JPH10178578A - Image pickup device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image with high resolution even when a solid-state image pickup element with a small pixel number is in use. SOLUTION: A control means controls drive of 1st and 2nd electromagnetic actuators 32, 62 to tilt a 1st parallel plate 31 at an interval of four times of exposure thereby deviating the image of an object in four directions and to tilt a 2nd parallel plate 61 at an interval of one exposure thereby deviating the image of the object in four directions, and image data obtained by four times of the exposure are synthesized into synthesis image data of one pattern. Since pixels are interpolated by the 1st parallel plate 31, even when a solid-state image pickup element 29 with a small pixel number is in use, an image with high resolution is obtained and since the 2nd parallel plate 61 acts as a low pass filter, deterioration in the image quality due to moire or the false color signal produced by a high frequency over the Nyquist frequency is prevented and excellent image are obtained.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an imaging device used for an electronic camera or a video camera.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an image pickup apparatus used in an electronic camera has a charge transfer section such as a CCD and a light receiving section, and a solid state image pickup device in which light receiving pixels are arranged vertically and horizontally at a predetermined pixel pitch in the light receiving section. The solid-state imaging device converts an image of a subject into an electric signal and outputs the electric signal. The output signal is formed as an image signal.

[0003]

However, in such an imaging apparatus, the resolution at which an image of a subject is captured is determined by the number of pixels of the solid-state imaging device. It is necessary to increase the number of pixels or increase the degree of integration of the solid-state image sensor. However, if the number of pixels is increased, the cost of the solid-state image sensor increases without increasing the degree of integration of the solid-state image sensor, Increasing the degree of integration with the same size requires higher processing accuracy, which further increases the cost of the solid-state imaging device.

[0004] It is an object of the present invention to enable a high-resolution image to be obtained even when a solid-state imaging device having a small number of pixels is used.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an image pickup apparatus for picking up an image of a subject with a solid-state image sensor, and a transparent parallel plane plate disposed on an optical path between the subject and the solid-state image sensor. An actuator for tilting a transparent plane-parallel plate in a plurality of predetermined directions with respect to an optical axis to change an emission position with respect to a light incident position, and a control means for driving and controlling the actuator so as to tilt the plane-parallel plate for each of a plurality of exposures And combining means for combining image data obtained by a plurality of exposures to generate combined image data for one screen, and storage means for storing the combined image data generated by the combining means. Features. Therefore, according to the present invention, the drive of the actuator is controlled by the control means, and the parallel plane plate is tilted for each of a plurality of exposures to change the light emitting position with respect to the light incident position, whereby the image of the subject is displayed on the solid-state image sensor. The image data obtained by the multiple exposures is synthesized by the synthesizing means to generate synthesized image data of one screen. Therefore, even if a solid-state imaging device having a small number of pixels is used, a high-resolution image can be obtained. Obtainable.

In this case, a first mode in which image data obtained by a plurality of exposures is combined and the obtained combined image data of one screen is stored in a storage means, The image data obtained by the above exposure is directly stored as image data of one screen in the storage means.
With the first mode, a high-resolution image can be obtained by the first mode, and a low-resolution image can be obtained by the second mode. In addition, if a low-pass filter having different characteristics between the first mode and the second mode is provided between the subject and the solid-state imaging device, the first mode and the second mode can be used. In addition, it is possible to prevent the image quality from being degraded due to moire or a false color signal caused by a high frequency band higher than the Nyquist frequency, and to obtain a good image. Furthermore, if the parallel flat plate is inclined in a plurality of predetermined directions with respect to the optical axis during one exposure time, the function of the low-pass filter can be achieved without separately providing a low-pass filter. Can be achieved, and the structure can be simplified.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIGS.
An embodiment in which the imaging device of the present invention is applied to an electronic camera will be described. 1 to 3 are external views of an electronic camera according to the present invention. The electronic camera 1 shown in these figures
Is composed of two blocks, a main unit 2 and a camera unit 3. The main body 2 has a main body case 4. As shown in FIG. 3, a liquid crystal display panel 5 for displaying a captured image and a function key 6 are provided on the back of the main body case 4. Also, on the upper surface of the main body case 4,
As shown in FIG. 1, a power switch 7, a shutter button 8,
Delete key 9, Plus key 10, Minus key 11,
Mode key 12, display key 13, zoom key 1
4. A self-timer key 15 is provided, and an opening / closing lid 16 is provided. An external power supply terminal, a video output terminal, a digital terminal, and the like (not shown) are provided inside the opening / closing lid 16. In FIGS. 1 and 2, a grip portion 4 a having a bulged grip shape is formed on the left side of the main body case 4 so that the photographer can easily grip with the right hand. The grip portion 4a has a structure in which a plurality of dry batteries (not shown) are stored.

