JP2015161730A - Image blur correction device, control method thereof, optical device, and imaging apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the accuracy in detection of an angular velocity relating to a subject by matching a movement amount of a subject image on an imaging surface and an output timing of blur detection means to each other.SOLUTION: A main body part of an imaging apparatus includes: an angular velocity sensor 141 for detecting a shake of the apparatus; and a motion vector detection unit 150 for detecting a movement amount of a subject image on an imaging surface. A timing setting unit 541 acquires information of an exposure time and a frame rate and sets a timing for acquisition of angular velocity data, and a data acquisition unit 542 acquires angular velocity data according to the timing. A main subject angular velocity calculation unit 524 calculates an angular velocity of a subject from the angular velocity data acquired by the data acquisition unit 542 and the movement amount of the subject image on the imaging surface. A camera shake correction control unit 132 controls driving of an image blur correction unit including an imaging device or a correction lens, on the basis of the angular velocity of the subject.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image shake correction apparatus mounted on a camera or the like and a control method therefor, and more particularly, to an imaging assistance technique for suitably performing panning.

  The panning shot by the camera is a method of shooting a subject (moving object) at a shutter speed slower than usual while following the subject. According to this method, an image in which the background flows and the subject is stationary can be obtained. The user can take a photograph full of speed by panning. However, since long-time shooting is performed, it is difficult to match the speed of the subject and the speed of shaking the camera during the exposure period, which is one of the shooting techniques that require skill.

  In order to easily realize panning, Patent Document 1 discloses a method for detecting a difference between a subject speed and a camera shaking speed and correcting a shift amount corresponding to the difference using a camera shake correction function. Is disclosed. Immediately before photographing, an angular velocity sensor in the camera detects an angular velocity with respect to panning of the camera following the subject. At the same time, the amount of movement of the main subject image on the imaging surface is detected. The angular velocity of the subject is calculated from the detected panning angular velocity and the amount of movement of the subject image on the imaging surface. During exposure, an image blur correction operation is performed in accordance with the difference between the calculated angular velocity of the main subject and the angular velocity sensor output in the camera. As a result, the difference in panning speed between the main subject and the camera and the amount of camera shake are corrected, so that image blurring of the main subject that is the subject of panning can be suppressed. The function realized by this method is hereinafter referred to as panning assist.

JP 2006-317848 A

In the prior art disclosed in Patent Document 1, the angular velocity of the subject, that is, the angular velocity at which the photographer should pan the camera in accordance with the subject in order to stop the movement of the subject aimed by the photographer is more accurately determined. It is important to seek. For example, if an error occurs in the angular velocity during the panning operation, an error may occur in the image blur correction. The error amount appears on the screen as a blur remaining (movement of an image that has not been subjected to image blur correction). In order to accurately determine the angular velocity of the main subject, it is necessary to match the timing for detecting the amount of movement of the subject image on the imaging surface with the detection timing of the angular velocity sensor output for detecting the movement of the camera.
An object of the present invention is to make the amount of movement of a subject image on the imaging surface coincide with the output timing of the shake detection means, and to improve the accuracy of detecting the angular velocity related to the subject.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, an apparatus according to the present invention is an image shake correction apparatus including an image shake correction unit that detects a shake and corrects the image shake, and includes a first detection unit that detects the shake of the apparatus. Second detection means for detecting the amount of movement of the subject image on the imaging surface from image data of a plurality of frames, first acquisition means for acquiring information on exposure time, frame rate, and focal length, and the first acquisition Setting means for setting a timing for acquiring data detected by the first detection means using information on an exposure time and a frame rate from the means; and the first detection means at a timing set by the setting means The second acquisition means for acquiring the data detected by the above, the output of the second detection means, the focal length information from the first acquisition means, and the data acquired by the second acquisition means And calculating means for calculating information on angular velocity or angle or position relating to the movement of the subject, and control means for controlling the image blur correction by calculating the drive amount of the image blur correcting unit from the output of the calculating means. Prepare.

  According to the present invention, the amount of movement of the subject image on the imaging surface and the output timing of the shake detection unit (first detection unit) can be matched, and the detection accuracy of the angular velocity related to the subject can be improved.

1 is an overall configuration diagram of an imaging apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart explaining the panning assist control of 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart regarding the acquisition timing setting of angular velocity data. It is a flowchart regarding the interrupt processing for timing setting. It is a block diagram relevant to the panning assist control in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the timing which concerns on the acquisition process of angular velocity data. It is a whole block diagram of the imaging device which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram relevant to the panning assist control in 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart explaining the process of the lens control part of 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart regarding the interruption process of 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the operation timing in 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart explaining the process of a camera control part in 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the acquisition timing of angular velocity data of 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the calculation of the moving amount | distance of the to-be-photographed image on the imaging surface at the time of panning, and the change of an angular velocity sensor output.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In each embodiment, an image shake correction apparatus that performs image shake correction of a captured image is illustrated. Image blur correction devices that drive and control movable members for image blur correction can be mounted on optical devices including imaging devices such as video cameras, digital cameras, and silver halide still cameras, and observation devices such as binoculars, telescopes, and field scopes. is there. The image blur correction apparatus can also be mounted on an optical device such as an interchangeable lens for a digital single lens reflex camera. Therefore, an optical device and an imaging device also constitute one aspect of the present invention.

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an imaging apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and illustrates a configuration of a mirrorless camera equipped with a panning assist function. The interchangeable lens 100 in FIG. 1 is an optical device that can be attached to the camera body 120. The interchangeable lens 100 includes a photographing lens unit 101 including a main photographing optical system 102 and a zoom lens group 103 capable of changing a focal length. The zoom encoder 104 detects the position of the zoom lens group 103 and outputs a detection signal to a lens system control microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as a lens control unit) 105. The focal length of the photographic lens unit 101 can be obtained from the detection signal of the zoom encoder 104. The lens control unit 105 performs aperture control (not shown). The mount contact portion 106 is a connection portion with the camera body portion 120.

