JP2006157604A - Camera apparatus and automatic photographing control program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a camera apparatus and an automatic photographing control program capable of automatically photographing an object only when a motion takes place by effectively utilizing a function of the camera apparatus so as to avoid photographing when only a fixed object exists. <P>SOLUTION: A digital camera is fixed while being directed toward the object. Then the digital camera measures a distance up to the object at each range finding point, and records the measurement result (S203). Then the digital camera compares a range finding result at a preceding time and a range finding result this time to calculate a range finding change amount at each range finding point (S204). Further, the digital camera references a table for denoting whether or not the object is in motion, and discriminates the presence of a corresponding detection condition (S205). When the condition exists, the digital camera furthermore references a table for denoting a photographing operation to discriminate the presence of the detection condition discriminated in the step S205 (S207). When the detection condition exists, the digital camera acquires the corresponding photographing operation (S209), and carries out photographing on the basis of acquired operation contents (S210). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a camera device having an autofocus function and an automatic photographing control program used for the camera device.

Conventionally, a camera device called a surveillance camera or an observation camera has been proposed. The camera device includes a sensor for detecting a moving body that has entered a predetermined range, a shooting lens having an angle of view that is within the predetermined range and exceeds the range, and a shooting operation based on a detection signal of the sensor. And a shutter. Therefore, it is possible to avoid photographing when only a fixed object is present within the predetermined range, and to automatically perform photographing only when there is a moving object. It is supposed that continuous monitoring of a period becomes possible (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).
JP 2003-125386 A

  However, the above-described camera device requires a sensor for detecting a moving body that has entered the predetermined range in addition to the lens and shutter originally provided in the camera device. Therefore, by requiring a sensor for detecting a moving body that has entered the predetermined range, not only the structure is complicated and the cost is increased, but also the functions inherent to the camera device are effectively used. Thus, it was not possible to shoot only when there was movement.

  The present invention has been made in view of such conventional problems, and effectively utilizes the functions of the camera device to avoid shooting when only a fixed object is present, and only when there is movement. It is an object of the present invention to provide a camera device and a shooting control program capable of performing shooting.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the camera device according to the first aspect of the present invention is based on autofocus means for automatically adjusting the focus in accordance with the distance from the subject, and automatic focus adjustment operation by the autofocus means. Detecting means for detecting a change in distance to the subject, and automatic photographing means for executing photographing on condition that a change in distance to the subject is detected by the detecting means.

  When performing automatic shooting using this camera device, the camera device is fixed facing the subject. In this state, when a movement occurs in the subject, the distance between the subject and the camera device changes, so autofocus automatically adjusts the focus to focus the subject. Then, the detection means detects a change in distance from the subject based on the automatic focus adjustment operation of the autofocus, and the automatic photographing means executes photographing. Therefore, every time there is a movement of the subject, that is, every time there is a change in the subject, it is possible to avoid shooting when there is only a fixed object, and only when there is movement. In addition, since the movement of the subject is detected by using the autofocus means originally provided in the camera device without separately providing a sensor for detecting the movement of the subject, the function of the camera device is effectively used, Shooting when there is only a fixed object can be avoided, and shooting can be performed automatically only when there is movement.

  In the camera device according to the second aspect of the present invention, the camera device further includes mode setting means for selectively setting an automatic shooting mode, and the detection means and the automatic shooting means are controlled by the mode setting means. The operation is executed when the automatic shooting mode is set. Therefore, by setting the automatic shooting mode, it is possible to automatically take a picture only when there is a movement as in the first aspect of the invention. It can be used for photographing as a camera device.

  In the camera device according to the third aspect of the present invention, the detection unit detects whether or not a change in distance to the subject has reached a predetermined state, and the automatic photographing unit includes the subject When it is detected that the change in the distance to the predetermined state is detected, the photographing is performed. Therefore, it is possible to automatically perform photographing only when the change in the distance to the subject reaches a predetermined state, that is, when the subject moves a predetermined distance.

