JP2008185822A - Projector-having electronic camera - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a projector-having electronic camera capable of projecting a projection image of suitable brightness according to the brightness of a projection environment. <P>SOLUTION: The projector-having electronic camera including a projecting means for projecting a projection image comprises: a photometric means for measuring the brightness of an environment where the projecting means projects a projection image; and a projection control means for controlling the brightness of the projection image based on the brightness measured by the photometry means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic camera including a projector device that projects information such as an image.

An electronic device in which a projector is incorporated is known (for example, see Patent Document 1).
JP 2005-250392 A

  The electronic device described in Patent Document 1 projects a projected image with a constant luminance regardless of the surrounding brightness.

(1) An electronic camera with a projector according to a first aspect of the present invention is a projection unit that projects a projection image, a photometry unit that measures the brightness of an environment in which the projection unit projects the projection image, and a brightness measured by the photometry unit. And projection control means for controlling the brightness of the projected image based on the above.
(2) The invention of claim 2 is the electronic camera with a projector according to claim 1, wherein the photometry means measures the brightness of the environment in which the projection image is projected when the projection means is not projecting the projection image. It is characterized by that.
(3) The invention of claim 3 is the electronic camera with a projector according to claim 1, wherein the light metering means controls the brightness of the environment in which the projection image is projected when the projection means switches the projection image to another projection image. It is characterized by measuring.
(4) According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the electronic camera with a projector according to the first aspect, the light metering means brightness of the environment in which the projected image is projected when the brightness measurement of the environment in which the projected image is projected is instructed. It measures the thickness.
(5) A fifth aspect of the present invention is the electronic camera with a projector according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the photometric means uses a detection signal from the photometric sensor or an imaging signal from the image sensor for photographing. It measures the thickness.
(6) The invention according to claim 6 is the histogram calculation means for calculating the histogram of the projection image from the image data of the projection image projected by the projection means in the electronic camera with a projector according to any one of claims 1 to 5. The projection control means controls the brightness of the projection image based on the histogram calculated by the histogram calculation means.
(7) The invention according to claim 7 is the electronic camera with a projector according to claim 1, wherein the photometric means measures the brightness in a direction different from the direction in which the projected image is projected by the projecting means.

  In the electronic camera with a projector according to the present invention, the brightness of the projected image is controlled based on the brightness of the projection environment. Therefore, it is possible to project a projection image with appropriate brightness according to the brightness of the projection environment.

The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is an oblique view of an electronic camera with a projector (hereinafter referred to as an electronic camera with a PJ) according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, a photographing lens 11, an illumination light window 12, and a projector projection window 13 are provided in front of the electronic camera 10 with PJ. A release button 14, a zoom switch 16, a mode switching dial 15, and a main switch 22 are provided on the upper surface of the electronic camera 10 with PJ.

  FIG. 2 is a view of the electronic camera with PJ 10 of FIG. 1 as viewed obliquely from behind. In FIG. 2, a liquid crystal display 17, an electronic viewfinder 18, an operation member 19, and a speaker hole 20 are provided on the back surface of the electronic camera 10 with PJ.

  The electronic camera 10 with a PJ projects projection information such as an image from a built-in projection unit (projector) toward a screen or the like disposed on the front side of the electronic camera 10 with a PJ while being placed on a desk or the like. Projecting from the projection window 13. The electronic camera with PJ 10 has a built-in speaker 21 on the back side of the speaker hole 20, and reproduces information such as sound toward the rear of the electronic camera 10 with PJ.

  The mode switching dial 15 is a mode switching operation member for switching the operation mode of the PJ-equipped electronic camera 10 such as a photographing mode and a projection mode. The photographing mode is an operation mode in which a subject image is photographed and the photographed image data is saved as an image file in a recording medium constituted by a memory card or the like. The shooting start instruction corresponds to an operation signal output in response to the pressing operation of the release button 14. The PJ-equipped electronic camera 10 has a built-in lighting device that illuminates a subject during shooting. In the photographing mode, the voice is collected by the microphone built in the back side of the speaker hole 20 together with the speaker 21, and the voice data can be stored in a recording medium.

  The projection mode is an operation mode in which captured image data is read from a recording medium (for example, a memory card 150 or an internal memory described later), and a reproduced image based on the image data is projected from the projector projection window 13 by the projection unit. is there. When audio data is recorded, audio reproduction is also performed from the speaker 21. As the projection source, in addition to the data recorded in the recording medium, data recorded in the internal memory, data supplied from the outside of the electronic camera 10 with PJ, and the like can be selected. The projection unit projects a reproduced image based on data selected from the projection source. When a plurality of data are selected, the projection unit sequentially switches the images and projects a reproduced image of the plurality of image data.

