JP2021012235A - Imaging apparatus and method for controlling the same - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an imaging apparatus comprising dust removal means that can sufficiently remove dust without generating sound and dust.SOLUTION: A camera CPU 20 controls, as an operation to remove dust attached to a surface of an optical low-pass filter 410, a first dust removal operation to oscillate a movable unit 500 including an image pick-up device 430 and the optical low-pass filter 410 in a plane parallel to an imaging surface, and a second dust removal operation to excite vibration of the optical low-pass filter 410. The camera CPU 20 detects the temperature of the image pick-up device 430, and when the temperature of the image pick-up device 430 is equal to or more than a predetermined threshold, brings the movable unit 500 into contact with a heat radiation member 580 to radiate heat of the image pick-up device 430 and subsequently executes the first dust removal operation and the second dust removal operation at the same time, and when the temperature of the image pick-up device 430 is less than the threshold, executes the first dust removal operation and the second dust removal operation at the same time without radiating heat of the image pick-up device 430.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

The present invention relates to an image pickup apparatus and a control method thereof, and more particularly to a dust removal technique for an image pickup apparatus having an image shake correction mechanism.

In an imaging device such as a single-lens reflex camera in which the photographing lens can be attached / detached, dust in the air may enter the image pickup device body when the photographing lens is replaced (attached / detached). Further, a drive mechanism such as a shutter mechanism provided inside the main body of the image pickup apparatus may generate minute dust due to its operation. If the dust that has entered the image sensor body or the dust generated inside the image sensor body adheres to the surface of an optical member such as an optical low-pass filter arranged on the subject side of the image sensor, it causes a shadow on the captured image. There is a risk. Therefore, an imaging device having a dust removing mechanism for removing dust adhering to the surface of an optical member is known.

As an example of a dust removal mechanism that removes dust adhering to the surface of an optical member, an image shake correction mechanism that reduces image shake by moving the image sensor in a plane orthogonal to the optical axis according to the amount of shake of the image pickup device. The technology used is known. For example, Patent Document 1 describes an image shake correction mechanism that moves a holding member holding an image pickup element in a first direction and a second direction in a plane parallel to the image pickup surface. Then, in the image pickup apparatus of Patent Document 1, a fixed portion is provided within the movable range of the holding member, and the impact force generated by colliding the holding member with the fixed portion using the image shake correction mechanism is used to use the surface of the image pickup element. The dust adhering to the is removed.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-340988

However, the image pickup apparatus of Patent Document 1 has a problem that the user feels uncomfortable with the sound generated when the members collide with each other. In addition, dust may be generated due to collision between members. The image pickup apparatus of Patent Document 2 has a problem that dust stays at the generated knots because the amplitude nodes are generated by the bending vibration in the optical axis direction. Further, there is a problem that it is not easy to sufficiently remove the dust staying at the node in the shaking operation by the linear actuator.

An object of the present invention is to provide an image pickup apparatus provided with a dust removing means capable of sufficiently removing dust without generating sound or dust.

The image pickup apparatus according to the present invention holds the image pickup element, a cover member that covers the image pickup surface of the image pickup element, a vibration means for vibrating the cover member, the image pickup element, and the cover member, and the image pickup surface. Detects the temperature of a holding member that can move in a parallel plane, a driving means that moves the holding member in a plane parallel to the image pickup surface, a heat radiation member that can come into contact with the holding member, and the image sensor. A first dust removing operation for removing dust adhering to the surface of the cover member by swinging the holding member in a predetermined direction in a plane parallel to the image pickup surface by the driving means. The control means includes a control means for controlling the execution of a second dust removal operation for exciting the vibration of the cover member by the vibration means to remove dust adhering to the surface of the cover member, and the control means captures the image pickup. When the temperature of the element is less than a predetermined threshold, the first dust removing operation and the second dust removing operation are executed at the same time, and when the temperature of the image sensor is equal to or higher than the predetermined threshold, the holding member is moved. It is characterized in that the first dust removing operation and the second dust removing operation are simultaneously executed after the image sensor is radiated by contacting with a heat radiating member.

According to the present invention, it is possible to realize an image pickup apparatus provided with a dust removing means capable of sufficiently removing dust without generating sound or dust.

It is a block diagram which shows the schematic structure of the image pickup apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a perspective view of the image pickup apparatus main body which concerns on this invention. It is an exploded perspective view of the image pickup unit included in the image pickup apparatus main body which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic diagram explaining the 1st dust removal operation of an optical low-pass filter. It is a figure explaining the schematic structure of a heat dissipation mechanism and the operation of a movable unit. It is a flowchart of the 1st control method of an image pickup apparatus. It is a flowchart of the 2nd control method of an image pickup apparatus. It is a flowchart of the 3rd control method of an image pickup apparatus.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an imaging device according to the present invention. FIG. 2A is a perspective view showing the image pickup apparatus main body 10 as viewed from the front side, and FIG. 2B is a perspective view showing the image pickup apparatus main body 10 as viewed from the rear side.

The reference numerals shown in FIG. 2 correspond to the reference numerals shown in FIG. Further, for convenience of explanation, the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis that are orthogonal to each other are defined as shown in FIG. The Z axis is an axis parallel to the shooting optical axis. The Y-axis is an axis parallel to the image pickup surface of the image pickup device 430 described later, and is an axis representing the height direction of the image pickup device. The X-axis is an axis orthogonal to the Y-axis and the Z-axis, and is an axis representing the width direction of the image pickup apparatus.

The image pickup apparatus includes an image pickup apparatus main body 10 and a photographing lens 30 that can be attached to and detached from the image pickup apparatus main body 10. The photographing lens 30 includes lenses 31a and 31b, an aperture 32, a lens drive mechanism 33, an aperture drive mechanism 34, a lens CPU 35, and a lens-side communication I / F 36. The image pickup device main body 10 includes a camera side mount 75, a lens attachment / detachment button 76, a camera side communication I / F 17, a lens detection switch 18, a camera CPU 20, a grip portion 80, an operation member 19, a quick return mirror 11, an AF sensor 25, and a mirror drive. The circuit 14 is provided. The image pickup device main body 10 also includes a shutter 12, a shutter drive circuit 15, a runout detection sensor 50, an image pickup unit 400, a piezoelectric element drive circuit 60, an image pickup unit drive circuit 70, a rear monitor 21, a battery remaining amount detection unit 22, and an attitude detection sensor. 23 is provided. The image pickup apparatus main body 10 further includes an external memory 24, a pentaprism 26, an AE sensor 27, a finder 28, an in-finder display 29, a heat dissipation member 580, and a support member 581. The image pickup unit 400 includes an image pickup element 430, an optical low-pass filter 410, a piezoelectric element 415, a drive coil 460, a permanent magnet 470, and a position detection sensor 480.

The photographing lens 30 is removable from the camera-side mount 75 on the front surface of the image pickup apparatus main body 10. By pressing the lens attachment / detachment button 76, the engagement between the image pickup device main body 10 and the photographing lens 30 can be released, and the photographing lens 30 mounted on the camera side mount 75 can be removed from the image pickup device main body 10. Become. When the photographing lens 30 is attached to the image pickup apparatus main body 10, the camera-side communication I / F17 and the lens-side communication I / F36 are electrically connected. As a result, power is supplied from the imaging device main body 10 to the photographing lens 30, various drives are performed by the photographing lens 30, and between the imaging device main body 10 and the photographing lens 30 (between the camera CPU 20 and the lens CPU 35). Communication becomes possible.

