JP2013061659A - Imaging apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an imaging apparatus capable of photographing in a stable attitude.SOLUTION: When a user rotates a grip 20 up to a predetermined angle of 180 degrees or more, the angle (angle of a first rotation shaft) is detected by an angle detection part and a CPU automatically switches a photographic mode to a macro-photographic mode. An appropriate space is formed by a display block 22, the grip 20 and a desk 25 between a lens block 21 and the desk 25. An object 30 placed in the space is photographed. At this time, an angle (angle of a second rotation shaft) of the lens block 21 with the display block 22 is detected by the angle detection part and when it is determined that the imaging direction of a camera part 10 and a displaying direction of a display part 15 are opposite to each other, an imaged image is displayed on the display part 15.

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus having a macro imaging function.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an imaging apparatus provided with a rotation mechanism has been widely known particularly in product fields such as camera-equipped mobile phones. For example, Patent Document 1 has a folding structure in which a first housing having a display unit and an imaging unit and a second housing having a numeric keypad are rotatably connected. A technique for switching to a macro shooting mode when turning at an angle of 90 degrees is disclosed.

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-300671

  However, the conventional technique has a problem that, when shooting in the macro shooting mode, the posture must be fixed by supporting it with the hand, and shooting such as camera shake and defocusing often fails.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides an imaging apparatus that can perform imaging with a stable posture.

  In order to achieve the above object, a first aspect of the present invention is a frame that covers the outer periphery of the case member, with the case member having an imaging unit and an axis orthogonal to the imaging direction of the imaging unit as a first rotation axis. A frame-shaped member, and the frame-shaped member is rotated on the first rotation shaft so that the imaging unit is positioned on the image capturing direction side, and the apparatus has an end portion of the case member and the frame-shaped member. And taking a shape in which a predetermined space is provided to illuminate the subject to be photographed through the space of the frame-like member, and to be grounded in the imaging direction of the imaging unit. To do.

  According to the present invention, there is an advantage that photographing can be performed with a stable posture.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the digital camera by 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the digital camera by this embodiment. In the digital camera according to the present embodiment, it is a side view for explaining the rotating structure of the grip. It is a side view which shows the state at the time of macro imaging | photography with the digital camera 1 by this embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

A. First Embodiment FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a digital camera according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, a digital camera 1 includes an imaging lens 2, a lens driving unit 3, a diaphragm / shutter 4, a CCD 5, a TG (Timing Generator) 6, a unit circuit 7, an image processing unit 8, a CPU 11, a DRAM 12, a memory 13, and a flash memory 14. , A display unit 15, a key input unit 16, a card I / F 17, a memory card 18, and an angle detection unit 19.

  The imaging lens 2 includes a focus lens, a zoom lens, and the like, and a lens driving unit 3 is connected thereto. The lens driving unit 3 includes a motor for driving the focus lens and the zoom lens constituting the imaging lens 2 in the optical axis direction, a focus motor driver for driving the focus motor and the zoom motor according to a control signal from the CPU 11, and a zoom motor driver. It is configured.

  The diaphragm / shutter 4 includes a drive circuit (not shown), and operates according to a control signal sent from the CPU 11 by the drive circuit. The diaphragm / shutter 4 controls the amount of light entering from the imaging lens 2. The CCD (imaging device) 5 converts the light of the subject projected through the imaging lens 2 and the aperture / shutter 4 into an electrical signal and outputs the electrical signal to the unit circuit 7. The CCD 5 is driven in accordance with a predetermined frequency timing signal generated by the TG 6.

  At least the imaging lens 2, the lens driving unit 3, the diaphragm / shutter 4, and the CCD 5 are integrated into one structure as the camera unit 10.

  The unit circuit 7 includes a CDS (Correlated Double Sampling) circuit that holds the imaging signal output from the CCD 5 by correlated double sampling, an AGC (Automatic Gain Control) circuit that performs automatic gain adjustment of the imaging signal after the sampling, It is composed of an A / D converter that converts an analog imaging signal after automatic gain adjustment into a digital signal. The unit circuit 7 is driven in accordance with a timing signal having a predetermined frequency generated by the TG 6. The imaging signal of the CCD 5 is sent to the image processing unit 8 as a digital signal through the unit circuit 7.

