JP2586670B2 - Image stabilization device - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a camera shake correction device that performs camera shake correction.

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional camera shake correction apparatus, there is one disclosed in, for example, TV Society Technical Report VOL. 11, No. 3 (MAY. 1987), pp. 43-48, or JP-A-1-138446.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a conventional camera shake correction apparatus. In FIG. 8, reference numeral 801 denotes a representative point memory circuit;
02 is a representative point memory control circuit, 803 is an arithmetic circuit, 804 is an arithmetic memory circuit, 805 is an arithmetic memory control circuit, and 806 is a minimum value arithmetic circuit.

In the conventional camera shake correction apparatus configured as described above, the input signal Vin is supplied to the representative point memory circuit 801 and the arithmetic circuit.
Entered in 803. In the representative point memory circuit 801, the signal of the representative point position is stored by the representative point memory control circuit 802, and the stored representative point position signal of the previous field is output. In the arithmetic circuit 803, Vin and the representative point memory circuit 801
To obtain the absolute value signal of the difference signal from the output signal. In the operation memory circuit 804, the operation circuit 80 is operated by the operation memory control circuit 805.
The output signals of No. 3 are added in comparison regions having the same positional relationship with respect to each representative point. Then, the operation memory circuit 80
The minimum value data required from the output signal of 4
Get at 06.

9 and 10 show the positional relationship of the representative points at this time. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the arrangement of representative points on one screen. In this case, the entire screen is divided into four regions, and a total of 24 representative points of six horizontal and four vertical are arranged in each region. I have. FIG. 10 shows the relationship between the representative point and the comparison area, and shows a case where the representative point interval is equal to the horizontal range of the comparison area.

In the setting of the representative points and the setting of the comparison area, it is necessary to arrange as many representative points as possible in order to improve the reliability of the minimum value data to be obtained, and the range of the comparison area corresponds to the range in which camera shake can be detected. Therefore, it is necessary to make the comparison area for each representative point independent without overlapping so as to simplify the circuit configuration of the memory control replacement. In order to satisfy the above conditions, it is necessary to make the interval between the representative points equal to the horizontal range of the comparison area as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, and to arrange the representative points regularly in the horizontal and vertical directions. Becomes

For example, in the case of the representative point setting shown in the above-described conventional example, when the image sensor having 710 pixels in the horizontal direction is used, the number of operation points is substantially 355 because the READ / WRIGHT operation of the operation memory requires time equivalent to two pixels. Since the horizontal direction is divided into two regions, if one region has 177 points and the number of horizontal representative points in one region is 6, the maximum number of comparison region points for each representative point is 29.

However, in the above configuration, if the number of pixels of a solid-state imaging device such as a CCD changes, the above condition cannot be satisfied, and effective camera shake detection cannot be performed. Alternatively, the representative point arrangement and the comparison area setting must be changed so as to satisfy the above conditions. For example, in the case of the representative point setting shown in the above conventional example, when using an image sensor having 510 pixels in the horizontal direction, the time required for the READ / WRIGHT operation of the operation memory is equivalent to 2 pixels, so the actual number of operation points is 255 ,
Since the horizontal direction is divided into two regions, one region has 127 points, and the number of horizontal representative points of one region is 6, so that the number of comparison region points of each representative point is 21 at the maximum. As described above, there is a problem that it is very difficult to cope with the change of the imaging device.

In view of the foregoing, an object of the present invention is to provide a camera shake correction apparatus capable of setting a representative point and setting a comparison area that satisfies the above conditions even when the imaging device is changed.

Means for Solving the Problems The present invention provides a representative point memory circuit for storing a representative point video signal in an imaging signal, a representative point memory control circuit for controlling the representative point memory circuit, and an output of the representative point memory circuit. An arithmetic circuit that relatively compares the signal with a video signal at a different time, an arithmetic memory circuit that stores an output signal of the arithmetic circuit, and a pixel number of an image sensor used by an image sensor selector when selecting the image sensor. A setting circuit for setting suitable representative point arrangement interval data, a representative point memory control reference position signal for controlling the representative point memory control circuit based on the representative point arrangement interval data, and an arithmetic memory control for controlling the arithmetic memory circuit The circuit comprises a representative point setting circuit for generating a reference signal, and a minimum value operation circuit for obtaining data such as a minimum value from an output signal of the operation memory circuit.

Operation In the present invention, the representative point setting circuit controls the representative point memory circuit and the arithmetic memory circuit to perform optimal representative point setting and comparison area setting according to the number of pixels of the image sensor.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a camera shake correction apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, 101 is a representative point memory circuit, 102 is a representative point memory control circuit, 103 is a representative point setting circuit, 104 is an arithmetic circuit, 105 is an arithmetic memory circuit, 106 is an arithmetic memory control circuit,
107 is a minimum value calculation circuit.

