JP2005252357A - Imaging device and control method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a new imaging device capable of freely controlling a scanning direction and obtaining images with ample resolution. <P>SOLUTION: The imaging device 10 consists of a flexible substrate 20, at least one imaging element 30 formed on the substrate 20, and a shape-detecting element 40 for detecting the shape of the substrate 20. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus and a method for controlling the imaging apparatus.

  In recent years, a flexible display display using an organic EL has been developed, and an imaging apparatus incorporated in such a device is also required to have flexibility. Conventionally, for example, as described in JP-A-2000-174218, an imaging device formed on a non-flexible semiconductor wafer has been mainstream.

  On the other hand, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-284564 discloses an imaging apparatus having flexibility, but since the shape cannot be grasped, the form must be specified and fixed in advance. There was a problem. Furthermore, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-283942 discloses an imaging apparatus provided with clustered solid-state imaging elements and elements for grasping the shape of the entire apparatus including these imaging elements. However, the element is not integrally incorporated in the imaging apparatus, and the shape of the entire apparatus cannot be sufficiently detected. As a result, the optical path of each image sensor could not be scanned sufficiently, and the resolution of the obtained image was insufficient.

  It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel image pickup apparatus that can freely control the scanning direction and obtain an image with sufficiently high resolution, and a control method related to the image pickup apparatus.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides:
A flexible substrate;
At least one image sensor formed on the substrate;
A shape detecting element for detecting the shape of the substrate;
The present invention relates to an imaging device.

  The inventors of the present invention have intensively studied to achieve the above object. Generally, when acquiring an image with a flexible imaging device, only a distorted image can be obtained. In order to solve this problem, it is necessary to change the image acquisition method at any time based on the shape of the imaging device, and to set an optimal image acquisition method according to the shape. Therefore, the present inventors have intensively studied to obtain an imaging apparatus that satisfies such a requirement.

  As a result, the inventors of the present invention have provided the shape detection element directly on the substrate in the imaging device having the imaging element formed on the flexible substrate. Therefore, it is possible to accurately detect the shape of the entire imaging apparatus and to detect the shape change in real time. Therefore, by obtaining shape data relating to the substrate from the shape detection element, accurately grasping the shape of the substrate, and controlling the scanning direction of the imaging device based on the shape of the substrate, The imaging direction and imaging area of the imaging element can be freely controlled. As a result, a target image can be obtained with high resolution.

  Moreover, the imaging area of each image sensor can be made the same, and the resolution for each image sensor can be made equal.

  The imaging element can be formed on the flexible substrate, or can be formed integrally with the substrate by sharing the base material with the substrate.

  Details and other features of the image sensor of the present invention and a method for controlling the image sensor of the present invention will be described in detail below.

  FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram schematically illustrating an example of an imaging apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional configuration diagram illustrating an example of a specific mode of an imaging element that configures the imaging apparatus illustrated in FIG. .

  An imaging apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1 includes a flexible substrate 20, a plurality of imaging elements 30 formed on the substrate, and a plurality of shape detection elements provided between adjacent imaging elements 30 on the substrate 30. 40. The substrate 20 can be made of a polymer material such as polyimide. The shape detection element 40 may be composed of an element that detects the shape of the substrate 30 from a change in resistance of a predetermined portion of the substrate 30, for example, a strain gauge that can detect the shape of the substrate 30 from a change in resistance of an attached portion. it can.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the imaging element 30 includes an optical system 50 provided above and a light receiving unit 60 provided below the optical system 50.

  In the optical system 50, a water lens 51 formed on a base 52 made of a hydrophilic material and a scanning electrode 55 embedded in an insulating layer 56 below the water lens 51 are provided. The water lens 51 is formed and held in the oil held in the organic structure 54, and has a hemispherical shape to minimize the surface energy. In addition, a spacer 58 is provided below the scanning electrode 55, and a slit 57 as a light directing unit is provided inside the spacer 58 so as to surround the water lens 51.

  The light receiving unit 60 is provided with an organic semiconductor 61 and a pair of light receiving element electrodes 62 arranged at a predetermined distance from each other in the semiconductor. An insulating layer 63 is provided below the light receiving element electrode 62, and an amplification electrode 64 is formed therein.

  In addition, the base material which comprises the image pick-up element 30 serves the board | substrate 20 which comprises the image pick-up device 10 main body, and the image pick-up element 30 is comprised integrally with the board | substrate 20. As shown in FIG.

