JP2001091978A - Camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a camera which a user is permitted to operate only when reference information registered as the feature of the user and inputted identification information are coincident. SOLUTION: In this camera, identification information expressing the feature of the user of the camera are inputted by a digital image pickup system 30 and an area sensor 34. The information inputted by the digital image pickup system 30 and the area sensor 34 are stored in an EEPROM 43 as reference information. Then, at the time of buying the camera, information are inputted from the digital image pickup system 30 and the area sensor 34 to be collated with the stored reference information by CPU 27 and the operation of the camera are decided by the collation.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a camera having a data input device, and more particularly, to a camera having a function of easily inputting characteristics of a user of a camera as identification information in preventing theft.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, cameras having an anti-theft function have been developed, and as such a function, for example, there is a camera which inputs and uses data.

For example, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 6-250248 discloses a technique in which a password is input using a date setting button, and use of the camera is permitted only when the passwords match. Also, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-26844
No. 0 discloses a camera capable of changing user information when a password is input.

[0004]

However, in a camera in which a password is registered to identify a user and a password is entered each time the camera is used as described above, the task of registering and entering a password is complicated. It was troublesome. Furthermore, there is a risk that the password to be entered is forgotten.

Further, a date setting button and an input panel provided on the camera are used as a means for inputting a password, but there is also a problem that the camera is enlarged by these input means.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object the registration and input of information for identifying a user can be easily performed without complexity, and the structure is large. The goal is to provide a camera that does not have to be.

[0007]

That is, the present invention provides an input means for inputting identification information representing characteristics of a user of a camera, a storage means for storing information input by the input means as reference information, and a camera. It is characterized by comprising a collating means for inputting information from the input means at the time of purchase and collating the stored reference information, and an operation determining means for deciding an operation of the camera by collation of the collating means.

In the camera according to the present invention, the input means inputs identification information representing the characteristics of the user of the camera. The information input by the input unit is stored in the storage unit as reference information. Then, when the camera is purchased, information is inputted from the input means, and the stored reference information is collated by the collation means. The operation of the camera is determined by the operation determining means by the matching of the matching means.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

First, as a first embodiment of the present invention, a camera which refers to a shape pattern of a camera user's face and operates as identification information will be described.

FIGS. 2A and 2B show the external structure of the camera according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2A is a perspective view seen from the front of the camera, and FIG. 2B is a perspective view seen from the rear of the camera. .

In FIG. 2, a photographing lens 2 as a photographing optical system of a silver halide camera is provided substantially at the center of the front surface of a camera body 1. An imaging lens 3 of a digital imaging optical system for photographing and obtaining image data and an optical finder 4 are provided near the imaging lens 2. Further, on the front surface of the camera body 1, a zoom switch 5 composed of a TELE switch 5a as an operation switch for driving to the long focal length side and a WIDE switch 5b as an operation switch for driving to the short focal length side is provided.
Is provided.

A release button 6 as a release switch and a strobe light emitting section 7 are provided on the upper surface of the camera body 1.
Is provided.

Further, an LCD monitor 8 for displaying an electronic image or photographed data obtained by a digital image pickup optical system is provided substantially at the center of the rear surface of the camera body 1. A near the LCD monitor 8
An input operation button 9 composed of a button 9a and a B button 9b is provided.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the camera according to the first embodiment.

In FIG. 1, a silver halide film photographing optical system 1
1 includes a focusing lens group 12, a stop 13, and a zoom lens group 14. The subject light beam incident from the silver halide film photographing optical system 11 is guided to a silver halide film (film) 16 via a shutter mechanism 15.

The lens group 12 for focusing and the diaphragm 1
3. The driving of the zoom lens group 14 is controlled by a focusing drive circuit 18, an aperture drive circuit 19, and a zoom drive circuit 20, respectively. Further, the shutter mechanism 15 and the film 16 are driven and controlled by a shutter drive circuit 21 and a film drive circuit 22 for performing drive control of winding and rewinding of the film 16, respectively.

