JP2014211324A - Information processing unit, control method of information processing unit, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To determine more accurately the azimuth of a timing of photography.SOLUTION: Azimuth information is determined by utilizing earth magnetism, and attitude information of an information processing unit is acquired without utilizing the earth magnetism, and it is determined whether or not a variation of the azimuth to which the information processing unit is faced, which is shown by the azimuth information agrees with a variation of the direction to which the information processing unit is faced, which is determined from the attitude information, to thereby determine validity of the azimuth information determined by utilizing the earth magnetism.

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus capable of acquiring an orientation.

  In recent years, a digital camera is equipped with an electronic compass function in order to record azimuth information at the time of imaging in image data. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an imaging apparatus that associates azimuth information detected by an electronic compass with a moving image file obtained by imaging.

JP 2010-171838 A

  However, in the prior art disclosed in Patent Document 1, no consideration is given to whether or not the azimuth information detected by the electronic compass shows a correct value. In general, a geomagnetic sensor used in an electronic compass is easily affected by an external magnetic field, and accurate azimuth measurement may be difficult. In particular, in digital cameras equipped with many members that generate magnetic fields or change the magnetic field generated by themselves, the timing at which orientation information is desired overlaps with the timing of imaging, so the orientation can be accurately determined. It is likely to be difficult to decide.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to determine more accurate azimuth information.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, an information processing apparatus according to the present invention uses geomagnetism, and a determination unit that determines azimuth information indicating the orientation of the information processing apparatus at predetermined intervals by using geomagnetism. Holding means for acquiring posture information relating to the posture of the information processing apparatus at a predetermined interval, and sequentially holding the azimuth information determined by the determining means and the posture information acquired by the acquiring means And a change in the orientation of the information processing apparatus in the first period, which is obtained from a plurality of orientation information held by the holding means, and a plurality of posture information held by the holding means. Judgment for determining whether the relationship between the obtained change in the posture of the information processing apparatus in the second period corresponding to the first period satisfies a predetermined relationship When, according to the result of determination by the determination means and a determination means for determining one as valid orientation information of the orientation information used in the determination.

  According to the present invention, more accurate azimuth information can be determined.

1A is a block diagram of a digital camera 100 according to a first embodiment. (B) It is a block diagram regarding the imaging part of the digital camera 100 which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. 4 is a flowchart relating to a positioning process of the digital camera 100 according to the first embodiment. In the digital camera 100 which concerns on 1st Embodiment, it is a conceptual diagram of the recording area of the state in which azimuth | direction information and angular velocity are recorded. 4 is a flowchart of imaging processing in the digital camera 100 according to the first embodiment. It is a flowchart of the imaging process in the digital camera 100 which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart of the process regarding provision of azimuth | direction information in the digital camera 100 which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart regarding the positioning process of the digital camera 100 which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the time change of the intensity | strength of the magnetic field produced from the power supply circuit of the lens unit which concerns on 4th Embodiment. (A) It is a flowchart regarding the process which receives the information regarding noise generation timing from the lens unit which concerns on 4th Embodiment. (B) It is a flowchart of the imaging process in the digital camera 100 concerning 4th Embodiment.

  EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Below, the form for implementing this invention is demonstrated in detail using attached drawing.

  The embodiment described below is an example as means for realizing the present invention, and may be appropriately modified or changed depending on the configuration of the apparatus to which the present invention is applied and various conditions. Each embodiment can also be combined as appropriate.

[First Embodiment]
<Configuration of digital camera>
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a digital camera 100 that is an example of an information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment. Although a digital camera is described here as an example of the information processing apparatus, the information processing apparatus is not limited to this. For example, the information processing apparatus may be a media player, a so-called tablet device, a personal computer, or the like, or an imaging apparatus such as a camera-equipped mobile phone or a video camera.

  The control unit 101 controls each unit of the digital camera 100 according to an input signal and a program described later. Note that instead of the control unit 101 controlling the entire apparatus, a plurality of hardware may share the processing to control the entire apparatus.

  The imaging unit 102 includes, for example, an optical lens unit, an optical system that controls the aperture, zoom, focus, and the like, and an imaging device that converts light (video) introduced through the optical lens unit into an electrical video signal. Composed. As the imaging device, a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) or a charge coupled device image sensor (CCD) is generally used. The imaging unit 102 is controlled by the control unit 101 to convert subject light imaged by a lens included in the imaging unit 102 into an electrical signal by the imaging device, and perform noise reduction processing or the like to convert the digital data into an image. Output as data. In the digital camera 100 of the present embodiment, the image data is recorded on the recording medium 110 in accordance with the DCF (Design rule for Camera File system) standard.

  The non-volatile memory 103 is an electrically erasable / recordable non-volatile memory, and stores a program to be described later executed by the control unit 101.

  The work memory 104 is used as a buffer memory that temporarily holds image data picked up by the image pickup unit 102, an image display memory of the display unit 106, a work area of the control unit 101, and the like.

