JP2005277812A - Digital camera device with hand fluctuation reducing device and image reproducer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain an image which does not contain an image flow component by hand fluctuation. <P>SOLUTION: The digital camera device forms this image data by extracting and integrating infinitesimal time image data by a plurality of times of the infinitesimal time photographing from an imaging element. The digital camera device has a displacement sensor unit. The digital camera device does not use the read infinitesimal time image data as this image data in response to the displacing amount (camera shake) detected by the displacement sensor unit. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a digital camera having a camera shake prevention function.

  Conventionally, camera shake at the time of shooting with a camera has been a problem. In particular, α (rotational movement included in the XZ plane), β (rotational movement included in the YZ plane), γ (in the XY plane) shown in FIG. Rotation in each direction (rotational movement included in FIG. 4) affects the captured image as camera shake. Another cause of camera shake is parallel movement in the X, Y, and Z directions shown in FIG. 6, but movement in these directions is considered to have little effect on the shooting screen and is not included in the target of camera shake correction. Strictly speaking, it is possible to obtain an image that does not include image flow due to camera shake by detecting the displacement amount, the displacement speed, and the displacement acceleration in these six displacement directions and operating the correction mechanism.

  These camera shake correction methods can reduce camera shake by moving a part of the photographic optical system (shift type) as in JP-A-3-188430 and JP-A-4-21831, or reduce the camera shake through a prism. (VAP type). Furthermore, a method for cutting out a part of the imaging area and reducing camera shake is disclosed.

  Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-326850 discloses a method for obtaining final image data by repeating exposure for a minute time sufficiently shorter than the exposure time and integrating the exposure data for each minute time. The present invention is an application of this principle for the purpose of obtaining image data that does not include a shake component.

  Conventionally, in camera devices that do not have a camera shake correction mechanism, if camera shake occurs, there is no way to avoid it, and in camera devices that have a camera shake correction mechanism, camera shake that exceeds the correction limit, that is, the correction amount limit However, it has not dealt with the camera shake caused by the shift exceeding the correction speed, the shift faster or slower than the correction speed limit, and the parallel movement in the directions indicated by X, Y, and Z in FIG. When these causes of camera shake occur, camera shake (image flow) has occurred in the recorded image.

  The digital camera of the present invention is a digital camera device that generates main image data by taking out and integrating minute time image data obtained by a plurality of minute time shootings from an image sensor, and has a displacement sensor device. By determining that the read minute time image data is not used as the main image data in accordance with the amount of displacement detected by the apparatus, image data including a camera shake component is not adopted and main image data without camera shake is generated. To do.

  Further, in the digital camera, when it is determined that the minute time image data is not used, the main image data is generated from the minute time image data up to immediately before, and the subsequent photographing process is interrupted, thereby preventing camera shake. No image data is generated.

  Further, in the digital camera, when it is determined that the minute time image data is not used, the first main image data is generated with a plurality of previous minute time image data, and the non-use is determined. The second main image data is generated by a plurality of minute time image data after that. Of course, when camera shake occurs during the collection of the minute time image data for the second main image data, the second main image data is generated at this point, and the generation of the third main image data is started from here. Repeat thereafter.

  In addition, if the exposure amount is insufficient because the scheduled exposure time is not reached by thinning out the minute time image data or interrupting the shooting by the above-described method, the number of minute time image data not adopted as the minute time. The main image data is generated by extending the imaging time according to the amount of time corresponding to the product of.

  In addition, if the exposure amount is insufficient because the scheduled exposure time is not reached by thinning out the minute time image data or interrupting the shooting by the above-described method, the number of minute time image data not adopted as the minute time. The main image data is generated by sensitizing the main image data in accordance with the exposure amount corresponding to the product of the above.

  The displacement sensor device required for the digital camera device may be a shake sensor device used in a camera shake correction device built in the camera device or the lens device.

  In addition, in a digital camera device that generates main image data by extracting and integrating minute time image data from a plurality of minute time shootings from an image sensor, it has a displacement sensor and integrates a plurality of minute time image data. It is prohibited to record the minute time image data individually, and at the same time, the displacement amount detected by the displacement sensor device may be recorded based on the image data of the individual recording and the temporal relation.

  Further, at the time of reproducing the individually recorded image data, the shake amount temporally related to the recorded minute time image data is read and reproduced from a plurality of minute time image data that does not reach the predetermined shake amount. Image data may be generated.

  As described above, the digital camera device of the present invention generates the main image data by taking out and integrating the minute time image data obtained by the plurality of minute time photographing from the image sensor, and according to the amount of displacement detected by the displacement sensor device, By determining that the read minute-time image data is not used as the main image data, it is possible to generate image data that does not have camera shake without using image data including a camera shake component.

  In addition, when it is determined that the minute time image data is not used, the main image data is generated from the minute time image data until immediately before, and the subsequent photographing process is interrupted to generate image data without camera shake. Can do.

  Further, when it is determined that the minute time image data is not used, one first main image data is generated from a plurality of previous minute time image data, and the minute time image data after the non-use is determined. A plurality of second main image data is generated in plural. Of course, when camera shake occurs during the collection of the minute time image data for the second main image data, the second main image data is generated at this point, and the generation of the third main image data is started from here. The image data without camera shake can be generated by repeating thereafter.