  The camera body 120 includes a shutter 121 used for exposure control and an image sensor 122 such as a CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) sensor. The imaging signal output from the imaging element 122 is processed by the analog signal processing circuit 123 and then sent to the camera signal processing circuit 124. A timing generator (TG) 125 sets operation timings of the image sensor 122 and the analog signal processing circuit 123. The operation unit 131 includes a power switch, a release switch, a changeover switch for setting whether to set the panning assist mode, and the like.

A camera system control microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as a camera control unit) 132 controls the entire imaging apparatus. For example, the camera control unit 132 outputs a control signal to the first driver 133 for shutter, and drives and controls the motor 134 for driving the shutter.
An angular velocity sensor 141 serving as a first detection unit detects a shake of the camera body 120 and outputs a shake detection signal to the amplifier 142. The amplifier 142 amplifies the shake detection signal and outputs it to the camera control unit 132. The second driver 143 drives the image sensor 122 in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis in order to correct camera shake or the like according to a control signal from the camera control unit 132. The position sensor 144 detects the position of the image sensor 122 driven by the second driver 143 and outputs a detection signal to the camera control unit 132. The memory card 171 is a recording medium that records captured image data. The display unit 172 includes a display device such as a liquid crystal panel (LCD) that monitors an image that the user intends to capture with the camera and displays the captured image. The camera body 120 includes a mount contact portion 161 with the interchangeable lens 100. The lens control unit 105 and the camera control unit 132 perform serial communication at a predetermined timing via the mount contact units 106 and 161.

  The camera signal processing circuit 124 includes a motion vector detection unit 150 as a second detection unit, and detects the motion of the captured image based on the image data of a plurality of frames. A detection signal of the motion vector detection unit 150 is output to the camera control unit 132. The camera control unit 132 includes a camera parameter setting unit 152. The camera parameter setting unit 152 performs a first acquisition process for acquiring information set by the operation unit 131 and sets various camera parameters. A communication control unit 151 in the camera control unit 132 controls serial communication with the lens control unit 105. In addition, the camera control unit 132 includes a camera shake correction control unit 153 that performs image shake correction. The camera shake correction control unit 153 acquires the output of the angular velocity sensor 141, controls the position of the image sensor 122, and corrects camera shake and the like. At that time, the panning assist control unit 154 of the camera control unit 132 performs panning assist assist control described later. The camera control unit 132 includes various control blocks such as a white balance control unit, but is omitted for simplification of illustration. At the time of image blur correction, for example, detection and correction processing related to two orthogonal axes such as a horizontal direction and a vertical direction are executed. Since these are the same configuration, only one axis will be described below.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing in more detail the portion of the camera main body 120 related to the panning assist. The constituent elements having the same functions as those in FIG. Hereinafter, the configuration in the camera control unit 132 having the panning assist function will be described with reference to FIG.
The communication control unit 151 in FIG. 5 performs serial communication for information exchange with the interchangeable lens 100 attached to the camera main body unit 120, and the focal length information acquisition unit 511 selects the focal length from the optical information of the interchangeable lens 100. Get information. The camera parameter setting unit 152 acquires operation information from the operation unit 131, information such as the brightness of the subject, and other camera control information. Based on these pieces of information, the first setting unit 521 sets the shutter speed as the camera setting for outputting an image in live view to the display unit 172, and the exposure time is determined. The second setting unit 522 sets the frame rate.

  An A (Analog) / D (Digital) converter 501 in the camera shake correction control unit 153 converts a shake detection signal (an output signal of the amplifier 142) from the angular velocity sensor 141 into a digital signal. The A / D conversion for the angular velocity sensor output is performed, for example, at about 1 to 10 kHz. The shake detection signal is processed by a filter calculation unit 502 configured with a high-pass filter (HPF) or the like and output to the first integrator 503. Control corresponding to panning is performed by changing the cutoff frequency of the filter calculation according to the magnitude of the shake detected by the angular velocity sensor 141. The first integrator 503 converts angular velocity data into angular displacement (angular difference) data in order to generate movement target data of the image sensor 122. The converted data is output to the focal length gain correction unit 504 via the switch unit 551. The function of the switch unit 551 will be described later.

  The focal length gain correction unit 504 corrects the output of the first integrator 503 according to the focal length. Since the sensitivity of shake correction changes according to the focal length of the image sensor 122 used for image shake correction, the focal length gain correction unit 504 uses the focal length information acquired through communication with the interchangeable lens 100 to change the sensitivity. Correct the minutes. The signal after gain correction is output to the adder 505.

  The A / D converter 508 converts the output of the position sensor 144 into digital data and outputs the digital data to the adder 505. An adder 505 adds both signals by using the output of the focal length gain correction unit 504 as a positive input and the output of the A / D converter 508 as a negative input. Thus, movement amount (difference) data is calculated by subtracting the current position of the image sensor 122 from the movement target position of the image sensor 122. The movement amount data is output to the filter calculation unit 506 and subjected to filter processing. A PWM (pulse width modulation) output unit 507 converts it into a PWM signal according to the movement amount data subjected to the filter processing, and outputs it to the second driver 143 for position control of the image sensor 122. The second driver 143 forms an image shake correction unit together with the drive mechanism unit of the image sensor 122 and outputs a signal corresponding to the drive amount of the image sensor 122.

  The panning state determination / control unit 509 acquires the output signal of the A / D converter 501 and determines whether the camera is panned from the state of the angular velocity data. If the determination / control unit 509 determines that the panning of the camera has been performed, the determination / control unit 509 performs cut-off frequency change control of the filter calculation unit 502 and output adjustment of the first integrator 503. The above operation is performed by the operation unit 131 from the time when the release switch is half-pressed until the end of exposure, and the camera shake component detected by the angular velocity sensor 141 is corrected.

