cameras equipped with CMOS image sensors are known, used for example to carry out quality checks on parts.

[0003] In some embodiments, an optical unit is mounted on the industrial cameras, which comprises a deformable optical element, otherwise known as a liquid lens, when subjected to the passage of an electric current or to a voltage difference. Figure 1 schematically shows a typical setup of an industrial camera 100 on which an optical unit 102 is mounted, comprising a liquid lens 103 according to the prior art. 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 is noted that the presence of the external driver 104 involves 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, for example RS232 or RS485.

[0006] The object of the present invention is to make available an industrial camera which, for the same overall dimensions and production costs, is much more flexible from the point of view of its applications and has a superior effectiveness and convenience of use compared to the industrial cameras of the prior art mentioned above.

[0007] A further object of the present invention is to propose an industrial camera which allows the installation of a simpler and more practical setup.

[0008] The technical characteristics of the invention, according to the aforementioned objects, are clearly evident from the content of the claims below and its advantages will become more readily apparent in the detailed description that follows, made with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate one or more embodiments, which are purely exemplary and not limiting, in which:

[0009] - Figure 1 shows an example of an industrial camera setup on which an optical unit is mounted, comprising a liquid lens according to the prior art;

[0010] Figure 2 is a rear perspective view of an industrial camera according to the invention;

[0011] - Figure 3 is a partially sectioned perspective view of the industrial camera of Figure 2 ;

[0012] - Figure 4 shows the detail of the connector of the industrial camera of Figure 2 which enables the power supply and control of the camera ;

[0013] - Figure 5 is a table showing the pinout of the connector of Figure 4 ;

[0014] - Figures 6 and 6a are two plan views of the opposite sides of the printed circuit board of the industrial camera according to the invention, on which are mounted, highlighted in the boxes , the components dedicated to the control of a liquid lens ;

[0015] - Figures 7 and 7a are two plan views of the opposite sides of the printed circuit board of the industrial camera according to the invention, on which the components dedicated to the RS232 / 485 serial interface are mounted, highlighted in the boxes ;

[0016] - Figure 8 shows an example of an industrial camera setup according to the invention, on which an optical system equipped with a liquid lens is mounted; and

[0017] - Figures 9 and 9a are equivalent diagrams representing the configuration of the circuitry dedicatedto the RS232 / 485 interface of the industrial camera according to the invention.

[0018] With reference to the accompanying drawings, an industrial camera has been indicated as a whole with 20.

[0019] The camera 20 has a camera body 22, for example in the form of a parallelepiped.

[0020] The camera body 22 supports, internally, image sensors 24, for example CMOS image sensors.

[0021] The camera body 22 is suitable for connecting an optical system 26 (Figure 8) .

[0022] A printed circuit board 28 is housed in the camera body 22.

[0023] The camera body 22 supports a first electrical connector 30 electrically connected to the printed circuit board 28.

[0024] In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, the printed circuit board 28 comprises first circuit portions 28a, 28b, 28c, 28d, 28e configured to accommodate electronic optical control components (Figures 6 and 6a) , dedicated to the control of a deformable optical element 32, for example a liquid lens, and second circuit portions 28f, 28g, 28h, 28i configured to accommodate electronic interface components (Figures 7 and 7a) , which realize a serial interface.

[0025] Figures 6 and 6a are two opposing plan views of the printed circuit board 28 in the case of a camera 20 configured to control the deformable optical element 32 . The boxes with solid lines indicate the first circuit portions 28a-28e on which the electronic components of the optical element are mounted . The boxes with dashed lines indicate the second circuit portions 28 f-28 i without electronic interface components . In fact , only the pads for the electrical connection of the electrical terminals of the electronic interface components are noted .

[0026] Figures 7 and 7a are two opposing plan views of the printed circuit board 28 in the case of a camera 20 configured to implement a serial interface . The boxes with solid lines indicate the second circuit portions 28 f-28 i on which the electronic interface components are mounted . The boxes with dashed l ines indicate the first circuit portions 28a-28e without electronic components of the optical element . In fact , only the pads for the electrical connection of the electrical terminals of the optical element electronic components are noted .

[0027] It should be noted that , from the point of view of the circuit layout , the printed circuit board 28 is the same for the two camera configurations . The printed circuit board 28 therefore changes only, between oneconfiguration and another, due to the presence or absence of the electronic components dedicated to implementing the speci fic control functions of the deformable optical element and serial interface .

[0028] During assembly, it is therefore possible to choose which version to assemble according to the speci fic intended use of the camera .

[0029] In one embodiment (which could, however, result in increased production costs and assembly times ) , the printed circuit board 28 could be configured to allow the assembly of al l electronic components dedicated to implementing both the control functions of the deformable optical element and the serial interface .

[0030] In one embodiment , the second circuit portions 28 f-28 i are configured to accommodate both electronic components suitable for implementing an RS232 serial protocol and electronic components suitable for implementing an RS485 serial protocol .

[0031] In this case , the electronic components comprise integrated devices that function as transceivers to enable the transition from the RS232 serial protocol to the RS485 serial protocol , and vice versa .

[0032] Figures 9 and 9a are equivalent diagrams representing the configuration of the circuitry dedicatedto the serial interface for implementing both the RS232 protocol and the RS485 protocol, respectively.

[0033] In one embodiment, the deformable optical element 32 is a liquid lens. In this case, the first circuit portions 28a-28e are configured to allow control of a current flow through the liquid lens or a voltage difference across the liquid lens ends.

[0034] Furthermore, in one embodiment, the first circuit portions 28a-28e are configured to accommodate electronic components suitable for implementing an I2C communication bus for exchanging data with the deformable optical element 32, for example to read its identification and calibration parameters, as well as the operating temperature.

