Image-capturing apparatus and image-capturing method

• US 8,994,852 B2
• Filed: 10/13/2011
• Issued: 03/31/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/23/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Kamada, Yasunori, Kon, Takayasu, Sako, Yoichiro, Hayashi, Kazunori, Kawakami, Itaru
• Primary Examiner(s): HO, TUAN V
• Application Number:
  US13/272,895
• Publication Number:
  US 20120026334A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,265 Days
• Field of Search: 348/118, 348/119, 348/148, 348/149, 348/207.99, 348/239
• US Class Current: 348/239
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/60 Control of cameras or camera modules
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/77 between a recording apparatus and a television camera

Abstract

An image-capturing apparatus includes an image-capturing unit configured to capture image data of a subject and to store the captured image data in an image-capturing operation; a speed detector configured to detect speed information; and a controller configured to control the image-capturing unit so that, in an automatic image-capturing process that is not based on a shutter operation of a user, a distance moved by the image-capturing apparatus is computed on the basis of information from the speed detector, and the image-capturing operation is performed in response to the fact that a computation result indicating that the image-capturing apparatus has moved a predetermined distance is obtained.

Claims

1. An image-capturing apparatus comprising:

an image-capturing unit configured to capture image data in an image-capturing operation;

a speed detection unit configured to detect speed information; and

a control unit configured to control the image-capturing unit such that, in an automatic image-capturing process, a distance moved by the image-capturing apparatus is computed based, at least in part, on the speed information, and the image-capturing operation is performed in response to obtaining a computation result indicating that the distance moved by the image-capturing apparatus corresponds to a predetermined distance,

wherein the control unit is configured to set a shortest waiting time period, and the control unit is configured such that if, after an initialization event occurs, the shortest waiting time period has not elapsed when the computation result is obtained, the control unit causes the image-capturing unit to perform the image-capturing operation after the shortest waiting time period elapses.

2. The image-capturing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the initialization event comprises the image-capturing unit performing a previous image-capturing operation.

3. The image-capturing apparatus of claim 2, wherein the image-capturing apparatus is configured to be disposed on a vehicle, an eyeglass unit, and/or a headgear unit.

4. The image-capturing apparatus of claim 2, wherein the image-capturing apparatus is configured to perform a plurality of image-capturing operations at a plurality of locations, wherein successive locations in the plurality of locations are approximately separated by a fixed distance.

5. An image-capturing apparatus comprising:

an image-capturing unit configured to capture image data in an image-capturing operation;

a speed detection unit configured to detect speed information; and

a control unit configured to control the image-capturing unit such that, in an automatic image-capturing process, a distance moved by the image-capturing apparatus is computed based, at least in part, on the speed information, and the image-capturing operation is performed in response to obtaining a computation result indicating that the distance moved by the image-capturing apparatus corresponds to a predetermined distance,

wherein the control unit is configured to set a longest waiting time period, and the control unit is configured such that if, after an initialization event occurs, passage of the longest waiting time period occurs before the computation result is obtained, the control unit causes the image-capturing unit to perform the image-capturing operation in response to the passage of the longest waiting time period.

6. An image-capturing apparatus comprising:

an image-capturing unit configured to capture image data in an image-capturing operation;

a speed detection unit configured to detect speed information; and

a control unit configured to control the image-capturing unit such that, in an automatic image-capturing process, a distance moved by the image-capturing apparatus is computed based, at least in part, on the speed information, and the image-capturing operation is performed in response to obtaining a computation result indicating that the distance moved by the image-capturing apparatus corresponds to a predetermined distance,

wherein;

the control unit is configured to set a shortest waiting time period and a longest waiting time period,

the control unit is configured such that if, after an initialization event occurs, the shortest waiting time period has not elapsed when the computation result is obtained, the control unit causes the image-capturing unit to perform the image-capturing operation after the shortest waiting time period elapses, and

the control unit is configured such that if, after the initialization event occurs, passage of the longest waiting time period occurs before the computation result is obtained, the control unit causes the image-capturing unit to perform the image-capturing operation in response to the passage of the longest waiting time period.

7. An image-capturing apparatus comprising:

an image-capturing unit configured to capture image data in an image-capturing operation;

a speed detection unit configured to detect speed information; and

a control unit configured to control the image-capturing unit such that, in an automatic image-capturing process, a distance moved by the image-capturing apparatus is computed based, at least in part, on the speed information, and the image-capturing operation is performed in response to obtaining a computation result indicating that the distance moved by the image-capturing apparatus corresponds to a predetermined distance,

wherein the image-capturing apparatus is configured to perform a plurality of image-capturing operations at a plurality of locations, wherein successive locations in the plurality of locations are approximately separated by a fixed distance.

8. The image-capturing apparatus of claim 7, wherein the image-capturing apparatus is configured to be disposed on a vehicle, an eyeglass unit, and/or a headgear unit.

9. The image-capturing apparatus of claim 7, wherein the speed detection unit is disposed in a vehicle and is configured to detect vehicle-speed pulses of the vehicle.

10. An image-capturing apparatus comprising:

an image-capturing unit configured to capture image data in an image-capturing operation;

a speed detection unit configured to detect speed information; and

a control unit configured to control the image-capturing unit such that, in an automatic image-capturing process, a distance moved by the image-capturing apparatus is computed based, at least in part, on the speed information, and the image-capturing operation is performed in response to obtaining a computation result indicating that the distance moved by the image-capturing apparatus corresponds to a predetermined distance,

wherein the speed detection unit computes the speed information based, at least in part, on a distance moved by the image-capturing apparatus during a time period, and the distance moved by the image-capturing apparatus during the time period is computed based, at least in part, on positions of the image-capturing apparatus at a beginning and an end of the time period.

11. An image-capturing method for use with an image-capturing apparatus, the image-capturing method comprising:

obtaining speed information;

computing a distance moved by the image-capturing apparatus based, at least in part, on the speed information; and

in an automatic image-capturing operation, capturing image data in response to obtaining a computation result indicating that the distance moved by the image-capturing apparatus corresponds to a predetermined distance,

further comprising performing a plurality of image-capturing operations at a plurality of locations, wherein successive locations in the plurality of locations are approximately separated by a fixed distance.

12. The image-capturing method of claim 11, wherein obtaining the speed information comprises detecting vehicle-speed pulses of a vehicle in which the image-capturing apparatus is disposed.