  In the image sensor 30 shown in FIG. 2, the organic semiconductor 61 is excited when predetermined light enters the organic semiconductor 61 in the light receiving unit 60, and an excitation current based on the light is generated. The light is indirectly received by measuring the excitation current with a pair of light receiving element electrodes 62. The intensity of the light is determined by the intensity of the excitation current. Since the excitation current is weak, an appropriate voltage is applied to the amplification electrode 64 to amplify the excitation current as appropriate.

  On the other hand, the optical system 50 controls the scanning direction of the image sensor 30, controls the imaging direction and the imaging area, and appropriately selects image information (light) to be captured. Specifically, the shape of the water lens 51 is changed by applying a predetermined voltage between the scanning electrodes 55. As a result, an image (light) in an arbitrary direction can be captured, and as a result, the scanning direction of the image sensor 30 can be controlled. The light introduced into the water lens 51 is directed by the slit 57 and is introduced into the light receiving unit 60. In addition, the light that has entered the imaging element 30 without passing through the water lens 51 is blocked by the slit 57 and cannot reach the light receiving unit 60.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a control method of the imaging apparatus illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. In the imaging apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1, a shape detection element 40 such as a strain gauge is directly attached on a flexible substrate 20. Therefore, the shape change of the substrate 20 can be detected by the shape detection element 40 in real time as needed. As a result, in each imaging device 30, the voltage to be applied to the scanning electrode 55 in the optical system 50 is appropriately controlled based on the shape of the substrate 20, and the shape of the water lens 51 is appropriately changed. A desired imaging area can be obtained by appropriately controlling the scanning direction, that is, the scanning range.

  Therefore, the imaging area of each imaging device can be controlled by obtaining an optimal resolution for a predetermined image based on the shape of the substrate 20.

  As is apparent from FIG. 3, the imaging area is defined in a direction substantially perpendicular to the scanning direction of each imaging element.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining another control method of the imaging apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. As shown in FIG. 4, when the substrate 20 is curved with a radius of curvature ρ and the distance between the adjacent image sensors 30 is constant at w, the angle between the adjacent image sensors 30 with respect to the center of curvature O is Δθ. = W / ρ In this case, the n-th image sensor 30 with respect to the 0-th image sensor 30 is positioned at an angle θ = nΔθ from the 0-th image sensor 30 with respect to the curvature center O. .

  Therefore, if the scanning direction of the n-th image pickup device 30 is controlled by its optical system so as to be shifted from the scan direction of the 0-th image pickup device 30 by an angle α = nΔθ, the zero-th position is obtained. The scanning direction of the imaging element 30 to be matched with the scanning direction of the n-th imaging element 30 can be matched.

  In the imaging apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1, a shape detection element 40 such as a strain gauge is directly attached to a flexible substrate 20, and the shape detection element 40 can detect a change in shape of the substrate 20 in real time as needed. As a result, the control in the scanning direction as described above can be executed while reflecting the shape change of the substrate 20 in real time as needed. Therefore, the scanning direction of each image sensor can be controlled by obtaining an optimum resolution for a predetermined image based on the shape of the substrate 20.

As shown in FIG. 5, the scanning range of one image sensor when the image sensor is arranged on a cylinder having a curvature radius R is obtained. The shape as shown in FIG. 5 is acquired by the sensor, and the scanning ranges l ₁ and l ₂ of the image sensor L _n are obtained. Each of l ₁ and l ₂ is equal to one half of the distance between the imaging elements L _n and L _n−1 and L _{n + 1} and L _n when mapped onto a plane having the imaging direction as a normal vector. Therefore, the following relational expression is established.

したがって、上式よりｌ_１及びｌ_２について求めると、

のようになり、この関係式より撮像素子Ｌ_ｎの走査範囲を求めることができるまた、自由曲面に対しては各撮像素子間を円筒で近似することで同様に撮像素子の走査範囲を求めることが出来る。

Therefore, from the above equation, l ₁ and l ₂ are calculated as follows:

Thus, the scanning range of the image sensor L _n can be obtained from this relational expression. Also, for a free-form surface, the scan range of the image sensor is similarly obtained by approximating each image sensor with a cylinder. I can do it.

