JP5125236B2 - Rotating display device and rotating photographing device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a rotary display device and a rotary photographing device that perform signal transmission over a fixed portion and a rotary portion that is rotatably combined with the fixed portion.

  By a rotary display device that performs signal transmission over a fixed part and a rotary part that is rotatably combined with the fixed part and displays an image from the fixed part on a display panel provided in the rotary part, or a camera provided in the rotary part 2. Description of the Related Art A rotary photographing device that outputs a photographed image from a fixed unit is known.

  For example, a rotary imaging device is known that constructs a signal connection path extending between a rotating part and a fixed part by a sliding contact between a slip ring and a brush. However, such a mechanical contact method limits the frequency band that can be transmitted, making it difficult to transmit high-definition video signals and high-speed data.

  In addition, there is also known one that performs signal transmission between a fixed part and a rotating part using a flexible wire. However, with such a transmission method, there is a problem that the rotatable range of the rotating part is limited to the range that the flexible wire can reach. In addition, metal cables such as flexible wires are easily affected by noise, and those with shield measures lack flexibility, and wide-band flexible wires and connectors are expensive to manufacture. was there.

  Patent Document 1 also uses a rotary transformer for transmitting a video signal from the fixed base part to the rotary display part and a pair of slip rings for transmitting power from the fixed base part to the rotary display part. There has been proposed a rotary video display device that transmits a video signal or the like between a fixed unit and a rotating unit that continuously rotates. However, even when a rotary transformer is used as in this rotary image display device, the frequency band that can be transmitted is about 10 MHz to several tens of MHz, and transmission of high-definition video signals and high-speed data is difficult. there were.

Therefore, Patent Document 2 proposes an electric head that transmits a control signal by sliding contact with a slip ring and a brush and transmits a video signal of a camera by optical transmission by an optical signal transmission unit.
JP 2003-216051 A Japanese Patent No. 3687453

  Here, in the rotation display device and the rotation photographing device, not only the rotation unit is rotated only in the pan direction (horizontal direction with respect to the fixed portion) but also the pan direction and the tilt direction (perpendicular to the fixed portion). Some of them rotate both.

  Therefore, a method of performing optical transmission with respect to two axes of rotation in the pan direction and rotation in the tilt direction using the technique of the electronic head described in Patent Document 2 is conceivable. However, in this case, the light transmission efficiency is lowered because the light transmission section is provided on each axis and the O / E conversion is performed twice. Therefore, it is desirable to transmit the signal light in the state of signal light from the fixed part to the tilt rotation part via the pan rotation part without reducing the light transmission efficiency of the signal light.

  Therefore, a method of transmitting light to the tilt rotation unit by using an existing optical fiber or the like as the light guide tube is conceivable. However, in this case, it is difficult to fix the light guide tube so that the light emitting element, the light receiving element, and the end face of the light guide pipe can be optically coupled with high accuracy. Further, when an existing optical fiber or the like is used as the light guide tube, it is necessary to polish the end face of the optical fiber in order to prevent a decrease in optical coupling efficiency of the optical fiber.

  Specifically, as an existing optical fiber for use as a light guide tube, there are a glass fiber and a plastic fiber. And the glass fiber has a main diameter of 8 μm to 62.5 μm in the portion where the signal light is transmitted. Since the diameter of such a glass fiber is too thin, a good optical coupling can be obtained if the mounting accuracy is lowered even a little. There was a problem that it could not be obtained.

  On the other hand, as a plastic fiber, there is an off-the-shelf optical fiber having a large diameter of about 1 mm to 3 mm used for decoration or illumination. Therefore, if this plastic fiber is used as a light guide tube, it is possible to prevent variations in attachment. However, in order to hold such a thick plastic fiber with high precision so as not to be misaligned, it is necessary to use a material in the form of a wire rather than a sheath. However, the plastic fiber also has a certain waist strength, that is, an elastic force against bending, even in the state of the strand, which becomes stronger as the diameter increases, so that the end of the plastic fiber can be securely attached. Need to hold. Furthermore, since it is necessary to fix the end face of the plastic fiber close to the light emitting element or the light receiving element with high accuracy, the distance between the fitting parts for holding the plastic fiber should be as long as possible and the plastic fiber and the fitting part should be secured. It was necessary to fix these with an adhesive or the like so as not to be misaligned. However, the surface of the strand of the plastic fiber is often made of a fluorine-based resin, which is a difficult-to-adhere material, and it has been difficult to ensure adhesion reliability. Therefore, it has been difficult to fix such a plastic fiber so that the light emitting element and the light receiving element can be optically coupled to the end face of the light guide tube with high accuracy.

  As described above, even if the optical fiber is applied to the rotation display device and the rotation imaging device that can rotate on two axes as described above, it is difficult to establish optical transmission with high reliability from the fixed portion to the rotating portion. there were.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and can rotate the rotating unit around two axes of the pan direction and the tilt direction, and efficiently and highly reliably convert a high-definition video signal from the fixed unit to the rotating unit. Alternatively, it is an object of the present invention to provide a rotation display device and a rotation imaging device capable of transmitting from a rotation unit to a fixed unit.

