JP2014209690A - Imaging device, azimuth detection device, imaging device control method, azimuth detection device control method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To correctly detect an imaging direction even when installation accuracy of an azimuth detection device to an imaging device is insufficient or when an installation direction of the azimuth detection device to the imaging device is not settled.SOLUTION: An imaging device 100 comprises: an attitude detection part 106; a fixing part 115 capable of detachably fixing an azimuth detection device 101 having an electronic compass 117 capable of detecting an azimuth and an attitude detection part 119 capable of detecting an own attitude; and a CPU 108 for causing the attitude detection part 106 and the attitude detection part 119 to perform detection of attitudes a plurality of times at the same timing and calculating a relative angle with the azimuth detection device 101 fixed to the fixing part 115, from attitude detection results by the attitude detection part 106 and the attitude detection part 119.

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging device capable of detecting a posture and an azimuth detecting device capable of detecting a posture.

  In recent years, an electronic compass is mounted on a digital camera, and information on an imaging direction is associated with a captured image. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a digital camera with a built-in electronic compass that detects the direction in which the device is facing using an electronic compass and stores the detected image in association with image data. There is also known an electronic compass that is provided not as a built-in digital camera but as a removable external accessory.

JP 2006-33712 A

However, when the electronic compass is made detachable, there is a possibility that it will deviate greatly from the actual imaging direction. The azimuth information acquired by the electronic compass indicates the direction in which the electronic compass is facing, and does not indicate the imaging direction of the imaging apparatus. Therefore, when the positional relationship between the electronic compass and the imaging device is not fixed, that is, when the imaging device and the electronic compass are freely oriented in different directions, the orientation information indicated by the electronic compass indicates the imaging direction. Most likely not shown. Therefore, there is a possibility that inappropriate orientation information indicating a direction different from the actual imaging direction is associated with the image data.
The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object thereof is to provide appropriate orientation information.

  In order to achieve the above object, an imaging apparatus according to the present invention includes an imaging unit that captures an image of a subject and generates image data, a first orientation detection unit that detects an orientation, an orientation detection unit that detects an orientation, and an orientation. Corresponding to the communication means for communicating with the azimuth detecting device having the second attitude detecting means for detecting the position, the result of the attitude detection by the first attitude detecting means, and the attitude detection by the first attitude detecting means And a correction unit that corrects the azimuth detected by the azimuth detection unit based on a result of detection of the posture of the azimuth detection device by the second posture detection unit that is executed, and generated by the imaging unit. And an associating unit for associating the orientation corrected by the correcting unit with the image data.

  An azimuth detection apparatus according to the present invention is an azimuth detection apparatus capable of communicating with an imaging apparatus having a first attitude detection unit that detects an attitude, the azimuth detection unit that detects an azimuth, Based on the second attitude detection means for detecting the attitude, the detection result of the attitude of the imaging device by the first attitude detection means, and the detection result of the attitude of the azimuth detection device by the second attitude detection means, And a correction unit that corrects the direction detected by the direction detection unit, and a transmission unit that transmits the direction corrected by the correction unit to the imaging apparatus.

  According to the present invention, appropriate azimuth information can be provided.

