JP2003101822A - Image input device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image input device capable of shortening focusing time and capable of focusing even on a subject too near for a normal lens. SOLUTION: In the image input device having an image pickup part 12 for photographing and storing an image of a subject and a supporting part 14 for supporting the image pickup part 12 away from the subject by a prescribed distance, the image pickup part 12 is detachably supported by the supporting part 14. Since a range finding scope in a state of the image pickup part 12 supported by the supporting part 14 is narrower than a range finding scope of a state of the image pickup part 12 not supported by the supporting part 14, the range finding scope, i.e., a focusing range, is narrowed when the image pickup part 12 is fixed on the supporting part 14, so that focusing time can be shortened.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image input device that captures an image of a subject placed on a platen and captures it as image data.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, PCs (Personal Com
The processing power of the (putter) has been dramatically improved, and the image data can be easily manipulated. with this,
Many image data were used for creating documents in the office, and the image data became very important. Under such circumstances, there is an increasing demand for easily capturing an image of a document or an object at hand wherever it is.

For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-101784 describes a device in which an electronic camera can be used as a reading unit of a flatbed scanner. Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-289178 describes a device as a document image type image input device in which an imaging unit is detachably attached to an end of a column. Furthermore, JP-A-9-2382
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 75-75 describes an apparatus in which a head part for picking up an image of a subject placed on a document table is provided with illumination.

[0004]

In the conventional image input device, the distance measuring range in the image pickup unit is the same when the image pickup unit is attached to the support column and when the image pickup unit is removed from the support column, and the image pickup unit is used as the support column. Although the shooting distance is limited in the attached state, there is a problem that it is wasteful and time consuming to focus like a general camera.

Further, if it is possible to focus on a short shooting distance only with the lens of the image pickup section, the moving amount of the focus lens must be increased, which causes a problem of designing the lens barrel. It was .

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and provides an image input apparatus which can shorten the focusing time and can focus on a short shooting distance with a normal lens. With the goal.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image pickup section for picking up and holding an image of a subject, and a support section for supporting the image pickup section at a predetermined distance from the subject. In the image input device, the image pickup unit is detachably supported by the support unit, and the distance measurement range in a state where the image pickup unit is supported by the support unit is when the image pickup unit is not supported by the support unit. When the image pickup unit is fixed to the support unit because it is narrower than the range-finding range, the range-finding range, that is, the focus range is narrowed, so that the focusing time can be shortened.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image input apparatus according to the first aspect, the close-up lens for moving the focusing range of the image pickup section to the short distance side is provided in the support section, so that the image pickup is performed. When the lens is supported by the support unit, the close-up lens moves the focusing range of the image pickup unit to the near distance side, and it is a camera that cannot focus on the short distance and can be used as the image pickup unit. There is no need to increase the amount of movement of the focus lens, and there is no burden on the lens barrel design.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image input device according to the first aspect, the image pickup unit has a first power storage unit, and the support unit has a second power storage unit. The unit is supplied with power from the first power storage unit when not supported by the support unit, and is supplied with power from the second power storage unit when connected to the support unit, thereby providing the first storage unit. It is possible to input an image for a long time even if the means has a small capacity.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image input device according to the third aspect, the supporting portion has an image capturing control means, and the image is displayed when the image capturing portion is supported by the supporting portion. By performing a part or all of the image capturing control of the image capturing unit by the image capturing control unit, it is possible to prevent the supporting unit itself from shaking when performing the image capturing control.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the image input device according to the fourth aspect, the supporting section has an image recording means for recording an image, and the image pickup section is supported by the supporting section. By transferring the image stored in the image capturing unit to the image recording unit, the image can be transferred from the image capturing unit to the large-capacity image recording unit of the support unit and stored in the image recording unit.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As shown in FIG. 1, a general camera 10 needs to have a variable focal length so that it can be focused anywhere from the closest distance R0 to the infinity ∞. However, as shown in FIG. 2, when the image capturing unit 12 is attached to the support unit 14 in the image input device, the distance between the image capturing unit 12 and the subject placed on the document table 16 (or on the desk) is determined by the image capturing unit. It is almost the same as the distance between 12 and the document table 16, and there is no factor that changes only by the thickness of the subject.
That is, the focal length of the imaging unit 12 does not need to be larger than the distance between the imaging unit 12 and the document table 16 (up to several tens of cm).

FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of a first embodiment of the image input apparatus of the present invention. In the figure, in the imaging unit 12,
Light from the subject that has entered the imaging lens 21 is focused on the imaging element 22 through a filter 23 such as an infrared cut filter or a low-pass filter. The image signal of the subject output from the image pickup device 22 is digitized by a CDS / A / D (correlated double sampling and A / D conversion) circuit 24, and then supplied to an image processing unit 25 for image correction such as aperture correction. Processing such as processing and compression is performed, and stored as still image data in the storage unit 27.

The overall control unit 26 controls each unit of the image pickup unit 12. The power storage unit 28 stores operating power for each unit of the imaging unit 12, and power is supplied to each unit of the imaging unit 12 including the overall control unit 26 under the control of the power supply control unit 29. Display unit 30
Is displayed under the control of the overall control unit 26. Operation unit 31
The operation input from is supplied to the overall control unit 26. The strobe circuit 32 charges a built-in capacitor to control the entire control unit 2.
The strobe 33 is caused to emit light by the control of 6, and the subject on the document table 16 is illuminated.

When the image pickup unit 12 is supported by the support unit 14, the connectors 34, 35, 3 of the image pickup unit 12 and the support unit 14 are provided.
By connecting 6, the storage unit 27 is connected to the storage unit 27a provided in the support unit 14, the overall control unit 26 is connected to the operation unit 31a provided in the support unit 14, and the strobe 33 is connected to the original document. Strobe circuit 32 provided on the base 16
a is connected.