  The camera device according to a fourth aspect of the present invention further includes change condition setting means for arbitrarily setting the predetermined state by an operation. Accordingly, the user can arbitrarily set the predetermined state, and the image can be taken only when the subject has desired movement.

  In the camera device according to the fifth aspect of the invention, the detection unit detects whether the change in the distance to the subject is a change of a predetermined amount or more, and the automatic The photographing means executes the photographing on condition that a change of the predetermined amount or more is detected. Therefore, it is possible to automatically perform photographing only when the change in the distance to the subject exceeds a predetermined amount, that is, when there is a clear movement of the subject.

  In the camera device according to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the camera apparatus further includes change condition setting means for arbitrarily setting the predetermined amount by an operation. Accordingly, the user can arbitrarily set the predetermined amount, and the image can be taken only when the user moves the subject by a desired amount.

  In the camera device according to the seventh aspect of the present invention, when the change in the distance is less than a predetermined short time, the detection unit does not determine that the distance from the subject has changed. Therefore, shooting is not performed when the movement of the subject is slight, and unnecessary shooting can be avoided.

  In the camera device according to an eighth aspect of the present invention, the automatic photographing means controls the autofocus means to automatically adjust the focus when executing the photographing. Therefore, the subject can be automatically photographed in a focused state.

  In the camera device according to the ninth aspect of the invention, the autofocus means has a plurality of distance measuring points, and the automatic photographing means has the autofocus means for each of the plurality of distance measurement points. Is controlled to automatically adjust the focus, and photographing is performed for each of the plurality of distance measuring points.

  Further, in the camera device according to the invention of claim 10, the autofocus means has a plurality of distance measuring points, measures the distance to the subject at the plurality of distance measuring points, and detects the detecting means. Detects a change in the distance to the subject for each distance measuring point measured by the autofocus means. Therefore, since the change in distance in each part of the subject can be detected by the autofocus means, automatic photographing is performed even when the subject has a partial movement, which is useful as a so-called observation camera.

  Further, in the camera device according to the invention of claim 11, the autofocus means has a plurality of distance measuring points, and the detection means is a distance at at least two distance measuring points at the plurality of points. When the change is detected, it is determined that the distance has changed, and the automatic photographing unit executes the photographing on the condition that it has been determined that the distance has changed. Therefore, automatic shooting is performed even when the subject has a partial movement, while unnecessary shooting is avoided when the subject has a very slight movement.

  In the camera device according to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, the autofocus means is a contrast system that automatically adjusts the focus based on image information obtained by the image sensor while moving the focus lens. Therefore, the function of the auto-focus means comprising the contrast method can be effectively used to avoid shooting when there is only a fixed object and to automatically perform shooting only when there is movement.

  In the camera device according to the thirteenth aspect of the invention, the autofocus means is a phase difference method that automatically adjusts the focus based on a detection value from a distance measuring sensor that detects a distance to a subject. . Therefore, it is possible to avoid the shooting when there is only a fixed object and to automatically perform the shooting only when there is a movement by effectively utilizing the function of the autofocus means comprising the phase difference method.

  In the automatic photographing control program according to the fourteenth aspect of the invention, there is provided a computer included in a camera apparatus including an autofocus unit that measures a distance to a subject and automatically adjusts a focus according to the measured distance. Detecting means for detecting a change in the distance to the subject measured by the autofocus means, and automatic shooting for executing shooting on the condition that a change in the distance to the subject is detected by the detecting means It functions as a control means. Therefore, when the computer executes processing according to this program, the same effects as those of the first aspect of the invention can be obtained.

