JP2007189470A - Camera system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a camera system that automatically sets set values relating to photographic conditions of, for example, brightness, AE, an AF distance, a flash light emission quantity, etc., each time the camera system is powered ON again when a photograph is taken with manual settings specialized for individual's preference, and when the camera system is used by a plurality of persons, can discriminate taken photographs of the plurality of persons and stores the photographs in a classified way. <P>SOLUTION: The camera system has a path for sending retina information of a photographer from a finder 204 to a solid-state imaging device 205 through a driving mirror 202, and discriminates the photographer from the retina information by a photographer discrimination section 218 to store predetermined manual set value information into an external memory 219 for each photographer. The camera system has an automatic setting function of automatically setting manual set values for each photographers when the camera is actuated next time and a file managing function of managing files of each photographer by generating folders specific to the photographs for each photographer. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a camera system that generates and records image data corresponding to a subject based on an imaging signal obtained by converting light from the subject into an electrical signal by a solid-state imaging device.

  As an example of a conventional camera system, a camera system that includes a solid-state imaging device and generates and records image data corresponding to the subject based on an imaging signal obtained by converting light from the subject into an electrical signal by the solid-state imaging device. This will be described below.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a conventional camera system. As shown in FIG. 1, the camera system includes a lens 101, a semi-reflecting mirror 102, a total reflecting mirror 103, a finder 104, a solid-state imaging device 105, a solid-state imaging device driving unit 106, an analog signal processing unit 107, and an analog / digital conversion. Part 108, LSI part 109, recording medium part 110, external memory part 111, and shutter part 117.

  In the camera system as described above, first, an image of incident subject light passes through the shutter unit 117 from the lens 101 and is incident on the solid-state imaging device 105 by the semi-reflecting mirror 102, and the total reflecting mirror 103. Are separated into two paths displayed on the finder 104 for monitor display. The light incident on the solid-state image sensor 105 is photoelectrically converted and output as an analog signal by the drive timing control of the solid-state image sensor driver 106. The analog signal is subjected to processing such as amplification and noise removal by the analog signal processing unit 107, and the analog / digital conversion unit 108 converts the analog signal from the analog signal processing unit 107 into a digital signal.

  Next, the LSI unit 109 includes a digital signal processing unit 112, an image signal compression / decompression processing unit 113, an image data recording unit 114, a display output unit 115, and a CPU 116. The recording media unit 110 formed of an external memory is used as a work area. And convert the input digital signal into video data and code data.

  That is, the imaging signal converted into a digital signal as described above is input to the digital signal processing unit 112, and a video signal of a luminance signal and a color difference signal is generated and output. The output video signal is input to the image signal compression / expansion processing unit 113, and the compression processing is performed by estimating the code amount for obtaining the compression rate. The image signal compression / decompression processing unit 113 compresses the video signal based on the compression rate, outputs it as code data, and records it in the external memory unit 111. Similarly, thumbnail code data is created and recorded in the external memory unit 111.

  Under the control of the CPU 116, the code data recorded in the external memory unit 111 is processed into data conforming to the standard format, input to the image data recording unit 114, and the image data recording unit 114 records in the recording media unit 110. The video signal output from the digital signal processing unit 112 is displayed and output by the display output unit 115. The digital signal processing unit 112, the image signal compression / decompression processing unit 113, the image data recording unit 114, and the display output unit 115 are controlled (indicated by dotted lines) by the CPU 116.

In addition, there exists patent document 1 as a prior art document relevant to this invention, for example.
JP 2000-354193 A

However, the conventional camera system as described above has the following problems.
First, as a usage condition, assume that when taking a picture, for example, a picture is taken with manual settings specialized for personal preference, such as brightness, AE, AF distance, flash emission amount, etc. In that case, each time the power is turned on again, the personal preference setting value must be manually re-inputted by a button operation or the like for the above-described shooting conditions.

