Image blur correcting apparatus

Claim 2

An image blur correcting apparatus comprising: a lens-barrel part including a lens and an imaging device; image signal processing means for forming a video signal from an electrical signal obtained at said imaging device; a supporting body for supporting said lens-barrel part in a freely pivoting manner around a rotating axis crossing a beam axis incident to said lens-barrel part at approximately right angles; actuator mans, attached between said lens-barrel part and said supporting body, for rotating said lens-barrel part; relative angle detecting mans for detecting a relative angle between said lens-barrel part and said supporting body; means for detecting a moving vector indicating an amount of blur of the image from correlation between two frames of image information from said image signal processing means, which are continuous in view of time; angular velocity operating means for calculating rotation angular velocity using a zoom multiplying factor from the detected moving vector; and calculating controlling means for outputting a control signal of an actuator in accordance with outputs of said relative angle detecting means and said angular velocity detecting means.

Claim 3

An image blur correcting apparatus in which moving vectors of the whole screen are detected from an amount of movement of a pixel in each block, based upon representative points set in a plurality of blocks in an image, in order to detect an amount of movement between frames of the image, said image blur correcting apparatus comprising: means for calculating an absolute value of a difference between a pixel of a representative point for each block of the frame directly, before a frame whose movement vector is to be detected, and the pixels on a horizontal straight line and a vertical straight line passing through the representative point, respectively, of the frame whose movement vector is to be detected; horizontal and vertical accumulated addition means for accumulatedly adding horizontal and vertical absolute values calculated; means for detecting two intersecting one-dimensional moving vectors from the horizontal and vertical accumulated added values; and means for calculating a two-dimensional moving vector from said two intersecting one-dimensional moving vectors.

Claim 4

An image blur correcting apparatus in which moving vectors of the whole screen are detected from an amount of movement of a pixel in each block, based upon representative points set in a plurality of blocks in an image, in order to detect an amount of movement between frames of the image, said image blur correcting apparatus comprising: means for calculating an absolute value of a difference between a pixel of a representative point for each block of the frame directly, before a frame whose movement vector is to be detected, and the pixels on a horizontal straight line and a vertical straight line passing through the representative point, respectively, of the frame whose movement vector is to be detected; horizontal and vertical accumulated addition means for accumulatedly adding horizontal and vertical absolute values calculated; means for detecting two intersecting one-dimensional moving vectors from the horizontal and vertical accumulated added values; and means for calculating a two-dimensional moving vector from said two intersecting one-dimensional moving vectors.

Claim 5

An image blur correcting apparatus as defined in claim 2 wherein said one-dimensional moving vector detecting means detects moving vectors in a horizontal and vertical direction, based upon coordinates of a minimum accumulated addition value of said horizontal and vertical accumulated addition means.

Claim 6

An image blur correcting apparatus as defined in claim 2 wherein said one-dimensional moving vector detecting means obtains a curved surface representing the accumulated added values from the accumulated addition means, detects a point closest to an XY plane on the curved surface, and obtains moving vectors in the horizontal and vertical direction, based upon coordinates of the closest point.

Claim 7

An image blur correcting apparatus comprising: means for selecting a representative point in a first of two continuous screens, for diving a second of the two continuous screens into a plurality of blocks, and finding an absolute value of a difference between the representative point and each of the plurality of blocks; means for dividing each of the plurality of blocks into a plurality of areas and for calculating a table by adding the absolute value of the difference for each of the plurality of areas for each of the corresponding plurality of blocks to said table; means for finding a moving vector in each of the plurality of areas from said table accumulated for each of the plurality of areas; parallel movement/zooming operation determining means for determining whether each of the plurality of areas of the second of two continuous screens are moving parallel to each other or i the second of the two continuous screens is moving according to a zooming operation, depending on a moving vector determined for each of the plurality of areas; and means for outputting a screen moving vector, having a value obtained by averaging the moving vectors of each of the plurality of areas for the second of the two continuous screens when said parallel movement/zooming operation determining means determines the second of the two continuous screens is moving in parallel and for outputting the screen moving vector having a value obtained by multiplying an average value of the second of the two continuous screens by a prescribed attenuation constant K (0≦k<1) when said means determines the second of the two continuous screens to be moving according to a zooming operation.