  In addition, if the exposure amount is insufficient because the scheduled exposure time is not reached by thinning out the minute time image data or interrupting the shooting by the above-described method, the number of minute time image data not adopted as the minute time. By extending the imaging time according to the amount of time corresponding to the product of the above, it is possible to generate main image data with no camera shake and proper exposure.

  In addition, if the exposure amount is insufficient because the scheduled exposure time is not reached by thinning out the minute time image data or interrupting the shooting by the above-described method, the number of minute time image data not adopted as the minute time. In accordance with the exposure amount corresponding to the product, the main image data can be generated with no camera shake and with proper exposure by the sensitization processing to the main image data.

  The displacement sensor device required for the digital camera device may be a shake sensor device used in a camera shake correction device built in the camera device or the lens device.

  In addition, in digital camera devices that generate actual image data by extracting and integrating minute image data from multiple times of minute time shooting from the image sensor, it is prohibited to integrate multiple times of minute time image data with a displacement sensor. In addition, the minute time image data is individually recorded, and at the same time, the displacement amount detected by the displacement sensor device is recorded based on the temporal relation with the individual recorded image data, and the individual recorded image data is reproduced. At the time, the shake amount temporally related to the recorded minute time image data is read, and image data for reproduction is generated by generating reproduction image data from a plurality of minute time image data that does not reach a predetermined shake amount. An image can be obtained.

  Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of the first embodiment of the present invention.

  FIG. 1 schematically shows the configuration of a digital camera. In the figure, 11 is a lens device, 12 is a camera shake correction lens, 13 is a diaphragm device, 14 is a mirror device for controlling the path of light incident on the lens device 11, 15 is a shutter device, 16 is a light signal from a CCD, CMOS, or the like. An image sensor for converting an electrical signal, 17 an A / D converter for converting an analog signal to a digital signal, 18 an image processing apparatus for performing video signal processing such as gamma correction, and 19 a compression process for compressing image data 20 is a memory device that temporarily stores image data and stores and holds programs and data variables, 21 is a recording medium that records image data on a memory card, hard disk, and the like, 22 is an optical viewfinder device, and 23 is an optical device. A display device 24 provided in the viewfinder or / and on the outer periphery of the camera is a drive for driving the image sensor 16 and the A / D converter 17. 25, a shutter control device that controls the shutter device 15 to adjust the exposure time, 26 is a shooting mode changing device that changes the shooting mode, 27 is a shooting resolution changing device that changes the resolution of the shot image, and 28 is shooting. ISO value changing device for changing the sensitivity at the time, 29 is a shutter switch device for instructing imaging, 30 is a main power switch for controlling on / off of the power of the digital camera, and 31 is a single continuous shooting for switching between single shooting and continuous shooting. A copy switch 32 is a diaphragm control device that controls the diaphragm device 13 to adjust the amount of light reaching the image sensor 16. A correction lens 33 is a correction lens that controls the correction lens 12 to stabilize the position of light incident on the image sensor 16. A control device 34 is a focus control device that adjusts the focal length by driving a focusing lens in the lens device 11, and 35 generates a warning sound and a confirmation sound. A sounding body, 36 is a flash device having a function of projecting auxiliary light for autofocus and a flash light control function, 37 is a correction lens position detection device for detecting the movement amount of the correction lens 12, and 38 is x, y, z in FIG. , Α, β, γ displacement sensors that detect displacement amounts in each direction, 39 is a distance measuring device that detects focus, 40 is a photometric device that detects the brightness of the subject, and 41 is a control of the entire digital camera. The system control device performs control of the peripheral control device, control according to inputs from the switches, adjustment of the focal length, adjustment of the exposure amount, writing / reading control to the memory and the recording medium, and the like.

  The display device 23 includes, for example, exposure time, aperture value, number of storable images, exposure correction value, shooting mode, compression rate, focus, flash charging completion, busy, and various setting menu screens and playback images, and other warning texts. Is displayed.

  The shooting mode changing device 26 can select each shooting mode such as automatic, program, shutter speed priority, aperture priority, manual, depth of focus priority, portrait, landscape, close-up, sports, night view, panorama, movie recording, and the like. is there.

  The shutter switch 29 is a so-called two-stage switch of SW1 and SW2, and starts operations such as autofocus processing, automatic exposure processing, auto white balance processing, and flash light control processing when SW1 is turned on. Further, when the switch SW2 is turned on, the shutter device 15 is opened, and the signal output from the image sensor 16 passes through the A / D conversion device 17, the image processing device 18, and the compression processing device 19 to generate image data. A series of processes are performed to save the data.

  In addition, the single continuous shooting switch 31 allows the camera device to continuously shoot after SW2 is pressed and SW2 is released (continuous shooting) and only one shooting is performed until SW1 is released. Switch between (Single).

  Of course, as a general technique, the control of the exposure time may be directly controlled by the shutter device 15, or a method of controlling by the accumulation time of the imaging device 16 called an electronic shutter is often used.

  An example in which distance measurement and photometry (that is, autofocus processing, automatic exposure processing, and flash light control processing) are performed using the distance measuring device 39 and the light measuring device 40 has been described. However, the image processing device 18 and the system control device 41 are used instead. It is also possible.

  Further, instead of the optical finder 22, an image that enters the imaging device 16 is displayed on the display device 23, and a view finder that is used as a finder may be considered.

