JP2012204875A - Camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a camera capable of detecting an operation for taking out the camera from a bag or the like and immediately shifting it from a power saving standby state to a photographable state.SOLUTION: When a contact detection unit 14 detects that a hand of a photographer is in contact with a body of a camera 1 while the camera 1 is in a power saving standby state, an acceleration detection unit 12 detects acceleration. When the acceleration of the camera 1 becomes equal to or greater than a first predetermined value in a state where the hand of the photographer is in contact with the body of the camera 1, the camera 1 is activated in an emergency mode in which only minimum blocks required for a photographing operation of the camera 1 are activated.

Description

  The present invention relates to a camera having a function of imaging a subject.

  In recent years, technology for detecting contact of a finger or the like with a camera has been used for various types of processing of the camera. For example, in Patent Document 1, a finger is prevented from appearing on an image at the time of photographing by detecting a finger hooking on a light emitting window of a flash or a photographing lens. In particular, in Patent Document 1, even when the main body of the camera is made of metal, finger catching can be detected correctly.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-306453

  In the case where a bird or the like is used as a subject, if the subject appears unexpectedly when the camera is stored in a bag with the camera turned off, the photographer has conventionally taken the camera from the bag. It is necessary to turn on the camera and take a picture after removing it. In this case, after the camera is activated, the subject may move out of the shooting range, and there is a risk of missing a photo opportunity. In such a case, in order not to miss a photo opportunity, it is desirable that the camera can take a picture immediately after the camera is taken out from a bag or the like.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a camera that can detect an operation of taking out a camera from a bag or the like and can immediately shift from a power saving standby state to a photographing enabled state. And

  In order to achieve the above object, a camera of one embodiment of the present invention includes an imaging unit that captures an image of a subject and obtains an image of the subject, a first recording unit that records the image of the subject, A contact detection unit that detects contact of an operator's hand with the camera in a power saving standby state in which the power is turned off, and an acceleration detection unit that detects acceleration associated with movement of the camera in the power saving standby state. In the power saving standby state, when the operator's hand touches the camera and the acceleration is equal to or higher than a first predetermined value, the imaging unit and the first recording unit are And a controller that activates the camera in an emergency mode in which at least the image of the subject is activated and can be immediately recorded in the first recording unit.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the operation | movement which takes out the camera from a bag etc. can be detected, and the camera which can transfer to the imaging | photography ready state from a power saving standby state can be provided.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the camera which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of a contact detection part. It is a figure which shows the mode at the time of use of the camera which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the camera which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the starting conditions in emergency mode in one Embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which compared and showed the emergency mode and the normal mode. It is a figure which shows an example of an imaging | photography completion display. It is a figure shown about an example of the completion conditions of emergency imaging operation. It is a timing chart which shows operation | movement of the camera which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a camera according to an embodiment of the present invention. A camera 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a control microcomputer 2, a lens unit 3, an imaging unit 4, a memory unit 5, a display unit 6, an image recording unit 7, a built-in memory unit 8, and an audio processing unit 9. An operation unit 10, a flash light emitting unit 11, an acceleration detection unit 12, a posture detection unit 13, a contact detection unit 14, and a photographer state monitoring unit 15.

  The control microcomputer 2 comprehensively controls the operation of each block inside the camera 1 such as the lens unit 3, the imaging unit 4, and the flash light emitting unit 11. The control microcomputer 2 also performs various types of image processing on the image data obtained via the imaging unit 4 and image compression for recording in the image recording unit 7. Further, the control microcomputer 2 also has a function as a control unit, and switches the activation mode of the camera 1 according to the acceleration detected by the acceleration detection unit 12. Although details will be described later, the camera 1 in the present embodiment has two types of activation modes, a normal mode and an emergency mode.