[0035] In accordance with 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 .

[0036] For this purpose, some pins of the first electrical connector 30 are connected to both the first circuit portions 28a-28e and the second circuit portions 28f-28i, so as to alternatively realize both controloutputs of the deformable optical element 32 and control outputs of the serial interface RS232 / 485.

[0037] Figures 4 and 5 show an example of a first twelve-pin electrical connector 30.

[0038] In particular, 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 central column indicates the function of each pin in the case of a camera configured to control the deformable optical element 32, the right column indicates the function of each pin in the case of a camera configured to implement the serial interface RS232 / 485.

[0039] It should be noted in particular that pins 3, 5, 8, 9, 12 perform a different function depending on whether they are connected to respective terminals of electronic components dedicated to controlling the deformable optical element 32 or if they are connected to respective terminals of electronic components that implement the RS232 / 485 serial interface.

[0040] 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, for example a personal computer.

[0041] In one embodiment , the printed circuit board 28 and the second electrical connector 40 are suitable for implementing an Ethernet interface .

[0042] Figure 8 schematically shows an example of the setup of the industrial camera 20 , when connected to an optical system comprising a liquid lens 32 .

[0043] The industrial camera 20 is connected to the liquid lens 32 via the first electrical connector 30 and its first cable 46 , for example of the Hirose type from 6 up to 12 pins . The industrial camera 20 is also connected to a personal computer 42 via an Ethernet interface with its Ethernet cable 44 .

[0044] The adoption of a camera 20 according to the invention with liquid lens control 32 allows the installation of a simpler setup, with fewer components than the setups of the prior art ( Figure 1 ) and with the possibility of exploiting the advantages provided by the ethernet cable . On production lines , in fact , the control PC 42 is often located very far from the industrial camera . The adoption of a camera that can control the liquid lens 32 allows for a single ethernet cable 44 , even very long, and to use a very short cable 46 to connect the camera 20 to the liquid lens 32 .

[0045] The advantages of controlling the liquid lens 32 through the printed circuit board 22 housed in the industrial camera 20 can be summarized as follows:

[0046] - simplification of the overall system because a dedicated external controller for the liquid lens is not required;

[0047] - possibility of controlling the lens through the camera controls (no additional APIs or other control software are required) ;

[0048] - possibility of controlling the liquid lens directly from third-party software that is already designed for the use of the camera, eliminating the need to integrate specific APIs into such software;

[0049] - possibility of integrating an autofocus algorithm in the camera by exploiting the images directly acquired by the sensor without the need to transfer them to the personal computer for analysis. In this way, the process is faster and more deterministic.

[0050] The advantages of having a dual serial protocol RS232 and RS 484 within the camera are:

[0051] - ability to communicate with other external devices in addition to the PC 42 that controls the camera;

[0052] - flexibility in the choice of the communication interface;

[0053] - ability to integrate more complex communication protocols into the camera, such as:

[0054] - Binary, which enables the transmission of binary data (both for RS232 and RS485) ;

[0055] - ASCII, which enables the sending and receiving of ASCII characters (both for RS232 and RS485) ;

[0056] - Modbus RTU, a serial bus protocol based on requests / responses between client and server (only for RS485) , widely used in the industrial field.

[0057] In both configurations of the camera 20, the control outputs of the liquid lens and the serial protocol are housed on the same first electrical connector 30. In this way, both camera embodiments exhibit the same external appearance and are equipped with the same connectors, thereby facilitating installation by users and reducing the range of accessories .

[0058] The development of a modular component also enables the reduction of production and storage costs for the manufacturer, while increasing the range of models produced .

[0059] The invention thus conceived therefore achieves the intended purposes.

[0060] Obviously, it may also take, in its practical implementation, forms and configurations different fromthat illustrated above without, for this reason, departing from the present scope of protection.

[0061] Furthermore, all the details may be replaced by technically equivalent elements and the dimensions, shapes and materials used may be any according to the needs .

Claims

Claims1. Industrial camera (20) , comprising:- a camera body (22) which supports, internally, image sensors (24) and which is suitable for connecting an optical system (26) ;- a printed circuit board (28) housed in the camera body; a first electrical connector (30) supported 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 portion (28a-28e) configured to accommodate optical control electronic components, dedicated to controlling a deformable optical element (32) , and at least a second circuit portion (28f-28i) configured to accommodate electronic interface components, which implement a serial interface,- a number of pins of the first electrical connector (30) are connected to both the at least one first circuit portion and the at least one second circuit portion, so as to alternatively provide both control outputs of the deformable optical element (32) and control outputs of the serial interface.

2. Industrial camera according to claim 1, wherein the at least one second circuit portion (28f-28i) isconfigured to accommodate both electronic components suitable for implementing an RS232 serial protocol and electronic components suitable for implementing an RS485 serial protocol, said at least one second circuit portion comprising integrated devices that act as transceivers so as to allow the transition from the RS232 serial protocol to the RS485 serial 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 portion (28a- 28e) is configured to allow a control of a current flow through the liquid lens or of 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 portion (28a-28e) is configured to further accommodate electronic components suitable for implementing an I2C communication bus for exchanging data with the deformable optical element (32) .

5. Industrial camera according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the camera body (22) further supports a second electrical connector (40) connected to the printed circuit electronic board (28) , the second electrical connector (40) and the printed circuit electronic board (28) being configured to implement anEthernet interface for connection to an external processing and control unit (42) .

6. An artificial 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) via the first electrical connector (30) and a related first cable (46) .

7. System according to claim 6, wherein the camera body (22) further supports 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, via an Ethernet cable, to an external processing and control unit (42) .

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