JP3237776B2 - Camera shake correction device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a camera shake correcting device, more specifically, a camera shake state is detected, and a part of a photographing optical system or an image pickup means (for example, a lens, a film, etc.) is detected based on the detected signal. The present invention relates to a camera shake correction apparatus in which the influence of the generated shake is minimized by driving the camera.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to minimize the influence of camera shake on a photograph, various shake correction devices have been proposed. Among them, the camera shake / image blur state is detected by various sensors, and based on the output of the sensors,
For example, there is a unit that corrects a blur by moving a part of a photographing optical system (a photographing lens) or a part of an imaging unit (a film, a CCD, or the like).

[0003] The effect of blurring on the image plane will be briefly described. Generally, it is said that a human perceives blurring in a negative film of 50 to 100 microns or more. Therefore, in order to correct blur, it is necessary to control such a delicate displacement amount, and high accuracy is required. In addition, when the photographing optical axis direction is the Z axis, the influence of the occurrence of blurring occurs randomly across the X and Y axes, and it is necessary to cope with this.

On the other hand, if it is attempted to control the blur correction at a high level as described above, the apparatus itself for pursuing high precision becomes large and heavy, and although the blur correction can be performed, it is difficult to use it after all. I will. Therefore, it has been considered to realize a high-level blur correction device while reducing the size of the configuration itself. Therefore, for example, 1
A method has been considered in which two actuators (driving means) are connected to one shake correction member and the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction are independently controlled during shake correction.

However, when two actuators are connected to one shake correction member to perform shake correction, it is necessary to independently control the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction. , In each of the Y-axis directions may be affected by movement in the other axis direction. This means that, for example, when an instruction is given to move a certain amount in the X-axis direction, it moves in the X-axis direction and at the same time becomes entangled in the Y-axis direction. Is a problem. Therefore, in order to cope with this phenomenon, at the time of blur correction or at the time other than the blur correction, the blur correction device is operated to collect drive information data, and based on this data, the coefficients of the drive calculation formula are changed. Optimization operations of the correction device have been performed.

[0006]

However, when performing the above-described optimization operation of the shake correction apparatus,
There are the following problems. First, various factors may be considered in consideration of factors that cause a phenomenon that is affected by the movement of the blur correction member in the other axis direction. For example, shake correction
It is possible to consider a temperature condition, a use elapsed time, and the like when the member is used. Therefore, it is necessary to perform the optimization operation appropriately,
In this case, extreme posture change of the camera and occurrence of vibration and blur during the optimization operation of the blur correction device become a large disturbance,
There is a problem that it is difficult to perform an accurate optimization operation.

The shake correcting device is used to reduce the influence of the generated shake as much as possible. However, the shake correcting member itself fluctuates against unnecessary vibration of a large force other than the shake. In order to eliminate the problem, a member (for example, a spring, a pin, or the like) for regulating the shake correction member itself is generally used. Therefore, if the regulating force of this member is strong,
Driving means for generating a force equal to or greater than the regulation force for actually driving the member is required. This leads to an increase in the size of the driving means and an increase in power consumption, which is not preferable. Therefore, it is undesirable to apply a strong regulatory motion compensation member, in addition to the actual use of the motion compensation member, the unnecessary vibration, a phenomenon arises in motion blur correction member itself can be considered. If the optimization operation of the blur correction device is performed in such a situation (the attitude change is large and the generated blur is large), data for the optimization cannot be obtained, and the coefficient of the optimal driving equation is not determined. Absent. As a result, there is a problem that the efficiency of blur correction is reduced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a camera shake correction apparatus capable of regulating the timing at which the optimization operation of the shake correction apparatus is performed.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a camera shake correction apparatus for detecting a shake state of a camera body, and a shake correction amount by receiving a signal from the shake detection means. And two axes for correcting a blur of a subject image formed on the imaging means upon receiving a signal from the arithmetic means during an imaging operation of the imaging apparatus.
And a shake correction means driven in a rotation direction about the center of rotation.
In the two rotation directions at that time.
Checking means for performing an optimizing operation of changing the operation coefficient of the shake calculating means from the operating state information to be performed, thereby checking the operation of the shake correcting means.
Bed les amount output from the shake detection means is equal to or less than a predetermined value, only if it is determined to be equal to or less than a predetermined value, and so as to allow the optimization operation by the confirmation means It is characterized by the following. According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a camera shake correction apparatus, comprising: a shake detection unit configured to detect a shake state of a camera body; a calculation unit configured to calculate a shake correction amount by receiving a signal from the shake detection unit; During the imaging operation, the two axes are moved in order to correct the blur of the subject image formed on the imaging means by receiving the signal from the arithmetic means.
A shake correction unit driven in a rotation direction with the center as the center, and the shake correction unit in one rotation direction prior to the imaging operation.
Operate by a predetermined amount , and in that case, in the above two rotation directions
Checking means for performing an optimizing operation for changing the operation coefficient of the shake calculating means from the operating state information, thereby confirming the operation of the shake correcting means, and detecting the shake during the optimizing operation. Bed les amount outputted from the means is equal to or less than a predetermined value, when it is determined not to be less than a predetermined value, characterized in that so as to stop the optimization operation.