  The lens unit 3 includes a photographing lens 31 and a lens control unit 32. The photographing lens 31 is an optical system for condensing the optical image of the subject on the imaging unit 4. The photographing lens 31 is moved in the optical axis direction by a lens control unit 32 that operates in accordance with an instruction from the control microcomputer 2. Here, the photographing lens 31 includes a zoom lens for adjusting the angle of view. By driving the zoom lens of the photographing lens 31 to the wide angle side or the telephoto side by the lens control unit 32, the photographing field angle at the time of photographing is changed. When the zoom lens is driven to the wide-angle side, the shooting angle of view is widened, and the state is suitable for a wide range of shooting. On the other hand, when the zoom lens is driven to the telephoto side, the shooting angle of view becomes narrow, but it is suitable for shooting a subject at a long distance.

  The imaging unit 4 includes an imaging element 41, an imaging element driver 42, a timing generator (TG) 43, and an analog front end circuit (AFE) 44. The imaging element 41 has an imaging surface in which pixels are arranged in a two-dimensional manner, and the light collected by the photographing lens 31 is received by each pixel and subjected to photoelectric conversion, thereby converting the amount of light into an electrical quantity. Convert. The image sensor driver 42 drives the image sensor 41 in accordance with the synchronization signal from the TG 43. The TG 43 generates a synchronization signal for driving the image sensor 41 according to the timing signal from the control microcomputer 2 and outputs it to the image sensor driver 42. The image sensor 41 operates in synchronization with this synchronization signal. The AFE 44 performs various analog processing such as correlated double sampling (CDS) processing and gain control processing (AGC) on the analog electrical signal (image signal) output from the image sensor 41, and then performs analog processing. The obtained image signal is converted into a digital image signal (hereinafter referred to as image data).

  The memory unit 5 is a storage unit that temporarily stores various data such as image data obtained in the AFE 44 of the imaging unit 4 and image data obtained as a result of image processing in the control microcomputer 2. The memory unit 5 is composed of, for example, a DRAM (Dynamic RAM). The memory unit 5 also functions as an example of the first recording unit.

  The display unit 6 is a display unit such as a liquid crystal display provided on the back surface of the camera 1, for example, and displays various images such as an image based on image data image-processed by the control microcomputer 2. The image recording unit 7 that functions as the second recording unit is a recording medium that can be attached to and detached from the camera 1, for example, and image data that has been subjected to image processing by the control microcomputer 2 is recorded. A built-in memory unit 8 that functions as a first recording unit is a recording unit built in the camera 1. The built-in memory unit 8 is constituted by a flash memory, for example.

The sound processing unit 9 performs processing for emitting various sounds according to the control of the control microcomputer 2.
The operation unit 10 is an operation member such as a power switch, a release button, a zoom button, various input keys, or the like, or an operation member such as a touch panel arranged on the display unit 6. When one of the operation members of the operation unit 10 is operated by the photographer, the control microcomputer 2 executes various processes according to the operation of the photographer. Here, the power switch is an operation member for instructing on / off of the power of the camera 1. When the power switch is pressed, the control microcomputer 2 turns the camera 1 on or off. The release button is an operation member for instructing execution of shooting. When the release button is pressed, the control microcomputer 2 executes a photographing operation. The zoom button is an operation member for instructing execution of zooming. When the zoom button is pressed, the control microcomputer 2 sends an instruction to the lens control unit 32 to drive the zoom lens of the photographing lens 31 to the wide angle side or the telephoto side. The input key is, for example, an operation member for setting shooting conditions and the like at the time of shooting on a menu screen displayed on the display unit 6.

The flash light emitting unit 11 emits light in response to a light emission instruction from the control microcomputer 2 when the subject has a low luminance or a backlight scene. The flash light emitting unit 11 includes a light emitting tube such as a xenon (Xe) tube and a reflector.
The acceleration detection unit 12 detects acceleration generated in the main body of the camera 1. The posture detection unit 13 detects the posture of the camera 1. More specifically, the posture detection unit 13 detects a state in which the photographing lens 31 faces the ground surface. The posture detection unit 13 can be constituted by an angular velocity sensor, for example.