In the panning assist control unit 154, a data acquisition timing setting unit (hereinafter simply referred to as a timing setting unit) 541 acquires shutter speed and frame rate data from the camera parameter setting unit 152. The timing setting unit 541 sets the data acquisition timing of the angular velocity sensor 141 used for the panning assist control. The data acquisition unit 542 performs a second acquisition process based on the setting of the timing setting unit 541 and acquires angular velocity data from the A / D converter 501 at a predetermined timing. The data acquisition unit 542 outputs the acquired angular velocity data to the main subject angular velocity calculation unit 524. The operations of the timing setting unit 541 and the data acquisition unit 542 will be described in detail later.
A main subject vector selection unit (hereinafter simply referred to as a vector selection unit) 523 converts the angular velocity data acquired from the output of the angular velocity sensor 141 into a moving amount on the imaging surface using focal length information, and a motion vector. The main subject vector is selected from the output value of the detection unit 150. When the photographer performs panning, the motion vector of the subject output from the motion vector detection unit 150 includes two types: a vector corresponding to the main subject that the photographer is about to shoot and a vector corresponding to the flowing background. It becomes. The vector corresponding to the background is substantially equal to the amount of movement on the imaging surface converted from the angular velocity data, and the motion vector of the main subject has a smaller amount of motion than the background vector. From this, the motion vector of the main subject (the amount of movement of the main subject image region) can be specified. The vector selection unit 523 acquires frame rate data from the camera parameter setting unit 152 and focal length data from the focal length information acquisition unit 511 as data used for processing.

  A main subject angular velocity calculation unit (hereinafter simply referred to as an angular velocity calculation unit) 524 calculates an angular velocity of the main subject from the output of the vector selection unit 523 and the output (acquisition result) of the data acquisition unit 542. The angular velocity data acquired from the angular velocity sensor 141 corresponds to the panning speed of the camera for performing panning. Therefore, by calculating the difference between the acquired angular velocity data and the value converted into the angular velocity using the focal length with respect to the movement amount of the main subject image on the imaging surface, the resulting angular velocity relating to the movement of the main subject Data is obtained. The output of the angular velocity calculation unit 524 is sent to the adder 525.

  The adder 525 calculates the difference between the outputs of the angular velocity calculator 524 as a negative input and the angular velocity data output from the A / D converter 501 as a positive input. The second integrator 526 integrates the output of the adder 525 and converts it into angular displacement data. The output of the adder 525 corresponds to the difference between the movement of the main subject and the panning speed. The output of the second integrator 526 is the amount of movement of the image sensor 122, that is, the amount to be assisted. The operation information acquisition unit 531 related to the panning assist assists the information on whether or not the panning assist mode has been selected by the operation unit 131 and notifies the setting change unit 532 of the information. The setting change unit 532 sends a setting change notification for facilitating panning determination to the panning state determination / control unit 509 in the panning assist mode, and acquires information on whether the camera is in the panning state. . Then, the setting change unit 532 controls the switch unit 551 according to the panning detection state. As a result, the output of the first integrator 503 or the output of the second integrator 526 is selected. That is, the switch unit 551 switches between using the output of the first integrator 503 as the movement target value of the image sensor 122 or using the output of the second integrator 526 in the panning assist mode. The setting change unit 532 controls switching of whether to enable the output of the second integrator 526 according to the operation state of the release switch.

Next, with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 2, the panning assist operation and the switching operation between the camera shake correction control and the panning assist control will be described. The following processing is executed according to the control program read from the memory by the camera control unit 132.
S201 is a process of determining whether or not the panning assist mode is set by the operation unit 131. The operation information acquisition unit 531 acquires and confirms whether or not the panning assist mode is selected by the operation unit 131. If it is determined in S201 that the panning assist mode is set, the process proceeds to S202. If it is determined that the panning assist mode is not set, the process proceeds to S212.

  In step S202, the setting change unit 532 sets panning determination conditions for panning assist to the panning state determination / control unit 509. About this setting, it changes so that it may become easy to determine with panning. In step S <b> 203, the determination / control unit 509 determines whether a panning is currently being performed. Here, when panning is detected, it is determined to be panning. If it is determined that it is a panning shot, the process proceeds to S204, and if it is determined that it is not a panning shot, the process proceeds to S212. In S204, the setting process of the timing setting unit 541 is performed, and the data acquisition unit 542 acquires data based on the setting timing.

  With reference to FIG. 14, a description will be given of an angular velocity change (an output change of the angular velocity sensor) during panning of the camera with respect to an angular velocity change of the main subject and a detected motion vector at the time of panning. FIG. 14A illustrates changes in the angular velocity (broken line) of the main subject and the angular velocity (solid line) due to the panning operation when the camera is panned following the subject in a predetermined number of seconds. In FIG. 14A, the horizontal axis indicates time, and the vertical axis indicates the magnitude of the angular velocity when the panning direction is the positive direction. The movement of the camera at time t0, t1, t2 is schematically shown. Where there is a difference between the solid and broken graphs, the panning speed of the camera deviates from the angular velocity of the main subject. When shooting is performed at this portion, the image of the main subject is shot with blurring.

  FIG. 14B is an enlarged view of a portion surrounded by a round frame (see arrow A) in FIG. The vertical axis indicates angular velocity, the horizontal axis indicates time, and α corresponds to the time of one frame. FIG. 14B further shows a change in angular velocity (difference angular velocity) of the main subject converted from the motion vector of the main subject detected during one frame. Since the output of the angular velocity sensor 141 is sampled at about several kHz by the A / D converter 501, the detection signal changes smoothly even within one frame. On the other hand, since the motion vector information is basically detected once per frame, it becomes more discrete data than the detection information of the angular velocity sensor 141. Accordingly, since the angular velocity data changes even while the motion vector is detected, some errors may occur in the calculation result of the angular velocity of the main subject depending on the sampling timing of the angular velocity data. In other words, the accuracy of detecting the angular velocity of the main subject is improved by optimally setting the acquisition timing of the angular velocity data.