  The electronic camera 10 with PJ is provided with a retracting mechanism for retracting the lens barrel P into the camera casing so that the light projected from the projector projection window 13 is not scattered by the lens barrel P of the photographing lens 11. It has been.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a circuit configuration of the electronic camera 10 with PJ. In FIG. 3, the electronic camera 10 with PJ includes a projection unit 220, an imaging unit 120, a CPU 101, a memory 102, an operation member 103, a liquid crystal display 104, a speaker 105, a microphone 106, and an external interface (I / F) 107 and a power supply circuit 108. A memory card 150 is mounted in a card slot (not shown). The memory card 150 is detachable. A battery 109 is mounted on a battery holder (not shown).

  The CPU 101 sends a control signal to each part of the electronic camera with PJ 10 by performing a predetermined calculation using a signal input from each part constituting the electronic camera with PJ based on the control program. Controls the shooting and projection operations. The CPU 101 is composed of an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). The control program is stored in a nonvolatile memory (not shown) in the CPU 101.

  The memory 102 is used as a working memory for the CPU 101. The operation member 103 corresponds to the main switch 22, the release button 14, the zoom switch 16, the mode switching dial 15, and the operation member 19 shown in FIG. The operation member 103 sends an operation signal corresponding to each operation content to the CPU 101.

  The memory card 150 is configured by a non-volatile memory such as a flash memory, and can write, save, and read data of an image captured by the imaging unit 120 according to an instruction from the CPU 101.

  The photometric device 112 calculates the luminance of the subject using the detection signal from the photometric sensor, and sends the luminance information to the CPU 101. Based on the luminance information, the CPU 101 performs an exposure calculation in the shooting mode to determine a control exposure.

  The power supply circuit 108 is turned on / off according to an instruction from the CPU 101. When the power supply circuit 108 is turned on, the voltage from the battery 109 is converted into a voltage required by each circuit, and power is supplied to each unit of the electronic camera 10 with PJ. Note that the CPU 101 is configured to be energized whenever the battery 109 is loaded, regardless of whether the power supply circuit 108 is on or off.

  The liquid crystal display 104 (corresponding to reference numeral 17 in FIG. 2) displays information such as an image in accordance with an instruction from the CPU 101. The speaker 105 (corresponding to reference numeral 21 in FIG. 2) reproduces sound based on sound data output from the CPU 101.

  The microphone 106 converts the collected sound into an electrical signal and sends it to the CPU 101. The audio signal data is recorded on the memory card 150 in the shooting mode.

  An external interface (I / F) 107 displays a video signal as an image in order to display a playback image based on a video signal transmitted from an external device such as a video camera on the liquid crystal display 104 or project the image on the projection unit 220. The data is converted into data, and the converted image data is sent to the CPU 101. The external interface (I / F) 107 converts an audio signal transmitted from an external device into audio data for reproduction from the speaker 105, and sends the converted audio data to the CPU 101.

<Imaging unit>
The imaging unit 120 includes a photographing optical system 121 (corresponding to reference numeral 11 in FIG. 1), an imaging element 122, a lens driving unit 123, a photographing control circuit 124, and a lens barrel retracting mechanism 125. A CCD is used as the image sensor 122. The imaging control circuit 124 drives and controls the image sensor 122 and the lens driving unit 123 according to an instruction from the CPU 101 and performs predetermined image processing on the image signal (accumulated charge signal) output from the image sensor 122.

  The imaging optical system 121 forms a subject image on the imaging surface of the imaging element 122. The imaging control circuit 124 causes the imaging device 122 to start imaging in response to an imaging start instruction, reads the accumulated charge signal from the imaging device 122 after the imaging is completed, sends the image processing to the CPU 101 as image data.

  The lens driving unit 123 drives a focus lens (not shown) constituting the photographing optical system 121 forward and backward in the optical axis direction based on the focus adjustment signal output from the photographing control circuit 124. The lens driving unit 123 drives the zoom lens (not shown) constituting the photographing optical system 121 to advance and retreat in the optical axis direction (tele side or wide side) based on the zoom adjustment signal output from the photographing control circuit 124. To do. The focus adjustment amount and the zoom adjustment amount are instructed from the CPU 101 to the photographing control circuit 124.

