JP2003102026A - Electronic camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic camera capable of photographing a desired image by utilizing an imaging element adopting the multiple field read system and of preparing a full color image signal in a short read time. SOLUTION: The electronic camera having an imaging element for dividing an image signal obtained by photographing an object into a plurality of fields and outputting divisions is characterized in to comprise a selection means for selecting the processing of the image signals divided into a plurality of the fields and outputted according to an image quality mode and is also characterized in to comprise a signal generating means for generating odd and even signals by using a different field of the image signals divided into a plurality of the fields and outputted at photographing a moving picture.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic camera,
The present invention relates to an electronic camera using an image pickup device which can be divided into a plurality of fields and output.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In electronic cameras such as digital still cameras and digital video cameras, image pickup devices are used as means for photoelectrically converting light from a subject.

Conventional image pickup devices are classified into an all-pixel reading system and a frame reading system according to how to output an image signal obtained by photoelectric conversion.

The all-pixel reading method is a method in which the image signals of all the pixels forming the image sensor are output in one field, that is, the signals for one image are output once.

On the other hand, the frame reading system is a system in which an image signal of a pixel forming an image pickup device is divided into two fields and outputted, that is, a signal for one image is divided into two and outputted.

However, in recent years, a so-called multi-field reading type image pickup device which divides an image signal into a plurality of fields and outputs the image signals has been proposed and attracted attention.

In such a multi-field reading method, one transfer path can be shared by a plurality of light receiving pixels, so that the image pickup pixels can be made smaller, and as a result, the image pickup device can be made smaller than the conventional image pickup device. Attention has been paid to the fact that a high-resolution image can be captured because the light-receiving pixel can be enlarged.

However, while the multi-field readout type image pickup device has the above-mentioned merits, since the transfer path is shared, the image pickup device is used for an electronic camera to obtain an image. In this case, the conventional signal processing method has a problem that a desired image cannot be obtained.

Further, in shooting a moving image, in the conventional electronic camera, output is performed by a method of a frame read mode and a double speed read mode.

This output method will be described with reference to FIG. 7. In FIG. 7, as shown by arrows in the vertical transfer paths from the light receiving pixels indicated by the rectangles R, G, and B to the adjacent vertical transfer paths. It shows that the charge is discharged.
In creating a moving image, two types of signals, which are usually called an ODD signal and an EVEN signal, are created, and the images created by the two types of signals are alternately displayed to display the moving image. At this time, in the frame read mode, the image signal is output by dividing the charge into two fields, the first field and the second field, and the image signal is output by dividing into the two fields. The ODD signal and the EVEN signal were created. Further, in the double speed read mode (double speed mode in FIG. 7), an image signal is output by discharging the electric charges of the light receiving pixels other than the light receiving pixels shown in black at one time, and is output at the once time. The ODD signal and the EVEN signal were created by the image signal.

In the case of the frame read mode, the moving image produced by such an output method is excellent in that a high-quality image can be obtained because the image is created by using all pixels, but in a single readout Since all color image signals cannot be obtained, there is a problem in that it takes time to read out. Further, in the double speed read mode, the image signals of all colors are aligned at one time, which is excellent in that the read time is short, but since the signals of all pixels are not read, there is a problem in that the image quality is poor. is there.

Therefore, in photographing a moving image, an electronic camera in which image signals of all colors are gathered in a short read time has been desired.

[0013]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic camera capable of picking up a desired image by using a multi-field reading type image pickup device.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an electronic camera in which image signals of all colors are aligned in a short read time.

Other objects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the present specification.

[0016]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and the invention according to claim 1 divides an image signal obtained by picking up a subject image into a plurality of fields and outputs it. An electronic camera having an image pickup device, characterized in that it has a selecting means for selecting a process of an image signal divided into a plurality of fields and outputted according to an image quality mode.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided the electronic camera according to the first aspect, wherein the image pickup device discharges charges from a plurality of light receiving pixels to one charge discharging section.

An invention according to claim 3 is the electronic camera according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the selecting means does not read out the image signals of all lines from the image pickup device when the reduced image is created.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided the electronic camera according to the first or second aspect, wherein the selecting means does not write the image signals of all lines in the memory when the reduced image is created.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic camera having an image pickup device which divides an image signal obtained by picking up a subject image into a plurality of fields and outputs the divided image signal. The electronic camera is characterized in that it has a signal creating means for creating an ODD signal and an EVEN signal by using different fields when shooting a moving image of the image signal.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic camera having an image pickup device which divides an image signal obtained by picking up a subject image into a plurality of fields and outputs the divided image signal. The electronic camera is characterized in that a memory for recording an image signal corresponding to the main image is different from that for the thumbnail image.

