JP3253240B2 - Image input device - Google Patents

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 which inputs an optical image, converts the input image into an electric signal, and can switch an input screen between a normal size screen and a panoramic size screen. In particular, the present invention relates to an image input device suitable for super wide-angle panoramic photography with an angle of view of 180 degrees or more.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, electronic still cameras using an image pickup device such as a CCD that converts an optical image into an electric signal and records the image without using a film have been developed. This is because an exposure surface is formed by arranging tiny CCDs etc. in a planar shape,
A subject image is formed on the exposure surface by the photographing optical system. Then, the subject image is converted into an electric signal, and this image information is recorded or input to a personal computer or the like.

On the other hand, the aspect ratio of a screen to be photographed is about 1: 3
Panoramic photos have become popular. By making the screen narrower than the normal screen aspect ratio of 2: 3, there is an effect that the spread is emphasized in the horizontal panoramic photograph and the height is emphasized in the vertical panoramic photograph. Therefore, in order to make these effects more remarkable, it is desired to use a wide-angle photographing lens having the largest angle of view. It should be noted that a camera dedicated to panoramic photographing has a limited use for photographing. Therefore, it is preferable to use a switchable camera capable of photographing in a normal size.

Here, the panoramic photographing camera described above
It is conceivable to configure a screen size switching camera using a CCD area sensor.

[0005]

However, in the screen size switching camera described above, the angle of view of the wide-angle lens is set to 180.
It was difficult to set more than degrees. For this reason, 180
When photographing a panoramic photograph of a higher degree, it is necessary to rotate the camera at an appropriate angle using a tripod or the like, and to connect these photographs. However, in this method, it is cumbersome to set the rotation angle accurately, and there is a possibility that the joining of the pictures may fail, resulting in a panoramic picture with a low degree of perfection.

On the other hand, it is conceivable to use a fisheye lens having an angle of view exceeding 180 degrees, but the distortion of the screen becomes large, which is not suitable for panoramic photography.

In a camera using a film, a photographing lens which rotates about an axis substantially parallel to a short side of a panoramic screen, a slit which is rotated together with the photographing lens and is arranged on an object side on an optical axis, and A panoramic camera has been developed which includes a film which is curved and arranged so as to include an arc connecting the focal position of the taking lens. According to this panoramic camera, the subject image passing through the slit is formed on the film surface by the taking lens by the simultaneous rotation of the taking lens and the slit, so that the angle of view can be made larger than 180 degrees, Screen distortion can be kept small. However, in this panoramic camera, the camera body becomes large, and when a CCD area sensor is used in place of the film, the number of pixels of the CCD becomes enormous and expensive.

Devices for inputting an image using a CCD or the like include, in addition to an electronic still camera, a scanner and a copying machine for reading a document such as a document. Even with this scanner or the like, when reading a panoramic document, the angle of view must be set to around 180 degrees, which makes reading difficult.

Accordingly, the present invention provides an image input apparatus capable of performing panoramic shooting of 180 ° or more using an image pickup device without inviting an increase in size and cost of the apparatus, and capable of switching to normal shooting. It is intended to be.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, an image input apparatus according to the present invention comprises: a photographing optical system; and an image pickup device positioned in an image plane of a subject image formed by the photographing optical system. An element, an image sensor sliding means slidable along the longitudinal direction of the panorama size screen in the image plane, and a holding frame for holding the photographing optical system and the image sensor sliding means. The holding frame is constituted by a rotating means capable of rotating about an axis substantially perpendicular to the optical axis direction of the photographing optical system and the sliding direction of the imaging element, and the rotating means is stopped. A normal mode in which a normal size screen is photographed by the image sensor while driving the image sensor sliding means in a state, and the image sensor while driving the rotating means while the image sensor sliding means is stopped. Panorama size screen shooting by Is characterized in that the freely switched between panorama mode performed.

