Image pickup apparatus and image pickup method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9774782-B2
Application number	US-201614997497-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 16, 2016
Priority date	Jan 16, 2015
Publication date	Sep 26, 2017
Grant date	Sep 26, 2017

Abstract

An image pickup apparatus includes: an image pickup device arranged such that a light receiving surface is orthogonal to an optical axis of an image pickup lens, the image pickup device acquiring primary image data; an input device that receives input of correction angles including a first angle that is an angle formed in a pitch direction relative to the light receiving surface and a second angle that is an angle formed in a yaw direction relative to the light receiving surface; an image processing unit that uses a focal length of the image pickup lens and the correction angles to generate secondary image data obtained by applying a modification process of projecting the primary image data onto a plane forming the first angle in the pitch direction relative to the light receiving surface and the second angle in the yaw direction relative to the light receiving surface.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An image pickup apparatus comprising:
an image pickup device arranged such that a light receiving surface is orthogonal to an optical axis of an image pickup lens, the image pickup device acquiring primary image data at each predetermined frame period;
a focal length detection unit that acquires a focal length of the image pickup lens in synchronization with the frame period;
an input device that receives input of correction angles including two values including a first angle that is an angle formed in a pitch direction relative to the light receiving surface and a second angle that is an angle formed in a yaw direction relative to the light receiving surface;
an image processing unit that uses a value of the focal length and the values of the correction angles in synchronization with the frame period to generate secondary image data obtained by applying a modification process of projecting the primary image data onto a plane forming the first angle in the pitch direction relative to the light receiving surface and forming the second angle in the yaw direction relative to the light receiving surface;
an image display device that displays an image based on the secondary image data in synchronization with the frame period; and
an AF control unit that performs control of changing a focus distance of the image pickup lens, wherein
the input device receives input of designating a position of an AF area in the secondary image data displayed on the image display device,
the image processing unit executes a conversion process of projecting the position of the AF area in the secondary image data onto a plane including the primary image data, and
the AF control unit changes the focus distance of the image pickup lens to put the image pickup lens into a focused state at a position on the light receiving surface corresponding to the AF area projected onto the plane including the primary image data.

2. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
an outer shape of the AF area in the secondary image data is rectangular,
the image processing unit executes a conversion process of projecting the position and the shape of the AF area in the secondary image data onto the plane including the primary image data, and
the AF control unit changes the focus distance of the image pickup lens to put the image pickup lens into the focused state based on a contrast value or phase difference information of an image on the light receiving surface corresponding to inside of the AF area projected onto the plane including the primary image data.

3. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
an outer shape of the AF area on the light receiving surface is rectangular,
the image processing unit applies a modification process of projecting the outer shape of the AF area on the light receiving surface onto a plane including the secondary image data, and the image display device displays the shape of the AF area projected onto the plane including the secondary image data, superimposed on an image based on the secondary image data.

4. An image pickup method of an image pickup apparatus, the image pickup apparatus comprising:
an image pickup device arranged such that a light receiving surface is orthogonal to an optical axis of an image pickup lens, the image pickup device acquiring primary image data at each predetermined frame period;
a focal length detection unit that acquires a focal length of the image pickup lens in synchronization with the frame period;
an input device that receives input of correction angles including two values including a first angle that is an angle formed in a pitch direction relative to the light receiving surface and a second angle that is an angle formed in a yaw direction relative to the light receiving surface;
an image processing unit that uses a value of the focal length and the values of the correction angles in synchronization with the frame period to generate secondary image data obtained by applying a modification process of projecting the primary image data onto a plane forming the first angle in the pitch direction relative to the light receiving surface and forming the second angle in the yaw direction relative to the light receiving surface;
an image display device that displays an image based on the secondary image data in synchronization with the frame period; and
an AF control unit that performs control of changing a focus distance of the image pickup lens, the image pickup method comprising:
a step of receiving, by the input device, input of designating a position of an AF area in the secondary image data displayed on the image display device;
a step of executing, by the image processing unit, a conversion process of projecting the position of the AF area in the secondary image data onto the plane including the primary image data; and
a step of changing, by the AF control unit, the focus distance of the image pickup lens to put the image pickup lens into a focused state at a position on the light receiving surface corresponding to the AF area projected onto the plane including the primary image data.

5. An image pickup apparatus comprising:
an image pickup device arranged such that a light receiving surface is orthogonal to an optical axis of an image pickup lens, the image pickup device acquiring primary image data at each predetermined frame period;
a focal length detection unit that acquires a focal length of the image pickup lens in synchronization with the frame period;
an input device that receives input of correction angles including two values including a first angle that is an angle formed in a pitch direction relative to the light receiving surface and a second angle that is an angle formed in a yaw direction relative to the light receiving surface;
an image processing unit that uses a value of the focal length and the values of the correction angles in synchronization with the frame period to generate secondary image data obtained by applying a modification process of projecting the primary image data onto a plane forming the first angle in the pitch direction relative to the light receiving surface and forming the second angle in the yaw direction relative to the light receiving surface;
an image display device that displays an image in a rectangular cut-out area in the secondary image data in synchronization with the frame period; and
an AF control unit that performs control of changing a focus distance of the image pickup lens, wherein
the input device receives input of designating a position of an AF area in the primary image data displayed on the image display device, and
the image processing unit executes a conversion process of projecting the coordinates of the AF area in the primary image data onto the coordinates in the secondary image data, and as a result of the conversion process, if the coordinates of the AF area in the secondary image data are out of the cut-out area, the image processing unit alters the coordinates of the AF area to the coordinates in the cut-out area.

6. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein
the image processing unit executes the conversion process of projecting the coordinates of the AF area in the primary image data onto the coordinates in the secondary image data, and as a result of the conversion process, if the coordinates of the AF area in the secondary image data are out of the cut-out area, the image processing unit alters the coordinates of the AF area to the coordinates in the cut-out area, to minimize a distance of the altered coordinates of the AF area to the coordinates of the AF area in the secondary image data before the alteration.

7. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein
the image process

Assignees

• Olympus Corp

Inventors

• Kimura Mitsutaka

Classifications

• H04N5/2628 Primary

  Alteration of picture size, shape, position or orientation, e.g. zooming, rotation, rolling, perspective, translation · CPC title

• H04N23/673

  based on contrast or high frequency components of image signals, e.g. hill climbing method · CPC title

• H04N23/635 Primary

  Region indicators; Field of view indicators · CPC title

• H04N23/672

  based on the phase difference signals · CPC title

• H04N23/62

  Control of parameters via user interfaces · CPC title