  The operation unit 105 is used for the user to accept an instruction for the digital camera 100 from the user. The operation unit 105 includes, for example, a power button for instructing the user to turn on / off the digital camera 100, a release switch for instructing imaging, and a playback button for instructing reproduction of image data. A touch panel formed on the display unit 106 described later is also included in the operation unit 105. The release switch has SW1 and SW2. When the release switch is in a so-called half-pressed state, SW1 is turned on. Accordingly, an instruction for performing imaging preparation such as AF (autofocus) processing, AE (automatic exposure) processing, AWB (auto white balance) processing, and EF (flash pre-emission) processing is accepted. Further, when the release switch is in a fully-pressed state, SW2 is turned on. Thereby, an instruction for performing imaging is received.

  The display unit 106 displays a viewfinder image at the time of imaging, displays captured image data, and displays characters for interactive operation. Note that the display unit 106 is not necessarily built in the digital camera 100. The digital camera 100 can be connected to an internal or external display unit 106 and only needs to have at least a display control function for controlling display on the display unit 106.

  The recording medium 110 can record the image data output from the imaging unit 102. The recording medium 110 may be configured to be detachable from the digital camera 100 or may be built in the digital camera 100. That is, the digital camera 100 only needs to have a means for accessing at least the recording medium 110.

  The orientation acquisition unit 107 detects which direction the digital camera 100 is facing and acquires orientation information. The direction acquisition unit 107 is configured by, for example, an electronic compass. The electronic compass is also called a geomagnetic sensor, a direction sensor, etc., and is a generic name for devices that can detect the earth's geomagnetism. The electronic compass can detect the geomagnetism in two dimensions or three dimensions, and can detect which direction the device of the electronic compass is facing with respect to the geomagnetism. This azimuth information is periodically acquired and recorded in the work memory 104. If the direction information is already recorded in the work memory 104, it is overwritten with the newly acquired direction information. By such processing, the latest memory direction information is always held in the work memory 104.

  The angular velocity acquisition unit 108 includes a so-called gyro sensor that detects the angular velocity of the digital camera 100. The digital camera 100 according to the present embodiment includes a triaxial angular velocity sensor as the angular velocity acquisition unit 108, detects a three-dimensional angular velocity in each direction, and indicates the degree of rotation of the digital camera 100 from the reference posture. Can be calculated. The angular velocity acquisition unit 108 can also be used for purposes such as in-body camera shake correction and panning detection.

  The above is the description of the digital camera 100.

<Direction information acquisition processing>
Next, the operation of acquiring azimuth information in the digital camera 100 will be described. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the digital camera 100 of the present embodiment. Note that the processing shown in this flowchart is realized by the control unit 101 of the digital camera 100 controlling each unit of the digital camera 100 in accordance with an input signal or a program. The same applies to other flowcharts showing processing of the digital camera 100 unless otherwise specified.

  This flowchart is started in response to the orientation information acquisition function being set to ON by a user operation or the like.

  First, in step S <b> 201, the control unit 101 acquires azimuth information from the azimuth acquisition unit 107. The azimuth information acquired here is the azimuth calculated by the azimuth acquisition unit 107 from the value of the geomagnetic sensor. For example, north is 0 °, east is 90 °, south is 180 °, and west is 270 °. The value to represent. Instead of the azimuth acquisition unit 107 calculating the azimuth, the azimuth acquisition unit 107 may transmit the value of the geomagnetic sensor to the control unit 101 and the control unit 101 may calculate the azimuth. The values obtained here are sequentially stored in the work memory 104 as direction information. When the number of azimuth information items stored in the work memory 104 exceeds a predetermined number, the oldest value is deleted and a new space is written.

  Subsequently, in step S202, the control unit 101 acquires an angular velocity in the horizontal direction. Specifically, the angular velocity in the horizontal direction is obtained by calculating by the angular velocity obtaining unit 108 using the three-dimensional angular velocity in each direction detected by the angular velocity sensor. The calculation of the angular velocity in the horizontal direction may also be executed by the control unit 101 as in the case of the azimuth. This horizontal angular velocity is an example of posture information. The angular velocities acquired here are sequentially stored in the work memory 104 in association with the azimuth information stored in step S201. When the associated azimuth information is overwritten, the associated posture information is also deleted.

  Next, in step S203, the control unit 101 stands by for a predetermined time without acquiring azimuth information and angular velocity. When waiting for a certain period of time, the process returns to step S201, and the process of this flowchart is repeated. As a result, the position information and the angular velocity are periodically stored in the work memory 104 and accumulated.

  Note that the processing of this flowchart ends when, for example, the direction information acquisition function is switched off by a user operation or the like.

  The above is the description of the operation of acquiring the orientation information in the digital camera 100. FIG. 3 conceptually shows how the azimuth information and the angular velocity are accumulated in the work memory 104 as described above. In the example of FIG. 3, a set of 20 azimuth information and angular velocities is stored in the work memory 104. The information stored here is appropriately read and used, for example, when it is added to an image.

<Direction giving process>
Next, processing when adding the orientation information held in the above description to an image will be described.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the digital camera 100 of this embodiment when adding azimuth information to an image. This flowchart is started in response to, for example, the control unit 101 detecting that the SW2 of the release switch is turned on. Moreover, the process shown in this flowchart is performed in parallel with the above-described direction information acquisition process.