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of a second embodiment of the image input apparatus of the present invention. In the figure, those parts that are the same as those corresponding parts in FIG. 3 are designated by the same reference numerals, and a description thereof will be omitted. In FIG. 4, the strobe circuit 32 and the strobe 33 are not provided in the image pickup unit 12, and when the image pickup unit 12 is supported by the support unit 14,
By connecting the image pickup unit 12 and the connectors 34 and 35 of the support unit 14, the storage unit 27a provided in the support unit 14 is connected to the storage unit 27, and the operation unit 31a provided in the support unit 14 is the overall control unit. 26.

Therefore, when the image pickup section 12 is held by the support section 14, the overall control section 26 detects the connection between the image pickup section 12 and the connector 35 of the support section 14, and the overall control section 26 detects the connection between the image pickup section 12 and the image pickup section 12. A distance smaller than the distance between the document table (or desk) 16 is set as the focusing range of the imaging lens 21. In other words, when the image pickup unit 12 is held by the support unit 14, the image pickup unit 12 is made to wait for a command such as a photographing operation and angle of view magnification change via the support unit 14, and at the time of command waiting, the document table (or desk) Be in focus before the 16th position.
Further, when the release button of the image pickup unit 12 is directly pressed or when a shooting command is given by a remote controller or the like, the image pickup unit 12 is designed as a normal camera so that the image pickup unit 12 can focus from infinity to the closest distance R0.

An AF in which the increase or decrease of the high frequency component of the image signal obtained by the image pickup is detected while moving the image pickup lens or the image pickup element, and the place having the highest high frequency component is the in-focus position.
When the (auto focus) means is adopted, if the focal length is changed from infinity ∞ to the closest distance R0 and the frequency component of the image signal is sampled, it takes time to focus. However, when the image pickup unit 12 is fixed to the support unit 14, the frequency component of the image signal may be sampled within a distance range shorter than the distance between the document tables (or desks) 16, and the number of times of sampling may be small. Therefore, the time until focusing can be shortened.

Further, even when a distance measuring method for projecting infrared rays is adopted instead of performing the automatic focus adjustment based on the increase / decrease of the high frequency component, the state where the document table (or tabletop) 16 is in focus If it is kept on standby, it is possible to shorten the moving amount and moving time of the focus lens.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5 (A), the supporting portion 1
When the close-up lens 38 is attached to the fourth side and the image pickup section 12 is attached to the support section 14 as shown in FIG. 5B, the optical axis of the image pickup lens 21 and the optical axis of the close-up lens 38 coincide with each other. I will do it.

As a result, as shown in FIG.
In the case of a single unit, the distance A is adjusted by the focus adjusting means of the image pickup unit 12.
Even if you could not focus at a shorter distance than
By adding the close-up lens 38, it is possible to focus up to a closer distance B. Support part 14
Even if the image pickup unit is fixed to and the distance between the document table 16 and the image pickup unit 12 is the distance B (shorter than the distance A), the focus range is changed by the close-up lens 38, and the image pickup unit 1
2 can be used as a general camera, and can also be used as an image input device (document camera).

As the image storage format (file format) of an ordinary electronic camera, the JPEG system is often adopted. This is because full color and compact data can be obtained, and a realistic natural image has an advantage that the effect of data loss is not noticeable. The disadvantage is that image compression using the discrete cosine transform removes high-frequency components, so
When the character shown in FIG. 7 (A) is imaged, as shown in FIG. 7 (B), mosquito noise in which a false contour appears around the contour of the character is generated, and the image quality is deteriorated.
Moreover, mosquito noise is more noticeable in characters and illustrations than in realistic natural images.

When the image pickup unit 12 is held by the support unit 14, most of the supposed subjects are characters and illustrations. Further, when the image pickup unit 12 is held by the support unit 14, a large-capacity storage unit 27a can be connected to the storage unit 27. Therefore, the storage capacity is restricted when the image pickup unit 12 is used alone for shooting. I don't like it. Therefore, the image storage format is changed depending on whether the imaging unit 12 is held by the support unit 14 or not.

FIG. 8 shows a block diagram of a third embodiment of the image input apparatus of the present invention. In the figure, those parts that are the same as those corresponding parts in FIG. 3 are designated by the same reference numerals, and a description thereof will be omitted. In FIG. 8, the support unit 14 includes an image processing unit 25a, a control unit 26a, and a storage unit 27.
a, an operation unit 31a is provided. The control unit 26a is connected to the operation unit 31a, and includes the image processing unit 25a and the storage unit 27.
control a.

When the image pickup unit 12 is supported by the support unit 14, the connectors 34, 35, 3 of the image pickup unit 12 and the support unit 14 are provided.
By connecting 7, the storage unit 27a provided in the support unit 14 is connected to the storage unit 27, the operation unit 31a is connected to the overall control unit 26, and the image processing unit 25a is connected to the CDS / A.
Connected to the / D circuit 24.

When the image pickup unit 12 is attached to the support unit 14, the actual image processing is performed by the external image processing unit 25a, and even if the data becomes large as in the GIF format or the BMP format, the image is deteriorated. When the image pickup unit 12 is not supported by the support unit 14, the image processing unit 25 in the image pickup unit 12 can make the data amount compact as in the JPEG format. The data is processed into a storage format and stored in the storage unit 27.

Whether or not the image pickup unit 12 is held by the support unit 14 is determined to be away from the support unit 14 when an operation input is made from the operation unit 31, and the operation unit 31a of the support unit 14 is determined. When there is an operation input through the connector 35, it is assumed that the input is held by the support portion 14.

As shown in FIG. 9, there is a zoom lens that can be magnified so that the focus position once adjusted does not shift, but the mechanism becomes complicated. Therefore, in many cases, as shown in FIG. A varifocal lens that is out of position and needs to be focused again is used as the imaging unit 12.

When the image pickup unit 12 is separated from the support unit 14 and used, the distance is measured and the focusing is performed when the release button of the operation unit 31 is pressed, and the number of times of focusing is reduced to save power. Can be held for a long time.

When the image pickup unit 12 is attached to the support unit 14, portability is not required as much as that of a general camera, so that the battery capacity does not have to be taken into consideration, so that the angle of view can be switched by zooming. By performing focusing, an image without blur can be captured.