  Second, as a usage condition, when one camera is shared by a plurality of people, when taking a picture, for example, the shooting conditions such as brightness, AE, AF distance, flash emission amount, etc. are personal preference. Assuming that you take photos with manual settings that are specific to the camera, in that case, if those settings are set differently from those of other photographers, other people can take pictures with manual settings of shooting conditions. After that, when shooting by manual setting of shooting conditions as well, it is necessary to manually call up the set value by button operation or set it again.

  Thirdly, assuming that a single camera is shared by a plurality of people as a usage condition, when each photographed image is stored after being individually photographed, the photographed photograph of each individual is stored in the same memory. Since they are stored in a random order, it takes time for each individual to identify and organize their photographs.

  Fourthly, assuming that a single camera is shared by a plurality of people as a usage condition, each person's captured photograph is stored in the same memory. When reconfirming the stored photos after storing, the security of the photos taken by each individual is not maintained, and other people can look at their own photos without their permission, Even if you don't want to peek at a photo, it happens.

  The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, and when shooting a photograph, even when shooting shooting conditions of personal preference by manual setting, each time the shooting conditions are turned on, the button is pressed. It can be set automatically without re-input by operation, etc., and the troublesomeness of resetting the shooting conditions can be eliminated, and each camera can be When an individual reconfirms a stored photo, each photograph taken can be easily distinguished from a photograph taken by another person. While it is possible to prohibit other people from peeping at the captured photos without the permission of the person, when individuals reconfirm the stored photos, they will not accidentally see other people's captured photos. To provide a camera system that can.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a camera system according to a first aspect of the present invention converts light from a subject into an electrical imaging signal by a solid-state imaging device having a plurality of pixels arranged in a horizontal and vertical direction. A camera system for converting and generating and recording image data corresponding to the subject based on the imaging signal, wherein the photographer can visually confirm the light from the subject, and the photographer's retina information A finder that captures light having a first path through which light from the subject enters the solid-state image sensor, or a second path that causes light having retina information of the photographer captured from the finder to enter the solid-state image sensor. The solid-state imaging device corresponding to the light having the retina information of the photographer by switching the path switching means and the path switching means Based on et obtained image data, characterized by comprising an imaging identification means for identifying the photographer.

  The camera system according to claim 2 of the present invention is the camera system according to claim 1, wherein the photographer from the finder is located between the finder and the route switching unit in the second route. A lens for controlling the light having the retina information to be incident on the solid-state imaging device by controlling the focus is provided.

  A camera system according to a third aspect of the present invention is the camera system according to the first or second aspect, wherein, as the path switching unit, an incident path to the solid-state imaging device is the first path. And a drive mirror that is rotationally driven when switching between the second path and the second path.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the camera system according to the third aspect, wherein the driving mirror disposed as the path switching means is a semi-reflective mirror having light transmittance at a predetermined ratio. It is characterized by using.

  A camera system according to claim 5 of the present invention is the camera system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the camera system is based on a photographer identification result by the photographer identifying means. It is characterized in that predetermined manual setting value information set at the time of manual shooting is stored for each photographer in an external memory or a built-in memory.

  The camera system according to claim 6 of the present invention is the camera system according to claim 5, wherein the predetermined manual setting value information includes brightness information, exposure information, focus information, flash information of an image to be captured. It is configured to store at least one of the light emission amount information.

  The camera system according to claim 7 of the present invention is the camera system according to claim 5 or claim 6, and is stored in advance in the external memory or the built-in memory for each photographer when the power is turned on. Using the predetermined manual setting value information, a manual setting value specialized to the photographer's personal preference is obtained and automatically set.

  Moreover, the camera system according to claim 8 of the present invention is the camera system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the camera system is based on a photographer identification result by the photographer identifying means. A photographer's personal folder is created for each photographer, and a photographed image for each photographer is stored in the photographer's personal folder.

  The camera system according to claim 9 of the present invention is the camera system according to claim 8, wherein a photographed image is stored for each photographer based on a photographer identification result by the photographer identifying means. For each photographer, a photographer's personal file is created in accordance with the EXIF standard format, and at least one of the personal name and the manual setting value information for each photographer is stored in the photographer's personal file. It is configured to store.

