JP5863054B2 - Imaging device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus, and more particularly to an imaging apparatus capable of detecting the inclination of the imaging apparatus and accurately displaying an inclination guide display corresponding to the inclination information on the screen of the image display apparatus.

In recent years, an imaging apparatus such as a digital camera has been reduced in size and weight, and can be easily carried and used in various places. Furthermore, the function of a digital camera is also incorporated in a mobile phone or the like. It became so.
An image pickup apparatus including such a digital camera is reduced in size and weight, and is held by a person. Therefore, the image pickup apparatus is not always photographed in a stable posture. In addition, the image tends to have a tilt that is difficult to notice.
On the other hand, as an image capturing method of the image pickup apparatus, there is a case where an image is shot with a composition that is intentionally tilted. Also, the imaging posture is not limited to the horizontally long so-called horizontal position, but may be a so-called vertical position composition that is vertically long.
In any case, the imaging device has a function for detecting the tilt of the main body of the device at the time of shooting and displaying the tilt angle on the monitor screen so that the photographer can recognize the tilt of the screen. Is desirable.
In Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-343476), when a still image is acquired, the inclination of the still image is detected, and information indicating the detected inclination is recorded on a recording medium together with the still image. Accordingly, there has been disclosed an imaging apparatus that corrects the inclination of a still image by post-processing and thereby correctly corrects the inclination of the imaging result by correctly reflecting the user's intention.

Further, Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-174156) has a shooting mode corresponding to a moving image or a still image, and is detected only when the still image shooting mode and tilt display are requested. There has been disclosed an imaging apparatus that generates an inclination guide display signal from inclination information, sends it to a display processing circuit, and displays an inclination guide display on a screen for displaying a captured image.
Further, in Patent Document 3 (Japanese Patent No. 3896505), the posture detection unit provided in the camera detects the posture of the camera and depends on the horizontal reference line of the camera itself on the screen of the image display unit and the posture of the camera. An image pickup apparatus is disclosed in which tilt information that changes in the same manner is displayed at the same time as a captured image, and the photographer can correct the tilt of the camera by referring to these displays.
In order to check the posture, a level that uses bubbles in a liquid, that is, a so-called level, can be installed using a hot shoe of an imaging apparatus including a digital camera.

However, in such an imaging apparatus, for example, in the case of the imaging apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-343476), the display screen displays a tilt using a bar-shaped display unit. The accuracy of detection is fixed, and there is a problem that even if the accuracy of tilt detection is increased, display according to the accuracy cannot be performed.
In addition, in the case of the imaging devices disclosed in Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-174156) and Patent Document 3 (Patent No. 3896505), the orientation of the imaging device is recognized by recognizing the inclination of the captured image or the composite image. Although it is configured to be recognized, it is convenient to grasp intuitively, but there is a problem that the magnitude of the tilt of the imaging device cannot be displayed with high accuracy.
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and its object is as follows.
Only when the inclination in the pitch direction of the imaging device is within a predetermined range, the user is to provide an imaging apparatus that can be grasped tilt information in the roll direction easily and accurately.
Another object of the present invention is to turn off the display of the roll angle when the inclination in the pitch direction is not less than a predetermined value and maintain the detection accuracy of the roll direction, so that the user can display the roll angle. It is an object of the present invention to provide an imaging apparatus capable of intuitively and accurately grasping that the reduction has occurred and thereby improving operability.

In order to achieve the above-described object, an imaging apparatus according to the present invention described in claim 1
In an imaging apparatus having detection means for detecting the inclination in the roll direction and the inclination in the pitch direction,
Display means for displaying an image captured by the imaging device;
An inclination guide display of a roll angle corresponding to the roll direction inclination of the imaging device according to the detection result of the detection means and a pitch angle corresponding to the pitch direction inclination of the imaging device according to the detection result of the detection means. Display processing means for displaying an inclination guide display on the display means ;
The display processing means displays the roll angle inclination guide display on the display means only when the inclination in the pitch direction of the imaging device is within a predetermined range.
An imaging apparatus according to the present invention described in claim 2 comprises:
In an imaging apparatus having detection means for detecting the inclination in the roll direction and the inclination in the pitch direction,
Display means for displaying an image captured by the imaging device;
Pitch angle corresponding to come pitch direction tilting of the detection result the imaging device in accordance with the incline guide and the detection means of the roll angle corresponding to roll-direction tilt of the imaging device in accordance with the detection result of said detecting means of the incline guide has a display processing means for displaying on said display means,
The tilt guide display of the roll angle is turned off when the tilt in the pitch direction of the imaging device exceeds a predetermined magnitude.

An imaging apparatus according to a third aspect of the present invention is the imaging apparatus according to the first or second aspect,
The display processing means displays the tilt guide display in a different display range in accordance with the roll angle and / or pitch angle.
An imaging apparatus according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the imaging apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects,
The tilt guide display includes a strip-shaped display scale and a marker whose display position moves in accordance with the tilt angle along the display scale, and the display processing means performs horizontal and / or vertical directions on the display screen. It is characterized in that it is displayed in a horizontal state and / or a vertical state along the edge side of the .

An imaging device according to the present invention described in claim 5 is the imaging device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
If the roll angle and / or pitch angle is within a predetermined small range and the imaging device is determined to be substantially horizontal, the display scale can be expanded to enable accurate angle reading. It is characterized by that.
An imaging device according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is the imaging device according to any one of the first to fifth aspects,
When the roll angle and / or the pitch angle are within a predetermined small range and the image pickup apparatus is determined to be substantially horizontal, the display change speed of the tilt guide display is changed slowly.
An imaging device according to a seventh aspect of the present invention is the imaging device according to any one of the first to sixth aspects,
When the roll angle and / or pitch angle is in the range of around 0 degree and / or around 90 degree, the number of samplings of the detection data of the detecting means is increased to perform highly accurate angle display. .

The imaging device according to the present invention described in claim 8 is the imaging device according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
The detection means is an acceleration sensor.

The imaging device according to the present invention described in claim 9 is the imaging device according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
Said display processing means, the imaging device determines whether the stance on whether the vertical position is poised lateral position based on the detection data obtained by the detecting means, wherein based on the information obtained in the previous SL detecting means The image forming apparatus includes a means for changing a display position of the tilt guide display of the roll angle and the pitch angle depending on whether the image pickup apparatus is held in a horizontal position or a vertical position.
An imaging device according to a tenth aspect of the present invention is the imaging device according to any one of the first to ninth aspects,
The display processing means includes means for displaying the roll angle and pitch angle inclination guide displays in different colors.
An imaging device according to the present invention described in claim 11 is the imaging device according to any one of claims 1 to 10,
The display processing means includes means for displaying the roll angle and pitch angle tilt guide displays in different shapes.

An imaging device according to a twelfth aspect of the present invention is the imaging device according to any one of the first to eleventh aspects,
The display processing means includes means for hiding at least one of the roll angle and pitch angle tilt guide displays as desired.
An imaging device according to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention is the imaging device according to any one of the first to twelfth aspects,
The detection means is one of a biaxial acceleration sensor and a triaxial acceleration sensor.

