PicPort®-DigitalPicPort®-Digital boards allow simultaneous acquisition from 2 digital LVDS inputs. Supported input formats are digital RS-422 or RS-644. The boards offer various real-time image conditioning functions, different synchronization modes, asynchronous acquisition, simultaneous capture, and more. The conditioned image is sent by fast DMA transfer directly to VGA and/or main memory. Besides the standard PCI bus version, PMC module version of the PicPort®-Digital series is also available. PicPort®-Digital frame grabbers are designed for:
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ArchitectureAll the PicPort® models are based on similar architecture.
I/O InterfaceThe PicPort® I/O interface generally comprises video input connectors, synchronization and opto-isolated trigger inputs and outputs. The exact physical hardware interface is model-specific. Input circuitsThe PicPort®-Digital cards feature two input channels. Pixel Stream ManagerThe Pixel Stream Manager is the real heart of every PicPort®. It consists of two data paths (DMA channels) with different features (see the figure). Data path A features the following circuits: High Performance Scaler for fine interpolating, detail-preserving, image scaling down to approx. 40 ¡Ñ 40 pixels with horizontal plus vertical mirroring, Lock Mask Control for text or graphics overlay on the top of the live image and Pixel Packer and Color Space Converter to perform conversion to a desired color format. The second data path B contains only the Binary Ratio Scaler. Both data paths contain FIFO buffers for proper synchronizing the DMA transfers. On Board Controller (Not shown in the figure)All boards utilize an on-board controller to guarantee performance of real time critical tasks independent of host processor or operating system. EEPROM (Not shown in the figure)Each PicPort® board contains a firmware EEPROM that is updated automatically by driver software en-suring compatibility between hardware and software releases. In addition two bytes of the EEPROM are available to OEM’s for use as a Software Dongle. Image Acqusition & ConditioningInput FormatIn general PicPort® boards accept video resolutions up to 2048 ¡Ñ 2048. PicPort®-Digital models accept digital video sources with RS-422 or RS-644 interface. Input ChannelsPicPort®-Digital is capable of acquiring 8 bit data at max 48MHz or up to 16bit data at max 24MHz. The 16-bit inputs can be used for two-tap (2¡Ñ8-bit) cameras as well. An FPGA ensures other pixel formats (i.e. 9 to 15 bits) are also fully supported by means of bit shifting. Downscaling and MirroringImage scaling and mirroring are operations performed by the Pixel Stream Manager with a range of functionality dependent on the data path (DMA channel) used. DMA channel A with its High Performance Scaler uses a mathematical interpolation method independently along both x and y axes, resulting in an image free from any significant loss of detail. Alternatively, when the simpler DMA channel B is used, only vertical mirroring and binary downscaling is available. Full Color OverlayBy means of a Lock Mask feature, unique to PicPort®, image data flowing through DMA channel A can be overlaid by a 1-bit mask created as a compressed bitmap within Windows in the form of text or graphics.
Color Model ConversionBy utilizing the Pixel Packer and Color Space Converter the data on DMA channel A can be converted to monochrome or RGB with predefined color and bit depths.
Data TransferThe digitized and conditioned data is transferred using two independent DMA channels directly to the CPU and/or video memory without on board intermediate storage and with minimal CPU intervention. The board acts as a PCI bus master allowing transfers at peak rates of up to 132 MB/s i.e. real time transfer for all acquisition modes. The two independent DMA channels provide many modes of operation including: Simultaneous transfer of video data from a single image source to main memory for processing and to video memory for display. Transfer of images from two synchronized cameras to two independent memory windows. SynchronizationThe following modes are possible: Camera is Master and provides H & V timing and Pixel ClockThe timing of the video acquisition is fully controlled by the camera in this mode. The the PicPort® accepts vertical synchronizing pulses (frame valid), horizontal synchronizing pulses (line valid), and pixel clock pulses (data valid) from the camera or other external device. The H/V sync signals may be either separate or composite. Because the board is matching the rigid geometry of the camera, only a single camera may be attached in this mode (unless the cameras are inter-synchronized externally). Camera is Slave, Pixel SynchronizedIn this mode the PicPort® generates all the synchronization signals: H & V sync and pixel clock to control the attached camera(s). When more cameras are synchronized by a single PicPort® a user application can switch between them during vertical retrace (blanking) without any image loss. Asynchronous ResetThe trigger input on the PicPort® can be used with asynchronous reset cameras to initiate a new frame. Similarly