  As described above, when taking a picture with manual settings specialized for personal preference, such as brightness, AE, AF distance, flash emission amount, etc. Each time the camera is turned on again by automatically identifying the photographer based on the retina information of the photographer incident on the solid-state imaging device via the second path from the viewfinder when photographing. The manual setting value for each identified photographer can be automatically set.

  As described above, according to the present invention, when taking a picture, for example, when taking a picture with manual settings specialized for personal preference, such as brightness, AE, AF distance, flash emission amount, etc. The photographer identifying unit automatically identifies the photographer based on the photographer's retina information incident on the solid-state image sensor via the second path from the viewfinder when the photographer photographs, Each time the power is turned on, a manual setting value for each identified photographer can be automatically set.

  Therefore, when taking a picture, for example, when taking a picture with manual settings specializing in personal preference, such as brightness, AE, AF distance, flash emission amount, etc., power on those shooting conditions. You can automatically set the personal preference settings for the above shooting conditions without having to re-enter each time you press the button, etc. The troublesomeness of resetting can be eliminated.

  In addition, when a single camera is shared by multiple people, when taking a picture, for example, the shooting conditions such as brightness, AE, AF distance, flash emission amount, etc. are set manually according to personal preference. When a photograph is taken, the photographer identification unit automatically identifies the photographer based on the retina information of the photographer incident on the solid-state imaging device via the second path when the photographer takes a photograph. Each time the camera is turned on again, it automatically sets the manual setting value for each identified photographer and sets the manual shooting setting value different from that of other photographers. Even when the other person has taken a picture with manual setting, if he / she also takes a picture with manual setting, his / her setting value can be automatically reset.

  Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the troublesomeness of the photographer to reset the photographing condition of the personal preference after photographing by the manual setting by another person and when photographing by the manual setting specialized for the personal preference.

  When a single camera is shared by a plurality of people, the photographer identification unit allows the photographer identification unit to capture the photographer who has entered the solid-state image sensor from the viewfinder via the second path. By automatically identifying the photographer based on the retina information, the photographed photograph of each individual can be sorted for each photographer that has been automatically identified and stored in a dedicated folder.

  Therefore, when a single camera is shared by multiple people, each person can immediately distinguish his or her own photograph from a photograph taken by another person when reconfirming the stored photograph. .

  In addition, it is possible to individually set a password in the personal folder for storing captured images, which can improve the security of captured images for each photographer, and prohibit other people from looking at their captured photos without their permission. Can do.

  In addition, by storing the personal name and manual setting value information in a file conforming to the EXIF standard format at the same time as storing the photographed photo, each individual mistakenly sees the photograph taken by another person when reconfirming the stored photo. Can be prevented from happening.

Hereinafter, a camera system showing an embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the camera system according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the camera system includes a lens 201, a driving mirror 202, a total reflection mirror 203, a finder 204, a solid-state imaging device 205, a solid-state imaging device driving unit 206, an analog signal processing unit 207, and an analog / digital conversion unit. 208, an LSI unit 209, a recording media unit 210, an external memory unit 211, a shutter unit 217, a photographer identification unit 218, and an external memory unit 219.

  Here, the driving mirror 202, the finder 204, the photographer identifying unit 218, and the external memory unit 219 are newly configured to identify the photographer. The viewfinder 204 has a structure for displaying an image based on light from the subject so that the photographer can visually confirm the angle of view of the subject, and for the photographer to confirm the angle of view of the subject. It has a structure for capturing light having retina information of the photographer when looking into the viewfinder 204. Further, a first path for allowing light from the subject to enter the solid-state image sensor 205 and a second path for allowing light having the retina information of the photographer captured from the finder 204 to enter the solid-state image sensor 205 are solid-state imaged. The first path and the second path are switched by a driving mirror 202 which is provided as an incident path to the element 205 and is path switching means. Thus, by switching the incident path to the solid-state image sensor 205 by the driving mirror 202, an image obtained from the solid-state image sensor 205 corresponding to the light having the retina information of the photographer incident along the second path. The photographer identifying unit 218 identifies the photographer based on the data.