An imaging device according to the present invention described in claim 14 is the imaging device according to claim 1,
The display processing means includes means for changing the tilt guide display of the roll angle to a display form including a warning when the pitch angle becomes a predetermined value or more.
An imaging apparatus according to the present invention described in claim 15 is the imaging apparatus according to claim 1,
The display processing means includes means for hiding at least a part of the roll angle tilt guide display when the pitch angle is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.
The imaging device according to the present invention described in claim 16 is the imaging device according to any one of claims 13 to 15,
The display processing means includes means for controlling to change a display form of the roll angle inclination guide display when the pitch angle is within a range of about ± 90 degrees.

The imaging device according to the present invention described in claim 17 is the imaging device according to any one of claims 13 to 16,
Wherein when changing the display form of the incline guide, a means for changing the control of said detecting means is characterized in containing Mukoto by the display processing unit.

An imaging device according to the present invention described in claim 18 is the imaging device according to claim 17,
The means for changing the control of the detecting means is characterized in that when the display form of the tilt guide display is changed by the display processing means, the number of inclination samplings in the detecting means is reduced.
An imaging device according to the present invention described in claim 19 is the imaging device according to claim 2,
When the tilt in the pitch direction of the imaging device is equal to or greater than a predetermined range, at least a part of the roll angle tilt guide display is erased.

According to the imaging device of claim 1 of the present invention,
In an imaging apparatus having detection means for detecting the inclination in the roll direction and the inclination in the pitch direction,
Display means for displaying an image captured by the imaging device;
An inclination guide display of a roll angle corresponding to the roll direction inclination of the imaging device according to the detection result of the detection means and a pitch angle corresponding to the pitch direction inclination of the imaging device according to the detection result of the detection means. Display processing means for displaying an inclination guide display on the display means ;
The display processing means displays the roll angle inclination guide display on the display means only when the inclination in the pitch direction of the imaging device is within a predetermined range,
Only when the pitch angle is within a predetermined range, the roll angle is displayed so that the user can easily and accurately grasp the roll angle, thereby improving the operability.

According to the imaging device of claim 2 of the present invention,
In an imaging apparatus having detection means for detecting the inclination in the roll direction and the inclination in the pitch direction,
Display means for displaying an image captured by the imaging device;
An inclination guide display of a roll angle corresponding to the roll direction inclination of the imaging device according to the detection result of the detection means and a pitch angle corresponding to the pitch direction inclination of the imaging device according to the detection result of the detection means. Display processing means for displaying an inclination guide display on the display means ;
When the tilt in the pitch direction of the imaging device exceeds a predetermined size, by turning off the roll angle tilt guide display,
Only when the pitch angle is within a predetermined range, the user can easily and accurately grasp the roll angle. On the other hand, when the pitch angle exceeds a predetermined value and the required accuracy of the roll angle cannot be maintained. By turning off the display, the user can surely grasp it, thereby improving the operability.

According to the imaging device of claim 3 of the present invention, in the imaging device of claim 1 or claim 2,
The display processing means displays the tilt guide display in a different display range in accordance with the roll angle and / or the pitch angle .
The roll angle and / or pitch angle can be grasped more clearly and accurately by the tilt guide display.

According to the imaging device of claim 4 of the present invention, in the imaging device of any one of claims 1 to 3,
The tilt guide display includes a strip-shaped display scale and a marker whose display position moves in accordance with the tilt angle along the display scale, and the display processing means performs horizontal and / or vertical directions on the display screen. By displaying as a horizontal and / or vertical state along the edges of
The roll angle and / or the pitch angle can be intuitively and easily grasped by a band-shaped display scale and a marker whose display position moves according to the tilt angle.
According to the imaging device of claim 5 of the present invention, in the imaging device of claim 4,
If the roll angle and / or pitch angle is within a predetermined small range and the imaging device is determined to be substantially horizontal, the display scale can be expanded to enable accurate angle reading. By
In the case where it is necessary to maintain the most horizontal position, the user can accurately check the level on the enlarged display scale.

According to the imaging device of claim 6 of the present invention, in the imaging device of any one of claims 1 to 5,
When the roll angle and / or the pitch angle is within a predetermined small range and the imaging device is determined to be substantially horizontal, by changing the display change speed of the tilt guide display slowly,
When the imaging device is tilted more than a predetermined amount, the response speed can be increased to increase the response, whereas when close to the horizontal state, the response speed is decreased to make it easier for the user to adjust the level. be able to.
According to the imaging device of claim 7 of the present invention, in the imaging device of any one of claims 1 to 6,
When the roll angle and / or pitch angle is in the range of around 0 degree and / or around 90 degree, by increasing the sampling number of detection data of the detection means and performing highly accurate angle display,
When the imaging device is near horizontal or near vertical, the accuracy is improved. When the imaging device is tilted more than a predetermined amount, the average number of processing is reduced by reducing the number of samplings and quickly grasping the approximate inclination. It becomes possible.

According to the imaging device of claim 8 of the present invention, in the imaging device of any one of claims 1 to 7,
The detection means is an acceleration sensor,
The inclination angle can be detected with high responsiveness and accuracy with respect to the inclination of the imaging apparatus.

According to the imaging device of claim 9 of the present invention, in the imaging device of any one of claims 1 to 8,
Said display processing means, the imaging device determines whether the stance on whether the vertical position is poised lateral position based on the detection data obtained by the detecting means, wherein based on the information obtained in the previous SL detecting means By including means for differentiating the display position of the roll angle and pitch angle tilt guide display between the case where the image pickup apparatus is held in the horizontal position and the case where the image pickup apparatus is held in the vertical position,
Even when the photographing apparatus is held in the vertical position instead of the normal horizontal position, the photographer can accurately grasp the inclination of the photographing apparatus in the roll direction and the pitch direction.
According to the imaging device of claim 10 of the present invention, in the imaging device of any one of claims 1 to 9,
The display processing means includes means for displaying the roll guide angle and pitch angle inclination guide displays in different colors, respectively.
The photographer can easily grasp the inclination of the photographing apparatus in the roll direction and the pitch direction.

According to the imaging device of claim 11 of the present invention, in the imaging device of any one of claims 1 to 10,
The display processing means includes means for displaying the roll angle and pitch angle inclination guide displays in different shapes, respectively.
The photographer can easily and accurately grasp the inclination of the photographing apparatus in the roll direction and the pitch direction.
According to the imaging device of claim 12 of the present invention, in the imaging device of any one of claims 1 to 11,
The display processing means includes means for hiding at least one of the roll angle and pitch angle inclination guide displays as desired.
The photographer can easily and reliably grasp the inclination in the required direction of the roll direction and the pitch direction of the photographing apparatus.
According to the imaging device of claim 13 of the present invention, in the imaging device of any one of claims 1 to 12,
The detection means is one of a biaxial acceleration sensor and a triaxial acceleration sensor,
The tilt angle can be detected with high responsiveness and accuracy with respect to the tilt in any direction of the imaging apparatus.

