JP2007142558A - Imaging apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an imaging apparatus that can be used in the same way as an ordinary imaging apparatus in normal photographing, and can cope with variable types of personal authentication. <P>SOLUTION: In a digital camera 2, a light source unit 12 for finger-print authentication is attached to or detached from the end of a lens barrel 11 via connectors 13, 14. In the light source unit 12, four light-emitting elements 34 are arranged at positions shifted by 90° each at an even interval. A light-emitting element driver 84 allows the four light-emitting elements 34 to emit light one by one at different timing. A CCD driver 53 controls the drive of a CCD 51 so that finger print is photographed at the driving timing of the light-emitting element 34 each time. A light-emitting driver 84 adjusts the quantity of light in respective light-emitting elements 34a-34c according to the color temperature of an object detected by an AE/AWB detection circuit 58. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus suitable for personal authentication.

  An imaging signal output from a solid-state imaging device such as a CCD is A / D converted into digital image data, and this image data is recorded on a storage medium such as a built-in memory or a memory card. Imaging devices are widespread.

  On the other hand, recently, personal authentication devices that perform personal authentication using specific parts of a living body such as fingerprints, irises, and finger veins have attracted attention (see Patent Documents 1 and 2). The personal authentication device includes a light source for irradiating a specific part of the living body with light and an imaging unit for imaging the specific part of the living body irradiated with the light of the light source. In the personal authentication device, personal identification information associated with a specific part of the living body one-to-one is registered in advance, and the specific part of the living body imaged by the imaging unit is compared with the identification information to perform personal authentication. ing.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a camera mode position where the focal length is set to infinity, and a fingerprint authentication mode position set to the distance to the fingerprint when the fingerprint reading range of the finger is aligned with the irradiation range of the irradiation light from the light source. And a camera-equipped mobile phone in which the focus lens is moved between the two positions.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228867 discloses a guide unit that determines the position of a finger, a light source provided on both sides or one side of the guide unit, an imaging unit that captures light transmitted through the finger, and a light shielding unit that restricts the light irradiation area of the light source. And a personal authentication device that improves the accuracy of authentication by preventing light from the light source and external light from being excessively applied to the lower half of the finger.
JP 2002-185843 A JP 2004-265269 A

  In the technique described in Patent Document 1, the use is limited to personal authentication by fingerprints, and since a light source for personal authentication is integrated in the apparatus, it is a useless long object except when performing personal authentication. There was a risk of becoming. In addition, in the technique described in Patent Document 2, as in the case of Patent Document 1, personal authentication using a finger vein is possible, as in the case of Patent Document 1, in addition to the fact that normal subject photography cannot be performed unlike a digital camera or a mobile phone with a camera. Applications are limited.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides an imaging apparatus that can be used in the same manner as an ordinary imaging apparatus during normal shooting and can handle various types of personal authentication. Objective.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a solid-state imaging device that captures a subject image that has passed through an imaging optical system and outputs an imaging signal, and an element drive control unit that controls driving of the solid-state imaging device. A light source for personal authentication that includes a light source for irradiating a specific part of a living body with light and a light source drive control unit that controls driving of the light source, and is detachable from the imaging optical system. A unit is provided.

  The light source includes a plurality of light emitting elements arranged at positions where light is irradiated from a plurality of different directions to a specific part of the living body, and the light source drive control unit drives the plurality of light emitting elements at different timings. Preferably, the element drive control means drives the solid-state imaging element so that photographing is performed each time the light emitting element is driven.

  It is preferable that the light source includes one in which red, green, and blue light emitting elements that emit red, green, and blue light are integrated. In this case, color temperature detection means for detecting the color temperature of the specific part of the living body is provided, and the light source drive control means is configured to detect each of the red, green, and blue light emitting elements according to the detection result of the color temperature detection means. It is preferable to control the amount of light.

  The light source preferably includes an infrared light emitting element that emits near infrared light.

  It is preferable that the light source includes a white light emitting element that emits white light.

  The light source drive control means preferably drives the light source only when the element drive control means drives the solid-state imaging device to perform photographing.

  The light source unit includes a contact part that contacts a specific part of the living body, and a contact detection unit that detects that the specific part of the living body contacts the contact part, and the element drive control unit includes the contact unit It is preferable to drive the solid-state imaging device so that imaging is performed when the detection unit detects contact of a specific part of the living body. In this case, it is preferable that the said contact detection means is a pressure sensor which detects the pressing force to the said contact part of the specific site | part of the said biological body.