  First, in step S400, the control unit 101 controls to perform an imaging process. As a result, the subject is imaged by the imaging unit 102, and image data is generated. The image data generated here is temporarily held in the work memory 104.

  In step S <b> 401, the control unit 101 selects azimuth information held immediately after imaging from the azimuth information recorded in the work memory 104, and reads it as candidate azimuth information to be added to image data. In this embodiment, among the azimuth information held after detecting that SW2 is turned on, the azimuth information held first is read. That is, the orientation information detected immediately after the imaging instruction is accepted is read out. Further, the azimuth information held immediately before the azimuth information read out as a candidate to be added to the image data is also read out. Then, the amount of change in orientation information is calculated by calculating the difference between them. For example, in the example of FIG. 3, the azimuth information X1 is read as a candidate to be added to the image data, the azimuth information X2 is further read, and the difference between these values is calculated.

  In step S402, the control unit 101 reads two angular velocities respectively corresponding to the two azimuth information read in step S401, and calculates the amount of change in the horizontal orientation of the digital camera 100. For example, in the example of FIG. 3, the control unit 101 reads the angular velocity Y1 and the angular velocity Y2 and integrates them to obtain the amount of change in the horizontal orientation.

  In step S403, the control unit 101 determines the reliability of candidate orientation information to be added to the image data based on the result calculated in step S401 and the result calculated in step S402. Specifically, the change in orientation of the digital camera 100 indicated by the amount of change in orientation information calculated in step S401 and the change in orientation of the digital camera 100 indicated by the change in orientation in the horizontal direction calculated in step S402. Compare whether the quantity matches. Here, it is determined that the two amounts of change match when the relationship between the amounts of change satisfies the condition that the difference between the amounts of change is equal to or less than a predetermined amount.

  Thus, the amount of change in azimuth information and the amount of change in posture in the horizontal direction are compared for the following reason. As described above, the orientation information is determined by detecting geomagnetism. However, in the imaging process in step S400, a magnetic field may be generated or changed by a motor charging operation such as a mirror or a shutter, an actuator operation, and a focusing operation actuator of the imaging lens. That is, a magnetic field disturbance may occur. For this reason, when the timing at which this magnetic field disturbance may occur and the timing at which geomagnetism is detected overlap, there is a risk that correct orientation information cannot be obtained. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the value obtained from the angular velocity acquisition unit 108 is used as described above. The angular velocity acquisition unit 108 is not affected by the magnetic field disturbance when detecting the angular velocity. Therefore, by using the value of the angular velocity acquisition unit 108, it can be determined whether the azimuth information is valid. In the following description, an unnecessary magnetic field that causes magnetic field disturbance is also referred to as noise.

  Note that the period during which the above two azimuth information is acquired does not exactly match the period during which the two angular velocities are acquired. For example, step S201 and step S202 in FIG. 2 are sequentially executed, and the acquisition timings of the azimuth information and the angular velocity acquired in the respective steps do not exactly match. For this reason, the period during which step S201 is repeatedly executed and the period during which step S202 is repeatedly executed are shifted by the difference in execution timing between the processes of step S201 and step S202. However, this timing difference is insignificant, and is considered not to affect the process of estimating the reliability of azimuth information as described above. Therefore, in the process of this step, both periods are treated as being the same. Note that the period during which step S201 is repeatedly executed is an example of the first period and the third period. The period during which step S202 is repeatedly executed is an example of the second period and the fourth period.

  When the control unit 101 determines that the amount of change in the azimuth information matches the amount of change in the posture in the horizontal direction, the value obtained from the azimuth acquisition unit 107 is determined to be valid, and the process proceeds to step S404. Proceed to In step S404, the control unit 101 adds the value of the candidate azimuth information to be added to the image data as metadata of the image data generated in step S400, and records it on the recording medium 110. Thereafter, this flowchart ends. In the present embodiment, the image data is handled in the format of Eixf (Exchangeable image file format). That is, the azimuth information is recorded in an area for recording the shooting direction defined by Eixf in the header area of the image data.

  On the other hand, when the control unit 101 determines that the amount of change in orientation information and the amount of change in posture in the horizontal direction do not match, it is determined that the value obtained from the orientation acquisition unit 107 is not valid, and the process Proceed to step S405.

  In step S405, the control unit 101 goes back one set of the azimuth information and angular velocity to be read. That is, the azimuth information acquired immediately before the candidate azimuth information to be added to the image data is selected again, and this is determined as a reference azimuth used for correction described later. Further, the azimuth information acquired immediately before this reference azimuth is read, and the amount of change is calculated. Furthermore, the angular velocity corresponding to each azimuth information is read, and the amount of change in posture in the horizontal direction is calculated. In the example of FIG. 3, the azimuth information X2, the azimuth information X3, the angular velocity Y2, and the angular velocity Y3 are read out, and the respective changes are calculated.