output signals from the PicPort® can be used to control strobe lighting etc. Application note «External trigger and flash» gives good overview of applications involving external devices such as trigger and flash. Input/Output Connector ConfigurationsAll PicPort®-Digital boards for standard PCI bus come with the same connector configuration (however, the signal definition of the connectors differ from model to model). Detailed pin-outs and descriptions of the connectors are available at the chapter Connector description below. Universal Camera ConnectorThe universal camera connector (100-pin flat connector) can be used for either 2 ¡Ñ 8bit digital input at 40 MHz or 2 ¡Ñ 16bit digital input at 20 MHz. In addition to handling camera timing and 5/12 V camera power supply, this connector also has 8 general bi-directional (I/O) signals. All of the signals are transmitted differentially. Physical connection to many popular digital cameras is made simple by the use of specific cables to directly match the pin-outs of the camera being used. PicPort-Digital/RS422 Both video input and the control I/O signals are in RS-422 format. PicPort-Digital/RS644 Both video input and the control I/O signals are in RS-644 format. PicPort-Digital/RS644/TTL Video input is in RS-644, control I/O signals in TTL format. Trigger I/OFor synchronization of events like start/stop, trigger, good/bad, input/output etc. PicPort® boards offer digital inputs and outputs, which can be controlled by software. For use in industrial environment, the signals are isolated by the use of optocouplers. To take full profit of this signal isolation, you have to connect the optocoupler to an external power supply. The optocoupler input is prepared for input signals of 5 V or 24 V with the appropriate onboard serial resistors. For other signal levels an additional serial resistor has to be added to guarantee the proper forward current. The optooupler output is prepared for external voltage of 5 V or 24 V.
See also the following examples of optocoupler output. In industrial environment, signal levels of 24 V are usually needed.
Application note «External trigger and flash» gives good overview of applications involving external devices such as trigger and flash. Host Bus InterfaceBased on the PCI bus Revision 2.1 specification PicPort® framegrabbers are available to suit a variety of different host buses. PicPort®-Digital series is currently available for standard PCI bus as well as in PMC module version. SoftwareDriver SoftwareLeutron Vision Software Development Suite, LV-SDS, is a software development package (Windows, Linux, VxWorks) that allows full control of all PicPort® and PicProdigy® products. The suite consists of Daisy - the basic software interface for PicPort®/PicProdigy® cards, Camera Editor - easy interactive setup of standard and non-standard cameras, DRAL - a library for handling specific time-critical tasks, Orchid - high level library (DLL or OCX) for quick and easy design of PicPort®/PicProdigy® applications, TWAIN Driver and Video for Windows - provide a simple interface between Leutron Vision hardware and other office and image manipulation programs (e.g. MS Office, CorelDRAW, etc.). The software products come complete with a set of demo programs and additional examples with source code as a guide to the programmer in developing particular applications. To obtain more comprehensive information please download the LV-SDS manual. Third Party SoftwareSeveral well-known third party packages for real-time image processing and analysis are also supported. The packages include HALCON, Activ Vision Tools, NeuroCheck, and others. Please refer to our detailed software brochure (PDF) for more details. Connector Description, Wiring SchemesThe pin wiring schemes of all the PicPort®-Digital connectors are described below. Universal camera connector100-pin (MDR-100, female) connector, same for all PicPort®-Digital boards
Optocoupler I/O (Trigger I/O)16-pin 2.54 mm terminal strip connector, same for all PicPort®-Digital boards (standard PCI models) Optional conversion cable with D-sub 15-pin connector on a PC-slot bracket is available.
Technical Specifications
Complementary and Related ProductsSupporting softwareComprehensive set of software tools consisting of video capture libraries and image processing libraries for Windows XP/2000/NT4, Windows Me/98/95 and for Linux. Please check especially the following ones:
Suitable CamerasPlease check the list of suitable cameras (digital RS644/RS422 models) for use with PicPort®-Digital. The link invokes page showing wide list of different suitable cameras, allowing you to specify more criterions and restrict the list only to the cameras exactly matching your needs. Correspondent cablesAll the necessary cables for connecting a camera to the framegrabber are available. Related Frame Grabbers
LVmPC®LVmPC® is an ultra compact, mobile image processing system for industrial and machine vision, based on standard PC technology and Leutron's frame grabber series. LVmPC® is available in a huge variety of different configurations. Ordering Information
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