  A lens drive control unit that moves a focus adjustment focus lens included in the imaging optical system along an optical axis; and a mounting detection unit that detects that the light source unit is mounted. Preferably, when the mounting detection unit detects the mounting of the light source unit, the focus lens is moved to a position suitable for close-up photography.

  According to the imaging apparatus of the present invention, for personal authentication, the light source has a light source for irradiating a specific part of a living body and a light source drive control unit for controlling the drive of the light source, and is detachable from the imaging optical system. Therefore, the light source unit may be attached only when performing personal authentication. In other cases, the light source unit can be removed and used for normal photography. Further, if a light source unit is prepared for each type of personal authentication, various types of personal authentication can be handled.

  In FIG. 1, the digital camera 2 of the present invention includes a camera body 2 a having a lens barrel 11 with an imaging lens 10 incorporated therein, and a light source unit 12. Three-end connectors 13 and 14 (only one connector is shown) are provided at the front end of the lens barrel 11 and the rear end of the light source unit 12, respectively. The light source unit 12 is detachably attached to the tip of the lens barrel 11 through these connectors 13 and 14.

  The connectors 13 and 14 include signal terminals that mediate exchange of signals between the camera body 2a and the light source unit 12, power supply terminals for supplying power from the camera body 2a to the light source unit 12, and light sources for the camera body 2a. A terminal or the like connected to an attachment detection unit 71 (see FIG. 5) that detects that the unit 12 is attached is provided. When the light source unit 12 is mounted, the connector 13 and the connector 14 come into contact with each other, whereby the camera body 2a and the light source unit 12 are electrically connected.

  In addition to the lens barrel 11, a strobe light emission window 15 is provided on the front surface of the camera body 2a. A power button 16, a mode dial 17, and a release button 18 are provided on the upper surface of the camera body 2a. Further, on the bottom surface, a lid 19 that can be freely opened and closed is provided to cover a memory card slot in which a memory card 62 (see FIG. 5) is detachably loaded and a USB connector 63 (see FIG. 5).

  When the mode dial 17 is turned, a still image shooting mode for shooting a still image, a moving image shooting mode for shooting a movie, a playback mode for displaying the shot image on the LCD 20 (see FIG. 2), and various settings are performed. The setting mode can be switched. Further, when the light source unit 12 is attached to the camera body 2a, the mode is switched to the authentication mode. In the moving image shooting mode, the surrounding sound is recorded on the memory card 62 via a microphone (not shown) along with the shooting of the moving image.

  The release button 18 is a two-stage push switch. When the release button 18 is lightly pressed (half-pressed) after the framing of the subject, various shooting preparation processes such as determination of exposure conditions (AE) and automatic focus adjustment (AF) are performed. In this state, when the release button 18 is pressed once more (fully pressed), photographing is performed under the determined exposure condition and the adjusted focal length.

  In FIG. 2, a liquid crystal display (LCD) 20 and an operation unit 21 are provided on the back surface of the camera body 2a. The LCD 20 displays a through image, various menu screens, and an image recorded on the memory card 62. The operation unit 21 includes a zoom operation button 22 for zooming the zoom lens 10b (see FIG. 5) of the imaging lens 10 to the wide side and the tele side, a menu button 23 operated when displaying a menu screen on the LCD 20, and selection contents And a cross button 25 that is operated when the cursor is moved in the menu screen.

  In FIG. 3, the light source unit 12 includes a substrate 30, a light guide tube 31, and a contact pad 32. The substrate 30 has a circular outer shape that is substantially the same as the tip of the lens barrel 11. The substrate 30 is formed with a transmission hole 33 having a circular outer shape substantially the same as the photographing opening at the tip of the lens barrel 11 from which the imaging lens 10 is exposed. The transmission hole 33 is formed so that the optical axis of the imaging lens 10 coincides with the center thereof.

  The connector 14 described above is provided on the back surface of the substrate 30. In addition, four light emitting elements 34 are arranged on the front surface. The light emitting elements 34 are arranged at equal intervals at positions shifted from each other by 90 °. Specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the light emitting element 34 is formed by integrating red, green, and blue light emitting elements 34 a to 34 c that emit red, green, and blue light. Emits light.

