JP2000299810A - Image pickup device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make image quality of a dynamic picture compatible with that of a still picture by obtaining the dynamic picture with excellent image quality suitable for recording without camera-shake in the case of photographing the dynamic picture and obtaining a still picture with high image quality. SOLUTION: This image pickup device is provided with an image pickup element 102 that has many more pixels than number of pixels required to display a picture in the standard television format and with a mode setting means 109 that sets a photographing mode for the still picture and the dynamic picture. The setting means 109 sets a combination of interlace read drive and high speed transfer pulses to the image pickup element 102 in the dynamic picture photographing mode, which reads a charge signal to generate the dynamic picture suitable for recording, while the setting means 109 sets full pixel read drive or C.C. drive to the image pickup element 102 in the still picture photographing mode, which reads a charge signal without additive mixing of pixels to generate a still picture with high image quality.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image pickup apparatus capable of shooting both a moving image and a still image, and more particularly, to a case where a moving image is shot using a multi-pixel image pickup device (hereinafter referred to as CCD). The present invention relates to a technique for obtaining a high-quality image when capturing a still image without deteriorating the image quality.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an image pickup apparatus capable of shooting both a moving image and a still image using a multi-pixel CCD, for example,
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-136244 (hereinafter referred to as "prior art 1") is known.

In the prior art 1, when displaying a moving image on an electronic viewfinder, a CCD is used to thin out signals for two lines every three lines in the vertical direction and to output a charge signal for only one line. When a still image is captured while a frame rate of 60 frames / sec is secured, thinning processing is not performed, and charge signals are independently read out by scanning sequentially one line at a time in the vertical direction, thereby achieving high vertical resolution. We are trying to ensure high image quality.

[0004] As another conventional technique capable of capturing both moving pictures and still pictures, for example, the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-154212 (hereinafter referred to as Prior Art 2) is known.

In the prior art 2, in order to perform camera shake correction in the case of displaying a moving image, the CCD has an area (the number of horizontal scanning lines) required for displaying a moving image based on the standard television format. In addition to the normal region), an extra region for performing image stabilization (hereinafter, referred to as a camera shake correction region) is secured, and when shooting a moving image, signals in the above normal region are vertically While mixing and adding adjacent signals to each other and outputting
When a still image is captured, signals adjacent to each other in the vertical direction are mixed and added to signals in the entire region including the normal region and the camera shake correction region, and output.

[0006]

However, in the case of the above-mentioned prior art 1, when a still image is taken, signals are read out by sequentially scanning one line at a time in the vertical direction. Although it can be obtained, in the high-speed display mode for displaying moving images, since data is thinned out in the vertical direction, there is no problem when using the moving image simply for the purpose of displaying it on the electronic viewfinder, but recording the moving image When intended, the image becomes coarse and is not suitable for recording.

In the case of the above-described prior art 2, in the moving image shooting mode, signals are not thinned out unlike in the prior art 1, so that a moving image relatively suitable for recording can be obtained. In the case of shooting an image, the same driving method as in the case of the moving image shooting mode is used, that is, the upper and lower signals adjacent to each other in the vertical direction are mixed and added and read out over two field periods. Is insufficient, and there is a limit in obtaining a high-quality still image.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and when a moving image is shot using a multi-pixel CCD, an image of good quality suitable for recording without camera shake can be obtained. It is another object of the present invention to obtain a high-quality image when capturing a still image.

[0009]

The image pickup apparatus according to the present invention has the following configuration to solve this problem.

A first aspect of the present invention is an image pickup device having pixels larger than the number of pixels required to display an image based on a standard television format, and mode setting means for setting a still image and moving image shooting mode. And first and second driving means for reading out charge signals from light receiving units constituting each pixel of the image sensor in different modes according to the mode setting by the mode setting means; and a light receiving unit in the image sensor. A charge high-speed transfer unit for transferring a charge signal read out from the memory at high speed in a vertical direction; and, when the moving image shooting mode is set, the imaging by the charge high-speed transfer unit and the first driving unit. A moving image signal processing means for controlling a reading area of the charge signal from the element to process the charge signal in a moving image; A still image in which a high-speed transfer unit and the second driving unit control a charge signal readout region from the image sensor to read out a charge signal from a region substantially the same as the moving image shooting mode and process a still image Signal processing means.

Thus, in the moving image shooting mode, a moving image suitable for recording can be generated, and in the still image shooting mode, a high quality still image can be generated. Moreover, in the still image shooting mode, the angle of view is the same as that of the moving image, so that operability can be ensured at the time of shifting to the shooting mode.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, when the still image shooting mode is set instead of the still image signal processing means of the first aspect, all pixels of the image sensor are operated by the second driving means. Still image signal processing means for reading out the charge signal from the area and processing the still image is provided.

Thus, in the moving image shooting mode, a moving image suitable for recording can be generated. In the still image shooting mode, since the charge signals are read from all the pixel regions of the image sensor, a still image with a wider angle of view than a moving image and high image quality can be generated.

A third invention is a combination of the first invention and the second invention, wherein the first still image signal processing means having the same configuration as the still image signal processing means in the first invention, The second configuration having the same configuration as the still image signal processing means in the second invention.
And a selecting means for selecting the first still image signal processing means and the second still image signal processing means.

