JP2010252239A - Imaging apparatus and imaging method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an imaging apparatus that can image a subject at a suitable angle with a simple apparatus configuration, and an imaging method. <P>SOLUTION: The imaging apparatus includes a housing 106, an imaging unit 120 which images the subject, an image display unit 130 which can display the image, an attitude detection unit 140 which detects the attitude of the housing, and an image correction unit 150 which corrects the original image taken-in by the imaging unit 120 on the basis of the attitude detected by the attitude detection unit 140. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

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

  In recent digital cameras, mobile phones with cameras, imaging devices such as PHS (Personal Handy-phone System), PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), etc., the user is displayed on the display unit (liquid crystal display etc.) instead of the viewfinder. It is possible to take an image while viewing the image of the subject (preview image).

  Generally, when imaging a subject, it is preferable to make the horizontal direction of the subject coincide with the horizontal direction of the image in order to make the captured image easier to see. In consideration of this, when performing imaging using the above mobile phone or the like, it is necessary to keep the posture of the mobile phone or the like horizontal.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an electronic camera that can capture an image having a set inclination angle by driving a lens barrel unit rotation mechanism provided with a photographing lens unit and the like.

JP-A-10-268389

  However, since the lens barrel unit rotating mechanism of Patent Document 1 requires a motor and a gear, there is a limit to downsizing. Therefore, it seems difficult to use this lens barrel unit rotation mechanism for a mobile phone or the like. On the other hand, it is not easy for the user to maintain the level of the mobile phone or the like manually while viewing the image of the subject displayed on the display unit.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide an imaging apparatus and an imaging method capable of imaging a subject at an appropriate angle with a simple apparatus configuration.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a typical configuration of an imaging apparatus according to the present invention is a housing, an imaging unit that captures an image of an object, an image display unit that can display an image, and a posture of the housing. An attitude detection unit, and an image correction unit that corrects an original image captured by the imaging unit based on the attitude detected by the attitude detection unit.

  The imaging apparatus may further include a notification unit that performs notification in a predetermined mode, and the notification unit may notify the correction of the original image by the image correction unit in a predetermined mode when the preview image is displayed.

  The predetermined aspect may include any one or more of icon display, predetermined character display, LED light emission, and keypad illumination.

  The imaging apparatus may further include an image recording unit that stores an image, and the image recording unit may store the corrected image corrected by the image correcting unit.

  The image recording unit may store both the corrected image and the original image before correction.

  The posture detection unit may detect an inclination angle of the housing with respect to a predetermined direction.

  The predetermined direction may be horizontal or an arbitrary direction set.

  The image correction unit may rotate the original image so that the horizontal direction of the subject matches the horizontal direction of the imaging device.

  The housing is a foldable structure having a hinge, and imaging by the imaging device may be performed with the housing open.

  In order to solve the above problems, a typical configuration of an imaging method according to the present invention is to image a subject with an imaging device, detect the orientation of the imaging device, and correct based on the detected orientation of the original image It is characterized by doing.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an imaging apparatus and an imaging method capable of imaging a subject at an appropriate angle with a simple apparatus configuration.

It is an external view of the mobile phone in this embodiment. It is a schematic functional block diagram of a mobile phone. It is a flowchart explaining imaging operation. It is a figure for demonstrating the horizontal correction mode. It is a figure for demonstrating the horizontal correction mode.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The dimensions, materials, and other specific numerical values shown in the embodiments are merely examples for facilitating understanding of the invention, and do not limit the present invention unless otherwise specified. In the present specification and drawings, elements having substantially the same function and configuration are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted, and elements not directly related to the present invention are not illustrated. To do.

  An imaging apparatus according to the present invention is a portable terminal that mainly performs imaging (photographing) by grasping it with a hand, such as an electronic camera (digital camera), a mobile phone having an imaging function, a PHS, and a notebook personal computer. And various devices such as a PDA, music player, car navigation, PND (Personal Navigation Device), game machine, and remote controller. In the present embodiment, a foldable mobile phone having an imaging function will be described as an example of the imaging device.

  FIG. 1 is an external view of a mobile phone according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 1A is a front view showing a state in which a foldable mobile phone (hereinafter simply referred to as a mobile phone 100) is opened, FIG. FIG. 4 is a rear view showing a state in which the mobile phone 100 is opened. FIG. 2 is a schematic functional block diagram of the mobile phone 100.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the mobile phone 100 includes a housing 106, an imaging unit 120, an image display unit 130, an operation unit 170, an audio input unit 172, and an audio output unit 174. The housing 106 includes a first housing 102 and a second housing 104.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the mobile phone 100 further includes a control unit 110, a terminal memory 114, an image recording unit 116, an attitude detection unit 140, an image correction unit 150, a notification unit 160, and a wireless communication unit 176. Is provided.