The focus drive circuit 18 and the zoom drive circuit 20 drive the focus lens group 12 and the zoom lens group 14 in the optical axis direction, respectively.
Focusing and zooming are performed.

The focus driving circuit 18, the aperture driving circuit 19, the zoom driving circuit 20, the shutter driving circuit 21, and the film driving circuit 22 measure the distance to a subject (not shown) according to the known triangulation principle. The data bus 2 together with the distance measuring unit 23 and the finder optical system 24
6, and is connected to a sequence controller (CPU) 27.

On the other hand, the digital image pickup optical system 30 includes lenses 31 and 33 of the image pickup optical system and a fixed stop 32, and an image captured by the digital image pickup optical system 30 is supplied to an area sensor 34. It is imaged.

An area sensor drive circuit 35 to which the area sensor 34 is connected is a circuit for controlling the drive of the area sensor 34 and receiving an analog video signal from the area sensor 34. The area sensor drive circuit 35 receives an analog video signal from the area sensor drive circuit 35, converts the analog video signal into a digital video signal, and further performs a predetermined processing such as color conversion. Is connected.

The area sensor drive circuit 35,
The signal processing circuit 36 includes a strobe circuit 40 for driving and controlling a strobe light emitting unit 39, a DRAM 41, a flash memory 42, an EEPROM 43, an LCD monitor 44,
Along with a first release switch (1RSW) 45, a second release switch (2RSW) 46, a power switch (PWSW) 47, and other switches (SW) 48, they are connected to the CPU 27 via the data bus 26.

The DRAM 41 is a high-speed writable volatile memory, and temporarily stores a digital video signal from the signal processing circuit 36. The flash memory 42
Stores the digital video signal temporarily stored in the DRAM 41. The flash memory 42 is electrically rewritable, and retains an electronic image even when a battery is not loaded in the camera, and is used for storing an electronic image. The EEPROM 43 stores reference information and the like.

The LCD monitor 44 corresponds to the LCD monitor 8 shown in FIG. 2, and displays a photographed image, a request for selecting a registration mode, a request for reference information / identification information, a photographing mode, and the like.

The first release switch 45 and the second release switch 46 correspond to the release button 6. The first release switch 6 is turned on by the first stroke of the release button 6, and the second release switch 6 is released by the second stroke of the release button 6. The release switch 46 is turned on.

The power switch 47 is a main switch for turning on and off the power of the camera. Further, the other switches 48 include, for example, a mode changeover switch for switching between a digital mode and a silver halide digital photographing mode, a TELE switch 5a for performing zooming, a WIDE switch 5b, and an operation for registering reference information and identification information. This is a switch input unit including an A switch 9a and a B switch 9b.

The CPU 27 comprises a CPU for controlling the sequence of the entire camera. The CPU 27 obtains an interval between two images by the distance measuring unit 23, obtains a drive amount of a lens group for focusing from the interval between the two images, performs drive control thereof, and controls the fixed aperture 1
3 and drive control of a mirror (not shown).

Next, referring to the flowchart of FIG.
The operation of the first embodiment will be described.

The CPU 27 is in the standby state when the power switch 47 is off,
7 is turned on to start up operation from the standby state.

Then, first, a power-on process is performed in step S1. In this process, in addition to the initialization of the internal memory, the battery check, and the initial display of the LCD monitor 44, the focusing lens group 12 and the zoom lens group 14 are extended from the collapsed position (not shown) to the wide position. Is done.

Next, in step S2, it is determined whether or not the T flag is "1". The T flag becomes "1" when reference information is registered, and becomes "0" when no reference information is registered. When the T flag is “1”, the process proceeds to step S12, and when the T flag is “0”, the process proceeds to step S3.

According to the present invention, as means for identifying the user of the camera, the operation of the camera is performed only when the reference information registered as the characteristic of the user matches the identification information input by the identification information input means. It is possible. Here, the reference information refers to information registered in advance in the camera as a feature of the user, and the identification information refers to information for determining whether or not the camera is a user. . For example, assuming that the reference information is a registered password, the identification information is a password that is requested and input each time the password is registered.