  In step S406, the control unit 101 compares previous change amounts obtained from the retroactive values, and determines again whether or not they match. Here, it is determined that the two amounts of change match when the relationship between the amounts of change satisfies the condition that the difference between the amounts of change is equal to or less than a predetermined amount. That is, it is the same as the determination criterion of step S403.

  First, a case will be described in which the control unit 101 determines in step S406 that the amount of change matches. In this case, the process proceeds to step S409.

  In step S409, the control unit 101 calculates all the angular velocities from the angular velocity corresponding to the azimuth information determined as the reference azimuth to the angular velocity corresponding to the candidate azimuth information added to the image data read in step S402. Use to find the integral value. Then, the amount of change in posture in the horizontal direction from the reference azimuth is calculated. Then, by adding this calculation result to the value of the direction indicated by the reference azimuth, the current direction of the digital camera 100 is calculated.

  Finally, in step S410, the control unit 101 writes the information indicating the direction calculated in step S409 in the area where the image metadata is recorded as the azimuth information, and records it in the recording medium 110.

  Here, with respect to the process of step S409, as a result of going back about four times, a case where it is determined that the amount of change in orientation information and the amount of change in posture in the horizontal direction coincide with each other will be taken as an example with reference to FIG. explain. In this case, the amount of change in azimuth information obtained from the azimuth information X5 and X6 and the amount of change in horizontal orientation obtained from the angular velocities Y5 and Y6 are compared, and as a result, it is determined that they match. . When it is determined that the two amounts of change coincide with each other, it is determined that the value of the direction information X5 is valid. As a result, the direction information X5 is determined as a value indicating the reference direction. Further, by integrating the angular velocities from Y1 to Y5 read in the process going back about four times, the horizontal posture from the time when the reference azimuth is obtained to the time when the azimuth to be added to the image data is obtained. Find the amount of change. By adding the change amount to a value indicating the reference azimuth, a azimuth value to be added to the image data is calculated.

  Returning to the description of FIG.

  Next, a case will be described in which it is determined in step S406 that the control unit 101 does not match. In this case, the process proceeds to step S407.

  In step S407, the control unit 101 determines whether the number of times of reading back the angular velocity exceeds the predetermined number during execution of this flowchart. If it is determined that the number of times read back exceeds the predetermined number, the process proceeds to step S408, and the image is recorded on the recording medium 110 without adding the direction information. This is because if the number of angular velocities used when integrating the angular velocities in step S409 increases, errors included in each angular velocities cannot be ignored and correct azimuth information cannot be calculated. For this reason, when it goes back beyond a predetermined number of times, it abandons the addition of azimuth information. Note that this processing may cause a situation in which the user thinks that the azimuth information is added to the image but the azimuth information is not added as a result. Therefore, for example, in this case, the user may be notified that there is no valid direction information. For example, a message such as “no valid orientation information” or “cannot add orientation information to an image” is displayed on the display unit 106. Thereby, the user can be made aware that the process intended by the user could not be executed.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the number of times read back does not exceed the predetermined number, the process returns to step S405, and a set of position information and angular velocity is read back one step further. That is, two sets of position information to be read and two sets of angular velocities corresponding thereto are traced one by one until it is determined in step S406 that the amounts of change match or it is determined in step S407 that the amount of change has gone back a predetermined number of times. become.

  As described above, the digital camera according to the present embodiment can determine the azimuth information of the shooting timing more accurately using the angular velocity.

[Second Embodiment]
In the present embodiment, a case will be described in which the digital camera 100 can perform continuous shooting processing in which images are continuously captured. Since this embodiment has many parts in common with the first embodiment, the description will focus on the parts specific to this embodiment.

  First, the continuous shooting process will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the digital camera 100 of the present embodiment when executing continuous shooting processing. This flowchart is started when the control unit 101 detects that the release switch SW2 is turned on, for example, in a mode in which continuous shooting processing is performed. Further, the processing shown in this flowchart is executed in parallel with the direction information acquisition processing described with reference to FIG. 2 in the first embodiment.

  In step S501, the control unit 101 performs control to perform an imaging process. As a result, the subject is imaged by the imaging unit 102, and image data is generated. The image data generated here is temporarily held in the work memory 104.

  Subsequently, in step S502, the control unit 101 selects the azimuth information acquired immediately after imaging from the azimuth information recorded in the work memory 104 by the processing in FIG. 2, and generated in step S501. It is determined as a candidate of azimuth information to be added to the image data.

  Subsequently, in step S503, it is determined whether or not to continue the continuous shooting process. For example, if the continuous shooting process is executed with the setting to automatically capture a preset number of pictures, it is determined whether the number of pictures taken from the start of this flowchart has reached the set number. By doing so, it is determined whether or not to continue the continuous shooting process. Alternatively, when it is set to continue the continuous shooting process while SW2 is pressed, it is determined whether or not the continuous shooting process is continued by determining whether or not SW2 is ON. If the control unit 101 determines in this step that the continuous shooting process is not continued, the process of this flowchart is terminated. On the other hand, if the control unit 101 determines in this step that the continuous shooting process is to be continued, the process proceeds to step S504.