  As described above, according to the present invention, every time the subject moves, that is, every time the subject changes, shooting is avoided when there is only a fixed object, and only when there is movement. Shooting can be performed. In addition, since the movement of the subject is detected using the autofocus means that is originally provided in the camera device without providing a separate sensor for detecting the movement of the subject, the functions of the camera device can be used effectively. It is possible to avoid shooting when only a fixed object is present and to automatically perform shooting only when there is movement.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a digital camera 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The digital camera 1 has an AF function (autofocus function), and includes a focus lens 2, a zoom lens 3, a CCD 4, a CDS / AD block 5, a TG (Timing Generator) 6, a CCD data preprocessing block 7, A color processing (CP) block 8, a JPEG encoder 9, a DRAM 10, a built-in flash memory 11, a RAM 12, a CPU 13, an image display unit 14, a key block 15, a card interface 16, and a motor drive block 17. The card interface 16 is connected to a memory card 18 that is detachably attached to a card slot of a camera body (not shown).

  The focus lens 2 and the zoom lens 3 are each composed of a lens group (not shown). The motor drive block 17 includes a focus motor 170a that drives the focus lens 2 in the optical axis direction, a zoom motor 170b that drives the zoom lens 3 in the optical axis direction, and a focus motor 170a and a zoom motor 170b according to control signals sent from the CPU 13. Are configured by motor drivers 171a and 171b, respectively. Both the focus motor 170a and the zoom motor 170b are stepping motors.

  The CCD 4 photoelectrically converts the subject image projected through the focus lens 2 and the zoom lens 3 and outputs it as an imaging signal. The TG 6 generates a timing signal with a predetermined frequency and drives the CCD 4. The CDS / AD block 5 samples the output signal from the CCD 4 to remove noise and convert it into a digital signal. The CCD data preprocessing block 7 performs data processing such as luminance signal processing on the imaging signal converted into a digital signal. The color processing (CP) block 8 performs color processing such as color separation on the image signal that has been subjected to luminance signal processing and the like, and generates Y, Cb, and Cr image data. The DRAM 10 sequentially stores Y, Cb, and Cr image data after color processing.

  The image display unit 14 includes a color LCD and a driving circuit for driving the color LCD. The image display unit 14 is captured from the CCD 4 and stored in the DRAM 10 in a shooting standby state in which the shutter mode is not pressed while the shooting mode is set. A through image based on image data for one frame (screen) is displayed, and in a state where the reproduction mode is set, a recorded image based on the image data read from the memory card 18 and expanded is displayed.

  The JPEG encoder 9 JPEG compresses the image data input from the color processing (CP) block 8 at the time of image recording. The memory card 18 records the compressed image data sent via the card interface 16. The recorded image data is read when the recorded image is reproduced, decompressed by the JPEG encoder 9, and then displayed on the image display unit 14. The key block 15 includes a switching key used for switching various modes such as a photographing mode, an automatic photographing mode, a reproduction mode, and a table setting mode, a shutter key, a setting key for setting an aperture and a shutter speed, and a zoom. Various operation keys such as a zoom key used for changing the magnification are included, and an operation signal corresponding to the key operation is sent to the CPU 13. The shutter key has a so-called half shutter function, and is configured to allow a half-pressing operation for shooting advance notice and a full-pressing operation for shooting instruction.

  The flash memory 11 stores programs and various data necessary for the control of the digital camera 1 by the CPU 13, that is, AF control, AE control, AWB control, etc. The CPU 13 receives the operation signal from the key block 15 and the above-mentioned data. By operating the RAM 12 as a working memory according to a program, the RAM 12 functions as a detecting unit, an automatic photographing unit, or the like in the present invention.

  In FIG. 2 (a), P indicates a photographing area photographed by the digital camera 1, and the AF control is a measurement set in the photographing area P while moving the focus lens 2 in the optical axis direction. This is a contrast detection method in which AF evaluation values (contrast values) of captured images are detected at distance points A, B, C, D, and E, and the peak position of the AF evaluation value is used as a focus position. Since the focus motor 170a is a stepping motor as described above, the CPU 13 refers to the pulses output by the driver 171a and the distance table stored in the flash memory 11 in advance, so that the distance measurement point A, It is possible to detect the distance to the subject in B, C, D, and E. The distance measuring points A, B, C, D, and E of these images are displayed on the image display unit 14 together with the through image in the photographing mode.