  The housing 106 constitutes the exterior of the mobile phone 100. In addition, the first housing 102 and the second housing 104 are connected by a hinge, thereby having a foldable structure. Usually, imaging by the imaging unit 120 is performed with the first casing 102 and the second casing 104 opened. Specifically, the imaging unit 120 provided on the back surface of the first housing 102 is directed toward the subject, and the image display unit 130 provided in the second housing 104 is used instead of the viewfinder to perform imaging.

  The control unit 110 manages and controls the entire mobile phone 100 using a semiconductor integrated circuit including a central processing unit (CPU). For example, an application such as a call function, a character input function, a music playback function, a TV viewing function, or an application such as a Web browser or a schedule management provided from an application relay server (not shown) is executed via a communication network. It is possible.

  The terminal memory 114 includes a ROM, a RAM, an EEPROM, a nonvolatile RAM, a flash memory, an HDD, and the like, and stores a program processed by the control unit 110, audio data, and the like. Further, the terminal memory 114 is provided with an image recording unit 116, and an image captured by the imaging unit 120 can be stored.

  The imaging unit 120 is a camera unit as hardware and includes a lens and a light receiving element (CCD, CMOS, etc.), and a user can operate the operation unit 170 to image a subject. The imaging unit 120 can also perform imaging under the control of the control unit 110. For example, the control unit 110 can perform operation control such as shutter speed, autofocus, automatic exposure, and automatic white balance of the imaging unit 120.

  The image display unit 130 is provided in the second housing 104 and is configured by a liquid crystal display, an EL (Electro Luminescence) display, or the like, and can display an image and a setting state. With this configuration, the image display unit 130 can display a telephone number of a caller / sender of a voice call, operation screens of various applications, video browsing, Web contents, and the like. Further, the image display imaging unit 130 can perform preview display before the shutter is released and post-view display after the shutter is released as a viewfinder of the imaging unit 120.

  The attitude detection unit 140 detects the attitude of the housing 106. For example, it is possible to detect the inclination angle of the mobile phone 100 with respect to the horizontal direction or the vertical direction by detecting the attitude of the housing 106 using a triaxial acceleration sensor as the attitude detection unit 140. Note that since the imaging unit 120 is provided in the first housing 102 in the mobile phone 100 according to the present embodiment, detecting the tilt angle of the first housing 102 is for the purpose of image correction described later. It is valid.

  The image correction unit 150 corrects the image captured by the imaging unit 120. Further, the correction can be performed based on the posture detected by the posture detection unit 140. For example, the image data captured from the imaging unit 120 is used as an original image, rotated based on the tilt angle of the mobile phone 100 detected by the posture detection unit 140, and cut out to an image with the same aspect ratio as the image display unit 130. A corrected image enlarged according to the size of the unit 130 can be generated.

  The notification unit 160 notifies that the original image is corrected by the image correction unit 150 in a predetermined manner. The predetermined mode can be performed by displaying an icon on the image display unit 130 or displaying a predetermined character. In addition to notification using the image display unit 130, it is also possible to perform light emission of an LED already installed in the mobile phone 100 or lighting of a keypad in the operation unit 170. Note that the notification may be performed in any one aspect, or may be performed by combining a plurality of aspects.

  The operation unit 170 includes a movable switch such as a keypad, a cross key, and a joystick, and can accept a user's operation input. For example, the user can use the operation unit 170 to image a subject with the imaging unit 120.

  The voice input unit 172 includes voice recognition means such as a microphone, and converts a user voice input during a call into an electrical signal that can be processed in the mobile phone 100.

  The voice output unit 174 is configured by a speaker, and converts the voice signal of the other party received by the mobile phone 100 into voice and outputs the voice. The voice output unit 174 can also output a ringtone, an operation sound of the operation unit 170, an alarm sound, and the like.

  The wireless communication unit 176 establishes wireless communication with the base station using a wireless communication method such as CDMA or WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access), and performs voice communication with a communication partner or data communication with a Web server.

  The operation of the mobile phone 100 having the above configuration will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the imaging operation, and FIGS. 4 and 5 are diagrams for explaining the horizontal correction mode.

  First, in S200, the control unit 110 inquires of the user whether or not to perform imaging in the horizontal correction mode when operating the imaging unit 120. When the horizontal correction mode is not selected (N in S200), the normal imaging mode is set, and preview display using the original image taken from the imaging unit 120 is started (S210).