If the shooting distance and the zooming position of the image pickup lens 21 are known, the position of the focus lens of the image pickup lens 21 can be determined to bring the object into focus. Therefore, first, the distance is measured and the focus is set.
In FIGS. 11A and 11B, the operation of the zooming actuator is indicated by Z, and the operation of the focusing actuator is indicated by F. Here, the high level is operating and the low level is non-operating.

As shown in FIG. 11A, when zooming is performed instead of performing focusing after the zooming operation is stopped, the zooming actuator is driven as shown in FIG. 11B.
It also drives the focusing actuator. Focusing is performed at the same time as zooming, so it is possible to eliminate the blurring of the image during zooming, or to reduce the blurring if not completely eliminated. Also, even if you stop the zooming operation, you can immediately check the angle of view (framing).

FIG. 12 is an external perspective view of an embodiment of the image input device of the present invention. In FIG. 12A, the supporting portion 14 is provided upright with respect to the document table 16, and the supporting portion 14 is provided.
A mounting section 40 for mounting the imaging section 12 is provided on the. The mounting section 40 is provided with an opening 41 through which the imaging lens 21 of the imaging section 12 is inserted. The imaging unit 12 inserts the imaging lens 21 into the opening 41 so that the subject on the document table 16 can be photographed from above, and the mounting unit 40 of the support unit 14 is inserted.
Be attached to. Then, the mounting portion 40 is screwed and fixed in the tripod screw hole of the imaging unit 12. In addition to this, the image pickup unit 12 and the mounting unit 40 may be provided with fitting parts such as arizo and arihozo, which may be fitted and fixed.

As shown in FIG. 3, the image pickup section 12 includes a support section 1
The image processing unit 25 and the storage unit 27 are provided in the image pickup unit 12 so that the image pickup unit 12 can take a picture even if the unit is removed from the image pickup unit 4, and the power storage unit 28 is provided so that it can be carried and driven without a special power feeding means. Further, when the strobe 33 is used even after the imaging unit 12 is attached to the support unit 14, the power source of the strobe 33 uses the external strobe circuit 32 a via the support unit 14.
The strobe circuit 32a is the strobe circuit 32 in the imaging unit 12.
It can be charged efficiently with a general power supply using a larger capacity capacitor.

When the image pickup unit 12 is attached to the support unit 14, a second power storage unit (not shown) is provided not via the power storage unit 28 (first power storage unit) in the image pickup unit 12 but via the support unit 14. Power is supplied to the imaging unit 12 from the means. Since the second power storage means does not need to be carried, it can have a large capacity. As a result, the power storage unit 2 in the imaging unit 12
Even if 8 has a small capacity, it is possible to input an image for a long time.

When the release button in the operation unit 31 of the image pickup unit 12 is directly pressed when the image pickup unit 12 is attached to the support unit 14, the support unit 14 itself may shake. Through the external operation unit 31a, a command can be made available. By inputting a command from the operation unit 31a, the support unit 1 can be used when a command is input.
4 can be prevented from shaking.

Since it is troublesome to separately connect the power supply line and the signal line when fixed to the support section 14 of the image pickup section 12, the connectors 34 to 3 are attached to the mounting section 40 of the support section 14 as shown in FIG.
The connector 42 corresponding to No. 7 and the wedge-shaped protrusion 43 are provided. As shown in FIG. 14 (A), when the protrusion 43 on the support portion 14 side is inserted into the hole 46 of the connector cover 45, as shown in FIG. 14 (B), the connector cover 45 urged in the arrow direction is removed. It slides in the opposite direction to the biasing direction. By further pressing the connector cover 45 after it is opened, the imaging unit 1
The connector inside 2 is connected to the connector on the side of the support portion 14. In this way, the connector 42 is not exposed and the connectors 34 to 37 can be connected at the same time as the image pickup unit 12 is attached.

In general, the image pickup unit 12 must perform image pickup and recording with a power supply of a few volts from the power storage unit 28 when there is no power supply from an AC adapter or the like. Further, since the portability is not impaired, the number and size of the parts to be mounted are limited, and the processing speed must be sacrificed. On the other hand, since the supporting unit 14 is supplied with electric power from a general power source, the restriction of electric power is less restricted than the electric power supplied from the power storage unit 28, and the supporting unit 14 itself is not required to be as portable as the imaging unit 12.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, when processing data is transferred between the image pickup unit 12 and the support unit 14 and the image pickup unit 12 is attached to the support unit 14, an external high-speed image processing unit is used. Image processing is performed at 25a. The image processing unit 25a may be provided in the support unit 14, or may be configured such that image data is further transferred from the support unit 14 to another device such as a personal computer (personal computer) and image processing is performed by the image processing software of the personal computer. Good.

In FIG. 8, a storage unit 27a is provided outside the image pickup unit 12 so that the processed image data can be recorded.
To provide. In addition to providing the storage unit 27a on the support unit 14,
Data may be transferred to a hard disk of a personal computer, a recording medium (a floppy (registered trademark) disc, a CD-R, etc.) in the personal computer, and may be stored therein.

When the image pickup unit 12 is attached to the support unit 14, the power storage unit 2 in the image pickup unit 12 is connected to an external power source.
Be prepared to charge to 8. Even if the power storage unit 28 inside the image pickup unit 12 is detachable, if the power storage unit 28 can be charged while being inside the image pickup unit 12, it is not necessary to have another charging device. When the battery of the power storage unit 28 has a memory effect, a discharging circuit may be provided so that the battery can be discharged, if necessary.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, when the image pickup section 12 is attached to the support section 14, the image data stored electrically in the storage section 27 in the image pickup section 12 is stored in an external storage section. 27a so that it can be transferred or copied. File name in storage unit 27 and storage unit 2
When the file names in 7a are the same, the file names may be automatically changed, or another directory (folder) may be created and stored. Conversely, data may be transferred from the storage unit 27a outside the imaging unit 12 to the storage unit 27 inside the imaging unit 12 via the connector 34. In this case, a lock means is provided, and when the image data captured by the image pickup section 12 is transferred to the support section 14 side, the lock means is operated to prevent the lock means from being released. As a locking means, an electromagnet or the like may be used to move the pin forward and backward so that the pin plays a role of a bolt when locked.