  Here, paying attention to the angular velocity change due to panning shown in FIG. 14B, the movement of panning is basically one direction, and the frequency of the angular velocity change is very low. Therefore, when a change in the angular velocity data is seen with the frame time as a unit, it can be regarded as almost linear (approximate linear function expression). In other words, if angular velocity data can be acquired at the timing at the center of the storage period of the image sensor and the next storage period, the data will best match the timing of motion vector detection. For example, in FIG. 14B, the angular velocity data most suitable for the angular velocity detection timing of the main subject at the time “t1 + α” is the data at the time indicated by the x mark indicated by the arrow B. That is, the data is obtained at the timing of time “t1 + (α ÷ 2)”, which is the center of time t1 and time “t1 + α”. More precisely, a time corresponding to the center of the time corresponding to the center of the accumulation period of the nth frame and the time corresponding to the center of the storage period of the “n + 1” th frame is the optimum detection time point. . Therefore, for example, when the reset pulse of the image sensor 122 is generated, the time required for the angular velocity data is notified by a timer interrupt or the like, so that necessary data can be acquired. In S204 of FIG. 2, timing setting processing for obtaining appropriate angular velocity data is performed. Details thereof will be described later with reference to FIG.

  Returning to FIG. 2, the process proceeds to S205 after S204. In S205, it is determined whether or not the release switch of the operation unit 131 is half-pressed and the first switch (denoted as S1) is in the ON state. If S1 is not ON, the process returns to S201. When S1 is in the ON state, the process proceeds to S206, and the angular velocity calculation unit 524 calculates the angular velocity of the main subject. S207 is a process for determining whether or not the release switch is fully depressed and the second switch (denoted as S2) is in an ON state. If S2 is not ON, the process returns to S204. If S2 is in the ON state, the process proceeds to S208, and exposure start determination is performed. The process waits until exposure is started. If it is determined in S208 that exposure has started, the process proceeds to S209. In S209, the difference between the angular velocity data of the main subject calculated in S206 and the current angular velocity data is calculated, and the position of the image sensor 122 is controlled based on the control value corresponding to the difference. In S210, the end of exposure is determined. Until the exposure is completed, the movement of the image sensor 122 in S209 is continued, and a panning assist operation during exposure is performed. When the exposure ends, the process proceeds to S211, and after the process of moving the image sensor 122 to the initial position (for example, the center position of the movable range) is performed, the process returns to S201.

  On the other hand, if the panning assist mode is not set in S201, or if it is not determined to be panning in S203, the process proceeds to S212. In S212, processing for returning the panning determination condition to the normal value is executed. Thereafter, a normal image stabilization operation (an operation in which image blur correction starts in the ON state of S1 and image blur correction ends in the end of exposure) is performed. That is, in S213, it is determined whether S1 is in an ON state. If S1 is in the ON state, the process proceeds to S214. If S1 is not in the ON state, the process proceeds to S218.

S214 is a process for determining whether or not image stabilization control is being performed during image stabilization control, that is, whether or not image blur correction is being performed according to the shake detection result. If it is determined that the image stabilization control is not being performed, the process proceeds to S215. If it is determined that the image stabilization control is being performed, the process proceeds to S216. After the image stabilization operation is initialized (initialized) in S215, the image stabilization control is started. In S216, it is determined whether or not S2 is in an ON state. If S2 is not ON, the process returns to S213. If S2 is ON, the process proceeds to S217. The normal image stabilization operation continues until the exposure end determination process is performed in S217 and the exposure ends. If the end of exposure is determined in S217, the normal image stabilization operation is terminated in S218, the process proceeds to S211 and the process of returning the position of the image sensor 122 to the initial position is executed, and then the process returns to S201.
As described above, the switching process between the panning assist operation and the normal image stabilization operation is performed according to the determination result of the panning assist mode or the panning determination result.

Next, a processing example of S204 in FIG. 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing in detail the processing for setting the acquisition timing of angular velocity data. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing interrupt processing in the camera control unit 132.
In S301 of FIG. 3, a determination process is performed for the state of the start flag of the timer. A determination is made as to whether or not the timer for acquiring the angular velocity data is operating. If the timer is not operating, the process proceeds to S303. If the timer is operating, the process proceeds to S302.

  In step S <b> 303, the timing setting unit 541 acquires information on the current shutter speed set by the camera parameter setting unit 152 from the first setting unit 521, and acquires information on the current frame rate from the second setting unit 522. In the next S304, based on the information acquired in S303, the time from the reset pulse generated immediately before exposure to the image sensor 122 to the acquisition timing of the angular velocity data is calculated. In S305, timer interrupt setting processing (register setting) is executed so that data can be acquired at the timing calculated in S304. In step S306, a timer start flag is set. With this setting, a timer interrupt is generated after a set time has elapsed since the timer started. The timer operation is started in the interrupt process.

  On the other hand, if the timer is operating in S301, the process proceeds to S302, and it is determined whether or not the camera setting has been changed. For example, when the brightness of the object scene changes, confirmation processing such as whether the shutter speed has changed is performed. When a change occurs in the calculation of the acquisition time of the angular velocity data, such as a change in the shutter speed, the process proceeds to S303, and the acquisition time is calculated again in S304. If it is determined in S302 that the camera setting has not been changed, the setting for acquiring the angular velocity data has already been performed at the necessary timing, so that the return process is performed without doing anything, and the flowchart of FIG. Exit processing.

Next, interrupt control of the camera control unit 132 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. There are various interrupt factors in the camera control unit 132. When the interruption occurs, the processing illustrated in FIG. 4 is executed, but only a portion necessary for determining the timing of data sampling of the angular velocity sensor 141 is shown here.
First, when the interrupt process starts, it is determined in S401 whether or not the reset pulse of the image sensor 122 is interrupted. In the case of a reset pulse interrupt, a sensor accumulation reset (not shown) is performed, and the process proceeds to S402. If it is not a reset pulse interrupt, the process proceeds to S404. In S402, it is determined whether a start flag of a timer set during the panning assist mode is set. If the start flag is not set, return processing is performed without doing anything. If the start flag is set in S402, the process proceeds to S403. In S403, after the timer is reset and started based on the value set in S305 of FIG. 3 at the same timing as the reset of the image sensor 122, the return process is performed.