  The contact detection unit 14 detects the contact of the photographer of the camera 1 with the hand on the body of the camera 1. FIG. 2 shows an example of the configuration of the contact detection unit 14. As illustrated in FIG. 2A, the contact detection unit 14 includes a current detection unit 141, a power supply unit 142, and a resistance unit 143. These current detection unit 141, power supply unit 142, and resistance unit 143 are equivalently connected in series to form a closed circuit. The current detection unit 141 detects the magnitude of the current flowing in the circuit. The power supply unit 142 is a power supply unit built in the camera 1. As the power supply unit 142 used for the contact detection unit 14, a power supply during power saving standby of the camera 1 is used. The resistance unit 143 is a resistance component of the main body of the camera 1. In other words, in the present embodiment, the main body of the camera 1 is made of metal, so that the camera 1 has a resistance component. In the configuration shown in FIG. 2A, when the photographer's hand comes into contact with the main body of the camera 1, as shown in FIG. 2B, the closure formed in the camera 1 through the photographer's hand is shown. The circuit is grounded. Thereby, the magnitude | size of the electric current detected by the electric current detection part 141 changes. It is possible to determine whether or not the photographer's hand has touched the main body of the camera 1 by determining the difference in current between the state of FIG.

Here, the contact detection unit 14 in FIG. 2 detects the contact of the photographer's hand by detecting the impedance change in the main body of the camera 1 as a current change. In addition, the contact of the photographer's hand may be detected by detecting a change in magnetic flux density in the main body of the camera 1.
The photographer state monitoring unit 15 detects a state in which the photographer holds the camera 1. The photographer state monitoring unit 15 is an imaging unit provided on the back surface of the camera 1, for example. That is, when the photographer is holding the camera 1, an image of the photographer holding the camera 1 is obtained via the photographer state monitoring unit 15. From this photographer's image, it is possible to detect that the photographer is holding the camera 1.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a state when the camera 1 according to the present embodiment is in use. The camera 1 according to the present embodiment is suitable for photographing a subject such as a bird that moves at a relatively high speed.
In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the camera 1 is turned off and is in a power saving standby state. In this state, the camera 1 is stored in, for example, a photographer's bag 20. In the present embodiment, when the camera 1 is in a power saving standby state, the acceleration detection unit 12 detects acceleration and the contact detection unit 14 detects contact of the photographer's hand.

  Here, when the photographer intends to photograph a bird flying in the sky as indicated by reference numeral 101 in FIG. 3, the photographer takes out the camera 1 from the cage 20 and then holds the camera 1 for photographing. Can be considered. In such a case, if the time from when the power source of the camera 1 is turned on until it becomes possible to take a picture becomes long, there is a high possibility of missing a photo opportunity.

For this reason, in this embodiment, when it is determined that the photographer has taken out the camera 1 from the bag 20, the camera 1 is activated immediately so that photographing can be performed. Hereinafter, such an activation mode is referred to as an emergency mode.
Details of the operation of the camera 1 will be described below. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the camera according to this embodiment. Prior to the operation of FIG. 4, the camera 1 is turned off and is in a power saving standby state. In the power saving standby state, the control microcomputer 2, the acceleration detection unit 12, and the contact detection unit 14 are in operation, and power is not supplied to the other blocks and is in a standby state.

  In the power saving standby state, the control microcomputer 2 determines whether or not the power switch of the operation unit 10 is turned on (step S1). In step S1, when the power switch of the operation unit 10 is turned on, the control microcomputer 2 activates the camera 1 in the normal mode. In the normal mode, each block of the camera 1 such as the imaging unit 4 and the display unit 6 is activated. Thereafter, an image capturing operation or an image reproducing operation is performed in accordance with the operation of the operation unit 10 by the photographer.

  In step S1, when the power switch of the operation unit 10 is not turned on, the control microcomputer 2 determines that the photographer's hand as a photographer is a camera based on the magnitude of the current detected by the contact detection unit 14. It is determined whether or not the main body 1 is touched (step S2). When the photographer's hand is not in contact with the main body of the camera 1 in the determination of step S2, the control microcomputer 2 executes the process of step S1 again.

