JP5783300B2 - Imaging device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging device that converts an optical image into an electrical signal by a photoelectric conversion imaging device, and more particularly to an imaging device that includes an inclination correction device.

Some imaging apparatuses such as a digital camera having a function of converting an optical image into an electrical signal by a photoelectric conversion imaging element include an inclination display device. The tilt display device detects tilt by tilt detecting means such as an acceleration sensor or a gyro sensor, calculates the tilt angle by calculating the detected signal, and displays the tilt angle on the monitor screen. The tilt display device is a kind of electronic level. According to an imaging device such as a camera provided with the tilt display device, the posture of the image capture device can be determined while viewing the display of the tilt display device. Therefore, it is effective, for example, when a horizontal line is to be accurately projected in the horizontal direction on the screen, or when a vertical plane of a building is to be accurately vertically projected on the screen.
Note that the tilt angle in the left-right direction of the imaging apparatus main body is referred to as a roll angle, and is expressed as the tilt in the left-right direction on the imaging screen.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228688 describes a technique that enables an image pickup apparatus including an inclination display device to obtain inclination information for accurately aligning an image horizontally or vertically. This technique includes a level module having means for calculating the inclination from the output of the acceleration sensor and means for displaying the inclination on a monitor using a frame and an indicator based on the calculated inclination. Then, the control of the level module is changed at the start of the operation of the mechanical drive unit of the digital camera as the imaging device, and the control of the level module is changed again at the end of the operation of the mechanical drive unit. As the control process of the level module, there is a process of deleting the means (frame and indicator) for displaying the tilt displayed on the monitor, and shifting the acceleration sensor to the power saving mode. Alternatively, there is a process of stopping the process of the means for calculating the inclination from the acceleration sensor output. In addition, there are processes of returning the acceleration sensor from the power saving mode, calculating the inclination from the output of the acceleration sensor, and redisplaying the frame and the indicator on the monitor. By performing such control processing, the influence of the noise component due to the operation of the mechanical drive unit can be reduced and an accurate inclination can be obtained, and processing by software is mainly used.

  Depending on how the imaging device such as a camera is used, the imaging device may be placed on a desk or the like for shooting. However, the desk or the like is not always horizontal and may be inclined. When an imaging device having an inclination display device as described in Patent Document 1 is placed on a tilted desk or the like, the imaging device is inclined, so that the display by the inclination display device does not become a horizontal display. Tilt display corresponding to the tilt is performed. Further, if the image is taken in this posture, the image is taken in a manner in which the subject is tilted on the image pickup screen.

  According to the present invention, when the imaging device is placed on a desk or the like, the posture can be manually adjusted so that the imaging device maintains a horizontal posture even if the desk is inclined. An object of the present invention is to provide an imaging apparatus.

An imaging apparatus according to the present invention
Photographic optics,
An exterior cover to which the photographing optical system is attached;
An imaging device having a plurality of legs protruding from the exterior cover ,
The plurality of legs includes a first leg capable of adjusting a protruding amount from the outer cover and a second leg to which a protruding amount from the outer cover is fixed,
The adjustment mechanism for adjusting the protrusion amount of the first leg has an operation member that can be operated from the outside of the exterior cover,
By adjusting the first leg, the tilt when the imaging device is supported by the plurality of legs can be adjusted,
Ground contact surface of the second leg, and most important feature elongated der Rukoto in the direction perpendicular to the direction of the tilt.

  According to the imaging apparatus according to the present invention, even if the imaging apparatus is placed on a tilted desk or the like, the imaging apparatus can be corrected to maintain an attitude without tilting by operating the adjustment mechanism.

1 is an external perspective view showing an example of a digital camera that is an embodiment of an imaging apparatus according to the present invention from the front side. It is an external appearance perspective view which shows the said Example from the back side. It is a block diagram which shows the system structural example inside the imaging device which concerns on the said Example. It is a front view which shows the example of the inclination display image applied to this invention. It is a front view which shows the different display mode by the said inclination display image. It is a perspective view which shows the example of the lens unit integrated in the imaging device which concerns on this invention from the front side. It is a rear view which shows the exterior cover in the said Example. It is a rear view which shows the mode of the leg which can adjust the protrusion amount in the said Example, and the image pick-up element. It is an image figure which shows the example of the mode selection screen displayed on the display part of the said Example. It is a perspective view which shows the said Example from back side lower direction. It is a rear view which shows the inclination adjustment mechanism in the said Example in the cross section along line AA shown in FIG. It is a rear view which shows the operation | movement aspect from which the said inclination adjustment mechanism differs according to FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of an imaging apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The illustrated embodiment is an example in which the imaging apparatus according to the present invention is applied to a digital camera.