  In step S504, the control unit 101 performs the imaging process again.

  In the following step S505, the angular velocity acquired immediately after shooting recorded in the work memory 104 is determined as the angular velocity used when calculating the azimuth information added to the image data generated in step S504. If it demonstrates using FIG. 3, suppose that direction information X5 was determined as a candidate added to image data at the time of step S502. Thereafter, during steps S503 and S504, the orientation information X4 to X1 is acquired in parallel in the process of FIG. Corresponding to the acquisition of the azimuth information, angular velocities Y4 to Y1 are also acquired. If it is in the state of the conceptual diagram of FIG. 3 at the time of step S505, in step S505, Y1 is determined as the angular velocity used when calculating the azimuth information added to the image data generated in step S504. Thereafter, the process returns to step S503.

  The above is the operation of the digital camera 100 during the continuous shooting process in the present embodiment. The azimuth information and angular velocity determined in this flowchart are used in the azimuth information addition process described below.

  Next, the operation of the digital camera 100 when adding azimuth information to an image obtained by continuous shooting processing will be described.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the digital camera 100 of this embodiment when adding azimuth information to an image. This flowchart is started, for example, in response to the completion of the process in step S502 of FIG. Moreover, the process of this flowchart is performed in parallel with the process of FIG.

  In step S601, the control unit 101 reads from the work memory 104 the azimuth information determined in step S502 in FIG. 5 and the azimuth information acquired immediately before the azimuth information. Then, the amount of change in orientation information is calculated by calculating the difference between them. According to the example of the description using FIG. 3 described above, here, the azimuth information X5 and the azimuth information X6 are read and the difference is calculated.

  Further, in step S602, the control unit 101 reads out the angular velocity corresponding to the azimuth information determined in step S502 of FIG. 5 and the angular velocity acquired immediately before the angular velocity, and determines the horizontal posture between the acquisition intervals of both pieces of information. The amount of change is calculated. Here, the azimuth information X5 and the angular velocity Y5 and the angular velocity Y6 corresponding to the azimuth information X6 are read, and the amount of change in the horizontal orientation is calculated.

  In step S603, the control unit 101 determines the reliability of the orientation information based on the result calculated in step S601 and the result calculated in step S602. The processing in this step is the same as that in step S403 in FIG.

  If the control unit 101 determines that they match, the process proceeds to step S604. In step S604, the control unit 101 adds the value of the azimuth information determined in step S502 in FIG. 5 as metadata of the image data generated in step S501 in FIG. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S611.

  In step S611, the control unit 101 determines whether or not azimuth information is added to all the images obtained by the continuous shooting process. If it is determined that it has not been added yet, the process returns to step S609.

  In step S609, as in step S409 in FIG. 4, the control unit 101 adds the amount of change calculated from the angular velocity to the azimuth information indicating the reference azimuth to add to the second image in the continuous shooting process. The direction information to be calculated is calculated. When step S609 is executed via step S611 advanced from step S604, it is already determined in step S603 that the azimuth information determined in step S502 of FIG. 5 is valid. Therefore, the azimuth information determined in step S502 in FIG. 5 is used as information indicating the reference azimuth. For the calculation of the value to be added, all the angular velocities obtained from the angular velocity corresponding to the azimuth information determined in step S502 in FIG. 5 to the angular velocity determined in step S505 in FIG. 5 are used. In the example of FIG. 3 described above, angular velocities Y5 to Y1 are used.

  In step S610, the control unit 101 adds the calculated azimuth information to the second image and records it on the recording medium.

  Thereafter, the process proceeds again to step S611. Here, when returning to step S609, the azimuth information added to the corresponding image data is calculated using the angular velocity up to the angular velocity determined when step S505 is repeated in FIG. That is, by repeating the loop from step S609 to step S11, the azimuth information to be added to the second and subsequent images is calculated and added.

  When position information is assigned to all the images, this flowchart ends.

  As described above, in the addition of the azimuth information in the continuous shooting process, the azimuth information for the second and subsequent sheets is calculated using the angular velocity. This is because during continuous shooting, the interval between each imaging process is short, and there are few timings at which the operation of the part that causes the disturbance of the magnetic field stops, that is, the timing at which the influence on the magnetic field is eliminated. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the orientation information for the second and subsequent images is determined using the angular velocity in the continuous shooting process. Thereby, accurate orientation information can be added to an image even in continuous shooting processing.

On the other hand, if the control unit 101 determines that they do not match, the process proceeds to step S605.
In step S605, the control unit 101 goes back one set of the orientation information and angular velocity to be read. That is, the azimuth information immediately before the azimuth information determined in step S502 of FIG. 5 (azimuth information X6 in the example of FIG. 3) and the azimuth information of the previous one (azimuth information X7 in the example of FIG. 3). And read. In addition, the angular velocities corresponding to each (angular velocities Y6 and Y7 in the example of FIG. 3) are read out. This process is the same as step S405 in FIG.

  Subsequent steps S606 to S608 are the same as steps S406 to S408 in FIG.

  If it is determined in step S606 that the amounts of change match, the process proceeds to step S609.