When the strobe 33 of the image pickup section 12 is used as the illumination means of the image input device, if the strobe 33 is made to emit light at a short distance, the picked-up image will be overexposed. Therefore, in order to reduce the unevenness and unevenness of the illumination light of the strobe 33, as shown in FIG.
So that the front surface of the strobe 33 is covered with the light diffusing plate 48 when attached to the mounting part 40.
Is provided.

However, as shown in FIG. 16, when the mounting portion 49 has a shape in which the image pickup portion 12 is fixed only by screws, the diffusion plate 48 protrudes from the mounting portion 49. Therefore, the protective panel provided on the front surface of the strobe 33 in the image pickup unit 12 is formed of a panel such as liquid crystal which becomes cloudy when energized. Then, when the image pickup unit 12 is attached to the support unit 14, the liquid crystal of the protection panel is energized so that the light passing through the protection panel is in a light scattering state and an image is picked up.

As a means for detecting a three-dimensional shape, as shown in FIG. 17, there is a method of detecting a three-dimensional shape by projecting a multi-slit pattern or the like, photographing the projected pattern image, and analyzing it. In order to project the pattern, a light source that illuminates from behind the pattern is required. When using the built-in flash of the imaging unit 12 as the light source,
As shown in FIG. 18, when the imaging unit 12 is attached to the attachment unit 40, a pattern mask having a multi-slit pattern and a projection lens are arranged on the front surface of the strobe 33. A cross-sectional view at this time is shown in FIG. In the figure, the pattern projection unit 50 includes a pattern mask 51, a projection lens 52,
It is composed of a projection housing 53. The xenon tube 54 is a light source of the strobe 33, and the protector 55 protects the strobe 33.

The shape of the subject can be detected by photographing the projected pattern, and obtaining and calculating the amount of change in the size of the pattern and the amount of distortion. As an example, FIG. 20 shows an image of a pattern when the multi-slit pattern is projected on a sphere in the V groove.

In this case, if the positional relationship between the projection lens 50 and the image pickup unit 12 is deviated from the normal position due to wear or damage of the mounting portions of the image pickup unit 12 and the support unit 14 or an incorrect mounting method, it is possible to correct the subject. Shape detection cannot be performed. Therefore, a three-dimensional object is photographed while projecting the multi-slit pattern on a thin planar object such as paper placed directly under the support portion 14, and the deviation from the initial projection position is detected from the photographed multi-slit pattern. Then, the amount of deviation is corrected to calculate the shape. When the shape is calculated by a personal computer or the like, positional relationship information between the image pickup section and the light projecting section may be recorded as additional information of the image data, and correction may be performed at the time of calculation. If the amount of deviation is extremely large, it may be warned that the mounting is wrong or there is a possibility of failure.

Further, in order to enable use of both the whiteout prevention diffusion plate 48 and the pattern projection unit 50, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4, the diffusion plate 48 and the pattern projection unit 50 are detachable from the mounting unit 40 so that they can be replaced.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 22, the turret 56 is provided with the diffusion plate 48 and the pattern projection unit 50, and the turret 56 is switched by rotating it about the shaft 57. Alternatively, a slide type switching means is provided. When using it as the diffusion plate 48, bring the diffusion plate in front of the strobe 33, and when performing pattern projection,
A click mechanism or the like may be provided so that the pattern projection unit 50 stops in front of the strobe 33. Alternatively,
Switching control may be performed by a motor or the like.

Alternatively, the diffusion plate 48 and the pattern projection unit 5
Even if the multi-slit pattern is not projected, the pattern projection unit 50 is provided with an optical element that can be switched between the transparent state and the light diffusion state by electrical control so that the switching of 0 does not need to be performed by a mechanical means. Light is projected through the projection lens 52. When used as a diffuser plate, the transmittance of the optical element is not uniform as shown in FIG. 23 in consideration of the light amount drop around the projection lens 52, and the transmittance is low at the center and high at the periphery. You may do it. The optical element is in a transparent state in the case of pattern projection.

The pattern mask 51 is also electrically controlled by
An optical element whose entire surface switches to a transparent panel and a pattern panel is used. When used as the diffusing plate 48, this optical element is transparent on the entire surface, and the pattern appears when the pattern is projected. By using electro-optic elements for switching between patterning and transmission / light scattering, it is possible to perform switching without mechanical switching means.

When projecting a regular pattern as shown in FIG. 17, it is necessary to know what number pattern (line) in the imaged pattern corresponds to which slit of the pattern mask 51. When the positional relationship cannot be specified, as shown in FIG. 24, there are a plurality of positions (positions indicated by dots on each line in the figure) on the subject surface only from the image forming position of the pattern, and therefore cannot be specified. As a means to prevent this, the projected pattern (line) is changed by changing the color of the projection pattern or changing the type of slit.
Although there is a method of detecting which slit corresponds to by looking at the display of, the pattern formation becomes difficult.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 25, it is conceivable that the moving range of the image forming position depending on the subject height of the pattern is divided within the measuring range (H in the figure). However, since the density of position information is low, only rough shape detection can be performed.

As a method for detecting a fine shape by projecting a pattern, as shown in FIG. 26, a pattern projecting section 50 (position A) is provided on the support section 14 side, and another support section 6 is provided.
0 is provided so that a pattern can be projected from another pattern projection unit 61 (position B) attached to the support unit 60.
As shown in FIG. 27, each pattern projection unit 50,
The pattern projection positions by 61 are referred to each other. In this case, since the order of the patterns is known, the position can be detected even if a fine pattern is projected.

In FIG. 28A, a black circle indicates that there is a possibility that the pattern projection unit 50 at the position A has a subject surface, and a white circle that there is a possibility that the pattern projection unit 50 at the position B has a subject surface. Therefore, a line with little rattling when adjacent black circles and white circles are alternately connected is supposed to be the subject surface. Therefore, as shown in FIG. You can see that it is a shape. In this embodiment, the strobe 33 on the side of the image pickup unit 12 is used as a light source of the pattern projection unit 50, so that it can be effectively utilized.

