JP2009010987A - Electronic camera - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To operate an electronic camera used by being mounted on part of a body such as a head and a shoulder without touching the camera and without using an operation member such as a remote control. <P>SOLUTION: In the electronic camera system 2, an eyeglass display 10, a camera section 14, a microphone 20 and the like are installed to an eyeglass type frame. A photographer 4 wears the electronic camera system 2 on his or her head like wearing an eyeglass and determines a layout of an image of his or her choice to be recorded, by using his or her both hands while observing an object. The camera section 14 detects the position of both hands of the photographer and establishes a segmenting range of the image on the basis of the position of both hands. Subsequently, when the photographer utters words for instructing a shutter release, the microphone 20 detects the words and instructs the camera section 14 to execute the shutter release. Thus, the image within the segmented range is segmented from an image of a whole photographing range of the camera section 14, and the segmented image is recorded in a memory. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic camera, and more particularly to an electronic camera that controls an imaging operation and image processing of a captured image based on the position and shape of a photographer's hand within an imaging range.

  In recent years, devices that perform various inputs using virtual reality (virtual reality) and methods for measuring the three-dimensional position and shape of a user's hand or finger in relation to virtual reality technology are known. . For example, in Patent Literature 1, a virtual device is created by attaching a view device to a user's eyes, and a communication device such as a telephone is stereoscopically viewed in the virtual space, and the position of the user's finger or hand is three-dimensionally displayed. It is disclosed that a communication device can be handled as if it were actually operated in a virtual space by detecting the target automatically.

  Patent Document 2 discloses an interface device that eliminates the need for an input device such as a keyboard and a mouse by recognizing the shape and movement of the user's hand and allowing the device to be operated by the shape and movement of the hand. Has been proposed.

Patent Document 3 and Patent Document 4 disclose a head or face-mounted image display device that is held on a user's head or face and projects an image on an eyeball.
JP-A-6-175778 JP-A-9-185456 JP-A-9-65245 JP-A-9-197336

  Conventionally, when shooting with an electronic camera such as a digital still camera, a photographer first holds the camera, holds the camera toward the subject, and checks the composition with an optical finder, a liquid crystal finder, or the like. When the composition is determined, a general operation procedure is to press the release switch with a finger to record an image in a memory.

  However, such a series of operations is troublesome, and there are many cases in which a photo opportunity is missed unless the camera is prepared in advance for shooting. On the other hand, if the camera is prepared so that it can be taken at any time with a hand so as not to miss a photo opportunity, the hand is not free and other operations may be hindered.

  Therefore, if the camera is attached to a part of the body such as the photographer's head and shooting can be performed as it is when desired, the troublesome operation of holding the camera toward the subject becomes unnecessary. , Problems such as missing photo opportunities are resolved. Also, it is convenient to use your hands freely at least when shooting. On the other hand, in this case, it is difficult to operate various operation members of the camera (for example, when the camera is mounted on the head, the operation member cannot be seen), and the camera is operated. If a remote controller or the like is prepared separately, there is an annoyance such as having to have the remote controller in preparation for shooting. Therefore, it is necessary to be able to easily perform camera operations such as shutter release without touching the camera and without using an operation member such as a remote controller. In particular, in such a camera, since a finder cannot be used, zooming and framing operations cannot be performed properly, and an image having a composition desired by a photographer cannot be obtained.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an electronic camera used by being attached to a part of a body such as a head or a shoulder uses an operation member such as a remote controller without touching the camera. It is an object of the present invention to provide an electronic camera that can operate a camera without any zooming and can perform zooming and framing operations appropriately and easily.

  In order to achieve the object, the invention according to claim 1 can be mounted on or near the photographer's head, and includes two areas of an image recognition range and a recorded image cut-out range inside the image recognition range. An imaging means capable of reading out an image; a recognition means for recognizing a position and / or shape of a photographer's hand within an image recognition range of the imaging means based on an image from the imaging means; and the recognition means. Control means for controlling the imaging operation by the imaging means and / or image processing of the captured image based on the recognized hand position and / or shape, and the image of the recorded image cutout range based on the image from the imaging means And image recording means for recording the image.