[0022]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below.

First, a schematic structure of the electronic camera of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic structure of an electronic camera of the present invention, and FIGS. 2 and 3 are views for explaining an image pickup device according to the electronic camera of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 1 is a lens, 2 is a CCD, and 3 is A /
D converter, 4 is a memory controller, 5 is a memory, 6 is a signal processing unit, 7 is an image display unit, 8 is an external I / F, and 9 is a memory card. Reference numeral 10 is a control unit.

The lens 1 is composed of a plurality of lenses which cooperate to form an image of a subject.

The CCD 2 corresponds to the image pickup device of the present invention,
The object image formed by the lens 1 is received, the electric charge obtained by photoelectrically converting the received light is accumulated, and the electric charge is output as an analog image signal by a transfer pulse from the control unit 10.

In the present invention, a CC corresponding to the image pickup device
D2 is configured by providing one transfer path for a predetermined number of light receiving pixels that are determined by three or more light receiving object images, and forming a unit area by providing a plurality of the unit areas.

The image pickup device divides the image signal into a plurality of fields and outputs the image signal, that is, the image signal is output from only one of the plurality of light receiving pixels in each unit area in one output.

An image pickup device which can be used in the electronic camera of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. In FIG. 2, a plurality of light receiving elements 20a, 20b, 20c ... It is a pixel, which receives the imaged subject and performs photoelectric conversion. Each light receiving pixel 2
0a, 20b, 20c ... Are respectively provided with color filters made of various colors (R, Gb, Gr, B in the drawing) that constitute the colors of the image. Light receiving pixels 20a, 20b, 2
0c ... Temporarily stores electric charges obtained by photoelectrically converting the received subject image. The accumulated charges are read to the adjacent vertical transfer paths 21a and 21b at regular intervals, and the charges read to the vertical transfer paths 21a and 21b are transferred to the horizontal transfer path 2
2 and is output from the output buffer 23 to the outside of the image sensor.

The image pickup device used in the present invention includes vertical transfer paths 21a, 2 from each of the light receiving pixels 20a, 20b, 20c.
It is characterized in that the timing at which the charges are read to 1b is read three times or more for one image. That is, the image sensor used in the present invention outputs an image signal for one image in three or more times (hereinafter, also referred to as three fields or more) when outputting the image signal. For example, in the example of FIG. 2, the image signal for one image is output after being divided into three fields. Further, in the example of FIG. 3, the image signal for one image is output by being divided into four fields.

Such an image pickup device may have one vertical transfer path for a predetermined number of light receiving pixels. 1
The term “one vertical transfer path” means that a plurality of light receiving pixels conventionally requires a number of charge discharging portions (discharge areas) corresponding to the light receiving pixels. Since the charges are sequentially discharged from the light receiving pixels, the charge discharging portion (discharge area) necessary for a predetermined number of light receiving pixels only needs to have the capacity to transfer the charges discharged from one light receiving pixel. Is. For example, in the example of FIG.
It suffices to have at least one vertical transfer path for 0a, 20b, 20c, and in the example of FIG.
It is sufficient to have at least one vertical transfer path for 0a, 20b, 20c and 20d. One light receiving pixel corresponding to the number of divided fields can share one vertical transfer path.

As described above, in the image pickup device used in the present invention, it is only necessary to sequentially output charges from a predetermined number of light receiving pixels to one vertical transfer path, so that a plurality of light receiving pixels share one vertical transfer path. can do. Therefore, the area required for the vertical transfer path can be reduced compared to the conventional image sensor,
The image sensor can be downsized as a whole.

The A / D converter 3 converts the analog image signal output from the CCD 2 into a digital image signal.

The memory controller 4 includes the A / D converter 3
The digital image signal converted in step 1 is recorded in the memory 5, and the image signal recorded in the memory 5 is sent to the signal processor 6 for signal processing.

The memory 5 is a storage means for temporarily recording the digitized image signal.

The signal processing unit 6 performs signal processing such as brightness processing and color processing on the image signal once stored in the memory 5 sent by the memory controller 4.

The image display section 7 displays an image of the image signal processed by the signal processing section 6.

The external I / F 8 is an external connection means for transferring an image signal processed by the signal processing unit 6 to an external medium of the electronic camera body.

The memory card 9 is a memory card which is a type of external medium.