  The RAM 12 is provided with a detection condition setting table 121 shown in FIG. 3 and a photographing operation setting table 122 shown in FIG. The detection condition setting table 121 includes serial detection condition numbers “1”, “2”, “3”,... The plurality of detection conditions are set by the user in a table setting process to be described later. That is, in the setting example of FIG. 3, the detection condition number “1” is a condition under which automatic shooting should be performed, “At distance measurement point A (see FIG. 2), a distance change of 2 cm or more has been detected.” The detection condition number “8” means that “at least two of the detection conditions 1, 2, and 3 are satisfied.” Is a condition for performing automatic imaging.

  The photographing operation setting table 122 stores the contents of the photographing operation corresponding to the detection condition number (“4”, “6”, “9”... In this example) selected from the detection condition setting table 121. The contents of the photographing operation are set by the user in the table setting process described later together with the detection condition. That is, in the setting example of FIG. 4, when the detection condition of the detection condition number “4” occurs, “shoot a single still image by focusing on the distance measurement point with the closest detection distance among all distance measurement points”. If the detection condition of detection condition number “6” occurs, it means “take 5 still images at 3 second intervals”, and the detection condition of detection condition number “9”. When this occurs, it means that “moving image shooting is performed during detection”.

  Further, the detection condition number “6” will be described in more detail. As shown in FIG. 3, the detection condition number “6” indicates that “at the distance measurement point A, a change in distance from within 50 cm to outside 50 cm was detected. "" Means that "at the distance measurement point A, a change in distance from 50 cm to outside 50 cm is detected." On the condition that "5 still images are taken every 3 seconds." It will be.

  Next, an operation according to the present invention of the digital camera 1 having the above configuration will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the processing contents executed by the CPU 13 in the table setting mode. That is, when the table setting mode is set, the CPU 13 starts processing according to the program, and inputs a detection condition based on an operation signal from the key block 15 by the user's operation (step S101). The condition is stored in the detection condition setting table 121 in association with the detection condition number (step S102). Therefore, by executing the processes of steps S101 and S102 a plurality of times, as shown in FIG. 3, different detection conditions are stored in the detection condition setting table 121 corresponding to different detection condition numbers. Become.

  Subsequently, a photographing operation is input based on an operation signal from the key block 15 by a user operation (step S103), and a detection condition (detection condition number) stored in the detection condition setting table 121 is selected in advance (step S103). S104). Further, the input photographing operation and the selected detection condition number are associated with each other and stored in the photographing operation setting table 122 (step S105). Therefore, by executing the processes of steps S103 to S105 a plurality of times, as shown in FIG. 4, the shooting operation setting table 122 stores shooting operations corresponding to the different selected detection condition numbers. It will be. It is also possible to set the same shooting operation corresponding to different detection conditions.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the processing contents executed by the CPU 13 in the photographing mode. That is, when the shooting mode is set, the CPU 13 starts processing according to the program and determines whether or not the automatic shooting mode is set. (Step S201). If the automatic shooting mode is not set, normal shooting processing is executed (step S202). That is, it is determined whether or not the shutter is fully pressed. If the shutter is fully pressed, the captured image is encoded and recorded in the memory card 18 as image data.