  When the shutter is released after the preview display (S210) (S220), the control unit 110 acquires the image at that moment as a stored image, and displays the stored image in a postview (S230). In the postview display (S230), the control unit 110 inquires of the user whether or not to save the displayed image (S240). If the saving is canceled (N in S240), the process proceeds to the imaging operation from S200 again. If saving is selected (Y in S240), the image is saved in the image recording unit 116 (S250), and the imaging is performed. The operation ends.

  However, for example, when the mobile phone 100 is tilted, if the shutter is released as it is, the stored image to be acquired becomes an image tilted in the horizontal direction. However, since the mobile phone 100 is used by being held by a hand, it is not easy for the user to manually hold the mobile phone 100 horizontally while watching the preview display. Therefore, the horizontal correction mode according to the present embodiment operates as follows.

  When the horizontal correction mode is selected in S200 (Y in S200), first, the notification unit 160 notifies that it is in the horizontal correction mode (performs horizontal correction) in a predetermined manner (S260). Then, the control unit 110 starts preview display using the original image taken from the imaging unit 120 together with the notification (S270).

  As the predetermined mode, for example, as shown in FIG. 4A, it can be performed by displaying an icon 180 on the image display unit 130. Although illustration is omitted, notification may be performed by displaying a predetermined character at the end of the image display unit 130 so as not to hinder the preview display. Furthermore, in addition to the notification of the mode using the image display unit 130, it is also possible to perform light emission of an LED already installed in the mobile phone 100 or lighting of a keypad in the operation unit 170. Thus, the user can take an image while keeping in mind that horizontal correction is performed on the original image.

  Note that the notification by the notification unit 160 may be performed in any one aspect, or may be performed by combining a plurality of aspects. If notification is not required, it is possible to set so that notification is not performed.

  When the shutter is released after preview display (S270) in the horizontal correction mode (S280), the control unit 110 acquires the image at that moment as an original image. At this time, as shown in FIG. 4A, the posture detection unit 140 detects an inclination angle A1 of the left and right direction L2 of the mobile phone 100 with respect to the horizontal direction L1 (S290).

  Then, as shown in FIG. 4B, the image correction unit 150 rotates based on the tilt angle A1 in the direction of the arrow so that the horizontal direction L1 of the original image coincides with the left-right direction L2 of the mobile phone 100. Correction (horizontal correction) is performed (S300). In step S310, the control unit 110 displays the corrected image after correction as a postview image. In this way, the user can acquire a horizontally corrected image as a saved image by simply releasing the shutter (S280) (S320).

  If the horizontal correction mode is used in this way, the user does not need to manually adjust the angle of the mobile phone 100 while watching the preview display, and can focus on focusing on the subject and perform imaging.

  In FIG. 4, the mobile phone 100 is illustrated as being held in the same vertical direction as during a call. However, as shown in FIG. 5, in the horizontal correction mode, correction is performed by displaying the corrected image vertically and horizontally on the image display unit 130. It is also possible to switch by the control unit 110.

  Switching between vertical and horizontal display can be performed based on the inclination angle of the mobile phone 100 with respect to a predetermined direction by the posture detection unit 140. For example, when the mobile phone 100 is tilted by 45 ° or more with respect to the vertical direction from the vertically long state as shown in FIG. 4, it can be switched to the horizontally long state shown in FIG.

  In the horizontal correction in the horizontally long state of FIG. 5, when the shutter is released (S280), the posture detection unit 140 detects the tilt angle A2 of the left-right direction L3 of the mobile phone 100 with respect to the horizontal direction L4 (S290). (FIG. 5 (a)). Based on the inclination angle A2, the image correction unit 150 rotates the image in the direction of the arrow so that the horizontal direction L4 of the original image matches the left-right direction L3 of the mobile phone 100 (S300) (FIG. 5B). )).

  Thus, even if the left-right direction of the mobile phone 100 changes with a change in the angle at which the mobile phone 100 is held, the controller 110 can perform appropriate horizontal correction. Therefore, the user can easily acquire a horizontal image corresponding to the situation.

  In the horizontal correction shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, when the image is rotated, the image is rectangular (rectangular), so that a blank is generated at the corner of the image display unit 130. Therefore, clipping is performed so that the rotated rectangular area is within the original image area. That is, the above correction includes two processes of rotation and clipping. The image display unit 130 displays the entire cropped image on the entire surface, but the cropped image may be expanded to the same size (number of pixels) as the original image, or only the display with the small number of cropped pixels may be displayed. You may enlarge.