[0010]

According to the present invention, the camera posture difference and the vibration state are directly monitored by the shake detecting means, and if it is determined that the camera is in a stable state, the optimizing operation of the shake correcting apparatus is performed. In addition, during the optimization operation of the shake correction device, if it is determined that the camera is in an unstable state because the camera is lifted or held for photographing, the optimization operation of the shake correction device is stopped. I do.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, prior to describing an embodiment of the present invention, a concept of a shake correction apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The camera shake detecting means 1 for detecting camera shake includes a known angular velocity sensor, a photoelectric conversion means, and the like. A signal from the camera shake detecting means 1 is input to an arithmetic means 2. The calculating means 2 is for grasping an actual blur state of the camera and generating a blur correction signal.
Is sent to the driving means 3. This driving means 3
It is constituted by a known actuator such as a DC motor, USM (ultrasonic motor), or a piezoelectric body, and its output is used to drive a means for correcting a blur described later. The correction unit 4 performs correction by moving an imaging device such as a part of a lens of a photographing optical system or a film. Then, this correction operation is checked by the confirmation means 5. The checking means 5 monitors the operating state and position of the correcting means 4, and receives a driving operation command for the driving means 3 and shake information from the shake detecting means 1. .

In the above-described shake correcting apparatus, the shake detecting means 1 detects the rotational shake state based on the center of the camera in the optical axis direction, and the output is sent to the arithmetic means 2. The calculating means 2 calculates the amount of shake on the image plane based on the detected rotational shake information, and generates drive data of the drive means 3 used for correcting the shake. The drive data is generated in accordance with the characteristics of the actuator to be used. The driving unit 3 includes a blur correction unit 4 such as a photographing lens or a film.
Is driven so as to cancel the generated blur. Thereby, blur correction is performed.

Normally, the camera shake correction operation is performed according to the flow described above, and the operation is managed by the control means of the camera not shown in FIG. On the other hand, the output of the shake detecting means 1 is provided to the checking means 5.
Further, the operation information of the camera from the camera control means is input, and the use state of the camera is determined. Then, a determination is made here as to whether the camera is being exposed, whether the camera shake is large, or the change in posture difference is large. When the camera is in a predetermined state, the confirmation unit 5 issues a drive command to the drive unit 3. Do
The driving means 3 receives this and drives the correcting means 4. The operating state and position of the correcting means 4 are monitored by the checking means 5. The above is the concept of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a specific configuration diagram of a camera shake correction apparatus showing an embodiment of the present invention, in which the present invention is applied to a single-lens reflex camera. The camera shake detecting means 1 is for detecting camera shake around the X-axis direction in FIG.
It is arranged in. Although not shown in FIG. 2, a shake detecting means for detecting a rotational shake of the camera around the Y-axis direction is also provided. Then, the output of the shake detecting means 1 is input to the calculating means 2, where the signal is converted if necessary, and the calculation result is sent to the driving means 3. The drive means 3 includes a drive transmission means 3 for transmitting a driving force to a shake correction means for actually correcting the shake.
A is provided, which is connected to a blur correction optical system which is a blur correction means 4. This blur correction optical system 4
Is connected to the position detecting means 5A, whereby the blur correction state of the blur correction optical system 4 is sent to the confirmation means 5. Then, the operation is determined as described with reference to FIG. Reference numeral 11 denotes a photographing lens barrel (photographing optical system), 12 denotes a finder, 13 denotes a movable reflection mirror, 1
Reference numeral 4 denotes a film serving as an imaging unit.

Next, a specific operation of the embodiment constructed as described above will be described with reference to FIG. First, in FIG. 2, it is determined from the information from the control means (not shown) of the camera whether or not the exposure is currently being performed (exposure correction is being performed) or the first release operation of the release button has been performed and the exposure is to be performed. Is determined by the confirmation means 5. Further, the vibration state of the camera body 10 and the photographing optical system 11 is detected by the shake detecting means 1, and the current camera shake state is also determined.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a blur state detected by the blur detecting means 1. In FIG. 3, the vertical axis represents the angular velocity, which is output in the ± direction with the center being zero. Also,
The horizontal axis is the time axis t. Now, suppose + A [deg / s
ec] and −A [deg / sec], and the trajectory of the blur is as shown in FIG. Here, when the camera shake is small, the locus of the shake is + A [deg / sec] to 0.
~ A [deg / sec]. On the other hand, when the blur is large, the deviation falls outside the determination reference value. Therefore, whether or not the camera shake is greater than a predetermined value can be determined by a comparator or the like using equivalent means. By the above method, the use state of the camera and the unnecessary vibration state of the camera may be determined, and it may be determined whether or not to perform the optimization operation of the shake correction apparatus.

