Camera apparatus

• US 4,623,930 A
• Filed: 12/31/1984
• Issued: 11/18/1986
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/1983
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Igarashi, Yoshiaki, Mitani, Hiroshi, Oshima, Mitsuaki, Izaki, Masataka, Kajino, Jirou
• Primary Examiner(s): Rubinson, Gene Z.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Schroeder, L. C.
• Application Number:
  US06/688,154
• Time in Patent Office: 687 Days
• Field of Search: 358/222, 358/213, 358/225, 358/217, 350/500, 352/243
• US Class Current: 348/208.5
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 2217/005 Blur detection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/68 for stable pick-up of the scene, e.g. compensating for camera body vibrations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/6812 based on additional sensors, e.g. acceleration sensors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/6815 by distinguishing pan or tilt from motion
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/6842 by controlling the scanning position, e.g. windowing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/687 by shifting the lens or sensor position
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/443 by reading pixels from selected 2D regions of the array, e.g. for windowing or digital zooming
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/626 Reduction of noise due to residual charges remaining after image readout, e.g. to remove ghost images or afterimages

Abstract

A camera apparatus comprising focusing means for optically focusing a beam of light from an object, an imaging element for converting an optical image produced by the focusing means into electrical or physicochemical information and issuing or recording the information as an image, detectors for detecting fluctuations of the apparatus to issue a fluctuation detecting signal, controllers responsive to the fluctuation detecting signal for issuing an image fluctuation control signal, and suppressors responsive to the image fluctuation control signal for suppressingfluctuations of the image due to the fluctuations of the apparatus.

Claims

1. A camera apparatus comprising:

focusing neans for optically focusing a light beam from an object;

imaging means for converting an optical image produced by the focusing means into electric or physicochemical information and issuing or recording the information as an image;

means for detecting fluctuations of the camera apparatus and issuing a fluctuation detecting signal and constituted by a detector mechanically vibratable at a fluctuation detecting frequency, and a vibrating angular velocity sensor for detecting vibrations of said detector and a Coriolis force generated on the basis of rotational movement of said detecting means with respect to an absolute coordinate system and for generating said fluctuation detecting signal;

means responsive to the fluctuation detecting signal for issuing an image fluctuation control signal; and

means responsive to the image fluctuation control signal for suppressing fluctuations of the image due to the fluctuations of the apparatus.

2. A camera apparatus comprising:

focusing means for optically focusing a light beam from an object;

imaging means for converting an optical image produced by the focusing means into electrical or physicochemical information and issuing or recording the information as an image;

means for detecting fluctuations of the camera apparatus and issuing a fluctuation detecting signal;

means responsive to the fluctuation detecting signal for issuing an image fluctuation control signal; and

means responsive to the image fluctuation control signal for suppressing fluctuations of the image due to the fluctuations of the apparatus having a fixed suppression control range and returnable with a prescribed time constant toward a substantially central portion of said fixed suppression control range when there is no said image fluctuation control signal or when said suppressing means has completed the suppressing operation.

3. A camera apparatus comprising:

focusing means for optically focusing a light beam from an object;

imaging means for converting an optical image produced by the focusing means into electrical or physicochemical information and issuing or recording the information as an image;

means for detecting fluctuations of the camera apparatus and issuing a fluctuation detecting signal;

means responsive to the fluctuation detecting signal for issuing an image fluctuation control signal; and

means responsive to the image fluctuation control signal for supressing fluctuations of the image due to the fluctuations of the apparatus having a reflecting member disposed in said focusing means or on the incident-light side of said focusing means and rotatable in a biaxial direction in response to the image fluctuation control signal, and further having a detecting rotatable shaft rotatable at a transmission ratio of 2;

1 in coaction with a pitch rotation shaft thereof and having a fluctuation detector, said detecting rotatable shaft being controllable by said issuing means to be at a constant angle with respect to an absolute coordinate system at all times.