1 is a block diagram illustrating an entire imaging system to which an imaging apparatus and an orientation detection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention are applied. It is a figure explaining the fixed form of the imaging device and azimuth | direction detection apparatus concerning this embodiment. It is the figure which showed the coordinate system in the internal calculation of the imaging device and azimuth | direction detection apparatus concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart showing the process of the calculation of the relative angle concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a figure showing the result of the detection of the attitude | position in multiple times. It is a flowchart showing the process of the direction information calculation method concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a figure showing the time change of each acceleration sensor output of the imaging device and azimuth | direction detection apparatus concerning embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[First Embodiment]
<Imaging system>
First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an imaging system to which an imaging apparatus 100 and an orientation detection apparatus 101 according to the present embodiment are applied.
A digital camera is applied to the imaging apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment. However, the imaging apparatus 100 is not limited to a digital camera. For example, the imaging apparatus 100 may be an information processing apparatus such as a mobile phone having an imaging function, a tablet device, or a personal computer.
The CPU 108 controls each unit of the imaging apparatus 100 by executing an input signal or a computer program described later. Instead of the configuration in which the CPU 108 controls each unit of the imaging apparatus 100, each unit of the imaging apparatus 100 may be controlled by a plurality of pieces of hardware sharing control processing.
The imaging sensor 104 converts the optical image of the subject formed by the lens 105 into image data that is an electrical signal. The image sensor 104 performs noise reduction processing on the image data, and generates and outputs digital image data. Image data output (generated) by the image sensor 104 is temporarily held in the work memory 111 that functions as a buffer memory. The CPU 108 performs a predetermined calculation on the image data held in the work memory 111 and records it on the recording medium 110. The predetermined processing for the image data includes processing for associating corrected azimuth information (described later) indicating the orientation of the imaging apparatus 100.
The nonvolatile memory 112 is an electrically erasable / recordable nonvolatile memory. The nonvolatile memory 112 stores a computer program (described later) executed by the CPU 108.
As the work memory 111, for example, a volatile memory (RAM) is applied. The work memory 111 is used as a buffer memory that temporarily stores image data picked up by the image sensor 104, an image display memory of the display unit 109, a work area of the CPU 108, and the like.
The operation unit 114 is used for receiving an instruction for the imaging apparatus 100 from a user. The operation unit 114 is, for example, operation members such as a power button for instructing the user to turn on / off the power of the imaging apparatus 100, a release switch for instructing imaging, and a playback button for instructing reproduction of image data. including. A touch panel formed on the display unit 109 is also included in the operation unit 114. When the CPU 108 detects an operation on the operation unit 114 by the user, the CPU 108 executes a process associated with the operation member or operation content of the operation unit 114. In particular, when the CPU 108 detects an operation (an imaging instruction) of the relay switch, the CPU 108 executes an imaging process. The imaging process is a process of generating image data by executing imaging according to an imaging instruction. In the imaging process, the CPU 108 of the imaging apparatus 100 controls the lens 105 and the imaging sensor 104, and the imaging sensor 104 generates image data according to the control by the CPU 108.
The display unit 109 performs display of a viewfinder image at the time of imaging, display of captured image data, display of characters for interactive operation, and the like. Note that the display unit 109 is not necessarily provided in the imaging device 100. The imaging device 100 may be connected to at least the display unit 109 and has a display control function for controlling display on the display unit 109.
The recording medium 110 can record the image output from the imaging sensor 104. The recording medium 110 may be configured to be detachable from the imaging device 100 or may be built in the imaging device 100. In other words, the imaging apparatus 100 only needs to have at least means for accessing the recording medium 110.
The attitude detection unit 106 (first attitude detection means) detects the attitude of the imaging device 100. For example, an acceleration sensor can be used for the posture detection unit 106 (first posture detection means).
The communication unit 107 is an interface for connecting to an external device. The imaging device 100 according to the present embodiment can transmit and receive data to and from an external device via the communication unit 107. In the present embodiment, the communication unit 107 is an antenna, and the CPU 108 can transmit and receive data wirelessly with an external device via the antenna. As a data communication protocol, for example, PTP / IP (Picture Transfer Protocol over Internet Protocol) through a wireless LAN can be applied. Note that the communication method with the external device is not limited to this. For example, the communication unit 107 can include an infrared communication module, a Bluetooth (registered trademark) communication module, and a wireless communication module such as WirelessUSB. Furthermore, a wired connection such as a USB cable, HDMI (registered trademark of LM Licensing, LLC), IEEE 1394, or the like may be used.

  The fixing unit 115 is a fixture for fixing the azimuth detecting device 101 to the imaging device 100. For example, the fixing unit 115 is an accessory shoe or the like that can fix a peripheral device such as a strobe device. Note that the peripheral device also includes an orientation detection device 101. The azimuth detecting device 101 is detachably fixed to the imaging device 100 by engaging the fixing portion 115 with the fixing portion 121 of the azimuth detecting device 101. In this embodiment, the azimuth detecting device 101 has a direction indicated by azimuth information acquired by the electronic compass 117 included in the azimuth detecting device 101 and an imaging direction of the imaging device 100 (optical axis direction of the lens 105). Fixed to match.