Next, a first mode of the electronic camera of the present invention will be described mainly with reference to FIG.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the selecting means. An electronic camera according to a first aspect is an electronic camera having an image sensor that divides an image signal obtained by picking up a subject image into a plurality of fields and outputs the divided image signal. It is preferable to have a selecting means for selecting the processing of step 1 according to the image quality mode, and preferably 1) the selecting means does not read all lines when creating the reduced image, and 2) the selecting means does not read all lines when creating the reduced image. It is characterized by not writing on all lines.

In the present invention, the image quality mode refers to a mode for determining image sharpness and image size such as high image quality, low image quality, reduction, and thumbnails.

When capturing an image, the electronic camera of the present invention forms a subject image with the lens 1 and photoelectrically converts the subject image captured by the CCD 2 corresponding to the image sensor of the present invention to obtain an image signal (hereinafter, reference numerals are used in FIG. 1). At this time, the image signal obtained by the CCD 2 is divided into a plurality of fields and outputted, and is recorded in the memory 5 by the memory controller 4.

In the present embodiment, the memory controller 4 shown in FIG. 1 corresponds to the selecting means. The memory controller 4 selects the processing of the image signal divided into a plurality of fields and output based on the image quality mode determined by the image quality mode determination means (not shown). For example, when the image quality mode is set to a mode for obtaining an image that does not require all pixels, such as a low image quality mode, only the required image signal is selected from the output image signals.

To select the processing of the image signal means to select the processing method of reading the image signal from the image pickup device and recording it in the memory.

By providing a selecting means for selecting an image signal divided into a plurality of fields and outputted according to the image quality mode, a unit pixel of the image pickup device is constituted by an arbitrary light receiving pixel, and the unit pixel is divided into a plurality of fields. By simply selecting the processing for the output image signal for each output field, the desired processing can be easily performed for the image signal of the desired light receiving pixel.

Here, a preferable mode of selecting the processing of the image signal will be described.

1) The selecting means should not read all lines when creating a reduced image.

In the present invention, the reduced image is, for example, 20.
VGA (Video Graphi) with a 0 million pixel camera
This is the case when a cs Array) image is created. In order to prevent the image signals of all lines from being read from the image sensor, only the necessary portions are read and the reading of unnecessary image signals is stopped. When the reading of the unnecessary image signal is stopped and the image signal of only the necessary portion is read, the memory space for the stopped image signal becomes empty as shown in FIG. When the reading of the unnecessary image signal is stopped, it can be realized by controlling the driving of the CCD or the like by the control unit 10.

As described above, when the image signals of all the lines are not read from the image pickup device when the reduced image is created, the reduced image can be created without all the pixels on the entire surface. By reading out only the necessary part of the signal, the image processing time can be shortened. In addition, power for processing unnecessary image signals is not needed, and power saving can be achieved.

2) The selecting means should not write all lines when creating a reduced image.

In order to prevent the image signals of all lines from being written in the memory, writing of unnecessary image signals is stopped. When the writing of the unnecessary image signal is stopped, the memory space for the image signal for which the writing is stopped becomes empty as shown in FIG. When the writing of the unnecessary image signal is stopped, the control unit 10 controls the driving of the memory controller 4 and the like.

As described above, if the image signals of all lines are not written in the memory at the time of creating the reduced image, the reduced image can be created without all the pixels on the entire surface. By writing only a necessary part of the above, the time for image processing can be shortened.
Further, since it is not necessary to perform a process of writing an unnecessary image signal, the load on the memory controller is reduced.

Next, a second mode of the electronic camera of the present invention will be described mainly based on FIG. FIG. 5 shows the second
FIG. 6 is a timing chart diagram for explaining the electronic camera of the embodiment.

The electronic camera of the second embodiment is an electronic camera having an image pickup device which divides an image signal obtained by picking up a subject image into a plurality of fields and outputs the divided image signal. It is characterized in that it has a signal producing means for producing an ODD signal and an EVEN signal by using different fields when capturing a moving image of the image signal.

A moving image is taken when a subject image is continuously recorded and processed in the memory 5 as a picked-up image, that is, a moving image such as a television image for a still image represented by so-called silver halide photography. It refers to the time when shooting is performed so that an image can be obtained.

"Continuous" means that the motion of the subject can be visually confirmed as a moving image such as a so-called television image.

In FIG. 5, VD signal (vertical synchronizing signal)
The charge accumulated in the charge accumulating portion of the light receiving pixel is read according to the read pulse based on the read pulse, and the charge is swept away according to the sweep pulse for the light receiving pixel read by the read pulse. Such reading and sweeping
It is divided into four fields A, B, C and D. Of the plurality of light receiving pixels, the ODD signal is created by the image signal divided into the A and B fields, and the EVEN signal is created by the image signal divided into the C and D fields.