  The light guide tube 31 has a rear end portion slightly larger than the outer shape of the substrate 30, has a tapered shape from the center portion toward the front end portion, and is attached to the substrate 30 so as to cover the substrate 30. A transmission hole 35 similar to the transmission hole 33 is formed at the tip of the light guide tube 31.

  A contact detection sensor 36 that detects that a finger has contacted the contact pad 32 is disposed around the transmission hole 35. The contact detection sensor 36 includes, for example, a button switch that mechanically detects finger contact, a touch sensor that uses the conductivity of a living body, and the like. Although not shown in particular, in order to efficiently irradiate the inner surface of the light guide tube 31 with light from the light emitting element 34 toward the contact pad 32, antireflection treatment such as black alumite treatment or black cloth upholstery. Is given.

  The contact pad 32 has an outer shape slightly larger than the transmission hole 35, and is attached to the light guide tube 31 so as to cover the transmission hole 35 and so that the peripheral surface thereof contacts the contact detection sensor 36. The contact pad 32 is made of a transparent material that transmits light from the light emitting element 34, such as clear resin or glass. As shown in FIG. 4, in the authentication mode, the first internode portion of the finger 37 is pressed against the contact pad 32 and the fingerprint of the finger 37 is photographed.

  In FIG. 5 showing the electrical configuration of the camera body 2a, the CPU 40 controls each part of the camera body 2a through a bus 41. The system memory 42 includes a ROM that stores various programs for performing a shooting sequence, and a RAM that temporarily stores various data necessary for executing the programs. The nonvolatile memory 43 is a rewritable storage medium such as an EEPROM, and stores various data necessary for operating the camera body 2a. The CPU 40 reads out programs and data stored in the ROM of the system memory 42 and the nonvolatile memory 43 to the RAM which is a working memory, and controls each part of the camera body 2a based on these.

  The imaging lens 10 constituting the imaging optical system includes a main lens 10a, a zoom lens 10b, and a focus lens 10c. A diaphragm 44 is disposed behind the imaging lens 10. Lens motors 45 and 46 and an iris motor 47 are connected to the zoom lens 10b, the focus lens 10c, and the diaphragm 44. These motors 45 to 47 are stepping motors, and their operations are controlled by drive pulses transmitted from motor drivers 48 to 50 connected to the CPU 40 via the bus 41.

  The lens motor 45 moves the zoom lens 10b to the wide side or the tele side in conjunction with the operation of the zoom operation button 22. The lens motor 46 moves the focus lens 10c and sets the focus position at each focal length. The iris motor 47 operates the iris 44 to adjust the iris diameter.

  Behind the stop 44, a CCD 51 for picking up a subject image is disposed. A timing generator (TG) 52 controlled by the CPU 40 is connected to the CCD 51 via a CCD driver 53. The CCD driver 53 controls the accumulated charge amount and charge read timing of each cell of the CCD 51 based on the timing signal (clock pulse) input from the TG 52.

  The imaging signal output from the CCD 51 is input to the analog signal processing circuit 54. The analog signal processing circuit 54 outputs the imaging signal output from the CCD 51 as R, G, and B image signals that accurately correspond to the accumulated charge amount of each cell of the CCD 51, and amplifies it with a predetermined amplification factor. The A / D converter (A / D) 55 converts the analog image signal amplified by the analog signal processing circuit 54 into digital image data.

  The digital signal processing circuit 56 performs various signal processing such as edge enhancement, gamma correction, and white balance adjustment on the digital image data output from the A / D 55. The luminance signal generation circuit 57 generates a luminance signal Y and color difference signals Cr and Cb from the image data processed by the digital signal processing circuit 56.

  The AE / AWB detection circuit 58 determines the exposure amount according to the brightness of the subject, detects the color temperature of the image represented by the image data output from the A / D 55, and sets the white balance correction amount. decide. In the case of a through image, the iris diameter of the iris 44 is controlled by the iris motor 47 based on the exposure amount determined by the AE / AWB detection circuit 58. When the aperture 44 cannot achieve proper exposure, the charge accumulation time of the CCD 51 is controlled by the CCD driver 53. At the time of still image shooting, the iris 44 and the CCD 51 are controlled by the iris motor 47 and the CCD driver 53 so that the aperture diameter and the shutter speed according to the exposure amount determined by the AE / AF detection circuit 59 are obtained. .