  1 and 2, a shutter switch (release switch) SW1, a power switch SW2, and a dial switch SW3 for switching modes are provided on the upper surface 2 of an exterior cover 1 of a digital camera as an image pickup apparatus. Has been. Further, the front surface 5 of the imaging apparatus is provided with a stroboscopic light emitting unit 6 and a lens barrel unit 8 including a photographing optical system to be described in detail later.

  On the rear surface 10 of the imaging apparatus, a display unit (hereinafter referred to as “LCD monitor”) 11 including an electronic view panel such as a liquid crystal display element (LCD) is provided, which displays an image of a subject and mode information. ing. Further, a zoom [tele] switch SW4, a zoom [wide] switch SW5, an upper switch SW6, a right switch SW7, a menu / OK switch SW8, and a left switch SW9 are provided. Further, a lower switch SW10, a display switch SW11, a self / delete switch SW12, and a reproduction switch SW13 are provided. Also, it functions as a confirmation lamp that the focus control for the photographic subject is completed and is in focus, and the focus confirmation / strobe charge confirmation common LED that lights up that the main capacitor of the strobe flasher is charging A display unit 21 is provided. Each of the switches SW1 to SW13 is a switch operated by a user and constitutes an operation key unit.

  Note that the appearance of a digital camera as an embodiment of the imaging apparatus according to the present invention is not necessarily limited to the appearance shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and may have a different appearance.

  Since the functions and operations of each part of the digital camera as the image pickup apparatus are known, detailed description thereof will be omitted. Next, the system configuration inside the image pickup apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. It demonstrates, referring also to.

  In FIG. 3, an image sensor 101 is a solid-state image sensor configured using, for example, a CCD (charge coupled device) for photoelectrically converting an optical image. An image sensor using CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) or the like may be used instead of the CCD. A front-end IC (hereinafter referred to as “F / E-IC”) 102 is provided as means for processing an imaging signal by the imaging device 101. The F / E-IC 102 includes a correlated double sampling unit (CDS) 1021 that performs correlated double sampling for image noise removal, and a gain control unit (AGC) 1022 that performs gain adjustment. In addition, an A / D (analog-digital) conversion unit 1023 that performs analog-digital conversion and a timing signal generation unit (TG) 1024 that generates a drive timing signal are included. The F / E-IC 102 is configured as an IC (integrated circuit).

  The timing signal generator 1024 is supplied with a vertical synchronizing signal VD and a horizontal synchronizing signal HD from the first CCD signal processing block 1041. The timing signal generation unit 1024 outputs a driving timing signal to the image sensor 101 and the F / E-IC 102 by a signal output from the CPU block 1043.

The imaging apparatus includes a digital still camera processor (hereinafter referred to as “processor”) 104 that is an important part of the internal system configuration. The processor 104 has the following configurations.
White balance setting and gamma setting are performed on output image data from the image sensor 101 input via the F / E-IC 102, and a vertical synchronization signal is sent to the timing signal generator (TG) 1024 of the F / E-IC 102. A first CCD signal processing block 1041 for supplying VD and horizontal synchronizing signal HD.
A second CCD signal processing block 1042 that converts image data into luminance data and color difference data by filtering.
A central processing unit (CPU) block 1043 that controls the operation of each part of the apparatus.
A local SRAM (Static Random Access Memory) 1044 for temporarily storing data necessary for control.
A USB block 1045 for performing USB communication with an external device such as a PC (personal computer).
A serial block 1046 for performing serial communication with an external device such as a PC.
A JPEG codec (JPEG-CODEC) block 1047 that performs JPEG compression / decompression.
A resizing block 1048 for enlarging / reducing the size of the image data by interpolation processing.
A TV signal display block 1049 that converts image data into a video signal for display on an external display device such as an LCD monitor 11 or a TV (television) receiver.
A memory card controller block 10410 that controls a memory card for recording photographed image data.
Each of these blocks is connected to each other via a bus line.