The operation of the image stabilizing apparatus according to the present embodiment configured as described above will be described below. The input signal Vin is input to the representative point memory circuit 101 and the arithmetic circuit 104. At this time, the representative point memory circuit 101 stores the signal of the representative point position under the control of the representative point memory control circuit 102 according to the setting data of the representative point setting circuit 103, and outputs the stored representative point position signal of the previous field. . Next, the arithmetic circuit 104
Then, the absolute value signal of the difference signal between Vin and the output signal of the representative point memory circuit 101 is obtained. Further, in the arithmetic memory circuit 105, the output signal of the arithmetic circuit 104 is added in the comparison area having the same positional relation to each representative point under the control of the arithmetic memory control circuit 106 according to the setting data of the representative point setting circuit 103. Then, necessary minimum value data is obtained from the output signal of the operation memory circuit 105 by the minimum value operation circuit 107.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the representative point setting circuit 103
By setting the optimum number of representative points, the representative point interval, and the horizontal range of the comparison area according to the number of pixels of the image sensor, an accurate motion vector can be detected regardless of the number of pixels of the image sensor. And effective camera shake correction can be performed.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a camera shake correction apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 2, reference numerals 201 to 206 are 10 in the first embodiment.
1, 102 and 104 to 107 are the same as the first embodiment except for a representative point position signal generation circuit 207 and an operation memory control reference signal generation circuit 208.

The operation of the image stabilizing apparatus according to the present embodiment configured as described above will be described below focusing on the differences from the first embodiment. 3 and 4 show the positions of the representative points and the signals necessary for controlling the arithmetic memory circuit. In FIGS. 3 and 4, □ indicates a position signal indicating the reference position of the representative point, and ○ indicates a position signal indicating the position of the representative point stored in the representative point memory. FIG. 4 shows the relationship between the representative point and the comparison area.

Fig. 3 divides one screen into four areas, and the horizontal direction
6, the case where the representative point in the vertical direction 5 is arranged is shown,
As a condition for the arrangement of the representative points, it is necessary to arrange as many representative points as possible in order to improve the reliability of the required data, and the range of the comparison area corresponds to the range in which camera shake can be detected. Need to be wider. In addition, it is necessary that the comparison areas for each representative point be independent without overlapping so as to simplify the circuit configuration of the memory control circuit. In order to satisfy these conditions, it is necessary to make the interval between the representative points equal to the horizontal range of the comparison area as shown in FIG. 3 and to arrange the representative points regularly in the horizontal and vertical directions. For this reason, the representative point position signal generation circuit 207 is different from the representative point memory control circuit 202 which controls the representative point memory circuit 201 in that the representative point interval and the 1
If the horizontal and vertical reference positions of each area obtained by dividing the screen into a plurality of areas are set, the positions of other representative points in that area can be determined.

Further, an arithmetic memory control circuit 205 for controlling the arithmetic memory circuit 204 is provided with an arithmetic memory control reference signal generating circuit 208.
As shown in FIG. 4, if the representative point interval and the positional relationship (hx, hy) between the representative point and the comparison area are set, the relative relation between each representative point and the comparison point in the comparison area becomes equal to all representative points. The required signal can be determined to be constant for the point.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, by providing the representative point position signal generation circuit 207 and the arithmetic memory control reference signal generation circuit 208, the representative point interval, the representative point reference position, and the positional relationship between the representative point and the comparison area are provided. By setting the above data, other necessary signals can be determined, so that it is possible to effectively cope with changes in representative point intervals and the like.
An accurate motion vector can be detected.

FIG. 5 is a configuration example of a representative point position signal generation circuit and a calculation memory control reference signal generation circuit of a camera shake correction apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

The operation of the representative point position signal generation circuit and the arithmetic memory control reference signal generation circuit of the image stabilization apparatus of this embodiment configured as shown in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 in the second embodiment, the representative points are regularly arranged, and the comparison area also has the same positional relationship with the representative points. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, the representative point position signal and the operation memory control reference signal can be effectively generated using a counter circuit. Specifically, the counter output is decoded with a representative point interval data value so that the representative point interval data is used as the counter cycle, and the output signal is used as a representative point position signal (HP). In the clear state (ALL "L"), the counter output can be used as a reference signal for the address signal of the operation memory. This is shown in FIG. FIG. 5A shows a case where the representative point interval is 24 points, and FIG. 5B shows a case where the representative point interval is 16 points. FIG. 6 corresponds to FIG. 5 (a).

As described above, according to this embodiment, the representative point position signal generation circuit and the arithmetic memory control reference signal generation circuit are configured by the counter circuit, and the representative point interval data is used as the cycle thereof, thereby achieving a very simple circuit configuration. Can generate the necessary representative point position signal and the operation memory control reference signal, and can accurately detect an accurate motion vector.

FIG. 7 is a configuration example of a representative point position signal generation circuit and a calculation memory control reference signal generation circuit of a camera shake correction apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

The operation of the representative point position signal generation circuit and the arithmetic memory control reference signal generation circuit of the image stabilizing apparatus according to the present embodiment configured as shown in FIG. 10 will be described below, focusing on differences from the third embodiment. FIG. 7 (a) has two decoding circuits, each of which corresponds to optimal representative point interval data for the number of horizontal pixels of the image sensor, and is selected by a control signal (CELCNT). The selected signal (HP) and the output signal of the counter circuit become the optimal representative point position signal and the operation memory control reference signal in the image sensor having the corresponding number of pixels.

