Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Goro Noto

Junichi Saito

Koichi Washisu

Ichiro Onuki

Eriko Kawanami

Shinichi Masuda

Yasuo Suda

Akihiko Nagano

Takayuki Tsuboi

Yasuhiro Toyoda

Isami Itoh

Shinji Imada

Yasushi Hozumi

Yoshitaka Hashimoto

To provide an imaging apparatus capable of maintaining good performance even if it is used in a high-humidity environment, the imaging apparatus is equipped with a detecting unit for detecting an environment of a photographing optical system, and a control unit for controlling an actuator of driving the photographing optical system to perform a first operation and a second operation of performing maintenance of the photographing optical system, and driving the actuator in the second operation at a timing according to the environment.

Imaging apparatus for controlling actuator which includes vibrator having contact portion and relative movement member with which the contact portion of the vibrator is pressurized and in contact, control method for the imaging apparatus, program of the imaging apparatus, and storage medium which stores the program of the imaging apparatus

Provided is a vibration wave motor including a holding structure that does not inhibit vibration of the entire vibrator. The vibration wave motor includes: a vibrator that generates an elliptic motion; a holding means that holds the vibrator; and a driven body driven by the vibrator, wherein the holding means includes a first abutting portion and a second abutting portion abutting the vibrator, the vibrator includes a first displacement portion at a part abutting the first abutting portion and includes a second displacement portion at a part abutting the second abutting portion, a displacement of the first displacement portion is smaller than a displacement of the second displacement portion, and an area of the first abutting portion of the holding means is greater than an area of the second abutting portion.

Vibration wave motor

An image pickup apparatus, including: an observation unit configured to observe an object; a detector configured to detect whether or not a user observes the object through use of the observation unit; and a controller configured to control an actuator, the actuator being configured to drive at least a part of an photography optical system and being capable of performing a first operation and a second operation different from the first operation, the second operation being an operation for maintenance of the actuator, wherein, when the detector detects that the user does not observe the object through use of the observation unit, the controller causes the actuator to perform the second operation.

Image pickup apparatus and method of controlling image pickup apparatus

An image stabilization control apparatus including a mechanism which causes a vibration when the mechanism moves is disclosed. The apparatus comprises a vibration correction unit configured to correct image shake occurring due to vibration applied to the image stabilization control apparatus. A correction value of an angular velocity of the vibration is calculated based on signals based on the angular velocity and an acceleration of the vibration, frequency bands of the signals are narrowed. During the mechanism is moving, the image shake is corrected by driving the vibration correction unit based on the angular velocity of the vibration which is corrected by the corrected value calculated before the mechanism moves.

Image stabilization control apparatus and imaging apparatus with correction value based on outputs of first and second vibration detection units

Image stabilization control apparatus and imaging apparatus

An image stabilizer has a shooting optical system shooting an object whose principal point moves between first and second principal points in an optical axis direction, an acceleration detector detecting acceleration applied to the image stabilizer and disposed between the first and second principal points in the optical axis direction. An angular velocity detector detecting angular velocity applied to the image stabilizer, an acceleration detector disposed between principal points for proximity and infinity shootings and detecting acceleration applied to the image stabilizer, a rotation angular velocity calculator calculating rotation angular velocity component around the principal point of the shooting optical system based on the angular velocity detector, a revolution angular velocity calculator calculating revolution angular velocity component around the object based on the acceleration detector and the rotation angular velocity calculator, and a controller performing image stabilization control based on a difference between the rotation and revolution angular velocity components.

Image stabilization apparatus and image pickup apparatus

In an optical device including an optical system to form an optical image of an object to be photographed, an image capture unit to convert the optical image of the object to be photographed into an electrical signal, and an optical device arranged on the front surface of the image capture unit, a water repellent layer or a structure with a three-dimensional pattern to reduce the adhesive force of an alien substance is provided on a surface of the optical element on the opposite side of the optical system.

Optical device

An image stabilization apparatus has an angular velocity detector detecting an angular velocity applied thereto and outputting the angular velocity, an acceleration detector detecting an acceleration applied to the image stabilization apparatus and outputting the acceleration, a principal point calculation unit calculating a principal point position of a shooting optical system, an rotation angular velocity calculation unit calculating a rotation angular velocity component about the principal point of the shooting optical system based on an output of the angular velocity detector, a revolution angular velocity calculation unit calculating a revolution angular velocity component about an object based on the output of the acceleration detector and a calculation result of the rotation angular velocity calculation unit and correcting the calculated revolution angular velocity component according to the principal point position, and a controlling unit performing image stabilization control based on a difference between the rotation and corrected revolution angular velocity components.

An image stabilization control apparatus includes a vibration correction unit configured to correct an image shake occurring due to vibration, a first vibration detection unit configured to detect and output an angular velocity of the vibration, a second vibration detection unit configured to detect and output an acceleration of the vibration, a first extractor configured to extract a signal in a predetermined frequency band based on an output of the first vibration detection unit, a second extractor configured to extract a signal in a predetermined frequency band based on an output of the second vibration detection unit, an output correction unit configured to correct the output of the first vibration detection unit based on the signals extracted by the first and second extractors, and a driving unit configured to drive the vibration correction unit based on the output of the first vibration detection unit as corrected.

The image stabilizing apparatus includes a base member, a first member shiftable with respect to the base member in a direction orthogonal to an optical axis direction, a first actuator shifting the first member with respect to the base member, an image-pickup element constituted by a photoelectrical conversion element, a second member holding the image-pickup element. The second member is shiftable together with the first member in the direction orthogonal to the optical axis direction and rotatable with respect to the first member in a plane orthogonal to the optical axis direction. The apparatus further includes a second actuator rotating the second member with respect to the first member.

Image stabilizing apparatus and image pickup apparatus

Provided is an optical device having image capturing means that converts an optical image of an object to an electric signal, and an optical element arranged before the image capturing means. In the optical device, an insulation member is arranged at a position facing the optical element in a way to be movable in a substantially entire area of a light entering surface of the optical element, and an electric control unit is provided for at least electrostatically charging or neutralizing the insulation member.

Optical device and control method thereof

An optical device includes a shooting optical system including an AF lens, an AF lens driving apparatus for driving the AF lens, a detection unit for detecting a defocus amount corresponding to a difference between an image pickup position of an object and an imaging position of the object which is formed by the shooting optical system, and a control unit for drive-controlling the AF lens driving apparatus to reduce the defocus amount. The control unit detects a shooting magnification of the shooting optical system and changes a method of controlling the AF lens driving apparatus to reduce the defocus amount based on the shooting magnification.

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Tokyo, Japan

Goro Noto