KR101295241B1 - Digital photographing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a digital photographing apparatus that is effective and capable of expressing various depths, comprising: (i) a frame, (ii) an image pickup device, (iii) a surface on which light from the image pickup device is moved by moving the image pickup device, The present invention provides a digital photographing apparatus comprising an actuator capable of changing an angle formed by an optical axis of light incident on an image pickup device.

Description

Digital photographing apparatus

1 is a side view schematically showing a conventional digital photographing apparatus.

2 is a perspective view schematically showing a digital photographing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a rear view schematically showing the back of the digital photographing apparatus of FIG. 1.

4A is a conceptual diagram schematically illustrating a part of the inside of the digital photographing apparatus of FIG. 2.

4B is a conceptual diagram schematically illustrating an exploded part of FIG. 4A.

4C is a conceptual diagram schematically illustrating an example in which the portion shown in FIG. 4A is operated by a user.

5 is a conceptual diagram schematically illustrating a part of an inside of a digital photographing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

6A to 7B are photographed photographic images schematically showing effects obtained by photographing using a digital photographing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a conceptual diagram schematically illustrating a part of an inside of a digital photographing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

9 is a conceptual diagram schematically illustrating a portion of an inside of a digital photographing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

10 is a conceptual diagram schematically illustrating a viewfinder of a digital photographing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

20: lens unit 22: image pickup device

23: support 26: variable length element

27: motor 28: motion transfer element

29: motion element 30: frame

The present invention relates to a digital photographing apparatus, and more particularly, to a digital photographing apparatus that is effective and capable of expressing various depths.

In general, a digital photographing apparatus converts image information input to an image pickup device into an electrical signal to store an image file on a recording medium, and if necessary, reproduces the image file stored on the recording medium and displays the image on the display unit. do.

When photographing using such a digital photographing apparatus, an image having various effects can be obtained by adjusting the numerical aperture of the aperture. For example, by lowering the aperture value, an image in which only a specific subject is clearly displayed and the background is blurred may be obtained. In addition, by increasing the aperture value, an image in which both the subject and the background may be clear may be obtained. However, depending on the situation, it may not be possible to obtain an effect intended by the user only by adjusting the aperture, and there is a problem in that an effect beyond the basic performance of the digital photographing apparatus may not be obtained.

In order to solve this problem, a digital photographing apparatus as shown in FIG. 1 has been proposed. Referring to FIG. 1, the conventional digital photographing apparatus includes a photographing apparatus main body 1 and a lens portion 2, and the lens portion 2 has a refractive portion unlike a conventional lens portion. That is, although the optical axis of the conventional lens part is incident on the lens part and passes through the lens part, the lens part 2 shown in FIG. 1 is formed by the first part 2a adjacent to the photographing apparatus main body 1 and the end of the lens part. It has a 2nd part 2b, and the optical axis in 1st part 2a and the optical axis in 2nd part 2b are not in line. By using the lens unit 2, even when photographing at the same aperture value, the refraction angle of the lens unit 2 can be adjusted to adjust the depth and the like according to the user's intention.

However, in the conventional digital photographing apparatus, since the lens unit 2 has a refraction unit, there is a problem that it is not easy to implement a lens unit having an auto-focus (AF) function. That is, there is a problem that the user must focus manually. In addition, since the lens unit 2 has a refractive unit, there is a problem that the implementation of the zoom lens is not easy. In addition, since the direction of refraction in the refraction portion of the lens unit 2 is determined in a specific direction and can be refracted only in that direction, there is a problem that it is not suitable for obtaining images of various effects. Of course, if the lens unit 2 having such a refractive unit is not used, there is a problem in that the depth and the like cannot be adjusted according to the user's intention by a method other than the numerical aperture control.

The present invention has been made to solve various problems including the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a digital photographing apparatus capable of expressing an effective and various depths.

The present invention is capable of changing the angle between (i) the frame, (ii) the image pickup device, and (iii) the image pickup device to move the image pickup device to the plane on which the light of the image pickup device is incident and the optical axis of the light incident on the image pickup device. It provides a digital photographing apparatus comprising an actuator that is present.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the actuator has a plurality of variable length variable in the direction parallel to the optical axis of the light incident on the image pickup device, by varying the length of each variable length element, The angle between the surface on which the light of the imaging device is incident and the optical axis of the light incident on the imaging device can be changed.

According to still another feature of the present invention, each of the variable length elements may be provided with a motor.