  The invention according to claim 2 is an imaging means that can be mounted on the photographer's head or in the vicinity thereof, and is capable of reading images of two areas of an image recognition range and a recorded image cutout range inside the image recognition range. And a recognition means for recognizing the position and / or shape of the photographer's hand within the image recognition range of the imaging means based on the image from the imaging means, and the position of the hand recognized by the recognition means and / or Alternatively, a control unit that controls an imaging operation by the imaging unit and / or image processing of the captured image based on the shape, and a cutout range based on the position of the recorded image cutout range based on the image from the imaging unit. And a display means for displaying a cut-out frame to be displayed on the image display element.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an imaging means that can be mounted on or near the photographer's head and a photographer's hand that is located in an area inside the image recognition range of the imaging means and is recognized by the imaging means. Recognizing means for recognizing the position and / or shape of the photographer's hand when the photographer's hand is located within the imaging range of the imaging means based on the position and / or shape of the image, and the position of the hand recognized by the recognizing means And / or a cutout unit that sets a cutout range of a recorded image picked up by the image pickup unit based on the shape.

  According to the present invention, an imaging unit is mounted on the head or in the vicinity thereof, and an imaging operation by the imaging unit and / or control of image processing of the captured image is controlled by a photographer's hand reflected in the imaging range of the imaging unit. Because it is based on the position and shape, the camera can be operated easily without operating the camera's operating members, and there is a problem of missing a photo opportunity, and the troublesomeness of having to shoot with the camera. Can be reduced.

  In addition, since the composition can be set according to the position of the hand in the shooting range, the photographer can accurately and easily control zooming and framing while directly viewing the subject without using the viewfinder. .

  A preferred embodiment of an electronic camera according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electronic camera system to which an electronic camera according to the present invention is applied, and FIG. 2 is a view showing a state in which the electronic camera system is used. As shown in these drawings, the electronic camera system 2 has a shape that is held by the ear and nose of the photographer 4 like glasses, and the lower center portion 10A of the eyeglass display 10 is placed on the nose of the photographer 4. The system 2 is attached to the head of the photographer 4 when the curved portions 12A and 12A at the tips of the vines 12 and 12 fixed to the left and right ends of the eyeglass display 10 are put on the ear of the photographer 4 It has come to be. When the system 2 is mounted, the eyeglass display 10 is disposed in the vicinity of the eye of the photographer 4, and the entire field of view of the photographer 4 is covered by the eyeglass display 10.

  A camera unit 14 capable of panning and tilting operation is installed at the base end of the vine 12 to be applied to the right ear, that is, the right end of the eyeglass display 10, and the base end of the vine 12 to be applied to the left ear, A voice detection device 16 is installed at the left end of the eyeglass display 10. An arm 18 extends from the voice detection device 16 to the mouth of the photographer 4, and a microphone 20 is installed at the tip of the arm 18. In addition, a gaze direction detection device 22 that detects the gaze direction of the photographer 4 is installed on the inner surface side (side facing the face) of the eyeglass display 10.

  The eyeglass display 10 is provided with an image display element (not shown) on the upper surface 10B side, and an image displayed on the image display element is applied to the eyeball of the photographer 4 via an optical system arranged in the eyeglass display 10. It has come to be guided. Further, since the eyeglass display 10 transmits light from the outside, the photographer 4 can see the subject image in the outside as usual. Therefore, the photographer 4 can see the subject image in the outside world and the image displayed on the image display element overlapping each other. This image display element displays various information such as the shooting mode of the camera unit 14, the number of remaining shots that can be taken, and the remaining battery level, as well as a frame indicating the imaging range as will be described later.

  When the power is turned on, the camera unit 14 always captures a subject image by the CCD image sensor, and records a still image at that time in a memory when a shutter release instruction is applied. The camera unit 14 detects the sight line direction of the photographer 4 by the sight line direction detection device 22, and performs a pan / tilt operation by driving the motor in accordance with the sight line direction of the photographer 4. Accordingly, the subject image in the direction in which the photographer 4 is looking is always within the photographing range of the camera unit 14. Further, the camera unit 14 detects the positions of the left and right fingers of the photographer 4 shown in the captured image, performs framing based on the positions of the left and right fingers, and stores a memory for the captured image of the CCD image sensor. Set the cut-out range of the recorded image to be recorded. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the photographer 4 determines the composition (frame) of the recorded image with the fingers of both hands 5A and 5B with respect to the actually observed subject image, and framing the recorded image to be recorded in the memory. Can be done. The framing operation will be described later.

  The voice detection device 16 and the microphone 20 capture the words uttered by the user, and send predetermined commands to the camera unit 14 according to the contents of the words. For example, when the word “shutter” is detected, a shutter release command is sent to the camera unit 14 in conjunction therewith. As a result, the camera unit 14 extracts an image of the cutout range set by framing as described above from the entire range of captured images captured by the CCD image sensor, and records this image in the memory.