When the electrical connection between the camera-side communication I / F17 and the lens-side communication I / F36 is established, the lens detection switch 18 causes the image pickup apparatus main body 10 and the photographing lens 30 to communicate with the camera-side communication I / F17 and the lens side. It is determined whether or not communication is possible via the communication I / F36. Further, the lens detection switch 18 can identify the type of the photographing lens 30 mounted on the image pickup apparatus main body 10.

The lenses 31a and 31b are composed of a plurality of lenses such as a focus lens and a zoom lens. The aperture 32 adjusts the opening amount. The lens drive mechanism 33 drives the lenses 31a and 31b to perform focusing operation (focusing) and zoom drive. The aperture drive mechanism 34 drives the aperture 32 and controls the aperture value. The lens CPU 35 controls the operation of the photographing lens 30 based on a command from the camera CPU 20, and transmits the control result to the camera CPU 20.

In the image pickup apparatus main body 10, the grip portion 80 is a portion for the user to grip the image pickup apparatus main body 10. An operation member 19 including a plurality of buttons and dials for setting shooting conditions and the like is provided on the externally exposed portion of the image pickup apparatus main body 10. As an example, the operation member 19 includes a power switch 81 for switching the power of the image pickup apparatus main body 10 on / off, a shutter button 82 for performing a shooting operation, and a mode dial 83 for switching the shooting mode. Further, the operation member 19 includes a menu button 84 for shifting to a mode for performing various settings of the image pickup apparatus main body 10, a selection dial 85 for selecting various settings, a selection button 86 for determining various settings, and the like.

The quick return mirror 11 has a main mirror 11a and a sub mirror 11b. The main mirror 11a is a half mirror that reflects a part of the photographed luminous flux shown by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 1 to the pentaprism 26 and transmits a part of the photographed luminous flux to the sub mirror 11b. The sub mirror 11b reflects the luminous flux transmitted through the main mirror 11a and guides it to the AF sensor 25. The quick return mirror 11 has a mirror down position in the imaging optical path (the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 1) and a mirror lockup position retracted from the imaging optical path (the position shown by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 1) by the mirror drive circuit 14. It is rotatably arranged between them.

The AF sensor 25 is a so-called phase difference AF sensor, which detects the amount of defocus on the subject and transmits the detection result to the camera CPU 20. The camera CPU 20 generates a command for focusing the photographing optical system of the photographing lens 30 on the subject based on the information acquired from the AF sensor 25, and transmits the command to the lens CPU 35. The camera CPU 20 controls the overall operation of the image pickup apparatus by executing a program stored in the memory included in the camera CPU 20 to control the operation of each part of the image pickup apparatus. Further, the camera CPU 20 performs a predetermined process on the image signal output from the image sensor 430.

Specifically, the shutter 12 is a focal plane shutter. The image sensor 430 is a CMOS sensor, a CCD sensor, or the like that captures and photoelectrically converts the luminous flux incident on the photographing lens 30, and has an electronic shutter function. The shutter drive circuit 15 controls the incident light beam on the image sensor 430 by controlling the exposure state and the shielding state of the image sensor 430 by opening and closing the shutter curtain (not shown) of the shutter 12.

In the image pickup unit 400, the optical low-pass filter 410 is a cover member that is arranged on the front surface (subject side) of the image pickup element 430 and covers the image pickup surface of the image pickup element 430, is made of a material such as crystal, and has a rectangular shape. The surface of the optical low-pass filter 410 is substantially parallel to the image pickup surface of the image pickup device 430.

The piezoelectric element 415 is adhesively fixed to the surface of the optical low-pass filter 410. The piezoelectric element drive circuit 60 controls energization of the piezoelectric element 415 via a flexible substrate for the piezoelectric element (not shown). A voltage is applied to the piezoelectric element 415 to vibrate the optical low-pass filter 410 in a wavy shape in the Z direction (the optical axis direction of the image pickup apparatus main body 10) in a plurality of vibration modes having different orders (exciting stationary wave vibration). By vibrating the optical low-pass filter 410 in this way, dust adhering to the surface of the optical low-pass filter 410 can be shaken off. Since the method of exciting the standing wave vibration in the optical low-pass filter 410 is well known, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In the image pickup unit 400, the drive coil 460 and the permanent magnet 470 drive the image pickup element 430 in a plane orthogonal to the optical axis of the image pickup device main body 10 in the X and Y directions and rotationally drive around the Z axis. It constitutes a driving means for doing so. The image pickup unit drive circuit 70 is electrically connected to the drive coil 460 via a flexible substrate for the drive coil (not shown), and controls energization of the drive coil 460. The position detection sensor 480 is specifically a Hall element or the like, and is electrically connected to the camera CPU 20 via a flexible substrate for the position detection sensor (not shown). The position detection sensor 480 periodically detects the position information of the image sensor 430 and transmits it to the camera CPU 20, and the camera CPU 20 controls the operation of the image pickup unit 400 based on the position information acquired from the position detection sensor 480.

The runout detection sensor 50 includes, for example, an angular velocity sensor, periodically detects an angular velocity representing the amount of movement of the image pickup apparatus main body 10, converts it into an electric signal, and outputs it to the camera CPU 20. The camera CPU 20 detects the amount of angular runout of the image pickup apparatus main body 10 due to camera shake or the like based on the electric signal acquired from the shake detection sensor 50, and drives the image pickup unit 400 in the direction of canceling the shake of the image pickup apparatus to obtain an image. Reduce runout.

The rear monitor 21 is provided on the back surface of the image pickup apparatus main body 10, and is a liquid crystal display panel or the like for setting display, status display, live view display, captured image display, and the like of the image pickup apparatus main body 10. The battery remaining amount detecting unit 22 detects the battery remaining amount of the image pickup apparatus main body 10. The attitude detection sensor 23 includes, for example, an acceleration sensor (gyro sensor) having a plurality of detection axes, converts the acceleration generated by the movement of the image pickup apparatus main body 10 into an electric signal, and outputs the acceleration to the camera CPU 20. The camera CPU 20 determines the posture of the image pickup apparatus main body 10 based on the electric signal acquired from the posture detection sensor 23. The external memory 24 is a semiconductor memory card or the like that can be attached to and detached from the image pickup apparatus main body 10, and stores captured images.

The pentaprism 26 is made of glass or the like, and guides the photographing light flux reflected by the main mirror 11a to the AE sensor 27 and the finder 28. The AE sensor 27 calculates an appropriate exposure value based on the received luminous flux. The display in the viewfinder 29 is a liquid crystal display panel or the like, and receives a signal from the camera CPU 20 to display settings and status of the image pickup apparatus main body 10. The user can observe the photographed luminous flux (subject image) derived from the pentaprism 26 and the information displayed on the display in the finder 29 through the finder 28.

The heat radiating member 580 is made of a material having excellent thermal conductivity such as aluminum, and radiates heat from the image pickup unit 400. The support member 581 is a member that supports the heat radiation member 580, and in the present embodiment, a housing that also serves to hold the shutter 12 and the like is used. The heat radiating member 580 is arranged at a position where it can come into contact with the shift holder 420 constituting the movable unit 500 when the movable unit 500 described later is driven.