Next, as shown in FIG. 29, if a plurality of illuminating means are on the same side of the image pickup section 12, shadows will be formed by the projections, which will cause a decrease in accuracy when performing OCR processing later. become. Further, also in the case of shape detection, when the pattern is projected from the one direction on the imaging unit 12, it becomes impossible to obtain the shape information from the shadowed portion of the overhanging portion of the protrusion.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 30, on the side opposite to the strobe 33 of the image pickup section 12 with the image pickup lens 21 interposed therebetween,
When another support part 62 is provided and the illumination or pattern can be projected from another illumination device 63 or the pattern projection part (position C) attached to the support part 62, as shown in FIG. There is no shadow.

The pixel shift method is intended to improve the image quality by shooting a plurality of times while shifting the image sensor with respect to the image to increase the information amount of the image. How to shift the image sensor is as follows in the case of the primary color filter shown in FIG.
In order to obtain green information that has the greatest influence on resolution from all pixels, a method of shifting one pixel in the vertical direction or the horizontal direction as shown in FIG. 32C so that the green filter fills every pixel, There is known a method of increasing the sampling density by performing a plurality of photographing operations by shifting by half a pixel in the vertical direction, the horizontal direction, or diagonally as shown in FIG. The amount of shift is not limited to half a pixel, and may be finely shifted by half a pixel or less. Further, the pixel shift obtained for all pixels of green information and the pixel shift for increasing the sampling density may be combined.

In the pixel shift photographing, there are many restrictions in general photographing such as the subject must not move during plural photographing, and the image pickup section 12 must be fixed. It can only be used for about However, the imaging unit 12
A mechanical and optical image moving means for relatively moving the image and the image pickup device is required inside, and the image pickup unit 12 becomes large and portability deteriorates. Therefore, an image moving means is provided on the side of the support portion 14 so that the pixel shift photographing can be performed when the image pickup portion 12 is attached to the support portion 14.

In the case of the positional relationship shown in FIG. 33, when the image pickup unit 12 is moved in parallel with the subject i, the moving amount of the image pickup unit 12 multiplied by the reciprocal of the reduction ratio moves on the image pickup surface. It is a distance. That is, if the distance between the subject and the imaging lens is L, the distance between the imaging lens and the imaging surface is f, and the distance at which the image is to be moved on the imaging surface is z, the imaging unit 12
The movement amount S of is expressed by the following equation.

S = z · L / f If the rotation axis is provided at the principal point of the image pickup lens, the image pickup section 12 may be rotated. The rotation angle θ of the image pickup unit 12 is represented by the following equation and is not affected by the distance L between the subject and the image pickup unit 12.

Θ = tan ⁻¹ (z / f) FIG. 34 is a block diagram of the image input device according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 35 is an external view thereof. In FIG. 35, the image input device mainly includes an image pickup section 72 and a support section 74 including a base section 76. The base unit 76 is provided with a photographing switch 77, an output instruction switch 78, and an interface 79.

The image pickup section 72 is supported by a support section 74, and by pressing a photographing switch 77, an image of a subject 80 on a surface such as a desk where the base section 76 is installed is picked up. The captured image is sent out from the interface 79 by pushing the output instruction switch 78.

In FIG. 34, the image of the subject 80 is formed on the image pickup element 83 by the lens 81 and the diaphragm mechanism 82. The image signal output from the image sensor 83 is CDS.
After being sampled by the (correlated double sampling circuit) 84, it is digitized by the A / D converter 85. The timing at this time is generated by a TG (timing generator) 86. The image signal is then subjected to image processing such as aperture correction and processing such as compression by an IPP (image preprocessor / image preprocessing circuit) 87 and is stored in the memory 88. The operation of each unit is based on a signal from the shooting switch 77 for instructing shooting, and an MPU (Micro Pr
processing unit) 89. The image temporarily stored in the memory 88 is the output instruction switch 7
Based on the signal instructing the output from 8, the signal is sent to the outside through the interface 79.

FIG. 36 is a block diagram of the fifth embodiment of the image input apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 37 is its external view. This embodiment differs from the fourth embodiment shown in FIGS. 35 and 36 in that the output instruction switch 78 is included in the photographing switch 77.

That is, by pressing the photographing switch 77, the subject 80 on the surface of the desk or the like on which the base 76 is installed is picked up, and the picked-up image is the interface 7
9 is sent to the outside.

In the fourth and fifth embodiments, the subject 8
0 is not limited to the case where it is on the surface on which the support unit is installed, and for example, by changing the direction of the image pickup unit 72, it is possible to shoot a wall surface perpendicular to the desk. Such an image input device can input an image of the subject 80 such as a paper surface more easily than a flatbed scanner, and can input an image that cannot be input by the flatbed scanner such as a three-dimensional object or a wall surface. Therefore, easily and easily
This is effective when you want to get images quickly.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, it is explained that the image is transmitted to the outside. However, the transmission destinations are as follows, and the interface 24 is adapted to it. First, as shown in FIG. 38A, the image obtained by the image input device is transmitted to the display device 91 as an image signal. The image signal may be a normal video signal or a VGA signal, and the interface 79 matches it. Further, even in the case of a video signal, as shown in FIG. 38B, a display method setting unit 92 for selecting NTSC or PAL on the display device 91 may be provided. In the display method setting unit 92, the selection button 93 is operated to select one from the selection candidates displayed on the display panel 94. The display method that can be set by the display method setting unit 92 is not limited to the examples given here.

Further, as shown in FIG. 39 (A), there is also one in which an image obtained by the image input device is printed on paper or the like by the printer 96 and is output. In this case, as shown in FIG. 39 (B), the printing method setting unit 97 for setting the paper size and resolution.
May be provided. In the printing method setting unit 97, the selection button 98 is operated to select one from the selection candidates displayed on the display panel 99. The printing method that can be set by the printing method setting unit 97 is not limited to the examples given here.

