Image input device

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US007171088B2

(12) United States Patent ao) Patent No.: Us 7,171,088 B2

Koyama et al. (45) Date of Patent: Jan. 30,2007

(56) References Cited
U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS

3,753,607 A * 8/1973 Kitano et al 385/116

3,849,596 A * 11/1974 Lawrence 348/564

3,967,289 A * 6/1976 Yevick 396/340

4,214,821 A * 7/1980 Termes 352/70

4,441,817 A * 4/1984 Pryor 356/615

(Continued)

FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
DE 32 26015 Al 1/1984

(Continued)
Primary Examiner—Daniel Walsh

(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm—Bell, Boyd & Lloyd LLC

(57) ABSTRACT

A number of optical fiber cords 11 are bundled together to constitute an image fiber. A first end of the image fiber 12a is incorporated within and covered by a cylindrical member to constitute an imaging section, which in turn forms one of a plurality of imaging sections. The second end of the image fiber is incorporated within a fiber bundling unit so that an image pickup device simultaneously read images captured by the plurality of imaging sections and transmitted to the image pickup device via optical means. Within the fiber bundling unit a plurality of cylindrical holes are provided, in an orderly fashion and in a lattice pattern, and into at least one cylindrical hole one end of the image fiber that forms an imaging section is inserted. All of the end faces of a plurality of image fibers are aligned in the same plane to thereby form a flattened surface. A plurality of imaging sections are radially disposed in a spherical and omnidirectional imaging unit, taking into account the latitude and longitude of the imaging sections. This allows omnidirectional images with no distortions to be transmitted to an image capture unit.

13 Claims, 22 Drawing Sheets