  The camera shake correction lens 12 shown in FIG. 1 uses a displacement sensor device 38 to detect the shake amount in the direction of the direction included in the plane perpendicular to the optical axis (image shake caused by the displacement of α and β in FIG. 6). Then, the correction lens 12 is shifted in a direction perpendicular to the incident light by the system control device 41 and the correction lens control device 33, and the image light incident on the imaging device 16 is stabilized. In addition, there is a method that can be replaced by a variable apex angle prism provided in the lens device. Furthermore, there is a method in which camera shake correction is performed by shifting the cutout region of the image light incident on the image sensor 16 instead of providing a movable part in the lens device.

  The digital camera device of the present invention is configured by being equipped with a displacement sensor. As another configuration example, a displacement sensor used in an existing camera shake correction function can be used. In addition, image blur that cannot be corrected by the existing camera shake correction function can be corrected by the present invention. In particular, the present invention does not limit the existing camera shake function.

  FIG. 2 shows the main processing of the digital camera and the present invention. An outline of processing of the digital camera device shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The system control device 41 checks the setting state of the single shooting continuous shooting switch 31 for switching between single shooting / continuous shooting (S101), and if single shooting is set, the single shooting flag (exists in the memory device 20) is set. If it is set (S102) and continuous shooting is set, a continuous shooting flag (existing in the memory device 20) is set (S103). The single shooting flag and the continuous shooting flag may be recorded in a memory inside the system control device 41. Next, the correction lens is placed at the initial position and the displacement sensor 38 and the like are initialized (S104).

  If SW1 of the shutter switch 29 is not turned on (S105), the process returns to S101. When the SW1 of the shutter switch 29 has been pressed (S105), the system control device 41 starts the correction operation of the correction lens 12 together with the correction lens control device 33 (S106). Further, the system control device 41 performs distance measurement / photometry processing (S107) (S108).

  In S109, it is determined whether SW2 of the shutter switch 29 is pressed. Until the shutter switch SW1 is released (S110), the determination of SW1 and SW2 is repeated. If SW1 is released, the correction process performed by the correction lens 12 or the like is terminated in S120, and the process returns to S101. If the shutter switch SW2 is pressed, the system control device 41 determines whether or not the memory device 20 has an area where the captured image data can be stored (S111). Display is performed (S112), the image stabilization operation is terminated in S120, and the process returns to S101.

  If there is an area in the memory device 20 where the photographed image data can be stored, the photographing process is performed in S113, and the developing process is performed in S114.

  In the development processing of S114, necessary WB (white balance) integration calculation and OB (optical black) integration calculation are performed, and the calculation result is stored in an internal memory (not shown) of the system control device 41 or the memory device 20. Then, the system control device 41 reads out the captured image data written in a predetermined area of the memory device 20 by using the image processing device 18 and stores the calculation result stored in the internal memory of the system control device 41 or the memory device 20. The various development processes including AWB (auto white balance) process, gamma conversion process, and color conversion process are performed (S114).

  In addition, the number of times of discarding the captured data for each minute time image in the photographing process S113 is inspected (S115), and if the number of times of discarding is one or more, the sensitization process is performed (S116). As a method of the sensitization processing, it is possible to apply a γ correction of γ = 1.0 or more, or to add or multiply a constant value to the Y signal component. There is also a method in which a signal immediately after A / D conversion is stored and multiplied by a certain value. The determination in S115 and the sensitization process in S116 may be performed inside the development process in S114.

  This sensitization process S116 is a process replacing the exposure time extension of S419 shown in FIG. 5, and either the exposure time extension of S419 or the sensitization process S116 here may be performed. The extension of the exposure time is an embodiment of the invention according to claim 4, and the sensitization processing is an embodiment of the invention according to claim 5. However, it is possible to discard a part of the imaging data without generating an extension of the exposure time or the sensitization process according to the user's instruction, and to generate an image under the proper exposure. This is an embodiment of the invention.

  The system control device 41 performs image compression processing corresponding to the set mode on the image data once stored in the memory device 20 (S117), and starts saving processing in the recording medium device 21 such as a hard disk or a memory card. (S118).

  After recording is started, it is determined in S119 whether the shutter switch SW1 has been pressed. If released, the image stabilization process ends in S120. If the shutter switch SW1 is pressed, it is determined in S121 whether continuous shooting or single shooting is performed. If single shooting, the flow returns to S119, and if continuous shooting, the flow returns to S108. In the case of continuous shooting, the process returns to S108 and repeats from the photometry process, but may return to S107 and repeat from the distance measurement process.

  The distance measurement process (S107 in FIG. 2) will be described with reference to FIG.

  Using the system control device 41, the image sensor 16, the distance measuring device 39, and the focus control device 34, the lens device 11 is driven to perform focus processing (S201). The light beam incident on the lens device 11 is incident on the distance measuring device 39 by the mirror device 14, and the focused state of the image formed as an optical image is determined to determine the focus. The system control device 41 and the focus control device 34 move the focusing lens in the lens device 11 (S201), and the system control device 41 determines based on the state of the image captured by the distance measuring device 33 (S202). When the in-focus state is obtained, the lens position is determined, and the distance measuring point is determined (S203). At this time, a focused distance measurement point is selected from a plurality of distance measurement points, and distance measurement data, distance data, lens data, and the like are stored in the internal memory of the system control device 41 or the memory device 20.