In step S3, the LCD monitor 44
A registration request for the registration mode is displayed as shown in FIG. Next, in step S4, the 5-second timer is reset and counting is started.

In step S5, it is determined whether or not the A button 9a of the operation button 9 is on. Where A
If the button 9a is on, the process proceeds to step S8, and if it is off, the process proceeds to step S6.

In step S6, it is determined whether or not a time counter (not shown) in the CPU 27 is less than 5 seconds. If the time counter is less than 5 seconds, the process proceeds to step S7. If the time counter is 5 seconds or more, the process proceeds to step S2.
Then, the camera sequence is executed.

In step S7, it is determined whether or not the B button 9b of the operation button 9 is on. Here, B button 9b
If the camera is in the ON state, the process proceeds to step S24 to execute the camera sequence. If the camera is in the OFF state, the process proceeds to step S5.

In step S8, the LCD monitor 44
A face image input request as shown in FIG. 4B is displayed. Here, the camera user reverses the front and rear of the camera, grips the taking lens 2 toward his / her face, and presses the release button 6 (second release switch 46).

Next, in step S9, it is determined whether or not the second release switch 46 is on. Here, if it is on, the process proceeds to step S10, and if it is off, the process of step S9 is repeated.

Subsequently, in step S10, a face image registration process is performed. Details of this registration processing will be described later. Then, after the T flag is set to "1" in step S11, the camera sequence in step S24 is executed.

If the T flag is "1" in step S2, the process proceeds to step S12 and the LCD monitor 44
A request for inputting identification information as shown in FIG. Here, the camera user turns the front and rear of the camera, grips the taking lens 2 toward his / her face, and presses the release button 6 (second release switch 46).

In step S13, it is determined whether or not the second release switch 46 is on.
Here, if the second release switch 46 is on, the process proceeds to step S14, and if it is off, step S13 is repeated.

Next, in step S14, face image discrimination processing is performed. The details of this determination processing will be described later.

In step S15, the EEPROM
It is determined whether or not the reference information and the identification information stored in 43 match. Here, if they match, the process proceeds to step S20, and if they do not match, the process proceeds to step S1.
Move to 6.

If it is determined that the reference information and the identification information do not match, in step S16, the LCD monitor 4
4, an error display is made as shown in FIG.

Next, in step S17, it is determined whether or not the power switch 47 is on. Here, if the power switch 47 is on, step S17 is repeated, and if it is off, step S18 is performed.
Move to.

In step S18, a power-off process is performed. During the power-off process, the lens is set to the retracted position, the LCD display is turned off, and the like. And
In step S19, the state enters the standby mode.

If the identification information and the reference information match in step S15, the flow shifts to step S21, where L
A display indicating that registration information can be erased is displayed on the CD monitor 44 as shown in FIG. 4E, and an input request as to whether or not registration information has been erased is displayed.

Next, in step S21, it is determined whether or not the A button 9a of the operation button 9 is on. Here, if the camera is on, the process proceeds to step S22. If the camera is off, the process proceeds to step S24 to execute the camera sequence.

In step S22, the reference information stored in the EEPROM 43 is deleted. And step S
After the T flag is set to "0" at step 23, step S2
The process proceeds to execution of the camera sequence of No. 4.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the subroutine "register face image" in step S10 of the flowchart of FIG.

First, in step S31, a reference image is input from the digital image pickup optical system 30, and the signal processing circuit 3
The reference information converted into the digital value by the
It is stored in M41. Next, in step S32, C
The PU 27 converts the color signal of each pixel in the reference image stored in the DRAM 41 into color information of saturation, brightness, and hue.

In step S33, the CPU 27
The person area in the reference image stored in the DRAM 41 is extracted. Then, in a step S34, the CPU 27
Therefore, in order to reduce the deviation in luminance caused by the photographing conditions and the like in the reference image stored in the DRAM 41,
The correction of the luminance value is performed.