The camera section 3 has a camera case 17. An opening 18 for photographing is provided on the front of the camera case 17 as shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure, a focus switch 19 and an aperture switch 20 are provided. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, a switching lever 21 for switching between telephoto (TELE) and wide-angle (WIDE) is rotatably mounted on the side surface of the camera case 17. This camera unit 3 is shown in FIGS.
, Is rotatably attached to the right side surface of the main body 2. That is, the camera unit 3 is rotated forward by 90 ° with respect to the main unit 2 so that the photographing opening 18 is directed downward, and is rotated 180 ° backward with respect to the main unit 2 so that the photographing opening 18 is rotated. It is rotatably attached to the main body 2 so as to face the photographer.

Further, an image pickup device 25 shown in FIG. 4 is provided inside the camera section 3. This imaging device 25
Corresponding to the opening 18 provided in the camera case 17,
In order from the subject side, the taking lens unit 26, the first parallel plane plate unit 27 for pixel interpolation, and the second
The structure is such that the parallel plane plate unit 28 and the solid-state imaging device 29 are arranged along the optical axis O. The photographing lens unit 26 forms an image of a subject on the solid-state imaging device 29 via the first and second plane-parallel plate units 27 and 28, and includes a plurality of lenses 26a to 26d. 26d is fixed in the camera case 17 by a lens frame 26e. The solid-state imaging device 29
A charge transfer portion such as a CCD and a light receiving pixel 29a have a light receiving portion in which the pixels are arranged vertically and horizontally at a predetermined pitch, receive light from a subject, convert the light into an electric signal, and output the electric signal. It is attached to the circuit board 30 provided. In this case, the light receiving pixels 29a are arranged vertically and horizontally at one pixel pitch as shown in FIG.
9a has an opening width of 0.5 pixels vertically and horizontally and an aperture ratio of 25 pixels.
%It has become.

The first plane-parallel plate unit 27 serves as a pixel interpolating device, and the second plane-parallel plate unit 28
Plays the role of a low-pass filter, but the first parallel plane plate unit 27 and the second parallel plane plate unit 28 have exactly the same structure. Here, the first parallel plane plate unit 27 will be described. I do. The first parallel flat plate unit 27 includes a transparent parallel flat plate 31 disposed on the optical axis O, and an electromagnetic actuator 32 for inclining the transparent parallel flat plate 31 in four directions with respect to the optical axis O.
These are the photographing lens unit 26 and the solid-state image sensor 2
9 are arranged. As shown in FIG. 6A, when the transparent plane parallel plate 31 is in a state perpendicular to the optical axis O, an incident light beam parallel to the optical axis O enters perpendicularly and proceeds straight as it is. As shown in FIG.
When the light beam is inclined with respect to the optical axis O, the incident position and the emission position of the light beam are shifted. That is, the incident light and the outgoing light are parallel, but the outgoing light is parallel to the incident light.
The light is emitted with a shift in the tilt direction of 1. The amount of this deviation is, assuming that the incident light beam is parallel to the optical axis O,
Is constant, it is determined by the angle of inclination of the plane-parallel plate 31, and as the angle of inclination increases, the amount of displacement increases. The transparent plane-parallel plate 31 is tilted in four directions, which will be described later, so that light rays from the subject are changed in four directions and incident on the solid-state imaging device 29 as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 8, the electromagnetic actuator 32 includes a first fixed plate 34, a second fixed plate 35, and a movable plate 36 disposed therebetween. The structure is such that a transparent parallel flat plate 31 is attached. As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the first fixing plate 34 has a substantially square shape, and a circular hole 37 having a center at the intersection of two diagonal lines is provided at the center thereof. An annular yoke 38 is provided around the inner peripheral surface, and a first magnet 39a and a second magnet 39b are provided on the inner surface of the yoke 38 so as to face each other. In this case, the yoke 38 is made of a magnetic material, has a width larger than the thickness of the first fixed plate 34, and protrudes on the opposite side to the movable plate 36. The second fixing plate 35 is
As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the structure is substantially the same as that of the first solid plate 34, but a circular mounting recess 40 is formed at the center corresponding to the circular hole 37 of the first fixed plate 34. A circular hole 41 for light transmission is provided at the center of the bottom of the mounting recess 40, and an annular yoke 42 is provided around the inner peripheral surface of the mounting recess 40. The first magnet 43a and the second magnet 43b are provided on the inner surface of the base 42 so as to face each other.

The first magnets 39a and 43a provided on the first and second fixing plates 34 and 35 and the second magnet 39
b and 43b correspond to permanent magnetic field generating means, have the same width as the yokes 38 and 42, have the same cross-sectional area, and are formed in substantially the same arc shape. The first magnets 39a and 43a have an N pole inside and an S pole outside, and the second magnets 39b and 43b have an S pole inside and
It has an N pole on the outside. The first magnet 39a and the second magnet 39b on the first fixed plate 34 are arranged in a symmetrical manner in FIG. Are distributed (see FIG. 16A). In addition, the first magnet 43a and the second magnet 4 on the second fixed plate 35
3b is arranged in a vertically symmetrical state in FIG. 11, whereby the magnetic flux is distributed in a vertical direction in which the two oppose each other (see FIG. 17 (a)).

