Monitoring camera apparatus

A monitoring camera apparatus comprising:

• a solid-state image pickup device;
• and signal controlling means corresponding to each of RGB signals of an object image output from the solid-sate image pickup device, the monitoring camera apparatus monitoring a street including a traffic signal, wherein
• the signal controlling means includes:
• signal lamp detecting means for detecting lighting of signal lamps including LED light-emitting devices of a traffic signal present in an image pickup region of the solid-state image pickup device;
• lighting/extinguishing region detecting means for detecting a lighting/extinguishing region for periodically repeating lighting, extinguishing, and lighting of the detected signal lamps;
• RGB ratio detecting means for detecting ratios of RGB signals of the lighting/extinguishing region output from the lighting/extinguishing region detecting means;
• color mixture controlling means for controlling color mixture of signal lamp colors;
• and
• gain controlling means for controlling a gain of the RGB signals,
• the signal lamp detecting means detects, on the basis of a spectral sensitivity characteristic of the solid-state image pickup device and a light emission wavelength characteristic of the LED light-emitting devices of each of the RGB signals output from the solid-state image pickup device, three regions indicated by xy coordinate values of pixels arrayed in a lateral direction or a longitudinal direction in the image-pickup region and in series and periodically repeatedly lit and extinguished,
• the lighting/extinguishing region detecting means specifies, on the basis of the regions indicated by the xy coordinate values of the pixels output from the signal lamp detecting means, the three lit/extinguished lighting/extinguishing regions and sends the lighting/extinguishing regions to the RGB ratio detecting means,
• the RGB ratio detecting means compares levels of the RGB signals during the lighting of the lighting/extinguishing regions and detects the signal lamp as a red signal lamp if R>G≈B, as a yellow signal lamp if R>G>B, and as a green signal lamp if G>B>R,
• the RGB ratio detecting means further specifies, on the basis of a region indicated by the xy coordinate value of the pixel of the lighting/extinguishing region having a signal level of R>G≈B, the region as a red signal lighting region and sends the red signal lighting region to the color mixture controlling means,
• the color mixture controlling means attenuates GB signals in the red signal lighting region or reduces the GB signals to zero, reduces color mixture in the red signal lighting region, and sends the RGB signals to the gain controlling means, and
• the gain controlling means controls an input R signal to enable a lighting region of the red signal lamp to be displayed as a proper red color on a monitor.