  The photometric process (S108 in FIG. 2) will be described with reference to FIG.

  The system control device 41 performs automatic exposure processing using the photometry device 40. By making the light beam incident on the lens device 11 enter the photometric device 40, the exposure state of the image formed as an optical image is measured (S301), and calculation is performed so as to obtain an optimum exposure (AE) during actual photographing. Is repeated (S302). When the set value that can obtain the appropriate exposure is determined (S303), the system control circuit 41 stores the photometric data including the photometric value and / or the set parameter in the internal memory of the system control device 41 or the memory device 20, and in S304. move on.

  Note that the system control device 41 determines an aperture value (Av value) and a shutter speed (Tv value) according to the exposure amount detected in the photometric process S303 and the shooting mode set by the mode dial. In accordance with this value, the shutter control device 25 and the aperture control device 32 are controlled to perform photographing.

  Further, the system controller 41 determines whether or not a flash is necessary (S304), sets a flash flag if a flash is necessary, and performs charging until the flash 36 is fully charged (S306) (S305).

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the photographing process of S113 in FIG.

  The system control device 41 moves the mirror 14 to the mirror up position by a mirror driving means (not shown) (S401), and the aperture control device 32 according to the photometric data stored in the internal memory of the system control device 41 or the memory device 20. Thus, the diaphragm device 13 is driven to a predetermined diaphragm amount (S402). In step S403, the system control device 41 clears the electric charge of the image sensor 16. In step S404, the charge of the image sensor 16 is started. The shutter control device 25 opens the shutter 15 (S405), and exposure of the image sensor 16 is started (step S405). S406). At this time, the amount of displacement is read from the displacement sensor 38, the amount of shake on the imaging surface is calculated, and stored in the internal memory of the memory device 20 or the system control device 41 as an initial position (S407).

  For example, the point Q moves to the position of the point Q ′, and the shake amounts dx and dy are considered. Here, the displacement sensor 38 is constituted by an angular velocity sensor using two or more vibrating gyros arranged in a direction perpendicular to the incident optical axis, and calculates a deflection angle β1 in the β direction from the angular velocity information, and an expression of dy = Ltanβ1. Is used to calculate the shake amount dy (FIG. 7). Similarly, the image plane shake amount dx generated by the shake angle α1 in the α direction is also obtained by dx = Ltanα1.

  The system control device 41 determines whether a predetermined minute time T1 shorter than the exposure time has elapsed since the start of exposure (S408). When the minute time T1 has elapsed, a video signal is read from the image sensor 16 in S409, and converted into a digital signal by the A / D converter 17 in consideration of ease of handling thereafter. At this time, the charge accumulation process is continued. When it is read out, the current shake amount is calculated again. Similar to the calculation of dx and dy in the previous S407, a new movement position Q ″ of the point Q ′ is calculated (S410). Here, the distance between the point Q ′ and the point Q ″ is calculated and generated during the minute time exposure. It is determined whether the shake amount is within an allowable range (S412).

  In the flowchart shown in FIG. 5, the minute exposure time and the reading interval of the displacement sensor are shown to be the same. However, by increasing the frequency of reading of the displacement sensor, sampling is performed about 1 to 1000 times within the minute time T1, The locus of the point P may be calculated strictly. By doing this, the amount of shake can be grasped more strictly, and it is possible to cope with a case where the shake amount is once greatly shaken and returned to the original position again within T1 time. For example, considering the circle A as shown in FIG. 8, if the destination of the point P (or part of the moved path) exceeds the circle A, it is determined that it exceeds the allowable range. The size of the circle A varies depending on the target user assumed by the apparatus and the level of skill, and is set to be small when an advanced user or hand shake is to be suppressed as much as possible, and large when a beginner or hand shake is allowed to some extent. If it is desired to eliminate any shake, the distance between pixels of the image sensor 16 may be set as a radius for a digital camera, and the resolution of a human eye may be set for a film camera. Actually, when the radius of the circle A serving as the judgment boundary is r, θ is obtained in advance by θ = L tan −1 r, and all displacement amounts θ 0 obtained from the displacement sensor 38 during T1 time are 0 ≦ θ 0 ≦. If θ is satisfied, it is determined to be within the allowable range.

  If it is determined in S412 that the allowable range is exceeded, the imaging data read here is discarded in S413. In this case, 1 is added to the data discard number variable provided in the memory device 20 or the system control device 41 in S414. If it is determined in S412 that the value is within the allowable range, the image pickup signal of the image pickup element 16 converted into digital data by the A / D conversion device 17 is added to the previous image pickup data as in the normal image pickup processing, and a new Temporary image data is temporarily stored in the memory device 20 (S415).

  In step S416, the position information P ″ is replaced with P ′ for reading the next imaging data.

  The system control device 41 waits for the exposure time of the image sensor 16 according to the photometric data (S417). If the exposure time has not elapsed, the system control device 41 returns to S408 and again waits for the minute time T1 to elapse.

  If the exposure time has ended, the system control circuit 41 checks the number of times the image data has been discarded so far accumulated in S414. If it is one or more times, the exposure time is extended by calculation of (T1 × N) according to the number of times of discard N (S419), the previous number of times of discard variable is returned to 0, and at the same time a message for extending the exposure time is displayed on the display device 23 Is displayed (S420). Returning to S417, the end of exposure is determined again.

