Photographic apparatus

• US 7,899,313 B2
• Filed: 03/26/2009
• Issued: 03/01/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: PENTAX RICOH IMAGING COMPANY, LTD.
• Original Assignee: Hoya Corporation
• Inventors: Uenaka, Yukio
• Primary Examiner(s): Laballe; Clayton E
• Assistant Examiner(s): ADAMS, BRET W
• Application Number:
  US12/411,470
• Publication Number:
  US 20090245769A1
• Time in Patent Office: 705 Days
• Field of Search: 396/53
• US Class Current: 396/55
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 17/00 Details of cameras or camera bodies; Accessories therefor lens hoods or caps G03B11/04
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/6812 based on additional sensors, e.g. acceleration sensors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/687 by shifting the lens or sensor position

Abstract

A photographic apparatus comprises a movable platform and a controller. The movable platform has an imager and is movable and rotatable in an xy plane. The controller performs a movement control of the movable platform for one of a translational movement and a rotational movement. The translational movement includes at least one of a first stabilization for correcting hand shake caused by yaw around the y direction and a second stabilization for correcting hand shake caused by pitch around the x direction. The rotational movement rotates the movable platform in the xy plane. The controller determines which of the translational movement and the rotational movement is to be performed, on the basis of a first hand-shake parameter caused by yaw that is calculated for the first stabilization and a second hand-shake parameter caused by pitch that is calculated for the second stabilization.

Claims

1. A photographic apparatus comprising:

a movable platform which has an imager that captures an optical image through a taking lens, and is movable and rotatable in an xy plane perpendicular to an optical axis of said taking lens; and

a controller that performs a movement control of said movable platform for one of a translational movement and a rotational movement, said translational movement including at least one of a first stabilization for correcting hand shake caused by yaw around the y direction and a second stabilization for correcting hand shake caused by pitch around the x direction, said x direction being perpendicular to said optical axis, said y direction being perpendicular to said x direction and said optical axis, said rotational movement rotating said movable platform in said xy plane;

said controller determining which of said translational movement and said rotational movement is to be performed, on the basis of a first hand-shake parameter caused by yaw that is calculated for said first stabilization and a second hand-shake parameter caused by pitch that is calculated for said second stabilization.

2. The photographic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said first hand-shake parameter is a first angular velocity caused by yaw;

said second hand-shake parameter is a second angular velocity caused by pitch; and

said controller determines that said translational movement is to be performed, when at least one of the absolute value of said first angular velocity and the absolute value of said second angular velocity is greater than a threshold.

3. The photographic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said rotational movement is an inclination correction based on an inclination angle of said photographic apparatus formed by rotation of said photographic apparatus around said optical axis, as measured with respect to a level plane perpendicular to the direction of gravitational force.

4. The photographic apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising an acceleration sensor that detects a first gravitational component and a second gravitational component, said first gravitational component being the component of gravitational acceleration in said x direction, and said second gravitational component being the component of gravitational acceleration in said y direction;

wherein said controller calculates said inclination angle, on the basis of a magnitude relation between the absolute value of said first gravitational component and the absolute value of said second gravitational component, and performs a movement control of said movable platform for said inclination correction based on said inclination angle.

5. The photographic apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said controller calculates said inclination angle by performing an arcsine transformation on the smaller of the absolute value of said first gravitational component and the absolute value of said second gravitational component.

6. The photographic apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said x direction is perpendicular to the direction of gravitational force and said y direction is parallel to the direction of gravitational force when said photographic apparatus is held horizontally and either an upper surface or a lower surface of said photographic apparatus faces upward;

and

said x direction is parallel to the direction of gravitational force and said y direction is perpendicular to the direction of gravitational force when said photographic apparatus is held vertically and one of either side surfaces of said photographic apparatus faces upward.

7. The photographic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said rotational movement is a third stabilization for correcting hand shake caused by roll around the z direction parallel to said optical axis.

8. The photographic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said controller determines that said translational movement is to be performed, when at least one of said first and second hand-shake parameters is greater than a threshold;

and

said controller determines that said rotational movement is to be performed, when said first and second hand-shake parameters are not greater than said threshold.

9. The photographic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when at least one of the absolute value of the first handshake parameter is greater than a first threshold value and the absolute value of the second handshake parameter is greater than a second threshold value, said controller performs movement control of said movable platform for translational movement.

10. The photographic apparatus according to claim 9, wherein, when the absolute value of the first handshake parameter is not greater than the first threshold value and the absolute value of the second handshake parameter is not greater than the second threshold value, said controller does not perform movement control of said movable platform for translational movement and performs movement control of said movable platform for rotational movement.

11. The photographic apparatus according to claim 1, said controller being configured so that when movement control of said movable platform for rotational movement is performed, movement control of said movable platform for translational movement is precluded, and when movement control of said movable platform for translational movement is performed, movement control of said movable platform for rotational movement is precluded.

12. A photographic apparatus comprising:

a movable platform which has an imager that captures an optical image through a taking lens, and is movable and rotatable in an xy plane perpendicular to an optical axis of said taking lens;

a first sensor that detects a first angular velocity caused by yaw around the y direction, said y direction being perpendicular to said optical axis;

a second sensor that detects a second angular velocity caused by pitch around the x direction, said x direction being perpendicular to said optical axis and said y direction; and

a controller that performs a movement control of said movable platform for a rotational movement, said rotational movement rotating said movable platform in said xy plane;

said controller determining that said rotational movement is to be performed, when the absolute value of said first angular velocity and the absolute value of said second angular velocity are not greater than a threshold.