  The corrected image horizontally corrected by the image display unit 150 is displayed on the image display unit 130 by the control unit 110 as a postview image (S310). In the postview display in the horizontal correction mode (S310), the control unit 110 inquires of the user whether or not to save the displayed image (S320).

  As described above, since the corrected image is generated by rotating and clipping the original image, there is a difference in composition between the original image confirmed in the preview display and the corrected image acquired by correction. . For this reason, the composition of the corrected image may not be intended by the user. However, for example, when a moving subject is imaged, there is a case where the same photo opportunity has never occurred, so that it cannot be re-taken.

  Therefore, the image correction unit 150 generates a corrected image from copy data of the original image, and maintains the original data of the original image, so that both the corrected image and the original image can be compared in the post-view display. . In the post-view display (S310) at this time, the corrected image and the original image may be switched by the operation of the operation unit 170, or both reduced images may be displayed simultaneously.

  Further, in the present embodiment, when the image is stored (Y in S320), the control unit 110 inquires of the user whether or not both the corrected image and the original image are stored (S330). When saving both is selected (Y in S330), the control unit 110 saves both the corrected image and the original image in the image recording unit 116 (S340), and the imaging operation ends. If it is selected to save either one (N in S330), an inquiry is made as to whether or not only the corrected image is to be saved (S350). If it is selected to save only the corrected image (Y in S350), the control unit 110 saves only the corrected image in the image recording unit 116 (S360), and the imaging operation ends. When it is selected not to save the corrected image (N in S350), the control unit 110 saves only the original image in the image recording unit 116 (S370), and the imaging operation ends.

  By using the horizontal correction mode as described above, not only the corrected image subjected to the horizontal correction can be stored, but also the uncorrected original image can be stored. As a result, when the image is used for other purposes, the user can select and use the corrected image and the uncorrected image according to his / her preference even if the image is the same subject. It becomes.

  As described above, according to the configuration of the present embodiment, the captured image can be automatically horizontal corrected. Therefore, the user does not need to hold the mobile phone 100 in consideration of the level, and can easily image the subject at an appropriate angle.

  The image correction unit 150 can correct not only the horizontal correction described in the embodiment but also an image having an angle arbitrarily set by the user. Therefore, the user can perform the effect he desires on the image. Furthermore, the image correction unit 150 can also correct the perspective based on the posture detected by the posture detection unit 140, and thereby obtain a corrected image in which the distortion in the perspective direction of the original image is corrected. .

  As mentioned above, although preferred embodiment of this invention was described referring an accompanying drawing, it cannot be overemphasized that this invention is not limited to the example which concerns. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made within the scope of the claims, and these are naturally within the technical scope of the present invention. Understood.

  The present invention can be used as an imaging apparatus and an imaging method for imaging a subject.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Mobile phone 102 ... 1st housing | casing 104 ... 2nd housing | casing 106 ... Housing | casing 110 ... Control part 114 ... Terminal memory 116 ... Image recording part 120 ... Imaging part 130 ... Image display part 140 ... Attitude | position detection part 150 ... Image Correction unit 160 ... Notification unit 170 ... Operation unit 172 ... Audio input unit 174 ... Audio output unit 176 ... Wireless communication unit 180 ... Icon

Claims (10)

A housing,
An imaging unit for imaging a subject;
An image display unit capable of displaying an image;
An attitude detection unit for detecting the attitude of the housing;
An image correction unit that corrects an original image captured by the imaging unit based on a posture detected by the posture detection unit;
An imaging apparatus comprising: It further includes a notification unit that performs notification in a predetermined manner,
The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the notification unit notifies that the correction by the image correction unit is performed on the original image in a predetermined manner when a preview image is displayed.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined mode includes one or more of icon display, predetermined character display, LED light emission, and keypad illumination. An image recording unit for storing images;
The imaging apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the image recording unit stores the corrected image corrected by the image correcting unit.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the image recording unit stores both the corrected image and the original image before correction.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the posture detection unit detects an inclination angle of the housing with respect to a predetermined direction.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the predetermined direction is a horizontal direction or a set arbitrary direction.   The said image correction | amendment part rotates the said original image so that the horizontal direction of the said subject and the left-right direction of the said imaging device may correspond, The any one of Claims 1-7 characterized by the above-mentioned. Imaging device. The housing is a foldable structure having a hinge,
The imaging apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein imaging by the imaging apparatus is performed in a state where the housing is opened. The subject is imaged with an imaging device,
Detecting the orientation of the imaging device;
An imaging method comprising correcting an imaged original image based on the detected posture.

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