  When the exposure is completed, the system control device 41 closes the shutter 15 by the shutter control device 25 (S421), drives the aperture device 12 to the open aperture value by the aperture control device 24 (S422), and lowers the mirror 14 to mirror down. Move to the position (S423). The system control device 41 ends the charge accumulation of the image sensor 16 (S424).

  FIG. 12 shows types of shake amount determination in S412. (A) of FIG. 12 is a method of taking a circle A with reference to the position where the first point P exists, and determining whether all the following trajectories are in the circle A. Further, the method shown in (b) is a method of recreating the determination area sequentially, taking a circle A with reference to the position of the point P, and determining whether the destination point P ′ exists within the circle A, and then changing the point P ′ to This is a method of considering the circle B as a reference and determining whether the next destination point P ″ is included in the circle B. Further, the method shown in (c) is in addition to the method shown in (b). When the movement from the point P to the point P ′ occurs, the movement direction (vector) is taken into consideration, and it is determined whether a further movement direction exists within the angle θ including the vector.

  As described above, it is determined whether or not the camera shake deviation during the minute amount of the imaging data is within the allowable range, and when the deviation is outside the allowable range, the imaging data is not integrated. By accumulating the imaging data that does not deviate, a final image that does not include the image flow component caused by camera shake can be obtained (FIG. 11A). However, since the image in this case has an exposure time shorter than the assumed exposure time, the photographing is extended by the extended exposure time calculated by the product of the number of discarded exposure data and the minute time length. Similarly, during this extended period, the selection of acceptance / rejection of minute time image data corresponding to the shake amount is performed. This is applied to the digital camera device according to the fourth aspect.

  Further, in place of the above-described extension of the exposure time, it is also possible to obtain an image with a predetermined exposure by performing a sensitization process. This is applied to the digital camera device according to the fifth aspect.

  Furthermore, it is also possible to use only the integration result of the obtained imaging data as final image data, and this may be achieved by configuring the equipment and processing so that neither the exposure time extension nor the sensitization processing is performed. Since the configuration is such that the processing is not executed from the flowchart of FIG. This is applied to the digital camera device according to claim 1.

  In addition, the displacement sensor 38 may be a displacement sensor that is used in a shift-type or vari-angle type camera-shake correction lens, an imaging area selection-type camera shake correction, or the like.

  In the digital camera device described in the first embodiment, an embodiment in which the photographing process is forcibly terminated without performing the exposure time extension or the sensitization process will be described. This embodiment is according to claim 2.

  FIG. 9 shows the photographing process of S113 in FIG. An outline of processing of the digital camera device shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The system control device 41 moves the mirror 14 to the mirror up position by a mirror driving unit (not shown) (S501), and the aperture control device 32 according to the photometric data stored in the internal memory of the system control device 41 or the memory device 20. Thus, the diaphragm device 13 is driven to a predetermined diaphragm amount (S502). In step S503, the system control device 41 clears the electric charge of the image sensor 16. In step S504, the electric charge accumulation of the image sensor 16 is started. The shutter 15 is opened by the shutter control device 25 (S505), and exposure of the image sensor 16 is started ( S506). At this time, the amount of displacement is read from the displacement sensor 38, the amount of shake on the imaging surface is calculated, and stored in the internal memory of the memory device 20 or the system control device 41 as an initial position (S507).

For example, the point Q moves to the position of the point Q ′, and the shake amounts dx and dy are considered. Here, the displacement sensor 38 is constituted by an angular velocity sensor using two or more vibrating gyros arranged in a direction perpendicular to the incident optical axis, and calculates a deflection angle β1 in the β direction from the angular velocity information, and an expression of dy = Ltanβ1. Is used to calculate the shake amount dy (FIG. 7).
Similarly, the image plane shake amount dx generated by the shake angle α1 in the α direction is also obtained by dx = Ltanα1.

  The system controller 41 determines whether a predetermined minute time T1 shorter than the exposure time has elapsed since the start of exposure (S508). When the minute time T1 has elapsed, a video signal is read from the image sensor 16 in S509. At this time, the charge accumulation process is continued. When it is read out, the current shake amount is calculated again. Similar to the calculation of dx and dy in the previous S507, the movement destination position Q ″ of the new point Q ′ is calculated (S510). Here, the distance between the point Q ′ and the point Q ″ is calculated to determine whether it is within the allowable range. (S512).

  If the deviation is within the allowable range in S512, the electric charge read from the image sensor 16 is converted into digital data by the A / D converter 17 in order to continue the normal exposure operation. The image data accumulated in the device 20 is integrated and stored again in the memory device 20 as new image data. This image data is used for the integration process in the next S514. Of course, since there is no previous image data in the case of the first minute time exposure data from the start of exposure, it is stored in the memory device 20 as it is without being integrated (S514).

  In step S516, the position information P2 is replaced with P1 for reading the next imaging data.

  In the flowchart shown in FIG. 9, the minute exposure time and the reading interval of the displacement sensor are shown to be the same. However, by increasing the frequency of reading of the displacement sensor, sampling is performed about 1 to 1000 times within the minute time T1, The locus of the point P may be calculated strictly. By doing this, the amount of shake can be grasped more strictly, and it is possible to cope with a case where the shake amount is once greatly shaken and returned to the original position again within T1 time. For example, considering the circle A as shown in FIG. 8, if the destination of the point P (or a part of the moved path) exceeds the circle A, it is determined that the allowable range is exceeded.