  The image processing unit 8 performs image processing (pixel interpolation processing, γ correction, luminance color difference signal generation, white balance processing, exposure correction processing, etc.) of image data sent from the unit circuit 7, and compression / decompression of image data ( For example, JPEG format, M-JPEG format, or MPEG format compression / expansion processing, processing of combining a plurality of captured images, and the like are performed. The image processing unit 8 is driven according to a timing signal having a predetermined frequency generated by the TG 6. The LED 9 is turned on as illumination for making up for the shortage of light quantity during macro photography.

  The CPU 11 is a one-chip microcomputer that controls each part of the digital camera 1. In particular, in the present embodiment, the CPU 11 automatically macros when a grip, which is a part of a case described later, and a display block on which the display unit 15, the key input unit 16, and the like are arranged at a predetermined angle. Shooting conditions are set so that the shooting mode (close-up shooting mode) is set, and the operation of each unit is controlled. Details of the grip, the display block, and the macro shooting will be described later. Further, the CPU 11 displays an image captured in the macro shooting mode (close-up shooting mode) on the display unit 15 when the imaging direction of the camera unit 10 and the display unit 15 of the display block are opposite to each other. Control to do.

  The DRAM 12 is used as a buffer memory for temporarily storing image data sent to the CPU 11 after being imaged by the CCD 5 and also as a working memory for the CPU 11. The memory 13 stores a program necessary for controlling each part of the digital camera 1 by the CPU 11 and data necessary for controlling each part, and the CPU 11 performs processing according to this program. The flash memory 14 and the memory card 18 are recording media for storing image data captured by the CCD 5.

  The display unit 15 includes a color LCD and its driving circuit, and displays the subject imaged by the CCD 5 as a through image when in the imaging standby state, and from the flash memory 14 or the memory card 18 when reproducing the recorded image. The read and expanded recorded image is displayed. The key input unit 16 includes a plurality of operation keys such as a shutter switch, a zoom switch, a mode key, a SET key, and a cross key, and outputs an operation signal corresponding to a user's key operation to the CPU 11. A memory card 18 is detachably attached to the card I / F 17 through a card slot (not shown) of the digital camera 1 main body.

  The angle detection unit 19 includes a mechanical, optical, or electromagnetic sensor, and includes an angle of a grip having a rotation mechanism (an angle of the first rotation axis), and an angle between a lens block described later and a display block described later. (An angle of the second rotation axis) is detected. Details of the structure of the digital camera and the detection of the angle of the first rotation axis and the angle of the second rotation axis by the angle detection unit 19 will be described later.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the structure of the digital camera according to the present embodiment. The digital camera 1 includes a grip 20, a lens block 21, and a display block 22. The grip 20 and the display block 22 each have a rotation axis that is orthogonal to the lens block 21. The grip 20, the lens block 21, and the display block 22 can be transformed into various photographing forms by rotating around the respective rotation axes.

  FIG. 3 is a side view for explaining the rotating structure of the grip in the digital camera according to the present embodiment. When the angle of the grip 20 (with respect to the display block 22) is 0 degree, the grip 20, the lens block 21, and the display block 22 are in a substantially flat state. The grip 20 can be rotated 45 degrees, 90 degrees, and 180 degrees toward the photographer or the display unit 15 with respect to the display block 22.

  4A to 4C are side views showing a state at the time of macro photographing with the digital camera 1 according to the present embodiment. In the present embodiment, the grip 20 can be further rotated 180 degrees or more with respect to the display block 22 from the state shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4A, when the user rotates the grip 20 to a predetermined angle of 180 degrees or more, the angle detection unit 19 detects this angle (the angle of the first rotation axis), and the CPU 11 Automatically switches the shooting mode to the macro shooting mode. As shown in FIG. 2B, the user uses the grip 20 and the display block 22 to fix the digital camera 1 to a desk or the like in a stable state. In addition, the notch mechanism is provided in the rotation function of the grip 20, and it is semi-fixed (rotates when a predetermined force is applied) at a predetermined angle (plurality).