  On the other hand, in the determination of step S2, when the photographer's hand is in contact with the main body of the camera 1, the control microcomputer 2 determines that the acceleration generated in the camera 1 from the output signal of the acceleration detector 12 is the first. It is determined whether or not it is greater than or equal to a predetermined value (step S3). When the acceleration generated in the camera 1 is not equal to or greater than the first predetermined value in the determination in step S3, the control microcomputer 2 starts counting of a timer (not shown). Thereafter, the control microcomputer 2 determines whether or not the timer has reached a predetermined count and the timer has timed out (step S4). If it is determined in step S4 that the timer has not timed out, the control microcomputer 2 executes step S2 again. On the other hand, when it is determined at step S4 that the timer has timed out, the control microcomputer 2 executes the process at step S1 again.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the power saving standby state is continued when the acceleration is not equal to or higher than the predetermined value even when the photographer's hand is in contact with the main body of the camera 1. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, acceleration is not detected when the photographer's hand is not in contact with the main body of the camera 1. This is a state in which the photographer as shown in FIG. For example, FIG. 5A shows a state where the main body of the camera 1 is stored in the bag 20. In this state, even if acceleration is generated in the camera 1, the power saving standby state is continued.

  In step S3, when the acceleration generated in the camera 1 is equal to or higher than the first predetermined value, the control microcomputer 2 activates the camera 1 in the emergency mode (step S5). In the power saving standby state, the photographer's hand is in contact with the main body of the camera 1 and the acceleration is above a certain level, for example, as shown in FIG. In this state, the main body of the camera 1 is being taken out. In such a case, the camera 1 is activated in the emergency mode on the assumption that the photographer intends to shoot.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a difference between the emergency mode and the normal mode. As shown in FIG. 6, in the emergency mode and the normal mode, (1) whether or not to mount the recording medium, (2) the recording destination of the captured image, (3) post-processing after shooting, (4) recording The five items of image type and (5) activated block are mainly different.

  First, the mounting operation of the recording medium (image recording unit 7) is not performed in the emergency mode, and the mounting operation of the image recording unit 7 is performed in the normal mode. The mounting operation of the recording medium takes a relatively long time. For this reason, in the emergency mode, the mounting operation is not performed immediately after the start-up, but is performed after the photographing is completed.

  Next, in the emergency mode, the recording destination of the captured image is the built-in memory 8 (or the memory unit 5), and in the normal mode, the recording destination of the captured image is the recording medium (the image recording unit 7). As described above, the mounting operation of the image recording unit 7 is not performed in the emergency mode, and the image recording unit 7 cannot be used. Therefore, in the emergency mode, the captured image recording destination is the internal memory 8 (memory unit 5).

  Next, as post-processing after shooting, it is necessary to perform various processes omitted in shooting in the emergency mode. This processing includes image processing for the captured image, mounting operation of the image recording unit 7, and subsequent recording processing of the captured image to the image recording unit 7. In the normal mode, since these processes are performed at the time of shooting, post-processing after shooting is unnecessary.

  Next, in the emergency mode, an image recorded as a captured image is a RAW image. The RAW image is an image that has been output from the AFE 44 and has not been subjected to image processing. On the other hand, in a normal image, an image recorded as a captured image is an image that has been subjected to various image processing such as JPEG processing. In the emergency mode, it is possible to take a plurality of images in particular by omitting image processing.

  As functions that are enabled at the time of activation, only functions necessary for a minimum photographing operation are effective in the emergency mode. 1 includes a control microcomputer 2, an imaging unit 4, a memory unit 5, a built-in memory unit 8, an acceleration detection unit 12, and a contact detection unit 14. On the other hand, the display unit 6 that takes time to start up is not started up. On the other hand, in the normal mode, all the blocks shown in FIG. 1 are valid.