  In step S609, the control unit 101 basically performs processing as described above. That is, as in step S409 of FIG. 4, the direction information to be added to the image is calculated by adding the amount of change calculated from the angular velocity to the information indicating the reference direction.

  However, when transitioning from step S606, the azimuth information determined to have the same amount of change in step S606, that is, the azimuth information determined to be valid is used as information indicating the reference azimuth. Further, when returning from step S611, the azimuth information determined to be the same in step S606 is used as information indicating the reference azimuth, and the azimuth information to be added to the second image in the continuous shooting process. Is calculated. The subsequent processing is the same as described above.

  The above is the description of the direction information providing process related to the continuous shooting process.

  As described above, in the continuous shooting process, the azimuth information for the second and subsequent sheets is calculated using the angular velocity. Thereby, accurate orientation information can be added to an image even in continuous shooting processing.

[Third Embodiment]
In the present embodiment, processing for periodically acquiring azimuth information at an appropriate timing will be described. In particular, in a device having many members that are physically operated, such as a camera, the magnetic field is easily disturbed at various timings. Therefore, the digital camera 100 according to the present embodiment detects a timing at which a magnetic field disturbance may occur in advance, and does not use the azimuth information acquired at that timing for adding or calculating position information. Thereby, the possibility of performing useless calculations can be reduced, and more efficient use of position information can be realized. Since this embodiment has many parts in common with the first embodiment, the description will focus on the parts specific to this embodiment.

  First, a shutter unit that can be a noise source that causes magnetic field disturbance will be described. FIG. 1B is a block diagram of the shutter unit. Here, the shutter unit is included in the imaging unit 102.

  In FIG.1 (b), the shutter 120 has shown the shutter blade | wing. The motor 111 generates an unnecessary magnetic field (noise) by performing a charging operation when the shutter blades 120 are opened and closed. The actuator 112 is used for the purpose of locking in order to maintain the state during the shutter operation, and generates noise. The coil 113 is used for energizing in order to hold the shutter when the actuator 112 is unlocked, and also generates noise. In the digital camera 100 of this embodiment, the communication line between the noise source and the control unit 101 is monitored to detect whether the noise source is operating. While the noise source is in operation, it is considered that the timing is when noise is generated. And when the control part 101 judges that the timing which noise generate | occur | produces, and the timing of acquisition of azimuth | direction information overlap, it is made not to hold | maintain this azimuth | direction information. That is, it is deleted from the work memory 104. As a result, the azimuth information acquired during the generation of noise is not used as position information to be added to the image or information indicating the reference position when calculating the position information to be added to the image.

  An operation of the digital camera 100 for realizing the above operation will be described.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the holding operation of the digital camera 100 of the present embodiment. This flowchart is started in response to the orientation information acquisition function being set to ON by a user operation or the like.

  First, in step S <b> 701, the control unit 101 acquires azimuth information from the azimuth acquisition unit 107. The processing in this step is the same as that in step S201 in FIG.

  Subsequently, in step S702, the control unit 101 determines whether or not the noise source is operating. When it is determined that the noise source is operating, it is determined that the azimuth information acquired during the operation of the noise source is not valid azimuth information, and the process proceeds to step S703, and the value held in step S701. Is deleted. As a result, only the more reliable azimuth information is stored in the work memory 104, so that the azimuth information can be used efficiently. On the other hand, if it is determined that the noise source is not operating, the process proceeds to step S704.

  In step S704 and step S705, processing similar to that in step S202 and step S203 in FIG. 2 is executed. Moreover, the process of this flowchart is complete | finished, for example when the acquisition function of direction information is switched OFF by a user's operation etc.

  As described above, in the digital camera 100 according to the present embodiment, the operation state of the noise source is monitored so that invalid azimuth information detected at the timing when noise is generated is not retained. Thereby, more efficient use of azimuth information is realizable.

  In the present embodiment, the case where the operation of the shutter unit is monitored has been described as an example, but the noise source is not limited to this. In addition to the shutter, various plungers such as mirrors and lenses, various motors, and the like can be considered as objects that generate noise. Also in these cases, appropriate use of orientation information can be realized by the same processing as described above.

  In addition, when the noise source continuously operates for a certain period of time as in the autofocus operation, the influence on the magnetic field also changes continuously for the certain period. Therefore, it may be considered that magnetic noise is always generated during the autofocus process, and the azimuth information acquired during the execution of the autofocus process may not be used.

[Fourth Embodiment]
In the present embodiment, a case where the noise source is a removable external device will be described. For example, a lens unit of a single-lens reflex camera can be a noise generation source. In particular, the noise generated by the power supply circuit for operating this lens unit differs for each type of lens unit. Therefore, in the present embodiment, information about the generation timing of noise generated from the power supply circuit is received from the lens unit, and the noise generation timing is appropriately predicted for each lens unit by referring to this information. Since this embodiment has many parts in common with the first embodiment, the description will focus on the parts specific to this embodiment.