Thus, a moving image suitable for recording can be generated in the moving image shooting mode, and a high-quality still image can be generated in the still image shooting mode. In addition, in the still image shooting mode, it is possible to select the generation of a still image having the same angle of view as the moving image and the generation of a still image having a wider angle of view than the moving image. Can be expanded.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 shows Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
1 is a basic block diagram of an imaging device according to the first embodiment.

The imaging apparatus according to the first embodiment has a lens 10
1. Image sensor (CCD) 102, image sensor drive circuit 10
3. Analog signal processing circuit 104, analog / digital conversion circuit (hereinafter referred to as A / D) 105, digital signal processing circuit 106, image sensor drive control circuit 107, system control circuit 108, and shooting mode setting circuit 109
Is provided.

In the imaging apparatus having this configuration, the lens 10
The image of the subject that has passed through 1 is captured by the CCD 102 and subjected to photoelectric conversion. The resulting charge signal is read out by the driving of the image sensor driving circuit 103 and output to the analog signal processing circuit 104. Then, the analog signal processing circuit 104 performs processing such as noise removal and amplification, and the digital signal is converted by the A / D 105.
The digital signal processing circuit 106 creates a video signal such as a luminance signal based on the input charge signal.

Further, in accordance with the photographing mode set by the photographing mode setting circuit 109, the system control circuit 108
Controls the image sensor driving circuit 103 via the image sensor driving control circuit 107, and controls necessary signal processing for the digital signal processing circuit 106 in each shooting mode.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the CCD 102 shown in FIG.

In FIG. 2, 1a is a light receiving section, 1b is a vertical transfer section, 1c is a horizontal transfer section, 1d is a charge detection amplifier, and 1e is an output circuit.

As will be described below, the CCD 102 can appropriately select a driving method suitable for a moving image shooting mode and a driving method suitable for a still image shooting mode.

A driving method suitable for a moving image shooting mode is interlaced reading driving, and a driving method suitable for a still image shooting mode is all-pixel reading driving or CC driving. Each of these drives is performed by the image sensor drive control circuit 107 controlling the image sensor drive circuit 103 in response to a command from the system control circuit 108.

First, as shown in FIG. 2A, the above-described interlaced read driving is performed for one field period (about 1 / 60th in the case of the NTSC system) in a television signal.
(Second), in order to read out the charge signals accumulated in all the pixels of the light receiving section 1a of the CCD 102, the charge signals of the vertically adjacent two pixels are mixed, and a driving method of switching this mixed pair for each field is used. is there. That is, the charge signals of the upper and lower pixels vertically adjacent to the light receiving unit 1a are mixed when transferred to the vertical transfer unit 1b by the charge pulse. For example, in one certain field period, charge signals of P11 and P12 are mixed with V11 of the vertical transfer unit 1b, and charge signals of P13 and P14 are mixed with V12. In the next two field periods, P12 and P12
13 are mixed, and V12 is mixed with the charge signals of P14 and P15.

As shown in FIG. 2B, all-pixel read driving is performed by sequentially scanning one frame by setting the number of stages of the vertical transfer unit 1b to twice the number of stages in the case of the CCD of FIG. 2A. This is a driving method in which each charge signal of (one screen) pixel is read out independently without mixing. That is, the charge signals of the respective pixels adjacent to the light receiving unit 1a in the vertical direction are directly transferred to the vertical transfer unit 1b without being mixed by the charge pulse. For example, for each frame period, V1p
, The charge signal of P12 is transferred to V2p, the charge signal of P13 is transferred to V3p, and the charge signal of P14 is transferred to V4p.

In the CC driving, as shown in FIG. 2A, of the charge signals stored in the light receiving section 1a, the charge signal of the odd line and the charge signal of the even line are separately separated for each field. This is a driving method in which the data is transferred to the vertical transfer unit 1b, and the vertical transfer unit 1b does not perform pixel mixing of the adjacent upper and lower light receiving units 1a, thereby suppressing deterioration in resolution in the vertical direction. For example, in a certain field period, the charge signal of P11 is applied to V11 of the vertical transfer unit 1b, and the charge signal of P1 is applied to V12.
3 and the charge signal of P15 are individually transferred to V13. In the next field period, the charge signal of P12 is applied to V11 of the vertical transfer unit 1b, and the charge signal of P12 is applied to V12.
14 and the charge signal of P16 is transferred to V13. In this case, it is necessary to shield the light receiving unit 1a for performing the read driving in two times, and specifically, it is necessary to shield the light by a shutter.

In each of the above driving methods, after one line of the charge signal is transferred from the vertical transfer unit 1b to the horizontal transfer unit 1c by the V transfer pulse, the charge signal is transferred in the horizontal direction by the H transfer pulse. And the charge detection amplifier 1
It is output via d and the output circuit 1e.

FIG. 3 shows the image pickup device 1 shown in FIGS.
It is an explanatory view showing an example of the drive timing of No. 02, where (a) shows the drive timing near the start of the preceding field and (b) shows the drive timing near the start of the subsequent field.