  The AF detection circuit 59 calculates a focus evaluation value representing the sharpness of the subject image from the image data output from the A / D 55 while driving the lens motor 46 to move the focus lens 10c along the optical axis. The focus position is detected.

  The AE / AWB detection circuit 58 and the AF detection circuit 59 perform detection in a predetermined cycle even during the through image display. The AE / AWB detection circuit 58 and the AF detection circuit 59 start detection when the release button 18 is half-pressed, and sequentially transmit the detection results to the CPU 40. The CPU 40 controls the operations of the imaging lens 10, the diaphragm 44, and the CCD 51 based on the detection results transmitted from the detection circuits 58 and 59.

  The image compression / decompression circuit 60 performs compression processing in a predetermined compression format (for example, JPEG format) on the image data subjected to various signal processing by the digital signal processing circuit 56. The compressed image data is recorded on the memory card 62 via the card I / F 61.

  A USB cable is connected to the USB connector 63, and data is transmitted to and received from an external device such as a personal computer via the USB driver 64. The aforementioned operation unit 21 is connected to the I / O port 65, and a signal input via the operation unit 21 is transmitted to the CPU 40. The CPU 40 operates each part of the camera body 2a in accordance with a signal transmitted from the I / O port 65.

  In the frame memory 66, image data for one frame subjected to various signal processing by the digital signal processing circuit 55 is written. The LCD driver 67 converts the image data written in the frame memory 66 into the NTSC system and displays it on the LCD 20. The strobe device 68 is controlled in operation by a strobe control circuit 69 and emits strobe light from the strobe light emission window 15 toward the subject.

  The serial driver 70 mediates exchange of various control signals with the light source unit 12 through the terminal 13. The attachment detection unit 71 detects attachment / detachment of the light source unit 12 and transmits the detection result to the CPU 40. The mounting detection method is to hang one of the terminals 13 on the camera body 2a side with a predetermined voltage, connect the corresponding terminal 14 on the light source unit 12 side to ground, and output a signal line connected from the terminal 13 This is performed by polling and confirming (Low when the light source unit 12 is mounted, and High when the light source unit 12 is not mounted).

  When the mounting detector 71 detects that the light source unit 12 is mounted on the camera body 2a, the CPU 40 drives the lens motor 46 via the motor driver 49, and moves the focus lens 10c to a position (contact) suitable for close-up shooting. To the position where the focal point is on the pad 32). Information on the position to which the focus lens 10c is moved is stored in advance in the nonvolatile memory 43, and the CPU 40 reads this information from the nonvolatile memory 43 and executes the above processing.

  The power supply unit 72 supplies power from the battery or battery to each part of the digital camera 2 and supplies power to the light source unit 12 via the terminal 13. The power supply unit 72 includes an A / D converter for monitoring the output voltage, a DC / DC converter for converting the voltage of the battery or battery into a predetermined voltage suitable for each unit, and power on / off. A power supply control circuit for controlling the activation order and timing of each unit is provided.

  In FIG. 6 showing the electrical configuration of the light source unit 12, a serial driver 80 and a power supply unit 81 are connected to the connector 14. The serial driver 80 mediates transmission / reception of various control signals to / from the camera body 2a through the terminal 14. The power supply unit 81 supplies the power supplied from the power supply unit 72 of the camera body 2a via the terminal 14 to the current sources 82a to 82c connected to the red, green, and blue light emitting elements 34a to 34c constituting the light emitting element 34. It supplies to each part of the light source unit 12 containing 82c. Similar to the power supply unit 72, the power supply unit 81 is provided with an A / D converter, a DC / DC converter, a power supply control circuit, and the like.

  The serial driver 80 is connected to a CPU 83 that controls each part of the light source unit 12 in an integrated manner. A light emitting element driver 84 is connected to the CPU 83. The light emitting element driver 84 controls driving of the transistors 85a to 85c connected to the light emitting elements 34a to 34c, and performs on / off control of the light emitting elements 34a to 34c. That is, the light emitting element driver 84 turns on the light emitting elements 34a to 34c when the contact detection sensor 36 detects that the finger touches the contact pad 32, and the photographing of the finger 37 by the CCD 51 is completed. The light emitting elements 34a to 34c are turned off.