The first fixed plate 34 and the second fixed plate 35 are connected to each other in a state where the first fixed plate 34 is placed on a support cylinder 44 erected at four corners of the second fixed plate 35. By screwing a fastening screw 46 into a screw hole 44a of the support cylinder 44 through through holes 45 provided at four corners of the fixing plate 34 corresponding to the support cylinder 44, as shown in FIG. They are attached to each other with a gap of length.

On the other hand, the movable plate 36 is shown in FIGS.
As shown in the figure, the first and second fixing plates 34 and 35 are formed in a regular square shape having substantially the same size, and a cylindrical bobbin portion 47 is protruded toward the respective fixing plates 34 and 35 at the center thereof. A substantially semicircular guide notch 48 is provided at each of the four corners where the support tube 44 of the second fixing plate 35 is loosely fitted. The cylindrical bobbin portion 47 has a first bobbin portion 49 on one end side loosely inserted into a space between the magnets 39a and 39b of the first fixed plate 34, and a second bobbin portion 50 on the other end side connected to the second fixed plate 35. Is inserted loosely into the space between the magnets 43a and 43b. A conductive wire is wound around each of the first and second bobbin portions 49 and 50, thereby forming two coils 51 and 52 as coil means. The partition wall 5 is provided in the second bobbin 50 of the cylindrical bobbin 47.
The partition wall 53 has a rectangular mounting hole 5 in which the transparent parallel flat plate 31 is mounted.
4 are provided.

Further, screw holes 55 are provided at four places where circles centered on the center point of the circular hole 37 intersect near two diagonal ends of the first fixing plate 34.
In these screw holes 55, four angle adjusting screws 56a to 56d (only 56b is shown in FIG. 1) are attached so as to protrude toward the movable plate 36 side. The angle adjusting screws 56 a to 56 d adjust the length of protrusion of the movable plate 36 toward the movable plate 36, thereby adjusting the inclination angle of the movable plate 36 during operation. Protrusions 57a to 57d are provided in the middle of each side of the opposing surface of the movable plate 36 facing the second fixed plate 35, respectively. Then, as shown in FIG. 15, the movable plate 36 is swingably assembled between the first and second fixed plates 34 and 35 by a support cylinder 44 and a fastening screw 46, and in this state, the angle adjusting screw 56a 56d and the projections 57a to 57d regulate the inclination angle during operation to be constant.

The movable plate 36 is shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 5, the first solid plate 3 is formed by two coil springs 58a and 58b mounted on the outer periphery of two support cylinders 44 on the diagonal line between the second fixed plate 35 and the movable plate 36.
It is biased toward 4. These coil springs 58a,
Numeral 58b indicates that the movable plate 36 is held in a neutral state substantially perpendicular to the optical axis O when no current is flowing through the coils 51, 52 of the bobbin 47, and the coils 51, 52
Current flows through each magnet 39a, 39b, 43a,
When the electromagnetic force described below is generated between the movable plate 3
The spring force is set so as not to hinder the tilting operation of No. 6.

Here, the operation of the electromagnetic actuator 32 will be described. FIG. 16A and FIG.
It is the top view and side view which modeled the 1st fixed plate 34 and the movable plate 36 of the electromagnetic actuator 32, and the operation mode between the 1st fixed plate 34 and the movable plate 36 is shown. In FIG. 16A, the first magnet 39a
A magnetic flux is generated between the first magnet 39b and the second magnet 39b, as indicated by the dotted arrow in FIG. The coil 51 provided on the movable plate 36 intersects the magnetic flux on both the N pole side and the S pole side.

In this state, when a current is applied to the coil 51 in the direction of the arrow as shown in the figure, the coil 51 follows the Fleming's left-hand rule as shown by the solid arrow in FIG. The side generates an electromagnetic force in a direction of pressing down in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface, and the S pole generates an electromagnetic force in a direction of lifting in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface. Conversely, when a current is applied to the coil 51 in a direction opposite to the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 16A, as shown by a dotted arrow in FIG.
On the N pole side, an electromagnetic force is generated in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper, and on the S pole side, an electromagnetic force is generated in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper. As a result, the movable plate 36 receives a force inclined about a vertical reference line L1 passing through the center point of the movable plate 36 in FIG. 16A due to the electromagnetic force generated in the coil 51.

On the other hand, FIGS. 17A and 17B
5A and 5B are a plan view and a side view, respectively, of a model of the second fixed plate 35 and the movable plate 36 of the electromagnetic actuator 32, and show an operation mode between the second fixed plate 35 and the movable plate 36. In FIG. 17A, the first magnet 4
A magnetic flux is generated between the third magnet 43b and the second magnet 43b, as indicated by a dotted arrow in FIG. The coil 52 provided on the movable plate 36 crosses the magnetic flux on both the N pole side and the S pole side.

In this state, when a current is applied to the coil 52 in the direction of the arrow as shown in the figure, the coil 52 follows the Fleming's left-hand rule, as shown by the solid arrow in FIG. The side generates an electromagnetic force in a direction of pressing down in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface, and the S pole generates an electromagnetic force in a direction of lifting in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface. Conversely, when a current is applied to the coil 52 in a direction opposite to the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 17A, as shown by a dotted arrow in FIG.
On the N pole side, an electromagnetic force is generated in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper, and on the S pole side, an electromagnetic force is generated in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper. As a result, the movable plate 36 receives a force inclined about a reference line L2 in the left-right direction passing through the center point of the movable plate 36 in FIG.