Claim 8

An image blur correcting apparatus comprising: means for selecting a representative point in a first of two continuous screens, for diving a second of the two continuous screens into a plurality of blocks, and finding an absolute value of a difference between the representative point and each of the plurality of blocks; means for dividing each of the plurality of blocks into a plurality of areas and for calculating a table by adding the absolute value of the difference for each of the plurality of areas for each of the corresponding plurality of blocks to said table; means for finding a moving vector in each of the plurality of areas from said table accumulated for each of the plurality of areas; parallel movement/zooming operation determining means for determining whether each of the plurality of areas of the second of two continuous screens are moving parallel to each other or i the second of the two continuous screens is moving according to a zooming operation, depending on a moving vector determined for each of the plurality of areas; and means for outputting a screen moving vector, having a value obtained by averaging the moving vectors of each of the plurality of areas for the second of the two continuous screens when said parallel movement/zooming operation determining means determines the second of the two continuous screens is moving in parallel and for outputting the screen moving vector having a value obtained by multiplying an average value of the second of the two continuous screens by a prescribed attenuation constant K (0≦k<1) when said means determines the second of the two continuous screens to be moving according to a zooming operation.

Claim 9

An image blur correcting apparatus as defined in claim 5 wherein the second of the two continuous screens is divided into nine blocks.

Claim 10

An image blur correcting apparatus as defined in claim 6 wherein said parallel movement/zooming operation determining means determines parallel movement when the moving vector of each of the plurality of areas is in the same direction.

Claim 11

An image blur correcting apparatus as defined in claim 6 wherein said parallel movement/zooming operation determining means determines the second of the two continuous screens to be in a zooming operation when the moving vector of the plurality of areas have different directions.

Claim 12

An image blur correcting apparatus comprising: a lens-barrel part having a lens and an imaging device; image signal processing means for forming a video signal from an electrical signal obtained at said imaging device; a supporting body for supporting said lens-barrel part in a freely pivoting manner around a rotating axis crossing a beam axis incident to said lens-barrel part at approximately right angles; actuator means, attached between said lens-barrel part and said supporting body, for rotating said lens-barrel part; relative angle detecting means for detecting a relative angle between said lens-barrel part and said supporting body; means for detecting a moving vector indicating an amount of blur of the image from correlation between two fields, which are continuous in view of time, of image information from said image signal processing means; angular velocity operating means for calculating rotation angular velocity using a zoom multiplying factor from the detected moving vector; and calculating controlling means for outputting a control signal of an actuator in accordance with outputs of said relative angle detecting means and said angular velocity detecting means.

Claim 13

An image blur correcting apparatus comprising: a lens-barrel part having a lens and an imaging device; image signal processing means for forming a video signal from an electrical signal obtained at said imaging device; a supporting body for supporting said lens-barrel part in a freely pivoting manner around a rotating axis crossing a beam axis incident to said lens-barrel part at approximately right angles; actuator means, attached between said lens-barrel part and said supporting body, for rotating said lens-barrel part; relative angle detecting means for detecting a relative angle between said lens-barrel part and said supporting body; means for detecting a moving vector indicating an amount of blur of the image from correlation between two fields, which are continuous in view of time, of image information from said image signal processing means; angular velocity operating means for calculating rotation angular velocity using a zoom multiplying factor from the detected moving vector; and calculating controlling means for outputting a control signal of an actuator in accordance with outputs of said relative angle detecting means and said angular velocity detecting means.

Claim 14

A moving vector detecting apparatus in which moving vectors of at least a part of the screen are detected from an amount of movement of a pixel in each block, based upon representative points set in a plurality of blocks in an image, in order to detect an amount of movement between at least one of frames and fields of the image, said moving vector detecting apparatus comprising: means for detecting two intersecting one-dimensional moving vectors from vertical accumulated addition tables corresponding to pixels on a vertical straight line passing through a representative point, and from horizontal accumulated addition tables corresponding to pixels on a horizontal straight line passing through the representative point; and means for calculating a two-dimensional moving vector from said two intersecting one-dimensional moving vectors.

Claim 15

A moving vector detecting apparatus in which moving vectors of at least a part of the screen are detected from an amount of movement of a pixel in each block, based upon representative points set in a plurality of blocks in an image, in order to detect an amount of movement between at least one of frames and fields of the image, said moving vector detecting apparatus comprising: means for detecting two intersecting one-dimensional moving vectors from vertical accumulated addition tables corresponding to pixels on a vertical straight line passing through a representative point, and from horizontal accumulated addition tables corresponding to pixels on a horizontal straight line passing through the representative point; and means for calculating a two-dimensional moving vector from said two intersecting one-dimensional moving vectors.