  An SDRAM (synchronous dynamic random access memory) 103 is disposed outside the processor 104. The SDRAM 103 stores RAW-RGB image data, that is, RGB image data that has just undergone white balance adjustment and γ adjustment. The SDRAM 103 also stores YUV image data, that is, image data that has been subjected to luminance data / color difference data conversion, and JPEG image data, that is, image data that has been JPEG compressed. The SDRAM 103 is connected to the processor 104 via a memory controller (not shown) and a bus line.

  The SDRAM 103 temporarily stores image data when the processor 104 performs various processes on the image data. The stored image data is captured from the image sensor 101 via the F / E-IC 102, for example. That is, the RAW-RGB image data in a state where the white balance adjustment and the gamma adjustment are performed in the first CCD signal processing block 1041. Also, YUV image data that has been subjected to luminance data / color difference data conversion by the second CCD signal processing block 1042, JPEG image data that has been JPEG compressed by the JPEG / CODEC block 1047, and the like.

  Outside the processor 104, a built-in memory 107 such as a RAM and a ROM (not shown) in which a control program, parameters, and the like are stored are provided, and these are also connected to the processor 104 by a bus line. The built-in memory 107 is a memory for enabling the captured image data to be stored. The control program stored in the ROM is loaded into the main memory (not shown) of the processor 104 when the power switch SW2 of the imaging device is pressed. The processor 104 controls the operation of each unit according to the control program and temporarily stores control data, parameters, and the like in the built-in memory 107 and the like.

The lens barrel unit 8 includes a zoom optical system 81 having a zoom lens 81a for capturing an optical image of a subject, and a focus optical system 82 having a focus lens 82a. Further, a lens barrel including a diaphragm unit 83 having a diaphragm 83a and a mechanical shutter unit 84 having a mechanical shutter 84a is provided. Note that the zoom lens 81a, the focus lens 82a, and the stop 83a constitute a photographing optical system.
The optical axis of the photographing optical system is the Z axis, and the plane orthogonal to the Z axis is the XY plane.

  The zoom optical system 81 is driven by a zoom motor 81b. The focus optical system 82 is driven by a focus motor 82b. The aperture unit 83 is driven by an aperture motor 83b. The mechanical shutter unit 84 is driven by a mechanical shutter motor 84b. The motors 81 b to 84 b of the lens barrel unit 8 are driven by a motor driver 85, and the motor driver 85 is controlled by the CPU block 1043 of the processor 104.

  An imaging element 101 that photoelectrically converts an optical image obtained by each lens system of the lens barrel unit 8 is provided. An object optical image is formed on the light receiving surface of the image sensor 101, and the image sensor 101 converts the object optical image into an electrical image signal and outputs the image signal to the F / E-IC 102. These signal control processes are performed via the TG 1024 by a VD (vertical synchronization) -HD (horizontal synchronization) signal output from the first CCD signal processing block 1041 of the processor 104. The TG 1024 generates a drive timing signal based on the VD-HD signal.

  The processor 104 performs white balance adjustment and gamma adjustment on output data obtained from the image sensor 101 via the F / E-IC 102. For this purpose, the first CCD signal processing block 1941 supplies the vertical synchronizing signal VD and the horizontal synchronizing signal HD. Further, the second CCD signal processing block 1042 performs conversion into luminance data and color difference data by filtering processing.

  The CPU block 1043 controls the operation of each part of the apparatus and temporarily stores data necessary for the control in the local SRAM 1044.

  Further, the processor 104 calculates the tilt of the imaging device based on the tilt angle data sent from the acceleration sensor 111, and displays the tilt degree on the LCD monitor 11 via the LCD driver 108 based on the tilt information ( Details will be described later).

  The CPU block 1043 further controls the strobe circuit 114 to emit illumination light from the strobe light emitting unit 6.

  The CPU block 1043 is connected to a sub CPU 112 of the processor 104, and the sub CPU 112 is connected to an operation key unit including operation switches SW1 to SW13. This operation key unit is an operation unit including a group of key switches operated by a user. Further, the sub CPU 112 is a CPU in which ROM / RAM is built in one chip, and outputs an output signal of an operation key unit or the like to the CPU block 1043 as user operation information.