The coils 51 and 52 formed on the bobbin 47 of the movable plate 36 are connected as shown in FIG. That is, the coil 51 and the coil 52
One end of the coil 51 is connected as a terminal TA, one end of the coil 52 is connected as a terminal TB, and a connection point or a split point between the coils 51 and 52 is formed. A point is derived as a common terminal TC. And terminal T
A predetermined signal corresponding to each of the operation modes described below is supplied to A and the terminal TB, and the common terminal TC is grounded.

As shown in FIG. 19, four operation modes are set. In the first mode of operation, the terminals TA, TB
Are supplied with a positive voltage. Here, the positive voltage is
In FIG. 17A and FIG. 17A, if it is assumed that the current flowing in the direction of the arrow attached to the coils 51 and 52 is generated (hereinafter, the same premise is assumed), the left side end of the movable plate 36 is perpendicular to the paper surface. The force that pushes down the right side end and pushes down the right side end in a suitable direction and the force that pushes down the upper side end of the movable plate 36 in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface and lifts the lower side end are simultaneously applied to the movable plate 36. As a result, the movable plate 36 is depressed by the combined force (rotational force) of these two forces against the upper left corner P1 against the spring force of the coil springs 58a and 58b, as shown in FIG. The portion P3 is tilted in a state of being lifted, and the parallel plate 31 is also tilted together with the movable plate 36. In FIG. 19, the direction of the arrow indicated in the column of the rotation (pressing) direction indicates the side on which the rotating plate 36 is depressed as a result, and the arrow indicated in each column of the TA / TB input voltage is , The component force of the combined force indicates the side on which the movable plate 36 is pushed down.

In the second mode of operation, a negative voltage is supplied to the terminal TA and a positive voltage is supplied to the terminal TB. At this time, the force that pushes down the right side end of the movable plate 36 in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface and lifts the left side end, and the movable plate 3
6 and a force for pushing down the upper side end in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface and raising the lower side end are simultaneously applied to the movable plate 36. As a result, the movable plate 36 is pushed down by the combined force (rotational force) of these two forces, as shown in FIG. 20, against the spring force of the coil spring 58b, and the lower left corner P4. Will be tilted to the lifted state.

In the third mode of operation, a negative voltage is supplied to both terminals TA and TB. At this time, the force to push down the right side end of the movable plate 36 in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface and to lift the left side end, and to push down the lower side end of the movable plate 36 in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface, Is applied to the movable plate 36 at the same time. As a result, the movable plate 36 is pushed down by the combined force (rotational force) of these two forces against the lower right corner P3 against the spring force of the coil springs 58a and 58b, as shown in FIG. The part P1 will be tilted to the raised state.

In the fourth mode of operation, a positive voltage is supplied to the terminal TA and a negative voltage is supplied to the terminal TB. At this time, a force that pushes down the left side end of the movable plate 36 in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface and lifts the right side end, and the movable plate 3
6 and a force to lift the upper side end while pressing down the lower side end in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface are simultaneously applied to the movable plate 36. As a result, the movable plate 36 is pushed down by the combined force (rotational force) of these two forces against the lower left corner P4 against the spring force of the coil spring 58a, as shown in FIG. Will be tilted to the lifted state.

As described above, when the movable plate 36 is inclined according to the first to fourth operation modes, the first fixed plate 3
The movable plate 36 is in contact with any one of the four angle adjusting screws 56a to 56d.
6, any two of the four protrusions 57a to 57d
It contacts the fixing plate 35. For example, in the first operation form,
As shown in FIG. 21, the movable plate 36 is in contact with the tip of one angle adjusting screw 56c, and the two protrusions 57a, 57d
Abuts on the second fixing plate 35. Similarly, in the second operation mode, the movable plate 36 abuts on the tip of the angle adjusting screw 56d, the two projections 57a, 57b abut on the second fixed plate 35, and in the third operation mode, the angle The movable plate 36 is in contact with the tip of the adjusting screw 56a, and the two protrusions 57b, 57c
Abuts on the second fixing plate 35, and in the fourth operation mode, the movable plate 36 abuts on the tip of the angle adjusting screw 56b, and the two protrusions 57c and 57d abut on the second fixing plate 35. Therefore, the movable plate 36 is supported by two of the four protrusions 57a to 57d on the pressed side and by one of the four angle adjusting screws 56a to 56d on the raised side. , In the space between the first and second fixing plates 34 and 35 by three fulcrums. For this reason, the movable plate 36 is
Even if there is a variation in the electromagnetic force generated by 1, 52, the electromagnetic force is always inclined at a constant inclination angle in a predetermined inclination direction.