  Actually, θ is obtained in advance by θ = L tan −1 r where r is the radius of the circle A serving as a judgment boundary, and all displacement amounts θ 0 obtained from the displacement sensor 38 during T1 time are 0 ≦ θ 0 ≦. If θ is satisfied, it is determined to be within the allowable range.

  The system controller 41 waits for the exposure time of the image sensor 16 to elapse according to the photometric data (S516). If the exposure time has not elapsed, the system control device 41 returns to S508 and waits for the elapse of the minute time T1 again. If the exposure time has elapsed, the process proceeds to an exposure end process.

  Also, when it is determined in S512 that the allowable range is exceeded, in S513, the readout image data that takes this minute time is discarded, and the process forcibly moves to the exposure end process.

  When the exposure is completed, the system control device 41 closes the shutter 15 by the shutter control device 25 (S517), drives the aperture device 12 to the open aperture value by the aperture control device 24 (S518), and lowers the mirror 14 to the mirror down. Move to the position (S519). The system control device 41 ends the charge accumulation of the image sensor 16. (S520).

  As described above, in the digital camera device according to the first aspect, it is determined whether or not the camera shake deviation during the minute amount of the imaging data is within the allowable range. Do not accumulate. At that time, the photographing process is terminated (FIG. 11B). As a result, the exposure process is terminated when camera shake occurs, and a final image that does not include an image flow component can be obtained.

  In addition, the displacement sensor 38 may be a displacement sensor that is used in a shift-type or vari-angle type camera-shake correction lens, an imaging area selection-type camera shake correction, or the like.

  In the digital camera device described in the first embodiment, the minute time exposure data in which camera shake occurs is discarded, and front and rear image data are individually generated with this timing interposed therebetween. This embodiment is according to claim 3.

  FIG. 10 shows the photographing process of S113 in FIG. The outline of the processing of the digital camera device shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The system control device 41 moves the mirror 14 to the mirror up position by a mirror driving unit (not shown) (S601), and also according to the photometric data stored in the internal memory of the system control device 41 or the memory device 20, the aperture control device 32. Thus, the diaphragm device 13 is driven to a predetermined diaphragm amount (S602). In step S603, the system control device 41 clears the electric charge of the image sensor 16. In step S604, the charge accumulation of the image sensor 16 is started. The shutter control device 25 opens the shutter 15 (S605), and exposure of the image sensor 16 is started ( S606). At this time, the amount of displacement is read from the displacement sensor 38, the amount of shake on the imaging surface is calculated, and stored in the internal memory of the memory device 20 or the system control device 41 as an initial position (S607).

  For example, the point Q moves to the position of the point Q ′, and the shake amounts dx and dy are considered. Here, the displacement sensor 38 is constituted by an angular velocity sensor using two or more vibrating gyros arranged in a direction perpendicular to the incident optical axis, and calculates a deflection angle β1 in the β direction from the angular velocity information, and an expression of dy = Ltanβ1. Is used to calculate the shake amount dy (FIG. 7). Similarly, the image plane shake amount dx generated by the shake angle α1 in the α direction is also obtained by dx = Ltanα1.

  The system control device 41 determines whether a predetermined minute time T1 shorter than the exposure time has elapsed since the start of exposure (S608). When the minute time T1 has elapsed, a video signal is read from the image sensor 16 in S609. At this time, the charge accumulation process is continued. When it is read out, the current shake amount is calculated again. Similar to the calculation of dx and dy in the previous S607, the movement destination position Q ″ of the new point Q ′ is calculated (S610). Here, the distance between the point Q ′ and the point Q ″ is calculated to determine whether it is within the allowable range. (S612).

  If the deviation is within the allowable range in S612, the electric charge read from the image sensor 16 is converted into digital data by the A / D conversion device 17 in order to continue the normal exposure operation. The image data accumulated in the device 20 is integrated and stored again as new image data in the memory device 20 (S618). This image data is used for the integration process in S618 again. Of course, in the case of the first minute time exposure data from the start of exposure, there is no previous image data, so it is stored in the memory device 20 as it is without being integrated (S618).

  In step S619, the position information P2 is replaced with P1 for reading the next imaging data.

  In the flowchart shown in FIG. 10, the minute exposure time and the reading interval of the displacement sensor are shown to be the same, but the frequency of the displacement sensor is increased, and sampling is performed about 1 to 1000 times within the minute time T1, The locus of the point P may be calculated strictly. By doing so, the shake amount can be grasped more accurately, and it is possible to cope with a case where the shake amount is once greatly swung within T1 time and returned to the vicinity of the original position again. For example, considering the circle A as shown in FIG. 8, if the destination of the point P (or a part of the moved path) exceeds the circle A, it is determined that the allowable range is exceeded.

  Actually, when the radius of the circle A serving as the judgment boundary is r, θ is obtained in advance by θ = L tan −1 r, and all displacement amounts θ 0 obtained from the displacement sensor 38 during T1 time are 0 ≦ θ 0 ≦. If θ is satisfied, it is determined to be within the allowable range.

  The system controller 41 waits for the exposure time of the image sensor 16 to elapse according to the photometric data (S620). If the exposure time has not elapsed, the system control device 41 returns to S608 and waits for the elapse of the minute time T1 again. If the exposure time has elapsed, the process proceeds to an exposure end process.