According to the imaging device of claim 14 of the present invention, in the imaging device of claim 1,
The display processing means includes means for changing the roll angle inclination guide display to a display form including a warning when the pitch angle is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.
When the pitch angle is out of the range that can maintain the accuracy of tilt detection, it can be surely grasped by the tilt guide display and used within the pitch angle range that can easily maintain the tilt detection accuracy. It becomes possible.
The warning display makes it possible to use within the range of the pitch angle that can more easily maintain the accuracy of inclination detection.
According to the imaging device of claim 15 of the present invention, in the imaging device of claim 1,
The display processing means includes means for hiding at least a part of the roll angle inclination guide display when the pitch angle is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.
Use within the range of the pitch angle that can be reliably grasped by the presence or absence of the tilt guide display, and can easily maintain the accuracy of tilt detection, that the pitch angle range that can maintain the tilt detection accuracy is not Is possible.
According to the imaging device of claim 16 of the present invention, in the imaging device of any one of claims 13 to 15,
The display processing means includes means for controlling to change the display form of the tilt guide display of the roll angle when the pitch angle is within a range of about ± 90 degrees.
If the pitch angle range cannot maintain the accuracy of tilt detection, it can be surely grasped by the tilt guide display, and within the pitch angle range that can maintain the tilt detection accuracy easily and reliably. Can be used.

According to the imaging device of claim 17 of the present invention, in the imaging device of any one of claims 14 to 16,
When changing the display form of the tilt guide displayed by the display processing means, the means for changing the control of said detecting means by including Mukoto,
When the temperature is in a range where the tilt detection accuracy cannot be maintained, it can be reliably grasped by the tilt guide display and used within the temperature range where the tilt detection accuracy can be maintained easily and reliably. It becomes possible to do.

According to the imaging device of claim 18 of the present invention, in the imaging device of claim 17,
The means for changing the control of the detection means reduces the number of inclination samplings in the detection means when the display processing means changes the display form of the inclination guide display,
When the accuracy of tilt detection is reduced, the processing related to tilt guide display can be simplified and used within a range where the accuracy of tilt detection can be efficiently maintained.
According to the imaging device of claim 19 of the present invention, in the imaging device of claim 2,
When the tilt in the pitch direction of the imaging device is equal to or greater than a predetermined range, by turning off at least a part of the roll angle tilt guide display ,
Only when the pitch angle is within a predetermined range, the user can easily and accurately grasp the roll angle. On the other hand, when the pitch angle exceeds a predetermined value and the required accuracy of the roll angle cannot be maintained. The user can surely grasp it, thereby improving the operability.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The external appearance of the digital camera as an imaging device which concerns on embodiment of this invention is shown, (a) is a front view, (b) is a rear view, (c) is a top view. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing a system configuration of an imaging apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the change of the display form of a monitor display when the imaging device which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention returns to the 0 degree vicinity from the state with an inclination. It is a figure which shows the change of the display form of a monitor display when the imaging device which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention inclines from the state with an inclination to near 90 degree | times. It is a figure which shows the change of the display form of a monitor display when the imaging device which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention reaches near 90 degree | times from the state which inclined. It is a figure which shows the display form of the inclination guide display of the monitor display in the imaging device which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the display form of the pitch angle of the inclination guide display of the monitor display in the imaging device which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the display form of the pitch angle of the inclination guide display of the monitor display in the imaging device which concerns on the 4th Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the display form of the inclination guide display of a monitor display at the time of inclining until it becomes a big pitch angle in the imaging device which concerns on the 4th Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the inclination guide display of both the roll angle of a monitor display, and a pitch angle in the imaging device which concerns on the 8th Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the example of the inclination guide display of both the roll angle of a monitor display, and a pitch angle in the imaging device which concerns on the 9th Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the other example of the inclination guide display of both the roll angle of a monitor display, and a pitch angle in the imaging device which concerns on the 9th Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the display form of the inclination guide display of both the roll angle of a monitor display, and a pitch angle in the imaging device which concerns on the 9th Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the display form of the inclination guide display of both the roll angle of a monitor display, and a pitch angle in the imaging device which concerns on the 10th Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the display form of the inclination guide display of a monitor display in the case of a horizontal position in the imaging device which concerns on the 11th Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the display form of the inclination guide display of a monitor display in the case of a horizontal position in the imaging device which concerns on the 11th Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the display form of the inclination guide display of a monitor display in the case of a horizontal position in the imaging device which concerns on the 11th Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the display form of the inclination guide display of a monitor display in the case of the vertical position in the imaging device which concerns on the 11th Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the display form of the inclination guide display of a monitor display in the case of the vertical position in the imaging device which concerns on the 11th Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the display form of the inclination guide display of a monitor display in the case of the vertical position in the imaging device which concerns on the 11th Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the display form of the inclination guide display of the monitor display in the imaging device which concerns on the 13th Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart for demonstrating control of the display form of the inclination guide display of the monitor display in the imaging device which concerns on the 13th Embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, based on an embodiment, an imaging device of the present invention is explained in detail with reference to drawings.
FIG. 1 shows the appearance of an image pickup apparatus configured as a digital camera according to an embodiment of the present invention, where (a) is a front view, (b) is a rear view, and (c) is a plan view. FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing a system configuration inside the imaging apparatus.
As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1C, a release switch (shutter release button) SW1, a mode dial switch SW2, and a first jog dial switch SW3 are disposed on the upper surface of the imaging apparatus. In addition, a strobe light emitting unit 1, a distance measuring unit 2, an optical finder 3, and a lens barrel unit 4 are provided on the front side of the imaging apparatus. The lens barrel unit 4 includes a photographing lens.
As shown in FIG. 1B, on the rear surface of the image pickup apparatus, an LCD monitor 5, a second jog dial switch SW4, a zoom switch [TELE] SW5, a zoom switch [WIDE] SW6, and an upper switch SW7. , Right switch SW8, OK switch SW9, left switch SW10, down / macro switch SW11, display switch SW12, delete switch SW13, menu switch SW14 and power switch SW15. A battery cover 6 is provided on the side surface of the imaging device.

Each of the switches SW1 to SW15 is a switch operated by the user and constitutes an operation key unit. Note that the appearance of the digital camera as the imaging apparatus according to the present invention is not necessarily limited to the appearance shown in FIG. 1, and may have an appearance different from that shown in FIG.
Since the functions and operations of the respective parts of the digital camera as the image pickup apparatus are known, detailed description thereof will be omitted, and the system configuration inside the image pickup apparatus will be described based on FIG. 2 with reference to FIG. .
In FIG. 2, a solid-state imaging device (CCD) 101 is an imaging device configured using, for example, a CCD (charge coupled device) or a CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) for photoelectrically converting an optical image. . A front-end IC (F / E-IC) 102 as an imaging processing unit includes a correlated double sampling unit (CDS) 1021 that performs correlated double sampling for image noise removal, and a gain control unit (AGC) that performs gain adjustment. ) 1022, 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. . Here, the vertical synchronization signal VD and the horizontal synchronization signal HD are supplied from the first CCD signal processing block 1041 to the TG 1024, and the drive timing for the CCD 101 and the F / E-IC 102 is determined by a signal output from the CPU block 1043. Output a signal.