Further, as shown in FIG. 40A, the image input device is connected to the telephone line 100 and is output to the facsimile (FAX) 101 of the other party. The telephone line 101 may be connected by wire or wirelessly. In this case, for example, in the base unit 76 of the image input device, as shown in FIG.
You may install the transmission method setting part 102 which can input the other party's telephone number as shown in (B). In this transmission method setting unit 102, the FAX number registered in advance is displayed on the display panel 104 by operating the selection button 103, and one of them can be selected. The transmission method that can be set by the transmission method setting unit 102 is not limited to the examples given here.

Further, FIG. 41A shows that an image obtained by the image input device is transmitted to the computer network 106. The image data is delivered to the server 107, the other party's personal computer 108, or the like. In this case, FIG.
As shown in (B), a communication method setting unit 110 capable of setting a personal computer name, a mail address, an IP address, etc., which is a destination of image data, may be installed. In this communication method setting unit 110, a mail button registered in advance is displayed on the display panel 112 by operating the selection button 111, and one of the mail addresses can be selected. The transmission method that can be set by the communication method setting unit 110 is not limited to the examples given here.

Further, in FIG. 42A, the image obtained by the image input device is written in the recording medium 115 such as a hard disk, a CD-R or a DVD-R. In this case, FIG.
As shown in (B), a recording method setting unit 120 that specifies the image format to be written may be provided. In the recording method setting unit 120, the selection button 121 is operated to display “JPEG2000” displayed on the display panel 122.
One is selected from the selection candidates of "TIFF" and "JPEG". The display method that can be set by the recording method setting unit 120 is not limited to the examples given here.

Further, a plurality of interfaces 24 may be received according to the destinations so that the plurality of output destinations described above can be selected and transmitted to a plurality of destinations. In this case, as shown in FIG. 43, the output destination selection unit 12 that selects the output destination.
5 may be provided. In this output destination selection unit 125, the selection button 126 is operated to select one from the selection candidates such as monitor, printer, FAX, network, and media displayed on the display panel 127.

FIG. 44 is an external view of a sixth embodiment of the image input device of the invention. This image input device performs operations such as editing and processing of a captured image on the main body of the image input device without connecting an external device such as a PC (personal computer).

In FIG. 44, the image input device mainly includes an image pickup section 132, a support section 134, and a base section 136. The image pickup section 132 is provided with a power switch 136, and the base section 136 is provided with an input instruction switch 137, an image operation switch panel 138, an image display means 139, and a control unit 140. The imaging unit 132 is shown in FIG.
It has the same configuration as that shown in.

The image of the subject 150 picked up by the image pickup section 132 is displayed on the image display means 139. While confirming this, the image is operated by using the image operation switch panel 138, and the image is processed by the control unit 140. Edit. There are no constraints on the installation of the image display unit 139 and the image operation switch panel 138, and the image display unit 139 and the image operation switch panel 138 may be provided on the imaging unit 132 and the support unit 134 other than the base unit 136. A wired / wireless remote controller (not shown) may be provided for the operation so that the user can operate it at hand.

On the image operation switch panel 138, selection of photographed image files (presence or absence of recording in the memory)
Alternatively, additional information to the image file (text data such as ASCII code to be additionally written in the image file) is performed.

By displaying the input image on the image display means 139, advanced image editing and processing can be performed. Here, the image editing operation and the image processing operation include digital image processing (lens distortion correction, density correction, skew correction, etc.), image rotation and trimming, display magnification change, image combination, and additional information to the image. Is added. The additional information may be text data such as ASCII code or the like, which is directly input by the operator using the image operation switch panel 138 when the image capturing operation is performed, and is directly embedded in the image data or each image data. And record it.

The control unit 140 has a built-in MPU, a recording medium such as a hard disk and a semiconductor memory, and an interface 141, and controls the operation of the image pickup section 72, performs image processing and editing of image data transferred from the image pickup section 72, Recording and the like are performed, and the external device is connected via the interface 141 to communicate with the external device. The interface 141 is a general-purpose interface for PC, for example, RS-232C, USB (Universal S).
initial bus), IEEE 1394, network adapter, IDA (Infrared Data A)
Sociation) is used. The processing and recording performed by the control unit 140 is performed by the MPU in the image pickup unit 72.
Alternatively, 89 may be substituted.

FIG. 45 shows a flowchart of an embodiment of the processing steps executed by the image input apparatus of the present invention. In the figure, when an image input is instructed (S1), image capturing starts (S2) and then ends (S3). Furthermore,
When the user designates the necessity of image operation (S5) and the image operation state is selected, the display image is displayed on the image display means 1
While confirming with 39, image editing and image processing are performed by the image operation switch panel 138 (S6). When the completion of the operation is instructed (S7), the image is saved (S7).
8).

By the way, in the image input device, as shown in FIG. 46, the image pickup section 1 is provided between the image pickup section 132 and the support section 134.
A driving unit 133 for driving the object 32 is provided so that the imaging unit 132 can be displaced by the driving unit 133.
May be configured so that it can be divided into images. The image display means 139 is not shown in FIG.

For example, as the drive mechanism of the drive unit 133, two stepping motors whose rotation axes are orthogonal to each other and a gear having a predetermined damping ratio are used. Allows rotation drive.
An image with a higher resolution can be obtained by performing divided shooting at a high magnification using the zoom function of the image pickup unit 132 and combining a plurality of shot images.

Here, the divided photographing and the image combination will be described. For example, in FIG. 46, when the image pickup unit 132 is rotated from the state indicated by the solid line to the state indicated by the broken line, the photographing area is changed from A to B.
When combined with vertical rotation, each of C, D, E, F, G, and H can be used as a photographing area. As described above, when the subject 150 is photographed with high resolution, the angle of view of the image pickup unit 132 is made as narrow as possible, and the plural photographing regions A to H are separately photographed. In this case, all parts of the subject 150 are captured in any of the divided images.

To simplify the explanation, it is assumed that the two images (first image and second image) shown in FIG. 47 are separately shot.
Now, point on the first image and point on the second image,

[0085]

[Equation 1] The above H is called a projective transformation matrix, and this relationship is constant when the two taken positions where the images are taken are the same.