Next, the configuration of the direction detection device 101 according to the present embodiment will be described. The orientation detection device 101 according to the present embodiment can be detachably fixed to the imaging device 100. Then, the azimuth detection device 101 can detect its own position and direction and transmit the detection result to the imaging device 100.
The CPU 118 controls each unit of the azimuth detecting device 101 by an input signal or execution of a program described later. Instead of the configuration in which the CPU 118 controls the entire azimuth detecting device 101, each unit of the azimuth detecting device 101 may be controlled by a plurality of pieces of hardware sharing control processing.
The GPS 120 performs a positioning process. The positioning process is a process of receiving a signal from a GPS satellite and acquiring position information indicating the position of the azimuth detecting device 101 from the received signal. The position information acquired by the GPS 120 can be transmitted to the imaging apparatus 100 via the communication unit 116. The transmitted position information is associated with an image captured by the image capturing apparatus 100 as an image capturing position. For example, the CPU 101 of the image capturing apparatus 100 receives the position information acquired by the GPS 120 and associates the received position information with the captured (generated) image data. In the present embodiment, the position information is represented by latitude / longitude coordinates. Note that the direction detection device 101 according to the present embodiment may be a device that acquires position information from an external device such as a mobile phone base station, an acceleration sensor, or the like, instead of the configuration using the GPS 120. Or the structure which uses GPS120 and them together may be sufficient.
The electronic compass 117 (orientation detection means) detects the orientation that the orientation detection device 101 itself faces. For example, a geomagnetic sensor can be applied to the electronic compass 117 (direction detection means).
The posture detection unit 119 (second posture detection means) detects the posture of the direction detection device 101 itself. For example, an acceleration sensor can be applied to the posture detection unit 119 (second posture detection means).
In addition, the azimuth detecting device 101 includes a nonvolatile memory and a working memory (both not shown), like the imaging device 100. The non-volatile memory stores a computer program for controlling the direction detection device 101.

<Fixed form of orientation detection device to imaging device>
FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of a fixing mode for detachably fixing the azimuth detecting device 101 to the imaging device 100.
FIG. 2A is a diagram schematically illustrating an aspect in which the orientation detection device 101 is attached to the accessory shoe of the imaging device 100. FIG. The accessory shoe is mechanically configured with high accuracy with respect to the imaging direction (the direction of the optical axis) of the imaging device 100. Therefore, when the orientation detection device 101 is attached to the accessory shoe, the front direction of the orientation detection device 101 matches the imaging direction of the imaging device 100. However, if the dimensional accuracy of the fixed portion of the azimuth detecting device 101 and the mounting accuracy of various sensors inside the azimuth detecting device 101 are insufficient, the imaging direction cannot be detected with high accuracy, for example, in units of 1 °. is there. The direction detection device 101 and the imaging device 100 transmit and receive signals via the communication units 107 and 116. Here, the signals transmitted and received via the communication units 107 and 116 include azimuth information and position information. However, as shown to Fig.2 (a), the structure connected so that a signal can be transmitted / received by the cable 201 may be sufficient.

  FIG. 2B is a diagram schematically illustrating an aspect in which the azimuth detecting device 101 is detachably fixed to the imaging device 100 via the angle 202. The angle 202 is detachably fixed to the imaging device 100 using a tripod mounting screw hole provided in the imaging device 100. The orientation detection device 101 and the imaging device 100 transmit and receive signals via the communication units 107 and 116. However, as shown in FIG. 2B, a configuration in which signals can be transmitted and received by a cable 201 may be employed. This mode is used when the accessory shoe cannot be used, such as when a strobe is attached to the accessory shoe of the imaging apparatus 100. By simply tightening the angle 202 in the screw hole for attaching the tripod, the mounting direction of the imaging device 100 and the angle 202 cannot be determined. For this reason, as a result, the relative attachment direction of the imaging device 100 and the direction detection device 101 is not determined.

FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically illustrating a coordinate system in the internal calculation of the imaging apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment and the azimuth detecting apparatus 101 according to the present embodiment. Specifically, FIG. 3A is a diagram illustrating a state in which the azimuth detecting device 101 is fixed to the imaging device 100. FIG. 3B is a diagram schematically illustrating the coordinate system of the imaging apparatus 100. FIG. 3C is a diagram schematically showing a coordinate system of the azimuth detecting device 101. FIG. 3D is a diagram in which the coordinate system of the imaging apparatus 100 and the coordinate system of the orientation detection apparatus 101 are overlapped. The imaging device 100 and the azimuth detecting device 101 use their own coordinate systems as shown in FIGS. 3B and 3C when performing internal calculations.
As illustrated in FIG. 3B, the imaging apparatus 100 defines the positive direction of the z axis as the imaging direction (that is, the direction of the optical axis of the lens 105). The posture detection unit 106 (acceleration sensor) of the imaging apparatus 100 corrects the output so as to match this coordinate system (with this coordinate system as a reference), and uses the corrected output as the acceleration sensor output.
As illustrated in FIG. 3C, the azimuth detecting device 101 defines the positive direction of the Z axis as the front direction of the azimuth detecting device 101. The orientation detection unit 119 (acceleration sensor) and the electronic compass 117 (geomagnetic sensor) of the azimuth detection device 101 correct the output so as to match this coordinate system, and the corrected output is an acceleration sensor output and an electronic compass output, respectively. It is said.
If the orientation detection device 101 is fixed to the imaging device 100 and the mounting accuracy is sufficiently high, the three axes in the respective coordinate systems overlap. However, actually, as shown in FIG. 3D, even if the directions of the azimuth detecting device 101 and the imaging device 100 are intended to be matched, the dimensional errors of various portions are accumulated and the axis of the coordinate system is shifted. FIG. 3D is a diagram schematically illustrating a shift between the coordinate system of the imaging apparatus 100 and the coordinate system of the orientation detection apparatus 101. If there is such a deviation, unless the deviation is corrected, the imaging direction detected by the azimuth detecting device 101 is less accurate than the actual imaging direction.