  The digital still camera processor 104 (hereinafter referred to as “processor 104”) performs white balance setting and gamma setting on the output image data from the CCD 101 via the F / E-IC 102, and sends it to the TG 1024 of the F / E-IC 102. The first CCD signal processing block 1041 that supplies the vertical synchronization signal VD and the horizontal synchronization signal HD, the second CCD signal processing block 1042 that converts image data into luminance data and color difference data by filtering, and the operation of each part of the apparatus. Central processing unit (CPU) block 1043 to control, local SRAM (static random access memory) 1044 for temporarily storing data necessary for control, USB communication with external devices such as PC (personal computer) To do SB block 1045, serial block 1046 for serial communication with an external device such as a PC, JPEG codec (JPEG-CODEC) block 1047 for JPEG compression / decompression, and enlargement / reduction of image data size by interpolation processing A resizing block 1048 for image data, and a TV signal display block 1049 for converting image data into a video signal for display on an external display device such as a liquid crystal (LCD) monitor 5 or a TV (television) receiver. A memory card controller block 10410 for controlling the memory card for recording the recorded image data. Each of these blocks is connected to each other via a bus line.

Further, outside the processor 104, RAW-RGB image data (RGB image data in a state in which white balance adjustment and γ adjustment have just been performed), YUV image data (in which luminance data / color difference data conversion has been performed). SDRAM (synchronous dynamic random access memory) 103 for storing image data) and JPEG image data (image data in a JPEG compressed state) is arranged. This SDRAM 103 is connected to a processor 104 by a memory controller (not shown), a bus Connected via line.
The SDRAM 103 temporarily stores image data when the processor 104 performs various processes on the image data. The stored image data is, for example, RAW-RGB image data captured from the CCD 101 via the F / E-IC 102 and subjected to white balance adjustment and gamma adjustment in the first CCD signal processing block 1041. YUV image data that has been subjected to luminance data / color difference data conversion in the second CCD signal processing block 1042, JPEG image data that has been JPEG compressed in the JPEG / CODEC block 1047, and the like.
In addition to the processor 104, an internal memory such as a RAM (an internal memory for storing captured image data even when no memory card is inserted in the memory card slot) 107, a control program, parameters, and the like are stored. A ROM (not shown) is provided, and these are also connected to the processor 104 by a bus line.

When the power switch SW15 of the digital camera is turned on, the control program stored in the ROM is loaded into the main memory (not shown) of the processor 104. The processor 104 controls the operation of each unit according to the control program and controls data. In addition, parameters and the like are temporarily stored in the built-in memory 107 or the like.
The lens barrel unit 4 includes a zoom optical system 41 having a zoom lens 41a for capturing an optical image of a subject, a focus optical system 42 having a focus lens 42a, a diaphragm unit 43 having a diaphragm 43a, and a mechanical shutter unit 44 having a mechanical shutter 44a. A lens barrel is provided. Note that the zoom lens 41a, the focus lens 42a, and the aperture 43a 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 41, the focus optical system 42, the aperture unit 43, and the mechanical shutter unit 44 are driven by a zoom motor 41b, a focus motor 42b, an aperture motor 43b, and a mechanical shutter motor 44b, respectively.

The motors 41 b to 44 b of the lens barrel unit 4 are driven by a motor driver 45, and the motor driver 45 is controlled by the CPU block 1043 of the processor 104.
A subject optical image is formed on the light receiving surface of a CCD 101 that is a solid-state imaging device that photoelectrically converts an optical image obtained by each lens system of the lens barrel unit 4, and the CCD 101 converts the subject optical image into an electrical image. It converts into information and outputs an image signal to F / E-IC102.
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 supplies the vertical synchronization signal VD and the horizontal synchronization signal HD from the first CCD signal processing block 1041 in order to perform white balance adjustment and gamma adjustment on the output data obtained from the CCD 101 via the F / E-IC 102. Then, the second CCD signal processing block 1042 performs conversion into luminance data / 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 control in the local SRAM 1044. The processor 104 calculates data indicating the tilt of the imaging device based on the angle data sent from the acceleration sensor 111 and displays the tilt information on the liquid crystal display (LCD) monitor 5 via the LCD driver 108 ( 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 1. In addition to this, the CPU block 1043 also controls the distance measuring unit 2.
The CPU block 1043 is connected to the sub CPU 112 of the processor 104, and the sub CPU 112 is connected to an operation key unit including operation switches SW1 to SW15. This operation key unit (SW1-SW15) is an operation part which consists of the key switch group which a user operates. Further, the sub CPU 112 is a CPU in which ROM / RAM is built in one chip, and outputs output signals such as operation key units (SW1 to SW15) 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), and the serial block 1046 is a serial communication connector such as an RS-232C connector from a serial driver circuit (not shown). It is connected to an external device via a serial communication. The TV signal display block 1049 is connected to the LCD monitor 5 via the LCD driver 108 and is also connected to a video amplifier (video AMP) [an amplifier for converting the video signal output from the TV signal display block 1049 to 75Ω impedance ( (Amplifier to amplifier)] 109 is connected to a video jack 110 (jack for connecting the camera to an external display device such as a TV) 110. The memory card controller block 10410 is connected to a card contact of a memory card slot (not shown). I2C (Inter Integrated Circuit~I ² C) block 10411 is connected to the acceleration sensor 111 as the tilt detection means.
The LCD driver 108 is a drive circuit that drives the LCD monitor 5 and converts the video signal output from the TV signal display block 1049 into a signal to be displayed on the LCD monitor 5. The LCD monitor 5 is a display device for monitoring, and is intended to monitor the state of a subject before photographing, to confirm a photographed image, and to display an inclination of an imaging device described later, and is a memory card or a built-in device. It is used to display image data recorded in the memory 107 and tilt information of the imaging device.

The video AMP 109 is an amplifier for converting 75 Ω impedance of the video signal output from the TV signal display block 1049, and the video jack 110 is a connection jack for connecting to an external display device such as a TV receiver.
The sub CPU 112 is a CPU in which a ROM / RAM is built in one chip, and outputs output signals such as the above-described operation key units (SW1 to SW15) to the above-described CPU block 1043 as user operation information. The built-in memory 107 is a memory for enabling the captured image data to be stored.
The acceleration sensor 111 serving as an inclination detecting unit is mounted on a printed circuit board (PCB) that constitutes each of the above-described units, and detects the biaxial X and Y data (X, Y) and the temperature T data to detect the processor. The data is sent to the I2C block 10411 of 104. Based on the data given 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, for example, the CPU block 1043 (tilt calculation means). A display image corresponding to the size of the display scale is selected (display processing means), and an image obtained by synthesizing the image of the marker M as a mark at the position indicating the roll angle on the display image is displayed on the LCD monitor 5. Etc. (image display device).

When X0 and Y0 are output data at zero gravity of each of the data (X, Y) of the two axes X and Y, 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)
Similarly, another acceleration sensor 111 installed so as to detect the inclination of the imaging device in the pitching direction detects a pitch angle to be displayed, and sends the data to the processor 104. Based on the data sent from the acceleration sensor 111, the processor 104 calculates the tilt (pitch angle) of the imaging device to be displayed, for example, by the CPU block 1043 (tilt angle calculation means), and shoots on a part of the LCD monitor 5. It can be displayed superimposed on the image (However, this function is optional and can be omitted. However, when this function is provided, only the roll angle, only the pitch angle, or both the roll angle and the pitch angle can be provided. , It is preferable to provide a selection button for instructing the user to select to display.
When displaying the roll angle and / or pitch angle on the LCD monitor 5, the processor 104 determines the calculated roll angle and / or pitch angle and displays the angle according to the angle. Change the display scale range. To this display scale, a display of a marker M, which is a pseudo bubble image like a bubble in a level using a liquid, that is, a so-called level, is added, and the scale on which the marker M is located is seen. This angle is recognized. Therefore, the processor 104 synthesizes an image of the marker M indicating the angle on the display scale for which the range has been selected, and displays it on the LCD monitor 5. The angle is recorded in the built-in memory 107 or the like.