The movable plate 36 is provided with an angle adjusting screw 56.
The inclination angle of the movable plate 36 is adjusted to an arbitrary angle by changing the protruding length of the tip of a to 56d with a tool such as a driver. Thereby, the parallel flat plate 31 provided on the movable plate 36 is provided with the angle adjusting screws 56a to 56e.
Since the tilt angle is set to an arbitrary angle by the adjustment of 6d, for example, the tilt angle θ ₁ in which the light on the optical axis O shown in FIG. The inclination angle θ ₂ shifted by one pixel pitch on the element 29 is appropriately set.

The electromagnetic actuator 32 and the transparent parallel flat plate 31 are connected to the second parallel flat plate unit 28.
Is used in the same way, so in the following description, for convenience,
Regarding the first parallel plane plate unit 27 for pixel interpolation,
The first electromagnetic actuator 32 and the first parallel plane plate 31 will be referred to, and the second parallel plane plate unit 28 for the low-pass filter will be referred to as the second electromagnetic actuator 62 and the second parallel plane plate 61. .

Also, first and second parallel flat plates 31 corresponding to the first to fourth operation modes of the electromagnetic actuator 32,
Regarding the tilt state of 61, the first and second parallel plane plates 3
Description will be made using different reference numerals for each of the numbers 1 and 61. FIG. 22 is a state diagram showing the inclination direction of the first parallel flat plate 31 in the direction of the arrow and the inclination angle as the length of the arrow. In this figure, the operation state 1 of the first parallel flat plate 31 corresponds to the first operation form of the electromagnetic actuator 32, and similarly, the operation states 2 to 4 correspond to the second to fourth operation forms, This indicates that the tilt angle in these operation states 1 to 4 is a tilt angle θ ₁ shifted by 0.5 pixel pitch on the fixed image sensor 29.

FIGS. 23 (a) and 23 (b) are views showing the states of inclination of the second parallel flat plate 61 in the direction of the arrow and the angle of inclination by the length of the arrow. FIG.
In (a), the operation states a to d of the second parallel flat plate 61 correspond to the first to fourth operation modes of the electromagnetic actuator 32, and the inclination angles in these operation states a to d are fixed image sensor 29. indicates that the slope angle theta ₁ deviates 0.5 pixel pitch above. In FIG. 23B, the operating states A to D of the second plane-parallel plate 61 are the electromagnetic actuators 32.
Operating modes A
D indicate that the tilt angle θ ₂ is shifted by one pixel pitch on the fixed image sensor 29.

Next, the circuit configuration of the electronic camera 1 will be described with reference to FIG. This circuit configuration includes a solid-state imaging device 2 such as a CCD that converts an image of a subject formed by the imaging lens unit 26 into an electric signal and outputs the electric signal.
9, an A / D converter 65 for converting an analog signal from the solid-state imaging device 29 into a digital signal,
, A second drive circuit 67 for driving the first electromagnetic actuator 32, a third drive circuit 68 for driving the second electromagnetic actuator 62,
To a timing generator 69 for generating a timing signal for controlling the third drive circuits 66, 67, 68, and a DRAM 7 for temporarily recording the captured digital image data
0, Digital image data is compressed / compressed by decoding /
A compression / decompression circuit 71 for decompression processing, a flash memory 72 for storing synthesized image data compressed as one screen,
A CPU that operates based on a program recorded in a ROM 73 and controls each unit based on an input from a key input unit 75 using a RAM 74 as a work RAM.
76, a signal generator 77 for adding a synchronization signal to the digital image data to generate a digital video signal,
VRAM 78 for recording digital video signals, D / A converter 79 for converting digital video signals output from signal generator 77 into analog signals, amplifier 8
A liquid crystal display panel 5 for displaying an image based on an analog video signal input through the interface 0, and an interface 81 for inputting and outputting an image signal and the like converted into a serial signal by the CPU 76.

The operation of the circuit thus constructed will be described. At the time of photographing, when the shutter button 8 of the key input section 75 is operated, a timing signal is output from the timing generator 69 and the first electromagnetic actuator 32 is operated.
Out of the second drive circuit 67 for driving the second electromagnetic actuator 62 and the third drive circuit 68 for driving the second electromagnetic actuator 62, to drive at least the third drive circuit 68 to drive the second electromagnetic actuator 62, The A / D converter 6 controls the first drive circuit 66 of the element 29 to extract an image signal corresponding to the image of the subject by the solid-state imaging element 29.
At step 5, the analog signal is converted into a digital signal and temporarily stored in the DRAM 70 as digital image data. This DR
The CPU 76 reads the image data stored in the AM 70 and performs a color calculation process to create a luminance signal and a color signal from the image data.
1 and compresses the data.
The composite image data of the screen is stored.

At the time of reproducing an image, the key input unit 75
When the display key 13 is operated, the CPU 76 reads out one screen of the compressed composite image data (compressed luminance signal and color signal) from the flash memory 72,
The data is transferred to the compression / decompression circuit 71 to decompress the data, and the decompressed luminance signal and chrominance signal are transmitted to the signal generator 77.
To form a digital video signal. The digital video signal is converted into an analog video signal by the D / A converter 79 and displayed on the liquid crystal display panel 5.