In order to achieve the above object, the first feature of the rotary display device according to the present invention is that the rotating part is supported by the fixed part so as to be rotatable about the first axis, and the display part is provided on the rotating part. A second axis orthogonal to the first axis is supported so as to be rotatable, and at least video signal light is transmitted from the fixed part to the rotating part via a single optical waveguide formed by bending by injection molding, A rotating display device configured to convert the transmitted video signal light into a video signal and display the video signal on a display unit, and the fixed unit is provided with a light emission axis substantially coincident with the first axis The light emitting element that emits video signal light and the central axis that passes through one end of the optical waveguide are substantially aligned with the first axis, and one end is supported close to the light emitting surface of the light emitting element. And the rotating part is provided with the light receiving axis substantially coincident with the second axis. The light receiving element that receives the transmitted video signal light and the central axis that penetrates the other end of the optical waveguide are substantially aligned with the second axis, and the other end is on the light receiving surface of the light receiving element. The optical waveguide is integrally formed of a single injection-molded product having a shape in which the central axis of the tube is included in substantially the same plane.

In order to achieve the above object, a first feature of the rotary photographing apparatus according to the present invention is that the rotating unit is supported by the fixed unit so as to be rotatable about the first axis, and the rotating imaging unit is provided at the rotating unit. The second axis orthogonal to the first axis is supported so as to be rotatable, the video signal picked up by the rotary imaging unit is converted into video signal light, and bent from the rotating part to the fixed part by injection molding. A rotating imaging apparatus configured to transmit via a single optical waveguide, wherein the fixed portion is a transmitted video signal provided with a light receiving axis substantially coincident with the first axis A light receiving element that receives light and a center axis that penetrates one end of the optical waveguide substantially coincides with the first axis, and is fixed to support one end close to the light receiving surface of the light receiving element. And the rotating part is an imaging unit provided with the light emitting axis substantially coincident with the second axis. The light emitting element that converts the emitted video signal into video signal light and emits it, and the central axis that penetrates the other end of the optical waveguide is substantially coincident with the second axis, and the other end is light-emitting by the light emitting element. The optical waveguide is integrally formed with a single injection molded product having a shape in which the central axis of the tube is included in substantially the same plane.

According to the rotation display device and the rotation imaging device of the present invention, in signal transmission between the fixed portion and the rotating portion capable of pan rotation and tilt rotation with respect to the fixed portion, the light emitting portion or the light receiving portion of the fixed portion and the rotation A light guide tube that is integrally formed with a single injection-molded product with a shape in which the central axis of the tube is included in substantially the same plane between the light receiving unit or the light emitting unit of the unit, and the central axis of each end is pan-rotated Since the optical waveguide is arranged so as to substantially coincide with the axis and the tilt rotation axis, the optical waveguide can be manufactured with a simple mold, and it is easy to hold the optical light guide tube facing the optical element, maintaining a desired shape and maintaining accuracy. It can be mounted, and the optical signal can be efficiently transmitted between the fixed part and the rotating part with high reliability. Therefore, high-speed transmission corresponding to high-definition video is possible, and a low-cost rotation display device and rotation imaging device that are not easily affected by noise can be realized.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

<First Embodiment>
FIG. 1A is a schematic sectional view in the front direction of a rotary display device according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a rotary display device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic sectional drawing of the side surface direction.

  As shown in FIG. 1A, the rotary display device 1 according to the first embodiment includes a fixed unit 2 and a rotary unit 3 that rotates in the horizontal direction with respect to the fixed unit 2.

  The fixing unit 2 includes a rotary joint 4, an interface unit 5, a signal conversion unit 6, a control unit 7, a power supply unit 8, a pan rotation motor 9, and a fixed unit side pan rotation gear 10. Yes.

  The interface unit 5 is supplied with high-definition video signals as 8-bit parallel RGB data from an external device such as a camera or a VTR device, and supplies the supplied parallel data to the signal conversion unit 6.

  The signal conversion unit 6 converts the parallel data signal supplied from the interface unit 5 into a single serial data signal and supplies the serial data signal to the rotary joint 4.

  The control unit 7 generates a control signal for driving the pan rotation motor 9 based on an operation signal input from the outside, and supplies the control signal to the pan rotation motor 9. Based on the control signal supplied from the control unit 7, the pan rotation motor 9 rotates the fixed unit side pan rotation gear 10 so that the rotation unit 3 is in a predetermined position. In conjunction with this rotation, the rotating part side pan rotating gear 11 provided in the rotating part 3 rotates about the axis P1 as a rotation axis. The rotating part side pan rotating gear 11 is fixed to a rotating body 12 provided in the rotating part 3, and when the rotating part side pan rotating gear 11 rotates, the rotating part 3 and the rotating part 3 have the axis P1. Rotate in the pan direction (horizontal with respect to the fixed part) about the rotation axis. The pan rotation motor 9 is supplied with power from the power supply unit 8.