The processor 104 determines that the roll angle (not directly indicating the tilt of the imaging device) obtained by the expression (1) is in the state as shown in FIG. 3A, that is, the imaging device is horizontal. On the other hand, when it is in the range of 0 ° ± 5 ° to ± 60 °, the display scale B1 indicating the roll angle is oriented horizontally with respect to the display screen of the LCD monitor 5 (the direction along the longitudinal direction of the display screen of the imaging device). It can comprise so that it may display on the said screen in a state. On the other hand, when the roll angle in the left-right direction with respect to the horizontal of the image pickup device is within a predetermined small range, for example, 0 ° ± 5 ° and near the horizontal, the roll angle can be accurately measured as shown in FIG. The range of the display scale B2 is automatically expanded as shown in FIG. Further, as shown in FIG. 4B, when the roll angle exceeds ± 60 degrees, the screen display can be switched to the vertically oriented state (vertical position).
Furthermore, when the roll angle is in the region of 90 ° ± 5 ° (near the vertical), the imaging device enlarges the display scale B2 and increases the accuracy. In general, when the imaging device is greatly tilted from the horizontal to the left and right, the user can recognize that the imaging device is tilted by the display scale B1 with little visual observation. However, when the imaging apparatus is in a horizontal state that is considered to be a photographing posture, it is desired to strictly check whether the imaging apparatus is correctly leveled. Therefore, the imaging apparatus according to this embodiment Then, as described above, when the roll angle is in the vicinity of the horizontal (0 ° ± 5 °), the range of the display scale B2 can be expanded, so that the position of the marker M can be read with high accuracy. It is possible to accurately respond to such user requests.

The vertical vicinity is not necessarily limited to 0 ° ± 5 °, and may be, for example, 0 ° ± 4 to 7 °.
Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the processor 104 is configured to always display only one display scale, and displays the scale interval (scale) of the display scale B3 at equal intervals, that is, linearly. If the roll angle is near horizontal (the center when the marker M is near the center), the portion is displayed in a fine range, and if the roll angle is not near horizontal, for example, 0 ° ± 5 ° to 60 ° ± 5 In the case of the degree, it may be configured to perform non-linear display such that the portion where the marker M is located is displayed in a rough range.
As a result, the roll angle can be displayed with high accuracy at a timing where only one display scale is used and accuracy is required without switching the display scale B3 itself. For example, the scale interval of the display scale can be arbitrarily changed non-linearly by making the roll angle ± 1 degree or more logarithmically or by making it a power display.

  In addition, the display processing means included in a part of the processor 104 includes the above-described roll angle display method in a state where the roll angle is almost horizontal (0 ° ± 5 °) and a normal state where the roll angle is not nearly horizontal ( In the case of 0 degree ± 5 degrees to 0 degree ± 60 degrees), the sampling number and the average processing number of the acceleration sensor 111 can be changed. That is, in the case of a normal state that is not nearly horizontal, control is performed so that the sampling number / average processing number of the roll angle in the acceleration sensor 111 is reduced so that the approximate inclination of the imaging device can be displayed instantaneously. It is also possible to cope with a case where the inclination of the imaging device is changed abruptly. On the other hand, in the case of being close to the horizontal state (0 ° ± 5 °), the display processing means controls the tilt angle by controlling the acceleration sensor 111 so that the number of samplings and the average processing number of the acceleration sensor 111 are increased. The value can be configured to be displayed with high accuracy. Further, the moving speed of the marker M that moves along the display scale can be changed between the normal state and the horizontal state. That is, priority can be given to speeding up the response by increasing the response speed in the normal state, and priority can be given to making it easier for the user to align the imaging device horizontally by slowing the response speed in the horizontal state.

When the pitch angle (so-called forward / backward tilt angle) falls within the range of 0 ° ± 5 ° to 0 ° ± 60 °, the processor 104 has a pitch angle having a wide range as shown in FIG. The display scale B4 can be configured to be displayed on the screen in a vertically oriented state with respect to the display screen of the LCD monitor 5.
Further, the range of the display scale B4 can accurately measure the inclination of the imaging device when the pitch angle approaches 0 degree (0 degree ± 5 degrees) and near the vertical direction (90 degrees ± 5 degrees). In other words, as shown in the display scale B5 shown in FIG. 7, the range can be automatically expanded to enable high-precision reading.
Further, the processor 104 (display processing means), in the pitch angle display method described above, has a case where the pitch angle is close to vertical (90 degrees ± 5 degrees) and a normal state where the pitch angle is not close to vertical (0 degrees ± 5). The degree of sampling and the average number of processes of the acceleration sensor 111 can be changed depending on the case of 0 degree ± 30 degrees from the degree. In other words, in the normal state (0 ° ± 5 ° to 0 ° ± 30 °) that is not nearly vertical, the number and average of the pitch angle sampling in the acceleration sensor 111 so that the general inclination of the imaging device can be displayed instantaneously. Control is performed so that the number of processes is reduced, so that it is possible to cope with a case where the inclination of the imaging apparatus is suddenly changed.

On the other hand, in the case of being close to vertical (near vertical) (90 ° ± 5 °), the processor 104 performs control so that the number of samplings and the average number of processing of the acceleration sensor 111 at the pitch angle in the acceleration sensor 111 are increased. Thus, the tilt value can be displayed with high accuracy. Further, the moving speed of the marker M moving along the display scale can be changed between a normal state (a state deviating from the vicinity of the horizontal) and a state close to the horizontal. That is, priority can be given to speeding up the response by increasing the response speed in the normal state, and priority can be given to making it easier for the user to align the imaging device horizontally by slowing the response speed in the horizontal state.
Hereinafter, the processing of the processor 104 that functions as a display processing unit when displaying both the roll angle and the pitch angle in combination will be described.
When the roll angle is 0 ° ± 60 ° or less, the processor 104 displays the roll angle with the display scale B1 and the marker M that are in the horizontal direction with respect to the display screen of the LCD monitor 5, and the pitch angle is As shown in FIG. 10, it can be configured to display with the display scale B5 and the marker M in the vertically oriented state. When the roll angle exceeds 0 ° ± 60 ° (not shown), the roll angle display is switched to the vertical display scale and the pitch angle display is switched to the horizontal display scale. Can be configured.