In step S35, the CPU 27
A reference template is created based on the data unique to the reference image obtained by the processes of steps S32 to S34. Then, in step S36, the above-described step S
The information of the reference template created in 35 is EEP
It is stored in the ROM 43.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the subroutine "face image discrimination" in step S14 of the flowchart of FIG.

First, in step S41, an identification image is input from the digital image pickup optical system 30, and the signal processing circuit 36
The identification information converted into a digital value by the
41. Next, in step S42, the CP
By U27, the color signal of each pixel in the identification image stored in the DRAM 41 is converted into color information of saturation, lightness, and hue.

Then, in a step S43, the CPU 27
Thereby, a person area in the identification image stored in the DRAM 41 is extracted. Next, in step S44, C
The PU 27 corrects the luminance value in order to reduce the deviation of the luminance caused by the photographing conditions and the like in the identification image stored in the DRAM 41.

In step S45, the CPU 27 creates an identification template based on the data unique to the identification image obtained in steps S42 to S44. Then, in step S46, the above step S
Identification template created in step 45 and EEPROM4
3 is compared with the reference template stored in the CPU 2.
7 is performed.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the subroutine "camera sequence" in step S24 of the flowchart of FIG.

First, in step S51, it is determined whether or not the first release switch 45 is on. If the first release switch 45 is on, the sequence from step S59 is executed. If it is off, the sequence from step S52 is executed.

In step S52, it is determined whether or not the TELE switch 5a of the zoom switch 5 is on. Here, if the TELE switch 5a is on, the process proceeds to step S53, and if it is off, the process proceeds to step S54.

In step S53, the zoom drive circuit 20
The zoom lens group 14 is moved by the driving of, and the TELE driving which is the zooming to the long focal length side is performed.

In step S54, it is determined whether the WIDE switch 5b of the zoom switch 5 is on. Here, if the WIDE switch 5b is on, the process proceeds to step S55, and if it is off, the process proceeds to step S56.

In step S55, the zoom drive circuit 20
The zoom lens group 14 is moved by the driving of, and WIDE driving, which is zooming to the short focal length side, is performed.

Then, in a step S56, it is determined whether or not the power switch 47 is on. Here, if the power switch 47 is on, the process returns to step S51. If the power switch 47 is off, the process returns to step S5.
Move to 7.

In step S57, a power-off process, which is the same process as step S18 in the flowchart of FIG. 3, is performed. Next, in a step S58, a standby mode is entered.

If the first release switch 45 is off in step S51, the photometry is performed by the area sensor 34 in step S59. When the photometry is completed, a subject brightness value is output from the area sensor drive circuit 35,
The signal is input to the CPU 27 via the signal processing circuit 36.

Next, in step S60, the distance measuring section 23
The distance to the subject and the driving amount data of the imaging lens for driving to the in-focus position corresponding to the distance are obtained by the CPU.
The calculation is performed at 27. Then, in step S61, based on the driving amount calculated in step S60,
The focusing lens group 12 is driven by the CPU 27 via the focusing drive circuit 18.

In step S62, it is determined whether or not the second release switch 46 is on. Here, if the second release switch 46 is on,
The sequence from step S64 is executed. Also,
If it is off, the sequence from step S63 is executed.

In the step S63, it is determined whether or not the first release switch 45 is on. Here, if the first release switch 45 is on, the sequence from step S62 is executed. On the other hand, if it is off, the sequence from step S51 is executed.

In step S64, an exposure process is performed. This exposure is performed by taking an image of a silver halide filter using the silver halide film imaging optical system 11 and the digital imaging optical system 30.
The digital photography used is both performed simultaneously.

In step S65, the film is wound up by one frame. Then, in step S66, the digitally photographed image is displayed on the LCD monitor 4 for a predetermined time.
4 is displayed. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S51 to execute the following sequence.