  In addition, here, the driving mirror 202 uses a semi-reflecting mirror that reflects light at a predetermined ratio and has light transmissivity, and switches the incident path to the solid-state imaging device 205 between the first path and the second path. Sometimes it is driven to rotate (90 ° in this case).

  In the above camera system, first, an image of incident subject light passes through the lens 201 and is applied to the drive mirror 202 when the shutter unit 217 is opened by timing control of the solid-state image sensor drive unit 206. . The image irradiated on the driving mirror 202 is separated into two paths, a path incident on the solid-state image sensor 205 and a path displayed on the finder 204 via the total reflection mirror 203. The subject image incident on the solid-state image sensor 205 is photoelectrically converted by the solid-state image sensor 205 and output as an analog signal under the drive timing control of the solid-state image sensor drive unit 206. The analog signal from the solid-state imaging device 205 is subjected to processing such as amplification and noise removal by the analog signal processing unit 207 and converted to a digital signal by the analog / digital conversion unit 208.

  Next, the LSI unit 209 includes a digital signal processing unit 212, an image signal compression / decompression processing unit 213, an image data recording unit 214, a display output unit 215, a CPU 216, and a photographer identification unit 218. It is used as a region, and the input digital signal is converted into video data and code data.

  That is, the imaging signal converted into a digital signal as described above is input to the digital signal processing unit 212, and a video signal including a luminance signal and a color difference signal is generated and output. The output video signal is input to the image signal compression / expansion processing unit 213, and the compression processing is performed by estimating the code amount for obtaining the compression rate. The image signal compression / decompression processing unit 213 compresses the video signal based on the compression rate, outputs it as code data, and records it in the external memory unit 211. Similarly, thumbnail code data is created and recorded in the external memory unit 211.

  Next, under the control of the CPU 216, the code data recorded in the external memory unit 211 is processed into data conforming to the standard format and input to the image data recording unit 214, and the image data recording unit 214 is input to the recording media unit 210. Record. The video signal output from the digital signal processing unit 212 is displayed and output by the display output unit 215. The digital signal processing unit 212, the image signal compression / decompression processing unit 213, the image data recording unit 214, the display output unit 215, and the photographer identification unit 218 are controlled by the CPU 216.

  FIG. 3 shows a camera system according to the present embodiment. After processing the imaging signal described in FIG. 2, the shutter 317 (the same as the shutter 217 in FIG. 2) is closed, and the drive mirror 302 (the drive in FIG. 2). It is the system block diagram for rotationally driving the same thing as the mirror 202).

  As shown in FIG. 3, after capturing the imaging signal, the shutter unit 317 is closed via the solid-state imaging element driving unit 306 under the control of the CPU 316, and the image of the photographer's retina information captured from the viewfinder 304 is Through the total reflection mirror 303, the drive mirror 302 rotated by the control of the CPU 316 is irradiated and incident on the solid-state imaging device 305. The retinal information image incident on the solid-state image sensor 305 is photoelectrically converted and output as an analog signal by the drive timing control of the solid-state image sensor driver 306. The analog signal processing unit 307 performs processing such as amplification and noise removal on the retinal information analog signal output from the solid-state imaging device 305, and the analog / digital conversion unit 308 converts the analog signal into a digital signal.

  Next, the LSI unit 309 includes a digital signal processing unit 312, an image signal compression / decompression processing unit 313, an image data recording unit 314, a display output unit 315, a CPU 316, and a photographer identification unit 318. Used as a work area, converts input digital signals into video data and code data.

  That is, the retinal information imaging signal converted into a digital signal as described above is input to the digital signal processing unit 312 in the LSI unit 309, and is generated and output as a video signal including a luminance signal and a color difference signal. . The video signal output from the digital signal processing unit 312 is input to the display output unit 315 and at the same time is input to the photographer identification unit 318, and photographer identification information, which is the identification result of the photographer identification unit 318, is externally input. Record in the memory 319.