3 (a) and 3 (b), vertical BLK is a vertical blanking signal in a television signal, HD / VD is a horizontal / vertical reference signal in a television signal,
A charge pulse (CH) is a signal for transferring charges accumulated in the light receiving portion 1a of the CCD 102 to the vertical transfer portion 1b.
The V transfer pulse is a signal for vertically transferring the transferred charge signal in the vertical transfer unit 1b. In particular, a high-speed transfer pulse is inserted at a position before and after the charge pulse in the V transfer pulse. When a normal area corresponding to the amount of camera shake is secured in the CCD 102 at the time of capturing a moving image, the high-speed transfer pulse does not contribute to the actual display and is unnecessary because the normal area does not contribute to the actual display. This is for discarding the charged signal.

The H transfer pulse is a signal for transferring the charge signal transferred to the horizontal transfer unit 1c in the horizontal direction, and the output signal of the image pickup device indicates an output signal read from the output circuit 1e.

Next, the CCD 10 shown in FIGS.
In a case where a moving image is captured by the imaging device having
Each operation when shooting a still image will be described.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the pixel area of the CCD 102 and the drive timing of the CCD 102 shown in FIG.

In FIG. 4, A2 of the whole pixel area A0 of the CCD 102 is an area corresponding to the number of horizontal scanning lines required to display a moving image based on the standard television format (ie, a normal area). , Its normal area A
Areas above and below 2 are camera shake correction areas A1 and A3 necessary for performing camera shake correction in the vertical direction. The sizes of the camera shake correction areas A1 and A3 are changed according to the degree of camera shake. However, the sum of the areas A1 and A3 does not change.

Next, the operation of the imaging apparatus thus configured will be described with reference to FIG. Here, the number of pixels in the vertical direction of the CCD 102 is V, the number of pixels in the vertical direction of the upper image stabilizer area A1 is V1, the number of pixels in the normal area A2 in the vertical direction is V2, and the lower image stabilizer area A3 is The number of pixels in the vertical direction is V3.

In the moving image shooting mode In the moving image shooting mode, interlaced readout driving (see FIG. 2A) is performed.

In this interlaced read drive, since two vertically adjacent pixels in the vertical direction of the light receiving unit 1a are mixed and added in the vertical transfer unit 1b, when the light is transferred from the light receiving unit 1a to the vertical transfer unit 1b, Overall (V / 2)
It becomes a charge signal for the line.

Then, as shown in FIG. 3, during each field period (period of 1/60 second in the NTSC system), after the output of the charge pulse, the high-speed transfer (the first half) according to the vertical camera shake correction amount. In the period, (V1) / 2 high-speed transfer pulses are output, and high-speed transfer is performed from the A1 area. Then, (V2) / 2 V-transfer pulses are output and A2
The normal charge signal is read from the area, and finally the high-speed transfer
In the (second half) period, (V3) / 2 high-speed transfer pulses are output, and high-speed transfer from the A3 region is performed.

Therefore, in this moving image shooting mode,
During one field period, as shown in FIG.
From the horizontal transfer unit 1c of 102, a charge signal for Li = (V2) / 2 lines excluding the high-speed transfer period before and after, that is, a charge signal from the normal region A2 is substantially output.

It should be noted that Li corresponding to the above-mentioned normal area A2
After the charge signals for the lines are obtained, the digital signal processing circuit 106 extracts substantially only the video signal included in the video signal output area A4 according to the horizontal camera shake correction amount.

In the still image shooting mode In the still image shooting mode, all-pixel read driving
(See FIG. 2B) or CC drive (see FIG. 2A).

First, in the all-pixel read driving, since the charge signals of the pixels for each line are read out independently without being mixed by sequential scanning, when the light is transferred from the light receiving section 1a to the vertical transfer section 1b, the entire V is read. It becomes a charge signal for the line.

In the case of this all-pixel reading drive, V1 high-speed transfer pulses are output in the high-speed transfer (first half) period according to the vertical camera shake correction amount, and A1 is output.
After the high-speed transfer from the region, a normal charge signal is read from the normal region A2 by V2 V-transfer pulses, and finally, V3 high-speed transfer pulses are output in the high-speed transfer (second half) period. Then, high-speed transfer from the A3 area is performed.

On the other hand, in the case of CC driving, the charge signals of the pixels on the odd-numbered lines and the even-numbered lines are separately read out twice in each field period. When the signal is transferred to the vertical transfer unit 1b, the charge signal is equivalent to (V / 2) lines as a whole.

Then, during each field period (a period of 1/60 second in the NTSC system), after the charge pulse is output, (V1) / 2 in the high-speed transfer (first half) period according to the amount of camera shake correction in the vertical direction. After the high-speed transfer pulse is output and the high-speed transfer from the A1 area is performed, (V2) / 2
V transfer pulses are output from the A2 region, and a normal charge signal is read out from the A2 region. Finally, in the high-speed transfer (second half) period, (V3) / 2 high-speed transfer pulses are output and the A3 region is output. High-speed transfer is performed.