As described above, according to the first embodiment,
An image of the user's face can be input and registered as identification information representing the characteristics of the user of the camera, and this face image can be collated, so that the user can be easily specified.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

In the second embodiment, a camera that operates using a voice pattern of a camera user as reference / identification information will be described.

FIGS. 8A and 8B show the external structure of a camera according to the second embodiment. FIG. 8A is a perspective view seen from the front of the camera, and FIG. 8B is a perspective view seen from the rear of the camera. .

In FIG. 8, an LCD monitor 8 for displaying an electronic image or photographed data obtained by a digital image pickup optical system is provided substantially at the center of the back of the camera body 1a. . An input operation button 9 composed of an A button 9a and a B button 9b is provided near the LCD monitor 8.
And a microphone 50 for inputting voice.

The other configuration is the same as that of the above-described first embodiment shown in FIG. 2, so that the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of a camera according to the second embodiment.

In FIG. 9, the same components as those of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

In FIG. 9, a voice input unit 51 is connected to the CPU 27 via the data bus 26. The voice input unit 51 includes a microphone 52 for inputting voice.
And an analog audio signal is received by the microphone 52,
And an audio processing circuit 53 for performing predetermined processing such as converting the analog audio signal into a digital audio signal.

Next, the operation of the second embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In the flowchart of FIG. 10, steps S71 to S78, S80, S81, S83 to S9
The processing operation 2 is the same as steps S1 to S8, S11, S12, and S15 to S24 in the flowchart of FIG.

Then, in step S78, when a reference information registration request is made, in a succeeding step S79, the camera user speaks short words into the microphone 51 of the camera. After that, the process shifts to step S92 to execute the camera sequence.

When input of identification information is requested in step S81, voice discrimination processing is performed in step S82. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S83.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart for explaining the operation of the subroutine "voice registration" in step S79 of the flow chart of FIG.

First, in step S 101, reference information is input from the microphone 52 in the audio input unit 51, and the reference information converted into a digital value by the audio processing circuit 53 is stored in the DRAM 41. Then, step S1
At 02, the CPU 27 analyzes the amplitude pattern and the like of the voice in the reference information stored in the DRAM 41.

Next, in step S103, the CPU 27
Thereby, the feature of the voice in the reference information stored in the DRAM 41 is extracted. Then, in step S104, the CPU 27 performs a linear or non-linear time normalization process of the reference information stored in the DRAM 41.

In step S105, the CPU 27 creates a reference voice pattern based on the data unique to the reference information obtained in steps S102 to S104. Then, in step S106, the information of the reference voice pattern created in step S105 is
It is stored in the EPROM 43.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the subroutine "speech determination" in step S82 of the flowchart of FIG.

First, in step S111, the microphone 52
The identification information is further input, and the identification information converted into a digital value by the audio processing circuit 53 is stored in the DRAM 41. Next, in step S112, the CPU 27
Thus, the amplitude pattern of the voice in the identification information stored in the DRAM 41 is analyzed.

Then, in step S113, CPU 2
7, the voice feature in the identification information stored in the DRAM 41 is extracted. Next, in step S114, the CPU 27 performs a linear or non-linear time normalization process on the identification information stored in the DRAM 41.

In step S115, the CPU 27 creates an identification voice pattern based on the data unique to the identification information obtained in the processing in steps S112 to S114. Next, in step S116, the identification voice pattern created in step S115 and the EEPROM
The comparison of the reference voice pattern stored in M43 is performed.

As described above, according to the second embodiment,
It is good to input and register the user's voice as identification information representing the characteristics of the camera user, and to collate this voice,
The user can be easily specified.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.

In the third embodiment, a camera which refers to the shape and pattern of the camera user's eyes and operates as identification information will be described.

FIGS. 13A and 13B show the external structure of a camera according to the third embodiment. FIG. 13A is a perspective view seen from the front of the camera, and FIG. 13B is a perspective view seen from the rear of the camera. .

The configuration of the camera according to the third embodiment shown in FIG. 13 is the same as that of the above-described first embodiment shown in FIG. 2, so that the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals. The numbers are assigned and the description is omitted.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of a camera according to the third embodiment.