The optimizing operation itself of the shake correcting apparatus is not the main feature of the present invention, and therefore, detailed description thereof will be omitted and will be briefly described. For example, when an operation is instructed for only one of the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction, if the normal blur correction device (the driving unit to the correction unit) is operating correctly, only the axis for which the operation has been instructed is used. Perform a predetermined operation and do not operate in the other axial direction.

However, for some reason such as long-term use or load fluctuation, the operation may be performed in an unrelated axis direction, which is a problem that leads to a reduction in the blur correction rate. Thus, the position detecting means 5A detects the operating state / position in the axis direction in which the operation of the shake correction means is instructed and in the other axis direction in which the operation is not instructed. Based on this detection result, it is necessary to determine how much the optimizing operation of the blur correction device (± correction of the output in the opposite axis direction) needs to be performed, and how much the blur correction means should be performed within a unit operation time in one axis direction. The drive speed is calculated from the information on the displacement operation in the axial direction, and how much the drive coefficient is changed when the drive is instructed is determined. The determined drive coefficient is stored in a storage unit or the like (not shown), and the drive data of the drive unit is determined based on the drive coefficient at the time of the next operation of the shake correction apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation process of the optimization operation of the blur correction device according to the present invention. First, the process is started, and in step # 1, it is determined whether or not there is a camera shooting request. This is because when the first release signal or the like is input by the control means (not shown) of the camera, the optimizing operation of the blur correction device is not performed so that the image can be taken immediately. If there is a photographing request (signal), the process proceeds to step # 13.

If there is no photographing request in step # 1, it is determined in step # 2 whether the blur amount is equal to or less than a predetermined value. This is to determine whether or not an unnecessary disturbance such as the change in the posture difference or a large amount of generated camera shake has occurred. If the shake amount is equal to or larger than a predetermined value, the process returns to step # 1. Then, it is determined again whether or not there is a photographing request. If the blur amount is equal to or less than the predetermined value, it is determined that the blur correction device may be optimized,
In step # 3, the shake correcting means is moved to a predetermined initial position.

Next, in step # 4, it is determined whether or not a photographing request has been made, as in step # 1. This is because, even if it is within the initial position moving operation, if a photographing request is made, the photographing request is preferentially dealt with. Therefore, when there is a photographing request in step # 4, the process proceeds to step # 13 as in step # 1. If there is no photographing request in step # 4, it is determined in next step # 5 whether the blur amount is equal to or less than a predetermined value. If the blur amount is equal to or larger than the predetermined value in step # 5, the process returns to step # 1 as in step # 2,
It is necessary to start again from the determination as to whether or not there is a photographing request.

Here, when the blur amount is equal to or less than a predetermined value,
In step # 6, it is determined whether or not the shake correcting means has reached the initial position as instructed in step # 3. If the shake correcting means has not yet reached the initial position, the process returns to step # 3 to repeat the initial position moving operation. On the other hand, when the shake correcting means has reached the predetermined initial position, the flow proceeds to the next step # 7, this time instructs a predetermined amount operation for optimizing the blur correction device, and then proceeds to step # 8, A predetermined amount of operation for optimizing the apparatus is performed, and the process proceeds to step # 9 to determine whether or not there is a request for re-shooting. This is because, even if the movement is within the predetermined amount of movement, if a photographing request is made, priority is given to responding to the request. Therefore, when there is a photographing request in step # 9, the process proceeds to step # 13 as in steps # 1 and # 4.

If there is no photographing request, it is determined in step # 10 whether the blur amount is equal to or less than a predetermined value. If the blur amount is equal to or larger than the predetermined value in step # 10, the process returns to step # 1 as in steps # 2 and # 5, and the process is repeated from the determination as to whether or not there is a photographing request. If the blur amount is equal to or less than a predetermined value,
In step # 11, it is determined whether or not the shake correcting means has reached a predetermined position as instructed in step # 7. Here, if the shake correcting means has not yet reached the predetermined position, the process returns to step # 8 and repeats the predetermined position moving operation. On the other hand, when the shake correcting means reaches the predetermined moving position, the process proceeds to step # 12, and the drive coefficient for driving the shake correcting means is updated. This is stored in the storage means or the like, and the driving data of the driving means is determined based on the driving coefficient at the time of the next driving operation.