Further, the processor 104 can be configured so that the display scale for displaying a wide display range and the display scale for displaying a narrow display range are differently colored. For example, when the roll angle and / or pitch angle increases from 0 ° ± 5 ° to 0 ° ± 60 °, the color of the display scale is changed. In addition, the color of the display scale is changed when the roll angle and / or the pitch angle is increased from 90 ° ± 5 ° to 90 ° ± 30 °. In addition, as a change form of this coloring, it is possible to switch from a black display scale to a red display scale, for example.
In addition, a selection button (not shown) is provided on the operation surface of the imaging apparatus to instruct the user to select only the roll angle, the pitch angle, or both the roll angle and the pitch angle to be displayed as a tilt guide. It can be configured.
3 to 10 are explanatory diagrams illustrating a display method for displaying the tilt in the imaging apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 3 to 9, specific display methods for displaying the tilt in the imaging devices according to the first to eighth embodiments will be described.
The processing in each embodiment described below is mainly performed by the acceleration sensor 111, the processor 104, the LCD monitor 5, and the like.

[First Embodiment]
In the first embodiment, when the roll angle obtained by the above-described equation (1) is in the range of 0 ° ± 5 ° to ± 60 ° (in general, the longitudinal direction of the screen is substantially horizontal). 3), the display scale B1 indicating the roll angle is displayed, and the display screen of the LCD monitor 5 is in a horizontal state (longitudinal direction of the imaging device). It is configured to display at a position near the lower end of the screen. The range of the display scale B1 is automatically expanded so that the roll angle can be accurately measured when the roll angle reaches an area close to the horizontal level of 0 ° ± 5 °, that is, the horizontal vicinity area. Let (The scale of the display scale B2 shown in FIG. 3 (b) is larger than the range of the display scale B1 shown in FIG. 3 (a) and the accuracy is higher). Further, as shown in FIG. 4B, when the roll angle exceeds ± 60 degrees (generally, the longitudinal direction of the screen is considered to be a substantially vertical position), the display is automatically performed like the display scale B1. Switch to portrait orientation. Further, as shown in FIG. 5A, when the roll angle falls within the range of 90 ° ± 5 ° to 90 ° ± 30 °, the display scale B1 of the reduced range is displayed, and FIG. As shown in b), when the roll angle is 90 ° ± 5 °, which is close to the vertical, the display scale B2 is enlarged so that the angle can be obtained with high accuracy.

[Second Embodiment]
In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, only one display scale B3 is displayed as a display scale, and the scale interval (scale) of the display scale B3 is not displayed at linear equal intervals. In addition, the scale of the area where the roll angle is almost horizontal is displayed in a fine range, and the scale scale of the area where the roll angle is not horizontal (roll angle is 0 ° ± 30 °) is displayed in a coarse range. It is configured. With this configuration, it is possible to rationally display the roll angle without switching the display scale itself. As a display method, for example, the scale interval of the display scale B3 can be arbitrarily changed by a method of logarithmically displaying a roll angle of ± 1 ° or later or a power display.

[Third Embodiment]
In the third embodiment, the display method of the roll angle or pitch angle is the same as the display method shown in the first and second embodiments, but the processor 104 has a horizontal roll angle or pitch angle. The number of samples and the average number of processes of the acceleration sensor 111 are changed depending on whether it is close to 0 (± 5 degrees) or not (0 ± 5 degrees to 0 ± 60 degrees). It is comprised as follows. That is, in the case of a normal state that is not horizontal, the acceleration sensor 111 is configured so that the number of samplings and average processing of the roll angle or pitch angle is reduced so that the general inclination of the imaging device can be displayed instantaneously. On the other hand, when the roll angle or pitch angle is close to the horizontal state, the processor 104 is configured to increase the sampling number and average processing number of the acceleration sensor 111 of the roll angle in the acceleration sensor 111 to increase the inclination value. To be able to display with accuracy. In this embodiment, the moving speed of the marker M that moves along the display scale (B1, B2) can be changed between the normal state and the horizontal state. In the normal state, the response speed can be increased so that a quick response can be made. In the horizontal state, the response speed is slow, but the user can easily align the imaging device horizontally.

[Fourth Embodiment]
In the fourth embodiment, when the pitch angle falls within the range of 0 ° ± 5 ° to 0 ° ± 60 °, as shown in FIG. 9, the pitch angle has a wide range (coarse range). The display scale B4 is displayed on the screen in a vertical orientation with respect to the display screen of the LCD monitor 5.
The display scale B4 has a display scale shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 so that the tilt of the image pickup apparatus can be measured with high accuracy as the pitch angle approaches 0. ± .5.degree. As in B5, the range is automatically enlarged and displayed.

[Fifth Embodiment]
In the fifth embodiment, the display method of the pitch angle is the same as the display method shown in the fourth embodiment, but the processor 104 is in a state where the pitch angle is nearly vertical (90 degrees ± 5 degrees). ) And non-vertical state (90 ° ± 5 ° to 90 ° ± 60 °) are different in that the number of samplings and the average number of processes of the acceleration sensor 111 are changed. That is, in the case of the normal state, the configuration is made such that the number of samplings and the number of average processing of the pitch angle in the acceleration sensor 111 are reduced so that the approximate inclination of the imaging device can be instantaneously displayed, while the pitch angle is horizontal. When the state is close to the state, the processor 104 is configured to increase the number of samplings and the average processing number of the acceleration sensor 111 so that the inclination value can be displayed with high accuracy. In this embodiment, the moving speed of the marker M for moving the display scale (B1, B2) is changed between the normal state and the horizontal state. With this configuration, the response speed can be increased in the normal state so that the response can be quickly performed. In the horizontal state, the response speed is decreased, and the user can easily align the imaging device horizontally.

[Sixth Embodiment]
Hereinafter, a sixth embodiment in which the roll angle and the pitch angle are combined will be described with reference to FIG.
In the sixth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10, when the roll angle is 0 ° ± 5 ° or less, the roll angle is displayed on the display scale B 2 in the horizontal state with respect to the display screen of the LCD monitor 5. The pitch angle is displayed on the display scale B5 in the vertical orientation. When the roll angle exceeds 0 ° ± 60 °, although not shown, the roll angle display is switched to the vertical display scale and the pitch angle display is switched to the horizontal display scale.

[Seventh Embodiment]
In the seventh embodiment, the coloring is different between a display scale that displays a wide display range and a display scale that displays a narrow display range. For example, when the roll angle and / or the pitch angle is 0 degree ± 5 degrees, the display scale is changed from the black display to the 0 degree ± 60 degrees state when the inclination is increased. Change to red. Further, when the roll angle and / or the pitch angle is increased from 90 ° ± 5 ° to 90 ° ± 30 °, the display scale color is changed from black to red, for example. To. The display scale color is not limited to black and red, but may be a combination of blue, green, yellow, and the like.

[Eighth Embodiment]
In the eighth embodiment, a selection button (FIG. 5) is used to instruct the user to display only the roll angle, only the pitch angle, or both the roll angle and the pitch angle on the operation surface of the imaging apparatus. Not shown).
For the user, it is possible to perform appropriate photographing by operating the selection button as appropriate according to the photographing object, and convenience is improved.