  S404 is processing for determining whether or not a timer interrupt has occurred. When a timer interrupt occurs, this indicates that the timing is optimal for obtaining angular velocity data. Accordingly, the process proceeds to S405, and after the data acquisition unit 542 acquires angular velocity data, the timer stops in S406. On the other hand, if it is not a timer interrupt in S404, the process proceeds to S407, and each process is executed according to an interrupt of other factors. After the processing of S406 or S407, return processing is performed. Note that the angular velocity data acquired in S405 includes a camera shake component, but during panning, the fluctuation of the angular velocity sensor output due to camera shake is sufficiently larger than the output of the angular velocity sensor 141 generated by the panning operation. Since it is small, you can ignore it. The same applies to the control operation during the tilting operation, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 6 illustrates the detection timing of the movement amount of the subject image on the imaging surface and the detection timing of the angular velocity sensor 141 when the present embodiment is applied. In the camera settings, the frame rate is 30 fps (frames per second), and the shutter speed is 1/50 seconds. A signal 601 shown in FIG. 6 is a synchronization signal, and its period corresponds to the frame rate. The accumulation periods 602a and 602b corresponding to the first and second frames correspond to the exposure period for each frame. In this example, the accumulation time for each period corresponding to the frame rate when a CMOS sensor is used as the image sensor 122 is shown. The time interval 603 exemplifies a sampling period when the A / D converter 501 converts the output signal of the angular velocity sensor 141. A time point 604 indicated by an arrow indicates angular velocity data acquisition timing for obtaining the angular velocity of the main subject. As can be seen from FIG. 6, the time from the reset pulse corresponding to the accumulation start time of the image sensor 122 is measured, and an interrupt occurs at the time that is the center of the central interval of the accumulation time. That is, an interrupt is generated at a time that is the center between the center position (time) of the first accumulation period 602a and the center position (time) of the second accumulation period 602b that comes next. Thereby, it is possible to obtain the optimum angular velocity data for obtaining the angular velocity of the main subject. In other words, since the angular velocity of the main subject can be obtained more accurately by using the acquired angular velocity data, the blurring remaining of the captured image (residual component of image blur correction) when the panning assist is performed is minimized. Can be suppressed.

  According to this embodiment, the blur detection residual of the subject image during panning is reduced as much as possible by accurately matching the detection timing of the movement amount of the main subject image on the imaging surface with the detection timing of the angular velocity sensor output. It becomes possible. In the present embodiment, data acquisition is performed by determining the data acquisition timing of the angular velocity sensor 141 by a timer interrupt. The method for setting the data acquisition timing is not limited to this. For example, any means capable of time management such as using an external interrupt from the timing generator 125 can perform the same operation as in this embodiment. .

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the present embodiment, the setting process of the acquisition timing of angular velocity data is shown in the case where the panning assist function is realized by using the image stabilization mechanism (image blur correction unit) in the photographing lens. In the first embodiment, a method of acquiring angular velocity data at a predetermined timing in order to calculate the angular velocity related to the main subject has been described. In the present embodiment, a method for obtaining an average value of angular velocity data within a predetermined range will be described.
FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of the imaging apparatus according to the present embodiment. In addition, about the component which has the function similar to the structure in the case of 1st Embodiment (refer FIG. 1), by using the code | symbol already used, those detailed description is abbreviate | omitted and it mainly differs. Will be explained. Omitting such description is the same in the embodiments described later.

  The interchangeable lens 700 having an image blur correction function can be attached to the camera body 720. The photographing lens unit 701 of the interchangeable lens 700 includes a main photographing optical system 702, a zoom lens group 103 that can change a focal length, and a shift lens group 704. The shift lens group 704 optically corrects the image shake with respect to the optical axis, which is caused by the shake of the imaging apparatus, by moving in the direction perpendicular to the optical axis. A zoom encoder 104 that detects the position of the zoom lens group 103 and a position sensor 706 that detects the position of the shift lens group 704 are used to detect the position of the movable optical member. Each detection signal is output to the lens control unit 713.

  The third driver 714 drives the shift lens group 704 in accordance with a control signal from the lens control unit 713. The third driver 714 constitutes an image blur correction unit together with a drive mechanism unit of the shift lens group 704 (correction member). The amplifier 715 amplifies the output of the position sensor 706 of the shift lens group 704 and outputs it to the lens control unit 713. The lens control unit 713 includes a camera shake correction control unit 717 that performs camera shake correction control, and a panning shot assist control unit 718 that performs control for panning assist. The lens control unit 713 also performs focus lens control, aperture control, and the like, but is omitted for simplification of illustration. As for camera shake correction, detection and correction are performed with respect to two orthogonal axes, for example, the horizontal direction and the vertical direction. However, since the same configuration is used, only one axis will be described below.

  The camera body 720 includes a camera control unit 732 and the same components as in FIG. The camera control unit 732 includes a camera parameter setting unit 751, a main subject detection unit 752, and a movement amount calculation unit 753 that calculates the movement amount of the main subject image on the imaging surface. The part related to the panning assist in the camera parameter setting unit 751 is the same as the camera parameter setting unit 152 in FIG. The main subject detection unit 752 is a third detection unit having the same function as the main subject vector selection unit 523 of FIG. The movement amount calculation unit 753 converts the motion vector information related to the main subject selected by the main subject detection unit 752 into data according to a predetermined format. The predetermined format is a format decided in advance between the camera control unit 732 and the lens control unit 713, and in accordance with the format, for example, data to a unit of μm (micrometer) with 4 decimal places is used. Conversion processing is performed.