Next, the configuration of the imaging unit 400 will be described in detail. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the imaging unit 400. The X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis shown in FIG. 3 correspond to the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis shown in FIG.

As described above, the image pickup unit 400 includes an image pickup element 430, an optical low-pass filter 410, a piezoelectric element 415, a drive coil 460, a permanent magnet 470, and a position detection sensor 480. The imaging unit 400 also includes a shift holder 420, a temperature sensor 520, a shift base 440, a front base 450 and a ball 490.

Here, the image pickup unit 400 has an X-direction drive coil 460a and a Y-direction drive coil 460b, 460c as the drive coil 460, and has an X-direction permanent magnet 470a and a Y-direction permanent magnet 470b, 470c as the permanent magnet 470. The imaging unit 400 also has an X-direction position detection sensor 480a and a Y-direction position detection sensor 480b, 480c as the position detection sensor 480.

The image sensor 430, shift holder 420, optical low-pass filter 410, piezoelectric element 415, drive coil 460, and position detection sensor 480 constitute a movable unit 500 that can be integrally moved. As will be described later, the movable unit 500 can be translated in the X and Y directions, and can rotate around the Z axis.

The optical low-pass filter 410 is a single birefringent plate made of quartz, is formed in a rectangular shape, and is arranged on the subject side of the image sensor 430. The surface of the optical low-pass filter 410 is provided with an optical coating for blocking infrared light or preventing reflection. The piezoelectric element 415 is formed in a rectangular shape and is adhered to the optical low-pass filter 410 in the vicinity of one side of the optical low-pass filter 410. It should be noted that the two piezoelectric elements 415 may be used, and the piezoelectric elements 415 may be adhered to each of the two opposing sides of the optical low-pass filter 410. By controlling the energization of the piezoelectric element 415 by the piezoelectric element drive circuit 60, the optical low-pass filter 410 can be vibrated in a wavy shape in the Z direction in a plurality of vibration modes having different orders.

The shift holder 420 holds the optical low-pass filter 410 and the image sensor 430, and is arranged so as to be translatable in the X and Y directions and rotatably around the Z axis. The shift holder 420 is equipped with a temperature sensor 520 as a temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the image sensor 430 or the temperature in the vicinity thereof. In the following description, it is assumed that the temperature sensor 520 detects the temperature in the vicinity of the image sensor 430, but the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 520 is regarded as the temperature of the image sensor 430 and the image sensor main body 10 is controlled. There is no problem. When a temperature sensor is provided in the Hall element or the like for detecting the position of the image pickup element 430, the temperature sensor 520 does not have to be mounted on the shift holder 420 by using the temperature sensor.

The image sensor 430 is fixed to the shift holder 420 by a fastening member or an adhesive member (both not shown). The shift base 440 constitutes a part of the base member of the image pickup unit 400, and is arranged on the back side of the image pickup apparatus main body 10 with respect to the image pickup element 430. The front base 450 has a substantially L-shape (when viewed from the Z-axis positive direction side) when viewed from the front, and is arranged on the opposite side of the shift base 440 with the shift holder 420 interposed therebetween. The shift base 440 and the front base 450 are made of a soft magnetic material such as iron. A part of the front base 450 is coupled to the shift base 440, and the front base 450 and the shift base 440 are integrated to form a base member (base) of the image pickup unit 400. The shift base 440 is fastened and fixed to the frame (not shown) of the image pickup apparatus main body 10 with screws or the like.

The X-direction drive coil 460a is a coil for X-direction drive, and the Y-direction drive coils 460b and 460c are coils for Y-direction drive. These are flexible substrates for drive coils that are adhesively fixed to the shift holder 420 (not shown). ) Is soldered. The X-direction drive coil 460a is arranged on the X-axis positive direction side of the image pickup device 430 so that the coil center is located on the ZX plane including the optical axis of the image pickup device main body 10. The Y-direction drive coils 460b and 460c are provided at positions symmetrical with respect to the YZ plane including the optical axis of the image sensor main body 10 and at predetermined intervals in the X direction, and are provided on the Y-axis negative direction side of the image sensor 430. It is located in.

The X-direction permanent magnets 470a are magnets for driving in the X-direction, and the Y-direction permanent magnets 470b and 470c are magnets for driving in the Y-direction. These are the surfaces of the shift base 440 facing the front base 450 (Z-axis positive direction). It is adhesively fixed to the side surface). The X-direction permanent magnet 470a has a structure in which the north and south poles are arranged in the X direction, and the Y-direction permanent magnets 470b and 470c have a structure in which the north and south poles are lined up in the Y direction, respectively.

The X-direction permanent magnets 470a and the X-direction drive coil 460a are arranged one-to-one in the Z direction, and the Y-direction permanent magnets 470b and 470c and the Y-direction drive coils 460b and 460c are arranged one-to-one in the Z direction. There is.

The X-direction drive coil 460a is always located in the magnetic field of the X-direction permanent magnet 470a. The right side of the X-direction drive coil 460a always overlaps the N pole of the X-direction permanent magnet 470a in the Z direction, and the left side of the X-direction drive coil 460a always overlaps the S pole of the X-direction permanent magnet 470a in the Z direction. That is, when the X-direction drive coil 460a is projected in the Z direction with respect to the X-direction permanent magnet 470a, the right side of the X-direction drive coil 460a is projected onto the N pole of the X-direction permanent magnet 470a, and the left side of the X-direction drive coil 460a is projected. It is projected onto the S pole of the X-direction permanent magnet 470a.

The Y-direction drive coil 460b is always located in the magnetic field of the Y-direction permanent magnet 470b. The upper side of the Y-direction drive coil 460b always overlaps the N pole of the Y-direction permanent magnet 470b in the Z direction, and the lower side of the Y-direction drive coil 460b always overlaps the S pole of the Y-direction permanent magnet 470b in the Z direction. .. Further, the Y-direction drive coil 460c is always located in the magnetic field of the Y-direction permanent magnet 470c. The upper side of the Y-direction drive coil 460c always overlaps the N pole of the Y-direction permanent magnet 470c in the Z direction, and the lower side of the Y-direction drive coil 460c always overlaps the S pole of the Y-direction permanent magnet 470c in the Z direction.

When the X-direction drive coil 460a is energized by the image pickup unit drive circuit 70, the magnetic flux generated by the X-direction drive coil 460a and the magnetic flux generated by the X-direction permanent magnet 470a magnetically interfere with each other to generate Lorentz force. The shift holder 420 tries to move linearly in the X direction with respect to the shift base 440 using this Lorentz force as a thrust (driving force). Specifically, when a current flows through the X-direction drive coil 460a in the clockwise direction in the front view, a force in the left direction (-X direction) is generated in both the right side and the left side of the X-direction drive coil 460a in the front view. .. On the contrary, when a current flows through the X-direction drive coil 460a in the counterclockwise direction in the front view, a force in the right direction (+ X direction) is generated in the right side and the left side of the X-direction drive coil 460a in the front view. Therefore, by adjusting the direction of the current flowing through the X-direction drive coil 460a, the shift holder 420 holding the drive coil 460 can be linearly moved in the left-right direction (X direction) in the front view.

Further, since the Lorentz force is substantially proportional to the magnitude of the flowing current, when the current flowing through the X-direction drive coil 460a is increased, the generated thrust in the X direction increases. Therefore, by adjusting the magnitude of the current flowing through the drive coil 460a in the X direction, the shift holder 420 can be moved in the X direction at a speed corresponding to the image shake speed due to the camera shake in the X direction.