Next, in step # 13, blur correction
Move the means to the initial position. This is to move the camera in response to a photographing request from the camera to start the exposure operation from the most appropriate position of the blur correction means . Therefore, even if the blur correction device is not optimized and, for example, there is a photographing request from the above steps # 1, # 4, # 9 and the like and the process proceeds to step # 13, the movement to the initial position is similarly performed. Things. Then, in step # 14, it is determined whether or not the position state of the shake correction unit has returned to the initial position. Here, if it has not yet returned to the initial position, the process returns to step # 13, and the returning operation to the initial position is repeated. When the return operation to the initial position is completed,
It is possible to shift to a shooting operation.

Next, how the optimization operation of the shake correction apparatus in FIG. 4 is performed in the entire camera will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation process of the camera having the shake correction device. After starting, in step # 21, an initialization operation for various settings necessary for the operation of the camera is performed. Next, in step # 22, an optimization operation of the shake correction device is performed. This step # 22
This subroutine is the same as that described in the flowchart of FIG.

Next, in step # 23, the first release signal is inputted by pressing the release button.
Next, in step # 24, it is determined whether or not the second release signal has been input. Here is the second
It waits for the release signal to be input, and if it is input, proceeds to step # 25. In this step # 25, the drive of the shake correcting means is started so that the image deterioration due to the generated camera shake can be prevented, and the exposure operation is performed in step # 26. Next, in step # 27, it is determined whether or not a predetermined exposure time has elapsed. If the predetermined exposure time has elapsed, the exposure operation is terminated. In step # 28, the operation of the shake correction apparatus is also terminated. Return to 22.

In step # 22, the operation of optimizing the blur correction device is performed. In FIG. 5, this operation is to be performed before the input of the first release signal in step # 23. However, the present invention is not limited to this.
4 may be performed before the second release signal. In addition, the optimization operation of the shake correction apparatus is not necessarily performed every time of shooting, but may be performed once every several shootings, or may be performed every predetermined elapsed time.

As described above, according to the present invention, in the camera shake correcting apparatus, it is determined whether or not to perform a test operation for optimizing the shake correcting apparatus in accordance with the change in the attitude of the camera and the state of the generated shake. Therefore, an accurate blur correction operation can be performed at the time of actual exposure.

[0029]

As described above, according to the present invention, the stable state of the camera is determined by utilizing the output of the shake detecting means used in the shake correcting apparatus except when the camera is used in the shake correcting operation. The optimization operation of the blur correction device is performed only when is stable. Therefore, in a state where there is no change in the posture difference or unnecessary disturbance such as camera shake vibration, the data of the driving information is obtained by operating the blur correction device,
Based on this data, it is possible to change the coefficients of the driving arithmetic expression, and the accurate operation of the blur correction device can be performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a camera shake correction apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a state of a generated blur amount.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation process of an optimization operation of the blur correction device in the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a schematic operation of the entire camera including the shake correction apparatus of the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1: shake detection means 2: calculation means 3: driving means 4: correction means 5: confirmation means

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G03B 5/00 G01M 11/00

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A blur detecting means for detecting a blurring state of a camera body, a calculating means for receiving a signal from the blur detecting means to calculate a blur correction amount, and Receiving the signal of (1), the blur correction means driven in a rotational direction about two axes to correct the blur of the subject image formed on the imaging means, and the blur correction means prior to the imaging operation Rotate one side
In the two directions of rotation at that time
It optimizes operation of changing the arithmetic coefficient of the shake computing means from the definitive operation state information, thereby is provided with a confirmation means for checking the operation of the shake correction means, output from said shake detecting means Breakfast Les
Determining whether or not the amount is equal to or less than a predetermined value, and permitting the optimization operation by the checking means only when it is determined that the amount is equal to or less than the predetermined value; apparatus. 2. A blur detecting means for detecting a blur state of a camera body, a calculating means for receiving a signal from the blur detecting means and calculating a blur correction amount; Receiving the signal of (1), the blur correction means driven in a rotational direction about two axes to correct the blur of the subject image formed on the imaging means, and the blur correction means prior to the imaging operation Rotate one side
And a checking means for performing an optimization operation of changing the calculation coefficient of the shake calculating means from the operating state information in the two rotation directions at that time, and thereby confirming the operation of the shake correcting means. the are provided, when the blanking LES amount output from said shake detecting means during the optimization operation is equal to or less than a predetermined value, is determined not less than a predetermined value, the An image stabilizing device for a camera, wherein an optimizing operation is stopped.