  Next, the operation of the photographer 4 when photographing with the electronic camera system 2 will be described. First, when photographing, a coordinate detection ring 30 is attached to the index finger of the hand 5 of the photographer 4 as shown in FIG. A mark 32 having a predetermined shape is drawn on the ring 30, and the camera unit 14 can detect the position of the mark 32 from the captured image by pattern detection processing. That is, the photographer 4 attaches the ring 30 to the index fingers of both hands, so that the camera unit 14 can recognize the positions of the index fingers of both hands from the captured image. It is not always necessary to attach the ring 30 to the index finger, and other fingers may be used.

  Next, at the time of shooting, as shown in FIG. 2, the photographer 4 determines the composition (frame) of the recorded image to be stored in the memory with respect to the actually observed subject image using the index finger and thumb of both hands. . At this time, fingers of both hands 5A (right hand) and 5B (left hand) of the photographer 4 are photographed by the camera unit 14 as shown in FIG. Note that an outer frame 40 shown in the figure indicates a shooting range (image recognition range 40) captured by the CCD image pickup device of the camera unit 14. The camera unit 14 detects the positions of the two rings 30 attached to the index fingers of both hands 5 </ b> A and 5 </ b> B of the photographer 4 from the captured image, and records images to be recorded in the memory based on the positions of the two rings 30. Is set for the image recognition range 40. The cutout range of the recorded image is indicated by a frame 42 in FIG. 4A. As shown by the frame 42, the positions of the rings 30 and 30 are not diagonal to the rectangular frame, but the general index finger is used. In consideration of the appropriate length and the position where the ring 30 is attached to the index finger (which position of the index finger is promised in advance), the index finger and the base of the thumb of the left and right hands 5A and 5B The area is set to be diagonal. Further, when the camera unit 14 sets the cutout range of the recorded image as described above, the camera unit 14 is based on the position of the set cutout range so that the photographer can confirm where the cutout range is actually set. A cutout frame (inner frame) 42 indicating the cutout range is displayed at a predetermined position of the image display element of the eyeglass display 10 so that the photographer 4 can see the cutout frame 42 superimposed on the subject image. The outer frame 40 indicating the image recognition range may be displayed on the image display element in the same manner so that the photographer 4 can grasp it.

  As described above, if a frame is created by the user's own hand with respect to the subject image actually observed by the photographer 4, the cutout range (cutout frame 42) of the recorded image is set. If you move it, the cutout range moves in conjunction with this. For example, when the photographer 4 moves both hands 5A and 5B in the diagonally lower left direction (in the direction of arrow S in FIG. 4B) from the position of the finger shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, when the cutout frame 42 is shifted in the diagonally downward left direction and only the right hand 5A is moved in the diagonally upward direction to the right (in the direction of the arrow S in FIG. 4C) from this position, a corresponding FIG. ), The position of the upper right corner of the cutout frame 42 is shifted to the upper right and the cutout range is expanded.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, when the hand is moved from the inside to the outside of the image recognition range 40 of the camera unit 14, the zoom lens is moved to the wide side by the optical zoom, and the image recognition range 40 becomes the image recognition range shown in FIG. The setting range of the cutout frame 42 is expanded as well as 40 '. An area 41 inside the image recognition range 40 is an area for performing optical zoom. In this area 41, contrary to the above, when the hand is moved from the outside to the inside of the image recognition range 40, zooming is performed by optical zoom. The lens moves to the tele side.

  After determining the cutout range of the recorded image in this way, when the image of the cutout range is recorded in the memory, first, the photographer 4 immediately hides the index finger ring 30 or the image recognition range 40. Retract outside and fix the cutout range. Since the camera unit 14 does not change the setting of the cutout range when the position of the ring 30 moves at a predetermined speed or higher, the cutout range can be fixed in this way. Then, the photographer 4 keeps the hand out of the cutout range, and utters the word “shutter” to cause the camera unit 14 to execute the shutter release. Thereby, the image of the cutout range is recorded in the memory of the camera unit 14.

Next, the configuration of processing blocks of the electronic camera system 2 that performs processing as described above will be described. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the processing block. As described above, the head-mounted camera unit 2 includes the eyeglass display 10, the camera unit 14, the sound detection device 16, and the line-of-sight direction detection device 22, and the eyeglass display 10 mainly includes an image display element 52 that displays an image and an image. The voice detection device 16 includes a CPU 50 that controls the display element 52 and the like. The voice detection device 16 mainly processes a voice signal acquired by the microphone 20 and the microphone 20.
It consists of. The camera unit 14 mainly includes a lens unit 60, an imaging unit 62, an image processing unit 64, an image cutout unit 66, a memory 68, a CPU 70, a pan / tilt motor 72, and the like.

