PURPOSE: To obtain the images in a wide viewfield by providing the oscillating panhead of a TV camera to a device which recognizes a number plate from an automobile image photographed by the TV camera.
CONSTITUTION: An oscillating panhead 5 is attached to a TV camera 3 so that the viewfield of the camera 3 is extended more. That is, a sensor 2 detects an automobile 6 approaching to a gate and a processor 4 transmits the operating signal of the panhead 5 and the photographing command signal of the camera 3 based on the detection signal of the sensor 2. Then the processor 4 detects the number plate of the automobile 6 from the image sent from the camera 3 and then recognizes the number of the number plate. The oscillating operation of the panhead 5 is started with the signal received from the sensor 2 and stopped with detection of the number plate or the recognition of the number. Thus it is possible to photograph the automobile 6 with a single camera 3 in a range wider than the viewfield of the camera 3. Then the high accuracy is maintained at the low cost for a number plate reader.
HORINO MASANOBU
FUJIMOTO KOICHI
KODERA YASUO
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