  On the other hand, when performing automatic shooting using the digital camera 1, the user fixes the digital camera 1 toward the subject. If the result of determination in step S201 is that automatic shooting mode has been set, the distance to the subject is measured and recorded at each distance measuring point (step S203). That is, as shown in FIG. 2A, the distance measuring points in the present embodiment are A to E. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5B, first, the peak position of the AF evaluation value at the distance measurement point A is set as the in-focus position, and the pulse output from the driver 171a and the flash memory in advance at the in-focus position as described above 11, the distance to the subject at the distance measuring point A is detected by referring to the distance table stored in 11. In the same manner, the AF evaluation value peak position is set to the in-focus position for the distance measurement points B, C, D, and E, and the distance to the subject at the distance measurement points B, C, D, and E is detected. Then, the detected distances to the subject at the distance measurement points B, C, D, and E are stored in a predetermined area of the RAM 12. Therefore, as a result of the previous processing of step S203 being performed, the previous measurement result (the previous distance to the subject) is stored in the RAM 12 for each distance measurement point A to E, as shown in FIG. It is remembered. In addition, as a result of the processing in step S203 being performed this time, the current measurement result (distance to the current subject) is stored in the RAM 12 for each distance measurement point A to E, as shown in FIG. It will be memorized.

Therefore, in the next step S204, the distance change amount at each distance measurement point A to E is calculated by comparing (b) the previous distance measurement result and (c) the current distance measurement result in FIG. 2 (step S204). ). Here, in the examples of FIGS. 2B and 2C, the distance measurement points other than the distance measurement point D have no distance change from the previous distance, and therefore, as the distance change amount,
Ranging point A = 0
Ranging point B = 0
Ranging point C = 0
Ranging point D = + 30cm
Ranging point E = 0
Is calculated, and the distance change amount of the distance measuring point D is detected as “+30 cm”.

  Next, with reference to the detection condition setting table 121, it is determined whether or not there is a corresponding detection condition (step S205). At this time, in the example shown in FIG. 3, the detection condition number “4” of the detection condition setting table 121 has a detection condition “detected a distance change of 20 cm or more at the distance measurement point D.” Since the distance change “+30 cm” of D is detected, there is a corresponding detection condition. Accordingly, since the determination in step S206 is YES, the process proceeds to step S207, and the presence or absence of the detection condition determined in step S205 is determined with reference to the photographing operation setting table 122 (step S207). At this time, in the example shown in FIG. 4, since the detection condition number “4” of the shooting operation setting table 122 is stored, there is a corresponding detection condition. Therefore, the determination in step S208 is YES, and the process proceeds to step S209 to acquire the corresponding shooting operation (step S209). Therefore, in this example shown in FIG. 4, corresponding to the detection condition number “4”, “one still image is shot focusing on a distance measuring point having the closest detection distance among all distance measuring points”. Since this shooting operation is stored, this shooting operation is acquired.

  Next, photographing is performed based on the acquired operation content (step S210). That is, in the case of this example, “take a still image by focusing on a distance measuring point with the closest detection distance among all distance measuring points”, encode the image, and record it as image data on the memory card 18. To do. At this time, as shown in FIGS. 2B and 2C, the distance measuring point having the closest detection distance among all the distance measurement points A to E is the distance measurement point E having a detection distance of 10 cm. In the state where the focus lens 2 is driven and focused on the distance measuring point E, one still image is taken and recorded on the memory card 18.

  Then, after the processing of step S210 is executed, or when the determination of step S206 or step S208 is NO, the processing from step S201 is repeated, and the automatic photographing mode is continuously set. If there is, the processes in steps S203 to S210 described above are repeatedly executed.

  In this embodiment, the occurrence of the detection condition set in the detection condition setting table 121 is set as the automatic shooting execution condition. However, the automatic shooting is performed on the condition that the distance from the subject is changed. You may make it perform. In addition, although shooting is performed with the shooting operation content stored in the shooting operation setting table 122, it is possible to uniquely shoot only one still image. Further, in the detection condition setting table 121 of FIG. 3, when the change in distance is less than a predetermined short time, it can be set as a detection condition that it is not determined that the distance to the subject is changed. In the present embodiment, a plurality of distance measuring points are provided, but a single distance measuring point may be provided. In the present embodiment, the user sets the stored contents of the detection condition setting table 121 and the shooting operation setting table 122. However, the maker side of the digital camera 1 sets these in advance. Also good. In the present embodiment, the present invention is applied to the contrast type digital camera 1, but the present invention is applied to a phase difference type digital camera that automatically adjusts the focus based on the detection value from the distance measuring sensor. Of course you get.