When the Y-direction drive coils 460b and 460c are energized by the image pickup unit drive circuit 70, the magnetic flux generated by the Y-direction drive coils 460b and 460c and the magnetic flux generated by the Y-direction permanent magnets 470b and 470c magnetically interfere with each other. Lorentz force is generated. The shift holder 420 tries to move linearly in the Y direction with respect to the shift base 440 using this Lorentz force as a thrust. Specifically, when a current flows through the Y-direction drive coils 460b and 460c in the clockwise direction when viewed from the front, both the upper and lower sides of the Y-direction drive coils 460b and 460c are viewed downward (-Y direction). Power is generated. On the contrary, when a current flows through the Y-direction drive coils 460b and 460c in the counterclockwise direction in the front view, an upward (+ Y-direction) force is applied to both the upper and lower sides of the Y-direction drive coils 460b and 460c in the front view. Occurs. Therefore, by adjusting the direction of the current by making the magnitude of the current flowing through the Y-direction drive coils 460b and 460c the same, it is possible to linearly move the current in the vertical direction (Y direction) in the front view.

Further, when the current flowing through the Y-direction drive coils 460b and 460c is increased, the generated thrust in the Y-direction increases. Therefore, by adjusting the magnitude of the current flowing through the Y-direction drive coils 460b and 460c, the shift holder 420 can be moved in the Y-direction at a speed corresponding to the speed of image shake due to camera shake in the Y-direction. On the other hand, if the magnitudes of the currents flowing through the Y-direction drive coils 460b and 460c are different, thrusts of different magnitudes are generated in the Y-direction drive coils 460b and 460c. As a result, the shift holder 420 can be rotationally moved around the Z axis with respect to the shift base 440.

The X-direction position detection sensor 480a is a Hall element that detects the displacement of the X-direction drive coil 460a in the X-direction, and the Y-direction position detection sensors 480b and 480c detect the displacement of the Y-direction drive coils 460b and 460c in the Y-direction, respectively. It is a Hall element to detect.

The X-direction position detection sensor 480a is arranged near the X-direction drive coil 460a and at a position facing the magnetizing boundary of the X-direction permanent magnet 470a. The Y-direction position detection sensors 480b and 480c are arranged in the vicinity of the Y-direction drive coils 460b and 460c, respectively, and at positions facing the magnetizing boundaries of the Y-direction permanent magnets 470b and 470c, respectively.

The X-direction position detection sensor 480a and the Y-direction position detection sensors 480b and 480c are soldered to a position detection sensor flexible substrate or the like (not shown) adhesively fixed to the shift holder 420, respectively. The X-direction position detection sensor 480a detects the magnetic flux emitted from the X-direction permanent magnet 470a and outputs an electric signal corresponding to the change. The camera CPU 20 detects the displacement of the X-direction drive coil 460a (shift holder 420) in the X-direction based on the electric signal acquired from the X-direction position detection sensor 480a. The Y-direction position detection sensors 480b and 480c detect magnetic fluxes emitted from the Y-direction permanent magnets 470b and 470c, respectively, and output an electric signal according to the change. The camera CPU 20 detects the displacement of the Y direction drive coils 460b and 460c (shift holder 420) in the Y direction based on the electric signals acquired from the Y direction position detection sensors 480b and 480c.

In the imaging unit 400, as shown in FIG. 3, the Y-direction position detection sensor 480b is arranged on the left side (X-axis negative direction side) of the Y-direction drive coil 460b when viewed from the front, and the Y-direction position detection sensor 480c is arranged in the Y direction. The drive coil 460c is arranged on the right side (+ X side) when viewed from the front. Therefore, the distance between the Y-direction position detection sensors 480b and 480c in the X direction is longer than when the Y-direction position detection sensors 480b and 480c are arranged between the Y-direction drive coils 460b and 460c. As a result, when the shift holder 420 is rotated around the Z axis, the difference between the detected values of the Y-direction position detection sensors 480b and 480c becomes large, so that the amount of rotation (the amount of image deflection in the rotation direction) is more accurate. It is possible to reduce the image shake with higher accuracy by detecting it.

A plurality of balls (three in the present embodiment) are sandwiched and held between the shift holder 420 and the shift base 440. The ball 490 abuts on a holding portion (contact portion) (not shown) formed on the shift holder 420 and the shift base 440, and rolls as the shift holder 420 moves with respect to the shift base 440. The surface of the holding portion (not shown) that comes into contact with the ball 490 is formed in a plane parallel to the moving surface of the shift holder 420. As a result, rolling in all directions (translation in the X and Y directions and rotation around the Z axis) parallel to the moving surface of the shift holder 420 is allowed. Further, the outer diameters of the three balls 490 are the same, so that the shift holder 420 can be held and moved with respect to the Z axis of the image pickup apparatus main body 10 without falling.

When the shift holder 420 is urged against the shift base 440 by a method such as magnetic attraction, the ball 490 is sandwiched (held) between the shift holder 420 and the shift base 440 in a pressurized state. Further, each ball 490 is made of a material such as SUS304 or ceramic so as not to be attracted to the X-direction permanent magnets 470a and the Y-direction permanent magnets 470b and 470c arranged in the vicinity thereof. A lubricating oil having an appropriate viscosity is applied between the ball 490 and the holding portion. As a result, even if the image pickup unit 400 receives vibration, impact, or the like and a large inertial force acts on the shift holder 420 to weaken or eliminate the holding force between the image pickup unit 400 and the shift base 440, the ball 490 easily falls off from the holding portion. It is possible to prevent the position from shifting.

Next, the image shake reduction operation (image shake correction operation) of the image pickup unit 400 will be described. When the image pickup apparatus main body 10 shakes due to camera shake or the like, angular shake or rotational shake with respect to the optical axis of the image pickup apparatus main body 10 occurs, and the image shakes. The image shake can be reduced by moving the image sensor 430 in the direction opposite to the shake direction of the image so as to cancel the shake of the image.

Specifically, the shake detection sensor 50 generates an electric signal representing the angular velocity of the camera shake by integrating the outputs in each direction when the camera shake occurs in the image pickup apparatus main body 10 in the X direction, the Y direction, and the Z-axis direction. Then, it is transmitted to the camera CPU 20. The camera CPU 20 calculates the amount of angular runout in each direction based on the electric signal acquired from the runout detection sensor 50. The runout detection sensor 50 may have a function of calculating the angle runout in each direction. In this case, the runout detection sensor 50 transmits the calculated angle runout to the camera CPU 20.

The camera CPU 20 calculates the target shift position of the movable unit 500 in the X direction, the Y direction, and the Z-axis direction of the image sensor 430, which is necessary for reducing the image shake based on the amount of the angular shake. Then, the camera CPU 20 outputs a control signal for moving the image sensor 430 to the target shift position to the image sensor drive circuit 70. The image pickup unit drive circuit 70 controls energization of the X-direction drive coil 460a and the Y-direction drive coils 460b and 460c in response to a control signal from the camera CPU 20, whereby the image pickup element 430 moves to the target shift position.

On the other hand, the position detection sensor 480 detects the actual position of the image sensor 430 and transmits it to the camera CPU 20. The camera CPU 20 compares the target shift position in the X, Y, and Z-axis directions with the actual position of the image sensor 430 acquired from the position detection sensor 480 so that the difference between them approaches zero (0). A control signal is output to the image sensor drive circuit 70. By performing such feedback control, the image sensor 430 moves toward the target shift position, so that image shake is reduced.