Therefore, when photographing a normal size screen, the normal mode is selected. Then, the photographing operation is started by pointing the photographing optical system toward the subject. As a result, the image sensor sliding means is driven while the rotating means is stopped. Then, the image sensor is slid in the image plane of the subject formed by the above-described photographing optical system. At this time, the optical image is converted into an electric signal by the imaging device, and the electric signal is appropriately processed such as being recorded in a memory.

On the other hand, when photographing a panorama size screen, the panorama mode is selected. Then, the photographing operation is started by pointing the photographing optical system toward the subject. Thus, the rotating unit is driven in a state where the imaging device sliding unit is stopped. Then, by rotating the holding frame,
The imaging optical system and the image sensor are rotated together. At this time, the image sensor is always positioned within the image plane of the subject and converts an optical image into an electric signal. The electric signal is subjected to processing such as being recorded in a memory.

Further, the image input device according to the present invention is configured such that the image pickup device is a line CCD in which the image pickup device is arranged in a substantially linear shape having a length substantially parallel to and substantially equal to a short side of the panorama size screen on the image forming plane. It is characterized by doing.

For this reason, by sliding the line CCD in a direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, the entire area of the image can be read by the line CCD regardless of the photographing screen of the normal size and the panoramic size. Can be. Thus, the entire screen can be photographed by one slide by the line CCD.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an image input device according to the present invention will be described based on the illustrated embodiment. In the present embodiment, the case where the image input device is a screen size switching camera is described.

As shown in FIG. 1, a screen size switching camera 1 includes a photographing lens 2 as a photographing optical system and a line as an image pickup device located in an image forming plane of a subject image formed by the photographing lens 2. CCD4 and the line CCD4 along the longitudinal direction of the panorama size screen in the image plane.
A CCD drive unit 6 as an image pickup device sliding means for sliding the camera, the photographing lens 2 and the CCD drive unit 6
And a support frame 8 for holding the lens, and a rotatable support plate 8 about a rotation axis 26 substantially perpendicular to the optical axis S direction of the photographing lens 2 and the sliding direction of the line CCD 4. And a support plate rotation unit 10 as rotation means.

A lens barrel 12 is provided around the taking lens 2, and the lens barrel 12 is fixed to the support plate 8. Although the photographing lens 2 is a single lens, it may be a zoom lens.

The support plate 8 is provided with a CCD drive unit 6. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the CCD drive unit 6 includes a normal photographing motor 14 having a drive shaft 16 substantially perpendicular to the optical axis S of the photographing lens 2 and parallel to a substantially horizontal direction. A guide screw 16a formed in the guide 16; a guide rod 18 substantially parallel to the guide screw 16a;
A unit plate 20 for holding the normal photographing motor 14, the drive shaft 16, and the guide rod 18, the guide screw 16a and the guide rod 18;
And a CCD holding member 22 that penetrates and supports the CCD holding member.
A female screw portion with which the guide screw 16a is screwed is formed inside the through hole through which the guide screw 16a of the CCD holding member 22 passes. For this reason, when the normal photographing motor 14 is driven, the drive shaft 16 is rotated, and the CCD holding member 22 screwed to the guide screw 16a formed on the drive shaft 16 is rotated by the guide screw 16a.
And guided by the guide rod 18 to slide. The guide screw 16
A position sensor 24 for detecting that the CCD holding member 22 is slid by the rotation of a to reach the limit position is provided. Here, the rotation of the guide screw 16a of the drive shaft 16 causes CC
Although the D holding member 22 is configured to slide, it may be configured to slide by a combination of a rack and a pinion or another gear train.

The CCD holding member 22 holds a line CCD 4 having a length substantially parallel to and substantially equal to the short side of the panorama size screen in the image plane. The line CCD 4 is configured by arranging minute CCD pixels continuously in a substantially linear shape.