<Projection unit>
The projection unit 220 includes a projection optical system 221, a liquid crystal panel 222, an LED (light emitting diode) light source 223, a lens driving unit 224, and a projection control circuit 225. The projection control circuit 225 has a current variable circuit unit, and controls the amount of drive current supplied to the LED light source 223 in accordance with a projection instruction output from the CPU 101. The LED light source 223 illuminates the liquid crystal panel 222 with brightness according to the supply current.

  The projection control circuit 225 further generates a liquid crystal panel drive signal according to the image data sent from the CPU 101, and drives the liquid crystal panel 222 with the generated drive signal. Specifically, a voltage corresponding to the image signal is applied to the liquid crystal layer for each pixel. In the liquid crystal layer to which a voltage is applied, the arrangement of liquid crystal molecules changes, and the light transmittance of the liquid crystal layer changes. In this way, the liquid crystal panel 222 generates an optical image by modulating the light from the LED light source 223 in accordance with the image signal.

  The projection optical system 221 projects the light image emitted from the liquid crystal panel 222 onto a screen or the like. The lens driving unit 224 drives a focus lens (not shown) constituting the projection optical system 221 to advance and retreat in the optical axis direction based on the focus adjustment signal output from the projection control circuit 225. The lens driving unit 224 further drives a zoom lens (not shown) constituting the projection optical system 221 forward and backward in the optical axis direction based on the zoom adjustment signal output from the projection control circuit 225. The CPU 101 instructs the projection control circuit 225 for the focus adjustment amount and the zoom adjustment amount.

  Since the present invention is characterized by the operation of controlling the brightness of the LED light source 223 used when the electronic camera 10 with PJ projects a projected image, the control performed by the CPU 101 in the projection mode will be mainly described.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of the brightness control processing of the LED light source 223 by the program executed by the CPU 101 of the electronic camera with PJ 10 in the projection mode. The process according to FIG. 4 starts when the mode switching dial 15 is switched to the projection mode.

  In step S401 in FIG. 4, the imaging control circuit 124 of the imaging unit 120 is instructed to turn on the power to the imaging element 122. In step S402, the brightness of the projection environment is detected. Specifically, photometry is performed. Based on the imaging signal output from the imaging element 122, the brightness of the projection environment, that is, the external light is detected. For example, the brightness value of all pixels of the image sensor 122 is added to measure the brightness of the shooting environment. Hereinafter, the addition value of the luminance value is referred to as a light amount.

  In step S403, it is determined whether or not the detected light amount is larger than a predetermined threshold value. If the detected light quantity is greater than the threshold value, an affirmative determination is made in step S403 and the process proceeds to step S404. If the detected light amount is less than or equal to the threshold value, a negative determination is made in step S403, and the process proceeds to step S405.

  In step S404, the projection control circuit 225 of the projection unit 220 is instructed to increase the drive current supplied to the LED light source 223. In this embodiment, the drive current supplied to the LED light source 223 has two current values, a large current value and a small current value. In step S405, the projection control circuit 225 of the projection unit 220 is instructed to reduce the current value of the drive current supplied to the LED light source 223.

  In step S406, the imaging control circuit 124 is instructed to turn off the power to the imaging element 122. In step S407, the projection control circuit 225 is instructed to supply a drive current to the LED light source 223.

  In step S408, it is determined whether or not to switch images. When switching images, an affirmative determination is made in step S408, and the process proceeds to step S501 in FIG. If the image is not switched, a negative determination is made in step S408, and the process proceeds to step S409.

  In step S409, it is determined whether or not the projection mode has ended by operating the mode switching dial 15 or the like. If the projection mode has ended, an affirmative determination is made in step S409, and the process proceeds to step S410. If the projection mode has not ended, a negative determination is made in step S409, and the process returns to step S408. In step S410, the projection control circuit 225 is instructed to stop the supply of drive current to the LED light source 223. Then, the process ends.

  In step S501 of FIG. 5, the projection control circuit 225 is instructed to end the image display, and a true black image is once projected. When the image display ends, the surroundings become dark as when the LED light source 223 is turned off. Note that a projection image may be blocked by providing a shutter in the optical path of the projection optical system.