  Further, the control unit 7 generates a control signal for driving the tilt rotation motor 32 provided in the rotation unit 3 based on the input operation signal, and supplies the generated control signal to the tilt rotation motor 32.

  The rotary joint 4 has hollow bearings 17a and 17b as bearings that rotatably hold the rotating body 12 fixed to the rotating portion 3 around the axis P1.

  A slip ring transmission portion 16 is formed on the outer peripheral portion of the rotating body 12 and inside the hollow bearings 17a and 17b. The slip ring transmission portion 16 includes a plurality of (six in this embodiment) conductive rings 18 on the outer peripheral portion of the rotating body 12 and inside the hollow bearings 17a and 17b via an insulating ring 19. It is fixed.

  A plurality (six in this embodiment) of brushes 20 are fixed to an insulating base 21 so as to maintain sliding contact corresponding to the six conductive rings 18 respectively. Each tip of the brush 20 is pressed against the conductive ring 18 by the elastic force of each brush 20 itself to ensure contact stability.

  A laser diode 13 as a light emitting element is attached to the rotary diode 4 on the laser diode substrate 14 so that the optical axis of the laser diode 13 substantially coincides with the axis P1.

  The rotating unit 3 includes a rotating body 12, a light guide tube 15, a display unit 31, and the display unit 31 with respect to the fixed unit 2 in a tilt direction (perpendicular to the fixed unit 2) about the axis P2. A tilt rotation motor 32 that rotates and a tilt rotation belt 33 that transmits the power of the tilt rotation motor 32 are provided.

  The tilt rotation motor 32 rotates the rotation shaft until the display unit 31 reaches a predetermined position based on the control signal supplied from the control unit 7 of the fixed unit 2. Then, the rotation of the rotation shaft of the tilt rotation motor 32 is transmitted to the display unit 31 by the tilt rotation belt 33, whereby the display unit 31 tilts about the axis P2 as a rotation axis (perpendicular to the fixed unit). Direction). The tilt rotation motor 32 is supplied with drive power from the power supply unit 8 via the slip ring transmission unit 16 of the rotary joint 4.

  The display unit 31 includes a hollow bearing 35 that serves as a bearing that rotatably supports the display unit 31, a fixed body 34 that is held by the hollow bearing 35, a photodiode 36 that is a light receiving element, and light from the photodiode 36. A photodiode substrate 37 attached so that its axis substantially coincides with the axis P2, a signal conversion unit 38 that converts a serial electrical signal sent from the photodiode substrate 37 into an RGB parallel data signal, and a converted RGB parallel And a video processing unit 39 for displaying video on the display panel 40 based on the data signal.

  In addition to a video signal that is converted into an optical signal and transmitted, it is necessary to supply power to the display unit 31 and the tilt rotation motor 32, and it is also necessary to exchange control signals. In the present embodiment, the power supply unit 8 supplies power to the circuit provided in the fixed unit including the pan rotation motor 9 provided in the fixed unit 2, the laser diode substrate 14 that performs E / O conversion, and the laser diode 13. In addition, power is supplied to the tilt rotation motor 32 of the rotation unit 2 and the circuit of the display unit 31 via the sliding contact portion of the slip ring transmission unit 16. The power supply from the rotating body 12 to the tilt rotation motor 32 may be performed by a metal cable connection. Further, the sliding contact portion of the slip ring transmitting portion 16 transmits control signals for the tilt rotation motor 32 and the display device 31 in addition to the power source.

  The inside of the rotating body 12 is a cavity, and one end face of the light-transmitting light guide tube 15 is close to the laser diode 13 of the fixed portion 2, and one end portion side of the light guide tube 15. The light guide tube 15 is held by the rotating body 12 so that the central axis penetrating from the (fixed portion 2 side) and the axis P1 substantially coincide with each other. Further, the other end face of the light-transmitting light guide tube 15 penetrates from the other end side (rotation unit 3 side) of the light guide tube 15 so as to be close to the photodiode 36 of the rotation unit 3. The light guide tube 15 is fixed to the fixed body 34 so that the central axis and the axis P2 substantially coincide.

  As a result, the signal light emitted from the laser diode 13 of the fixed portion 2 and propagated through the light guide tube 15 is received by the photodiode 36, and optical transmission is established.

  As described above, the electric signal or power transmitted to the conductive ring 18 via the brush 20 is transmitted to the rotating unit 3 by the cable connected to the conductive ring 18 by being wired in the hollow portion of the rotating body 12, and thus the hollow of the rotating body 12. An optical signal and an electric signal are transmitted through the part. Since the optical signal passes through the inside of the light guide tube 15, it can be stably transmitted without being blocked by the cable.