  Further, the light emitting element driver 84 controls the amount of power supplied from the current sources 82a to 82c to the light emitting elements 34a to 34c in accordance with the color temperature of the subject detected by the AE / AWB detection circuit 58, and each light emission. The amount of light of the elements 34a to 34c is adjusted. This adjustment of the amount of light is performed with reference to the relationship between the color temperature stored in advance in the nonvolatile memory 43 and the optimum amount of light that can capture the fingerprint of the finger 37 most clearly.

  Further, the light emitting element driver 84 causes the four light emitting elements 34 to emit light one by one at different timings. The CCD driver 53 controls the driving of the CCD 51 so that a fingerprint is taken every time the light emitting element 34 is driven. In FIG. 6, one of the four light emitting elements 34 is illustrated.

  The digital signal processing circuit 56 recognizes and cuts out the portions where the fingerprints are clearly raised from the image data of the fingerprints photographed by emitting the four light emitting elements 34 one by one, and synthesizes these images.

  Next, a basic operation of the digital camera 2 having the above configuration will be described. First, when photographing a subject with the digital camera 2, the power switch 16 is operated to turn on the digital camera 2. Then, the mode dial 17 is operated to select the still image shooting mode or the moving image shooting mode.

  In the still image shooting mode, a subject image incident through the imaging lens 10 and the aperture 44 is photoelectrically converted by the CCD 51, sampled and amplified by the analog signal processing circuit 54, and converted to digital image data by the A / D 55. The

  The image data digitally converted by the A / D 55 is subjected to various types of processing by the digital signal processing circuit 56 and then subjected to simple YC conversion processing by the luminance signal generation circuit 57 and stored in the frame memory 66. The image data stored in the frame memory 66 is displayed as a through image on the LCD 20 via the LCD driver 61.

  When the release button 18 is pressed halfway during the through image display, the AE / AWB detection circuit 58 determines an exposure amount corresponding to the brightness of the subject, and an aperture diameter corresponding to the determined exposure amount. , And AE for controlling the aperture 44 and the CCD 51 are executed so as to achieve the shutter speed. Further, the AF detection circuit 59 calculates the focus evaluation value while moving the focus lens 10c, and the AF for detecting the in-focus position is executed, and the photographing preparation process is completed.

  When shooting is executed by fully pressing the release button 18 after the shooting preparation processing is completed, still image shooting is performed based on the determined exposure amount, and image data obtained thereby is stored in the frame memory 66. Is done.

  The image data stored in the frame memory 66 is subjected to full-scale YC conversion processing by the luminance signal generation circuit 57, compressed by the image compression / decompression circuit 58, and stored again in the frame memory 66. Finally, the compressed image data in the frame memory 66 is read out to the card I / F 61 and recorded in the memory card 62.

  When the moving image shooting mode is selected, a through image is displayed on the LCD 20 through the same processing as in the still image shooting mode. When the release button 18 is half-pressed in this state, shooting preparation processing is performed, and moving-image shooting is started when the release button 18 is fully pressed. Image data that has been subjected to various types of signal processing by the digital signal processing circuit 56 is sequentially stored in the frame memory 66 at a constant frame rate. Thereafter, through the same processing as in the still image shooting mode, the image data is recorded on the memory card 62 together with the surrounding sound input to the microphone. Movie shooting ends when the release button 18 is fully pressed again or when a prescribed movie shooting time is reached.

  Next, the operation of the digital camera 2 in the authentication mode will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG. 7 and the timing chart in FIG. When the light source unit 12 is attached to the camera body 2a via both the connectors 13 and 14, the terminals of both the connectors 13 and 14 come into contact with each other, and the light source unit 12 and the camera body 2a are electrically connected.

  When mounting of the light source unit 12 to the camera body 2a is detected by the mounting detection unit 71, power is supplied from the power supply unit 72 of the camera body 2a to the power supply unit 81 of the light source unit 12, and the power source of the light source unit 12 is turned on. Turned on. Then, the mode of the digital camera 2 is switched to the authentication mode. At the same time, the lens motor 46 is driven via the motor driver 49, and the focus lens 10c is moved to a position where the focus is placed on the contact pad 32.

