Electronic panoramic camera
US6144406A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 30, 1997 |
| Grant date | Nov 7, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 30, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04N23/58
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
The panoramic camera according to the invention has a housing having first and second sections, coaxial with a rotation axis. The second section can be driven in rotation about the axis with respect to the first section by a motor connected to a gear. A lens is mounted on the second section of the housing and is both perpendicular and radial to the axis. A linear CCD array is placed at the focal point of the lens in order to capture the images transmitted by the lens. An analog-to-digital converter is connected to the CCD array to convert the analog signal generated by the CCD array into digital information. The digital information is stored on a hard disk drive, and includes data corresponding to the azimuth of the camera. Finally, a micro-computer controls the rotation of the housing, sends a control signal to the analog-to-digital converter to digitize the image and sends a control signal to the hard disk drive to save the digital information generated by the converter.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.