  If it is determined in S612 that the allowable range is exceeded, the minute time exposure data is discarded (S613), and the image data is closed with the accumulated data up to that point. That is, it is determined as one image data (S614). Further, in S615, it is determined whether there is a storable memory area in the memory device 20 in order to continue accumulation of new minute time exposure data (S616). If the memory area cannot be secured, a warning is issued in S617. The warning displays a message on the display device 23. If the memory can be secured, the process proceeds to S619 and the exposure process is resumed.

  When the exposure time has elapsed in S620 and the exposure is completed, the system control device 41 closes the shutter 15 by the shutter control device 25 (S621), and drives the aperture device 12 to the open aperture value by the aperture control device 24. (S622), the mirror 14 is moved to the mirror down position (S623), and the charge accumulation of the image sensor 16 is terminated (S624).

  Thus, in the digital camera device according to the third aspect, it is determined whether or not the camera shake deviation between the exposure data for a minute time is within an allowable range. Do not accumulate. Furthermore, one piece of image data is generated from the exposure data integrated up to that point, and further, a very small amount of exposure data is collected and integrated until the end of the exposure time to newly generate image data (FIG. 11 (c)). . Of course, if camera shake exceeding the allowable amount is detected again during the latter half of the image data collection, second image data is generated from the integrated exposure data at this point, and if time remains until the end of the exposure time, the third Start micro time exposure data collection for image data. Repeat until the end of the exposure time. As a result, a plurality of image data that does not include imaging data having a camera shake component can be obtained, and these images can be used individually, subjected to sensitization processing, or combined into one.

  Further, the displacement sensor 38 may be a displacement sensor used in a shift type or vari-angle type camera shake correction lens, an imaging area selection type camera shake correction, or the like.

  When the digital camera device described in the first to third embodiments has a conventional camera shake correction function, it is more effective to change the camera shake correction device of the present invention in accordance with the camera shake correction function. In the present embodiment, an embodiment of the present invention corresponding to a conventional camera shake correction function will be described. The present embodiment relates to claim 6.

  Similar to the first embodiment, the digital camera device shown in FIG. 1 performs the processing shown in FIG. In this embodiment, what should be particularly described is the photographing process in S113. In particular, in FIGS. 5, 9, and 10 in which S113 is described in detail, there is a feature in the portions (S412, S512, S612) that are determined to be within the allowable range. That is, the present invention is adapted to correct camera shake exceeding the correction limit of the conventional camera shake correction function, and details thereof will be described below.

  In the above-described embodiment, the shake amounts dx and dy of the imaging surface are calculated with respect to the displacement angles α and β detected by the displacement sensor 38. Considering the causes of camera shake when the conventional camera shake correction device is functioning, (1) camera shake exceeding the camera shake correction limit amount and (2) camera shake faster than the camera shake correction reaction speed. This is the case. In the present embodiment, both of them can be handled, and each will be described below.

(1) When the camera shake correction limit is exceeded When the displacement angle correctable by the conventional camera shake correction function is θc, the image plane correction amount Dc is Dc = Ltanθc, and the radius Dc shown in FIG. The deviation that falls within the circle C indicated by is corrected by a conventional camera shake correction function. Therefore, when considering a limit M that does not cause image flow and a circle M added with a radius Dmax of an allowable amount of camera shake, the limit displacement angle θon of the displacement sensor 38 becomes θon that satisfies (Dmax + Dc) = Ltanθon, and is allowed to shake until θon. That's fine. On the other hand, when the camera shake correction function is not operated, a circle N having a pure camera shake allowable radius Dmax is considered and correction up to θoff satisfying Dmax = Ltanθoff is performed.

  Therefore, if the conventional camera shake correction function is operated, the image flow is not generated by the camera shake correction of the present invention if the displacement is up to the displacement angle θon, and if it is not operated, the displacement is up to the displacement angle θoff. As described above, when determining in S412, S512, and S612 in FIGS. 5, 9, and 10, the displacement angle θc that can be corrected by the conventional camera shake correction function is stored in advance in the memory device 41, and the displacement caused by the generated camera shake is stored. With respect to the angle θp, the read data discard determination of the present invention may be performed under the condition of θp + θc> θon when the conventional camera shake correction is operating, and θp> θoff when not operating.

(2) When the camera shake correction response speed is exceeded When the displacement angular velocity that can be corrected by the conventional camera shake correction function is ωd and the displacement angular velocity ωp occurs, the correction cannot be made by the conventional camera shake correction function when ωp> ωd. I understand. Therefore, in order to cope with this situation, ωd is stored in the memory device 41 in advance, and the shake that exceeds the shake correction reaction speed is detected by the system controller 41 determining the magnitude of the generated displacement angular velocity ωp. In this case, NO is determined in each determination of S412, S512, and S612.

  As described above, instead of simply determining the distance between the point P ′ and the destination point P ″, when the conventional camera shake correction function is operating, when determining whether the shake amount is within the allowable amount , By changing the judgment criteria or using the displacement angular velocity information as the judgment material, more effective condition judgment becomes possible, and when these camera shakes are detected, a slight time is required as described above. Camera shake correction can be performed by discarding imaging data.