A vertically protruding rotating shaft 26 is formed at the lower part of the support board 8 and the upper part of the lens barrel 12, and the rotating shaft 26 rotates the support board 8 to the camera body 28. It is freely supported. Further, between the lower part of the support board 8 and the camera body 28, a support board rotation unit 10 is provided. The support board rotating unit 10 includes a panoramic photographing motor 32 having a drive shaft 30 in a vertical direction, and a gear train 34 for transmitting the rotation of the drive shaft 30 to the support board 8. Here, the transmission of the rotation of the drive shaft 30 to the support plate 8 is not limited to the gear train 34, and may be a combination of a pulley and a belt, for example. Further, a position sensor 36 for detecting the rotation angle of the support board 8 is provided.

Further, a grip portion 38 to be held by a photographer is provided at a lower portion of the camera body 28, and a release button 40 is disposed at an appropriate position of the grip portion 38. A finder 42 is attached to the upper part of the camera body 28. The mounting structure of the finder 42 may be a structure fixed to the front of the camera main body 28 at a substantially center thereof, or a direction substantially parallel to the optical axis S of the photographing lens 2 in conjunction with the rotation of the support board 8. Can be adopted.

The operation of the present embodiment configured as described above is as follows.
This will be described below.

When photographing a normal size screen, a changeover switch (not shown) is switched to a normal mode. As a result, the panoramic photographing motor 32 is driven, and the position of the support plate 8 is determined and stopped so that the photographing lens 2 is directed substantially in front of the camera body 28. Then, the photographer holds the grip portion 38 and points the photographing lens 2 toward the subject while looking through the finder 42, and adjusts the focal length in the case of a zoom lens.

At the time of photographing, the release button 40 is depressed. As a result, the normal photographing motor 14 is driven, and the line CCD 4 is slid in the image plane of the subject. And
The line CCD 4 reads an image while sliding. The read image is converted into an electrical signal,
It is recorded in a memory or input to a personal computer or the like.

The exposure amount, resolution, etc. can be adjusted by increasing or decreasing the sliding speed of the line CCD 4. That is, when the sliding speed is increased, the time required to read one screen is reduced, so that the same effect as when the shutter speed is reduced is produced, and the exposure amount is reduced. Further, since the number of pixels per screen can be reduced, memory can be saved. On the other hand, when the sliding speed is reduced, the time required to read one screen is increased, so that the same effect as when the shutter speed is increased is produced, and the exposure amount is increased. Further, since the number of pixels per screen can be increased, a high-quality image can be obtained.

Also, when shooting is performed in the normal mode, an image similar to that of a conventional still camera in which a film or a CCD area sensor is arranged over the entire image forming plane is obtained.
An image with little distortion can be obtained at a standard angle of view.

On the other hand, when photographing a panoramic size screen, a switch (not shown) is switched to a panoramic mode. Thus, the normal photographing motor 14 is driven to stop the line CCD 4 on the optical axis S of the photographing lens 2. Then, the photographer holds the grip portion 38 and points the photographing lens 2 toward the subject while looking through the finder 42, and adjusts the focal length in the case of a zoom lens.

At the time of photographing, the release button 40 is depressed. Thereby, the panoramic photographing motor 32 is driven,
The support board 8 is rotated. The line CCD 4 is always positioned in the image plane while being rotated together with the support board 8, and reads an image. In addition, the rotation angle of the support board 8 becomes the angle of view of the panoramic photograph. Here, by adjusting the rotation angle of the support board 8, it is possible to perform panoramic shooting at an arbitrary angle of view. For this reason, it is possible to perform 360-degree panoramic shooting as well as ultra-wide-angle panoramic shooting with an angle of view exceeding 180 degrees.

When the finder 42 has a structure interlocked with the photographing lens 2, the photographing screen can be confirmed by removing the finder 42 even during photographing. It should be noted that the amount of exposure, the resolution, and the like can be adjusted by the rotation speed of the support board 8 as in the case of normal photographing.