  After activating the camera 1 in the emergency mode, the control microcomputer 2 determines whether the camera 1 is substantially stationary from the output signal of the acceleration detection unit 12, that is, the acceleration generated in the camera 1 is a first predetermined value. It is determined whether or not the value is equal to or smaller than a second predetermined value sufficiently smaller than the value (step S6). Then, the control microcomputer 2 stands by until the acceleration becomes equal to or lower than the second predetermined value. In step S6, after the acceleration generated in the camera 1 becomes equal to or less than the second predetermined value, the control microcomputer 2 executes an emergency photographing operation (step S7). In the emergency shooting operation, the imaging unit 4 is operated to perform imaging of the subject. Then, the image data (RAW image data) output from the AFE 44 by the operation of the imaging unit 4 is recorded in the built-in memory unit 8 (memory unit 5) without performing image processing. Thus, it is possible to shorten the time from the camera 1 until the photographing operation is performed by performing only the minimum necessary processing.

  After the emergency photographing operation is completed, the control microcomputer 2 activates the display unit 6 and displays the photographing end (step S8). In the photographing end display, as shown in FIG. 7, a character image 61 for notifying that an emergency photograph (RAW image) has been photographed by an emergency photographing operation is displayed instead of a RAW image obtained by photographing. . The reason why such a character image 61 is displayed is that a RAW image cannot be reproduced without image processing. In addition, as the character image 61 is displayed, it is desirable to display the index image 62 indicating the remaining number of shots. Further, in the present embodiment, a recording button 63 is displayed. The recording button 63 is a touch operation type button for the photographer to give an instruction to display a RAW image. Of course, a dedicated operation member corresponding to the recording button 63 may be provided. In the example of FIG. 7, the photographing end display is performed on the display unit 6. However, for the purpose of simply notifying the end of the emergency photographing operation, for example, notification may be performed using an LED. . In this case, it is necessary to provide the camera 1 with a dedicated operation member corresponding to the recording button 63.

  After the photographing end display, the control microcomputer 2 determines whether or not an image processing and recording instruction for the RAW image has been made by the photographer, that is, whether or not the recording button 63 has been turned on by the photographer (step S9). When the recording button 63 is not turned on in the determination in step S9, the control microcomputer 2 determines whether or not the release button of the operation unit 10 has been operated (step S10). If it is determined in step S10 that the release button has not been operated, the control microcomputer 2 starts counting a timer (not shown). Thereafter, the control microcomputer 2 determines whether or not the timer has reached a predetermined count and the timer has timed out (step S11). If it is determined in step S11 that the timer has not timed out, the control microcomputer 2 executes the process in step S9 again. On the other hand, when the timer has timed out in the determination of step S11, the control microcomputer 2 executes the process of step S1 again. In step S10, when the release button is operated, the control microcomputer 2 executes the emergency photographing operation in step S7.

  If the recording button 63 is turned on in step S9, the control microcomputer 2 performs the mounting operation of the image recording unit 7 and then records it in the built-in memory unit 8 (memory unit 5). All RAW images are subjected to image processing such as gamma correction processing and JPEG processing, and a compressed image obtained after the image processing is recorded in the image recording unit 7 (step S12).

  After recording the compressed image in the image recording unit 7, the control microcomputer 2 determines the end of the emergency photographing operation (step S13). As a condition for performing this determination, for example, when the power switch of the camera 1 is turned off, a state in which the photographing lens 31 faces the ground surface as shown in FIG. In this case, or when the photographer state monitoring unit 15 no longer detects the state in which the photographer holds the camera 1, the emergency photographing operation is terminated.

  If it is determined in step S13 that none of the conditions described above is satisfied, the emergency photographing operation is continued. In this case, the control microcomputer 2 determines whether the release button is turned on in step S10. On the other hand, in the determination in step S13, if any of the above-described conditions is satisfied, the process returns to step S1. In this case, the power source of the camera 1 is turned off, and the camera 1 enters the power saving standby state again.