<About the calculation method of direction information>
Next, the direction information calculation method according to the present embodiment will be described. In the present embodiment, the imaging device 100 and the orientation detection device 101 cooperate to execute the orientation information calculation method. And the deviation | shift of the fixed direction between both apparatuses is correct | amended by performing this direction information calculation method.

FIG. 4A is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the imaging apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment. A computer program for executing the processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. 4A is stored in advance in the nonvolatile memory 112. Then, the CPU 108 reads out this computer program from the nonvolatile memory 112, expands it in the work memory 111, and executes it. As a result, the CPU 108 controls each unit of the imaging apparatus 100 and realizes the processing illustrated in FIG.
FIG. 4B is a flowchart showing the operation of the azimuth detecting apparatus 101 according to the present embodiment. A computer program for executing the processing shown in FIG. 4B is stored in advance in a non-volatile memory (not shown) of the azimuth detecting device 101. Then, the CPU 118 reads out the computer program from the non-volatile memory, develops it in a working memory (not shown), and executes it. Thereby, CPU118 controls each part of the direction detection apparatus 101, and the process shown in FIG.4 (b) is implement | achieved.
When the power of the imaging apparatus 100 is turned on, the CPU 108 of the imaging apparatus 100 starts the processing of the flowchart illustrated in FIG. Similarly, the CPU 118 of the azimuth detecting device 101 starts the process shown in FIG. 4B when the power of the azimuth detecting device 101 is turned on (or when the supply of power from the imaging device 100 is started).

In step S401, the CPU 108 of the imaging apparatus 100 detects whether the imaging apparatus 100 and the orientation detection apparatus 101 are fixed to each other (fixed determination process).
Similarly, the CPU 118 of the azimuth detecting device 101 detects whether or not the imaging device 100 and the azimuth detecting device 101 are fixed to each other in step S410 (fixed determination processing).
For detection of fixation, for example, a hardware switch provided in at least one of the fixing unit 115 of the imaging device 100 and the fixing unit 121 of the orientation detection device 101 may be used. Alternatively, for example, the CPU 108 of the imaging apparatus 100 may detect the information by receiving information indicating that the image is fixed via the communication unit 107. If fixing is not detected, the process of this step is repeated. On the other hand, if fixing is detected, the process proceeds to step S402. Similarly, the CPU 118 of the azimuth detecting apparatus 101 repeats the process of step S410 until the fixing to the imaging apparatus 100 is detected, and proceeds to step S411 when the fixing is detected.

In step S402, the CPU 108 of the imaging apparatus 100 establishes communication between the imaging apparatus 100 and the orientation detection apparatus 101 via the communication units 107 and 116, respectively, in step S411.
Communication established in this step may be wired or wireless. In addition, the timing of establishment of communication between the imaging device 100 and the direction detection device 101 is not limited to this timing. For example, communication between the imaging device 100 and the orientation detection device 101 may be established before the processing of the flowchart is started. In this case, this step is not executed. In this case, the processing of this flowchart may be started in response to establishment of communication between the imaging device 100 and the orientation detection device 101.

In step S403, the CPU 108 of the imaging apparatus 100 detects and stores the output of the posture detection unit 106 (acceleration sensor).
In step S412, the CPU 118 of the azimuth detecting device 101 detects and stores the output of the posture detecting unit 119 (acceleration sensor).
Note that the CPU 108 of the imaging device 100 synchronizes the detection timing of the output of the posture detection unit 106 (acceleration sensor) in step S403 with the detection timing of the output of the acceleration sensor executed by the azimuth detection device 101 in step S412. Control. As a timing synchronization method, for example, the following method can be applied. First, the CPU 108 of the imaging apparatus 100 transmits the detection timing of the output of the attitude detection unit 106 to the azimuth detection apparatus 101 via the communication unit 107. The CPU 118 of the orientation detection device 101 detects the output of the posture detection unit 119 at the same timing as the detection timing received from the imaging device 100.