Next, a case where an object is photographed by the electronic camera 1 will be described. The electronic camera 1 includes a high-resolution shooting in which one exposure is performed by performing four exposures and a low-resolution shooting in which one shooting is performed by one exposure.
Different types of shooting are possible. In the case of high-resolution shooting, the angles of the first and second electromagnetic actuators 32 and 62 are adjusted in advance by operating the respective angle adjusting screws 56a to 56d, and the light from the subject is caused by the first and second parallel flat plates 31 and 61. There so that the inclination angle theta ₁ deviates 0.5 pixel pitch on the fixed imaging device 29, to adjust the tilt angle of the movable plate 36 therebetween.

In this state, since no current flows through the coils 51 and 52 of the first and second electromagnetic actuators 32 and 62, each movable plate 36 of the first and second electromagnetic actuators 32 and 62 has two coils. It is urged by the spring force of the springs 58a and 58b and abuts against the tips of the angle adjusting screws 56a to 56d, whereby the neutral state is maintained substantially perpendicular to the optical axis O. Thereafter, when the power switch 7 is turned on and the mode key 12 is set to the high resolution mode, the first and second electromagnetic actuators 32 and 6 are turned on.
2 is driven to tilt each movable plate 36 to the state of the first operation mode. Thus, the first parallel flat plate 31, the inclination angle theta ₁ in the operating state becomes 1 as shown in FIG. 22, a second plane parallel plate 61, the operation shown in inclination angle theta ₁ in FIG. 23 (a) The state becomes state a, and a state in which high-resolution shooting is possible is set.

In this state, when the shutter button 8 is operated, the first drive circuit 6 for driving the solid-state image sensor 29 is driven by a timing signal from the timing generator 69.
6 is controlled, and in synchronization with this, both the second drive circuit 67 for driving the first electromagnetic actuator 32 and the third drive circuit 68 for driving the second electromagnetic actuator 62 are controlled. That is, when the solid-state imaging device 29 is driven, as shown in FIG. 25, an image of the subject is received during the first exposure time, and after the first exposure is completed, the second exposure is started. The first image data received during this time is transferred. This operation is repeated four times, and one photographing by the solid-state imaging device 29 is completed.

In synchronization with this, the first electromagnetic actuator 32 is driven to hold the first parallel flat plate 31 in the operating state 1 during the first exposure time, and to move the movable flat plate 31 during the image data transfer time. The first parallel flat plate 31 is set to the operation state 2 by moving 36. This operation is sequentially repeated, and the first parallel flat plate 31 is sequentially switched to the operation states 1 to 4 for each exposure time. As a result, the image of the subject is shifted left and right and up and down on the fixed image sensor 29 by 0.5 pixel pitch sequentially for each exposure. At the same time,
The second actuator 62 is driven, and during the first exposure time, the second parallel flat plate 61 is continuously switched to the operation states a to d, returns to the operation state a, and remains stationary during the image data transfer time. This operation is repeated for each exposure time, so that the image of the subject is sequentially shifted by 0.5 during one exposure time.
The pixel pitch is shifted left, right, up, and down on the fixed image sensor 29 by the pixel pitch.

As described above, when one photographing operation is performed, the image of the subject is shifted in four directions by 0.5 pixel pitch in each exposure by the first plane-parallel plate unit 27. In addition, the second shift is performed for each state shifted in each direction.
The parallel plane plate unit 28 further shifts the image of the subject continuously in four directions by 0.5 pixel pitch, and the solid-state image sensor 29 sequentially receives the images in these states every four exposures. Since the data is transferred, four pieces of image data are obtained by one photographing, and these four pieces of image data are combined to generate one screen of combined image data.

Therefore, in this photographing, the image of the subject is shifted in four directions by 0.5 pixel pitch in each exposure by the first parallel plane plate unit 27.
Since pixel interpolation is performed, a high-resolution image can be obtained even when the number of pixels of the solid-state imaging device 29 is small.
The image of the subject is continuously shifted in four directions by 0.5 pixel pitch during one exposure by the second parallel plane plate unit 28, thereby performing a function as a low-pass filter. Can be eliminated, and the image quality can be prevented from deteriorating due to moiré or a false color signal caused by a high frequency, and a good image can be obtained.

In the case of low-resolution photographing, the angle adjusting screws 56a of the second electromagnetic actuator 62 are set in advance.
By operating the ～56D, as the image of the object by the second parallel flat plate 61 is the inclination angle theta ₂ off by one pixel pitch on the fixed imaging device 29, to adjust the tilt angle of the movable plate 36. Then, when the power switch 7 is turned on and the mode key 12 is set to the low resolution mode, only the second electromagnetic actuator 62 is driven, and the second parallel flat plate 61 is tilted at the inclination angle θ ₂ as shown in FIG. Operating state A shown in
Tilt to. At this time, the first electromagnetic actuator 3
2 is not driven, the first electromagnetic actuator 32
The movable plate 36 is biased by the spring force of the two coil springs 58a and 58b, and is held in a neutral state in contact with the tips of the angle adjusting screws 56a to 56d. As a result, a state in which low-resolution shooting is possible is achieved.