  The lens unit 60 of the camera unit 14 includes a focus lens and a zoom lens, and these lenses are motor-driven by a command from the CPU 70. The subject light that has passed through the lens unit 60 is converted into an electrical signal by the CCD image sensor of the imaging unit 62 and transferred to the image processing unit 64. The image processing unit 64 performs general image processing such as white balance adjustment and gamma correction, and also performs pattern detection processing for detecting the position of the mark 32 of the ring 30 from the image signal. The CPU 70 acquires the positions of the two rings 30 from the image processing unit 64, and sets the cutout range of the recorded image to be recorded in the memory 68 for the image in the image recognition range captured by the CCD image sensor. Then, the position of the set cutout range is output to the CPU 50 of the eyeglass display 10. The CPU 50 of the eyeglass display 10 causes the image display element 52 to display a clipping frame (see reference numeral 42 in FIG. 4) indicating the clipping range based on the position of the clipping range input from the camera unit 14. The cutout frame is made visible on the subject image.

  When the gaze direction of the photographer 4 is detected by the gaze direction detection device 22, the pan / tilt motor 72 pans / tilts the camera unit 14 in accordance with the gaze direction, and the gaze direction of the photographer 4 and the camera The shooting direction of the unit 14 is made to coincide.

  On the other hand, the CPU 54 of the voice detection device 16 analyzes the voice signal captured by the microphone 20 and recognizes the words uttered by the photographer 4. For example, when the photographer utters “shutter”, the CPU 54 recognizes this and sends a shutter release command to the CPU 70 of the camera unit 14. When a shutter release command is input from the CPU 54 of the sound detection device 16, the CPU 70 of the camera unit 14 designates the cutout range of the recorded image set as described above in the image cutout unit 66. The image cutout unit 66 cuts out an image signal in the cutout range specified by the CPU 70 from the image signal in the image recognition range input from the image processing unit 64, and performs an electronic zoom process on the image signal to have a predetermined size. Convert to image signal. Then, the image signal subjected to the electronic zoom process is stored in the memory 68.

  The voice detection device 16 recognizes not only the words for instructing the shutter release as described above but also the words for instructing operations such as zoom and focus, and transmits a command corresponding to the instructions to the CPU 70 of the camera. It may be. In this case, the CPU 70 of the camera unit 14 can perform various operations of the camera unit 14 with the voice of the photographer 4 by performing various controls in accordance with instructions input from the voice detection device 16.

  As described above, the photographer can easily perform operations such as zooming and framing because the composition of the image to be recorded can be set simply by making a frame with the hand on the actually viewed subject image. Will be able to. Further, since the camera can be operated without touching the camera, the camera can be easily operated.

  As described above, in the above embodiment, the position of the photographer's hand (finger) is detected by the ring 30, but the method of detecting the position of the photographer's hand is not limited to this. Even if the ring 30 is not attached, it is possible to detect the position and shape of the hand from the photographed image.

  Further, in the above embodiment, various controls of the camera unit 14 are performed by voice. Instead of this, or in addition to this, various controls of the camera unit 14 (imaging operation and The content of the image processing of the captured image) may be performed. For example, the shutter release may be executed when it is detected that the photographer has made a hand in a predetermined shape or a predetermined operation. When the photographer detects that the hand is pointed upward, for example, it corresponds to an operation of rotating the operation dial in the up direction, and when it is detected that the shape is pointed downward, the operation dial is rotated in the down direction. The operation of the operation member installed in a normal camera may be designated by the shape of the hand so as to correspond to the operation to be performed. Further, an operation member (operation switch, operation dial, or the like) is displayed in the virtual space by the eyeglass display 10, and an operation in which the photographer operates the operation member is detected from a captured image of the camera unit 14, and based on this. Various controls of the camera unit 14 may be performed. As a result, the photographer can operate the camera unit 14 by operating an operation member that actually exists.

  The recorded image recorded in the memory 68 by the electronic camera system 2 may be reproduced using the eyeglass display 10. For example, when an album (virtual album) is displayed in the virtual space by the eyeglass display 10 and when a photographer turns the album, a predetermined recorded image recorded in the memory 68 in accordance with the page of the album is stored in the eyeglass. You may make it display on virtual space with the display 10. FIG.

  In the above embodiment, the cutout frame 42 is displayed on the eyeglass display 10 so that the photographer can check the cutout frame 42 (see FIG. 4) of the recorded image. The image display means such as the eyeglass display 10 is not necessarily required.

  In the above-described embodiment, when the photographer specifies the cutout frame by hand, the image in the range is cut out from the photographed image of the camera unit 14, but when the photographer specifies the frame by hand, the camera is directed in that direction. The unit 14 may perform pan / tilt operation and magnify an image within the frame designated by the optical zoom.