  As is clear from the above equation, when the radius of curvature R and Δθ are constant, the scanning range L decreases as the angle θ increases. Therefore, in consideration of the attachment positions of the plurality of image pickup devices 30 provided on the substrate 20, for example, in the image pickup device 30 attached at a position where the angle θ is large, the optical system is appropriately controlled to increase the scanning range. Thus, in the imaging device 30 attached at a position where the angle θ is small, the scanning range of all the imaging devices 30 is made the same by appropriately controlling the optical system so that the scanning range becomes small. can do.

  In the imaging apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1, a shape detection element 40 such as a strain gauge is directly attached to a flexible substrate 20, and the shape detection element 40 can detect a change in shape of the substrate 20 in real time as needed. As a result, the control in the scanning direction as described above can be executed while reflecting the shape change of the substrate 20 in real time as needed. Therefore, the scanning direction of each image sensor can be controlled by obtaining an optimum resolution for a predetermined image based on the shape of the substrate 20.

By using the imaging device of the present invention and processing the acquired signal, the relative velocity V and the relative distance x between the imaging device and the point light source can be derived. As shown in FIG. 6, it is assumed that there is a point light source that moves from point A to point B in the imaging apparatus of the present invention. The moving speed of the point light source is constant at V (relative speed) at point A and point B. Further, the distance L between the image sensors S _n and S _{n + 1} is always constant. The movement time Δt between the point A and the point B of the point light source is obtained from the time difference between the output peaks of the image sensors S _n and S _{n + 1} .

なる関係式で表すことができる。ここで、αは点光源Ａの基準となる曲率中心Ｏからの角度を示し、θは点光源Ａ及びＢが、基準となる曲率中心Ｏに対してなす角度を表す。 In this case, if the model of “detection of motion information by a compound eye sensor” by Hasegawa et al. At ROBOMEC'01 held on June 8th to 10th, 2001 is used, the angular link at points A and B of the point light source is used. The degrees ω ₁ and ω ₂ are

It can be expressed by the following relational expression. Here, α represents an angle from the curvature center O serving as a reference of the point light source A, and θ represents an angle formed by the point light sources A and B with respect to the curvature center O serving as a reference.

なる関係式が成立する。したがって、これらの関係式を連立させて解くことにより、

のようにして、上述した相対速度Ｖ及び相対距離ｘを導出することができる。 On the other hand, from the geometric relationship,

The following relational expression holds. Therefore, by solving these relational equations simultaneously,

As described above, the relative velocity V and the relative distance x described above can be derived.

なる関係式で表すことができる。 Α is

It can be expressed by the following relational expression.

  In the imaging apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1, a shape detection element 40 such as a strain gauge is directly attached to a flexible substrate 20, and the shape detection element 40 can detect a change in shape of the substrate 20 in real time as needed. As a result, the relative speed and the relative distance as described above can be derived while reflecting the shape change of the substrate 20 in real time as needed.

  As described above, the present invention has been described in detail based on the embodiments of the present invention with specific examples. However, the present invention is not limited to the above contents, and all modifications and changes are made without departing from the scope of the present invention. It can be changed.

It is a block diagram which shows roughly an example of the imaging device of this invention. It is a cross-sectional block diagram which shows an example of the specific aspect of the image pick-up element which comprises the imaging device shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a control method of the imaging apparatus illustrated in FIGS. It is a figure for demonstrating the other control method of the imaging device shown in FIG.1 and FIG.2. It is a figure for demonstrating the other control method of the imaging device shown in FIG.1 and FIG.2. It is a figure for demonstrating the other control method of the imaging device shown in FIG.1 and FIG.2.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Imaging device 20 Flexible board 30 Imaging element 40 Shape detection element 50 Optical system of imaging element 51 Water lens 52 Base 53 Oil 54 Organic structure 55 Scanning electrode 56 Insulating layer 57 Slit 58 Spacer 60 Light receiving part of imaging element 61 Organic semiconductor 62 A pair of light receiving element electrodes 63 Insulating layer 64 Amplifying electrode 70 Light source

Claims (32)