  FIG. 2 is a front view showing an example of the shape of the light guide tube 15.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the light guide tube 15 has a bent shape in which the central axis of the tube is included in substantially the same plane, and an end portion 15 a that is one end portion of the light guide tube 15 is a laser diode 13. It is fixed to the rotator 12 so as to obtain the optimum optical coupling for the light emitted from the. Further, the light guide tube 15 is fixed to the rotating body 12 so that the vertical portion 15b substantially coincides with the axis P1 and the central axis that penetrates from the end portion on the fixed portion 2 side. Further, the horizontal portion 15d is bent at a substantially right angle by the bent portion 15c, and an end portion 15e which is the other end portion of the light guide tube 15 is arranged so that the central axis of the horizontal portion 15d and the axis P2 are substantially aligned. It is fixed to the fixed body 34. Here, the bending radius of the bent portion 15c is set to about R5 mm to R10 mm, but it is desirable to make it as large as the apparatus structure allows in order to suppress a decrease in light transmission quality due to light guiding of the bent portion.

  FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B are perspective views showing an example of the shape of the end portion 15 e of the light guide tube 15.

  An example of the end portion 15e of the light guide tube 15 shown in FIG. 3A has fixing holes 15f and 15g for fixing the light guide tube 15, and these fixing holes 15f and 15g are used. The end 15e of the light guide tube 15 can be fixed to the fixed body 34 by screwing.

  In addition, the example of the end portion 15e of the light guide tube 15 shown in FIG. 3B has convex-shaped portions 15h and 15i for fixing the light guide tube 15, and is fixed to hold the end portion 15e. The end portion 15e of the light guide tube 15 can be fixed by fitting the convex portions 15h and 15i to the concave portion provided on the body 34 side.

  Here, the light guide tube 15 is manufactured by injection molding with a light-transmitting material such as a resin material. The surface of the light guide tube 15 is transferred with a polished surface formed by a mold having a polished finish, and guides signal light inside the tube by internal reflection. The light guide tube 15 of the rotary display device 1 according to the present embodiment is made of PMMA (acrylic) having a diameter of 1.5 mm. However, the material of the light guide tube 15 is not limited to this, and is a material that transmits the wavelength of signal light. PC (polycarbonate) may be used in consideration of heat resistance, and PEI (polyetherimide) may be used in consideration of chemical resistance.

  FIG. 4 is a simplified schematic diagram showing the relationship between the light guide tube having the shape shown in FIG. 2 and a mold for manufacturing the light guide tube. In FIG. 4, the mold 50 has a gate portion for injecting resin (not shown), a guide for determining the relative position between the fixed side and the movable side of the mold 50, and a molded product (waveguide 15) at the time of mold release. Is provided with an extruding pin for separating the mold from the mold 50. In addition, the mold 50 is usually composed of a movable mold and a fixed mold, and since the resin is injected in a combined state at the time of molding, there is a mating mold on the upper side of FIG. A space in the shape of a molded product is formed inside. At this time, the mating surface of the mold is generally called a parting line. However, since the central axis of the tube portion of the light guide tube 15 is included in the same plane, the parting line is a single plane as shown in FIG. Therefore, there is a merit that it is easy to process and the structure is simple, and it is easy to ensure the durability of the mold 50, which is particularly advantageous in terms of production period and cost.

  On the other hand, FIG. 5 simply shows an example of a mold 52 for manufacturing a light guide tube 51 in which the central axis of the tube is not included in the same plane. Since the central axis of the tube is not included in the same plane, the parting line does not become a horizontal plane but has irregularities. In the case of such a parting line, it is necessary to manufacture the concave and convex surfaces of the molds accurately so that the movable and fixed molds can be combined to secure a light guide tube-shaped space inside. In comparison with a mold having a flat parting line, the manufacturing effort is increased and the mold production cost is increased, resulting in an increase in cost as a whole. In addition, durability is affected when the shape becomes complicated. In addition, as another structure of the mold for manufacturing the light guide tube whose central axis is not included in the same plane, a slide mold that slides only a part of the mold in a direction different from the direction in which the mold is opened, and Molding can be achieved using a so-called structure, but the structure becomes more complicated, which also increases costs. Therefore, a light guide tube having a shape in which the central axis of the tube is included in the same plane can cope with a mold having a configuration that is most inexpensive and suitable for ensuring durability.

  Thus, in addition to being able to manufacture the light guide tube 15 stably and inexpensively by manufacturing the light guide tube 15 having a shape in which the central axis of the tube is included in the same plane, the bent portion 15c is held. Even if not, the shape can be maintained. Further, since the end portions 15a and 15e of the light guide tube 15 can be integrally formed in a shape that can be easily held in advance, the end portions 15a and 15e can be easily fixed. Furthermore, since the end portions 15a and 15e of the light guide tube 15 transfer the surface of the injection mold, it is not necessary to perform post-processing such as polishing.