  A function for automatically recording a manual setting value for each photographer and automatically setting a previous photographer's manual value when the power is turned on again by specifying the photographer by the retina information using the photographer identification unit 318 The effect such as addition of can be expected.

  The external memory unit 319 is assumed to be an external memory that can be stored even when the power is cut off. However, in a system that does not require the memory, the memory is not necessarily required. The output photographer identification information is not necessarily recorded as it is, but may be input to the image signal compression / expansion processing unit 313 and recorded as code data in the external memory 319.

  Further, in the image capturing path of the photographer's retina information, a focus control lens 409 is provided between the total reflection mirror 403 and the driving mirror 402 as shown in FIG. 4 to perform focus control when capturing the image of the retina information. The focus control lens 409 is provided for focus control at the time of capturing an image of retinal information. However, for example, in a system that performs focus control with a fixed focus, the lens is not necessarily required.

According to the present invention, it is possible to automatically identify and distinguish a photographer for each captured image without the photographer being conscious. Therefore, the following specific application examples can be considered.
(Specific application example 1)
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a specific application example in the camera system of the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5, the camera system includes a camera unit 501 having the above-described photographer recognition unit, and a manual setting value recording memory unit 502 that records manual setting values for each photographer. The memory unit 502 includes, for example, a brightness setting value recording memory unit 503, an exposure setting value recording memory unit 504, a focus setting value recording memory unit 505, and a flash emission amount setting value recording memory unit 506.

  In the camera unit 501, the photographer identifying unit identifies the photographer, and for each identified photographer, the brightness of the captured image is set in the brightness setting value recording memory unit 503, and the exposure setting value of the captured image is set as the exposure setting. In the value recording memory unit 504, the focus setting value at the time of recording is accumulated and recorded in the focus setting value recording memory unit 505, and the flash emission amount setting value is accumulated and recorded in the flash emission amount setting value recording memory unit 506, respectively. From the stored and recorded information, manual setting values specialized for the personal preference of each photographer are calculated and recorded in each memory.

In the digital still camera, information for identifying the photographer who was used is stored, and when the power is newly turned on after the power is turned off, the setting value information of the previous photographer is read from each memory unit, The manual setting value of the photographer is automatically set. It is also possible for the photographer to manually change the set value for each photographer.
(Specific application example 2)
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing another specific application example in the camera system of the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, this camera system includes a camera unit 601 including the above-described photographer recognition unit, and an image recording memory unit 602 that records a personal image for each photographer.

  In the camera unit 601, a photographer is identified by the photographer identifying unit, and a photographed image is stored in a photographer folder for each individual in the memory unit 602 for each identified photographer. At this time, the photographer's personal folder can be distinguished from others by updating the folder name by the photographer, and security protection can be realized by setting a personal identification number and password.

  Further, by embedding an individual name and manual setting value for each photographer in a file conforming to the EXIF standard format of the photographed image, the information can be used, for example, by another camera or PC.

  The above EXIF is an abbreviation of Exchangeable Image File Format, and the EXIF standard is an image file standard for digital cameras, and includes the shooting date and time, aperture, shutter speed setting value, It defines and standardizes the format for saving files by adding information such as thumbnail images.

  The camera system of the present invention automatically captures the shooting conditions of personal preference without manually re-inputting them by pressing the button every time the power is turned on again even when shooting manually-preferred shooting conditions by manual setting. Can be set manually, and the troublesomeness of resetting the shooting conditions can be eliminated, and can be applied to a camera system equipped with a solid-state imaging device to generate and record image data corresponding to a subject. .