A flexible substrate;
At least one image sensor formed on the substrate;
A shape detecting element for detecting the shape of the substrate;
An imaging apparatus comprising:   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the shape detection element detects a shape of the substrate from a resistance change at a predetermined portion of the substrate.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a scanning direction of the imaging element is controlled depending on a shape of the substrate to control an imaging direction of the imaging element.   4. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a scanning direction of the imaging element is controlled depending on a shape of the substrate to control an imaging area of the imaging element. 5.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the imaging areas of the imaging elements are made the same depending on the shape of the substrate.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a relative distance from a predetermined light source is derived.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a relative speed with respect to a predetermined light source is derived.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a base material of the imaging element is shared with the substrate, and the imaging element is formed integrally with the substrate.   2. The imaging device according to claim 1, further comprising: a light receiving unit for receiving light from a predetermined light source; and an optical system provided in front of the light receiving unit for controlling a scanning direction. The imaging apparatus as described in any one of -8.   The optical system includes a scanning electrode and a lens, and the scanning direction is controlled by changing the shape of the lens according to the magnitude of a voltage applied to the scanning electrode. 9. The imaging device according to 9.   The imaging device according to claim 10, wherein the lens is a water lens.   The imaging device according to claim 11, wherein the water lens is formed and held in a hemispherical shape in oil.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the optical system includes light directing means for introducing only light transmitted through the lens into the light receiving unit.   14. The imaging apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the light directing means includes a slit provided so as to surround the lens in a base material that supports the lens.   The light receiving unit includes a predetermined semiconductor and a pair of light receiving element electrodes provided so as to be in contact with the semiconductor, and makes light from the predetermined light source incident on the semiconductor and generated in the semiconductor. The imaging apparatus according to claim 9, wherein an excitation current caused by the light is detected between the pair of light receiving element electrodes.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the intensity of the light is detected based on a magnitude of the excitation current.   The imaging device according to claim 15 or 16, wherein the light receiving unit includes an amplifying electrode for amplifying the excitation current flowing between the pair of light receiving element electrodes. A method of controlling an imaging apparatus comprising at least one imaging element formed on a flexible substrate,
A shape detection element for detecting the shape of the substrate is provided, and the scanning direction of the imaging element is controlled depending on the shape of the substrate detected by the shape detection element, and the imaging direction of the imaging element is controlled. A method for controlling an image pickup apparatus. A method for controlling an imaging apparatus comprising at least one imaging element formed on a flexible substrate,
A shape detection element for detecting the shape of the substrate is provided, the scanning direction of the image sensor is controlled depending on the shape of the substrate detected by the shape detection element, and the imaging area of the image sensor is controlled. A method for controlling an image pickup apparatus.   The method of controlling an imaging apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the imaging areas of the imaging elements are the same.   21. The method of controlling an imaging apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the shape detection element detects a shape of the substrate from a resistance change at a predetermined portion of the substrate.   The control method of the imaging apparatus according to any one of claims 18 to 21, wherein a relative distance from a predetermined light source is derived.   The method for controlling an imaging apparatus according to any one of claims 18 to 22, wherein a relative measure with respect to a predetermined light source is derived.   24. The method of controlling an imaging apparatus according to claim 18, wherein a base material of the imaging element is shared with the substrate, and the imaging element is formed integrally with the substrate. The image sensor includes a light receiving unit for receiving light from a predetermined light source, and an optical system provided in front of the light receiving unit for controlling the scanning direction.
The optical system includes a scanning electrode and a lens, and the scanning direction is controlled by changing the shape of the lens according to the magnitude of a voltage applied to the scanning electrode. The control method of the imaging device according to any one of 18 to 24.   26. The method according to claim 25, wherein the lens is a water lens.   27. The method of controlling an imaging apparatus according to claim 26, wherein the water lens is formed and held in a hemispherical shape in oil.   28. The method of controlling an imaging apparatus according to claim 25, wherein the optical system includes a light directing unit and introduces only light transmitted through the lens into the light receiving unit.   29. The method of controlling an imaging apparatus according to claim 28, wherein the light directing means is configured by a slit provided so as to surround the lens in a base material supporting the lens.   The light receiving unit includes a predetermined semiconductor and a pair of light receiving element electrodes provided so as to be in contact with the semiconductor, and makes light from the predetermined light source incident on the semiconductor and generated in the semiconductor. 30. The method of controlling an imaging apparatus according to claim 25, wherein an excitation current caused by the light is detected between the pair of light receiving element electrodes.   31. The method according to claim 30, wherein the intensity of the light is detected based on the magnitude of the excitation current.   32. The method of controlling an imaging apparatus according to claim 30, wherein the light receiving unit includes an amplification electrode and amplifies the excitation current flowing between the pair of light receiving element electrodes.

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