Therefore, in one frame period, as shown in FIG. 5B, from the normal area A2, Lp1 = (V
2) / 2 × 2 = charge signals for V2 lines are output.

In this still image shooting mode,
As in the case of the moving image shooting mode, after a charge signal for one line Lp corresponding to the above-described normal area A2 is obtained, the digital signal processing circuit 106 substantially converts the image according to the horizontal camera shake correction amount. Only the video signal included in the signal output area A4 is extracted.

As described above, in the first embodiment, the number of lines Li in the normal area A2 in the moving image shooting mode is equal to the number of lines Li in the normal area A2 in the still image shooting mode. (Li = Lp1), and the angle of view when capturing a moving image and a still image becomes equal.

However, in this still image shooting mode, the real-time property unlike the moving image shooting mode is not required. Therefore, in both the all pixel read driving and the CC driving, the read driving frequency of the CCD is changed. When constant
It takes twice as long as a movie. That is, a charge signal for Lp1 (= Li) lines is generated within two field periods (= 1 frame period).

As described above, in the first embodiment,
In the moving image shooting mode, a moving image suitable for recording can be generated by a combination of the interlace read driving and the high-speed transfer pulse. Also, in the still image shooting mode, the combination of the all-pixel reading drive or the CC drive and the high-speed transfer pulse has the same angle of view as that of the moving image, and the pixels are not added and mixed in the vertical direction. A still image of high quality can be generated.

In the first embodiment, since the angle of view of the moving image and that of the still image are the same, it is easy to shift from the moving image shooting mode to the still image shooting mode in terms of operability.

Further, the setting of the photographing state in the still image photographing mode, for example, the setting of focus, white balance, aperture adjustment, etc. is performed in the moving image photographing mode, and the state is held and the mode is shifted to the still image photographing mode. It is possible.

(Embodiment 2) In the first embodiment, the angle of view is the same in the moving image shooting mode and the still image shooting mode. However, in the second embodiment, the moving image shooting mode and the still image shooting mode are used. That is, the angle of view is set differently depending on the mode.

The configuration of the second embodiment is different from that of the first embodiment in that, in the block diagram of FIG. 1, when either one of the moving image mode and the still image shooting mode is set by the shooting mode setting circuit 109, this setting is performed. , The system control circuit 108 gives a command corresponding to the setting of the imaging mode to the imaging device drive control circuit 107, so that the imaging device drive control circuit 107
Is controlled in accordance with the setting of the imaging mode.

The other structure is the same as that of the first embodiment.

Next, the CCD 10 according to the second embodiment will be described.
The drive control of No. 2 will be described with reference to FIG. In the case of the second embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment, the CC
V is the number of pixels along the vertical direction of D102, V1 is the number of pixels in the vertical direction of the upper image stabilization area A1, V2 is the number of pixels of the normal area A2 in the vertical direction, and V2 is the vertical pixel of the lower image stabilization area A3. Let the number be V3.

In the moving image shooting mode In the moving image shooting mode, interlaced read driving (see FIG. 2A) is performed.

This interlaced read drive is exactly the same as that of the first embodiment, except that a high-speed transfer pulse is inserted into the V transfer pulse. Therefore, in this moving image shooting mode, during one field period, as shown in FIG. 6A, the horizontal transfer unit 1c of the CCD 102 removes the normal areas A1 and A3 corresponding to the preceding and following high-speed transfer periods. A charge signal for Li = (V2) / 2 lines is substantially output from the area A2.

Note that Li corresponding to the above-mentioned normal area A2
After the charge signals for the lines are obtained, the digital signal processing circuit 106 extracts substantially only the video signal included in the video signal output area A4 according to the horizontal camera shake correction amount.

In the still image shooting mode In the still image shooting mode, all-pixel read driving
(See FIG. 2B) or CC drive (see FIG. 2A).

First, in the all-pixel read driving, a high-speed transfer pulse is not inserted into the V transfer pulse, so that a charge signal from the all-pixel area A0 is read. That is,
Since the charge signals of the pixels for each line are read out independently from the entire pixel area A0 by the sequential scanning without being mixed, when the signals are transferred from the light receiving section 1a to the vertical transfer section 1b, the charges for the entire line are Lp2 = V lines. Signal.

On the other hand, also in the case of the CC driving, the high-speed transfer pulse is not inserted into the V transfer pulse. Therefore, the charge signal of each pixel of the odd-numbered line and the even-numbered line is applied to the entire pixel region A0 every field period. Since the data is separately read out twice, in one frame period (= two field periods),
Lp2 = (V / 2) × 2 = V lines of charge signals as a whole.

As described above, in the second embodiment, the number of lines Li in the normal region A2 in the moving image shooting mode is different from the number of lines Lp2 in the entire pixel region A0 in the still image shooting mode. Therefore, (Li <Lp2), the angle of view at the time of shooting a moving image and a still image differs.

In this still image photographing mode, the real-time property unlike the moving image photographing mode is not required, so that the read driving frequency of the CCD 102 is constant in both the all pixel read driving and the CC driving. Takes more than twice as long in the case of moving images. That is, a charge signal for Lp2 lines is generated within a time period exceeding two field periods (= 1 frame period).