  In step S502, the imaging control circuit 124 is instructed to turn on the power to the imaging element 122. In step S <b> 503, external light is measured by the imaging element 122. In step S504, it is determined whether the detected light amount is larger than a predetermined threshold. If the detected light amount is larger than the threshold value, an affirmative determination is made in step S504, and the process proceeds to step S505. If the detected light amount is less than or equal to the threshold value, a negative determination is made in step S504, and the process proceeds to step S506.

  In step S505, the projection control circuit 225 is instructed to increase the drive current supplied to the LED light source 223. In step S506, the projection control circuit 225 of the projection unit 220 is instructed to decrease the drive current supplied to the LED light source 223.

  In step S507, the imaging control circuit 124 is instructed to turn off the power to the imaging element 122. In step S508, the image data of the next image to be displayed is transmitted to the projection control circuit 225, and the projection control circuit 225 is instructed to display an image. Then, the process proceeds to step S409 in FIG.

According to the embodiment described above, the following operational effects can be obtained.
(1) When the brightness of the projection environment is brighter than a predetermined value (Yes in steps S406 and S504), the current value of the drive current supplied to the LED light source 223 is increased (steps 604 and S505). When the brightness of the projection environment is darker than the predetermined value (No in steps S406 and S504), the current value of the drive current supplied to the LED light source 223 is reduced (steps 605 and S506). Therefore, it is possible to project a projection image with appropriate brightness according to the brightness of the projection environment. In addition, it is possible to suppress wasteful consumption of power, such as making the projected image brighter than necessary even when the surroundings are dark.

(2) External light is measured when no driving current is supplied to the LED light source 223 (step S402). Therefore, the brightness of the projection environment can be measured without being affected by the projection image projected from the projection unit 220.

(3) External light was detected at the image switching timing (step S501) (step S503), and the amount of power supplied to the LED light source 223 was controlled (steps S505 and 706). Therefore, even when the brightness of the projection environment changes with the passage of time, it is possible to project a projection image with appropriate brightness according to the brightness of the projection environment. In addition, since the external light is detected using a time during which nothing is projected while the images are switched, the external light can be detected without being affected by the projected image. Furthermore, when the brightness of the projected image changes suddenly when the same projected image is projected, the observer feels uncomfortable, whereas in the embodiment of the present invention, the projected image is changed at the same time as the image is changed. Since the brightness changes, the observer does not feel discomfort with the projected image.

(4) Since the power source of the image sensor 122 is turned on only when detecting external light for brightness control of the LED light source 223, power consumption when projecting a projected image can be saved.

The above embodiment can be modified as follows.
(1) While projecting a projected image, the brightness control of the LED light source 223 is executed at the time of image switching. However, the brightness control of the LED light source 223 may be manually executed. For example, the electronic camera 10 with PJ is provided with an automatic brightness adjustment button for the LED light source 223. Then, when the brightness automatic adjustment button is pressed, the projection image projection by the projection unit 220 is interrupted, and the processing in steps S502 to S507 in FIG. 5 may be performed. When the observer feels that the projected image is bright or dark, the brightness of the projected image can be automatically controlled, which improves convenience.

(2) While projecting an image, the brightness control of the LED light source 223 is executed at the time of image switching, but a predetermined time (for example, 5 minutes) has elapsed since the previous brightness control of the LED light source 223 was executed. You may make it perform the brightness control of LED light source 223 later. Since the brightness of the projection environment rarely changes suddenly in a short time, the brightness control of the LED light source 223 can be executed at an appropriate timing, and convenience is improved. Moreover, you may make it perform the brightness control of the LED light source 223 for every predetermined time (for example, every 5 minutes).

(3) Although external light for brightness control of the LED light source 223 is detected by the image sensor 122 used in the shooting mode, external light for brightness control of the LED light source 223 is detected using the photometric device 112. You may make it detect. Alternatively, a photometric device dedicated to the projection mode may be provided in the electronic camera 10 with PJ and used to detect external light.

(4) A histogram of the projected image based on the image data may be calculated, and the brightness control of the LED light source 223 may be executed based on the histogram. When the luminance distribution is biased toward the dark side, the amount of power supplied to the LED light source 223 is increased so that the projected image is brightened. When the luminance distribution is biased toward the bright side, the LED is set so as to darken the projected image. The amount of power supplied to the light source 223 is reduced. When the integral value up to the predetermined brightness of the luminance distribution is larger than the predetermined threshold value, the projected image is dark, so the amount of power supplied to the LED light source 223 is increased, and the integrated value up to the predetermined brightness of the luminance distribution is If it is smaller than the predetermined threshold, the projected image is bright, so the amount of power supplied to the LED light source 223 may be reduced. Prior to projecting the image, it is possible to determine the appropriate brightness of the LED light source 223 with respect to the brightness of the image, which improves convenience.