  The USB block 1045 performs USB communication with an external device such as a personal computer via a USB connector (not shown). The serial block 1046 is connected to an external device from a serial driver circuit (not shown) via a serial communication connector such as an RS-232C connector, and performs serial communication.

  The TV signal display block 1049 is connected to the LCD monitor 11 via the LCD driver 108. The TV signal display block 1049 is also connected to a video amplifier (video AMP), that is, an amplifier 109 for converting the video signal output from the TV signal display block 1049 into 75Ω impedance. The TV signal display block 1049 is connected to a video jack (jack for connecting the camera to an external display device such as a TV) 110 via an amplifier 109.

  The memory card controller block 10410 is connected to a card contact incorporated in a memory card slot (not shown). An I2C (Inter Integrated Circuit) block 10411 is connected to an acceleration sensor 111 serving as an inclination detecting unit.

  The LCD driver 108 drives the LCD monitor 11 and converts the video signal output from the TV signal display block 1049 into a signal for displaying on the LCD monitor 11. The LCD monitor 11 is a monitor display device that monitors the state of a subject before photographing, confirms a photographed image, selects an operation mode, and displays the inclination of the imaging device described later. It is intended to do. The LCD monitor 11 can display image data recorded in the memory card or the built-in memory 107, an operation mode selection screen, and tilt information of the imaging device.

  The video AMP 109 is an amplifier for converting the impedance of the video signal output from the TV signal display block 1049 into 75Ω. The video jack 110 is a connection jack for connecting to an external display device such as a TV receiver and inputting a video signal to the external display device to display an image on the external display device.

  The acceleration sensor 111 serving as an inclination detecting unit is mounted on a printed circuit board (PCB) that constitutes each circuit unit described above, and detects biaxial X and Y data (X, Y) and temperature T data. To the I2C block 10411 of the processor 104. Based on the data provided from the acceleration sensor 111 via the I2C block 10411, the processor 104 calculates tilt information such as a roll angle to be displayed by the CPU block 1043 in the processor 104, for example. Therefore, the processor 104 also operates as an inclination calculation unit.

  On the LCD monitor 11, as shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 4, and FIG. A portion for displaying the tilt display image 12 is referred to as a “tilt display portion”. The calculated tilt information is displayed by synthesizing an image of the marker M as a mark at a position indicating the roll angle on the display image 12. From the position of the marker M displayed on the display image 12, the inclination of the acceleration sensor 111, that is, the inclination of the imaging device can be known. The CPU block 1043 for displaying the display image 12 and tilt information such as the roll angle on the display image 12, and the processor 104 including the CPU block 1043 constitute an tilt display device.

If the output data at zero gravity of the data (X, Y) of the two orthogonal axes X and Y are X0 and Y0, respectively, the roll angle θ with respect to the horizontal of the acceleration sensor 111 is expressed by the following equation (1). .
θ [deg] = 180 / π * arctan {(Y−Y0) / (X−X0)}
(1)

  The display image 12 is added with a display of a marker M that simulates the bubble in a bubble level using liquid, and the position of the marker M in the display image 12 is seen. The tilt angle can be recognized.

  Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the processor 104 synthesizes an image of the marker M indicating the angle on the display image 12 and displays it on the LCD monitor 11. When horizontal, the marker M is at the center position 13 of the display image 12 as shown in FIG. When the image pickup apparatus moves up to the right, the marker M is shifted to the left of the display image 12 according to the angle. Further, when going up to the left, the marker M is located on the right side of the display image 12 according to the angle.

  The user can take a picture with the camera tilted while viewing the tilt display screen 12 displayed on the tilt display section. Further, when the camera is placed on a desk or the like, it can be confirmed whether or not the camera is in a horizontal posture by looking at the tilt display screen 12. In the case of tilting, the tilt of the camera can be corrected by adjusting the amount of protrusion of the mounting leg from the exterior cover, as will be described later. In addition, the amount of protrusion of the mounting leg can be adjusted by driving an inclination adjusting motor, so that the inclination of the camera can be automatically corrected. The tilt adjusting motor is denoted by reference numeral 62 in FIG. The tilt correction motor 62 is configured such that the CPU block 1043 is controlled via the motor driver 85 based on the calculated tilt information. The tilt adjustment mechanism will be described in detail later.