  First, the power supply circuit of the lens unit will be described. The power supply circuit of the lens unit appropriately distributes the power supplied from the digital camera body to each part such as a motor and a coil for operating the lens. While power is supplied to the power supply circuit, the power supply circuit generates a magnetic field whose intensity periodically changes even if each part of the lens unit is not physically driven. For example, a magnetic field is generated by the power supply process even if an operation for spatially moving the lens for autofocusing is not performed. FIG. 8 shows a temporal change in the strength of the magnetic field generated by the power supply circuit in a state where power is supplied. In FIG. 8, the vertical axis represents the magnetic field strength and the horizontal axis represents time. Thus, the intensity of the magnetic field generated by the power supply circuit changes periodically. Therefore, the digital camera 100 according to the present embodiment uses only azimuth information acquired at a timing at which the intensity of the generated magnetic field is weak and can be regarded as having no influence.

  Processing of the digital camera 100 of the present embodiment for realizing the above operation will be described. FIG. 9A is a flowchart showing processing of the digital camera 100 of the present embodiment. This process is started in response to, for example, turning on the digital camera 100.

  In step S <b> 901, the control unit 101 determines whether a lens unit is connected to the digital camera 100. If it is determined that the lens unit is not connected, the processing of this flowchart ends. On the other hand, if it is determined that the lens unit is connected, the process proceeds to step S902.

  In step S <b> 902, the control unit 101 determines whether information regarding noise generation timing has already been received from the lens unit connected to the digital camera 100. If it is determined that it has been received, the processing of this flowchart ends. On the other hand, if it is determined that it has not been received, the process proceeds to step S903.

  In step S903, the control unit 101 requests information regarding noise generation timing from the lens unit, and receives information regarding noise generation timing transmitted from the lens unit in response thereto. Information regarding the received noise generation timing is held in the work memory 104. The information regarding the noise generation timing is information indicating the temporal change in the noise intensity shown in FIG. The digital camera 100 can calculate the noise intensity at a specific timing from the timing of supplying power to the power supply circuit and the information indicating the temporal change of the noise intensity.

  Through the above processing, it is possible to acquire information regarding noise generation timing specific to the connected lens unit. Note that the process of FIG. 9A is periodically executed at a predetermined time interval.

  Next, a process for holding the azimuth information acquired at an appropriate timing using the acquired noise generation timing will be described.

  FIG. 9B is a flowchart showing the holding operation of azimuth information by the digital camera 100 of the present embodiment. This flowchart is started in response to the orientation information acquisition function being set to ON by a user operation or the like.

  In step S910, processing similar to that in step S701 in FIG. 7 is executed.

  In step S911, the control unit 101 determines whether the timing at which the orientation information held in step S910 is detected is a timing at which the intensity of noise generated by the lens unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined intensity. Specifically, the control unit 101 detects the azimuth information based on the timing of starting energization of the lens unit and the information regarding the noise generation timing received from the lens unit in step S903 in FIG. 9A. Calculate the noise intensity at. Then, it is determined whether or not the calculated noise intensity is equal to or higher than a predetermined intensity. If it is determined that the noise intensity at the timing when the azimuth information is detected is greater than or equal to a predetermined intensity, it is determined that the azimuth information is not valid, and the process proceeds to step S912.

  In step S912, the control unit 101 deletes the orientation information held in step S910, similarly to step S703 in FIG. As a result, the work memory 104 holds only azimuth information detected in a state where the noise intensity is smaller than a predetermined intensity. That is, only valid azimuth information can be used.

  In steps S913 and S914, processing similar to that in steps S704 and S705 in FIG. 7 is executed. Moreover, the process of this flowchart is complete | finished, for example when the acquisition function of direction information is switched OFF by a user's operation etc.

  As described above, in the digital camera 100 according to the present embodiment, information on the noise generation timing specific to the lens unit is acquired from the lens unit, and the direction information acquired at a timing when the noise intensity is greater than or equal to a certain value by referring to the information. Do not hold. Thereby, more efficient use of azimuth information is realizable.

[Other Embodiments]
In the above-described embodiment, the case where the angular velocity acquisition unit 108 is mounted on the digital camera 100 has been described. On the other hand, a form in which the angular velocity acquisition unit is mounted on a detachable lens unit is also conceivable. In this case, the validity of the azimuth information may be determined and the azimuth information may be calculated using the output from the angular velocity acquisition unit of the lens unit. Further, a form in which the angular velocity acquisition unit is mounted on both the digital camera 100 and the lens unit is also conceivable. In this case, the output from one of the angular velocity acquisition units may be used, or the output from both may be used.

  The present invention can also be realized by executing the following processing. That is, software (program) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus via a network or various storage media, and a computer (or CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or apparatus reads and executes the program code. It is processing to do. In this case, the program and the storage medium storing the program constitute the present invention.