Note that the timing for storing the outputs of the posture detection units 106 and 119 (acceleration sensors) is desirably the timing at which the imaging device 100 and the orientation detection device 101 are in a stationary state. This is because the positions of the posture detection units 106 and 119 (acceleration sensors) are different between the imaging device 100 and the azimuth detection device 101, and therefore the output may be different when the imaging device 100 and the azimuth detection device 101 are moving. Because. For this reason, it is ideal that the outputs of the posture detection unit 106 of the imaging device 100 and the posture detection unit 119 of the azimuth detection device 101 do not fluctuate greatly and are recorded in a state that matches the gravitational acceleration.
Therefore, the CPU 108 of the imaging apparatus 100 determines whether or not the fluctuation per unit time of the output of the acceleration sensor serving as the posture detection unit 106 is equal to or greater than a threshold (stationary determination unit). Then, the CPU 108 of the imaging device 100 determines that the imaging device 100 is stationary when the output per unit time fluctuation is less than the threshold value. Note that the CPU 118 of the azimuth detection apparatus 101 may perform stillness determination based on the output of the attitude detection unit 119. In this case, the CPU 118 of the azimuth detection apparatus 101 transmits the result of the stillness determination to the imaging apparatus 100 via the communication unit 116.

In step S403, the CPU 108 of the imaging apparatus 100 detects the output of the attitude detection unit 106 a plurality of times (at least three times), and determines the attitude of the imaging apparatus 100 in each case. In step S412, the CPU 118 of the azimuth detection device 101 detects the output of the posture detection unit 119 a plurality of times the same number of times in synchronization with the imaging device 100.
FIG. 5A schematically shows an example of three posture detection results of the imaging device 100, and FIG. 5B schematically shows an example of three posture detection results of the azimuth detection device 101. . It is desirable that the postures at the three detection timings indicate different directions as much as possible as shown in FIG. That is, it is desirable to detect the posture with the imaging device 100 and the orientation detection device 101 tilted in various directions.

  Here, the CPU 108 of the imaging apparatus 100 is not used for the calculation of the relative angle data when the output does not indicate a different direction. For example, the CPU 108 of the imaging apparatus 100 compares the result of detecting the posture at a specific time among a plurality of times with the result of detecting the posture at the time immediately before the specific time. If a specific time and the immediately previous time are the same result, the CPU 108 of the imaging apparatus 100 detects the posture again. Then, the result of detecting the posture at a specific time is updated to a new detection result. In this way, posture detection is performed until the results of posture detection multiple times are different from each other. That is, when a specific time is the same result as the previous time, the result of the specific time is not used for the calculation.

  Note that the number of posture detections for use in the calculation is not limited to three. By using more posture information, the calculation accuracy can be further improved.

In step S <b> 413, the CPU 118 of the orientation detection device 101 transmits the output result of the orientation detection unit 119 to the imaging device 100 via the communication unit 116.
In step S404, the CPU 108 of the imaging device 100 receives the detection result of the posture detection unit 119 of the azimuth detection device 101.

  In step S <b> 405, the CPU 108 of the imaging device 100 calculates the relative angle between the imaging device 100 and the azimuth detection device 101 based on the outputs of the posture detection units 106 and 119. This relative angle is the amount of deviation between the imaging direction of the imaging device 100 and the direction of the orientation detection device 101. A specific calculation method will be described later. In this way, the relative angle of the azimuth detecting device 101 is calculated (determined) with the imaging direction of the imaging device 100 as a reference.

In step S <b> 406, the CPU 108 of the imaging apparatus 100 transmits the relative angle data obtained by the calculation to the azimuth detection apparatus 101 via the communication unit 107.
In step S414, the CPU 118 of the orientation detection device 101 receives the relative angle data transmitted from the imaging device 100 in step S406 via the communication unit 116.

  Thereafter, the azimuth detecting device 101 corrects the azimuth information acquired from the posture detecting unit 119 using the data of the relative angle. Thereby, the azimuth detection device 101 can generate azimuth information in which the deviation between the orientation of the imaging device 100 and the orientation detection device 101 is canceled, and can provide the azimuth information to the imaging device 100 via the communication unit 116. As a result, the imaging apparatus 100 can use highly accurate azimuth information indicating the direction of the own device. Note that the processing in steps S403 to S406 and the processing in steps S412 to S414 may be periodically and repeatedly executed. In this case, the relative angle data is updated every time the process is repeatedly executed. Thereby, it is possible to cope with a case where the amount of deviation changes.