1 is a block diagram of a digital camera according to an embodiment of the present invention. (A) is a figure which shows a ranging point, (b) is a figure which shows the measurement result this time, (c) is a figure which respectively shows this measurement result. It is a schematic diagram which shows a detection condition setting table. It is a schematic diagram which shows an imaging operation setting table. It is a flowchart which shows the processing content of a table setting process. It is a flowchart which shows the processing content of an imaging | photography process.

Explanation of symbols

1 Digital camera 2 Focus lens 4 CCD
6 TG
8 blocks 9 JPEG encoder 11 Flash memory 12 RAM
13 CPU
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 14 Image display part 15 Key block 16 Interface 17 Motor drive block 18 Memory card 121 Detection condition setting table 122 Image pick-up operation setting table 170a Focus motor 171a Motor driver AE Distance measuring point

Claims (14)

Autofocus means for automatically adjusting the focus according to the distance to the subject;
Detection means for detecting a change in distance to the subject based on the automatic focus adjustment operation by the autofocus means;
A camera apparatus comprising: automatic photographing means for performing photographing on condition that a change in distance to the subject is detected by the detecting means. It further comprises mode setting means for selectively setting the automatic shooting mode,
3. The camera device according to claim 1, wherein the detection unit and the automatic photographing unit perform the operation when the automatic photographing mode is set by the mode setting unit. The detecting means detects whether or not a change in the distance to the subject is in a predetermined state;
The camera apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the automatic photographing unit performs the photographing when it is detected that a change in the distance to the subject is in a predetermined state.   5. The camera apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising change condition setting means for arbitrarily setting the predetermined state by an operation. The detecting means detects whether or not the change in the distance to the subject is a change of a predetermined amount or more,
The camera apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the automatic photographing unit performs the photographing on condition that a change of the predetermined amount or more is detected.   6. The camera apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising change condition setting means for arbitrarily setting the predetermined amount by an operation.   The camera device according to claim 1, wherein the detection unit does not determine that the distance to the subject is a change when the change in the distance is less than a predetermined short time.   3. The camera apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the automatic photographing unit automatically adjusts a focus by controlling the autofocus unit when the photographing is performed. The autofocus means has a plurality of distance measuring points,
The automatic photographing means controls the autofocus means for each of the plurality of distance measuring points to automatically adjust the focus, and performs photographing for each of the plurality of distance measuring points. 2. The camera device according to 2. The autofocus means has a plurality of distance measuring points, measures the distance to the subject at the plurality of distance measuring points,
The camera device according to claim 1, wherein the detection unit detects a change in distance to the subject for each distance measurement point measured by the autofocus unit. The autofocus means has a plurality of distance measuring points,
The detecting means determines that the distance has changed when a change in distance is detected at at least two distance measuring points among the plurality of points;
The camera apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the automatic photographing unit performs the photographing on condition that the distance is determined to have changed.   11. The camera device according to claim 1, wherein the autofocus unit is a contrast system that automatically adjusts a focus based on image information obtained by an image sensor while moving a focus lens.   11. The camera apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the autofocus means is a phase difference method that automatically adjusts a focus based on a detection value from a distance measuring sensor that detects a distance to a subject. . A computer having a camera device that includes an autofocus unit that measures a distance to a subject and automatically adjusts a focus according to the measured distance;
Detecting means for detecting a change in distance to the subject measured by the autofocus means;
An automatic shooting control program that functions as an automatic shooting control unit that executes shooting on the condition that a change in the distance to the subject is detected by the detection unit.

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