  In the state shown in FIG. 5B, the display unit 15 faces the photographer side (upper side of the drawing), and the lens block 21 (camera unit 10) faces the desk 25 side (lower side of the drawing). The camera unit 10 includes at least the imaging lens 2, the lens driving unit 3, the diaphragm / shutter 4, the CCD 5, and the like (see FIG. 1). An appropriate space is formed between the lens block 21 and the desk 25 by the display block 22, the grip 20, and the desk 25.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 3C, the subject 30 placed in this space is photographed. At this time, since the shooting mode is automatically switched to the macro shooting mode and is set to the optimum condition for close-up shooting, the user can perform optimal shooting without performing any special setting operation. Can do.

  At this time, the angle between the lens block 21 and the display block 22 (the angle of the second rotation axis) is detected by the angle detection unit 19, and the imaging direction of the camera unit 10 and the display direction of the display unit 15 are detected. Are determined to be opposite to each other, a captured image is displayed on the display unit 15.

  Since the grip 20 of the digital camera 1 is composed only of a frame member, in the state shown in FIG. 5C, it is easy to take in external light from the direction of the arrow, and the amount of light sufficient for photographing relatively easily. Can be obtained. However, since there is a possibility of underexposure depending on the shooting situation, the LED 21a (see FIG. 4A) arranged on the lens block 21 may be turned on by a user operation or automatically.

  In this way, the digital camera is set on the ground plane so as to straddle the subject in the actual photographing state, and photographing without blurring is possible by photographing while directing the focus of the digital camera toward the subject.

  According to the above-described embodiment, since it can be fixed at a stable distance from the subject, it is possible to shoot without blur. Further, the macro shooting mode (or the specific shooting mode) can be automatically switched depending on the grip angle.

  In addition, it may be a numeric keypad type such as a two-fold type mobile phone instead of the grip type. In this case, the macro photography mode may be set when the housing provided with the display unit and the housing provided with the numeric keypad have a predetermined angle (character shape).

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Digital camera 2 Imaging lens 3 Lens drive part 4 Shutter combined shutter 5 CCD
6 TG
7 Unit circuit 8 Image processing unit 9 LED
10 Camera unit 11 CPU
12 DRAM
13 Memory 14 Flash memory 15 Image display section 16 Key input section 17 Card I / F
18 Memory card 19 Angle detector

Claims (4)

A case member having an imaging unit;
An axis orthogonal to the direction in which the imaging unit captures an image is a first rotation axis, and a frame-shaped member that covers the outer periphery of the case member,
The frame-shaped member is rotated on the first rotation axis so that the imaging unit is positioned on the image capturing direction side, and the apparatus grounds the end of the case member and the end of the frame-shaped member. Thus, the imaging apparatus takes a shape in which a predetermined space for accommodating the imaging target in the imaging direction of the imaging unit and illuminating the imaging target with external light through the space of the frame-shaped member is provided. The case member is
A first case section having the imaging section;
A second case having a display unit connected to the first case unit so as to be rotatable about a direction orthogonal to the direction of imaging by the imaging unit and the first rotation axis as a second rotation axis. And consists of
Determination means for determining whether or not a direction in which the imaging unit captures an image and a direction in which the display unit displays are detected by detecting rotation about the second rotation axis;
And a display control means for controlling the image picked up by the image pickup unit to be displayed on the display unit when it is determined to be affirmative when the shape is taken. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the imaging apparatus is characterized. The frame-shaped member is
The case member has a shape with a part missing, and the case member is arranged so that the imaging unit is fitted to the lacked part,
The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first rotation axis is formed so as to be orthogonal to an imaging direction of the imaging unit and penetrate the imaging unit. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an illuminating unit that is turned on at the time of shooting by the imaging unit when the shape is taken.

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