4. The camera apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a coupling rotatable shaft rotatable in an opposite direction to said pitch rotation shaft, a rotation transmission means connected said pitch rotation shaft and said coupling rotatable shaft, and a driver forming part of said issuing means and directly connected to said coupling rotatable shaft, said driver and said pitch rotation shaft having moments of inertia and said rotation transmitting means having a rotation transmission ratio, said moments and said rotation transmission ratio being selected such that the rotative force based on said moment of said pitch rotation shaft and the rotative force based on the moment of said coupling rotatable shaft will be cancelled by each other, and the pitch rotation shaft is at an angle of Θ

/2 with respect to the absolute coordinate system when the image pickup device fluctuates through an angle Θ

with respect to the absolute coordinate system.

5. The camera apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the relation between the rotation transmission ratio m of said rotation transmitting means and the ratio n between the inertia of said pitch rotation shaft and the inertia of the coupling rotatable shaft is substantially n=m² /(2m+1).

6. The camera apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the center of gravity of said balancer is controllable to move on rhe axis equal substantially to the center of gravity of said movable portion.

7. The camera apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said balancer has a substantially ring-shaped structure.

8. A camera apparatus comprising:

focusing means for optically focusing a light beam from an object;

imaging means for converting an optical image produced by the focusing means into electric or physicochemical information and issuing or recording the information as an image;

means for detecting fluctuations of the camera apparatus andissuing a fluctuation detecting signal;

means responsive to the fluctuation detecting signal for issuing an image fluctuation control signal; and

means responsive to the image fluctuation control signal for suppressing fluctuations of the image due to the fluctuations of the apparatus, said image means being coupled to said focusing means, a controlled shaft, a movable portion of said camera apparatus including said focusing means being movable on said controlled shaft around a point substantially corresponding to the center of gravity of said movable portion dependent on information from said detecting means and independently of the remaining portion of the camera apparatus, said movable portion having a balancer mechanically controllable for balancing or electromechanically controllable by a center-of-gravity correcting circuit for movement about said controlled shaft dependent on focusing or movement of optical parts during zooming.

9. The camera apparatus comprising:

focusing means for optically focusing a light beam from an object;

imaging means for converting an optical image produced by the focusing means into electrical or physicochemical information and issuing or recording the information as an image, said imaging means having a charge-transfer solid-state image pickup unit having a vertical charge transfer section for vertically transferring charges and a horizontal charge transfer section for horizontally transferring charges, at least one of said charge transfer sections being controllable in charge transfer in response to the fluctuation detecting signal from said detecting means;

means for detecting fluctuations of the camera apparatus and issuing a fluctuation detecting signal;

means responsive to the fluctuation detecting signal for issuing an image fluctuation control signal; and

means responsive to the image fluctuation control signal for suppressing fluctuations of the image due to the fluctuations of the apparatus.

10. The camera apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said pickup unit comprises means for effecting charge transfer in said vertical charge transfer section in response to the fluctuation detecting signal from said detecting means primarily during a vertical blanking period.

11. The camera apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said pickup unit comprises means for effecting charge transfer in said horizontal charge transfer section in response to the fluctuation detecting signal from said detecting means primarily during a horizontal blanking period.

12. The camera apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said charge-transfer solid-state image pickup unit comprises means to apply charges in all pixels in one frame or one field in one vertical transfer direction and in one horizontal transfer direction in response to an external control signal, the charges in all pixels in one frame or one field being transferred by said issuing means in one horizontal transfer direction in response to the fluctuation detecting signal from the detecting means in a yaw direction primarily during the vertical blanking period.

13. The camera apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said charge-transfer solid-state image pickup unit has a horizontal charge transfer unit having output ports selectable in response to the fluctuation detecting signal from said detecting means.

14. A camera apparatus comprising:

focusing means for optically focusing a light beam from an object;

imaging means for converting an optical image produced by the focusing means into electric or physicochemical information and issuing or recording the information as an image;

means for detecting fluctuations of the camera apparatus and issuing a fluctuation detecting signal;

means responsive to the fluctatuation detecting signal for issuing an image fluctuation control signal; and

means responsive to the image fluctuation control signal for suppressing fluctuations of the image due to the fluctuations of the apparatus;

wherein the gain Ka in the pitch direction of said image fluctuation control signal issuing means and the gain Kb in the yaw direction of the image fluctuation control signal are in the following relation;

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">2<

Ka/Kb.