  As a result, the laser diode 13 and the photodiode 36 and the end face of the light guide tube 15 can be fixed so that they can be optically coupled with high precision. Thus, it is possible to establish optical transmission with high reliability from the rotary unit 3 to the rotary unit 3.

≪Action≫
Next, the operation of the rotary display device 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, the control unit 7 generates a control signal for driving the pan rotation motor 9 based on the input operation signal, and supplies the control signal to the pan rotation motor 9. Based on the supplied control signal, the pan rotation motor 9 rotates the rotating body 12 in the pan direction about the axis P1 as the rotation axis so that the rotation unit 3 is at a predetermined position. The pan rotation motor 9 is supplied with driving power from the power supply unit 8.

  Similarly, the control unit 7 generates a control signal for driving the tilt rotation motor 32 based on the input operation signal. The generated control signal is transmitted by the slip ring transmission unit 16 and supplied to the tilt rotation motor 32. Specifically, the plurality of brushes 20 fixed to the fixed portion 2 side are pressed against the conductive ring 18 by their own elastic force and brought into sliding contact, thereby transmitting a control signal to the conductive ring 18.

  The control signal transmitted via the slip ring transmission unit 16 is supplied to the tilt rotation motor 32. Similarly, drive power from the power supply unit 8 is supplied to the tilt rotation motor 32 via the slip ring transmission unit 16.

  Based on the supplied control signal, the tilt rotation motor 32 rotates the display unit 31 in the tilt direction about the axis P2 as a rotation axis so that the display unit 31 is at a predetermined position. As a result, the display unit 31 can rotate 180 degrees in the tilt direction with respect to the fixed unit 2.

  The interface unit 5 of the fixed unit 2 is supplied with high-definition video signals as 8-bit parallel data of RGB, for example, from a camera, a VTR device, or the like. The supplied parallel data signal is converted into a single serial data signal by the signal converter 6 and supplied to the laser diode substrate 14. The laser diode 13 emits signal light based on the supplied serial data signal. Since the frequency response of the laser diode 13 can easily obtain performance of several GHz, high-speed data transmission of 1.1 to 1.5 Gbps can be sufficiently performed. Further, since the laser diode 13 is disposed so that the outgoing optical axis substantially coincides with the axis P1 that is the rotational axis, the signal light emitted from the laser diode 13 is a light guide tube provided at the center of the rotational axis P1. It enters from 15 end faces.

  The signal light incident on the light guide tube 15 propagates in the light guide tube 15 toward the other end, and the signal light propagated in the light guide tube 15 is emitted from the other end.

  The signal light emitted from the light guide tube 15 is received by the photodiode 36, and the received signal light is converted into an electrical signal by the photodiode substrate 37 and supplied to the signal conversion unit 38. The signal conversion unit 38 converts the serial electric signal sent thereto, demodulates it into an RGB parallel data signal, and supplies it to the video processing unit 39. Then, the video processing unit 39 displays a video on the display panel 40.

  As described above, according to the rotary display device 1 according to the first embodiment, the rotating unit 3 can be rotated about two axes in the pan direction and the tilt direction, and high definition is performed from the fixed unit 2 to the rotating unit 3. A video signal can be transmitted efficiently and with high reliability.

<Second Embodiment>
FIG. 6A is a schematic sectional view in the front direction of a rotary display device according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6B is a rotary display device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic sectional drawing of the side surface direction.

  As shown in FIG. 6A, the rotary display device 101 according to the second embodiment includes a fixed unit 2 and a rotary unit 3.

  Of the configuration of the rotary display device 101 according to the second embodiment, the same reference numerals as those of the rotary display device 1 according to the first embodiment are the same as those in the first embodiment, and the description thereof will be omitted. .

  As shown in FIG. 6A, the inside of the rotating body 12 is a cavity, and a light guide tube 41 having a light transmittance of about several hundred μm to several mm is provided in the vicinity of the laser diode 13 of the fixed portion 2. The central axis penetrating from the one end and the axis P1 are substantially aligned with each other and fixed to the rotating body 12. The distance between the other end of the light guide tube 41 (on the rotating portion 3 side) and the light receiving portion of the photodiode 36 is set to be a few mm or less so as not to be physically contacted. The other side (rotating unit 3 side) of the light guide tube 41 so that the signal light emitted from the other end (rotating unit 3 side) of the tube 41 enters the photodiode 36 through this short-distance free space. ) Is fixed to the fixed body 34.

  As a result, the signal light emitted from the laser diode 13 of the fixed portion 2 and propagated through the light guide tube 15 is received by the photodiode 36, and optical transmission is established.

  FIG. 7 is a front view showing the shape of the light guide tube 41.

