JP2019053150A - Imaging apparatus, control method thereof, computer program, and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

To notify a user that a replaceable imaging lens has been removed.SOLUTION: An imaging lens 160 is removable from a camera body 110. A proximity sensor 152 detects that an optical finder eyepiece window 118 is close to eyes, or the like, of a user. An attitude sensor 156 detects attitude of the camera body 110. When the imaging lens 160 is removed and the proximity sensor 152 detects proximity, and when an output from the attitude sensor 158 indicates hat the camera body 110 faces up, a camera MPU 122 causes a buzzer 154 to output a warning. When the same imaging lens is mounted or a predetermined passcode is input, the camera MPU 122 stops the warning output from the buzzer 154.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus, an imaging apparatus control method, a computer program, and a storage medium.

  In the case of interchangeable lens cameras, the types of interchangeable photographic lenses are diversifying, high-performance high-quality photographic lenses are increasing, and theft damage has been reported.

  At the time of carrying other than the photographing operation, it is general that a strap connected to the camera body is hung from the shoulder so that the photographing lens faces outward from the user's body. In such a shoulder state, even if someone removes the taking lens from the camera body, it is difficult for the owner to notice.

  To deal with such a problem, Patent Document 1 describes a configuration in which when a camera movement is detected by a GPS signal and the camera lens is moved from the initial position by a certain amount or more, the photographing lens is locked by a lens lock pin and cannot be removed. Has been.

  Patent Document 2 describes a configuration in which a fingerprint sensor is provided on the surface of a lens release button for removing a photographing lens, and the operation of the lens release button is validated only when it matches the registered fingerprint of the user. When the lens release button is operated with the finger of the registered fingerprint, the actuator releases the lens lock pin and enables the taking lens to be attached and detached.

JP 2012-043045 A JP 2012-159627 A

  In the techniques described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, an actuator such as a motor or a plunger is required to drive the lens lock pin, resulting in an increase in cost.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an imaging apparatus, an imaging apparatus control method, a computer program, and a storage medium that can detect and suppress theft of a photographic lens at an early stage with a cheaper configuration.

  In order to achieve the above object, an imaging apparatus according to the present invention is an imaging apparatus in which a photographic lens can be removed from a main body, and detects a posture sensor and a proximity sensor disposed on the back side of the main body. In a state in which the lens information cannot be acquired via the communication contact, the alarm means, and the communication contact that allows the lens sensor to acquire lens information from the shooting lens, which is electrically connected to the posture sensor and the mounted shooting lens. Control means for controlling a warning output by the warning means in accordance with a determination result of each detection output of the proximity sensor and the attitude sensor.

  According to the present invention, it can be detected with an inexpensive configuration that the photographing lens is detached from the main body while the user is hanging from the shoulder, and theft can be suppressed.

It is a schematic block diagram of one Example of this invention. It is a back perspective view of the camera main body which comprises a present Example. It is a flowchart of the control operation | movement of anti-theft of a present Example. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a posture held by a photographer while looking through a viewfinder. It is a schematic diagram of the attitude | position which the photographer took the eyes from the finder. It is a schematic diagram of the state where the photographer is hung the camera from the shoulder with the camera strap. It is a schematic diagram of a mode that a photographer is exchanging lenses. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the object distance close | similar to a proximity sensor of this Example, and a determination threshold value.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically illustrating the configuration of an embodiment of an imaging apparatus according to the present invention. The imaging apparatus according to the present embodiment is realized as a single-lens reflex camera 100 including a camera body 110 and a photographing lens 160. The taking lens 160 can be detached from the camera body 110 and can be exchanged. FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the camera body 110.

  The imaging light flux from the subject passes through the imaging optical system of the imaging lens 160 and enters the camera body 110. A part of the light beam incident on the camera body 110 is reflected by the quick return mirror 112 whose central portion is a half mirror during preparation for photographing, and becomes an erect image at the pentaprism 114. The photographer can visually confirm the erect image as a subject image through the finder optical system 116 and the finder eyepiece window 118. The photometric sensor 120 measures the illuminance on a focus plate surface (not shown) disposed on the bottom surface of the pentaprism 114 and inputs the measurement result to the camera MPU 122. A sub mirror 124 is disposed on the back surface of the quick return mirror 112. The sub mirror 124 causes part of the light beam that has passed through the half mirror surface of the quick return mirror 112 to enter the distance measuring unit 126.

  When the photographing operation is started, the quick return mirror 112 and the sub mirror 124 are retracted to the pentaprism 114 side, and the focal plane shutter unit 128 is driven by the shutter drive circuit 130 and the drive motor 132. The focal plane shutter unit 128 includes a shutter front curtain and a shutter rear curtain. The photographic light beam forms an image on the imaging surface of the imaging unit 134 as a photographic optical image. The imaging unit 134 includes a CCD image sensor or a CMOS image sensor. The imaging unit 134 photoelectrically converts the incident photographic optical image and outputs a captured image signal.

  Since this embodiment is described as a single-lens reflex camera, the quick return mirror 112, the sub mirror 124, the pentaprism 114, the optical finder (the optical system 116 and the eyepiece window 118), and the photometric sensor 120 are mounted. The present invention can be applied even if all or some of these are not mounted.

  The A / D converter 136 converts the captured image signal output from the imaging unit 134 from an analog signal to digital image data. The image processing circuit 138 performs filter processing, color conversion processing, gamma processing, and the like on the image data output from the A / D converter 136. The image data signal-processed by the image processing circuit 138 is stored in the buffer memory 140, displayed on an LCD (liquid crystal display) 142, and recorded on a removable memory card 144. A touch panel that can be operated by touching the photographer with a finger is superimposed on the screen of the LCD 142.