  In the imaging apparatus of FIG. 7, when the user turns on the camera using the operation unit 131, the camera control unit 732 detects the change in state. The camera control unit 732 executes power supply to each circuit of the camera body unit 720 and initial setting processing. Power is supplied to the interchangeable lens 700, and the lens control unit 713 executes an initial setting process in the interchangeable lens 700. Communication between the lens control unit 713 and the camera control unit 732 starts at a predetermined timing. Through this lens-camera communication, information such as the camera status and shooting settings is transmitted and received from the camera body 720 to the interchangeable lens 700. Also, focal length information, angular velocity information, and the like of the interchangeable lens are transmitted and received from the interchangeable lens 700 to the camera body 720 at necessary timings. Further, during the panning assist mode, movement amount data of the main subject image on the imaging surface calculated by the movement amount calculation unit 753 is transmitted from the camera body unit 720 to the interchangeable lens 700.

  FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram showing in more detail the portion related to the panning assist in the interchangeable lens 700. The constituent elements having the same functions as those in FIGS. 1, 5, and 7 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted. Hereinafter, the configuration of the lens control unit 713 having the panning assist function will be described.

The camera shake correction control unit 717 in FIG. 8 is different from that in the first embodiment in that the camera shake correction control unit 717 is incorporated in the lens control unit 713 in this embodiment. However, since the internal configuration is the same as the camera shake correction control unit 153 of the camera control unit 132 in the first embodiment, the description thereof is omitted. The communication control unit 811 communicates with the camera control unit 732 via the mount contact unit 106 to transmit / receive data.
In the panning assist control unit 718, the camera information acquisition unit 812 acquires the following information from the data received by the communication control unit 811 from the camera control unit 732.
Release switch half-press (S1 ON) information and full-press operation (S2 ON) information.
-Information on frame rate and shutter speed.
Information on reset pulse timing of the image sensor 722 in the camera body 720.

  The data acquisition timing setting unit 813 sets the acquisition timing of angular velocity data based on the data acquired by the camera information acquisition unit 812. The data acquisition unit 814 acquires a plurality of angular velocity data from the A / D converter 501 at the timing set by the timing setting unit 813. The obtained plurality of angular velocity data is processed by the angular velocity data output unit 815 and converted into format data for processing by the camera control unit 732. The converted data is transmitted to the camera control unit 732 via the communication control unit 811.

The movement amount acquisition unit 816 acquires information indicating the movement amount of the main subject image on the imaging surface from the received data from the camera control unit 732 and obtains a main subject angular velocity calculation unit (hereinafter simply referred to as an angular velocity calculation unit). Output to 817. The angular velocity calculation unit 817 calculates the angular velocity of the main subject using the following information.
Focal length information obtained from the zoom encoder 104.
Movement amount information of the main subject image on the imaging surface obtained from the movement amount acquisition unit 816.
Camera frame rate information obtained from the camera information acquisition unit 812.
Angular velocity information (angular velocity data) obtained from the data acquisition unit 814.
The angular velocity signal related to the main subject calculated by the angular velocity calculator 817 is a negative input to the adder 525. That is, the adder 525 subtracts the angular velocity signal of the main subject from the output of the A / D converter 501 that is a positive input, and outputs the difference signal to the second integrator 526.

  In the above configuration, the operation in the lens control unit 713 for detecting the angular velocity of the main subject is the same as the operation in the camera control unit 132 according to the first embodiment, and the acquisition timing of the angular velocity data is interrupted. It is determined. However, in the present embodiment, the lens controller 713 calculates the average value of the angular velocity data within a predetermined period for the purpose of more accurately deriving the angular velocity of the main subject and suppressing the influence of fluctuation of the angular velocity sensor 141. get. Therefore, the timer setting contents and interrupt control are different from the first embodiment.

With reference to FIGS. 9 and 10, the angular velocity data acquisition processing by the panning assist control unit 718 will be described. FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of data acquisition timing setting processing from the angular velocity sensor 141. FIG. 10 is a flowchart regarding interrupt control in the lens control unit 713. The processes in steps S901 to S903 and S905 and S906 shown in FIG. 9 are the same as S301 to S303, S305, and S306 shown in FIG. Therefore, only S904, which is a difference, will be described.
In S904, the average value acquisition start timing of the angular velocity sensor 141 is calculated from the frame rate and shutter speed data acquired in S903. That is, the calculation start time is calculated, and the corresponding time data is set in the register in the next S905.

Next, the process shown in FIG. 10 will be described. Interrupt factors in the lens control unit 713 are various as in the case of the camera control unit 732. The processing of the flowchart of FIG. 10 is executed every time an interrupt occurs, but only the portion necessary for determining the acquisition timing of angular velocity data is shown.
First, when the interrupt process of FIG. 10 is started, it is determined in S1001 whether the interrupt is a camera communication end interrupt. If the interrupt is for camera communication termination, the process proceeds to S1002, and if not, the process proceeds to S1005. S1002 is a process for determining whether or not the current communication is communication related to the generation of a reset pulse. In the case of communication related to the generation of a reset pulse, the process proceeds to S1003. Otherwise, the process proceeds to S1005.

  In S1003, the value of the timer start flag is determined. If the start flag is set, the process proceeds to S1004. If the start flag is not set, the process proceeds to return processing. In S1004, the timer is reset and started based on the value calculated in S904 of FIG. In S1005, it is determined whether a timer interrupt has occurred. If a timer interrupt has occurred, the process proceeds to S1006. If a timer interrupt has not occurred, the process proceeds to S1007. In S1006, inversion processing of a predetermined flag (addition flag) is performed. The acquisition timing of the angular velocity sensor 141 is switched at the timing when the addition flag is inverted. Then, the process proceeds to return processing.