In FIG. 14, the same components as those in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

In FIG. 14, the finder optical system 57
Is configured to include lenses 60 and 62 and a half mirror 61 provided between the lenses 60 and 62. The half mirror 61 is provided so that the light from the viewfinder eyepiece reacts to the lower eyeprint detecting unit 58.

The eye pattern detecting section 58 includes a separator optical system 64, an area sensor 65, and an area sensor driving circuit 6.
6 and a signal processing circuit 67.

The area sensor 65 is a half mirror 61
This is a sensor for receiving light from the camera, and for capturing the iris (shape and pattern of the eye) of the camera user as an image. The area sensor drive circuit 66 controls the drive of the area sensor 65 and receives an analog video signal from the area sensor 65.

The signal processing circuit 67 is a circuit for receiving an analog video signal from the area sensor drive circuit 66, converting the analog video signal into a digital value, and performing predetermined processing such as color conversion. .

Next, the operation of the third embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In the flowchart of FIG. 15, steps S121 to S129, S131 to S133, S1
The processing operations of 35 to S144 correspond to steps S1 to S9, S11 to 13, S15 to S in the flowchart of FIG.
24, the description is omitted.

Then, when a reference information registration request is made in step S128, in step S129, the camera user presses the release button 6 (second release switch 46) while keeping his / her eye on the finder eyepiece. To do. Here, when the release button 6 is pressed, registration processing of a reference eye image is performed in a succeeding step S130. After that, it moves to step S131.

When input of identification information is requested in step S132, the camera user presses the release button 6 (second release switch 46) with the eye kept in contact with the finder eyepiece in step S133. To do. Here, when the release button 6 is pressed, in a succeeding step S134, an eye image determination process is performed.
Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S135.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the subroutine "eye image registration" in step S130 of the flowchart in FIG.

First, in step S151, the reference image input from the finder optical system 57 via the half mirror 61 is converted into a signal processing circuit 67 in the eye pattern detecting section 58.
Is converted to a digital value and stored in the DRAM 41. Next, in step S152, the CPU 27 converts the color signal of each pixel in the reference image stored in the DRAM 41 into color information of saturation, lightness, and hue.

In step S153, the CPU 27 extracts an eye area in the reference image stored in the DRAM 41. Then, in step S154, C
The PU 27 corrects the luminance value in order to reduce the deviation of the luminance of the reference image caused by the photographing conditions and the like in the reference image stored in the DRAM 41.

At step 155, the CPU 27 creates a reference template based on the data unique to the reference image obtained in the processing of steps S152 to S154. Then, in step S156, information on the reference template created in step S155 is stored in the EEPROM 43.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the subroutine "eye image discrimination" in step S134 of the flowchart of FIG.

First, in step S161, the identification image input from the finder optical system 57 via the half mirror 61 is converted into a digital value by the signal processing circuit 67 in the eye pattern detection unit 58 and stored in the DRAM 41. Is done. Next, in step S162, the CPU 27 converts the color signal of each pixel in the identification image stored in the DRAM 41 into color information of saturation, lightness, and hue.

In step S163, the CPU 27 extracts an eye area in the identification image stored in the DRAM 41. Then, in step S164, the CPU
27, the luminance value is corrected in order to reduce the deviation of the luminance of the identification image caused by the photographing condition or the like in the identification image stored in the DRAM 41.

In step S165, the CPU 27 creates an identification template based on the data unique to the identification image obtained in the processing in steps S162 to S164. Thereafter, in step S166, the information of the identification template created in step S165 is compared with the reference template stored in the EEPROM 43.

As described above, according to the third embodiment,
Since it is sufficient to input and register the user's eye image as identification information representing the characteristics of the camera user, and to collate the eye image, the user can be easily specified.

The present invention is not limited to the identification of the camera user according to the features of the first to third embodiments. For example, it is feasible if it is established as a characteristic of the user, such as a fingerprint.