[Ninth Embodiment]
Next, in the above-described imaging device, the ninth embodiment of the present invention is based on the premise that an orthogonal triaxial acceleration sensor is used as the acceleration sensor 111 and both the roll angle and pitch angle of the imaging device are displayed. Will be described.
If the acceleration sensor 111 having three orthogonal outputs in this way is used and the direction in which the acceleration sensor 111 is incorporated into the imaging device is known, the magnitude of the acceleration applied to each axis is the gravitational acceleration. Therefore, it is possible to accurately know the inclination of the imaging apparatus in all directions.
In this case, as shown in FIG. 10, when the imaging apparatus is held in the horizontal position, the rotation around the Z axis is the roll direction, the rotation around the X axis is the pitch direction, and the rotation around the Y axis is the yaw direction. It becomes. When the image pickup apparatus is held sideways substantially horizontally, the acceleration detected by the Y axis is substantially equal to the gravitational acceleration, and the values detected by the X axis and the Z axis are substantially zero. Thus, by detecting which axis is mainly detecting the gravitational acceleration, it is possible to know the general direction of the imaging apparatus.
The inclination data detected by the acceleration sensor 111 is received by the CPU block 1043 via the I2C block 10411, the main detection axis of gravitational acceleration and the magnitude of the inclination are calculated by software or hardware, and the result is displayed on the display device. indicate.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 11, the roll angle and the pitch angle, which are the inclinations in the roll direction and the pitch direction, are displayed on the LCD monitor 5 of the imaging apparatus.
In the case of FIG. 11, the display forms of the tilt guide display G1 indicating the roll angle and the tilt guide display G2 indicating the pitch angle are substantially the same, but the gauge of the tilt guide display G1 along the longitudinal direction of the display screen is tilted in the roll direction. The gauge of the tilt guide display G2 along the short direction of the display screen indicates the tilt in the pitch direction. In each gauge, when the position of the square mark is in the center as shown in the figure, the inclination, that is, the roll angle and the pitch angle is zero, and the inclination angle, that is, the roll angle and the pitch angle increases as the distance from the center increases. .
FIG. 12 shows a display example when the imaging apparatus is held in the vertical position. In this case, the display form of the tilt guide display in the roll direction and the pitch direction is almost the same as that in FIG. 11, but the difference from FIG. 11 is that the display device has a gauge in the short direction. An inclination guide display G3 indicates a roll angle that is an inclination in the roll direction, and an inclination guide display G4 having a gauge in the longitudinal direction indicates a pitch angle that is an inclination in the pitch direction.

  However, since the tilt guide display in the roll direction and the pitch direction when the holding direction is changed in this way, it becomes difficult to distinguish between the two. In order to cope with this, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 13, the display color of the tilt guide display in the roll direction and the pitch direction is made different, and the display color of the marker in the roll direction tilt guide display Gr1 is For example, red is used, and the display color of the marker in the pitch direction inclination guide display Gp1 is blue, for example. In this case, for example, even when the orientation of the imaging apparatus is changed from the horizontal position to the vertical position in FIG. 13, the red direction is the roll direction inclination guide display Gr1, and the blue direction is the pitch direction inclination guide display Gp1. In this way, by changing the display color, even when the vertical and horizontal directions are switched, the relationship between the gauge of each tilt guide display, the roll angle, and the pitch angle can be intuitively understood.

[Tenth embodiment]
In the tenth embodiment, for the same purpose, as shown in FIG. 14, the display mode of the tilt guide display in the roll direction and the pitch direction is made different. For example, the gauge of the tilt guide display Gr2 in the roll direction is at the center. The shape is such that the height is the lowest and the width is narrow and gradually widens toward both ends, and the gauge of the tilt guide display Gp2 in the pitch direction is a rectangular shape with a uniform uniform width. Also in this case, for example, even when the orientation of the imaging device is changed from the horizontal position to the vertical position in FIG. 14, the wider guide width Gr2 at both ends, and the uniform tilt width in the pitch direction. The guide display Gp2 is displayed. Thus, by changing the display form, even when the vertical and horizontal directions are switched, the relationship between the gauges of the respective inclination guide displays, the roll angle, and the pitch angle can be intuitively understood.
In the ninth and tenth embodiments, in the case where the display of the pitch direction tilt guide display is not necessarily required, a means for hiding the pitch direction tilt guide display is provided by setting the program. Is also feasible in the configuration shown in FIGS. That is, a screen for setting whether or not to display each gauge is displayed on the display means such as the LCD monitor 5, and the result of setting using the operation buttons (not shown) is stored in the EEPROM or the main memory for display. Display may be performed according to the settings that are sometimes called.

[Eleventh embodiment]
Next, it is assumed that in the above-described imaging device, a biaxial acceleration sensor orthogonal to the acceleration sensor 111 is used, and the roll angle tilt guide display is displayed only when the pitch angle of the imaging device is within a predetermined range. The eleventh embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The acceleration sensor 111 is mounted on a main PCB (printed wiring board) on which the processor 104 and the like are mounted, that is, perpendicular to the imaging device, and outputs data of two orthogonal axes X and Y and temperature T. To do. The tilt of the imaging apparatus is calculated from the data, and a tilt guide display corresponding to the calculated tilt is displayed on the LCD monitor 5 or the like.
The roll angle θ of the acceleration sensor 111 with respect to the horizontal is expressed by the above-described equation (1), and the pitch angle φ is expressed by the following equation (2).
φ [deg] = 180 / π * arctan (Gz / Gxy)
Gz = sqrt (Gxyz ² −Gxy ² )
Gxy = sqrt {(X−X0) ² + (Y−Y0) ² } (2)
Here, Gxyz is an output value at 1G, and X0 and Y0 are outputs at zero gravity, respectively.

  Then, the acceleration sensor 111 is mounted perpendicular to the imaging device. More specifically, for example, the acceleration sensor 111 is mounted vertically on the main board near the right end and near the lower end when viewed from the back side of the imaging apparatus, but is not necessarily limited to this position. is not. When the pitch angle is increased in this state, the output values of the X axis and the Y axis output from the acceleration sensor 111 are gradually reduced, and are easily affected by noise and offset deviation. That is, as the pitch angle is increased, the roll angle display accuracy decreases. Therefore, when the pitch angle becomes a certain angle as shown in FIGS. 15 to 17 and FIGS. 18 to 20, for example, blinking the display, turning off the marker indicating the angle displayed on the bar, warning sound Warning by sounding. FIGS. 15-17 shows the case of a horizontal position, (a) is a perspective view, (b) is a side view, respectively. FIG. 15 shows a state in which the imaging device is substantially vertical, FIG. 16 shows a state with a slight pitch angle, and FIG. 17 shows a case where a large pitch angle is provided and a roll for warning. The corner inclination guide display G is blinking. 18 to 20 show the case of the vertical position, in which (a) is a perspective view and (b) is a side view, respectively. 18 shows a state in which the image pickup apparatus is almost vertical in the vertical position, FIG. 19 shows a state with a slight pitch angle, and FIG. 20 shows a warning when a large pitch angle is provided. Therefore, the roll angle inclination guide display G is blinking.

[Twelfth embodiment]
Next, a description will be given of a twelfth embodiment of the present invention based on the premise that the roll angle tilt guide display is displayed only when the temperature of the imaging device is within a predetermined range in the imaging device described above.
When the temperature is changed, the output values of the X-axis and the Y-axis of the acceleration sensor 111 change accordingly. For example, if the output values of the X-axis and the Y-axis become small by increasing the temperature, in this case, the output values are easily affected by noise and offset deviation. Therefore, when the output T of the acceleration sensor 111 becomes an output value that results in a temperature outside the standard range, the pitch angle or roll angle display that has been displayed so far is blinked, and the angle that is displayed on the bar The warning is issued by turning off the marker M indicating, or by sounding a warning sound.
Also in this case, the display form is substantially the same as the case of FIGS. 17 and 20, for example.