As described above, in the second embodiment,
Since the angle of view is different between the shooting modes for moving images and still images, it is necessary to adjust the angle of view when switching from the shooting mode for moving images to the shooting mode for still images. And
When adjusting the angle of view, it is necessary to display a moving image corresponding to the angle of view in the still image shooting mode for shooting on the electronic viewfinder. For this reason, a read drive different from the interlaced read drive for a moving image is required.
Hereinafter, this point will be described.

As a moving image shooting period, for example, NT
In the SC system, 1/60 second is often suitable,
In order to adjust the angle of view in the still image shooting mode, an image having substantially the same frame rate as in the case of shooting a moving image can be displayed on the electronic viewfinder. As a read-out drive for this purpose, a drive method (hereinafter, referred to as a monitor mode drive) in which a photographing period of 1/60 to 1 / 30max is adopted.

In this monitor mode drive, when the number of readout lines is Lm, it is necessary to secure Lm ≦ 2Li, that is, approximately the same number of lines as in the case of displaying a moving image by interlace readout drive. As an example for realizing this, the transfer of charges from the light receiving section 1a to the vertical transfer section 1b is output every (Lm / Li to Lm / 2Li). For example, 12
960/240 in the case of an image sensor of 80H × 960V
960/480, that is, a signal may be thinned out and output every 4 to 2 pixels.

As described above, in the second embodiment,
In the moving image shooting mode, a moving image suitable for recording can be generated by a combination of the interlace read driving and the high-speed transfer pulse. In the still image shooting mode, charge signals are read from all pixel areas of the CCD 102 by all-pixel read driving or CC driving, so that pixels are added and mixed in a wider angle of view than a moving image and in the vertical direction. As a result, a high-quality still image can be generated. Further, in this case, the configuration of the monitor mode drive is facilitated without impairing the operability as the shooting interval of the still image shooting mode.

(Embodiment 3) In the first embodiment, the angle of view is the same between the moving image shooting mode and the still image shooting mode. In the second embodiment, the moving image shooting mode and the still image shooting mode are set. In the third embodiment, the angle of view is set to be different from that of the first embodiment. However, in the third embodiment, the case of the first embodiment and the case of the second embodiment can be appropriately used.

That is, as shown in FIG. 7, in the case of the moving image shooting mode, as shown in FIG. 7A, the charge signal of the Li line is extracted from the normal area A2 for each field period. In the case of a still image shooting mode, when obtaining a still image having the same angle of view as that of a moving image, as shown in FIG. Take out. Further, when obtaining a still image having a wider angle of view than a moving image, as shown in FIG. 3C, the charge signal of the Lp2 line is extracted from the entire pixel area A0 for each frame period.

As a specific configuration of the realizing means, for example, as shown in FIG. 1, an angle-of-view setting circuit 120 is provided, and a photographer selects an angle of view. In this case, when the shooting mode of the still image is selected by the shooting mode setting circuit 109, the angle of view required by the still image is selected by the angle of view setting circuit 110.

As another realizing means, the standard of the angle of view of the still image shooting mode is set to the angle of view of the moving image shooting mode, and the optical zoom area is equal to that of the moving image shooting mode. A driving method for reading the normal area A2 is selected, and when the wide end of the optical zoom is reached, a driving method for reading an area larger than the normal area A2 in the moving image shooting mode is selected, and the reading is performed in conjunction with the optical zoom. The area is enlarged to reach the entire pixel area A0 at the maximum. Conversely, the reference of the angle of view in the still image shooting mode is set to the angle of view when the entire pixel area A0 is read, and the moving image shooting mode area A2 is set in the optical zoom area.
When the drive method for reading out the entire pixel area A0 wider than that is selected, and when the telephoto end of the optical zoom is reached, the readout area is gradually narrowed in conjunction with the optical zoom to minimize the normal area equal to the moving image shooting mode. A2 is reached.

Although the case where the optical zoom is provided has been described here, the case where the optical zoom is not provided is equivalent to the state where the optical zoom has reached the wide end and the tele end in the reference state, and the wide side setting is performed. The read driving may be changed according to the setting on the telephoto side.

Other configurations are the same as those in the first and second embodiments.

As described above, in the third embodiment, in the moving image shooting mode, a moving image suitable for recording can be generated by a combination of the interlace read driving and the high-speed transfer pulse. In the still image shooting mode, the same angle of view as in the moving image shooting mode or a wider angle of view than in the moving image shooting mode can be selected, so that not only can high-quality still images be generated. , CCD as required
, It is possible to generate a high-quality still image from the entire region. Further, it is possible to expand the focal length range in the still image shooting mode.

(Embodiment 4) FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an image pickup apparatus according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention, and portions corresponding to the configuration shown in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

The fourth embodiment shows a specific configuration in a case where camera shake correction can be actually performed in a moving image shooting mode.
Includes a digital luminance / color signal processing circuit 110, a camera shake amount detection circuit 111, a motion correction circuit 112, and a motion correction control circuit 113.

The configuration of the camera shake amount detection circuit 111 includes a video detection method, that is, detection of a moving amount of a video signal within a predetermined period, or a sensor detection method, that is, detection of movement of the device itself by an angular velocity sensor or the like. There is.