In the present embodiment, in order to reduce the image runout in the Z-axis direction, one of the Y-direction angular runout amount and the Z-axis circumferential runout amount is added and the other is subtracted. Then, one controls the Y direction drive coil 460b so that the amount of error with the Y direction position detection sensor 480b becomes zero, and the other controls the Y direction drive so that the amount of error with the Y direction position detection sensor 480c becomes zero. It controls the coil 460c. However, the present invention is not limited to such a method, and image runout in the Z-axis direction may be reduced by a known technique.

Next, a method and an operation for removing the dust adhering to the optical low-pass filter 410 (hereinafter, simply referred to as "dust removing method" and "dust removing operation") will be described. The dust removal operation in the present embodiment includes a first dust removal operation and a second dust removal operation that can be executed independently and simultaneously. The first dust removing operation will be described in detail below with reference to FIG. The second dust removing operation is a known operation of exciting the standing wave vibration in the optical low-pass filter 410 by the piezoelectric element 415 to shake off the dust adhering to the optical low-pass filter 410.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view illustrating the first dust removal operation, and is shown in a front view of the movable unit 500 as viewed from the Z-axis positive direction side. In the first dust removal operation, the movable unit 500 is oscillated like a pendulum around an axis parallel to the Z axis in the XY plane and within a predetermined angle range, so that the movable unit 500 adheres to the optical low-pass filter 410. Shake off the dust.

FIG. 4A shows a state in which the rotation center CA when swinging the movable unit 500 is set in the upper right of the movable unit 500, and FIG. 4B shows a rotation center when swinging the movable unit 500. The state in which the CB is set in the upper left of the movable unit 500 is shown. The rotation centers CA and CB are examples of the positions of the rotation center axes parallel to the Z axis.

In FIG. 4A, the movable unit 500 is designated in the rotation direction indicated by the arrow RA in a plane parallel to the image pickup surface of the image pickup element 430, with the axis parallel to the Z axis passing through the rotation center CA as the rotation center. Swing within the angular range. The movable unit 500 can be swung in the direction of arrow RA by adjusting the magnitude of the current flowing through the X-direction drive coil 460a and the Y-direction drive coils 460b and 460c, respectively, by the image pickup unit drive circuit 70. At this time, the farther the movable unit 500 is from the rotation center CA, the larger the displacement amount per unit time. Therefore, a large acceleration is applied to the dust 550a adhering to the substantially diagonal position of the rotation center CA, whereby the dust 550a can be effectively moved or shaken off on the surface of the optical low-pass filter 410.

In FIG. 4B, the axis parallel to the Z axis passing through the rotation center CB is the rotation center, and the movable unit 500 is designated in the rotation direction indicated by the arrow RB in the plane parallel to the image pickup surface of the image pickup element 430. Swing within the angular range. The movable unit 500 can be swung in the arrow RB direction by adjusting the magnitude of the current flowing through each of the X-direction drive coil 460a and the Y-direction drive coils 460b and 460c by the image pickup unit drive circuit 70. At this time, the farther the movable unit 500 is from the rotation center CB, the larger the displacement amount per unit time. Therefore, a large acceleration is applied to the dust 550b adhering to the substantially diagonal position of the rotation center CB, whereby the dust 550b can be effectively moved or shaken off on the surface of the optical low-pass filter 410.

As described above, in the first dust removing operation, even if the dust adhering to the optical low-pass filter 410 cannot be shaken off, the dust can be moved on the surface of the optical low-pass filter 410 by centrifugal force. Therefore, it is desirable to perform the second dust removal operation at the same time as the first dust removal operation. As a result, the dust that has moved to the abdomen of the standing wave vibration due to the shaking can be shaken off by the standing wave vibration, and a larger dust removal effect can be obtained.

As described above, in the first dust removing method, the center of rotation is set as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, and the movable unit 500 is swung around an axis parallel to the Z axis. As a result, a large acceleration can be applied to each of the dusts adhering to different positions on the surface of the optical low-pass filter 410 to shake off or move the dusts. On the contrary, it is also possible to accurately move or shake off the dust by setting the rotation center for swinging according to the position where the dust to be moved or shaken off is attached.

In the first dust removing method, it is desirable to set the rotation centers at a plurality of locations to swing the movable unit 500, and it is desirable to excite the standing wave vibration in the optical low-pass filter 410 at the same time as the swing. This makes it possible to evenly remove the dust adhering to the surface of the optical low-pass filter 410. Further, since the movable unit 500 is oscillated, it is possible to prevent the dust shaken off from the optical low-pass filter 410 from reattaching to the optical low-pass filter 410.

Further, in the first dust removing method, the movable unit 500 is swung within a range that does not collide with the surrounding members, so that unpleasant noise can be prevented from being generated, and dust is removed because no collision or friction occurs. No new dust is generated by the operation. Then, in order to remove the dust adhering to the optical low-pass filter 410 by using the existing dust removing mechanism using the piezoelectric element 415 and the existing image blur correction mechanism, the dust removing performance is improved without adding a new or dedicated configuration. Can be improved.

Next, a method for more efficiently removing dust from the optical low-pass filter 410 will be described. The inventors have discovered that the temperature in the vicinity of the image sensor 430 affects the dust removal effect when the optical low-pass filter 410 is dust-removed. Specifically, the dust removal operation of the optical low-pass filter 410 is more effective in removing dust when the temperature near the image sensor 430 is relatively low than when the temperature near the image sensor 430 is relatively high. I found that I could get it. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the dust removal operation of the optical low-pass filter 410 is controlled based on the temperature in the vicinity of the image sensor 430, and heat is dissipated from the image sensor 430 (movable unit 500) as necessary in order to effectively remove dust. Perform (cooling).

Before explaining the control flow of the dust removal operation of the optical low-pass filter 410 in the image pickup apparatus, the heat dissipation mechanism (cooling mechanism) of the image pickup element 430 will be described. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a heat dissipation mechanism provided in the image pickup apparatus main body 10 and an operation of a movable unit 500 including an image pickup element 430 with respect to the heat dissipation mechanism. FIG. 5A is a front view (viewed from the Z-axis positive direction side) showing a state in which the movable unit 500 is separated from the heat radiating mechanism. FIG. 5B is a front view showing a state in which the movable unit 500 is in contact with the heat dissipation mechanism.

The heat dissipation mechanism includes a heat dissipation member 580 and a support member 581 that supports the heat dissipation member 580. The support member 581 is fixed to a frame or the like (not shown) of the image pickup apparatus main body 10. The heat radiating member 580 is arranged at a position where it can come into contact with the movable unit 500 when the movable unit 500 is moved in the −X direction.

From the state shown in FIG. 5A in which the movable unit 500 is separated from the heat radiating member 580 and the image sensor 430 is not radiated by the heat radiating mechanism, the movable unit 500 is moved toward the heat radiating member 580 in the −X direction (FIG. Move to the left side at 5 (a)). The movement of the movable unit 500 in the −X direction can be performed by adjusting the current flowing through the X-direction drive coil 460a by the image pickup unit drive circuit 70.