Block diagram showing a configuration example of a conventional camera system The block diagram which shows the structural example of the camera system of embodiment of this invention Explanatory drawing of the operation in the camera system of the embodiment Partial block diagram showing another configuration example of the camera system of the embodiment Schematic diagram showing a specific application example of the camera system of the embodiment Schematic diagram showing another specific application example of the camera system of the embodiment

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Lens 102 Semi-reflecting mirror 103 Total reflecting mirror 104 Finder 105 Solid-state image sensor 106 Solid-state image sensor drive part 107 Analog signal processing part 108 Analog / digital conversion part 109 LSI part 110 Recording media part 111 External memory part 112 Digital signal processing part 113 Image signal compression / decompression processing unit 114 Image data recording unit 115 Display output unit 116 CPU
117 Shutter unit 201 Lens 202 Driving mirror 203 Total reflection mirror 204 Finder 205 Solid-state imaging device 206 Solid-state imaging device driving unit 207 Analog signal processing unit 208 Analog / digital conversion unit 209 LSI unit 210 Recording media unit 211 External memory unit 212 Digital signal processing 213 Image signal compression / decompression processing unit 214 Image data recording unit 215 Display output unit 216 CPU
217 Shutter unit 218 Photographer identification unit 219 External memory unit 301 Lens 302 Driving mirror 303 Total reflection mirror 304 Viewfinder 305 Solid-state imaging device 306 Solid-state imaging device driving unit 307 Analog signal processing unit 308 Analog / digital conversion unit 309 LSI unit 310 Recording medium Unit 311 external memory unit 312 digital signal processing unit 313 image signal compression / decompression processing unit 314 image data recording unit 315 display output unit 316 CPU
317 Shutter unit 318 Photographer identification unit 319 External memory unit 401 Lens 402 Driving mirror 403 Total reflection mirror 404 Viewfinder 405 Solid-state imaging device 406 Solid-state imaging device driving unit 407 CPU
408 Shutter unit 409 Focus control lens 501 Camera unit 502 Memory unit 503 Brightness setting value recording memory unit 504 Exposure setting value recording memory unit 505 Focus setting value recording memory unit 506 Flash emission amount setting value recording memory unit 601 Camera unit 602 Memory unit

Claims (9)

A solid-state imaging device having a plurality of pixels arranged in a horizontal and vertical direction converts light from a subject into an electrical imaging signal, and generates and records image data corresponding to the subject based on the imaging signal. A camera system,
A finder that allows a photographer to visually confirm light from the subject and captures light having the retina information of the photographer;
Path switching means for switching between a first path for allowing light from the subject to enter the solid-state image sensor or a second path for allowing light having the retina information of the photographer taken from the viewfinder to enter the solid-state image sensor; ,
Photographer identifying means for identifying the photographer based on the image data obtained from the solid-state imaging device corresponding to the light having the retina information of the photographer by switching the route switching means A camera system characterized by Between the pathfinder and the path switching means in the second path,
The camera system according to claim 1, further comprising: a lens configured to focus light having the retina information of the photographer from the viewfinder so as to be incident on the solid-state imaging device. As the route switching means,
The camera according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a drive mirror that is rotationally driven when the incident path to the solid-state imaging device is switched between the first path and the second path. system. The driving mirror arranged as the path switching means is
4. The camera system according to claim 3, wherein the camera system is configured by using a semi-reflecting mirror having light transmittance at a predetermined ratio. Based on the photographer identification result by the photographer identifying means,
5. The camera system according to claim 1, wherein predetermined manual setting value information set at the time of manual photographing is stored in an external memory or a built-in memory for each photographer. . The predetermined manual setting value information is:
6. The camera system according to claim 5, wherein at least one of brightness information, exposure information, focus information, and flash emission amount information of an image to be captured is stored. At power-on,
For each photographer, the predetermined manual setting value information stored in the external memory or the built-in memory in advance is used, and a manual setting value specialized to the photographer's personal preference is obtained and automatically set. The camera system according to claim 5 or 6, wherein Based on the photographer identification result by the photographer identifying means,
For each photographer,
Create a personal folder for the photographer,
The camera system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein a photographed image for each photographer is stored in a folder of the photographer personally. When storing a photographed image for each photographer based on the photographer identification result by the photographer identifying means,
For each photographer,
Create an individual photographer file that conforms to the EXIF standard format,
9. The camera system according to claim 8, wherein at least one of the personal name for each photographer and the manual setting value information is stored in the photographer's personal file.

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