IMAGE PICKUP APPARATUS AND REPRODUCTION CONTROL APPARATUS

• US 20100060752A1
• Filed: 10/24/2007
• Published: 03/11/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Tokuyama, Haruto
• Granted Patent: US 8,154,606 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/240.300
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3211 Display means
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3213 Details of moving display elements, e.g. spinning reels, tumbling members
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/667 Camera operation mode switching, e.g. between still and video, sport and normal or high- and low-resolution modes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/70 Circuitry for compensating brightness variation in the scene
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/772 the recording apparatus and the television camera being placed in the same enclosure
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/775 between a recording apparatus and a television receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/7921 for more than one processing mode
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8063 using time division multiplex of the PCM audio and PCM video signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8205 involving the multiplexing of an additional signal and the colour video signal

Abstract

Image pickup means is capable of picking up an image at a first frame rate and a second frame rate that is higher than the first frame rate. A highlight scene is detected by detection means. When detecting the highlight scene, image pickup operation is performed at a high speed mode and an image signal at high frame rate (240 fps) is produced for a period of predetermined time. When detecting no highlight scene, image pickup operation is performed at a normal mode and an image signal at normal frame rate (60 fps) is produced. It is possible to save time and labor for performing a switchover operation of a frame rate when imaging a highlight scene. It is also possible to save power consumption and a capacity of a storage medium.

Claims

1. An image pickup apparatus characterized in that the apparatus is provided with:

image pickup means which is capable of picking up an image at a first frame rate and a second frame rate that is higher than the first frame rate;

detection means for detecting a highlight scene; and

control means for switching over a frame rate of the image pickup means in response to detection of the highlight scene by the detection means.

2. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the control means switches over the frame rate of the image pickup means from the first frame rate to the second frame rate in response to the detection of the highlight scene by the detection means.

3. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that the control means switches the frame rate of the image pickup means from the second frame rate to the first frame rate after a period of predetermined time is elapsed since the frame rate of the image pickup means is switched from the first frame rate to the second frame rate.

4. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that the detection means detects the highlight scene when a movement of a subject exceeds a predetermined value.

5. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 4, characterized in that there is provided with lens driving means and/or sensor means for detecting an angular velocity when the image pickup apparatus moves,

wherein the detection means calculates the movement of the subject by performing an inter-frame difference calculation when the lens driving means is not in a zooming operation and/or the angular velocity detected by the sensor means does not exceed a predetermined value.

6. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the first frame rate is a frame rate of standard television system.

7. A reproduction control apparatus for reproducing moving image information and auxiliary information on the moving image information from a recording medium, characterized in that the apparatus is provided with:

determination means for determining which a reproducing mode when reproducing the moving image information is a thinning-out reproducing mode or a non-thinning-out reproducing mode based on a frame rate to which an external monitor device corresponds and the auxiliary information; and

control means for controlling a reproducing operation of the moving image information according to a determination result of the determination means.

8. The reproduction control apparatus according to claim 7, characterized in that the determination means determines to be the non-thinning-out reproducing mode when the frame rate to which the external monitor device corresponds is equal to a frame rate of the moving image information, and

the control means causes the moving image information to be reproduced without thinning-out frame.

9. The reproduction control apparatus according to claim 8, characterized in that the determination means performs the determination when the frame rate of the moving image information is higher than the frame rate to which the external monitor device corresponds.

10. The reproduction control apparatus according to claim 9, characterized in that the determination means determines to be the non-thinning-out reproducing mode when the frame rate of the moving image information is higher than the frame rate to which the external monitor device corresponds and a switchover instruction is indicated by the auxiliary information, and

the control means causes the moving image information to be reproduced at the frame rate to which the external monitor device corresponds without thinning-out frame.

11. The reproduction control apparatus according to claim 10, characterized in that the control means thins out the frame as the thinning-out reproducing mode after a predetermined period of time is elapsed since the reproducing mode is determined to be the non-thinning-out reproducing mode, to cause the moving image information to be converted into the frame rate to which the external monitor device corresponds and to be reproduced.

12. The reproduction control apparatus according to claim 11, characterized in that the auxiliary information includes information indicating a zooming operation and/or an angular velocity representing a movement of the image pickup apparatus when generating the moving image information in an image pickup apparatus, and

the determination means performs an inter-frame difference calculation using the moving image information and calculates a movement of a subject when it determines that the zooming operation is not performed and/or that the angular velocity does not exceed the predetermined value based on the auxiliary information, and it determines to be the normal mode when the movement exceeds a predetermined value.