  In the standby state as described above, when the contact detection sensor 36 detects that the finger touches the contact pad 32 (point a in FIG. 8), a signal indicating this (hereinafter referred to as a contact detection signal). ) Is generated. Then, a contact detection signal is transmitted to the camera body 2a via the serial driver 80 and the connector 14.

  When the contact detection signal is received, the color temperature of the subject detected by the AE / AWB detection circuit 58 is transmitted to the light source unit 12 via the serial driver 70 and the connector 13.

  When the color temperature detection result is received, the amount of light emitted from the light emitting element 34 is set so as to be an optimum light amount corresponding to the color temperature detection result (between points a and b in FIG. 8). Then, the driving of the transistors 85a to 85c is controlled by the light emitting element driver 84, and the light emitting elements 34a to 34c of the first light emitting element 34 are turned on (point b). At this time, the amount of power supplied from the current sources 82a to 82c to the light emitting elements 34a to 34c is controlled so that the optimum light amount is set according to the detection result of the color temperature. Thereby, dimmed white light is emitted from the light emitting element 34, and the white light is guided by the light guide tube 31 to illuminate the finger 37 on the contact pad 32.

  After white light is emitted from the light emitting element 34, AE and AF are executed by the AE / AWB detection circuit 58 and the AF detection circuit 59 (between points c and d). When AE and AF are completed, the CCD 51 is driven by the CCD driver 53, and the fingerprint of the finger 37 on the contact pad 32 is photographed (between points e and f). Simultaneously with the end of photographing at point f, the light emitting element driver 84 turns off the light emitting elements 34a to 34c of the first light emitting element 34. Thereafter, the four light emitting elements 34 are driven one by one at a predetermined timing, and a fingerprint is photographed each time.

  After the four times of shooting, the digital signal processing circuit 56 recognizes the image where the fingerprints are clearly raised from the image data of the fingerprints shot by emitting the four light emitting elements 34 one by one. These images are cut out, and these images are combined to generate an image of a fingerprint without a blurred portion, and is recorded on the memory card 62.

  As described above in detail, since the digital camera 2 allows the light source unit 12 and the camera body 2a to be detachable, there are applications for personal authentication and normal uses other than personal authentication such as still image shooting and video shooting. The digital camera 2 can be used for both.

  The four light emitting elements 34 are arranged at equal intervals at positions shifted by 90 °, and are driven one by one at different timings, so that the finger 37 is irradiated with light from different directions, and shooting is performed each time. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a fingerprint image without a blurred portion. Therefore, the accuracy of authentication can be improved. In addition, since the light amounts of the light emitting elements 34a to 34c are adjusted to be optimal according to the color temperature of the subject, the accuracy of authentication can be further improved.

  Since the light emitting element 34 is driven only at the time of photographing, the light source unit 12 can be set in a standby state except during photographing, and power saving can be achieved. Further, since the photographing is automatically performed when the contact detection sensor 36 detects that the finger touches the contact pad 32, the operability can be improved. Further, when the light source unit 12 is mounted on the camera body 2a, the focus lens 10c is automatically moved to a position where the focus is placed on the contact pad 32, so that the focal length is manually set. Save time and effort.

  In the above embodiment, the light source unit 12 for photographing the fingerprint of the finger 37 has been described as an example, but the light source unit 90 shown in FIG. 9 may be used. The light source unit 90 includes an infrared light emitting element 91 that emits near-infrared light, a light guide tube 92 having a wide cross-sectional shape from the center portion toward the tip portion, and a contact attached to the tip portion of the light guide tube 92. It consists of a pad 93. In the authentication mode, the palm 94 is pressed against the contact pad 93, and the vein of the palm 94 is photographed.

  Here, the blood vessels of the living body are crushed and spread when a strong pressure is applied, and the blood flow stops and becomes invisible when a further pressure is applied. The light source unit 90 uses the pressure sensor 95 as a contact detection sensor in order to further improve the accuracy of authentication by utilizing the time-series changes peculiar to the living body. That is, when the pressure sensor 95 reacts, the above time-series change is detected from the image data, and if this is used as a precondition for authentication, impersonation by a fake finger or a fake hand can be prevented.