  In the assembly process of the image pickup apparatus, the output of the acceleration sensor 111 for the image pickup element in this state is calibrated (calibration) with the image pickup element 101 in a state without tilt. As a result, when the roll angle of the imaging device is zero, the tilt of the image sensor 101 is also zero, and the image captured by the image sensor 101 has no tilt.

  6 to 8 are a perspective view of the lens barrel unit 8 and a rear view of the outer cover before and after the lens barrel unit 8 is attached to the outer cover 1. In FIG. 6, the lens barrel unit 8 includes the zoom optical system 81 having the zoom lens 81a and the focus optical system 82 having the focus lens 82a, as already described with reference to FIG. Further, a lens barrel 82 including a diaphragm unit 83 having a diaphragm 83a and a mechanical shutter unit 84 having a mechanical shutter 84a is provided. Each of these optical systems and units is driven by the corresponding motors 81b to 84b. As shown in FIG. 8, an image sensor 101 is attached to the back surface of the lens barrel unit 8.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the lens barrel unit 8 includes a cylindrical lens barrel 82 in which the optical systems and units are incorporated, the lens barrel 82, and the motors and the image sensor 101. A box-shaped base 88 is provided. A circular fixed frame 30 that holds the base of the lens barrel 82 is integrally formed on the front surface of the base 88 near one end in the left-right direction. A protrusion 33 is integrally formed on the front surface of the base body 88 at the edge on the opposite side of the fixed frame 30 in the left-right direction and at the center in the up-down direction. The front surface of the protruding portion 33 is flush with the front surface of the base 88, and a hole 32 is formed in the protruding portion 33. A boss 36 is provided adjacent to the hole 32 at the base of the protrusion 33.

  The lens barrel unit 8 is attached to the exterior cover 1 from the back side. As shown in FIG. 7, the exterior cover 1 has a circular receiving hole 31 that receives the lens barrel unit 8, and the fixing frame 30 of the lens barrel unit 8 is fitted into the receiving hole 31.

  The exterior cover 1 is provided with a boss 37 that can fit into the hole 32 of the lens barrel unit 8 at a position near one end in the left-right direction, and a boss hole 34 into which the boss 36 of the lens barrel unit 8 fits. It has been. The fixed frame 30 of the lens barrel unit 8 is fitted into the receiving hole 31 of the exterior cover 1, the hole 32 and the boss 37 are fitted, and the boss 36 and the boss hole 34 are fitted to each other. The barrel unit 8 is positioned. As shown in FIG. 8, a screw 35 is fastened to the boss 37, and the lens barrel unit 8 is fixed to the exterior cover 1.

  As shown in FIG. 5, when the image pickup device 101 has a roll angle with respect to the exterior cover 1 of the image pickup device and tilts, even when the image pickup device is placed on a horizontal surface plate, as shown in FIG. The marker (M) is at a position shifted from the center position 13 of the display image 12 by one or two scales. Therefore, zero tilt is not displayed. Therefore, calibration is performed so that when the imaging apparatus is placed on a horizontal surface plate, the tilt display unit displays zero tilt with the value calculated from the output of the acceleration sensor.

  If you try to shoot with the camera calibrated as described above, for example, with the camera on a desk or the like, if the top of the desk is tilted, the camera is shot in a tilted position and the image is tilted Will be filmed. Therefore, in the imaging apparatus of the present invention, when the exterior cover of the imaging apparatus is tilted with the imaging apparatus placed on a desk or the like, the tilt can be corrected manually or automatically. Examples of the exterior cover inclination correction mechanism are shown in FIGS.

  10 to 12, the exterior cover 1 of the imaging apparatus is provided with legs 46 and 47 that protrude slightly downward from the bottom surface 48 at both ends of the bottom surface 48 in the left-right direction. The leg 46 is a cylindrical leg and contacts the placement surface in a point contact manner. The customer 47 is long in the front-rear width direction of the image pickup device, contacts the placement surface in a line contact manner, and prevents the image pickup device from overturning. While the legs 47 are fixed to the exterior cover 1, the legs 46 extend and contract in the vertical direction with respect to the exterior cover 1 so that the amount of protrusion from the lower surface of the exterior cover 1 can be adjusted. Yes.