  In this embodiment, the conventional camera shake correction function is not limited, and all of the correction methods in which the displacement angle and the displacement angular velocity as the correction limit are known, such as the conventional lens shift type, vari-angle type, and area shift type, can be supported. .

  The fifth embodiment is a method of storing minute time image data separately and combining them later to obtain one image. The present embodiment relates to claims 7 and 8.

  In the digital camera device of FIG. 1, the video signal read from the image sensor 16 every minute time is converted by the A / D conversion device 17 without determining the data discard or the like in the camera shake amount, and the digital data is stored in the memory. Recording is performed on the device 20 or the recording medium 21. At this time, the shake amount read in S410 (S510, S610) is associated and recorded in the memory device 20 or the recording medium 21. As shown in FIG. 14, associating methods are embedded and stored in a part of image data (FIG. 14 (a)), or a method of separately storing shake amounts (FIG. 14 (b)). There is.

  When embedding in a part of data as shown in FIG. 14 (a), there are a plurality of data structures, and it is composed of the number of quotients of exposure time / minute time (if it is not divisible, it is incremented to an integer unit). . Further, when the shake amount is collected as one piece of data as shown in FIG. 14B, it is composed of a set of shake amount data consisting of the number of quotients of exposure time / minute time (when not divisible, it is raised to an integer unit). The

The figure which showed the digital camera containing this invention Diagram showing the entire process Figure showing distance measurement processing individually Figure showing individual photometric processing Detailed view of the shooting process Diagram showing the coordinate axes of the camera device Diagram showing displacement angle and displacement Diagram explaining the movement of an arbitrary point Detailed view of the shooting process Detailed view of the shooting process Figure showing the integration of minute time exposure Figure showing the type of judgment Explanatory drawing when combined with conventional image stabilization mechanism A diagram for explaining the association of shake amount to image data

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Lens apparatus 12 Camera shake correction lens 13 Aperture apparatus 14 Mirror apparatus 15 Shutter apparatus 16 Image sensor 17 which converts an optical signal into an electric signal 17 A / D converter 18 Image processing apparatus which performs video signal processing 19 Compression processing apparatus which performs compression processing DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 20 Memory apparatus 21 Recording medium 22 Optical finder apparatus 23 Display apparatus 24 Drive apparatus which drives the image pick-up element 16 and A / D converter 17 25 Shutter control apparatus which controls the shutter apparatus 26 26 Shooting mode change apparatus which changes the mode of imaging | photography 27 Shooting resolution changing device for changing the resolution of a shot image 28 ISO value changing device for changing sensitivity at the time of shooting 29 Shutter switch device for instructing imaging 30 Main power switch for power on / off control 31 Single shooting and continuous shooting Single-shot continuous switch to switch 32 Control the aperture unit 13 Aperture control device 33 A correction lens control device 34 that controls the correction lens 12 34 A focus control device 35 A sound generator 36 A flash device 37 A correction lens position detection device 38 A displacement sensor 39 A distance measurement device 40 that detects focus 40 A subject's brightness is detected Photometry device 41 System control device

Claims (9)

  In a digital camera device that generates main image data by extracting and integrating micro time image data obtained by a plurality of micro time shootings from an image sensor, the digital camera device has a displacement sensor device, and according to the amount of displacement detected by the displacement sensor device A digital camera device characterized in that the read minute time image data is not used as main image data.   2. The digital camera device according to claim 1, wherein when the minute time image data is determined not to be used by the data selection device, the main image data is generated from the minute time image data until immediately before, and the subsequent photographing process is performed. A digital camera device characterized by being interrupted.   The digital camera device according to claim 1, wherein when the data selection device determines that the minute time image data is not used, the first main image data is generated with a plurality of previous minute time image data, A digital camera device, wherein second main image data is generated by a plurality of minute time image data after it is determined not to be used.   4. The digital camera apparatus according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the number of minute time image data not adopted as a minute time with respect to an exposure amount deficient due to an exposure time that has not reached the scheduled time. A digital camera device that generates main image data by extending an imaging time according to an amount of time corresponding to the product of   4. The digital camera apparatus according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the number of minute time image data not adopted as a minute time with respect to an exposure amount deficient due to an exposure time that has not reached the scheduled time. A digital camera device supplemented by sensitization processing to the main image data according to the exposure amount corresponding to the product of   7. The digital camera device according to claim 6, wherein a determination method for determining that the read minute time image data is not used as the main image data with respect to the change amount read by the displacement sensor is incorporated in the camera device or the lens device. A digital camera apparatus comprising: a first determination method adapted when the shake correction apparatus is not in operation; and a second determination method adapted when the shake correction apparatus is in operation.   In a digital camera device that generates main image data by extracting and accumulating minute time image data obtained from a plurality of minute time images from the image sensor, it is prohibited to accumulate a plurality of minute time image data, and minute time image data A digital camera device characterized by having a displacement sensor device and recording a displacement amount detected by the displacement sensor device on the basis of temporal relationship with image data of the individual recording.   9. The digital camera device according to claim 8, wherein the displacement amount temporally related to the recorded minute time image data is read out and reproduced from a plurality of minute time image data that does not reach a predetermined shake displacement amount. An image reproducing apparatus for generating image data.   8. The digital camera device according to claim 1, wherein a displacement sensor device used in a camera shake correction device incorporated in a camera device or a lens device is used as the displacement sensor device. Digital camera device.

Images