Claims (17)

An information processing apparatus,
Determining means for determining azimuth information indicating the azimuth of the information processing apparatus at predetermined intervals by using geomagnetism;
Acquisition means for acquiring posture information about the posture of the information processing apparatus at predetermined intervals without using geomagnetism;
Holding means for sequentially holding the azimuth information determined by the determining means and the posture information acquired by the acquiring means in association with each other;
Obtained from a plurality of azimuth information held by the holding means, a change in azimuth facing the information processing apparatus in a first period, and a plurality of posture information held by the holding means, Determining means for determining whether a relationship with a change in posture of the information processing apparatus in a second period corresponding to the first period satisfies a predetermined relationship;
An information processing apparatus comprising: a determination unit that determines that one of the azimuth information used for the determination is valid azimuth information according to a result of the determination by the determination unit.   The determination means has a predetermined difference between an amount of change in orientation of the information processing apparatus in the first period and an amount of change in attitude of the information processing apparatus in the second period. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein if the amount is equal to or less than an amount, the relationship between the change in orientation and the change in posture satisfies a predetermined relationship.   When the determination means determines that the relationship between the change in orientation of the information processing apparatus and the change in posture of the information processing apparatus does not satisfy a predetermined relationship, the determination means uses the determination The change in the orientation that the information processing apparatus faces in the third period, which is obtained from the plurality of orientation information including the orientation information determined before the plurality of orientation information, and is held by the holding unit It is re-determined whether the relationship with the change in posture of the information processing apparatus in a fourth period corresponding to the third period, which is obtained from a plurality of posture information, satisfies a predetermined relationship. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2.   It further has a calculation means for newly calculating the azimuth information based on the azimuth information determined to be valid according to the result of the re-determination by the determination means and the plurality of posture information held by the holding means. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3.   5. The determination unit according to claim 4, wherein the determination unit determines that there is no valid azimuth information when the number of redeterminations continuously executed by the determination unit reaches a predetermined number of times. The information processing apparatus described.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a notification unit that notifies the user when the determination unit determines that there is no valid orientation information. It further has an imaging means for executing an imaging process for imaging an object and generating an image,
The plurality of azimuth information used for the determination by the determination unit includes the azimuth information determined by the determination unit during execution of the imaging process,
The determination unit determines that the azimuth information determined by the determination unit during execution of the imaging process is valid among the azimuth information used for the determination according to a determination result by the determination unit. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6. An imaging means for executing an imaging process for imaging an object and generating an image;
Receiving means for receiving an instruction to execute the imaging process;
The plurality of azimuth information used for the determination by the determination unit includes the azimuth information determined by the determination unit after the instruction is received by the reception unit,
The determination means is valid for the azimuth information determined by the determination means after the instruction is received by the reception means, out of the azimuth information used for the determination, according to the determination result by the determination means. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information processing apparatus is determined.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising an association unit that associates the azimuth information determined to be valid by the determination unit with the image generated by the imaging unit. An imaging means for executing an imaging process for imaging an object and generating an image;
An association means for associating azimuth information with the image generated by the imaging means;
As a result of the determination by the determination means, when the determination means determines that the azimuth information is valid, the association means associates the azimuth information determined to be valid with the image,
7. As a result of re-determination by the determination unit, when the direction information is newly calculated by the calculation unit, the association unit associates the newly calculated direction information with the image. The information processing apparatus according to any one of the above. Continuous shooting means for performing continuous shooting processing for generating a plurality of images by continuously performing imaging processing;
Further comprising an association means for associating the orientation information determined to be valid by the determination means with a plurality of images generated by the continuous shooting means;
The associating means includes a plurality of images generated by the continuous shooting process of the continuous shooting means, the other images that are not initially obtained are determined by the calculating means based on orientation information associated with the first obtained image. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the calculated direction information is associated with the information processing apparatus. A communication unit that communicates with a detachable lens unit that is used in the imaging process by the imaging unit;
8. The direction information determined by the determination unit at a predetermined timing determined based on information acquired from the lens unit by the communication unit is determined to be invalid by the determination unit. The information processing apparatus according to any one of 9. A communication unit that communicates with a detachable lens unit that is used in the imaging process by the imaging unit;
The azimuth information determined by the determining means during the operation of at least one of a motor, a coil, and an actuator included in the lens unit is determined to be invalid by the determining means. The information processing apparatus according to any one of 7 to 9.   10. The azimuth information determined by the determination unit during execution of autofocus processing by the imaging unit is determined to be invalid by the determination unit. 10. Information processing device.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the acquisition unit includes an angular velocity sensor that detects an angular velocity. A method for controlling an information processing apparatus,
A determination step of determining azimuth information indicating a azimuth facing the information processing apparatus at predetermined intervals by using geomagnetism;
An acquisition step of acquiring posture information about the posture of the information processing apparatus at a predetermined interval without using geomagnetism;
A holding step of sequentially holding the azimuth information determined in the determining step and the posture information acquired in the acquiring step in association with each other;
Obtained from a plurality of orientation information held in the holding step, obtained from a plurality of orientation information held in the holding step, and a change in orientation directed by the information processing apparatus in a first period. A determination step of determining whether a relationship with a change in posture of the information processing apparatus in a second period corresponding to a period of 1 satisfies a predetermined relationship;
And a determination step of determining that one of the azimuth information used for the determination is valid azimuth information according to a result of the determination in the determination step.   A computer-readable program for causing a computer to function as each unit of the information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 15.