Therefore, the previously known set (u ₁ ,
h ₁ to h ₈ may be calculated from v ₁ ), (u ₂ , v ₂ ). By using the equations (1) and (2), it is possible to calculate the position when each point of the second image is captured at the position of the first image. The pixels of the second image can be mapped onto the image. Even when the number of divided images is three or more and n, for example,
The projective transformation matrix with the image is calculated in advance. Then, they can be sequentially synthesized by the same method.

When the images are combined by the above method or when the subject is photographed with one image, a trapezoidal distortion (orbiting distortion) occurs as shown in FIG. 48B, for example. The above method is also applied to correct this tilt distortion and generate an image facing directly as shown in FIG. That is,
The projective transformation matrix between the facing image and the first image may be obtained in advance using the facing image at the position facing the subject as a reference, and the image may be rearranged using the matrix. The divided images (here, six divisions) are photographed in FIG. 48 (A), and in FIG. 48 (B), the divided images are combined in accordance with the orientation of a certain reference image by the projective transformation matrix of each posture obtained in advance. Further, tilt distortion correction and noise removal are performed to obtain a generated image shown in FIG. Thereby, a high resolution image is obtained.

To further improve the usability of the image operation switch panel 138, a pointing device 152 such as a mouse, a trackball or a tablet may be provided as shown in FIG. The pointing device 152 may be used alone or in combination with the image operation switch panel 138. Further, in FIG. 49, the image display unit 139 is provided not in the base unit 136 but in the image pickup unit 132. The pointing device 152 is connected to the interface 141, and sends an operation state (mouse operation such as click, double click, drag, scroll, designation of relative movement amount of plane) to the control unit 140. According to the operating state, the image is directly operated (display operation such as enlargement, reduction, rotation, and image data sorting (file operation)).

Further, a plurality of operation menus are displayed on the image display means 1 according to the operating state of the pointing device 152.
It is also possible to display the image on the screen 39 and select an image from the displayed operation menu using the pointing device 152 so that the image can be operated.

Further, the image display means 139 provided with a touch panel may be provided and the touch panel may be used as the image operation switch panel 138. As a touch panel,
Any of a resistance film method (pressure sensitive method), an infrared scanning method, and an ultrasonic method (surface acoustic wave method) may be used so that touch detection and touch position detection on the image display unit 139 can be performed. . An image editing operation menu is displayed on the image display unit 139 together with the displayed image, and each item of the operation menu is touched so that image editing can be performed.

As a result, since the image editing operation can be performed on the display image of the image display means 139, the operability of image editing is improved. In addition, a coordinate detection unit is provided on the image display unit 139 so that the coordinates (position) of the pointing unit such as a finger or a pen point that points on the image display unit 139 can be detected, and the image is detected using the coordinate detection result. Operation switch panel 1
The same image editing as in 38 may be performed. As the coordinate detecting means, an element of pressure sensitive type, electromagnetic induction type, electrostatic capacitance type, ultrasonic type, infrared ray operating type or the like is used. The touch panel is for performing an operation on a preset operation menu, but if the coordinate detecting means is used, an editing operation by dynamic movement of the instructing means, for example,
Detecting the movement of moving the pointing means left and right,
The display image can be scrolled to the left and right, or a specific movement of the instruction means is stored, and image editing (gesture recognition) corresponding to this movement is performed.

Further, as shown in FIG. 50, the trajectory of the movement of the pointing means may be additionally displayed as the additional information 154 on the display image of the image display means 139 provided with the coordinate detecting means. By writing the information to be saved in association with the image in the touchup information 154, the efficiency of editing after the image is captured is improved.

Further, as shown in the external view and the side view of FIGS. 51A and 51B, the attachment / detachment attachment 160 is attached to the image pickup unit 132 in order to fix the image pickup unit 132 to the support portion 134.
The joint section 162 is provided on the support section 134, and the imaging section 132 is fixed to the joint section 162 in a detachable manner by the attachment / detachment attachment 160. Furthermore, 5
In 1 (A), the input instruction switch 13 is placed on the image pickup unit 132.
7, image operation switch panel 138, image display means 13
9 is provided.

In this case, a small and portable general-purpose device such as a digital still camera can be used as the image pickup section 132. That is, by simply fixing a general-purpose digital still camera to the attachment / detachment attachment 160, it is possible to record high-quality images of various subjects 150 placed on a desk or the like.

Further, the image operation switch panel 138 is
It is not necessary to provide the image pickup unit 132 exclusively, and the image pickup unit 132
Is used in a normal usage mode, that is, when used as a general-purpose digital still camera, a release button, various menu selection switches, and the like are used. The general-purpose digital still camera as the image pickup section 132 and the supporting section 134 are fixed by mechanical joining means using fitting or screws so that they can be easily attached and detached. In addition to the mechanical joining, the fixing is
Electrical connection means capable of electrical communication is also provided. The electrical connection means supplies power to the image pickup unit 132 and the image pickup unit 132.
It enables data communication for various controls and transmission / reception of image data.

Here, it is convenient to change the function of each switch by detecting the connection with the mechanical connection means. However, the camera mode used as the image pickup section 12 and the support section 134 for the image pickup section 12 are used. It is also possible to set the mode such as the writing mode which is fixedly used.

The power storage unit 28 corresponds to the claims, the operation unit 31a corresponds to the image photographing control means, and the storage unit 27a corresponds to the image recording means.

[0098]

As described above, the invention according to claim 1 is
When the imaging unit is fixed to the support unit, the distance measuring range, that is, the focusing range is narrowed, so that the focusing time can be shortened.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, when the image pickup section is supported by the support section, the focus range of the image pickup section is moved to the short distance side by the close-up lens, and the short distance is focused. It is a non-camera and can be used as an image pickup unit, and it is not necessary to increase the amount of movement of the focus lens of the image pickup unit, which does not burden the lens barrel design.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to input an image for a long time even if the first storage means has a small capacity.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to prevent the supporting portion itself from shaking when the image capturing control is performed.