Then, the above-mentioned camera shake amount detection circuit 111,
The motion correction circuit 112 and the motion correction control circuit 113 are components specific to video signal processing, and correspond to a video signal processing unit in the claims.

In the imaging apparatus having this configuration, the CCD 102 performs photoelectric conversion of the subject image by driving the imaging element driving circuit 103 controlled by the imaging element driving control circuit 107 to generate an imaging signal. Analog signal processing circuit 10
In step 4, processes such as noise removal and amplification are performed, and the A / D 10
The digital luminance / color signal processing circuit 110 creates video signals such as a luminance signal and a chrominance signal.

When the photographing mode setting circuit 109 sets the moving image photographing mode, the camera shake amount detecting circuit 11
The motion data detected by 1 is input to the system control circuit 108, and the system control circuit 108 controls the image sensor drive control circuit 107 and the motion correction control circuit 113 to perform camera shake correction.

The structure for correcting a motion blur of a moving image in the fourth embodiment is applicable to the first to third embodiments.

Next, the operation of the CCD 102 and the image sensor driving circuit 103 shown in FIG. 8 will be described with reference to FIGS.
Explanation will be made using 0.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a pixel area of the CCD 102. Here, the entire pixel area A0 of the CCD 102 is
m ₀ pixels × n ₀ lines.
The inside zero signal clipping region A4 is secured, the signal cutout region A4 is, m ₁ pixels × n ₁ line _{(m 1 <m 0, n} 1 <n 0)
It is assumed to be composed of Note that the position of the signal cutout area A4 is not fixed, and is displaced in accordance with the direction and amount of camera shake.

As shown in FIG. 10, first, the CCD 10
From 2, charge signals in the normal area A2 from among the entire pixel area A0 (m ₀ pixels × n ₀ lines) is read, then the charge of the normal area A2 (m ₀ pixels × n ₁ line) The signal is converted into a signal cutout area (m ₁ pixel × n
A signal in ( ₁ line) is cut out, and thereafter, a clock conversion or the like is performed to obtain a data signal of (m ₂ pixels × n ₁ line).

Here, based on the motion detection data detected by the camera shake amount detection circuit 111, the normal region A2 (m
₀ is set the position of the pixels × n ₁ line) Subsequently, as to cancel the horizontal movement, the position of the signal cut-out region A4 (m ₁ pixels × n ₁ line) is set from the normal area within A2 You.

For example, when the aspect ratio (aspect ratio) of the image sensor 102 is 4: 3, which is the same as the television signal,
At the time of reading from the CCD 102, the image is cut out at a ratio of n ₁ / n ₀ in the vertical direction.
In this case, it is necessary to similarly cut out in the horizontal direction at a ratio of n ₁ / n ₀ . Therefore, the ratio m ₁ / m ₀ between the number m ₁ of horizontal pixels of the signal cutout area A4 and the number m ₀ of horizontal pixels of the normal area A2 before cutout is n ₁ / n ₀ = m _1.
/ m ₀ is satisfied. Subsequently, the signal in the signal cutout area A4 is subjected to conversion such as clock conversion so that the display area A5 conforms to the output format of the television signal.

As described above, in the moving image signal processing shown in the fourth embodiment, a moving image corrected for camera shake can be obtained.

By applying the specific structure of the camera shake correction to the first to third embodiments, in the moving image shooting mode, a moving image suitable for recording with the camera shake corrected can be generated. In the image capturing mode, a high-quality still image can be generated.

(Embodiment 5) FIG. 11 is a block diagram of an image pickup apparatus according to Embodiment 5 of the present invention, in which parts corresponding to those shown in FIG.

The fifth embodiment shows a specific configuration in a case where the electronic zoom process and the camera shake correction process are linked in the moving image shooting mode. A color signal processing circuit 110, a camera shake amount detection circuit 111, an electronic zoom magnification setting circuit 114, a motion correction / interpolation operation circuit 115, and a motion correction / interpolation operation control circuit 116.

The other structure is the same as that of the fourth embodiment shown in FIG.
Is the same as

Then, a camera shake amount detection circuit 111, an electronic zoom magnification setting circuit 114, a motion correction / interpolation operation circuit 11
5, and the motion correction / interpolation operation control circuit 116 are components specific to moving image signal processing, and correspond to moving image signal processing means in the claims.

In the moving image signal processing of the image pickup apparatus having the above-described configuration, the subject image is read by the image pickup element drive control circuit 1.
The CCD 102 performs photoelectric conversion by the driving of the image sensor driving circuit 103 controlled at 07 to generate an image signal.
The analog signal processing circuit 104 performs processing such as noise removal and amplification, is converted into a digital signal by the A / D 105, and the digital luminance / color signal processing circuit 110 creates a video signal such as a luminance signal and a color signal.

When the shooting mode setting circuit 109 sets the moving image shooting mode, the camera shake amount detection circuit 111
Detected camera shake and electronic zoom magnification setting circuit 1
The electronic zoom magnification set in step 14 is input to the system control circuit 108, and the system control circuit 108 controls the image pickup device drive control circuit 107 and the motion correction / interpolation calculation control circuit 116 to perform camera shake correction and electronic zoom processing. I do.