  The light guide tube 41 is fixed to the rotating body 12 of the fixed portion 2 so that an end portion 41a, which is one end portion of the light guide tube 41, can obtain an optical coupling optimum for the light emitted from the laser diode 13. . Further, the end portion 41a of the light guide tube 41 is fixed to the rotating body 12 so that the central axis that the first vertical portion 41b penetrates and the axis P1 substantially coincide with each other. The first horizontal portion 41d is bent at a substantially right angle at the bent portion 41c, the second vertical portion 41f is bent at a substantially right angle at the bent portion 41e, and the second horizontal portion is bent at the bent portion 41g. The portion 41h is bent so as to be substantially perpendicular.

  And it fixes to the fixing body 34 by the edge part 41i which is the other edge part of the light guide tube 41 so that the center axis | shaft of this 2nd horizontal part 41h and the axis | shaft P2 may correspond substantially. Here, the bending radii of the bent portions 41c, 41e, and 41g are set to R5 mm to R10 mm. However, it is desirable that the bent portions 41c, 41e, and 41g be as large as possible as long as the apparatus structure permits in order to suppress light transmission quality deterioration due to light guiding of the bent portions.

  Thus, the light guide tube 41 is bent by the bent portions 41c, 41e, and 41g so that the rotation of the display portion 31 in the tilt direction is not hindered, so that the rotary portion 3 is 360 degrees in the tilt direction. It can be rotated.

  Moreover, the light guide tube 41 is manufactured by injection molding with a resin material having optical transparency, for example, similarly to the light guide tube 15 described in FIG. The surface of the light guide tube 41 is transferred with a polished surface formed by a mold having a polished finish, and guides signal light along the inside of the tube by internal reflection. The light guide tube 41 of the rotary display device according to the present embodiment is made of PMMA (acrylic) having a diameter of 1.5 mm. However, the material of the light guide tube is not limited to this as long as it is a material that transmits the wavelength of signal light. Alternatively, PC (polycarbonate) may be used in consideration of heat resistance, and PEI (polyetherimide) may be used in consideration of chemical resistance. The shape is determined so that the central axis of the light guide tube 41 is included in the same plane. As a result, the light guide tube 41 can be manufactured by digging the shape along the mating surface (parting line) of the mold, and injection molding is possible with a general two-plate mold.

  Thus, by manufacturing the light guide tube 41 by injection molding, the shape can be maintained without holding the bent portion 41 a of the light guide tube 41. Further, since the end portions 41a and 41i of the light guide tube 41 can be integrally formed in a shape that can be easily held in advance, the end portions 41a and 41i can be easily fixed. Furthermore, since the end portions 41a and 41i of the light guide tube 41 transfer the surface of the injection mold, there is an advantage that it is not necessary to perform post-processing such as polishing.

  As a result, the end surfaces of the laser diode 13 and the photodiode 36 and the light guide tube 41 can be fixed so that they can be optically coupled with high accuracy. Optical transmission can be established with high reliability from 2 to the rotating unit 3.

  As described above, according to the rotary display device 101 according to the second embodiment, the rotating unit 3 can be rotated about the two axes of the pan direction and the tilt direction, and high definition is performed from the fixed unit 2 to the rotating unit 3. The video signal can be transmitted efficiently and with high reliability.

  Further, the display unit 31 of the rotary display device 101 according to the second embodiment can be rotated 360 degrees not only in the pan direction but also in the tilt direction, so that the display unit 31 is rotated relatively fast in the pan direction and the tilt direction. An image can be displayed. As a result, the user can use the rotary display device 101 for stereoscopic display using an afterimage of a video displayed while being rotated on two rotation axes.

<Third Embodiment>
FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view in the front direction of the rotary photographing apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the rotary photographing apparatus 102 according to the third embodiment includes a fixing unit 2 and a rotating unit 3 that rotates in the horizontal direction with respect to the fixing unit 2.

  The fixed unit 2 includes a rotary joint 4, a control unit 7, a power supply unit 8, a pan rotation motor 9, a fixed unit side pan rotation gear 10, and a signal conversion unit 38.

  The control unit 7 generates a control signal for driving the pan rotation motor 9 based on an operation signal input from the outside, and supplies the control signal to the pan rotation motor 9. Based on the control signal supplied from the control unit 7, the pan rotation motor 9 rotates the fixed unit side pan rotation gear 10 so that the rotation unit 3 is in a predetermined position. In conjunction with this rotation, the rotating part side pan rotating gear 11 provided in the rotating part 3 rotates about the axis P1 as a rotation axis. The rotating part side pan rotating gear 11 is fixed to a rotating body 12 provided in the rotating part 3, and when the rotating part side pan rotating gear 11 rotates, the rotating part 3 and the rotating part 3 have the axis P1. Rotate in the pan direction (horizontal with respect to the fixed part) about the rotation axis. The pan rotation motor 9 is supplied with power from the power supply unit 8.

  Further, the control unit 7 generates a control signal for driving the tilt rotation motor 32 provided in the rotation unit 3 based on the input operation signal, and supplies the generated control signal to the tilt rotation motor 32.

  The signal converter 38 converts the parallel data signal supplied from the rotary joint 4 into a single serial data signal and outputs the serial data signal to an external device.