Further, when photographing is performed in the panoramic mode, since the line CCD 4 is positioned on the optical axis S of the photographing lens 2, photographing is always performed near the optical axis S.
For this reason, it is possible to obtain a high-quality image with little distortion and blur.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, since the photographing lens 2 and the line CCD 4 are simultaneously rotated with respect to the camera body 28 by the support plate rotating unit 10, a panoramic photograph having a large angle of view can be taken. Can be. For this reason, in particular, even in the case of a super wide-angle panoramic image having an angle of view exceeding 180 degrees, it is possible to easily shoot an image without using a tripod or joining pictures. The CCD drive unit 6
Thus, normal shooting can be performed, so that the usability of the camera can be greatly expanded.

Then, the image sensor is connected to a linear line CC.
Since D4 is used, the number of pixels of the CCD to be used can be extremely reduced. Therefore, the size and weight of the camera can be reduced, and the product can be provided at low cost.

Further, since the length of the line CCD 4 is substantially equal to the short side of the panorama size screen in the image plane, the photographing can be completed by sliding the line CCD 4 once. For this reason, imaging can be performed sufficiently quickly.

Further, since the driving sources of the CCD driving unit 6 and the support plate rotating unit 10 are the motors 14 and 32, the control is easy and the size and weight can be reduced. Note that these motors 14 and 32 may be appropriate motors such as a DC motor and a stepping motor.

In addition, a grip section is provided at the lower part of the camera body 28.
The structure provided with 38 prevents the photographer's hand holding the camera from being reflected in the camera, especially during ultra-wide-angle panoramic shooting where the angle of view exceeds 180 degrees.

In this embodiment, the case where the image input device is used for the screen size switching camera 1 is described, but it may be used for a scanner or a copying machine that reads a document such as a document. In this case, it is possible to adopt a structure in which reading is performed by switching between a normal mode suitable for reading a normal document and a panoramic mode suitable for reading an elongated document. Therefore, even when used in a scanner or the like, an extremely wide-angle reading can be performed, and normal reading can be performed.
Moreover, the size and weight can be reduced.

[0037]

As described above, according to the image input apparatus of the present invention, since the imaging optical system and the imaging device are simultaneously rotated by the rotation means, panoramic imaging with a very wide angle of view is performed. be able to. Therefore, panoramic shooting can be easily performed, and shooting opportunities can be increased.

Since the image pickup device is slid by the image pickup device sliding means, normal photographing can be performed. For this reason, since it is possible to switch between panoramic shooting and normal shooting, it is possible to increase the versatility of the camera.

Further, since the image pickup device is constituted by a line CCD which is arranged in a substantially linear shape having a length substantially parallel to and substantially equal to the short side of the panorama size screen of the image forming plane, the number of pixels of the image pickup device is extremely reduced. be able to. Therefore, the size and weight of the camera can be reduced, and the camera can be provided at low cost. Moreover, since the photographing is completed by one slide of the line CCD, the photographing can be performed sufficiently quickly.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cut-away side view of a screen size switching camera which is an embodiment of an image input device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a CCD drive unit.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the CCD drive unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 screen size switching camera (image input device) 2 photographing lens (photographing optical system) 4 line CCD (image pickup device) 6 CCD drive unit (image pickup device sliding means) 8 support board (holding frame) 10 support board rotation unit ( Rotating means)

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H04N 5/225 H04N 1/19 H04N 5/335

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. An image pickup optical system, an image pickup element located in an image forming plane of a subject image formed by the image pickup optical system, and the image pickup element along a longitudinal direction of a panorama size screen in the image forming plane. A slidable image sensor sliding unit, a holding frame for holding the photographing optical system and the image sensor sliding unit, and a direction substantially perpendicular to an optical axis direction of the photographing optical system and a sliding direction of the image sensor. The holding frame is constituted by a rotating means rotatable about a suitable axis, and a normal size screen is photographed by the image sensor while driving the image sensor sliding means in a state where the rotating means is stopped. And a panorama mode in which a panorama-size screen is photographed by the image sensor while driving the rotating means while the image sensor sliding means is stopped. Image input device 2. The image pickup device according to claim 1, wherein the image pickup device is constituted by a line CCD arranged in a substantially linear shape having a length substantially parallel to and substantially equal to a short side of the panorama size screen on the image plane. The image input device described in 1.