According to still another feature of the present invention, each of the variable length elements includes: (i) a motor, and (ii) a thread attached to an end of a drive shaft of the motor and having a hole coaxial with a drive shaft of the motor, the thread formed on the inner surface of the hole. And a motion transfer element having a screw bone and (iii) one end having a screw thread and a screw bone to engage with the motion transfer element to linearly move according to the rotation of the motor, and at the other end a movement element having a first hinge coupling element. Wherein the motor is fixed to the frame and the imaging device has a second hinge coupling element that engages with a first hinge coupling element of the moving element, or the motor is fixed to the imaging element and the frame is the moving element. It may be provided with a second hinge coupling element for engaging with the first hinge coupling element of the.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is further provided a support for supporting the image pickup device, wherein each of the variable length elements is attached to (i) a motor and (ii) an end of a drive shaft of the motor, the drive shaft of the motor. A movement transmission element having a hole coaxial with and having a thread and a screw bone formed on the inner surface of the hole, and (iii) one end having a screw thread and a screw bone to engage with the movement transmission element, and performing a linear movement according to the rotation of the motor. It has a moving element having a first hinge coupling element, the motor is fixed to the frame and the support for supporting the image pickup device has a second hinge coupling element for engaging with the first hinge coupling element of the moving element or The motor is fixed to a support for supporting the imaging device and the frame includes a second hinge coupling element for engaging with a first hinge coupling element of the moving element. Can be done.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, each of the variable length elements includes: (i) a motor having threads and screw valleys on a drive shaft, and (ii) one end of the motor having a hole coaxial with the drive shaft of the motor, It has a screw thread and a screw valley formed in the inner surface to engage the linear movement according to the rotation of the motor, the other end is provided with a moving element having a first hinge coupling element, the motor is fixed to the frame and the image pickup device A second hinge coupling element that engages with a first hinge coupling element of the moving element, or wherein the motor is fixed to the imaging device and the frame engages with a first hinge coupling element of the moving element It can be provided with.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is further provided a support for supporting the image pickup device, wherein each variable length member includes: (i) a motor having a screw thread and a screw valley on a drive shaft; and (ii) one end of the motor. It has a hole coaxial with a drive shaft and has a screw thread and a screw bone formed on the inner surface of the hole to be engaged with the drive shaft of the motor to perform a linear movement according to the rotation of the motor, the other end is provided with a movement element having a first hinge coupling element, The motor is fixed to the frame and the support for supporting the imaging device has a second hinge coupling element for engaging with the first hinge coupling element of the moving element, or the motor is fixed to the support for supporting the imaging device and the The frame may have a second hinge coupling element that engages with the first hinge coupling element of the moving element.

According to another feature of the invention, the digital photographing apparatus provides a plurality of point of focus, in the light incident side of the image pickup device, corresponding to a point of focus selected by the user of the plurality of point of reference The position of the point relative to the frame may be kept constant despite the movement of the imaging device.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically showing a digital photographing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a rear view schematically showing a rear surface of the digital photographing apparatus of FIG.

2, a microphone (MIC), a self-timer lamp (11), a flash (12), a shutter release button (13), a view finder (17a) on the front of the digital photographing apparatus according to the present invention. , A flash-light sensor 19, a power switch 31, a lens unit 20, and a remote receiver 41.

In the self-timer mode, the self-timer lamp 11 operates for a set time from the time when the shutter release button 13 is pressed to the time when the image starts to capture. The flash-light amount sensor 19 detects the light amount when the flash 12 operates and inputs the light amount to a digital photographing apparatus processor (not shown) through a microcontroller (not shown). The remote receiving unit 41 receives a command signal from a remote controller (not shown), for example, a shooting command signal, and inputs it to a digital photographing apparatus processor through a microcontroller.

Referring to FIG. 3, the rear of the digital photographing apparatus according to the present invention has a mode dial 14, function buttons 15, manual focusing / delete / reduction button 36, manual adjustment / playback / stop / enlargement. Button 37, playback mode button 42, speaker SP, monitor button 32, auto-focus lamp 33, viewfinder 17b, flash standby lamp 34, display panel 35, Wide-angle-zoom button 39W, telephoto-zoom button 39T, external interface 16, and the like.

The mode dial 14 is any one of operation modes of the photographing apparatus, for example, a simple shooting mode, a program shooting mode, a portrait shooting mode, a night view shooting mode, a manual shooting mode, a movie shooting mode, a user setting mode, and a recording mode. Is used for the user to select.

The function buttons 15 may be used by the user to select specific functions of the digital photographing apparatus, may be used to move an image when playing back an image on the display panel, and may be activated on a menu screen on the display panel 35. Used as direction-move buttons, and so on.