Next, a method for calculating the relative angle will be described. In FIG. 5, acceleration sensor outputs in three different postures detected by the posture detection unit 106 of the imaging apparatus 100 a plurality of times (here, three times) are assumed to be posture 1, posture 2, and posture 3. And these acceleration sensor output vectors are respectively

Posture 1: (x1, y1, z1)
Posture 2: (x2, y2, z2)
Posture 3: (x3, y3, z3)

And Further, the acceleration sensor outputs in three different postures detected by the posture detection unit 119 of the azimuth detecting device 101 are assumed to be posture 1 ′, posture 2 ′, and posture 3 ′. And these acceleration sensor output vectors are respectively

Posture 1 ′: (x1 ′, y1 ′, z1 ′)
Posture 2 ′: (x2 ′, y2 ′, z2 ′)
Posture 3 ′: (x3 ′, y3 ′, z3 ′)

And In addition, the imaging direction (direction of the optical axis) of the imaging apparatus 100 serving as a reference is

(0, 0, A)

And the imaging direction (direction of the optical axis) of the azimuth detecting device 101 is

(A, b, c)

And (A 1, b 2, c) in the coordinate system of the azimuth detecting device 101 is an unknown to be obtained.

In each posture, the angle formed by the output of the acceleration sensor and the imaging direction is the same whether calculated by the imaging device 100 or the azimuth detection device 101. If this is a condition, the vector inner product of the output vector of the acceleration sensor and the imaging direction vector is the same value for each posture. When this is expressed in an expression,

a × x1 ′ + b × y1 ′ + xx × z1 ′ = A × z1
a × x2 ′ + b × y2 ′ + xx × z2 ′ = A × z2
a × x3 ′ + b × y3 ′ + xx × z3 ′ = A × z3

It becomes. Here, other than a, b, and c are known numbers. Therefore, by solving the above simultaneous equations, it is possible to calculate (a 1, b 2, c) which are directions (directions of the optical axis) of the direction detection device 101 to be obtained.

  The CPU 118 of the azimuth detecting device 101 corrects the output of the electronic compass 117 using the imaging direction data calculated in this way as a reference. Thereby, the azimuth | direction of an imaging direction is computable correctly. That is, in the imaging device 100 and the orientation detection device 101 that can be attached to and detached from the imaging device 100, the orientation detection device 101 captures an image even when the accuracy of the attachment portions of both devices is low or the orientation of both devices is not fixed. The direction can be accurately detected and provided to the imaging apparatus 100. Therefore, the imaging apparatus 100 can record information on the correct imaging direction in association with the image data.

Hereinafter, use of the azimuth information corrected using the relative angle will be described.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the azimuth detecting apparatus 101 according to this embodiment. When communication with the imaging device 100 is established, the CPU 118 of the azimuth detecting device 101 starts the processing of this flowchart. A computer program for executing the processing shown in this flowchart is stored in advance in a nonvolatile memory (not shown) of the azimuth detecting device 101. Then, the CPU 118 of the azimuth detecting device 101 reads out the computer program from the nonvolatile memory, and develops and executes the computer program on a working memory (not shown). The CPU 118 of the azimuth detecting apparatus 101 executes the process shown in this flowchart after the process shown in FIG.