  In step S1007, it is determined whether or not the angular velocity sensor 141 interrupts the end of A / D conversion. If the generated interrupt is an A / D conversion end interrupt, the process advances to step S1008. If it is not an A / D conversion end interrupt, the process proceeds to S1014, and after other interrupt processing is executed, the process proceeds to return processing. In S1008, it is determined whether or not the addition flag has changed. If the addition flag has not changed, the process proceeds to S1012 in order to continue the average value calculation. If the addition flag has changed, the process proceeds to S1009. In S1012, processing for adding the current angular velocity data to the value of the buffer for addition is executed, and then in S1013, 1 is added to the count variable value by incrementing the counter. Then, the process proceeds to return processing.

  In the case of proceeding from S1008 to S1009, it is determined that a predetermined time has elapsed, and therefore processing for calculating an average value of angular velocity data is executed. That is, the average value is calculated by dividing the value of the addition buffer by the count variable value. The angular velocity data output unit 815 performs processing for calculating and acquiring an average value of a plurality of angular velocity data within a predetermined period. In S1010, after updating the new buffer by overwriting new angular velocity data in the addition buffer, the count variable value is initialized (reset to 1) in S1011. At the time of A / D conversion end interrupt processing, the average value of angular velocity data during a predetermined period is calculated by repeating the above operation.

  Next, an accumulation period, data acquisition timing, communication timing, and processing timing of the lens control unit 713 in this embodiment will be described with reference to the timing chart of FIG. For the camera setting, the frame rate is set to 30 fps with the synchronization signal 1100, and the shutter speed is set to 1/50 seconds for the accumulation period. As shown in the accumulation periods 1101 and 1102 of the image sensor 722, accumulation starts with the reset pulse, and image data is read with the read pulse at the timing of the falling edge of the synchronization signal 1100. The signal 1103 illustrates the sampling timing in the A / D conversion of the angular velocity sensor output. Periods 1104 and 1105 indicate periods for calculating the average value of the angular velocity data, that is, the average value calculation period of the angular velocity sensor output that is optimal for detecting the angular velocity related to the main subject. Signals 1106 to 1109 represent communication processing from the camera control unit 732 to the lens control unit 713. Signals 1106 and 1108 have communication information indicating the timing of the reset pulse of the image sensor 722. Signals 1107 and 1109 have information indicating the transmission timing of the detected motion vector of the main subject. Signals 1110 to 1113 represent processing timings in the lens control unit 713. Signals 1110 and 1112 indicate the timing of interrupt processing, and signals 1111 and 1113 indicate the timing of angular velocity detection processing of the main subject. The motion vector detection process is executed according to the information read from the image sensor 722. For this reason, the motion vector information sent to the lens control unit 713 by communication indicated by the signal 1109 is information that the main subject image has moved on the imaging surface from the first accumulation period 1101 to the second accumulation period 1102. . On the other hand, the angular velocity information corresponding to the same period is a value in the range indicated by the period 1104. Therefore, in order to calculate the angular velocity of the main subject, the lens control unit 713 calculates the angular velocity information in the period 1104 and the movement amount of the main subject image on the imaging surface received in the signal 1109 in the processing period indicated by the signal 1113. Is used. Thereby, the accurate angular velocity of the main subject can be calculated.

  According to the present embodiment, by performing an average calculation over a predetermined period for angular velocity data, for example, even if an angular velocity sensor with a large fluctuation is used, it is possible to suppress variations due to the fluctuation. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the blurring of the photographed image when the panning assist is performed, and to obtain the angular velocity related to the main subject more accurately. In addition, although the example which performs the average calculation about all the sampled data was demonstrated, for example, when sampling by the A / D converter 501 is quicker, you may reduce the number of sampling data. Thereby, the processing time in the lens control unit 713 can be shortened. In the present embodiment, the components for realizing the panning assist function are divided into the camera body 720 side and the interchangeable lens 700 side. Even in this case, the motion vector information for detecting the angular velocity of the main subject and the acquisition timing of the angular velocity data can be matched with an appropriate timing. As a result, the angular velocity of the main subject can be detected more accurately.

[Third Embodiment]
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the present embodiment, in addition to the above-described embodiment, the detection accuracy can be further improved by grasping the position of the main subject image on the imaging surface and matching the acquisition timing of the angular velocity data with the position of the main subject.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart for explaining a processing example in the camera control unit according to the present embodiment, and shows a part related to setting of the acquisition timing of the angular velocity sensor output. Hereinafter, the angular velocity data acquisition process will be described with reference to FIG. This process is realized by a CPU (Central Processing Unit) in the camera control unit reading and executing a control program from the memory.
In S1201, processing for confirming the state of the timer start flag is performed, and it is determined whether or not the timer for obtaining angular velocity data is in operation. If the timer is not operating, the process proceeds to S1203. If the timer is operating, the process proceeds to S1202. In step S1203, processing for acquiring the position of the main subject image on the imaging surface obtained from the motion vector information is executed. In step S1205, the current frame rate and shutter speed data set by the camera parameter setting unit 152 are acquired. In S1206, the calculation start time for calculating the average value of the angular velocity data is calculated based on the position of the main subject image on the imaging surface acquired in S1203 and the information acquired in S1205. This time is calculated as the time from the time of the reset pulse generated immediately before exposure to the image sensor to the time corresponding to the center of the accumulation period at the center position of the main subject image on the imaging surface. In S1207, timer interrupt setting processing is performed so that angular velocity data can be acquired at the timing set by the time calculated in S1206. In step S1208, a timer start flag is set. With this setting, a timer interrupt occurs after a set time has elapsed since the timer operation started. The timer is started during interrupt processing.

  In S1202, a determination process is performed as to whether or not the position of the main subject has changed. If the subject position has changed, the process proceeds to S1203, and if the subject position has not changed, the process proceeds to S1204. In S1204, a determination process is performed as to whether there has been a change in camera settings such as a change in shutter speed. As a result, when a change that affects the calculation of the acquisition time of the angular velocity data such as a change in the shutter speed occurs, the process proceeds to S1205, and the calculation start time is calculated again after acquiring the frame rate and the shutter speed. . In S1204, if there is no change in the camera settings, the angular velocity data is set to be acquired at a necessary timing, so that the process proceeds to return processing without doing anything.

