Vibration correction apparatus

• US 6,734,901 B1
• Filed: 05/20/1998
• Issued: 05/11/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/20/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Murakami, Junichi, Kudo, Toshimichi, Kawahara, Hideo
• Primary Examiner(s): Garber, Wendy R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): WHIPKEY, JASON T
• Application Number:
  US09/082,301
• Time in Patent Office: 2,183 Days
• Field of Search: 348/208.99, 348/352, 348/208.1, 348/208.2, 348/208.6, 348/208.5, 348/207.99, 348/208.8, 348/208.16, 396/52, 396/53, 396/54, 396/55
• US Class Current: 348/208.4
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 2205/0007 Movement of one or more optical elements for control of motion blur
• 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 23/6811 based on the image signal
• 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 23/686 with a variable apex prism

Abstract

A vibration correction apparatus has a motion vector detection circuit for detecting a motion vector signal at a predetermined sampling period, a signal processing circuit for calculating a correction target value in accordance with the motion vector signal detected by the motion vector detection circuit, a correction system for correcting a motion in accordance with the correction target value, and a control circuit for generating a new correction target value through interpolation of the correction target value, shortening a correction period of correction by the correction system shorter than a sampling period of the motion vector, and making the period of correction by the correction system variable with each image pickup system.

Claims

1. A vibration correction apparatus comprising:

image sensing means for sensing an image and outputting an image signal corresponding to the image;

detecting means for detecting motion signal information from the image signal;

signal processing means for producing motion correcting signal information from the motion signal information, the motion correcting signal information having a different period than a period of the motion signal information;

changing means for changing the period of the motion correcting signal information on the basis of an image sensing operation of said image sensing means; and

correcting means for correcting a motion of an image on the basis of the motion correcting signal information changed by said changing means.

2. A vibration correction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a period of the correction operation of said correcting means is shorter than a period of said detecting means.

3. A vibration correction apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising control means for changing a period of a correction operation of said correcting means in accordance with a television system.

4. A vibration correction apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a period of said detecting means and the period of the correction operation of said correcting means are synchronous with V-sync.

5. A vibration correction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said correcting means is optical vibration correcting means.

6. A vibration correction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said detecting means is disposed on a camera side and said correcting means is disposed on a lens side.

7. An image pickup apparatus comprising:

image pickup means for picking up an image of a subject and generating an image signal;

motion detecting means for detecting a motion of the image from the image signal generated by said image pickup means;

generating means for generating a correction target value in accordance with a detection result by said motion detecting means;

correcting means for correcting a motion of the image in accordance with the correction target value generated by said generating means; and

control means for changing a sampling period of the correction target value generated by said generating means, in accordance with an image pickup operation of said image pickup means.

8. An image pickup apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising:

vibration detecting means for detecting a vibration of said image pickup means, wherein said generating means generates the correction target value in accordance with detection results by said vibration detecting means and said motion detecting means.

9. An image pickup apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said correcting means optically corrects a vibration of said image pickup means.

10. An image pickup apparatus according to claim 7, wherein a lens unit includes said correcting means, and

wherein said control means is detachably mounted on the image pickup apparatus.

11. An image pickup apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said motion detecting means detects a motion vector of images between fields or frames.

12. An image pickup apparatus comprising:

image pickup means for picking up an image of a subject and generating an image signal;

motion detecting means for detecting a motion vector of images between fields or frames from the image signal obtained by said image pickup means;

vibration detecting means for detecting a vibration of said image pickup means at a predetermined period different from a period of said motion detecting means;

correcting means for optically correcting a vibration of the image in accordance with detection results by said vibration detecting means and said motion detecting means;

generating means for generating a correction target value to be supplied to said correcting means, from a detection result by said motion detecting means; and

control means for modifying a sampling period of the correction target value by said generating means on the basis of information relating to a television system.

13. An image pickup apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said correcting means includes a variable angle prism for transmitting the image of the subject to said image pickup means, drive means for driving said variable angle prism, and apex angle detecting means for detecting an apex angle of said variable angle prism, and

wherein said drive means drives said variable angle prism in such a manner that a detection result by said apex angles detecting means becomes equal to the correction target value generated by said generating means.

14. An image pickup apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said vibration detecting means detects a vibration along two perpendicular directions.

15. An image pickup apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said vibration detecting means includes an angular velocity sensor and converting means for converting a detection signal of said angular velocity sensor into an angular displacement signal.

16. An image pickup apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said image pickup means includes a solid state image pickup element.