In this state, when the shutter button 8 is operated, the first drive circuit 6 for driving the solid-state imaging device 29 is driven by a timing signal from the timing generator 69.
6 and the third drive circuit 68 for driving the second electromagnetic actuator 62 are controlled, but the second drive circuit 67 for driving the first electromagnetic actuator 32 is not controlled. When the solid-state imaging device 29 is driven in this manner, as shown in FIG. 26, an image of a subject is received during one exposure time, and when this exposure is completed, image data is transferred to perform one shooting operation. To end. At this time, the first electromagnetic actuator 32 is not driven, and the first parallel flat plate 31 is held in the neutral state.
Pass through the parallel flat plate 31 as it is. However, the second actuator 62 is driven in synchronization with the solid-state imaging device 29, and switches the second parallel flat plate 61 continuously to the operation states A to D during one exposure time to return to the operation state A. It is stationary during the transfer time of the image data. As a result, the image of the subject shifts right and left and up and down on the fixed image sensor 29 by one pixel pitch sequentially during one exposure time.

Therefore, in this photographing, since the first parallel plane plate 31 of the first parallel plane plate unit 27 is held in the neutral state, the image of the subject is the same as the first parallel plane plate 31 at each exposure. However, the subject image is continuously shifted in four directions by one pixel pitch during exposure by the second parallel plane plate unit 28,
This is received by the solid-state imaging device 29 and the image data is transferred, so that the image data of one exposure becomes the image data of one screen as it is, so that a low-resolution image can be obtained and the second parallel flat image can be obtained. Since the image of the subject is continuously shifted in four directions by one pixel pitch during exposure by the face plate unit 28, it functions as a low-pass filter. Therefore, as in the case of high-resolution shooting, the high-frequency range higher than the Nyquist frequency is set. The image quality can be prevented from being reduced due to moire or false color signals, and a good image can be obtained. Also, in this low-resolution shooting, the capacity of image data for one screen is very small as compared with the case of high-resolution shooting, so that the number of shots can be greatly increased.

In the above embodiment, each movable plate 36 of the electromagnetic actuators 32 and 62 is connected to two coil springs 58.
Although the structure for maintaining the neutral state by a and 58b is adopted, it is not always necessary to provide the coil springs 58a and 58b. In this case, when the mode key 12 is switched to the low resolution mode, the second electromagnetic actuator 62
In addition, the first electromagnetic actuator 32 may be driven to tilt each movable plate 36. At this time, the first
The inclination angle of the parallel flat plate 31 is 0.5
May even angle theta ₁ to shift pixel pitch, also may even angle theta ₂ shifting 1 pixel pitch an image of a subject, moreover tilt direction of the first parallel flat plate 31 may be tilted only in one of four directions direction. In the above embodiment, the first parallel plane plate unit 27 for pixel interpolation is arranged on the subject side,
Although the second parallel plane plate unit 28 for the low-pass filter is arranged on the solid-state image sensor 29 side, it may be arranged in the opposite manner, and instead of the second parallel plane plate unit 28, a birefringence such as a quartz plate is used. The element may be used as a low-pass filter.

In the above-described embodiment, the first electromagnetic actuator of the first parallel plane plate unit 27 for pixel interpolation is drive-controlled so that the first parallel plane plate 31 is inclined in only one direction for each exposure. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and control may be performed so as to incline in four directions during one exposure. With this configuration, the first parallel plane plate unit 27 can also serve as a low-pass filter while interpolating pixels. Therefore, it is necessary to use the second parallel plane plate unit 28 and a birefringent element such as a quartz plate. Since there is no structure, the structure can be simplified. Also in this case, the angle adjusting screw 5
By operating the 6A～56d, by adjusting the inclination angle of the movable plate 36, it is set to one of the inclination angle theta ₁ and the inclination angle theta ₂ of the first parallel flat plate 31, and a high-resolution photography low Resolution shooting becomes possible.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the case where the electromagnetic actuator 32 is used as the actuator has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. You may make it incline three-dimensionally with respect to O. In this case, if two or more voltage resistance elements are used, the transparent parallel flat plate can be inclined in two or more directions. For example, in the above embodiment, the parallel flat plate 31 is inclined in four directions. However, if four voltage resistance elements are used, the plane resistance plate 31 can be inclined in four or more directions.

[0046]

As described above, according to the present invention, the driving means controls the actuator by the control means, and the parallel plane plate is tilted every plural times of exposure to change the light emission position with respect to the light incidence position. The image of the subject is sequentially shifted on the solid-state imaging device, and the image data obtained by the multiple exposures is synthesized by the synthesizing means to generate one screen of synthesized image data. Even when used, a high-resolution image can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external plan view showing an embodiment of an electronic camera to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is an external front view of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an external rear view of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of an imaging device provided in a camera unit of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a main part of an arrangement state of light receiving pixels of the solid-state imaging device in FIG. 4;

6A and 6B show the optical principle of the transparent plane-parallel plate of FIG. 4; FIG. 6A shows an optical path state when the plane-parallel plate is arranged perpendicular to the optical axis; FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an optical path state in a state where a plane-parallel plate is inclined with respect to the optical axis.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a state in which an emitted light beam is shifted in four directions according to the inclination direction of the transparent parallel flat plate of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of an electromagnetic actuator of the first plane-parallel plate unit of FIG. 4;

FIG. 9 is a plan view of the first fixing plate of FIG. 8;

10A and 10B show the first fixing plate of FIG. 9; FIG. 10A is a side view thereof, and FIG.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of the second solid plate of FIG. 8;

12A and 12B show a second fixing plate of FIG. 11, wherein FIG. 12A is a side view thereof, and FIG. 12B is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG.