15. A camera apparatus comprising:

a housing;

focusing means for optically focusing a light beam from an object;

imaging means for converting an optical image produced by the focusing means into electrical or physicochemical information and issuing or recording the information as an image;

means for detecting fluctuations of the camera apparatus and issuing a fluctuation detecting signal, said detecting means having a detector mechanically vibratable at a fluctuation detecting frequency, and a vibrating angular velocity sensor for detecting vibrations of said detector and a Coriolis force generated on the basis of rotational movement of said detecting means with respect to an absolute coordinate system for generating said fluctuation detecting signal;

means responsive to the fluctuation detecting signal for issuing an image fluctuation control signal; and

means responsive to the image fluctation control signal for suppressing fluctuations of the image due to the fluctuations of the apparatus;

wherein at least said focusing means and said detecting means are fixed to a movable portion of said camera apparatus ovable independently of a fixed portion of the camera apparatus, said fixed portion including said housing.

16. The camera apparatus according to claim 15, wherein said image fluctuation control signal issuing means has a low-cutoff filter for reducing low-frequency components of said fluctuation detecting signal, thereby to reduce said image flucuation control signal with respect to the low-frequency components of said fluctation detecting signal.

17. The camera apparatus according to claim 15, further comprising means for detecting the rotational angle between said movable portion and said fixed portion.

18. The camera apparatus according to claim 17, wherein said plurality of sensors have fluctuation detecting frequencies spaced at least 2f from each other where f is the average detecting frequency band of each said fluctuation detecting signal.

19. The camera apparauts according to claim 17, wherein said plurality of sensors have the same fluctatuion detecting frequencies so that respective fluctuation detecting vibrations thereof are synchronized.

20. A camera apparatus comprising:

focusing means for optically focusing a light beam from an object;

imaging means for converting an optical image produced by the focusing means into electric or physicochemical information and issuing or recording the information as an image;

means for detecting fluctuations of the camera apparatus and issuing a fluctuation detecting signal and constituted by a detector mechanically vibratable at a fluctuation detecting frequency, and a vibrating angular velocity sensor having a pluality of sensors having a detecting rotational axes extending substantially perpendicular to each other for detecting vibrations of said detector and a Coriolis force generated on the basis of rotational movement of said detecting means with respect to an absolute coordinate system and for generating said fluctuation detecting signal;

means responsive to the fluctuation detecting signal for issuing an image fluctuation control signal; and

means responsive to the image fluctuation control signal for suppressing fluctuations of the image due to the fluctuations of the apparatus.

21. A camera apparatus comprising:

focusing means for optically focusing a light beam from an object;

imaging means for converting an optical image produced by the focusing means into electrical or physicochemical information and issuing or recording the information as an image, said imaging means having a charge-transfer solid-state image pickup unit having a vertical charge transfer section for vertically transferring charges and a horizontal charge transfer section for horizontally transferring charges, said vertical and said horizontal charge transfer section being controllable in charge transfer in response to the fluctuation detecting signal from said detecting means, said charge-transfer solid-state image pickup unit having a matrix of pixels for transferring charges bidirectionally in the horizontal direction or bidirectionally in ther vertical direction in response to an external control signal, the charges being transferrable bidirectionally in the horizontal direction or bidirectionally in the vertical direction in response to the fluctuation detecting signal from said detecting means;

means for detecting fluctuations of the camera apparatus and issuing a fluctuation detecting signal;

means responsive to the fluctuation detecting signal for issuing an image fluctuation control signal; and

means responsive to the image fluctuation control signal for suppressing fluctuations of the image due to the fluctuations of the apparatus.

22. The camera apparatus according to claim 21, wherein said charge-transfer solid-state image pickup unit has a light-detecting section and a storage section, the charge transfer being effected primarily by said light-detecting section bidirectionally in the horizontal direction or bidirectionally in the vertical direction in response to the fluctuation detecting signal from said detecting means, the charges being transferrable from said light-detecting section into said storage section in synchronism with vertical scanning.