As shown in FIG. 5B, after the shift holder 420 of the movable unit 500 comes into contact with the heat radiating member 580, the movement of the movable unit 500 is stopped, and the movable unit 500 is held at the stop position. As a result, heat is transferred from the image sensor 430 to the heat radiating member 580 via the shift holder 420, and the heat transferred to the heat radiating member 580 is further transmitted through the support member 581 and diffused to the image sensor main body 10. A well-known configuration can be used for heat diffusion in the image pickup apparatus main body 10. By dissipating heat from the image sensor 430 in this way, the temperature of the image sensor 430 and its vicinity can be lowered.

It is desirable to use a material with excellent thermal conductivity such as metal for the heat radiating member 580, but in that case, in order to suppress the generation of sound at the time of contacting with the shift holder 420, the heat radiating member 580 abuts. It is desirable to provide a portion having an elastic force such as rubber in the portion. As a result, not only can the impact caused by the contact between the parts be reduced to prevent the generation of unpleasant noise, but also the life of the parts can be extended, and the generation of dust due to collision or friction can be suppressed. ..

For the support member 581, a metal material having excellent thermal conductivity and high mechanical strength is preferably used. It is desirable that the movable unit 500 does not come into contact with the support member 581 so as not to generate sound or dust.

Although the movable unit 500 is moved in the X direction here, the heat dissipation mechanism may be moved in the X direction. Further, the heat radiating mechanism may be arranged in the Y direction with respect to the movable unit 500, and the heat radiating mechanism or the movable unit 500 may be moved in the Y direction.

In the present embodiment, heat is dissipated from the image sensor 430 in order to remove dust from the optical low-pass filter 410 more effectively. However, by dissipating heat from the image sensor 430, the image quality deteriorates due to heat storage in the image sensor 430 (noise). Increase) can be reduced. Therefore, by removing dust from the optical low-pass filter 410 and reducing noise in the image sensor 430, the effect of improving the quality of the captured image can be obtained more remarkably.

Next, the first to third control methods of the image pickup apparatus for executing the dust removal operation of the optical low-pass filter 410 in the image pickup apparatus will be described.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the first control method of the image pickup apparatus. Each process (step) indicated by the S number in FIG. 6 is realized by the camera CPU 20 receiving the operation of the operation member 19 and executing a predetermined program to comprehensively control the operation of each part constituting the image pickup apparatus. To.

In S601, the camera CPU 20 determines whether or not the user operates the power switch 81 to switch the power supply of the image pickup apparatus main body 10 from on to off. The camera CPU 20 repeats the determination of S601 until the power is switched from on to off (NO in S601), and when it is determined that the power is switched from on to off (YES in S601), the process proceeds to S602.

In S602, the camera CPU 20 detects the temperature in the vicinity of the image sensor 430 by the temperature sensor 520. Then, in S603, the camera CPU 20 determines whether or not the vicinity temperature of the image sensor 430 is equal to or higher than a preset threshold value. When the camera CPU 20 determines that the vicinity temperature of the image sensor 430 is equal to or higher than the threshold value (YES in S603), the process proceeds to S604, and when it is determined that the vicinity temperature of the image sensor 430 is less than the threshold value (NO in S603). ), Proceed to S605.

In S604, it is desirable that the camera CPU 20 lowers the temperature of the image sensor 430 before performing the dust removal operation of the optical low-pass filter 410. Therefore, the movable unit 500 is driven by the image sensor drive circuit 70, and the shift holder 420 is moved to the heat dissipation member 580. To contact. As a result, heat is dissipated from the image sensor 430, and the temperature of the image sensor 430 is lowered. The heat dissipation operation of S403 is performed, for example, by bringing the movable unit 500 away from the heat dissipation member 580 and returning it to the reference position at a predetermined timing after the shift holder 420 is brought into contact with the heat dissipation member 580. finish. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the heat dissipation operation may be terminated when the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 520 becomes less than a predetermined temperature. When the heat dissipation operation of S604 is completed, the camera CPU 20 advances the process to S605.

In S605, the camera CPU 20 simultaneously executes the first dust removing operation and the second dust removing operation. Since the details of the first dust removing operation and the second dust removing operation have already been explained, the description thereof is omitted here. When the dust removal operation of the optical low-pass filter 410 is completed, the camera CPU 20 turns off the power of the image pickup apparatus main body 10.

In the first control method of the image pickup apparatus, it is determined whether or not the heat dissipation operation of the movable unit 500 is necessary before the dust removal operation according to the temperature in the vicinity of the image pickup element 430 detected by the temperature sensor 520. In this way, since the dust removal operation is performed in a state where the temperature near the image sensor 430 is always lower than a constant temperature, dust removal can be performed more effectively. When the dust removal operation is performed when the power of the image pickup apparatus main body 10 is turned off, it is possible to take a long heat dissipation operation time, and it is possible to perform dust removal more effectively.

In the first control, the temperature near the image sensor 430 was detected by the temperature sensor 520 after the power of the image sensor main body 10 was turned off. Not limited to this, it may be determined whether or not to perform the heat dissipation operation of S604 based on the detected temperature of the temperature sensor 520 immediately before the power is turned off.

In the first control of the image pickup apparatus, the dust removal operation is performed when the power supply of the image pickup apparatus main body 10 is turned off, and the dust removal operation is not performed when the power supply is turned on. However, when the user turns off the power of the image pickup apparatus main body 10 and replaces the lens, dust may enter the inside of the image pickup apparatus main body 10 when the lens is replaced. Therefore, the dust removal operation may be performed when the power of the image pickup apparatus main body 10 is turned on, or the dust removal operation may be executed at each timing when the power supply of the image pickup apparatus main body 10 is turned on and when the power supply is turned off. When the dust removal operation is performed when the power is turned on, the user is likely to perform the shooting operation promptly. Therefore, the dust removal operation time may be shorter than the dust removal operation when the power is turned off. The time reduction of the dust removing operation includes a method of exciting a standing wave vibration in the optical low-pass filter 410 while swinging the movable unit 500 by setting only one rotation center in the first dust removing method.

Further, after the heat dissipation operation is started by turning off the power of the image pickup apparatus main body 10, the power is turned on again before the heat dissipation operation is finished, or after the dust removal operation is started and before the dust removal operation is finished. there is a possibility. In this case, the heat dissipation operation and the dust removal operation may be interrupted to make the image pickup apparatus main body 10 in a photographable state, or the image pickup apparatus main body 10 may be in a photographable state after the heat dissipation operation and the dust removal operation are continued.

The dust removing operation of the optical low-pass filter 410 can be executed at an arbitrary timing in which the user operates the operation member 19 of the image pickup apparatus main body 10 to select the cleaning mode. Therefore, the determination process of S601 may be replaced with the determination process of whether or not the cleaning mode for performing the dust removal operation of the optical low-pass filter 410 is selected. In this case, the user may perform the heat dissipation operation until the shooting operation is started again (until the shutter button 82 is pressed). Then, a heat dissipation mode is provided in which the heat dissipation of the image sensor 430 can be performed at an arbitrary timing by operating the operation member 19, and when the heat dissipation mode is selected and executed, the first dust removal is performed after the heat treatment is completed. The operation and the second dust removal operation may be executed at the same time.