FIG. 7 (b) has a comparator to compare the data (CELDATA) corresponding to the number of pixels of the image sensor with the counter output signal to create a representative point position signal and a calculation memory control reference signal. Therefore, it is possible to obtain an optimal representative point position signal and an arithmetic memory control reference signal for an image sensor having an arbitrary number of pixels.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the representative point position signal generation circuit and the arithmetic memory control reference signal generation circuit are configured by a counter circuit, and the representative point interval data is used as the cycle, and the number of pixels of the image sensor is changed. By using the control signal (CELCNT) corresponding to the change of the representative point interval or the control signal (CELDATA) corresponding to the representative point interval data, it is suitable for the number of pixels of the image sensor used even when the image sensor is changed. By resetting the representative point arrangement interval data by the setting circuit, in a camera shake correction provided in an image pickup apparatus using an image pickup device having a different number of pixels in different models, etc., a very simple circuit configuration and a representative point arrangement interval are used. By changing and setting only the data, the representative point memory control circuit and the arithmetic memory circuit can be controlled. Motion vector detection suitable for the number of pixels can be effectively performed.

In the above embodiment, a method of motion correction after detecting a motion vector is not described.However, a method including address control of a frame memory or drive control of an image sensor and an interpolation circuit may be considered. It is not limited to them.

Further, the same effect can be obtained when the signal processing method using the representative point matching method and the method using the angular velocity sensor are used together as the motion vector detection method in the above embodiment.

Next, the case where the number of pixels of the image sensor has changed in the above embodiment has been described. However, this is the same as the change in the resolution of the input video signal. Can achieve the same effect.

Further, in the above embodiment, although the minimum value calculation circuit is not described, necessary data and a circuit configuration for obtaining the data are not particularly limited and are not directly related to the present invention. Removed.

Furthermore, in each embodiment, an example of the arrangement of the representative points and an example of the comparison area have been described, but it is a matter of course that the present invention is not limited thereto.

In addition, although the configuration example of the counter circuit has been described as an example of the circuit configuration, it is obvious that the number of bits of the counter, the decoding configuration, the clear timing of the counter circuit, and the like may be other methods.

Further, in the above embodiment, a method of processing the generated representative point position signal and the arithmetic memory control reference signal into a signal necessary for memory circuit control is not described, but any method may be used and the method is particularly limited. Not even a thing.

Effects of the Invention As described above, according to the present invention, even when the imaging device is changed, the representative circuit arrangement interval data suitable for the number of pixels of the imaging device to be used is reset by the setting circuit, so that different models are used. In a camera shake correction provided in an image pickup apparatus using an image pickup device having a different number of pixels, a representative point memory control circuit and an arithmetic memory circuit have a very simple circuit configuration and change and set only the representative point arrangement interval data. Can be set, and a motion vector detection state suitable for the number of pixels of the image sensor used in the imaging device can be set, so that optimal motion vector detection and effective camera shake correction can be performed. Also, in the development and production of different types of imaging devices equipped with a camera shake correction device, when developing and producing many types of imaging devices that use imaging devices with different numbers of pixels, it is only necessary to set the representative point arrangement interval data. A motion vector is detected in a state suitable for the number of pixels of an image sensor used in each model, and effective camera shake correction can be performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an image stabilizing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an image stabilizing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a representative point of the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a layout diagram of a comparative region of the embodiment, FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram of a third embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 6 is a timing chart for explaining a circuit of the embodiment, FIG. FIG. 9 is a circuit diagram of a fourth embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a conventional image stabilizing apparatus, and FIGS. 9 and 10 are explanatory views of representative points and comparative areas of the conventional example. 101 ... representative point memory circuit, 102 ... representative point memory control circuit, 103 ... representative point setting circuit, 104 ... arithmetic circuit, 105 ...
… Arithmetic memory circuit, 106… arithmetic memory control circuit, 107…
... Minimum value calculation circuit.

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A representative point memory circuit for storing a representative point video signal in an image signal, a representative point memory control circuit for controlling the representative point memory circuit, and an image at a time different from an output signal of the representative point memory circuit. An arithmetic circuit for relatively comparing signals, an arithmetic memory circuit for storing output signals of the arithmetic circuit, and a representative point arrangement interval suitable for the number of pixels of the image sensor used when the image sensor selector selects this image sensor A representative circuit having a setting circuit for setting data, generating a representative point memory control reference position signal for controlling the representative point memory control circuit and an operation memory control reference signal for controlling the operation memory circuit based on the representative point arrangement interval data A camera shake correction apparatus comprising: a point setting circuit; and a minimum value calculation circuit that obtains data such as a minimum value from an output signal of the calculation memory circuit. 2. A configuration in which a setting circuit for setting representative point arrangement interval data selects from a plurality of representative point interval data values suitable for the number of horizontal pixels of an image sensor to be used, or a horizontal position of an image sensor to be used. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a representative point interval data value suitable for the number of pixels is input and set. 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the representative point setting circuit comprises a counter circuit using the representative point interval data as a count number.