[Thirteenth embodiment]
Next, a thirteenth embodiment relating to the imaging apparatus of the present invention will be described.
In the above-described imaging apparatus, when the pitch angle is increased and the imaging apparatus is in a flat state, both X and Y are 0G, and the roll angle cannot be calculated. Even in the vicinity of 0G, the output values of X and Y are lowered, and the accuracy is deteriorated. Therefore, if the position of the display bar of the tilt guide display G is changed depending on the angle of the imaging device as shown in FIG. It is possible to determine which position should be arranged along the longitudinal direction as shown in FIG. 21A or along the short direction as shown in FIG. Can not. The display method in such a case is shown in the flowchart of FIG.
It is determined whether or not the output values Xt = n and Yt = n at t = n are each 0.1G or less (step S11). If both are not 0.1G or less, the output value Xt = θ is calculated using n and Yt = n (step S12) and displayed on the monitor (step S13).

  However, when the output values of Xt = n and Yt = n are both 0.1 G or less, it is determined whether or not the output values of X and Y are both 0.1 G or less before m seconds (step S14). ), The angle θ is determined from the output values Xt = n−m and Yt = n−m before m which are not less than 0.1 G, the position of the display bar is determined (step S15), and the process proceeds to step S13. Displayed on the monitor. At that time, the position of the bar of the tilt guide display is fixed until one of the output values becomes 0.1 G or more, thereby preventing the position of the bar from changing unnecessarily. This is the same during playback. When the display orientation is rotated according to the angle of the imaging device, if the imaging device is placed flat, it cannot be determined which image should be rotated. The display orientation is changed in the same manner as in. If Xt = n−m and Yt = n−m in the state of m seconds before become any value of 0.1 G or less regardless of the value of m, it is almost the same as in the eleventh embodiment. Then, a warning is displayed (step S16).

[Fourteenth embodiment]
Next, a fourteenth embodiment relating to an imaging apparatus of the present invention will be described.
When the pitch angle is set and both the X and Y output values are equal to or less than the threshold value, if the warning is displayed as described above, it is not necessary to obtain high accuracy, so the number of samplings is reduced. Thus, it is possible to prevent the processing system such as the processor 104 from being loaded and to reduce power consumption.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Strobe light emission part 2 Ranging unit 3 Optical finder 4 Lens barrel unit 5 LCD monitor 6 Battery cover 104 Digital still camera processor 108 LCD driver 111 Acceleration sensor 112 Sub CPU
1041 First CCD signal processing block 1043 CPU block 10411 I2C block SW1 to SW15 Operation keys B1, B2, B3, B4, B5 Display scale M Marker G Tilt guide display Gp1, Gp2 Pitch angle tilt guide display Gr1, Gr2 Roll angle tilt Guide display

JP 2004-343476 A JP 2007-174156 A Japanese Patent No. 3896505

Claims (19)

In an imaging apparatus having detection means for detecting the inclination in the roll direction and the inclination in the pitch direction,
Display means for displaying an image captured by the imaging device;
An inclination guide display of a roll angle corresponding to the roll direction inclination of the imaging device according to the detection result of the detection means and a pitch angle corresponding to the pitch direction inclination of the imaging device according to the detection result of the detection means. Display processing means for displaying an inclination guide display on the display means ;
The imaging apparatus, wherein the display processing means displays the roll angle inclination guide display on the display means only when the pitch direction inclination of the imaging apparatus is within a predetermined range. In an imaging apparatus having detection means for detecting the inclination in the roll direction and the inclination in the pitch direction,
Display means for displaying an image captured by the imaging device;
An inclination guide display of a roll angle corresponding to the roll direction inclination of the imaging device according to the detection result of the detection means and a pitch angle corresponding to the pitch direction inclination of the imaging device according to the detection result of the detection means. Display processing means for displaying an inclination guide display on the display means ;
An image pickup apparatus, wherein when the inclination in the pitch direction of the image pickup apparatus exceeds a predetermined size, the roll angle inclination guide display is turned off.   3. The imaging according to claim 1, wherein the display processing unit displays the tilt guide display in a different display range in accordance with the size of the roll angle and / or the pitch angle. apparatus.   The tilt guide display includes a strip-shaped display scale and a marker whose display position moves in accordance with the tilt angle along the display scale, and the display processing means performs horizontal and / or vertical directions on the display screen. 4. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image pickup apparatus is displayed as a horizontally oriented state and / or a vertically oriented state along the edge side of the image capturing apparatus.   If the roll angle and / or pitch angle is within a predetermined small range and the imaging device is determined to be substantially horizontal, the display scale can be expanded to enable accurate angle reading. The imaging apparatus according to claim 4, wherein:   The display change speed of the tilt guide display is changed slowly when the roll angle and / or the pitch angle are within a predetermined small range and the image pickup apparatus is determined to be substantially horizontal. The imaging device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.   When the roll angle and / or pitch angle is in the range of around 0 degree and / or around 90 degree, the number of samplings of the detection data of the detecting means is increased to perform highly accurate angle display. The imaging device according to any one of claims 1 to 6.   The imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the detection unit is an acceleration sensor. Said display processing means, the imaging device determines whether the stance on whether the vertical position is poised lateral position based on the detection data obtained by the detecting means, wherein based on the information obtained in the previous SL detecting means 9. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for changing a display position of the roll angle and pitch angle tilt guide display depending on whether the image pickup apparatus is held in a horizontal position or a vertical position. The imaging device according to any one of the above.   10. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display processing unit includes a unit that displays tilt guide displays of the roll angle and the pitch angle in different colors. 11.   11. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display processing unit includes a unit that displays tilt guide displays of the roll angle and the pitch angle in different shapes. 11.   12. The display processing means according to claim 1, further comprising means for hiding at least one of the roll angle and pitch angle tilt guide displays as desired. Imaging device.   The imaging device according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the detecting means is one of a biaxial acceleration sensor and a triaxial acceleration sensor.   2. The imaging according to claim 1, wherein the display processing means includes means for changing the roll angle inclination guide display to a display form including a warning when the pitch angle becomes a predetermined value or more. apparatus.   2. The imaging according to claim 1, wherein the display processing means includes means for hiding at least a part of the roll angle tilt guide display when the pitch angle is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. apparatus.   14. The display processing means includes means for controlling to change a display form of the roll angle inclination guide display when the pitch angle is within a range of about ± 90 degrees. The imaging device according to any one of claims 15 to 15. When changing the display form of the tilt guide displayed by the display processing unit, according to any one of claims 14 to 16, characterized in including Mukoto means for changing the control of said detecting means Imaging device.   18. The means for changing the control of the detecting means reduces the number of inclination samplings in the detecting means when the display processing means changes the display form of the inclination guide display. Imaging device.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 2, wherein when the inclination of the pitch direction of the imaging apparatus is equal to or greater than a predetermined range, at least a part of the roll angle inclination guide display is erased.

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