FIG. 13 is a plan view of the movable plate of FIG. 8;

14A and 14B show the movable plate of FIG. 13, wherein FIG. 14A is a side view thereof, and FIG.

FIG. 15 is a sectional view of an assembled state of the electromagnetic actuator of FIG. 8;

16A and 16B show an operation mode between the first fixed plate and the movable plate in FIG. 15, and FIG. 16A is a modeled plan view thereof;
(B) is the modeled side view.

FIG. 17 shows an operation mode between the second fixed plate and the movable plate in FIG. 15, (a) is a modeled plan view thereof,
(B) is the modeled side view.

FIG. 18 is an electrical connection diagram of two coils provided on the movable plate of FIG. 8;

FIG. 19 is a table showing an operation mode corresponding to each operation mode of the electromagnetic actuator of FIG. 8;

FIG. 20 is a view for explaining an operation mode of a movable plate in each operation mode of the electromagnetic actuator of FIG. 8;

FIG. 21 is a sectional view showing a state in which the movable plate of FIG. 15 is inclined.

FIG. 22 is a diagram showing the inclination direction and the inclination angle of the first parallel plane plate of the first parallel plane unit by arrows.

FIGS. 23A and 23B show the inclination direction and the inclination angle of the second parallel plane plate of the second parallel plane unit by arrows, where FIG. 23A shows the state of the inclination angle θ ₁ and FIG. 23B shows the state of the inclination angle θ _2; FIG.

FIG. 24 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of the electronic camera of FIG. 1;

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing a time chart at the time of high-resolution shooting by the electronic camera in FIG. 1;

26 is a view showing a time chart at the time of low-resolution shooting in the electronic camera of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 25 imaging device 27 first parallel flat plate unit 28 second parallel flat plate unit 29 solid-state imaging device 31 first parallel flat plate 32 first electromagnetic actuator 36 movable plate 39a, 39b, 43a, 43b magnet 51, 52 coil 56a -56d Angle adjusting screw 61 Second parallel flat plate 62 Second electromagnetic actuator 69 Timing generator 70 DRAM 71 Compression / expansion circuit 72 Flash memory O Optical axis

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Atsushi Yamane 4-2610 Hanazono, Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture Pioneer Corporation Tokorozawa Plant (72) Inventor Hiroyuki Watanabe 4-2610 Hanazono Tokorozawa City, Saitama Prefecture Tokorozawa Plant

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. An image pickup apparatus for picking up an image of a subject with a solid-state image sensor, comprising: a transparent parallel flat plate disposed on an optical path between the subject and the solid-state image sensor; An actuator that inclines in a plurality of predetermined directions with respect to an optical axis to change an emission position with respect to an incident position of light; a control unit that drives and controls the actuator so as to incline the plane-parallel plate for each of a plurality of exposures; Image data obtained by the exposure of
An imaging apparatus, comprising: synthesizing means for generating synthetic image data of a screen; and storage means for storing the synthetic image data generated by the synthesizing means. 2. The actuator according to claim 1, wherein the actuator comprises a movable plate on which the transparent plane-parallel plate is mounted, a permanent magnetic field generating means for generating at least two permanent magnetic fields, and a current corresponding to an input control signal. And coil means having at least two coils each forming a current path intersecting the movable plate with the optical axis by at least two electromagnetic forces generated between the permanent magnetic field generating means and the coil means. The imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the imaging device is inclined in a plurality of predetermined directions. 3. A first mode in which the image data obtained by the plurality of exposures is synthesized, and the obtained synthesized image data of one screen is stored in the storage means, and an image obtained by the single exposure is provided. 3. The photographing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a second mode in which data is directly stored as image data of one screen in the storage unit. 4. A method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of:
4. The imaging apparatus according to claim 3, wherein low-pass filters having different characteristics between the first mode and the second mode are provided. 5. A low-pass filter, wherein a transparent second light path is provided on an optical path between the object and the solid-state imaging device.
5. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said parallel plane plate is disposed and said second plane parallel plate is tilted in a plurality of predetermined directions with respect to an optical axis during one exposure time by a second actuator. . 6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the angle of inclination of the second plane-parallel plate with respect to the optical axis during the one exposure time is different between the first mode and the second mode. Imaging device. 7. The imaging apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the actuator tilts the plane-parallel plate in a plurality of predetermined directions with respect to an optical axis during one exposure time. 8. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the plane parallel plate has a different inclination angle with respect to the optical axis during the one exposure time between the first mode and the second mode. .