First, in step S <b> 601, the CPU 118 determines whether or not a request for orientation information has been received from the imaging apparatus 100. If the CPU 118 determines that it has not received a request for orientation information from the imaging apparatus 100, it repeats the process of step S601. On the other hand, if the CPU 118 determines that a request for azimuth information has been received from the imaging apparatus 100, the process proceeds to step S602. Note that the timing at which the imaging apparatus 100 transmits a request for orientation information may be, for example, the timing at which an imaging instruction is received or every elapse of a certain time.
In step S602, the CPU 118 detects geomagnetism using the electronic compass 117 (geomagnetic sensor), and calculates azimuth information indicating the direction of the electronic compass 117. The processing of this step is
In step S603, the CPU 118 corrects the azimuth information calculated in step S602 based on the relative angle data held in advance, and calculates azimuth information indicating the direction of the imaging apparatus 100.
In step S <b> 604, the CPU 118 transmits the orientation information calculated in step S <b> 603 to the imaging apparatus 100 via the communication unit 116 as a response to the request for the direction information from the imaging apparatus 100. The transmitted azimuth information is held in the work memory 111 of the imaging apparatus 100.
Thereby, the imaging apparatus 100 can use orientation information indicating the orientation of the imaging apparatus 100. For example, the CPU 108 of the imaging apparatus 100 associates the corrected azimuth information at the timing when the image data is generated with the captured (generated) image data.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Note that the functional configurations of the imaging apparatus 100 and the orientation detection apparatus 101 according to the second embodiment of the present invention can be the same as those in the first embodiment. FIG. 7A is a diagram illustrating a temporal change in the output of the posture detection unit 106 of the imaging apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 7B is a posture of the direction detection device 101 according to the present embodiment. It is a figure showing the output of the detection part 119. 7A and 7B show the respective outputs at the same timing. In the imaging apparatus 100, parts such as a shutter, a diaphragm, and a mirror are operated during execution of imaging processing, and vibrations specific to the imaging apparatus are generated. When the main body of the imaging device 100 and the azimuth detection device 101 are fixed, the vibrations (changes in posture) of the imaging device 100 and the azimuth detection device 101 are substantially the same. The vibration detection results are substantially the same. Therefore, the CPU 108 performs this process (fixed determination process) during the execution of the shooting process. Specifically, it is performed at a timing before the imaging sensor 104 generates image data after an imaging instruction is given. When the azimuth detecting device 101 is not fixed to the imaging device 100, the vibration unique to the imaging device is detected only by the posture detecting unit 106 of the imaging device 100 and not detected by the posture detecting unit 119 of the azimuth detecting device 101. . Therefore, the CPU 108 of the imaging apparatus 100 compares the output of the attitude detection unit 106 of the imaging apparatus 100 with the output of the attitude detection unit 119 of the orientation detection apparatus 101. Then, the CPU 108 of the imaging apparatus 100 determines that the orientation detection apparatus 101 is fixed to the imaging apparatus 100 when the two outputs are substantially the same (fixed determination unit). Here, the CPU 108 determines that the two outputs are substantially the same when the difference between the two outputs (the difference in posture change) is smaller than a predetermined value (predetermined difference). This process (fixed determination process) corresponds to step S401 in the first embodiment (see FIG. 4).
As described above, the CPU 108 of the imaging apparatus 100 detects whether or not the azimuth detection apparatus 101 is fixed to the imaging apparatus 100, and calculates the relative angle when it is fixed. Thereby, it is possible to accurately calculate the relative angle between the imaging device 100 and the orientation detection device 101. Then, the CPU 118 of the azimuth detecting device 101 corrects the output of the electronic compass 117 with an accurate relative angle. Using the corrected relative angle data, the CPU 108 of the imaging apparatus 100 can accurately determine the orientation information in the imaging direction and store it in association with the image data. When it is determined that the azimuth detecting device 101 is not fixed to the imaging device 100, the CPU 108 of the imaging device 100 does not perform processing for associating azimuth information with image data.

[Other Embodiments]
In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the imaging apparatus 100 calculates the relative angle has been described. However, there is a possibility that the imaging apparatus 100 executes processing with a high load on the CPU 108 such as imaging processing. Therefore, the CPU 118 of the direction detection device 101 may calculate the relative angle. In this case, the CPU 108 of the imaging apparatus 100 transmits the output of the attitude detection unit 106 to the azimuth detection apparatus 101 via the communication unit 116. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the load from being concentrated on the CPU 108 of the imaging apparatus 100.
In the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the correction using the relative angle is performed in the azimuth detecting device 101 is shown. However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. In other words, the image capturing apparatus 100 may hold the relative angle data, and the CPU 108 of the image capturing apparatus 100 may correct the direction information received from the direction detection apparatus 101.
Further, in addition to the second embodiment described above, a change in posture detected at the time of imaging may be used as a change in posture compared between the two apparatuses. This is done for the following reason. In other words, since the imaging device 100 is in a stationary state at the time of imaging, the imaging device 100 is likely to be in a stationary state, and it is considered that it is close to a situation in which only gravitational acceleration is affected other than vibration due to imaging. . In this case, in response to the imaging device 100 receiving an imaging instruction, the orientation is detected, and an instruction for detecting the orientation is transmitted to the azimuth detecting device 101. Accordingly, the orientation detection apparatus 101 can also detect the posture at the timing of imaging (timing for generating image data after receiving an imaging instruction).

  The above-described embodiment can also be realized by executing the following processing. That is, software (program) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus via a network or various recording media, and a computer (or CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or apparatus reads the program. It is a process to be executed.