  The leg 46 is formed with a thread portion 61 similar to the shape of the worm gear within a certain extent in the length direction at the upper end portion in the length direction, and a cylindrical surface 66 is formed thereunder. A key groove 49 is formed below the cylindrical surface 66 in a range that is somewhat longer in the length direction of the legs 46, and a lower portion of the key groove 49 forming portion is a cylindrical surface. The cylindrical surface 66 is fitted in a guide hole 52 formed in the exterior cover 1. The cylindrical surface of the lower end portion of the leg 46 is fitted in a guide hole 53 formed in the exterior cover 1 so as to be rotatable and slidable up and down. Appropriate mechanical resistance is applied between the guide holes 52 and 53, the cylindrical surface 66, and the cylindrical surface at the lower end of the leg 46 so that the leg 46 does not rotate freely. A key 51 of a dial 50 as an operation unit is fitted in the key groove 49 of the leg 46. The dial 50 is a disk-shaped member, and a key 51 is formed at the center of the circle. The legs 46 extend vertically through the dial 50 in the vertical direction. The dial 50 is located in a space formed in the exterior cover 1, and the vertical movement is restricted by the exterior cover 1, and a part of the outer peripheral surface is exposed from the side surface of the exterior cover 1 from the outside of the exterior cover 1. It can be rotated.

  An LCD monitor 11 as a display unit is disposed on the back surface of the exterior cover 1. The dial 50 is exposed from the side surface of the exterior cover 1 as described above. That is, the LCD monitor 11 is provided on one surface of the exterior cover 1, and the dial 50 is provided on a surface different from the surface on which the LCD monitor 11 is provided. A photographic optical system including the zoom lens 81a, the focus lens 82a, and the like shown in FIG. 3 is incorporated in the lens barrel unit 8 shown in FIG. As is clear from FIG. 1, the lens barrel unit 8 including the photographing optical system is provided in front of the exterior cover 1. As described above, the dial 50 serving as the operation unit is provided on the side surface of the exterior cover 1 that is a surface in a direction intersecting with the front surface of the exterior cover 1.

  An inclination correction motor 62 is attached to the exterior cover 1 above the legs 46. An output shaft 63 of the inclination correction motor 62 extends downward so as to be parallel to the center axis of the leg 46, and a screw member 64 similar to the shape of the worm gear is fixed to the output shaft 63 by fitting or the like. . The screw member 64 meshes with the screw portion 61 of the leg 46. The inclination correction motor 62 is driven by a command from the CPU block 1043 by the motor driver 85 described with reference to FIG. The screw member 64 is rotated by the rotational drive of the inclination correction motor 62, and the screw member 64 acts as a lead screw with respect to the screw portion 61 of the leg 46 so that the leg 46 moves upward or downward. It has become. Since the leg 46 and the dial 50 are fitted by the keyway 49 and the key 51, the dial 50 allows the leg 46 to move in the vertical direction.

  The amount of protrusion of the leg 46 from the lower surface of the exterior cover 1 varies due to the vertical movement of the leg 46. FIG. 11 shows a state where the leg 46 protrudes greatly from the exterior cover 1, and FIG. 12 shows a state where the leg 46 moves upward and slightly protrudes from the exterior cover 1. Since the other leg 47 is integral with the exterior cover 1 and does not move, the level of the exterior cover 1, that is, the level of the imaging apparatus can be adjusted by the vertical movement of the leg 46. The rotation of the inclination correction motor 62 is controlled by the CPU block 1043 of the digital camera processor 104 serving as a control unit so that the inclination of the exterior cover 1 calculated by the inclination calculation means from the output of the acceleration sensor becomes zero.

  The automatic tilt correction by the motor 62 has been described above, but manual tilt correction can also be performed by rotating the dial 50 without using automatic tilt correction. When the dial 50 is rotated right or left about the center axis of the leg 46, the leg 46 is also rotated together with the dial 50 by the fitting of the key 51 and the key groove 49. As the leg 46 rotates, the screw portion 61 rotates relative to the screw member 64 on the motor 62 side, and the screw portion 61 of the leg 46 functions as a lead screw with respect to the screw member 64 of the motor 62, so that the leg 46 Moves up or down. The user of the imaging apparatus adjusts the protrusion amount of the leg 46 while rotating the dial 50 forward and backward so that the inclination becomes zero while looking at the inclination display portion.