  Also in this case, similarly to the above-described embodiment, the four infrared light emitting elements 91 are arranged at equal intervals at positions shifted by 90 °, driven one by one at different timings, and the palm 94 is moved from different directions. If the light is irradiated to each other and photographing is performed each time, the unclear part of the vein caused by the whiteout caused by simultaneously photographing the light reflected by the palm 94 and the light transmitted through the palm 94 is detected. The removed image can be obtained. Further, by continuously photographing while changing the amount of light emitted from the infrared light emitting element 91, erroneous authentication due to individual differences such as the thickness of the palm 94 can be prevented.

  As described above, if not only the light source unit 12 for fingerprint authentication but also the light source unit 90 for vein authentication is prepared, it is possible to cope with various types of personal authentication simply by replacing the light source unit.

  The fingerprint or vein image data obtained by the digital camera 2 is taken into a dedicated personal authentication device that performs fingerprint or vein authentication, and is used as image data that is collated with personal identification information during authentication. Alternatively, if the digital camera 2 is a so-called web camera having a function of placing an image print order via a communication network such as the Internet, personal authentication is performed when logging in to the print order site or when paying after the print order. Used as a means.

  In the above embodiment, the digital camera 2 has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention can also be applied to the camera-equipped mobile phone 100 shown in FIG. The camera-equipped mobile phone 100 includes a telephone body 101 and a light source unit 102.

  The telephone main body 101 includes an upper main body 101 a and a lower main body 101 b that are rotatably engaged by a hinge 103. An antenna 104 is housed behind the upper main body 101a, and a reception speaker and an LCD (both not shown) are provided on the front thereof. An imaging lens 105 is exposed on the back surface of the upper main body 101a.

  The lower body 101b is provided with a transmission microphone 106 and an operation unit 107 including a dial key and various selection keys. Further, a memory card slot 108 into which a memory card is loaded is provided on the side surface of the lower main body 101b.

  The light source unit 102 is detachably attached to the back surface of the upper main body 101a through a connector (not shown), similarly to the light source unit 12 of the above embodiment. The light source unit 102 includes a substrate 109, a lid 110, and a contact pad 111. The substrate 109 is formed with a transmission hole 112 having a circular outer shape that is substantially the same as the photographing opening on the back surface of the upper main body 101a from which the imaging lens 105 is exposed. The transmission hole 112 is formed so that the optical axis of the imaging lens 10 coincides with the center thereof.

  The connector described above is provided on the back surface of the substrate 109. In addition, eight light emitting elements 113 are arranged around the front transmission hole 112. The light emitting elements 113 are arranged at equal intervals at positions shifted from each other by 45 °.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the light emitting element 113 includes a white light emitting element 113a that emits white light and an infrared light emitting element 113b that emits near infrared light, and four of these elements are alternately arranged. ing. The white light emitting element 113a emits light during AE and AF before photographing and during fingerprint photographing. The infrared light emitting element 113b emits light when photographing a finger vein. In addition, in order to distinguish from the white light emitting element 113a, the infrared light emitting element 113b is hatched.

  Returning to FIG. 10, the lid 110 has a substantially trapezoidal cross section and is attached to a guide rail 114 formed on the substrate 109. The lid 110 is slidable between the illustrated open position and the closed position covering the light emitting element 113 by the guide rail 114. The guide rail 114 is provided with a detection switch 115 that detects that the lid 110 has been slid to the closed position.

  A transmission hole (not shown) similar to the transmission hole 112 is formed on the upper surface of the lid 110, and a contact pad 111 is attached so as to cover the transmission hole. The contact pad 111 is made of a transparent material that transmits light from the light emitting element 113, such as clear resin or glass. Note that the inside of the lid 110 is hollow, and similarly to the light guide tube 31 of the above embodiment, the inner surface thereof is subjected to antireflection treatment and guides light from the light emitting element 113 toward the contact pad 111. Shine.

  When performing authentication, first, a finger is placed on the contact pad 111, and the lid 110 is slid from the open position to the closed position by the force of the finger. When the lid 110 is slid to the closed position, the detection switch 115 is activated, and the authentication mode is the same as when the contact detection sensor 36 detects that the finger 37 has contacted the contact pad 32 in the above embodiment. Migrate to

  When the authentication mode is entered, the white light emitting element 113a emits light and AE and AF are executed. Then, after completion of AE and AF, a fingerprint is taken. Alternatively, the infrared light emitting element 113b emits light and the finger vein is imaged. Thus, if the present invention is applied to the camera-equipped mobile phone 100, a personal authentication function can be added without increasing the size of the camera-equipped mobile phone 100 itself. Note that the obtained image data is used as image data to be collated at the time of authentication of the personal authentication device, as in the case of the digital camera 2 of the above embodiment. Alternatively, it is used as a means for personal authentication when logging in or paying for a pay site.