According to the above embodiment of the present invention, the following configuration can be obtained.

That is, (1) input means for inputting identification information, storage means for storing the information input by this input means as reference information, and information input from the input means at the time of purchase of the camera. Matching means for matching the reference information, and operation determining means for determining the operation of the camera by the matching of the matching means, wherein the identification information is information for identifying characteristics of a user of the camera. Features camera.

(2) The camera according to (1), wherein the identification information is information for identifying a user's voice.

(3) The camera according to (1), wherein the identification information is information for identifying a user's face.

(4) The camera according to (1), wherein the identification information is information for identifying a user's eyes.

(5) The camera according to (1), wherein the identification information is information for identifying a user's fingerprint.

[0124]

As described above, according to the present invention, there is provided a camera in which registration and input of information for identifying a user can be easily performed without being complicated, and the structure does not become large. be able to.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a camera according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 2A and 2B show an external configuration of a camera according to a first embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 2A is a perspective view seen from the front of the camera, and FIG. .

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a character display displayed on an LCD monitor.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a subroutine “register face image” in step S10 of the flowchart in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a subroutine “face image determination” in step S14 of the flowchart of FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a subroutine “camera sequence” in step S24 of the flowchart in FIG. 2;

8A and 8B show an external configuration of a camera according to a second embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 8A is a perspective view seen from the front of the camera, and FIG. 8B is a perspective view seen from the rear of the camera. .

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a camera according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an operation according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a subroutine “voice registration” in step S79 of the flowchart in FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a subroutine “speech determination” in step S82 of the flowchart in FIG. 10;

13A and 13B show an external configuration of a camera according to a third embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 13A is a perspective view as viewed from the front of the camera, and FIG. 13B is a perspective view as viewed from the rear of the camera. .

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a camera according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the third embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a step S130 in the flowchart of FIG. 15;
Is a flowchart for explaining the operation of a subroutine "eye image registration" in FIG.

FIG. 17 is a step S134 in the flowchart of FIG. 15;
9 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of a subroutine "eye image discrimination" in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 camera body, 2 shooting lens, 3 imaging lens, 4 optical finder, 5 zoom switch, 5a TELE switch, 5b WIDE switch, 6 release button, 7 strobe light emitting unit, 8, 44 LCD monitor, 9 input operation button, 9a A Button, 9b B button, 11 silver halide film taking optical system, 15 shutter mechanism, 16 silver halide film (film), 18 focus drive circuit, 19 aperture drive circuit, 20 zoom drive circuit, 21 shutter drive circuit, 22 film drive Circuit, 23 distance measuring section, 24 finder optical system, 26 data bus, 27 sequence controller (CPU), 30 digital imaging optical system, 34 area sensor, 35 area sensor drive circuit, 36 signal processing circuit, 39 strobe light emitting section, 40 strobe circuit, 41 DRAM, 42 flash memory, 43 EEPROM, 45 first release switch (1RSW), 46 second release switch (2RSW), 47 power switch (PWSW), 48 other switches (SW).

Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat II (reference) H04N 5/225 G06F 15/64 HF term (reference) 2H002 BB01 BB03 BB05 FB02 FB03 FB21 FB71 FB84 GA00 GA70 HA14 JA09 2H054 AA01 BB07 BB11 5B047 AA07 AA23 AB04 AB10 BB04 5C022 AA13 AC18 AC80 5C084 AA03 AA09 BB01 BB23 CC20 DD12 GG43 GG51 GG54 HH12 HH17

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An input unit for inputting identification information indicating characteristics of a user of a camera, a storage unit for storing information input by the input unit as reference information, and inputting information from the input unit when a camera is purchased. And a collating means for collating the stored reference information, and an operation determining means for deciding an operation of the camera by collation of the collating means. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said collating means permits the operation of the camera when the identification information inputted by the collation is considered to match the recorded reference information. Camera described. 3. The camera according to claim 1, wherein the identification unit inhibits the operation of the camera and issues a warning when identification information different from the recorded reference information is input.