  FIG. 9 is a timing chart showing the operation of FIG. As shown in FIG. 9, it is determined whether or not the photographer's hand is in contact with the main body of the camera 1 when the camera 1 is in the power saving standby state. In the case of non-contact, the power saving standby state is continued. If there is a hand contact in the power saving standby state, it is determined whether or not the acceleration is equal to or greater than a first predetermined value. Then, when the acceleration reaches the first predetermined value, the camera is recorded in the emergency mode. Thereafter, one emergency photographing operation is performed when the acceleration becomes equal to or less than the second predetermined value, and thereafter, the emergency photographing operation is performed every time the release button is operated. After the emergency photographing operation is completed, the power saving standby state is restored. When the power switch is turned on during the power saving standby mode, the camera 1 is activated in the normal mode.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, when an operation that the photographer takes out the camera 1 stored in the bag 20 or the like is detected, the camera 1 is activated in the emergency mode in which shooting can be performed immediately. ing. As a result, a photo opportunity is not missed even when there is a sudden need for shooting.

In addition, after the emergency photographing operation, a photographing end display is performed for the photographer. For this reason, the photographer can recognize that the emergency photographing operation has been correctly completed.
Here, in the above-described example, the imaging unit 4 and the built-in memory unit 8 (or the memory unit 5) are mainly operated during the emergency photographing operation. On the other hand, in the emergency mode, since it is considered that the photographer does not need to confirm the composition or the like, the display unit 6 that takes time to start is not started. Further, the focus adjustment of the photographing lens 31 is not performed because it takes a relatively long time. For this reason, the image obtained by the emergency photographing operation may be out of focus. In order to reduce this possibility, the photographing lens 31 may be driven to the wide angle end in the emergency mode. If it is at the wide-angle end, the possibility that the image will be out of focus can be reduced. Further, since it is possible to shoot with a wide angle of view, it is easy to capture a moving subject within the shooting range of the camera 1.

Although the present invention has been described above based on the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and applications are naturally possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention.
Further, the above-described embodiments include various stages of the invention, and various inventions can be extracted by appropriately combining a plurality of disclosed constituent elements. For example, even if some configuration requirements are deleted from all the configuration requirements shown in the embodiment, the above-described problem can be solved, and this configuration requirement is deleted when the above-described effects can be obtained. The configuration can also be extracted as an invention.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Camera, 2 ... Control microcomputer, 3 ... Lens part, 4 ... Imaging part, 5 ... Memory part, 6 ... Display part, 7 ... Image recording part, 8 ... Built-in memory part, 9 ... Sound processing part, 10 ... Operation unit, 11 ... flash light emitting unit, 12 ... acceleration detection unit, 13 ... posture detection unit, 14 ... contact detection unit, 15 ... photographer state monitoring unit

Claims (6)

An imaging unit that captures an image of the subject and obtains an image of the subject;
A first recording unit for recording an image of the subject;
A contact detection unit that detects contact of the operator's hand with the camera in a power saving standby state in which the power of the camera is off;
In the power saving standby state, an acceleration detection unit that detects acceleration accompanying movement of the camera;
In the power saving standby state, when the operator's hand touches the camera and the acceleration is equal to or higher than a first predetermined value, at least the imaging unit and the first recording unit are activated. A controller that activates the camera in an emergency mode that allows the image of the subject to be immediately recorded in the first recording unit;
A camera comprising:   The control unit causes the imaging unit to perform imaging when the acceleration is equal to or less than a second predetermined value that is smaller than the first predetermined value immediately after the camera is activated, and displays the image of the subject. The camera according to claim 1, wherein recording is performed by the first recording unit.   3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a notification unit that notifies that the image of the subject is recorded in the first recording unit after the image of the subject is recorded in the first recording unit. Camera described in. An image processing unit that performs image processing on the image of the subject recorded in the first recording unit after the notification by the notification unit;
A display unit for displaying an image of the subject image-processed by the image processing unit;
The camera according to claim 3, further comprising:   The camera according to claim 4, further comprising a second recording unit that records an image of the subject that has undergone image processing by the image processing unit.   6. The camera according to claim 5, wherein the first recording unit is built in the camera, and the second recording unit is detachable from the camera.

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