  Needless to say, in this case as well, as in the above embodiment, the four infrared light emitting elements 113b are driven one by one at different timings, and the finger is irradiated with light from different directions. You may make it take a photo each time, or in addition to or in addition to the white light emitting element 113a, a light emitting element in which red, blue, and green light emitting elements are integrated is used. You may adjust the light quantity of a light emitting element so that it may become optimal. Further, when the lid 110 is in the open position, the white light emitting element 113a may be used as strobe light during normal shooting.

It is a front external perspective view of a digital camera. It is a back external appearance top view of a digital camera. It is a disassembled perspective view of a light source unit. It is a state figure which shows the mode at the time of imaging | photographing the fingerprint of a finger. It is a block diagram which shows the internal structure of a camera main body. It is a block diagram which shows the internal structure of a light source unit. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement procedure of the camera main body and light source unit in authentication mode. It is a timing chart which shows the operation timing of the camera main body and light source unit in authentication mode. It is a figure which shows another embodiment of a light source unit, and is a state figure which shows a mode at the time of imaging | photography of the vein of the palm. It is a perspective view which shows schematic structure of the mobile phone with a camera. It is a top view which shows the structure of the light emitting element of the light source unit attached to the mobile telephone with a camera shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

2 Digital camera 2a Camera body 10, 105 Imaging lens 10c Focus lens 12, 90, 102 Light source unit 32, 93, 111 Contact pad 34, 113 Light emitting element 34a-34c Red, blue, green light emitting element 36 Contact detection sensor 37 Finger 40 CPU
46 Lens motor 49 Motor driver 51 CCD
53 CCD Driver 58 AE / AWB Detection Circuit 71 Attachment Detection Unit 83 CPU
84 Light-emitting element driver 91, 113b Infrared light-emitting element 94 Palm 95 Pressure sensor 100 Mobile phone with camera 101 Telephone body 113a White light-emitting element 115 Detection switch

Claims (10)

In an imaging apparatus comprising: a solid-state imaging device that captures a subject image that has passed through an imaging optical system and outputs an imaging signal; and an element drive control unit that controls driving of the solid-state imaging device.
A light source for irradiating a specific part of the living body with light;
Light source drive control means for controlling the drive of the light source,
An imaging apparatus comprising a light source unit for personal authentication that is detachable from the imaging optical system. The light source comprises a plurality of light emitting elements arranged at positions where light is irradiated from a plurality of different directions to a specific part of the living body,
The light source drive control means drives the plurality of light emitting elements at different timings,
The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the element drive control unit drives the solid-state image pickup element so as to perform photographing each time at the drive timing of the light emitting element.   The imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the light source includes an integrated unit of red, green, and blue light emitting elements that emit red, green, and blue light. Color temperature detection means for detecting the color temperature of a specific part of the living body,
The imaging apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the light source drive control unit controls the light amounts of the red, green, and blue light emitting elements according to the detection result of the color temperature detection unit.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light source includes an infrared light emitting element that emits near infrared light.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light source includes a white light emitting element that emits white light.   7. The imaging according to claim 1, wherein the light source drive control unit drives the light source only when shooting is performed by driving the solid-state imaging device by the element drive control unit. apparatus. The light source unit includes a contact portion that contacts a specific part of the living body,
Contact detecting means for detecting that a specific part of the living body is in contact with the contact portion;
8. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the device drive control unit drives the solid-state imaging device so as to perform imaging when the contact detection unit detects contact of a specific part of the living body. An imaging apparatus according to claim 1.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the contact detection unit is a pressure sensor that detects a pressing force of the specific part of the living body to the contact part. Lens drive control means for moving a focus adjustment focus lens included in the imaging optical system along the optical axis;
A mounting detection means for detecting that the light source unit is mounted;
10. The lens driving control unit according to claim 1, wherein when the mounting detection unit detects mounting of the light source unit, the lens driving control unit moves the focus lens to a position suitable for close-up photography. The imaging device described in 1.

Images