  In the above embodiment, the camera unit 14 is mounted on the eyeglass-type eyeglass display 10 and mounted on the photographer's head. However, the present invention is not limited to this. It may be possible to attach it.

  In the above embodiment, the composition of the captured image is set by position by hand, but may be performed by voice. For example, if the shooting range of the camera unit 14 is displayed on the eyeglass display 10 and the photographer specifies the position and size of the shooting range by voice, the camera unit automatically performs pan / tilt operation and optical zoom accordingly. In addition, control such as electronic zoom and framing can be performed.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electronic camera system to which an electronic camera according to the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the electronic camera system is used. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a coordinate detection ring. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram used for explaining the framing operation. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram used for explaining the framing operation. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration of processing blocks of the electronic camera system.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 2 ... Electronic camera system 10 ... Eye glass display 14 ... Camera part 16 ... Audio | voice detection apparatus 20 ... Microphone 22 ... Gaze direction detection apparatus

Claims (11)

An imaging means that can be mounted on or near the photographer's head, and that can read out images of two areas of an image recognition range and a recorded image cut-out range inside the image recognition range;
Recognition means for recognizing the position and / or shape of the photographer's hand within the image recognition range of the imaging means based on the image from the imaging means;
Control means for controlling the imaging operation by the imaging means and / or the image processing of the captured image based on the position and / or shape of the hand recognized by the recognition means;
Image recording means for recording an image of a recorded image cutout range based on the image from the imaging means;
An electronic camera characterized by comprising: An imaging means that can be mounted on or near the photographer's head, and that can read out images of two areas of an image recognition range and a recorded image cut-out range inside the image recognition range;
Recognition means for recognizing the position and / or shape of the photographer's hand within the image recognition range of the imaging means based on the image from the imaging means;
Control means for controlling the imaging operation by the imaging means and / or the image processing of the captured image based on the position and / or shape of the hand recognized by the recognition means;
Display means for displaying on the image display element a cutout frame indicating the cutout range based on the position of the recorded image cutout range based on the image from the imaging means;
An electronic camera characterized by comprising: Imaging means that can be mounted on or near the photographer's head;
When the photographer's hand is located within the imaging range of the imaging means based on the position and / or shape of the photographer's hand recognized by the imaging means that is in the area inside the image recognition range of the imaging means A recognition means for recognizing the position and / or shape of the hand,
Clipping means for setting a clipping range of a recorded image captured by the imaging means based on the position and / or shape of the hand recognized by the recognition means;
An electronic camera characterized by comprising:   Panning / tilting of the imaging means so that the imaging direction of the imaging means matches the imaging direction of the imaging person detected by the imaging direction detection means. 4. The electronic camera according to claim 1, further comprising driving means for operating the electronic camera.   Eyeglass-type display means that allows a required image to be superimposed on the subject being observed by the photographer, and the display means to capture the image capturing operation by the image capturing means and / or the contents of the image processing of the captured image. 5. The electronic camera according to claim 1, wherein information for setting or checking is displayed.   3. The electronic camera according to claim 2, wherein the display unit is a glasses-type display unit configured to allow a required image to be seen superimposed on a subject observed by the photographer.   The electronic camera according to claim 6, wherein the display unit displays information for setting or confirming an image capturing operation and / or image processing content of the captured image by the image capturing unit.   Voice detection means for detecting the voice of the photographer, and the control means controls the imaging operation by the imaging means and / or the image processing of the captured image based on the voice detected by the voice detection means. The electronic camera according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the electronic camera is characterized in that:   9. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein the control unit executes a shutter release when it is detected by the recognizing unit that the photographer has made a hand in a predetermined shape or has performed a predetermined operation. The electronic camera according to claim 1. An imaging unit, a recognizing unit for recognizing a position and / or shape of a photographer's hand, an imaging operation by the imaging unit and / or a captured image based on the position and / or shape of the hand recognized by the recognizing unit In an electronic camera comprising a control means for controlling image processing,
When the recognizing means detects that the photographer has a shape pointing the hand upward or downward, the control means executes control corresponding to an upward or downward dial rotation operation. Electronic camera. An imaging unit, a recognizing unit for recognizing a position and / or shape of a photographer's hand, an imaging operation by the imaging unit and / or a captured image based on the position and / or shape of the hand recognized by the recognizing unit In an electronic camera comprising a control means for controlling image processing,
An eyeglass display mounted on the head, and a display control means for displaying an operation member in a virtual space by the eyeglass display,
The electronic camera is characterized in that when the operation of the operator operating the operation member in the virtual space is detected by the recognition unit, the control unit executes control corresponding to the operation of operating the operation member.

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