Manual-adjust / play / stop / enlarge button 37 is used for manual adjustment of certain conditions. Further, in the playback mode, when the user presses the manual-adjustment / playback / stop / enlarge button 37 while the user selects any video file, the user may play or stop the selected video file. The image displayed on the display unit may be enlarged.

The manual-focusing / deleting / reducing button 36 may be used for the user to manually focus or delete operation in the shooting mode. The image displayed on the display unit may be reduced. The monitor button 32 can be used by the user to control the operation of the display panel 35. The playback mode button 42 can be used for switching to playback or shooting mode.

The auto-focus lamp 33 operates when the focus is well achieved. The flash standby lamp 34 operates when the flash (12 in Fig. 1) is in the standby state for operation. The mode indicating lamp 14L indicates the selection mode of the mode dial 14.

Of course, the photographing apparatus shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 is only one embodiment of the digital photographing apparatus according to the present invention, and the digital photographing apparatus according to the present invention may be a camcorder or the like. In addition, the digital photographing apparatus according to the present invention may be modified in various ways, such as having a shape different from those shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 or a lens interchangeable photographing apparatus such as a single lens reflex (SLR) photographing apparatus. .

FIG. 4A is a conceptual diagram schematically illustrating a part of the inside of the digital photographing apparatus of FIG. 1, FIG. 4B is a conceptual diagram schematically illustrating an exploded part of FIG. 2, and FIG. 4C is a portion illustrated in FIG. 4A by a user. It is a conceptual diagram schematically showing an example of operation.

4A or 4B, the digital photographing apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a frame 30, an image pickup device 22, and an actuator 25. The imaging device 22 may be supported by a separate support 23 as shown in FIG. 4A. The actuator 25 moves the image pickup device 22. The surface 22a on which the light of the image pickup device 22 is incident by moving the image pickup device 22 and the optical axis ℓ of the light incident on the image pickup device 22. This angle can be changed. For example, as shown in FIG. 4C, the surface 22a on which the light of the imaging device 22 is incident may be inclined with respect to the optical axis ℓ. Manipulation of such actuator 25 can be accomplished using various buttons, including function buttons 15 as shown in FIG.

The actuator 25 may be implemented in various shapes. For example, as shown in FIGS. 4A to 4C, the actuator 25 may be implemented to include a plurality of variable length elements 26. Each length variable element 26 is variable in length in a direction parallel to the optical axis l of light incident on the image pickup device 22. The image pickup device 22 is changed by varying the length of each variable length element 26. The angle formed between the surface 22a on which light is incident and the optical axis L of light incident on the imaging device 22 can be changed.

Each length variable element 26 may be variable in length with a motor 27 as shown, for example, in FIGS. 4A-4C. Specifically, each variable length element 26 includes a motor 27, a motion transfer element 28, and a motion element 29.

The motor 27 is a motor whose main body 27a is attached to the frame 30, and is capable of both forward rotation and reverse rotation. The motion transfer element 28 is attached to the end of the drive shaft 27b of the motor 27, has a hole coaxial with the drive shaft 27b of the motor 27, and has a thread and a screw bone formed on the inner surface of the hole. Of course, various modifications are possible, such as the movement transmission element 28 and the drive shaft 27b of the motor 27 may be integrated. The movement element 29 is coupled to the movement transfer element 28, which at one end has a thread and a screw bone to engage the threads and screw bones in the holes of the movement transfer element 28. Accordingly, the motion element 29 moves in and out of the motion transfer element 28 according to the operation of the motor 27. The other end of the moving element 29 has a first hinge coupling element 29a. On the other hand, the image pickup device 22 support 23 has a second hinge coupling element 23a which engages with the first hinge coupling element 29a of the movement element 29, thereby providing the movement element 29 and the support 23. Is hinged. Of course, the shape of the hinge coupling element is not limited to that shown in Figures 4a and 4c, and may be various modifications, such as may be a hinge coupling element capable of 360-degree rotation.

Of course, the motor 27 is fixed to the support 23 for supporting the image pickup device 22, such as a part of the digital photographing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. The hinge coupling element 30a is provided, and various modifications are possible, such that the first hinge coupling element 29a of the movement element 29 and the second hinge coupling element 30a of the frame 30 may be hinged. . 4A, 4B, and 5, the support 23 supporting the image pickup device 22 is not provided, and the image pickup device 22 includes a second hinge coupling element or the image pickup device 22. Various modifications are possible, such as the motor 27 may be fixed.