Claims (16)

Imaging means for imaging a subject and generating image data;
First posture detecting means for detecting posture;
A communication unit that communicates with an azimuth detection device having an azimuth detection unit that detects an azimuth and a second posture detection unit that detects an orientation;
The result of the posture detection by the first posture detection unit and the detection of the posture of the azimuth detection device by the second posture detection unit executed in response to the posture detection by the first posture detection unit. Correction means for correcting the orientation detected by the orientation detection means based on the result;
An imaging apparatus comprising: an association unit that associates the image data generated by the imaging unit with the orientation corrected by the correction unit. Whether the azimuth detecting device is fixed to the imaging device based on the result of the posture detection by the first posture detecting unit and the result of the posture detection of the azimuth detecting device by the second posture detecting unit. A determination means for determining whether or not,
The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the association unit does not perform the association when the determination unit determines that the azimuth detection apparatus is not fixed to the imaging apparatus.   The determination unit is configured to detect an attitude detected by the first attitude detection unit at a timing before the imaging unit generates image data after receiving an imaging instruction, and detect the second attitude at the timing. The imaging apparatus according to claim 2, wherein it is determined whether or not the azimuth detection apparatus is fixed to the imaging apparatus based on an attitude detected by the means.   Whether the determination unit is fixed to the imaging device based on the plurality of postures detected by the first posture detection unit and the plurality of postures detected by the second posture detection unit. The imaging apparatus according to claim 3, wherein it is determined whether or not.   Changes in the posture of the imaging device obtained from a plurality of postures detected by the first posture detection means, and postures of the azimuth detection device obtained from a plurality of postures detected by the second posture detection means. The imaging apparatus according to claim 4, wherein when the difference from the change is smaller than a predetermined difference, the determination unit determines that the azimuth detecting apparatus is fixed to the imaging apparatus.   The azimuth detection so as to cause the second posture detection unit to detect a posture corresponding to the posture detected by the first posture detection unit in accordance with the timing when the posture is detected by the first posture detection unit. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising control means for controlling the apparatus.   The correction means corrects the azimuth detected by the azimuth detection means by determining a relative angle with the azimuth detection device with reference to the imaging direction. The imaging device according to item.   Of the plurality of postures detected by the first posture detection unit, when it is determined that a specific posture is the same as another posture, the correction unit does not use the specific posture for the correction. The imaging device according to claim 4.   The correction unit does not use the specific posture for the correction when it is determined that the specific posture is the same as another posture among the plurality of postures detected by the second posture detection unit. The imaging device according to claim 4 or 8.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first posture detection unit includes an acceleration sensor. The azimuth detecting device further includes means for acquiring position information indicating a position of the azimuth detecting device,
The communication means receives the position information acquired by the azimuth detection device from the azimuth detection device,
The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the associating unit further associates position information received from the azimuth detecting apparatus with the image data. An azimuth detection device capable of communicating with an imaging device having first posture detection means for detecting a posture,
Azimuth detecting means for detecting the azimuth;
Second attitude detecting means for detecting the attitude of the azimuth detecting device;
Correction for correcting the orientation detected by the orientation detection unit based on the detection result of the orientation of the imaging device by the first orientation detection unit and the detection result of the orientation of the orientation detection device by the second orientation detection unit Means,
An azimuth detection device comprising: a transmission unit that transmits the azimuth corrected by the correction unit to the imaging device. A first posture detecting step for detecting a posture;
A communication step of communicating with an azimuth detecting device having an azimuth detecting means for detecting an azimuth and a second attitude detecting means for detecting its own attitude;
The orientation detected by the orientation detection means is corrected based on the result of the orientation detection in the first orientation detection step and the result of the orientation detection of the orientation detection device by the second orientation detection means. A correction step to
A method for controlling an imaging apparatus, comprising: A method of controlling an azimuth detecting device capable of communicating with an imaging device having first posture detecting means for detecting a posture,
An azimuth detection step for detecting an azimuth;
A second posture detecting step for detecting the posture of the azimuth detecting device;
The orientation detected in the orientation detection step is corrected based on the detection result of the orientation of the imaging device by the first orientation detection means and the detection result of the orientation of the orientation detection device in the second orientation detection step. A correction step;
A control method for an azimuth detecting device, comprising:   The program for functioning a computer as each means of the imaging device of any one of Claims 1 thru | or 11.   The program for functioning a computer as each means of the azimuth | direction detection apparatus of Claim 12.

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