Next, a second control method of the image pickup apparatus will be described. Here, the dust removing operation and the heat radiating operation are performed according to the remaining battery level of the battery mounted on the image pickup apparatus main body 10. FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a second control method of the image pickup apparatus. Each process (step) indicated by the S number in FIG. 7 is realized by the camera CPU 20 receiving the operation of the operation member 19 and executing a predetermined program to comprehensively control the operation of each part constituting the image pickup apparatus. To. Of the processes shown in the flowchart of FIG. 7, the same processes as those shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6 will be described to that effect and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The process of S611 is the same as the process of S601 in the flowchart of FIG. Therefore, when the power supply of the image pickup apparatus main body 10 is switched from on to off in S611, the camera CPU 20 detects the remaining battery level by the battery remaining amount detecting unit 22 in the following S612, and the detected battery remaining amount is preset. It is determined whether or not the threshold value is exceeded. The threshold value can be quantitatively determined such that the remaining battery level is 1/2 or less, 1/10 or less of the full amount, and the like. When the camera CPU 20 determines that the remaining battery level is equal to or higher than the threshold value (YES in S612), the process proceeds to S613 and the remaining battery level is less than the threshold value (sufficient battery remaining amount). If it is determined (NO in S612), the process proceeds to S614.

Since the camera CPU 20 has a sufficient battery level in S613, the dust removing operation of S605, that is, the first dust removing operation and the second dust removing operation are executed at the same time. On the other hand, in S614, the camera CPU 20 executes only the second dust removal operation because the battery level is low. The camera CPU 20 proceeds to S615 after the processes of S613 and S614. The processing of S615-617 is the same as the processing of S602 to S604 in the flowchart of FIG. When the determination in S616 becomes NO and when the processing in S617 is completed, the camera CPU 20 turns off the power of the image pickup apparatus main body 10.

As described above, in the second control method of the image pickup device, the first dust removal operation and the second dust removal operation are properly used according to the remaining battery level, and the image sensor 430 dissipates heat after the dust removal operation. As a result, it is possible to remove dust from the optical low-pass filter 410 and dissipate heat from the image sensor 430 while suppressing power consumption. Further, even if the user suddenly switches the power supply of the image pickup apparatus main body 10 from off to on in a situation where the heat dissipation operation is not completed, the dust removal operation of the optical low-pass filter 410 has already been completed. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the deterioration of the quality of the captured image due to the dust adhering to the optical low-pass filter 410.

The contents described above as a deformable example of the first control method can also be applied to the second control method. Further, the second control method may be modified and executed as follows. That is, in S612, the remaining battery level is determined by a quantitative standard, but when the power saving mode is set in the image pickup apparatus main body 10, the processing of S614 is performed without the processing of S612 and S613. You may do so.

Further, although the image sensor 430 is dissipated after performing the dust removal operation based on the remaining battery level, it is also desirable to reverse the order of these. This is because, as described above, dust removal can be performed more effectively by performing the dust removal operation in a state where the temperature near the image sensor 430 is low. In that case, the remaining battery level is detected after the temperature near the image sensor 430 is detected by the temperature sensor 520, or these detections are performed in parallel. Then, when the temperature near the image sensor 430 is high, the image sensor 430 is quickly dissipated from heat, and then the dust removal operation of S613 or S614 is performed according to the remaining battery level. When the vicinity temperature of the image sensor 430 is low, the dust removal operation of S613 or S614 may be performed according to the remaining battery level without performing the heat dissipation operation of the image sensor 430. When the temperature near the image sensor 430 is high and the battery level is low, the processing time can be shortened by performing the second dust removal operation and the heat dissipation operation at the same time.

Next, a third control method of the image pickup apparatus will be described. Here, the dust removal operation and the heat dissipation operation are performed according to the posture of the image pickup apparatus main body 10. FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a third control method of the image pickup apparatus. Each process (step) indicated by the S number in FIG. 8 is realized by the camera CPU 20 receiving the operation of the operation member 19 and executing a predetermined program to comprehensively control the operation of each part constituting the image pickup apparatus. To. Of the processes shown in the flowchart of FIG. 8, the same processes as those of the flowcharts of FIGS. 6 and 7 are designated by the same S number, and the description thereof will be omitted.

The process of S621 is the same as the process of S601 in the flowchart of FIG. Therefore, when the power supply of the image pickup apparatus main body 10 is switched from on to off in S621, the camera CPU 20 detects the posture of the image pickup apparatus main body 10 from the attitude detection sensor 23 in the subsequent S622. By detecting the posture of the image pickup device main body 10, the orientation of the image pickup surface of the image pickup device 430 can be known. In S623, the camera CPU 20 determines whether or not the image pickup surface of the image pickup device 430 is oriented in the Y-axis direction (+ Y direction or −Y direction (vertical direction)) based on the posture detection result in S622. When the camera CPU 20 determines that the imaging surface is oriented in the Y-axis direction (YES in S623), the process proceeds to S624, and when it is determined that the imaging surface is not oriented in the Y-axis direction (NO in S623). The process proceeds to S625.

When the image pickup surface of the image pickup device 430 faces the Y-axis direction (the image pickup surface is substantially orthogonal to the gravity direction), the first dust removal operation has little effect. Therefore, in S624, the camera CPU 20 executes the same process as in S614, that is, the second dust removal operation. As a result, wasteful power consumption can be suppressed. On the other hand, when the image sensor 430 is not oriented in the Y-axis direction, a desired effect can be expected for the first dust removal operation. Therefore, in S625, the camera CPU 20 simultaneously executes the same processing as in S605, that is, the first dust removing operation and the second dust removing operation.

It is not necessary to determine whether or not the imaging surface in S623 is oriented in the Y-axis direction strictly, and for example, the effect of the first dust removal operation is small. The angle confirmed experimentally may be used as a criterion. That is, when the angle formed by the image pickup surface of the image pickup device 430 and the gravity direction (Y-axis) is equal to or greater than a predetermined angle and 90 degrees or less, only the second dust removal operation may be performed.

The camera CPU 20 proceeds to S626 after the processes of S624 and S625. Subsequent processing of S626 to 628 is the same as the processing of S602 to S604 in the flowchart of FIG. When the determination in S627 becomes NO and when the processing in S628 is completed, the camera CPU 20 turns off the power of the image pickup apparatus main body 10. When it is determined in S623 that the image pickup surface is oriented in the Y-axis direction, and when it is determined in S627 that the temperature near the image sensor 430 is high, the second dust removal operation and the heat dissipation operation are simultaneously executed. However, this can shorten the processing time.

The contents described above as a deformable example of the first and second control methods can also be applied to the third control method. Further, by combining the first to third control steps, the dust removal operation to be executed is determined and the order for the heat dissipation operation is determined based on the vicinity temperature of the image sensor 430, the remaining battery level, and the posture of the image sensor main body 10. Control to determine is also possible.

Although the present invention has been described in detail based on the preferred embodiments thereof, the present invention is not limited to these specific embodiments, and various embodiments within the scope of the gist of the present invention are also included in the present invention. included. Further, each of the above-described embodiments is merely an embodiment of the present invention, and each embodiment can be combined as appropriate.

The present invention supplies a program that realizes one or more functions of the above-described embodiment to a system or device via a network or storage medium, and one or more processors in the computer of the system or device reads and executes the program. It can also be realized by the processing to be performed. It can also be realized by a circuit (for example, ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.