The configuration for linking the electronic zoom processing of a moving image and the camera shake correction processing in the fifth embodiment is applicable to the first to third embodiments.

Next, the CCD 102 and the image pickup device driving circuit 1
The operation of Step 03 will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 12, first, the CCD 10
From 2, charge signals in the normal area A2 (m ₀ pixels × n ₂ lines) from among the entire pixel area A0 (m ₀ pixels × n ₀ lines) is read, then, the digital signal processing unit 106 , The signal cutout area A from the charge signals in the normal area A2.
4 (m ₃ pixels × n ₂ line) (m _1> m ₃₎ signal within the cut out,
Thereafter, enlargement processing is performed by the clock conversion and interpolation operation, the data of the display area A5 (m ₂ pixels × n ₁ line).

Here, the motion detection data detected by the camera shake amount detection circuit 111 and the electronic zoom magnification setting circuit 115
Based on the electronic zoom magnification set in the above, the normal region A2 is controlled so that the movement in the vertical direction is suppressed so as to match the zoom magnification.
position of (m ₀ pixels × n ₂ lines) is set, then, the position of the signal cut-out area to match the zoom magnification by suppressing the horizontal movement A4 (m ₃ pixels × n ₂ lines) Setting Is done.

In this case, as in the case of the fourth embodiment, C
When the aspect ratio (aspect ratio) of the CD 102 is 4: 3, which is the same as that of the television signal, the relationship is n ₂ / n ₀ = m ₃ / m ₀ .

Next, the signal in the signal cut-out area A4 is subjected to clock conversion, enlargement processing, and the like so as to conform to the output format of the television signal, and is enlarged to vertical and horizontal sizes according to the electronic zoom magnification. ing.

As described above, in the moving image signal processing shown in the fifth embodiment, the camera shake is corrected and the zoom is performed in accordance with the camera shake amount by the camera shake amount detection circuit and the electronic zoom magnification set by the electronic zoom magnification setting circuit. A moving image matching the magnification can be obtained.

By applying the specific structure of the camera shake correction to the first to third embodiments, in the moving image shooting mode, a moving image which is corrected for camera shake and has a predetermined zoom magnification is generated. In the still image shooting mode, a high-quality still image can be generated.

Although the fifth embodiment has been described with respect to the case where both functions of camera shake correction and electronic zoom are provided,
It is also possible to perform moving image processing using only the electronic zoom.

In each of the first to fifth embodiments, CC
The configuration of the vertical transfer unit 1b of D102 is 2 per pixel.
Although the configuration in which the number of transfer stages is two and the number of transfer stages per vertical transfer unit 1b as the horizontal transfer unit 1c is shown, this is an example, and the number of transfer stages is limited to such a configuration. Not something.

Further, in each of the first to fifth embodiments, C
As a driving method of the CD 102, in the interlaced read driving, the charge transfer signals of two pixels adjacent in the vertical direction are mixed by the vertical transfer unit 1b, and this mixed pair is switched in the field. The following method is also possible. That is, the vertical transfer unit 1b sequentially reads out each line by scanning in the same manner as in the case of the all-pixel readout drive, and then mixes the charge signals of two vertically adjacent pixels in the horizontal transfer unit 1c.
This mixed pair is switched in the field.

[0107]

According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

(1) In the first invention, a moving image suitable for recording can be generated in the moving image shooting mode, and a high-quality still image can be generated in the still image shooting mode. In addition, in the still image shooting mode, the angle of view is equal to that of the moving image, so that operability can be ensured when the shooting mode is shifted.

(2) In the second aspect, in the moving image shooting mode, a moving image suitable for recording can be generated. In the still image shooting mode, since the charge signals are read from all the pixel regions of the image sensor, a still image with a wider angle of view than a moving image and high image quality can be generated. Further, the configuration of the monitor mode drive is facilitated without impairing the operability as the shooting interval in the still image mode.

(3) In the third aspect, a moving image suitable for recording can be generated in the moving image shooting mode, and a high-quality still image can be generated in the still image shooting mode. In addition, in the still image shooting mode, it is possible to select the generation of a still image having the same angle of view as the moving image and the generation of a still image having a wider angle of view than the moving image. Can be expanded.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a basic configuration of an imaging device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an imaging device in the imaging device in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a timing chart illustrating an example of drive timing of the image sensor illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a readout area of an image sensor at a drive timing shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a processing operation of a signal read from an image sensor in the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a processing operation of a signal read from an image sensor in Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a processing operation of a signal read from an image sensor in Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an imaging device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of a state where a signal cutout area for camera shake correction is secured in the image sensor.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a processing operation of a signal read from an image sensor in Embodiment 4 in FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an imaging device according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of a processing operation of a signal read from an image sensor in Embodiment 5 of FIG. 11;

[Explanation of symbols]

1a: light receiving section, 1b: vertical transfer section, 1c: horizontal transfer section, 1
01 ... Lens, 102 ... Imaging element, 103 ... Imaging element drive circuit, 104 ... Analog signal processing circuit, 105 ... Analog / digital conversion circuit, 106 ... Digital signal processing circuit, 107 ... Imaging element drive control circuit, 108 ... System control Circuit 109: photographing mode setting circuit 110: digital brightness / color signal processing circuit 111: camera shake amount detection circuit 112: motion compensation circuit 113: motion compensation control circuit 114: electronic zoom magnification setting circuit 115: motion Correction / interpolation operation circuit, 116: Motion correction / interpolation operation control circuit, 120: View angle setting circuit.