  Since the tilt adjustment mechanism shown in FIGS. 10 to 12 can be performed automatically or manually, it is necessary to select the automatic adjustment mode or the manual adjustment mode. Further, when the inclination becomes zero, it is desirable to display this visually or by voice, or both. FIG. 9 shows an example of a display screen for selecting such an operation mode. For example, a mode selection screen 65 as shown in FIG. 9 is displayed on the LCD monitor by long pressing the display switch SW11 (see FIG. 2). In the example shown in FIG. 9, “OFF” without tilt display, “Display only” displayed only on the tilt display portion, “Display + Sound” combined with the display on the tilt display portion and the voice display, and only the voice display "Sound only", "Display + automatic correction" combined with tilt display and automatic tilt correction, "Sound + automatic correction" combined with voice tilt display and automatic tilt correction . These modes are displayed and one of them is selected. To select one of the displayed modes, the up and down buttons SW6 and SW10 shown in FIG. 2 are pressed. In the example shown in FIG. 9, the “display + automatic correction” mode is selected. When the mode is selected and the “OK: Confirm” button is pressed, the selected operation mode is set.

  According to the embodiment of the imaging apparatus according to the present invention described above, one of the legs for mounting the imaging apparatus on the horizontal surface can adjust the amount of protrusion from the bottom surface of the exterior cover 1. Therefore, even if the posture is tilted in the mounting mode of the imaging apparatus, it is possible to correct the display of the tilt display unit so that the tilt becomes zero by adjusting the protrusion amount of the leg.

  According to the above embodiment, the inclination correction can be performed manually or automatically by the control of the inclination correction motor 62. The tilt correction mechanism according to the embodiment includes a leg 46 that can adjust the amount of protrusion from the exterior cover 1, a dial 50 that can rotate integrally with the leg 46 in the rotation direction, and a tilt correction motor 62. Have. The screw portion 61 formed on the leg 46 and the screw member rotated by the motor 62 are engaged with each other. Therefore, when the dial 50 is rotated, the screw portion 61 functions as a lead screw and moves relative to the screw member 64 on the motor 62 side, and the leg 46 is moved back and forth from the exterior cover 1 to manually move the imaging device. Tilt correction can be performed. In the automatic correction mode, the inclination correction motor 62 is controlled to rotate based on the detection signal from the inclination detection means, and the screw member 64 on the motor 62 side rotates. The screw member 64 acts as a lead screw to move the screw portion 61 of the leg 46, and the leg 46 is moved forward and backward from the exterior cover 1 until the detection signal by the inclination detecting means becomes zero. Thus, both manual correction and automatic correction can be arbitrarily performed without performing a mechanical switching operation.

1 exterior cover 8 lens barrel unit 11 LCD monitor (display unit)
12 Tilt display image 46 Leg 47 Leg 50 Dial (operation part)
61 Screw part 64 Screw member 101 Image sensor 111 Acceleration sensor

JP 2009-65248 A

Claims (5)

Photographic optics,
An exterior cover to which the photographing optical system is attached;
An imaging device having a plurality of legs protruding from the exterior cover ,
The plurality of legs includes a first leg capable of adjusting a protruding amount from the outer cover and a second leg to which a protruding amount from the outer cover is fixed,
The adjustment mechanism for adjusting the protrusion amount of the first leg has an operation member that can be operated from the outside of the exterior cover,
By adjusting the first leg, the tilt when the imaging device is supported by the plurality of legs can be adjusted,
The ground surface of the second leg is longer shape der Ru imaging device in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the tilt.   The imaging device according to claim 1, wherein a display unit for displaying information is provided on one surface, and the operation unit is provided on a surface different from a surface on which the display unit is provided.   3. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a surface on which the photographing optical system is attached is a front surface, and the operation unit is provided on a surface intersecting the front surface. The imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the ground contact surface of the second leg has a shape that is long in a direction orthogonal to a roll direction of the imaging device. The said operation part is a dial member which can adjust the protrusion amount from the said exterior cover of the said leg by rotation operation, The said dial member is exposed from the exterior cover. The imaging device described.

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