The actuator 25 having the variable length elements 26 having such a structure changes the length of each variable length element 26, whereby the surface 22a on which the light of the imaging element 22 is incident and the imaging element 22. The angle formed by the optical axis ℓ of the light incident on the can be varied in various ways.

6A to 7B are photographed photographic images schematically showing effects obtained by photographing using a digital photographing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6A shows an image captured by three people located at the same distance from the digital photographing apparatus. When the subjects are located at the same distance from the digital photographing apparatus as described above, even if the depth of the aperture is reduced to make the depth shallower, they appear on the image with the same sharpness. This is because when the depth of field is lowered to decrease the depth of field, the subject at a certain distance is clearly displayed and the subject at another distance is blurred. Therefore, using a conventional digital photographing apparatus, as shown in FIG. 6B, only one of three people appears clearly and others cannot obtain an image that appears blurred.

However, when using the digital photographing apparatus according to the present embodiment, an image as shown in Fig. 6B can be easily obtained. That is, as shown in FIG. 4A, when the surface 22a on which the light of the imaging device 22 is incident enters perpendicularly to the optical axis ℓ of the light passing through the lens unit 20 and incident on the imaging device 22. An image as shown in FIG. 6A, in which all three people at the same distance are clearly seen, is obtained, and the image pickup device 22 is moved by moving the image pickup device 22 using the actuator 25 as shown in FIG. 4C. If the surface 22a on which light is incident is not perpendicular to the optical axis ℓ of the light incident on the image pickup device 22 through the lens unit 20, even if three people are located at the same distance, You will get an image like that shown in Figure 6b where only the central person is clear. That is, the relative position of the center point of the image pickup device 22 with respect to the frame 30 is maintained as it is so that the image information obtained at the center point of the image pickup device 22 becomes the image information in a focused state, and the image pickup device 22 By obtaining the image information obtained at other points of), the image information of the out of focus state, an image as shown in FIG. 6B is obtained.

On the other hand, Figure 7a is a photograph of the front portion of the subject (building) in an oblique direction using a conventional digital photographing apparatus without photographing the subject (building) from the front, only a part of the subject (building) is in focus and other parts The entire subject (building) does not appear clear because it is out of focus. However, even in this case, when the digital photographing apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment is used, an image in which the subject (building) is clearly displayed as shown in FIG. You can get it.

As such, when using the digital photographing apparatus according to the present embodiment, unlike the conventional digital photographing apparatus, various effects can be obtained by simply adjusting the numerical value of the aperture. Furthermore, in the case of the digital photographing apparatus according to the present embodiment, such an effect is obtained by controlling the position of the image pickup device rather than the lens unit. Therefore, various conventional lens units that have been developed can be used as they are. In particular, since both the lens unit having the autofocus function or the lens unit having the zoom function can be used, the user's convenience can be greatly improved. In addition, the actuator can be variously modified the position of the image pickup device. When using the conventional refractive lens portion, the direction of refraction is determined in a specific direction, so that only the direction of refraction is not suitable for obtaining images of various effects. On the contrary, by varying the position of the image pickup device, an image having various effects according to the user's intention can be obtained.

8 is a conceptual diagram schematically illustrating a part of an inside of a digital photographing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. The difference between the digital photographing apparatus according to the embodiment described above with reference to FIG. 4A and the digital photographing apparatus according to the present embodiment is that a screw thread and a screw bone are formed on the drive shaft 27b of the motor 27, and the separate motion transmission is performed. One end 29b of the moving element 29 has a hole coaxial with the drive shaft 27b of the motor 27 without using the element, and the thread and screw bone formed on the inner surface of the hole to engage the drive shaft 27b of the motor 27. It has a linear motion in accordance with the rotation of the motor (27). Of course, the motor 27 may be fixed on the support 23 supporting the image pickup device 22 as a part of the inside of the digital photographing apparatus shown in FIG. 9. As such, the variable length element 26 of the actuator 25 may be modified in various forms.

10 is a conceptual diagram schematically illustrating a viewfinder 17b of a digital photographing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