  FIG. 13 shows a timing chart relating to acquisition of angular velocity data in the present embodiment. An imaging screen 1501 shown in the upper part of FIG. 13 illustrates a plurality of divided areas 1502. Of these, a region 1503 is a region where the main subject is detected (hereinafter referred to as a subject detection region). FIG. 13 shows the synchronization signal 1504, the accumulation period, and the sampling timing of the angular velocity sensor output.

  In this embodiment, since a CMOS sensor is used for the image sensor, the readout time differs for each horizontal line. Since the position of the subject detection area 1503 is shifted from the center in the vertical direction in the imaging screen 1501, the accumulation period corresponding to the center position in the vertical direction of the subject detection area 1503 is a portion indicated by a dotted line 1505. A period 1508 indicates an average value calculation period that is optimal for angular velocity detection related to the subject. This period corresponds to a period from the time indicated by the middle point of the dotted line 1505 to the time indicated by the middle point of the dotted line 1506 corresponding to the subject detection area in the next accumulation period. In the present embodiment, the angular velocity over the period from the central time of the motion vector accumulation time detected at the motion vector detection time of the main subject to the central time at the same position corresponding to the next accumulation time. Data average value calculation processing is executed. Thereby, the optimum angular velocity data can be acquired for the detected motion vector of the main subject. In the present embodiment, for convenience of explanation, the case where one subject detection area is selected as the detection area related to the main subject has been described. When the detection area of the main subject extends over a plurality of areas in the vertical direction, the average value is obtained as the angular velocity data for the horizontal line that is the center in the vertical direction within the area including the plurality of areas. What is necessary is just to calculate.

According to the present embodiment, the calculation accuracy can be improved by calculating the angular velocity related to the main subject from the angular velocity data suitable for the motion vector of the main subject. As a result, it is possible to obtain a captured image with very little blurring remaining during the panning assist.
As mentioned above, although preferable embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to these embodiment, A various deformation | transformation and change are possible within the range of the summary.

105, 713 Lens control unit 122, 722 Image sensor 132, 732 Camera control unit 141 Angular velocity sensor 150 Motion vector detection unit 153, 717 Shake correction control unit 154, 718 Panning assist control unit 524, 817 Main subject angular velocity calculation unit 541 , 813 Timing setting unit 542, 814 Data acquisition unit 704 Shift lens group

Claims (13)

An image shake correction apparatus including an image shake correction unit that detects shake and corrects image shake,
First detecting means for detecting a shake of the apparatus;
Second detection means for detecting a movement amount of a subject image on the imaging surface from image data of a plurality of frames;
First acquisition means for acquiring information of exposure time, frame rate, and focal length;
Setting means for setting a timing for acquiring data detected by the first detection means using information on an exposure time and a frame rate from the first acquisition means;
Second acquisition means for acquiring data detected by the first detection means at a timing set by the setting means;
Using the output of the second detection means, the focal length information from the first acquisition means, and the data acquired by the second acquisition means, the angular velocity or angle or position information related to the movement of the subject is calculated. Calculating means for
An image blur correction apparatus comprising: a control unit that calculates a drive amount of the image blur correction unit from an output of the calculation unit and controls image blur correction.   The setting means obtains data detected by the first detection means between an exposure period corresponding to a first frame and an exposure period corresponding to a second frame among the plurality of frames. The image blur correction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: A third detecting means for detecting a region of the subject image on the imaging surface;
3. The image blur correction according to claim 1, wherein the setting unit acquires an output of the third detection unit and sets an acquisition timing of the data detected by the first detection unit. 4. apparatus.   The image blur correction apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the third detection unit detects a region of a subject from outputs of the first detection unit and the second detection unit.   5. The image blur correction apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the third detection unit selects one or a plurality of areas as a subject detection area among areas obtained by dividing the imaging surface. 6.   The second acquisition unit includes the first detection unit between an exposure period corresponding to the first frame and an exposure period corresponding to the second frame according to the timing set by the setting unit. The image blur correction apparatus according to claim 2, wherein one piece of data detected by the method is acquired.   The setting means sets the timing at the center between the center time of the exposure period corresponding to the first frame and the center time of the exposure period corresponding to the second frame. 6. The image blur correction device according to 6.   The second acquisition unit is configured by the first detection unit between the exposure period corresponding to the first frame and the exposure period corresponding to the second frame according to the timing set by the setting unit. The image blur correction apparatus according to claim 2, wherein an average value is acquired from a plurality of detected data. Operation means used to set the panning mode;
A determination means for determining whether panning or tilting is in operation;
When the panning mode is set, and the panning or tilting state is determined by the determination unit, the calculation unit starts calculating the angular velocity or the angle or position information related to the movement of the subject. The image blur correction device according to claim 1. The image blur correction unit includes a correction unit that optically corrects an image blur by changing an optical axis,
The image blur correction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit performs drive control of the correction unit according to an output of the calculation unit.   An optical apparatus comprising the image blur correction device according to claim 1. An image pickup apparatus comprising the image shake correction apparatus according to claim 1. A control method executed by an image shake correction apparatus including an image shake correction unit that detects shake and corrects image shake,
Detecting a shake of the apparatus by the first detection means, and detecting a movement amount of the subject image on the imaging surface from the image data of a plurality of frames by the second detection means;
Acquiring information of an exposure time, a frame rate, and a focal length of the imaging apparatus by a first acquisition unit;
A setting unit that sets a timing for acquiring data detected by the first detection unit using the exposure time and frame rate information;
A second acquisition unit acquiring data detected by the first detection unit at a timing set by the setting unit;
Using the output of the second detection means, the focal length information from the first acquisition means, and the data acquired by the second acquisition means, the angular velocity or angle or position information related to the movement of the subject is calculated. Means for calculating means;
And a control unit that calculates a drive amount of the image blur correction unit from an output of the calculation unit and controls image blur correction, and a control method for the image blur correction apparatus.

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