As described above, in the electronic camera of the present invention, since the ODD signal and the EVEN signal are created by using the image signals of different fields, a high quality moving image can be obtained. Further, since both the ODD signal and the EVEN signal are composed of images of all colors, O
A moving image of all colors can be obtained when either the DD signal or the EVEN signal is complete. Therefore, according to the electronic camera of the second aspect, the image signals of all colors are arranged in high quality in a short read time.

Next, a third mode of the electronic camera of the present invention will be described mainly based on FIG. FIG. 6 shows the third
It is an explanatory view for explaining the electronic camera of the form.

The electronic camera according to the third embodiment is an electronic camera having an image pickup device which divides an image signal obtained by picking up a subject image into a plurality of fields and outputs the divided image signal. It is characterized in that the memory for recording the image signal for the main image and the memory for the thumbnail image are different.

The "main image" is an image of a graphic file created by an image signal output using all the pixels of the image pickup device, and is an image to which processing such as thinning is not added.

The "thumbnail image" means a graphic view in which an image of a graphic file is downsized and simplified by thinning out pixels, for example, 160
It refers to a small size image such as dots × 120 dots.

In the present invention, the expression "for main image" and "for thumbnail image" means an image signal which is a basis for creating such an image. That is, what is expressed as for the main image means an image signal which is a basis for creating the main image.

To make the memory different for the main image and the thumbnail image, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, the inside of the memory 5 recorded by the memory controller 4 is set to the main image area 5a and the thumbnail image. Although it can be realized by dividing it into the area 5b, it is not limited to the illustration, but two memories 5 can be prepared in advance, and the two memories can be separately recorded for the main image and the thumbnail image.

As described above, when different memories are provided for the main image and the thumbnail image, the main image memory 5a
It is possible to record all image signals in the memory, and it is possible to record image signals of necessary fields in the memory 5b for thumbnail images.

As described above, in the electronic camera according to the third embodiment of the present invention, the image signal for the main image and the image signal for the thumbnail image are separately recorded. As described above, the waste of thinning out the image signal for the main image each time to create the thumbnail image is eliminated, and the thumbnail image may be created as it is from the image signal for the thumbnail image.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an electronic camera of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an image sensor according to the electronic camera of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an image sensor according to the electronic camera of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining selection means.

FIG. 5 is a timing chart diagram for explaining an electronic camera according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an electronic camera of a third mode.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a conventional signal reading method when shooting a moving image.

[Explanation of symbols]

1: Lens 2: CCD 3: A / D converter 4: Memory controller 5: Memory 5a: main image area 5b: thumbnail image area 6: Signal processing unit 7: Image display section 8: External I / F 9: Memory card 10: Control unit 20a, 20b, 20c ...: Light receiving pixels 21a, 21b: Vertical transfer path 22: Horizontal transfer path 23: Output buffer

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Masahisa Mashima             2970 Ishikawa-cho, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo Konica stock             Inside the company (72) Inventor Etsuko Rokutanda             2970 Ishikawa-cho, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo Konica stock             Inside the company F term (reference) 4M118 AB01 BA08 FA06 GC07 GD03                 5C024 CX17 CX39 CY11 DX02 GY04                       GY37 GZ33 HX02 HX23 HX57                 5C052 GA01 GA02 GB01 GB03 GB04                       GC03 GC05 GD03 GE08                 5C065 BB48 DD07 DD17 EE05 EE06

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An electronic camera having an image pickup device for dividing an image signal obtained by picking up a subject image into a plurality of fields and outputting the divided image signal. An electronic camera having selection means for selecting a mode. 2. The electronic camera according to claim 1, wherein the image pickup device discharges charges from a plurality of light receiving pixels to one charge discharging portion. 3. The electronic camera according to claim 1, wherein the selecting means does not read out the image signals of all lines from the image sensor when the reduced image is created. 4. The electronic camera according to claim 1, wherein the selecting means does not write the image signals of all lines into the memory when creating the reduced image. 5. An electronic camera having an image pickup device for dividing an image signal obtained by picking up an image of a subject into a plurality of fields and outputting the divided image signal. O with different fields
An electronic camera having a signal creating means for creating a DD signal and an EVEN signal. 6. An electronic camera having an image pickup device for dividing an image signal obtained by picking up a subject image into a plurality of fields and outputting the divided image signal, wherein the image signal divided into a plurality of fields and outputted is recorded. An electronic camera characterized by different memories for main images and thumbnail images.