In the invention described in claim 5, the image can be transferred from the image pickup section to the large-capacity image recording section of the supporting section and held in the image recording section.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a focal length of a general camera.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a focal length of an image input device.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a first embodiment of the image input apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a second embodiment of the image input device of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a mounting relationship between an image pickup unit and a close-up lens.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a focusing range when a close-up lens is attached to the imaging unit.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining mosquito noise.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an image input device according to a third embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining focusing by zooming.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining focusing by zooming.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing operations of the zooming actuator and the focusing actuator.

FIG. 12 is an external perspective view of an embodiment of the image input device of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining a connector.

FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining connection of connectors.

FIG. 15 is a view for explaining a diffusion plate attached to the support portion 14.

FIG. 16 is a view for explaining a diffusion plate attached to the support portion 14.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a method for detecting a three-dimensional shape.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of an apparatus of the present invention including a pattern projection unit.

FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view of a pattern projection unit.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an image of a pattern when projected onto a sphere in a V groove.

FIG. 21 is a diagram for explaining a configuration that can be used for both a diffusion plate and a pattern projection unit.

FIG. 22 is a diagram for explaining a configuration that can be used for both the diffusion plate and the pattern projection unit.

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing the transmittance of an optical element.

FIG. 24 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the image formation position of a pattern and a position on the subject surface.

FIG. 25 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the image forming position of a pattern and a position on the subject surface.

FIG. 26 is a side view of the device of the present invention in which a pattern projection unit is added.

FIG. 27 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the image formation position of a pattern and a position on the subject surface.

FIG. 28 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the image forming position of a pattern and a position on the subject surface.

FIG. 29 is a diagram for explaining the arrangement of a plurality of lighting means.

FIG. 30 is a diagram for explaining the arrangement of a plurality of lighting means.

FIG. 31 is a diagram for explaining the arrangement of a plurality of lighting means.

FIG. 32 is a diagram for explaining a pixel shift method.

FIG. 33 is a diagram for explaining a pixel shifting method.

FIG. 34 is a block diagram of a fourth embodiment of the image input device according to the invention.

FIG. 35 is an external view of a fourth embodiment of the image input device of the invention.

FIG. 36 is a block diagram of a fifth embodiment of the image input apparatus according to the invention.

FIG. 37 is an external view of a fifth embodiment of the image input device of the invention.

FIG. 38 is a diagram illustrating an image input device to which a display device is connected.

FIG. 39 is a diagram for explaining an image input device to which a printer is connected.

FIG. 40 is a diagram for explaining an image input device to which a facsimile is connected.

FIG. 41 is a diagram for explaining an image input device connected to a computer network.

[Fig. 42] Fig. 42 is a diagram for describing an image input device to which a display device is added.

[Fig. 43] Fig. 43 is a diagram for describing an image input device to which a recording medium is added.

FIG. 44 is an external view of a sixth embodiment of the image input device of the invention.

FIG. 45 is a flowchart of an example of a processing process executed by the image input apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 46 is an external view of another embodiment of the image input device of the invention.

[Fig. 47] Fig. 47 is a diagram for describing divided shooting.

[Fig. 48] Fig. 48 is a diagram for describing divided shooting and combining.

FIG. 49 is an external view of another embodiment of the image input device of the invention.

[Fig. 50] Fig. 50 is a diagram illustrating additional display of additional information.

51A and 51B are an external view and a side view of another embodiment of the image input device of the invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

12 Imaging unit 14 Support 16 Platen 21 Imaging lens 22 Image sensor 23 Filter 24 CDS / A / D circuit 25, 25a Image processing unit 26 Overall control unit 26a Control unit 27, 27a storage unit 28 Power storage unit 29 Power supply control unit 30 Display 31, 31a Operation unit 32, 32a strobe circuit 33 Strobe 34-37 connector 38 Close-up lens 40 mounting part 48 Diffuser 50 pattern projection unit

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) H04N 5/76 H04N 5/91 H 5/765 1/10 5/91 (72) Inventor Tomofumi Kitazawa Tokyo Ricoh Co., Ltd. 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku (72) Inventor Yuji Hasegawa 1-3-6 Nakamagome Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo F-term (R) in Ricoh Co., Ltd. 5B047 AA07 BA02 BA03 BB04 BC02 BC05 BC14 CA17 5C022 AB15 AB21 AB40 AB62 AB66 AC03 AC07 AC12 AC27 AC31 AC42 AC54 AC69 AC78 CA07 5C052 FA02 FA03 FA05 FA08 FB02 FC06 FD06 FE01 FE09 5C053 FA04 FA07 FA14 FA23 FA27 FA29 GA11 GB06 GB36 HA22 HA29 HA33 KA04 KA22 KA24 LA02 LA03 LA06 LA14 5C072 AA01 BA05 DA02 DA21 DA23 EA08 LA11 LA12 RA11 SA03 XA01

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An image input device comprising: an image pickup unit that captures and holds an image of a subject; and a support unit that supports the image pickup unit at a predetermined distance from the subject, wherein the image pickup unit is the support unit. The image inputting method is characterized in that the range-finding range in which the image-capturing unit is detachably supported by the support unit is narrower than the range-finding range when the image-capturing unit is not supported by the support unit. apparatus. 2. The image input device according to claim 1, wherein a close-up lens for moving a focusing range of the image pickup unit to a short distance side is provided on the support unit. 3. The image input device according to claim 1, wherein the image pickup unit has a first power storage unit, the support unit has a second power storage unit, and the image pickup unit is provided on the support unit. An image input device, wherein power is supplied from the first power storage unit when not supported, and power is supplied from the second power storage unit when connected to the support unit. 4. The image input device according to claim 3, wherein the supporting unit has an image capturing control unit, and when the image capturing unit is supported by the supporting unit, the image capturing control unit performs the image capturing unit. An image input device characterized by performing a part or all of the image capturing control of. 5. The image input device according to claim 4, wherein the support portion has an image recording means for recording an image, and when the image pickup portion is supported by the support portion, it is held by the image pickup portion. The image input device is characterized in that the present image is transferred to the image recording means.