A three-dimensional image capturing device has a center LED and peripheral LEDs which are arranged around the center LED. The center LED and peripheral LEDs irradiate distance measuring light beams to a measurement subject. The distance measurement light beams are reflected by a surface of the measurement subject, and the reflected light beams are received by an imaging device, so that distances from the imaging device to the measurement subject are sensed in accordance with the received light amount. The irradiation timings of the center LED and the peripheral LEDs are adjusted, in such a manner that, when the measurement subject is a flat plane parallel to the light receiving surface of the imaging device, the reflected light beams from all of the LEDs are simultaneously received by the imaging device.

Three-dimensional image capturing device

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily correct deviation of a convergence angle caused by zooming operation without forming an image pickup apparatus for use in 3D imaging on a grand scale.SOLUTION: A lens unit 101 of the image pickup apparatus includes a zoom lens 12 and a zoom drive mechanism, and an image pickup element 15 receives a subject image through a lens unit 101 to import image signals. A shift lens 13, which is driven within a predetermined control range for optically correcting an image blur caused by a shake applied to the apparatus, is driven according to a control signal transmitted from a control circuit 21 via a shift lens drive circuit 23. When a mode related to an optical axis adjusting function is commanded by a mode changeover switch 18, the control circuit 21 controls the drive of the shift lens 13 via the shift lens drive circuit 23 so as to uniformize pixel variations per unit time on an image surface of the image pickup element 15 irrelevant to a focal distance of the zoom lens 12.

Image pickup apparatus and control method thereof

An image capturing apparatus includes a driving unit for displacing one of a lens unit and an imaging device with respect to an optical axis, and a controller for causing the driving unit to displace one of the lens unit and the imaging device, in response to the motion of the image capturing apparatus. When, with a shooting direction being moved, captured images are generated so that a panoramic image is generated from the captured images, the controller displaces the position of the lens unit or the imaging device at the start of exposure of each image to be captured in a direction based on a direction in which the shooting direction is moved. In addition, a displacement amount at the start of the exposure is set in response to the length of an exposure time period so that the displacement during the exposure time period becomes small and the quality of an image is improved.

Image capturing apparatus and image capturing method

An auto-focusing device and an electronic image pickup apparatus facilitates realizing a high focusing accuracy and a quick focusing operation simultaneously using an inexpensive plastic lens mount. The auto-focusing device according includes a means for correcting the conversion reference, if necessary, for converting the object distance measured by the open-control range finding means to a focusing position of the focusing lens based on the conversion reference and for moving the focusing lens to the converted focusing position. The electronic image pickup apparatus includes the auto-focusing device.

Automatic focusing device and the electronic image pickup apparatus using the same

An imaging unit including an image sensor, an incident-side prism, an exit-side prism, and an intermediate optical system positioned therebetween, wherein light incident on the incident-side prism passes through the incident-side prism, the intermediate optical system and the exit-side prism to be incident on the image sensor, the imaging unit includes a housing supporting the incident-side prism, the exit-side prism and the intermediate optical system such that incident and exit optical axes of the incident-side prism, an optical axis of the intermediate optical system, and incident and exit optical axes of the exit-side prism all lie on a common plane; and a cover board, on which the image sensor is mounted, fixed to the housing so that the image sensor faces an exit surface of the exit-side prism, the cover board closing an opening of the housing.

Imaging unit and mobile electronic device

A three-dimensional image capturing device comprises a plurality of laser devices, and an imaging device, such as a CCD, having a plurality of photo-diodes. Each of the laser devices radiates a pulse modulated laser beam so as to detect distance information or data relating to a topography of a measurement subject. The laser beam is radiated onto the measurement subject and a reflected light beam is sensed by the CCD. Signal charge corresponding to a distance from the image capturing device to the measurement subject is accumulated in each of the photo-diodes, and thus the above distance information is sensed. Each laser beam, respectively radiated from each of the laser devices, shares illuminating area at the distance of the measurement subject, so that radiant energy of each laser beam can be reduced by sharing a single distance measurement operation among the plurality of laser devices.

Three-dimensional image capturing device and its laser emitting device

An optical image stabilizer includes an optical system including at least one image shake counteracting optical element movable in a plane orthogonal to an optical axis; at least one stepping motor for moving the image shake counteracting optical element in the plane; at least one shake velocity sensor which senses the speed of shake applied to the optical system; and a controller which calculates the number of driving pulses for the stepping motor based on shake speed information output from the shake velocity sensor, and drives the stepping motor so that the image shake counteracting optical element moves in the plane to counteract image shake on an imaging surface of the optical system The controller changes power supplied to the stepping motor in accordance with the shake speed information when driving the stepping motor

Optical image stabilizer and a method of controlling the optical image stabilizer

An optical axis correction apparatus of an imaging device, the imaging device including an imaging optical system having a plurality of optical elements, and an optical element position changing device which changes a relative position among the optical elements to vary a state of an object image formed thereby, the optical axis correction apparatus including an optical element moving device which moves at least one of the optical elements in a plane orthogonal to an optical axis; a memory which stores data relating to a deviation of the object image position in directions orthogonal to the optical axis, the deviation occurring when the optical element position changing device changes the relative position among the optical elements; and an object image position correction controller which drives the optical element moving device based on the data stored in the memory to correct said deviation of the object image position.

Optical axis correction apparatus of an imaging device, and optical axis correction method for an imaging device

An image-capturing apparatus is provided that comprises an imaging device, a support member, a drive mechanism, and a fixed member The support member supports the imaging device The drive mechanism moves the support member in a plane parallel to an imaging surface of the imaging device and in an independent first and second directions The fixed member is placed within a support-member movable-range, in which the support member is moved by the drive mechanism The drive mechanism induces impact on the support member by engaging the support member with the fixed member

Image-capturing apparatus and camera-shake compensation mechanism

A photographic device, includes a shake detector, a shake mitigator, a first commander, and a shake controller. The shake detector detects a device shake, that is, a shaking of the photographic device. The shake mitigator mitigates the effects of the device shake to reduce an image shake that is a shake of a photographed subject image. The first commander commands the photographic device to photograph the subject image. The shake controller controls the shake mitigator so that the shake mitigator refrains from mitigating the effects of the device shake from the point when the first commander commands the photographic device to photograph the subject image, until the point when photographing the subject image commences.

Shinichi Kakiuchi

Papers

Three-dimensional image capturing device and its laser emitting device

Optical image stabilizer and a method of controlling the optical image stabilizer

Optical axis correction apparatus of an imaging device, and optical axis correction method for an imaging device

Image-capturing apparatus and camera-shake compensation mechanism

Photographic device with anti-shake function