Image pick-up apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11008735-B2
Application number	US-201515557496-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 30, 2015
Priority date	Sep 30, 2015
Publication date	May 18, 2021
Grant date	May 18, 2021

Abstract

An image pick-up apparatus includes a first stereo camera attached to a revolving unit and a second stereo camera attached to the revolving unit. The first stereo camera picks up an image of a first image pick-up range. The second stereo camera picks up an image of a second image pick-up range above or beyond the first image pick-up range.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An image pick-up apparatus provided in a work vehicle, the work vehicle having a vehicular main body and a cab attached to the vehicle main body, the image pick-up apparatus comprising:
a first stereo camera attached to the cab, the first stereo camera including a first image pick-up portion and a second image pick-up portion, and the first stereo camera picking up an image of a first image pick-up range in front of the work vehicle; and a second stereo camera attached to the cab, the second stereo camera including a third image pick-up portion and a fourth image pick-up portion, and the second stereo camera picking up an image of a second image pick-up range in front of the work vehicle and above the first image pick-up range,
wherein an upper edge portion of the first image pick-up range and a lower edge portion of the second image pick-up range overlap with each other,
wherein the first image pick-up portion of the first stereo camera is adjacent to the third image pick-up portion of the second stereo camera, and the second image pick-up portion of the first stereo camera is adjacent to the fourth image pick-up portion of the second stereo camera,
wherein the work vehicle further has a work implement attached to the vehicular main body,
wherein the work implement has a central axis in a plan view,
wherein an optical axis of the first stereo camera and an optical axis of the second stereo camera are inclined with respect to the central axis of the work implement in the plan view toward the work implement,
wherein the optical axis of the first stereo camera is more inclined towards the work implement with respect to the central axis in the plan view than the optical axis of the second stereo camera, and
wherein the optical axis of the first stereo camera and the optical axis of the second stereo camera in the plan view intersect with the central axis of the work implement in front of the vehicular main body.

2. The image pick-up apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the optical axis of the first stereo camera and the optical axis of the second stereo camera form a downward angle from a horizontal direction, in front of the vehicular main body.

3. The image pick-up apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the first stereo camera and the second stereo camera are arranged as being aligned in a lateral direction of the vehicular main body.

4. The image pick-up apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the first stereo camera is arranged as high as the second stereo camera in an upward/downward direction.

5. The image pick-up apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the second image pick-up portion is arranged on a right side of the first image pick-up portion in a lateral direction of the vehicular main body,
the fourth image pick-up portion is arranged on a right side of the third image pick-up portion in the lateral direction of the vehicular main body,
the first image pick-up portion and the third image pick-up portion constitute a left image pick-up portion group,
the second image pick-up portion and the fourth image pick-up portion constitute a right image pick-up portion group, and
the left image pick-up portion group and the right image pick-up portion group are arranged at a distance from each other in the lateral direction of the vehicular main body.

6. The image pick-up apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the first stereo camera and the second stereo camera are configured to be able to pick up a vertically long image.

Assignees

• Komatsu Mfg Co Ltd

Inventors

• Deguchi Akiyoshi
• Saito Shun
• Yamaguchi Hiroyoshi
• Kawamoto Shun
• Sugawara Taiki

Classifications

• H04N7/181

  for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources · CPC title

• H04N7/18

  Closed-circuit television [CCTV] systems, i.e. systems in which the video signal is not broadcast · CPC title

• H04N13/239

  using two two-dimensional [2D] image sensors having a relative position equal to or related to the interocular distance (H04N13/243 takes precedence) · CPC title

• E02F9/261 Primary

  Surveying the work-site to be treated · CPC title

• B60R2300/105

  using multiple cameras · CPC title