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. An image pickup device having a larger number of pixels than is required to display an image based on a standard television format, a mode setting means for setting a still image and moving image shooting mode, First and second driving means for reading charge signals from light receiving units constituting each pixel of the image sensor in a different manner in accordance with a mode setting by the setting means; and reading from the light receiving unit in the image sensor. A charge high-speed transfer unit that transfers a charge signal at high speed in the vertical direction; and when the moving image shooting mode is set, the charge from the image sensor by the charge high-speed transfer unit and the first driving unit. Moving image signal processing means for controlling a signal readout area to process the charge signal in a moving image; and when the still image shooting mode is set, the charge high-speed transfer Still image signal processing for controlling a readout area of a charge signal from the image sensor by a step and the second driving means to read out a charge signal from an area substantially the same as the moving image shooting mode and process a still image An imaging apparatus comprising: means. 2. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the angle of view setting in the still image shooting mode is performed based on the moving image shooting mode. 3. An image pickup device having a larger number of pixels than required to display an image based on a standard television format, mode setting means for setting a shooting mode for a still image and a moving image, First and second driving means for reading charge signals from light receiving units constituting each pixel of the image sensor in a different manner in accordance with a mode setting by the setting means; and reading from the light receiving unit in the image sensor. A charge high-speed transfer unit that transfers a charge signal at high speed in the vertical direction; and when the moving image shooting mode is set, the charge from the image sensor by the charge high-speed transfer unit and the first driving unit. Moving image signal processing means for controlling a signal readout area to perform moving image processing of the charge signal; and when the still image shooting mode is set, the second driver Imaging apparatus characterized by comprising a still image signal processing means for still image processing by reading the charge signals from the entire pixel area of the imaging device by. 4. A moving image display for setting an angle of view in a still image shooting mode is performed by a driving method of an image sensor different from that in the moving image shooting mode.
An imaging device according to any one of the preceding claims. 5. A driving frequency of an image sensor in each of a moving mode and a still image in a photographing mode is equal to each other, and a photographing period by the second driving unit is set longer than a photographing period by the first driving unit. The imaging device according to claim 1, wherein: 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the second driving means reads out the charge signal of the odd-numbered line and the charge signal of the even-numbered line separately from the charge signals stored in the light receiving portion in a time-division manner. The imaging device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein 7. An image pickup device having a larger number of pixels than required to display an image based on a standard television format, mode setting means for setting a still image and moving image shooting mode, A first, a second, and a third driving unit for reading out a charge signal from a light receiving unit constituting each pixel of the image sensor in a different manner according to a mode setting by a setting unit; and a light receiving unit in the image sensor. A charge high-speed transfer means for transferring a charge signal read out from the memory at a high speed in a vertical direction; and, when the moving image shooting mode is set, the imaging by the charge high-speed transfer means and the first driving means. Moving image signal processing means for controlling a reading region of the charge signal from the element to process the charge signal in a moving image; and when the still image shooting mode is set, the charge A first area for controlling a read area of the charge signal from the image sensor by the fast transfer means and the second drive means to read a charge signal from an area substantially the same as that of the moving image shooting mode and perform still image processing. A still image signal processing means, and when the still image shooting mode is set, the third drive means reads out charge signals from all pixel regions of the image sensor and performs a still image processing. An image pickup apparatus comprising: a still image signal processing unit; and a selection unit that selects the first still image signal processing unit and the second still image signal processing unit. 8. The driving frequency of the image sensor in each of the moving image and still image shooting modes is equal, and the shooting period by the second driving unit is longer than the shooting period by the first driving unit.
8. The imaging apparatus according to claim 7, wherein a photographing period by the third driving unit is set longer than a photographing period by the second driving unit. 9. The selection means selects the second still image signal processing means in the optical zoom range, and selects the first still image signal processing means from the maximum telephoto side of the optical zoom, or selects the first still image signal processing means. 9. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the first still image signal processing means is selected in a zoom range, and the second still image signal processing means is selected from the widest side of the optical zoom. apparatus. 10. The second and third driving means are for reading out, on a time division basis, charge signals of odd-numbered lines and charge signals of even-numbered lines among charge signals accumulated in a light receiving portion. The imaging device according to claim 7, wherein: 11. The moving picture signal processing means includes: a motion detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of a motion of a subject; and a motion correcting means for performing a motion correction based on a motion amount detected by the motion detecting means. The imaging device according to claim 1, wherein: 12. The moving picture signal processing means has an electronic enlarging means, which is constituted by an electronic zoom magnification setting means and an interpolation calculating means for interpolating the image sensor output signal. The imaging device according to claim 1, wherein: