JPH0698220A - Video camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a video camera which can obtain an image of a high contrast even with such an object that moves or rotates at a high speed. CONSTITUTION:An image pickup element has an electronic shutter function, and a lighting means 3 performs the pulse light emission when the photographing is performed by means of the electronic shutter function. Thus it is possible to attain the photographing of a short exposure time with the use of the electronic shutter function, to prevent the darkening of the photographing image with the pulse light emission, and also to prevent the heat generation in the lighting means 3 and the shortening of the life time.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a video camera using a solid-state image pickup device, and is particularly suitable for application to photographing a moving object or a rotating object.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a video camera used as a vision for an automatic processing system such as a manufacturing line or an inspection line, a subject may be an object which is moving or rotating at high speed. As a video camera for clearly capturing an object that is moving or rotating at such a high speed, conventionally, a video camera that also uses stroboscopic illumination by a discharge tube or a video that uses a solid-state image sensor having an electronic shutter function is used. I have a camera.

The former is intended to suppress image quality deterioration due to movement by capturing an image of a moving body for a very short time by strobe illumination, and the latter is to overflow into each light receiving element of the solid-state image pickup element. A drain is provided to sweep out unnecessary charges from the light-receiving unit immediately before imaging, and only charges for a necessary period (short time) are stored thereafter to suppress image quality deterioration due to movement.

Incidentally, a predetermined period during which the charges to be transferred are accumulated, which is started from the point of time when the discharging process of the unnecessary charges is completed, is called a period during which the shutter is opened in correspondence with the operation of the mechanical shutter. ing.

[0005]

However, in a video camera that also uses stroboscopic lighting with a discharge tube, the discharge tube has a short life and lacks reliability, and the life of the discharge tube varies greatly, making it difficult to make a maintenance plan. The problem is that a high voltage generation circuit that increases the size of the device and reduces safety is required, the noise during discharge is large, and it is necessary to take noise countermeasures for each part. There is a problem that it is difficult to control.

In a video camera using a solid-state image pickup device having an electronic shutter function, the shutter speed must be increased in order to increase the dynamic resolution when photographing an object moving at high speed. However, if the shutter speed is increased and the illumination is left to the ambient light, the amount of accumulated charges is reduced, the obtained image becomes dark, and the image quality deteriorates. In order to eliminate such inconvenience, a powerful light source with a large amount of light emission is required, and it can be said that there is room for improvement in heat generation, cost, life, size, and the like. When the light source used in this way is a discharge tube, the above-mentioned problems also occur. Therefore, a method of controlling the amount of received light by changing the aperture of the lens according to the shutter speed so as to secure the amount of incident light can be considered, but when the aperture is opened further, the depth of field becomes shallow. There is a problem that the subject is limited to a thin, flat object.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and a solid-state image pickup device having an electronic shutter function capable of obtaining a clear image even when an object moving or rotating at high speed is a subject. It is intended to provide a video camera using.

[0008]

In order to solve such a problem, the present invention provides an illumination means for illuminating a subject and a pulse emission of the illumination means in a video camera using a solid-state image pickup device having an electronic shutter function. Lighting control means.

Here, it is preferable that the illumination control means sets the light emission time of the illumination means in correspondence with the period during which the electronic shutter of the solid-state image pickup device is open.

Further, it is preferable that the illumination control means sets the emission intensity of the illumination means in correspondence with the emission period.

Further, an image intensity detecting means for detecting the intensity of the image signal output from the solid-state image pickup device is provided, and the illumination control means controls the light emission intensity of the illuminating means based on the detection output of the image intensity detecting means. Preferably.

Furthermore, it is preferable that the illumination means is a light emitting diode or a laser diode.

Further, as the illuminating means, one whose main emission wavelength region is infrared is applied, and an infrared transmission filter is provided on the optical path of the reflected light from the subject to the solid-state image pickup element, so that the subject red It is preferable to capture an external image.

[0014]

When a subject is imaged using the electronic shutter function of the solid-state image sensor, if the image is captured only by ambient light, the amount of light received is insufficient and the image quality is degraded. However, if the lighting means is provided and constantly illuminated, the heat generated from the lighting means is large and the reliability of the lighting means is reduced. Therefore, the present invention applies the stroboscopic photography method even when the subject is imaged using the electronic shutter function. Therefore, the illumination control means for causing the illumination means to emit light in pulses is provided.

In this case, it is conceivable to fix the light emission time of the illumination means, but if the light emission time is short, there is a risk that the amount of light received will be insufficient and image quality will deteriorate. However, even if the light emission time is lengthened, light emission during the period when the electronic shutter is closed is meaningless. Therefore, it is preferable that the illumination control unit sets the light emission time of the illumination unit in correspondence with the period during which the electronic shutter of the solid-state image sensor is open.

Even if the light emitting period is changed, if the light emitting period is short, there is still a possibility that the solid-state image pickup device lacks the amount of light received and the image quality is deteriorated. Therefore, it is preferable that the illumination control unit sets the emission intensity of the illumination unit in correspondence with the emission period. That is, it is preferable to increase the emission intensity as the emission period becomes shorter.
In this way, even when the light emission period is long, the light emission intensity is weak, so that problems such as heat generation and life of the lighting means do not occur.

Whether or not the amount of light received by the solid-state image sensor is sufficient will eventually appear in the video signal from the solid-state image sensor. Therefore, it is preferable to control the light emission intensity according to the luminance information of the video signal, regardless of whether the light emission intensity is set according to the light emission period. That is, the image intensity detection means for detecting the intensity of the image signal output from the solid-state image sensor is provided, and the illumination control means can control the emission intensity of the illumination means based on the detection output of the image intensity detection means. preferable.

Considering the control of the light emission period and the light emission intensity, it is preferable to use a light emitting diode or a laser diode whose control range is wide as the illumination means. Further, in this way, the downsizing of the video camera can be achieved.

If the subject image received by the solid-state image pickup device includes an image of ambient light, the control characteristic for the illumination means is not reflected in the amount of received light as it is, and the control system is disturbed. Therefore, as the illuminating means, the one whose main emission wavelength range is infrared is applied, and an infrared transmitting filter is provided on the optical path of the reflected light from the subject up to the solid-state image sensor, and the infrared light from the illuminating means is used. It is preferable to capture only the infrared image of the subject due to light.

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS (A) First Embodiment Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Here, FIG. 1 shows the entire configuration of the first embodiment.

In FIG. 1, the video camera according to the first embodiment has a camera control section 14 and a camera head section 1.
It is composed of 5 and.

The camera control section 14 includes a video signal amplification circuit 4, a television signal output terminal 5, a timing generation circuit 6, a transfer pulse drive circuit 7, a lamp drive circuit 8, a shutter control circuit 9, a shutter function adjusting means 10 and an overflow. A drain control circuit (hereinafter referred to as an OFD circuit) 11 is provided. On the other hand, the camera head unit 15 includes an objective lens 1, a charge coupled device (CCD) 2 and a light source lamp 3. In the case of this embodiment, as the CCD 2, one having an electronic shutter function of picking up only a subject image for a predetermined period is applied.

The shutter control circuit 9 includes the CCD 2
The electronic shutter function is controlled by the shutter function adjusting means 10. The shutter function adjusting means 10 is composed of, for example, a volume (which is shown in FIG. 1) and a multi-contact rotary switch, and indicates any value in a continuous range or any value in a stepwise value group. A shutter function setting signal is given to the shutter control circuit 9. The shutter function setting signal defines the light emission time and the light emission intensity of the light source lamp 3, as described later. The shutter control circuit 9 gives a pulse width setting signal (for example, a DC voltage signal) PW for instructing a pulse width in accordance with the instruction content of the shutter function setting signal to the timing generation circuit 6, and also provides the instruction content of the shutter function setting signal. A drive current setting signal (for example, a DC voltage signal) DI indicating a corresponding drive current value is applied to the lamp drive circuit 8.

The timing generation circuit 6 generates the clear timing signal CT and the ramp timing signal LT in this order in the vertical blanking period or the period before it, and subsequently, outputs the charge transfer timing signal (clock signal) ET to 1 It occurs only for the image read. Here, the pulse width of the ramp timing signal LT follows the setting of the pulse width setting signal PW. The timing generation circuit 6 generates a clear timing signal CT having a narrow pulse width (spike shape) immediately before the ramp timing signal LT rises, and generates a charge transfer timing signal ET immediately after the ramp timing signal LT falls. . The charge transfer timing signal ET is a transfer pulse drive circuit 7
And the clear timing signal CT is applied to the OFD circuit 1
1 and the lamp timing signal LT is supplied to the lamp drive circuit 8.

In the OFD circuit 11 of this embodiment, a voltage signal (overflow drain signal) for suppressing the blooming phenomenon in which the charge is excessively increased and the charge overflows to the adjacent pixel when strong light is incident on the CCD 2 in the normal state. ) D3
Is supplied to the overflow drain input terminal of the CCD 2, and when the clear timing signal CT is given from the timing generation circuit 6, the voltage value of the overflow drain signal D3 is made higher than the voltage value in the normal state for a very short time. Such an overflow drain signal D3
The pulse-like change of is for sweeping out unnecessary charges accumulated in the CCD 2. That is, when there is a pulse-like change, the CCD 2 sweeps out all the accumulated charges to the outside and empties the accumulated charges. As will be described later, the light source lamp 3 emits light immediately after this.

When the lamp timing signal LT from the timing generation circuit 6 is given, the lamp drive circuit 8 amplifies it and gives it to the light source lamp 3 as a lamp drive signal D2. This lamp drive signal D
The current value of 2 is determined by the drive current setting signal DI from the shutter control circuit 9. Upon receiving such a lamp drive signal D2, the light source lamp 3 emits light. Therefore, the pulse width of the lamp timing signal LT (that is, the setting content of the pulse width setting signal PW) defines the light emission time of the light source lamp 3, and the drive current setting signal DI
Defines the emission intensity of the light source lamp 3.

Since the timing generation circuit 6 generates various signals as described above, in the case of this embodiment,
The light emission period of the light source lamp 3 substantially coincides with the period when the shutter of the CCD 2 is open.

FIG. 2 shows the relationship between the pulse width of the lamp drive signal D2 (equal to the pulse width of the lamp timing signal LT) and the current value. Such a relationship is
As described above, the shutter control circuit 9 is ultimately determined by the setting contents of the shutter function adjusting means 10.

As shown in FIG. 2, the lamp drive signal D
The current value of 2 is inversely proportionally increased as the pulse width of the lamp drive signal D2 is shortened. As will be described later, the light emitting period of the light source lamp 3 is the CCD.
Since the image pickup period by 2 (effective charge accumulation period)
If the drive current value is fixed regardless of the pulse width, the following problems occur. If the light emission time is short when the drive current value is fixed to a small value, the CCD
The amount of light received at 2 becomes small, the captured image becomes dark, and the image quality deteriorates. Conversely, when the drive current value is fixed to a large value and the light emission time is long, a blooming phenomenon occurs and the image quality deteriorates. In addition, the heat generated from the light source lamp 3 becomes large and the life of the light source lamp 3 is shortened. Therefore, in this embodiment, the relationship between the pulse width (light emission time) of the lamp drive signal D2 and the current value (light emission intensity) is selected so that the magnitude is reversed as shown in FIG.

Note that, in FIG. 2, the characteristic relationship shown by the solid line is for the case where the shutter function adjusting means 10 to which continuous setting such as a volume is applicable is applied.
The characteristic relationship shown by the broken line is when the shutter function adjusting means 10 to which a stepwise setting such as a multi-contact rotary switch is applied.

As described above, the light source lamp 3 emits light with the instructed intensity while the lamp drive signal D2 is being applied. As the light source lamp 3, for example, a laser diode or a light emitting diode can be applied. The laser diode and the light emitting diode can easily control the light emitting period and the light emitting intensity as compared with the discharge tube such as the xenon tube, and can downsize the video camera.

The camera head section 15 is directed to a subject (not shown), the light beam emitted from the light source lamp 3 is applied to the subject, and the reflected light from the subject is condensed by the objective lens 1 and is exposed on the photosensitive section of the CCD 2. The subject image is formed.

Immediately after the charge of the photosensitive portion is emptied by the pulse of the overflow drain signal D3, the CCD is immediately discharged.
Since the subject image is formed on 2, the formed subject image can be said to be only the image due to the reflected light from the subject of the light beam emitted from the light source lamp 3 (more accurately, the image due to ambient light is also included. Has been).

The transfer pulse drive circuit 7 described above uses the charge transfer timing signal ET from the timing generation circuit 6.
Are amplified and given to the CCD 2 as the charge transfer signal D1, and the time when this supply is started is the time when the light emission ends. When the charge transfer signal D1 is supplied, the CCD2
Sequentially transfers accumulated charges obtained by photoelectrically converting the subject image, and supplies the video signal S obtained by the transfer process to the amplifier circuit 4. The amplifier circuit 4 amplifies the video signal S and supplies it as a television signal VO (not including a synchronizing signal) from the output terminal 5 to the next stage device.

Next, the operation of the video camera having the above configuration will be described with reference to the timing chart of each part of FIG. Note that FIG. 3 shows a case where the setting contents of the shutter function adjusting means 10 are different between the first half period and the second half period.

The shutter control circuit 9 generates a pulse width setting signal PW shown in FIG. 3 (C) and a drive current setting signal DI shown in FIG. 3 (G) according to the setting contents of the shutter function adjusting means 10. The shutter control circuit 9 receives the pulse width setting signal P as in the first half period of FIG.
A large drive current setting signal DI is generated when W is small, and a small drive current setting signal DI is generated when the pulse width setting signal PW is large as in the latter half period of FIG.

The timing generating circuit 6 uses the phase information of the vertical synchronizing signal VD shown in FIG. 3A which is internally generated or is externally given, and is generated at a timing corresponding to the pulse width setting signal PW. The clear timing signal CT shown in FIG. 3 (D) is generated, and then the designated pulse width T1 or T
The ramp timing signal LT shown in FIG.
To occur. The generation timing of the clear timing signal CT is the pulse width T of the ramp timing signal LT from the time immediately before the generation of the charge transfer timing signal ET.
It is a time point that is 1 or T2 earlier.

When the clear timing signal CT is applied, the OFD circuit 11 immediately forms a narrow pulse in the overflow drain signal D3 and applies it to the CCD 2 as shown in FIG. 3 (E) to discharge the charge accumulated in the CCD 2. Make it empty.

The lamp timing signal LT having a predetermined pulse width T1 or T2 is applied to the lamp drive circuit 8 from the time when the lamp drive circuit 8 becomes almost empty.
Amplifies this signal LT to a drive current value indicated by the drive current setting signal DI, and supplies it to the light source lamp 3 as a lamp drive signal D2 shown in FIG. 3 (H).

As a result, the light source lamp 3 emits light with an intensity corresponding to the drive current value during the pulse width T1 or T2 of the lamp drive signal D2, and an image of the emitted light reflected by the object is formed on the CCD 2. To be imaged.

The timing generation circuit 6 transfers the charge transfer timing signal ET shown in FIG. 3 (B) to the transfer pulse drive circuit 7 from the time when the ramp timing signal LT falls to the time required for reading one frame image. The transfer pulse drive circuit 7 amplifies this and supplies it to the CCD.
2 to the charge transfer signal D1.

The charges accumulated in the photosensitive portion of the CCD 2 according to the light emission period and the light emission intensity of the light source lamp 3 are transferred based on the charge transfer signal D1 obtained by amplifying the charge transfer timing signal ET, and from the CCD2. The video signal S shown in FIG. 3 (I) is output, the video signal S is inverted and amplified by the amplifier circuit 4, and the television signal V shown in FIG.
It is output as 0 from the output terminal 5 to the next stage device.

As is apparent from the comparison between the first half period and the second half period of FIG. 3 (J), even if the light emission time T1 or T2 is different, the light emission intensity is changed accordingly, so that the television signal V0 Brightness (average brightness or peak brightness)
Is almost the same for all frame images.

Therefore, according to the first embodiment, in the video camera using the CCD having the electronic shutter function,
Since the light source lamp is pulsed regardless of the ambient light to capture an image of the subject, a sufficient amount of light can be secured even when high-speed shutter shooting is performed, and the image becomes dark or the image quality deteriorates. Can be prevented. Further, since the light source lamp 3 is not always made to emit light, heat generation (power consumption) can be suppressed to a low level, and the reliability (lifetime) of the light source lamp 3 can be increased.

Here, since the shutter open time can be set and the light emission time is set in correspondence with the shutter open time, image pickup can be appropriately performed according to the shooting environment and the moving speed of the subject. You can do it, and
Useless light emission can be prevented. Moreover, since the light emission amount of the light source lamp 3 is changed in accordance with the light emission time, it is possible to capture an image of a subject with the minimum light amount required to obtain a sufficient image quality in the light emission time, and to further generate heat. It can be kept small, and the reliability (lifetime) of the light source lamp 3 can be increased.

Furthermore, since a light emitting diode or a laser diode is used as the light source lamp 3, the structure of the camera control unit 14 should be made smaller than in the conventional case in which a discharge lamp or a fluorescent lamp is applied. You can Of course, the light emitting diode or the laser diode can reduce the power consumption (heat dissipation amount) in the camera control unit 14 as compared with the discharge lamp or the fluorescent lamp.
The life can be extended and the cost can be reduced.

Furthermore, since the light emitting diode or the laser diode is applied as the light source lamp 3, it is possible to appropriately control the light amount and the light emitting time to be predetermined. That is, the xenon lamp that has been used in many conventional video cameras has a narrow relative controllable range of the light amount and the light emission time, but the controllable range of the light emitting diode or the laser diode is wide, and thus the imaging It has become possible to control the amount of light and the emission time that are appropriate for the target and the imaging environment.

Incidentally, the light emitting diode or the laser diode emits less continuous light than the incandescent lamp or the discharge lamp. However, when the light emitting diode or the laser diode is intermittently turned on, the light emitting period or the light emitting period changes from the light emitting period. By decreasing the ratio, the instantaneous amount of emitted light can be increased.

(B) Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
In FIG. 4, the same or corresponding parts as those in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals.

In the second embodiment, the light emission intensity is controlled in accordance with the light emission time (pulse width) as in the first embodiment, and further, the light receiving amount of the CCD 2 is sufficient for image quality. Also controls the emission intensity.

The shutter control circuit 9 gives a pulse width setting signal PW according to the setting contents of the shutter function adjusting means 10 to the timing generating circuit 6 and a drive current according to the pulse width (that is, according to the light emission time). The setting signal DI is given to the drive current control circuit 13.
In the second embodiment as well, the drive current setting signal DI indicates a small drive current when the set pulse width is large and a large drive current when the set pulse width is small.

The video luminance detecting circuit 12 weights and synthesizes the luminance information of the television signal V0 of the image obtained by pulse emission (for example, the luminance average value, peak value, average value and peak value in one frame period). Value), and then the reference brightness setting means 16 (eg, volume)
The difference between the reference luminance information set in step 1 and the obtained luminance information is obtained, and the difference is given to the drive current control circuit 13 as the luminance error signal YE. Here, the reference luminance information is CC
The amount of light received by D4 is set to a value at which it can be determined that the image quality is sufficient.

The drive current control circuit 13 outputs the drive current setting signal DI supplied from the shutter control circuit 9 to the brightness error signal Y according to the brightness error signal YE.
It is corrected to a direction in which E becomes 0, and is applied to the lamp drive circuit 8 as a drive current control signal DC. In addition,
The drive current set by the drive current setting signal DI may be set as the upper limit of the drive current.

The lamp drive circuit 8 supplies the lamp drive signal D2 having the drive current value instructed by the drive current control signal DC to the light source lamp 3 for pulsed light emission during the period in which the lamp timing signal LT instructs light emission. .

Therefore, according to the second embodiment, since the feedback system for controlling the light emission intensity based on the brightness of the television signal V0 is provided, the image quality is deteriorated while confirming the amount of light received during the shutter open period. There are various problems with the light source lamp 3 (life and heat generation)
The pulsed light emission can be performed with an appropriate light emission intensity that does not cause light emission. In the first embodiment, the light emission intensity is determined according to the light emission period.
Although the characteristics such as the distance between the subject and the camera could not be reflected in the emission intensity, according to the second embodiment, the luminance information of the television signal V0 obtained by the imaging is reflected in the emission intensity. Therefore, such characteristics can also be reflected in the emission intensity, and the image of the subject can always be obtained under the optimal imaging conditions.

Of course, other than this, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained. The configuration of the camera control unit 14 is more complicated than that of the first embodiment.

As a modification of the second embodiment, there can be mentioned one in which the emission intensity is controlled only by the luminance error signal YE.

(C) Third Embodiment Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Here, FIG. 5 shows the entire structure of the third embodiment, and the same or corresponding parts as in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals.

In the third embodiment, an infrared image of a subject is picked up. That is, as the light source lamp 3, an infrared laser diode or an infrared light emitting diode that emits infrared light or light containing a component in the infrared region is applied, and only the infrared light component is present on the optical path of the reflected light from the subject. Infrared transmission filter 17 for transmitting light is provided.

In the case of the first embodiment, although pulsed light emission is used for imaging, ambient light reflected from the subject also reaches the CCD 2 during this light emission period. Since the amount of reflected light varies depending on the imaging environment and the like, the amount of light received by the CCD 2 is not determined only by the light emission period and the light emission intensity of the light source lamp 3, and the significance of control may be reduced.
By the way, in a factory or a laboratory in which a fluorescent lamp or a discharge lamp is used as an indoor light, there is almost no component in the infrared region in the ambient light of the subject. Therefore, in the third embodiment, the infrared image from the subject is picked up by the infrared light emitted from the light source lamp 3.

As described above, according to the third embodiment, the first
In addition to the effect similar to the embodiment, regardless of the presence of ambient light,
There is an effect that the image quality according to the control content intended by the camera control unit 14 can be obtained.

(D) Fourth Embodiment Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Here, FIG. 6 shows the configuration of the fourth embodiment, and the same or corresponding portions as those in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals, and the internal configuration of the camera control unit 14 is omitted. It is what is shown.

In the fourth embodiment, the present invention is applied to a video camera in which the camera head section 15 and the camera control section 14 are connected by a camera cord 18.

The same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained by the fourth embodiment. Further, it is possible to diversify the video cameras according to the present invention, and it is possible to select an appropriate video camera according to the imaging environment.

As a modification of the fourth embodiment, (1)
The light source lamp 3 is provided in the camera control section 14, and the light from the light source lamp 3 is guided to the subject by a light guide made of an optical fiber penetrating the inside of the camera cord 18, and (2) the light source lamp 3 is provided in the camera control section. A light guide made of an optical fiber that penetrates the inside of the camera cord 18 to guide the light from the light source lamp 3 to the object; and (3) the camera head portion 15 and the camera. The light source lamp 3 is provided in a light source lamp mounting portion separate from the control portion 14, and the camera head portion 15 or the camera control portion 14 is provided.
To supply the lamp drive signal D2 to the light source lamp 3 via a signal line from the above.

(E) Fifth Embodiment Next, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Here, FIG. 7 shows the configuration of the fifth embodiment, and the same or corresponding portions as in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals.

In the fifth embodiment, the image pickup is performed only when the trigger signal TR is given from the external device of the video camera, and this point is different from the first embodiment in which the image pickup is performed in the frame cycle. That is, the external input terminal 19 is provided, and the trigger signal TR input from the external input terminal 19 is given to the timing generation circuit 6, and at this time, the timing generation circuit 6 takes out only one vertical scanning period in FIG. Similar timing control is performed.

In practice, in imaging a moving body or a rotating body, imaging is often performed when the position reaches a certain position, and imaging is often activated using a position detection signal as a trigger signal TR. This is the case with the fifth embodiment. Of course, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained.

(F) Other Embodiments In each of the above embodiments, the objective lens 1 of the camera head portion 15 was exposed to the outside, but a light source lamp was provided on the front side of the camera head portion 15 on the subject side. You may make it provide the transparent protective glass which protects 3 and the objective lens 1 grade | etc.,.

Further, as in the above embodiments, the light source lamp 3 is preferably a light emitting diode or a laser diode, but a discharge lamp or an incandescent lamp may be applied as the light source lamp.

Furthermore, in each of the above-mentioned embodiments, the case where a monochrome image is obtained is shown, but the present invention can be applied to a color video camera.

[0072]

As described above, according to the present invention, in a video camera using a solid-state image pickup device having an electronic shutter function, illumination means for illuminating a subject, and illumination control means for causing the illumination means to emit pulsed light. Since the flash shooting method is applied even when a subject is imaged using the electronic shutter function, a clear image can be obtained even when an object that moves or rotates at high speed is the subject. Can realize a video camera that can.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a characteristic curve diagram showing the relationship between the pulse width (light emission period) of the lamp drive signal and the drive current value (light emission intensity) in the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a timing chart of each part of the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a third embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a fourth exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a fifth embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 ... CCD, 3 ... Light source lamp, 6 ... Timing generating circuit, 7 ... Transfer pulse drive circuit, 8 ... Lamp drive circuit, 9 ... Shutter control circuit, 10 ... Shutter function adjusting means, 11 ... Overflow drain control circuit.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A video camera using a solid-state image sensor having an electronic shutter function, comprising: illuminating means for illuminating a subject; and illumination control means for pulsing the illuminating means. 2. The video camera according to claim 1, wherein the illumination control means sets a light emission time of the illumination means in correspondence with a period during which the electronic shutter of the solid-state image sensor is open. 3. The video camera according to claim 1, wherein the lighting control means sets the light emission intensity of the lighting means in correspondence with the light emission period. 4. An image intensity detecting means for detecting an intensity of an image signal output from the solid-state image pickup device is provided, and the illumination control means emits light from the illuminating means based on a detection output of the image intensity detecting means. The video camera according to claim 1, wherein the video camera controls intensity. 5. The video camera according to claim 1, wherein the lighting means is a light emitting diode or a laser diode. 6. As the illuminating means, one whose main emission wavelength region is infrared is applied, and an infrared transmission filter is provided on the optical path of the reflected light from the subject up to the solid-state image pickup element, The video camera according to claim 1, wherein the video camera captures an infrared image.