The digital photographing apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment may provide a plurality of focusing points. In this case, when the user views the subject through the viewfinder 17b, the focusing points 17c may be viewed as shown in FIG. 10. It is displayed within 17b. Here, the reference point refers to a point in which the subject is accurately focused and clearly displayed among the points in the view finder 17b. The digital photographing apparatus according to the present embodiment provides a plurality of reference points 17c. The subject is clearly displayed at any one of the ranging points 17c selected by the user. Therefore, when any one of the focusing points 17c is selected, the lens unit or the like is focused so that the image is clearly displayed at the point corresponding to the focusing point, and then the actuator is operated according to the signal from the user to capture the image. By moving the device, the user can obtain an image with the desired effect. At this time, the control of the lens unit is completed before the actuator operates in response to a signal from the user. Therefore, when the actuator is operated to move the image pickup device, the position of the image corresponding to the frame corresponding to the one reference point selected by the user among the plurality of reference points on the plane where the light is incident on the image pickup device, To remain constant despite movements. If the relative position with respect to the frame of the point corresponding to the one point selected by the user among the plurality of point points is kept constant on the plane where the light of the image sensor is incident, this is because That is, the position relative to the subject of the point corresponding to the one point selected by the user among the three point points is kept constant. The reason for controlling in this way is that the image at the location point is clearly displayed when the relative position with respect to the frame of the point corresponding to the location point selected by the user does not change on the surface where the light of the imaging device is incident.

Of course, the actuator can be operated in response to a signal from the user to create a state in which the effect desired by the user is added to the image by moving the image pickup device, and then various modifications are possible, such as controlling the focus by controlling the lens unit. Of course.

According to the digital photographing apparatus of the present invention made as described above, it is possible to implement a digital photographing apparatus capable of effective and various depth expression.

While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the true technical protection scope of the present invention will be defined by the technical spirit of the appended claims.

Claims (8)

frame; Imaging device; And An actuator capable of moving the imaging device to change an angle formed between a surface on which light of the imaging device is incident and an optical axis of light incident on the imaging device; The actuator includes a plurality of length variable elements whose lengths vary in a direction parallel to the optical axis of the light incident on the image pickup device, and the light incident on the image pickup device is incident by changing the lengths of the length variable elements. And an angle formed by the optical axis of the light incident on the image pickup device. delete The method of claim 1, And wherein each variable length element comprises a motor. The method of claim 1, Each variable length element, motor; A motion transfer element attached to an end of the drive shaft of the motor and having a hole coaxial with the drive shaft of the motor and having a thread and a screw bone formed on an inner surface of the hole; And One end has a screw thread and a screw bone to engage the movement transfer element to perform a linear movement according to the rotation of the motor, the other end a movement element having a first hinge coupling element; The motor is fixed to the frame and the image pickup device has a second hinge coupling element that engages with the first hinge coupling element of the moving element, or the motor is fixed to the image pickup element and the frame is formed of the first moving element. And a second hinge coupling element coupled to the first hinge coupling element. The method of claim 1, Further comprising a support for supporting the image pickup device, Each variable length element, motor; A motion transfer element attached to an end of the drive shaft of the motor and having a hole coaxial with the drive shaft of the motor and having a thread and a screw bone formed on an inner surface of the hole; And One end has a screw thread and a screw bone to engage the movement transfer element to perform a linear movement according to the rotation of the motor, the other end a movement element having a first hinge coupling element; The motor is fixed to the frame and the support for supporting the imaging device has a second hinge coupling element for engaging with the first hinge coupling element of the moving element, or the motor is fixed to the support for supporting the imaging device And the frame has a second hinge coupling element that engages with the first hinge coupling element of the moving element. The method of claim 1, Each variable length element, A motor having a thread and a screw valley on the drive shaft; And One end has a hole coaxial with the drive shaft of the motor and has a screw thread and a screw bone formed on the inner surface of the hole to engage with the drive shaft of the motor to perform a linear movement according to the rotation of the motor, the other end having a first hinge coupling element With; The motor is fixed to the frame and the image pickup device has a second hinge coupling element that engages with the first hinge coupling element of the moving element, or the motor is fixed to the image pickup element and the frame is formed of the first moving element. And a second hinge coupling element coupled to the first hinge coupling element. The method of claim 1, Further comprising a support for supporting the image pickup device, Each variable length element, A motor having a thread and a screw valley on the drive shaft; And One end has a hole coaxial with the drive shaft of the motor and has a screw thread and a screw bone formed on the inner surface of the hole to engage with the drive shaft of the motor to perform a linear movement according to the rotation of the motor, the other end having a first hinge coupling element With; The motor is fixed to the frame and the support for supporting the imaging device has a second hinge coupling element for engaging with the first hinge coupling element of the moving element, or the motor is fixed to the support for supporting the imaging device And the frame has a second hinge coupling element that engages with the first hinge coupling element of the moving element. The method according to any one of claims 1 and 3 to 7, The digital photographing apparatus provides a plurality of points of focus, and a position relative to the frame at a point corresponding to a point of focus selected by a user from among a plurality of points of focus on a surface on which light of the imaging device is incident And remain constant despite movement of the image pickup device.

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