Digital camera for performing exposure during rotation to produce a panoramic image
View Patent ↗A digital camera includes an imager. An optical image of an object scene is irradiated onto an imaging surface of the imager. When the digital camera is rotated, a CPU starts measuring processing for repetitively measuring a rotation angle, and suppresses a change due to the rotation in a positional relationship between the imaging surface and the optical image on the basis of the result of the measurement. The CPU performs exposure processing on the imager every time that the measurement result and the angle of view of the optical image on the imaging surface satisfy the angular condition, and captures the object scene image generated on the imaging surface in to a memory. The plurality of object scene images thus stored in the memory are combined with each other to thereby produce a single panoramic object scene image.
1. A digital camera which performs an exposure while rotating, comprising:
a housing provided with an optical lens;
an imager provided to the housing and having an imaging surface onto which an optical image of an object scene is irradiated through the optical lens;
a measurer that repetitively measures a rotation angle of the housing;
an exposer that performs an exposure processing on the imager every time that the measurement result by the measurer and an angle of view of the optical image irradiated onto the imaging surface satisfy an angular condition;
a suppresser that suppresses a change in a positional relationship between the imaging surface and the optical image irradiated onto the imaging surface by moving at least one of the optical lens and the imager on the basis of the measurement result;
wherein the change is due to rotation of the housing during a period of the exposure processing being performed,
a first invalidator that invalidates the suppresser during a period from an end of one exposure processing to a start of the next exposure processing, by the exposer;
a mover that moves said at least one of the optical lens and the imager in a direction that a maximum value of displacement which is suppressible by the suppresser in the next exposure period is increased, during a period when the suppresser is invalidated by the first invalidator; and
a capturer that captures the object scene image generated on the imaging surface according to the exposure processing by the exposer in a memory.
2. A digital camera according to claim 1 ,
wherein the measurer includes
a detector that detects an angular velocity of the housing; and
a first calculator that calculates a rotation angle from a starting point of each exposure processing by the exposer on the basis of the detection result by the detector.
3. A digital camera according to claim 1 , further comprising
a displacer that displaces a position of said at least one of the optical lens and the imager, wherein
the suppresser controls the displacer on the basis of the measurement result by the measurer to cause the imager to follow a movement of the optical image.
4. A digital camera according to claim 3 , wherein:
the mover includes an advancer that advances said at least one of the optical lens and the imager with respect to the housing by controlling the displacer during a period when the suppresser is invalidated by the first invalidator.
5. A digital camera according to claim 4 , further comprising a second calculator for calculating a half-value of the rotation angle of the housing corresponding to the exposure time of one exposure processing by the exposer on the basis of the detection result by the detector, wherein
the advancer advances a position of said at least one of the optical lens and the imager with respect to the housing by a distance corresponding to the calculation result by the second calculator.
6. A digital camera according to claim 5 , further comprising:
a second invalidator that invalidates the advancer when the calculation result by the second calculator is above a maximum rotation angle corresponding to a maximum displacement by the displacer; and
an informer that executes informing processing to a user in response to the invalidating processing by the second invalidator.
7. A digital camera according to claim 6 , wherein
the angular condition is a condition that the calculation result by the first calculator reaches a value obtained by subtracting the calculation result by the second calculator from the angle of view during a period when the advancer is not invalidated by the second invalidator, and
the angular condition is a condition that the calculation result by the first calculator coincides with the angle of view during a period when the advancer is invalidated by the second invalidator.
8. A digital camera according to claim 1 , further comprising a producer that combines a plurality of object scene images stored in the memory with each other to produce a single panoramic object scene image.