10 Imaging device body 20 Camera CPU
22 Battery level detector 23 Attitude detection sensor 50 Shake detection sensor 60 Piezoelectric element drive circuit 70 Imaging unit drive circuit 400 Imaging unit 410 Optical low-pass filter 415 Piezoelectric element 420 Shift holder 430 Piezoelectric element 500 Movable unit 520 Temperature sensor 580 Heat dissipation member

Claims (15)

With the image sensor
A cover member that covers the image pickup surface of the image pickup device and
A vibrating means for vibrating the cover member and
A holding member that holds the image sensor and the cover member and can move in a plane parallel to the image pickup surface.
A driving means for moving the holding member in a plane parallel to the imaging surface, and
A heat radiating member that can come into contact with the holding member,
A temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the image sensor and
The first dust removing operation of swinging the holding member in a predetermined direction in a plane parallel to the imaging surface by the driving means to remove dust adhering to the surface of the cover member, and the vibration means. A control means for controlling the execution of a second dust removal operation for exciting the vibration of the cover member to remove the dust adhering to the surface of the cover member is provided.
When the temperature of the image sensor is less than a predetermined threshold value, the control means simultaneously executes the first dust removal operation and the second dust removal operation, and when the temperature of the image pickup element is equal to or higher than the predetermined threshold value. In addition, the image pickup apparatus is characterized in that the first dust removal operation and the second dust removal operation are simultaneously executed after the holding member is brought into contact with the heat radiation member to dissipate heat from the image sensor. A remaining amount detection unit for detecting the remaining amount of the battery mounted on the image pickup device is provided.
The imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the control means executes only the second dust removal operation when the remaining battery level is less than a predetermined threshold value. When the remaining battery level is less than the threshold value and the temperature of the image sensor is equal to or higher than the predetermined threshold value, the control means brings the holding member into contact with the heat radiation member to dissipate heat from the image sensor. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the second dust removal operation is performed at the same time. A posture detecting means for detecting the orientation of the imaging surface is provided.
Any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the control means executes only the second dust removal operation when the angle formed by the imaging surface and the direction of gravity is equal to or greater than a predetermined angle and equal to or less than 90 degrees. The imaging apparatus according to item 1. The control means holds the holding member when the angle formed by the image pickup surface and the gravity direction is equal to or greater than a predetermined angle and 90 degrees or less and the temperature of the image pickup element is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold value. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the second dust removal operation is performed at the same time as the heat radiation member is brought into contact with the image sensor to dissipate heat. With the image sensor
A cover member that covers the image pickup surface of the image pickup device and
A vibrating means for vibrating the cover member and
A holding member that holds the image sensor and the cover member and can move in a plane parallel to the image pickup surface.
A driving means for moving the holding member in a plane parallel to the imaging surface, and
A remaining amount detector that detects the remaining battery level of the battery mounted on the image pickup device,
The first dust removing operation of swinging the holding member in a predetermined direction in a plane parallel to the imaging surface by the driving means to remove dust adhering to the surface of the cover member, and the vibration means. A control means for controlling the execution of a second dust removal operation for exciting the vibration of the cover member to remove the dust adhering to the surface of the cover member is provided.
The control means executes only the second dust removing operation when the remaining battery level is less than a predetermined threshold value, and the first dust removing operation and the first dust removing operation when the remaining battery level is equal to or higher than the predetermined threshold value. An imaging device characterized by simultaneously executing the dust removal operations of 2. With the image sensor
A cover member that covers the image pickup surface of the image pickup device and
A vibrating means for vibrating the cover member and
A holding member that holds the image sensor and the cover member and can move in a plane parallel to the image pickup surface.
A driving means for moving the holding member in a plane parallel to the imaging surface, and
A posture detecting means for detecting the orientation of the imaging surface and
The first dust removing operation of swinging the holding member in a predetermined direction in a plane parallel to the imaging surface by the driving means to remove dust adhering to the surface of the cover member, and the vibration means. A control means for controlling the execution of a second dust removal operation for exciting the vibration of the cover member to remove the dust adhering to the surface of the cover member is provided.
The control means executes only the second dust removal operation when the angle formed by the imaging surface and the gravity direction is equal to or greater than a predetermined angle and 90 degrees or less, and the formed angle is smaller than the predetermined angle. An imaging device characterized in that the first dust removing operation and the second dust removing operation are simultaneously executed. One of claims 1 to 7, wherein in the first dust removing operation, the holding member is swung in the rotational direction about an axis parallel to the direction orthogonal to the imaging surface by the driving means. The imaging apparatus according to item 1. The imaging device according to claim 8, wherein the control means changes the position of the rotation center to swing the holding member in the first dust removing operation. The image pickup apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the vibrating means vibrates the cover member in a direction orthogonal to the image pickup surface. It has a shake detecting means for detecting the runout of the image pickup apparatus, and has
One of claims 1 to 10, wherein the control means drives the driving means based on the detection result by the runout detecting means to move the holding member so as to cancel the image runout. The imaging apparatus according to. It is a control method of the image pickup device.
A temperature detection step that detects the temperature of the image sensor,
A heat dissipation step for dissipating heat from the image sensor and
A cover member that covers the image pickup surface of the image pickup element and a holding member that holds the image pickup element are swung in a predetermined direction in a plane parallel to the image pickup surface to remove dust adhering to the surface of the cover member. It has a dust removing operation of 1 and a dust removing step of performing at least one of a second dust removing operation of exciting vibration to the cover member to remove dust adhering to the surface of the cover member.
When the temperature of the image sensor is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold value, the first dust removal operation and the second dust removal operation are simultaneously executed after the heat dissipation step is executed, and the temperature of the image pickup element is lower than the predetermined threshold value. In the case of, the control method of the image pickup apparatus, wherein the first dust removing operation and the second dust removing operation are simultaneously executed without executing the heat dissipation step. It is a control method of the image pickup device.
A battery level detection step for detecting the battery level of the battery mounted on the image pickup device, and a battery level detection step.
A first method of removing dust adhering to the surface of the cover member by swinging a cover member covering the image pickup surface of the image pickup element and a holding member holding the image pickup element in a predetermined direction in a plane parallel to the image pickup surface. The dust removing operation and the dust removing step of performing at least one of the second dust removing operations of exciting vibration to the cover member to remove dust adhering to the surface of the cover member.
In the dust removal step, only the second dust removal operation is executed when the remaining battery level is less than a predetermined threshold value, and when the remaining battery level is equal to or higher than the predetermined threshold value, the first dust removal operation and the first dust removal operation are performed. A control method for an image pickup apparatus, which comprises simultaneously executing the dust removal operations of 2. It is a control method of the image pickup device.
A posture detection step for detecting the posture of the image pickup device and
A first method of removing dust adhering to the surface of the cover member by swinging a cover member covering the image pickup surface of the image pickup element and a holding member holding the image pickup element in a predetermined direction in a plane parallel to the image pickup surface. The dust removing operation and the dust removing step of performing at least one of the second dust removing operations of exciting the vibration of the cover member to remove the dust adhering to the surface of the cover member.
In the dust removal step, only the second dust removal operation is executed when the angle formed by the imaging surface and the gravity direction is equal to or greater than a predetermined angle and 90 degrees or less, and the angle formed is smaller than the predetermined angle. A method for controlling an imaging device, which comprises simultaneously executing the first dust removing operation and the second dust removing operation. The first dust removing operation according to any one of claims 12 to 14, wherein the holding member is swung in the rotational direction about an axis parallel to the direction orthogonal to the imaging surface as a rotation center. Control method of the image pickup device.

Images