  The rotary joint 4 has hollow bearings 17a and 17b as bearings that rotatably hold the rotating body 12 fixed to the rotating portion 3 around the axis P1.

  A slip ring transmission portion 16 is formed on the outer peripheral portion of the rotating body 12 and inside the hollow bearings 17a and 17b. Since this slip ring transmission part 16 is the same as that described in FIG. 1, its description is omitted.

  Further, a photodiode 36 as a light emitting element is attached to the rotary joint 4 on a photodiode substrate 37 so that the optical axis of the photodiode 36 substantially coincides with the axis P1.

  The rotating unit 3 includes a rotating body 12, a light guide tube 41, a rotating imaging unit 42, and the rotating imaging unit 42 with respect to the fixed unit 2 in a tilt direction (perpendicular to the fixed unit 2). ) And a tilt rotation gear 33 for transmitting the power of the tilt rotation motor 32.

  Based on the control signal supplied from the control unit 7 of the fixed unit 2, the tilt rotation motor 32 rotates the rotation shaft until the rotational imaging unit 42 reaches a predetermined position. The rotation of the rotation shaft of the tilt rotation motor 32 is transmitted to the rotation imaging unit 42 by the tilt rotation belt 33, so that the rotation imaging unit 42 uses the axis P2 as the rotation axis to rotate in the tilt direction (with respect to the fixed unit). Rotate vertically). The tilt rotation motor 32 is supplied with drive power from the power supply unit 8 via the slip ring transmission unit 16 of the rotary joint 4.

  The rotational imaging unit 42 includes a camera 43, a laser diode 13 that is a light emitting element, and a laser diode substrate 14 that is attached so that the optical axis of the laser diode 13 substantially coincides with the axis P2.

  The inside of the rotator 12 is hollow, and one end face of the light-transmitting light guide tube 41 is close to the photodiode 36 of the fixed portion 2, and one end portion side of the light guide tube 41. The light guide tube 41 is fixed to the rotating body 12 so that the central axis penetrating from the (fixed portion 2 side) and the axis P1 substantially coincide with each other. Further, the other end face of the light-transmitting light guide tube 41 penetrates from the other end side (rotation unit 3 side) of the light guide tube 41 so as to be close to the laser diode 13 of the rotation unit 3. The light guide tube 41 is fixed to the rotating portion 3 so that the central axis and the axis P2 substantially coincide.

  As a result, the signal light emitted from the laser diode 13 of the rotating unit 3 and propagated through the light guide tube 41 is received by the photodiode 36 of the fixed unit 2 to establish optical transmission.

  The light guide tube 41 has the same shape as the light guide tube 41 shown in FIG.

≪Action≫
Next, the operation of the rotary photographing apparatus 102 according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, the control unit 7 generates a control signal for driving the pan rotation motor 9 based on the input operation signal, and supplies the control signal to the pan rotation motor 9. Based on the supplied control signal, the pan rotation motor 9 rotates the rotating body 12 in the pan direction with the axis P1 as the rotation axis so that the rotating unit 3 is in a predetermined position. The pan rotation motor 9 is supplied with driving power from the power supply unit 8.

  Further, the control unit 7 generates a control signal for driving the tilt rotation motor 32 based on the input operation signal. The generated control signal is transmitted by the slip ring transmission unit 16 and supplied to the tilt rotation motor 32.

  The control signal transmitted by the slip ring transmission unit 16 is supplied to the tilt rotation motor 32. Similarly, drive power from the power supply unit 8 is supplied to the tilt rotation motor 32 via the slip ring transmission unit 16.

  Based on the supplied control signal, the tilt rotation motor 32 rotates the rotation imaging unit 42 including the camera 43 in the tilt direction with the axis P2 as the rotation axis so that the rotation unit 3 is at a predetermined position. .

  The output of the camera 43 is output as 8-bit RGB parallel data, and the laser diode substrate 14 converts the parallel data into a single serial data signal. The transmission rate of the converted serial data signal is about 1.1 to 1.5 Gbps. Thereby, the laser diode 13 outputs the signal light whose intensity is modulated by the serial data. Since the frequency response of the laser diode 13 can easily obtain performance of about several GHz, data transmission of 1.1 to 1.5 Gbps can be performed sufficiently. Since the laser diode 13 is arranged so that the output optical axis substantially coincides with the axis P2 that is the rotation axis, the signal light emitted from the laser diode 13 is transmitted through the light guide tube 41 provided at the center of the rotation axis P2. Incident on one end. The signal light incident on the light guide tube 41 propagates toward the other end, and the signal light propagated in the light guide tube 41 is emitted from the other end.

  The signal light emitted from the light guide tube 41 is received by the photodiode 36, and the received signal light is converted into an electrical signal by the photodiode substrate 37 and supplied to the signal conversion unit 38. The signal conversion unit 38 converts the serial electric signal sent thereto, demodulates it into an RGB parallel data signal, and outputs it to the outside.