(5) By controlling the brightness of the projection image based on both the brightness of the projection environment and the histogram of the projection image, the projection image can be projected with a more appropriate brightness of the projection image.

(6) The power supply of the LED light source 223 is stopped within the time when the afterimage remains in the human eye (the time when the afterimage effect of the human is obtained), and external light is detected by the image sensor 122 and the photometric device 112 during that time. The amount of current supplied to the LED light source 223 may be determined. As long as the afterimage effect of human being is obtained, the observer will not notice even if the lighting of the LED light source 223 stops. Therefore, the amount of current to be supplied to the LED light source 223 can be determined without being restricted with respect to the projection of the projection image, and convenience is improved.

(7) The electronic camera 10 with PJ is provided with a volume switch so that the amount of power supplied to the LED light source 223 can be manually adjusted, and the brightness of the projected image can be manually adjusted in addition to the current value large and small. It may be. Convenience is improved because the brightness of the projected image can be adjusted according to the preference of the observer.

(8) The photometry direction by the image sensor 122 or the photometry device 112 may be different from the projection direction by the projection unit 220 so that the brightness of the projected image is not detected by the image sensor 122 or the photometry device 112. The brightness of the projection environment for controlling the brightness of the LED light source 223 can be detected while projecting the projection image, which is convenient. For example, the brightness above the camera and the left and right sides of the camera may be detected in the horizontal position shooting posture of the camera in which the longitudinal direction of the shooting screen is the horizontal direction. Or when using the electronic camera 10 with PJ on a desk etc., you may detect the brightness of a camera back direction.

(9) The drive current supplied to the LED light source 223 is set to a large current value or a small current value depending on whether or not the brightness of the projection environment is brighter than a predetermined value. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment as long as the brightness of the projected image is controlled based on the brightness of the projection environment. For example, the current value of the drive current supplied to the LED light source 223 increases as the brightness of the projection environment increases, and the current value of the drive current supplied to the LED light source 223 decreases as the brightness of the projection environment decreases. May be made smaller.

  The above description is merely an example, and the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above embodiment.

It is the figure which looked at the electronic camera with PJ by 1st embodiment of this invention from diagonally forward. It is the figure which looked at the electronic camera with PJ by 1st embodiment of this invention from back diagonally. It is a block diagram explaining the circuit structure of the electronic camera with PJ by 1st embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the brightness control process of the LED light source by 1st embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the brightness control process of the LED light source by 1st embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

10 ... Electronic camera with PJ 15 ... Mode switching dial 101 ... CPU
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 103 ... Operation member 104 ... Liquid crystal display 112 ... Photometry apparatus 120 ... Imaging part 121 ... Shooting optical system 122 ... Imaging element 124 ... Shooting control circuit 220 ... Projection part 223 ... LED light source 225 ... Projection control circuit

Claims (7)

Projection means for projecting a projection image;
Photometric means for measuring the brightness of the environment in which the projection means projects the projected image;
An electronic camera with a projector, comprising projection control means for controlling the brightness of the projected image based on the brightness measured by the photometry means. The electronic camera with a projector according to claim 1,
The electronic camera with a projector, wherein the photometric unit measures the brightness of an environment in which the projection image is projected when the projection unit is not projecting the projection image. The electronic camera with a projector according to claim 1,
The electronic camera with a projector, wherein the photometric unit measures the brightness of an environment in which the projection image is projected when the projection unit switches the projection image to another projection image. The electronic camera with a projector according to claim 1,
The electronic camera with a projector, wherein the photometric means measures the brightness of an environment for projecting the projection image when an instruction to measure the brightness of the environment for projecting the projection image is given. The electronic camera with a projector according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The electronic camera with a projector, wherein the photometry means measures the brightness using a detection signal from a photometry sensor or an image pickup signal from a photographing image sensor. The electronic camera with a projector according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
A histogram calculation means for calculating a histogram of the projection image from image data of the projection image projected by the projection means;
The electronic camera with a projector, wherein the projection control means controls the brightness of the projection image based on the histogram calculated by the histogram calculation means. The electronic camera with a projector according to claim 1,
The electronic camera with a projector, wherein the photometric unit measures brightness in a direction different from a direction in which a projection image is projected by the projection unit.

Images