  As described above, according to the rotary photographing apparatus 102 according to the third embodiment, the rotating unit 3 can be rotated about two axes in the pan direction and the tilt direction, and high-definition is performed from the rotating unit 3 to the fixed unit 2. A video signal can be transmitted efficiently and with high reliability.

  In addition, the rotational imaging unit 42 of the rotational imaging apparatus 102 according to the third embodiment can rotate 360 degrees not only in the pan direction but also in the tilt direction, and thus can capture images in all directions with no blind spots.

(A) is a schematic sectional drawing of the front direction of the rotation display apparatus which is the 1st Embodiment of this invention, (b) is side view direction of the rotation display apparatus which is the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic sectional drawing. It is the front view which showed an example of the shape of the light guide tube of the rotation display apparatus which is 1st Embodiment. (A) And (b) is the perspective view which showed an example of the shape of the edge part of a light guide tube. It is the simple schematic diagram which showed the relationship between the light guide tube and the metal mold | die which manufactures a light guide tube. It is the simple schematic diagram which showed the relationship with the metal mold | die which manufactures the light guide tube whose center axis | shaft of a pipe | tube is not contained in the same plane. (A) is a schematic sectional drawing of the front direction of the rotation display apparatus which is the 2nd Embodiment of this invention, (b) is a side view direction of the rotation display apparatus which is the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic sectional drawing. It is the front view which showed the shape of the light guide tube of the rotation display apparatus which is 2nd Embodiment. It is a schematic sectional drawing of the front direction of the rotary imaging device which is the 3rd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,101,102 ... Rotation display apparatus 2 ... Fixed part 3 ... Rotating part 4 ... Rotary joint 5 ... Interface part 6 ... Signal conversion part 7 ... Control part 8 ... Power supply part 9 ... Motor for pan rotation 10 ... Fixed part side pan Rotating gear 11 ... Rotating part side pan rotating gear 12 ... Rotating body 13 ... Laser diode (light receiving element)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 15, 41 ... Light guide tube 16 ... Slip ring transmission part 17a, 17b ... Hollow bearing 18 ... Conductive ring 19 ... Light receiving element 31 ... Display part 32 ... Tilt rotation motor 33 ... Interface part 33 ... Tilt rotation belt 34 ... Fixed Body 35 ... Hollow bearing 36 ... Photodiode (light emitting element)
38 ... Signal conversion unit 39 ... Video processing unit 40 ... Display panel 42 ... Rotary imaging unit 43 ... Camera 50 ... Mold 51 ... Light guide tube 52 ... Mold

Claims (2)

The fixing unit supports the rotating unit so as to be rotatable about the first axis, and the rotating unit supports the display unit so as to be rotatable about the second axis perpendicular to the first axis. At least video signal light is transmitted from the fixed part to the rotating part through a single optical waveguide bent by injection molding, and the transmitted video signal light is converted into a video signal to the display part. A rotary display device configured to display,
The fixing part is
A light emitting element that emits the video signal light, the light emitting axis being provided so as to substantially coincide with the first axis;
A fixed-unit-side support that supports a central axis that passes through one end of the optical waveguide substantially coincides with the first axis, and that supports the one end close to the light-emitting surface of the light-emitting element; With
The rotating part is
A light receiving element for receiving the transmitted video signal light, the light receiving axis provided substantially coincident with the second axis;
A rotating-unit-side support portion that supports a central axis that penetrates the other end of the optical waveguide substantially coincides with the second axis, and that supports the other end close to the light-receiving surface of the light-receiving element; With
A rotary display device, wherein the optical waveguide is integrally formed of a single injection-molded product having a shape in which the central axis of the tube is included in substantially the same plane. The fixed unit supports the rotating unit so as to be rotatable about the first axis, and the rotating unit supports the rotating imaging unit so as to be rotatable about the second axis orthogonal to the first axis. The video signal picked up by the rotary imaging unit is converted into video signal light and transmitted from the rotating unit to the fixed unit via a single optical waveguide formed by bending by injection molding. A rotational imaging device,
The fixing part is
A light receiving element for receiving the transmitted video signal light, the light receiving axis provided substantially coincident with the first axis;
A fixed-unit-side support that supports a central axis that passes through one end of the optical waveguide substantially coincides with the first axis and supports the one end close to the light-receiving surface of the light-receiving element; With
The rotating part is
A light emitting element that is provided with a light emission axis substantially coincident with the second axis, and that converts the imaged video signal into a video signal light to be emitted;
A rotation-unit-side support that supports a central axis that penetrates the other end of the optical waveguide substantially coincides with the second axis, and that supports the other end close to the light-emitting surface of the light-emitting element; With
A rotary photographing apparatus, wherein the optical waveguide is integrally formed of a single injection molded product having a shape in which a central axis of the tube is included in substantially the same plane.

Images