  The operation unit 146 includes switches for setting a shooting mode of the camera, setting of a recording image file size, and a touch panel of the LCD 142. The focus button 148 is a button that instructs the camera MPU 122 that controls the entire camera body 110 to start a focusing operation. The release button 150 is a button for instructing the camera MPU 122 to start a shooting operation. In general, the focus button 148 and the release button 150 are made of the same member, and the focus button 148 is turned on when the two-stage switch is half-pressed, and the release button 150 is turned on when the switch is fully pressed.

  In addition to controlling the entire camera body 110, the camera MPU 122 communicates with the lens MPU 176 through the lens communication contact 210. In this communication, the camera MPU 122 transmits a focus drive command to the photographing lens 160, and exchanges data such as the operation state and optical information of the camera body 110 and the photographing lens 160, and an individual identification number of the photographing lens 160.

  In the photographing lens 160, a focus lens 162, a zoom lens 164, and a diaphragm 166 are disposed as a part of the photographing optical system. The taking lens 160 is mechanically connected to the camera body 110 via a camera mount 180.

  The focus lens 162 is driven by the control signal from the lens MPU 176 via the focus control circuit 168 and the focus lens driving motor 170. The zoom lens 164 moves when the photographer operates a zoom operation ring (not shown). The diaphragm 166 is driven via a diaphragm control circuit 172 and a drive motor 174 by a control signal from the lens MPU 176.

  A proximity sensor 152 is disposed on the back surface of the camera body 110, particularly in the vicinity of the eyepiece window 118 of the optical viewfinder. The proximity sensor 152 detects whether or not an object exists within a certain distance or a distance equivalent value to the object. For example, the proximity sensor 152 can detect whether the photographer is approaching the face and looking through the eyepiece window 118, and the camera MPU 122 controls turning off the LCD 142 in accordance with this detection signal. It is possible to prevent the photographer from being dazzled by the LCD 142 and to reduce wasteful power consumption.

  The buzzer 154 of the camera body 110 is used for generating a warning sound to be described later. Instead of the buzzer 154, a general speaker may be used and a warning sound may be generated from the speaker.

  The attitude sensor 156 detects the attitude of the camera body 110. The camera MPU 122 determines whether the photographer is holding the camera body 110 in the vertical position or the horizontal position at the time of shooting according to the detection output of the attitude sensor 156, and embeds the determination result in the image. Thereby, when displaying a photographed image, it becomes possible to control the display direction of the photographed image according to the orientation at the time of photographing.

  The strobe 158 is a light emitting unit that emits light toward a subject when the surrounding environment is dark.

  The camera MPU 122 alerts the photographer (owner) when the photographing lens 160 is unintentionally removed from the camera body 110. This prevents the taking lens 160 from being stolen. FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of the control procedure. The camera MPU 122 implements the control procedure shown in FIG. 3 by loading a control program stored in the built-in ROM into the built-in RAM and executing it.

  4 shows a state in which the photographer holds the camera shown in FIG. 1 while looking through the eyepiece window 118 of the optical viewfinder, and FIG. 5 shows a state in which the photographer keeps his eyes away from the eyepiece window 118 horizontally. FIG. 6 shows a state where the photographer is hanging the camera 100 from the shoulder with a camera strap. FIG. 7 shows a situation where the photographer is changing lenses. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the detection distance of the proximity sensor 152 and the determination threshold value. In FIG. 8, the horizontal axis indicates the distance from the proximity sensor 152, and the vertical axis indicates the determination threshold.

  The proximity determination threshold value dx based on the detection output of the proximity sensor 152 will be described. First, the threshold value dx is set such that the photographer looks into the eyepiece window 118 as shown in FIG. 4 (distance d0) and the photographer is looking at the screen of the LCD 142 as shown in FIG. 5 (distance d2). Set it so that it can be identified. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, the threshold value dx is set so that d0 <dx <d2. The camera MPU 122 determines that the state illustrated in FIG. 4 is “detection” (or “proximity”) according to the output of the proximity sensor 152, and the state illustrated in FIG. 5 is “non-detection state” (or “non-proximity state”). judge. By setting the threshold value dx in this way, the camera MPU 122 can distinguish between the state shown in FIG. 4 and the state shown in FIG. The camera MPU 122 automatically turns off the LCD 142 for the “detection state”. As a result, the photographer can concentrate on photographing without being dazzled even if he looks into the eyepiece window 118.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 6, in the state where the strap 159 attached to the camera body 110 is hung from the shoulder and the camera 100 is carried, the proximity sensor 152 is close to the body side of the photographer (holder). If the distance between the proximity sensor 152 and the photographer at this time is d1, the threshold value dx is set so that d1 <dx. Thereby, the camera MPU 122 determines that the state shown in FIG. 6 is “detected state” as shown in FIG.

  In the operation in which the photographer replaces the photographing lens 160 attached to the camera body 110, the posture as shown in FIG. That is, the photographer attaches and detaches the photographic lens 160 while holding the photographic lens 160 while holding the photographic lens 160 with the left hand and holding the photographic lens 160 with the right hand. At this time, if the camera main body 110 and the photographer's torso are close enough to touch each other, the left hand and the torso approach each other, and the camera main body 110 cannot be gripped with the left hand. For this reason, it is common to replace the photographic lens 160 with a space between the camera body 110 and the photographer. In this situation, the proximity sensor 152 and the photographer's torso have a certain distance d3 or more, and the threshold value dx is set so as to satisfy d3> dx with respect to this distance d3 as shown in FIG.

  On the other hand, it can also be assumed that the lens is exchanged with the back side of the camera body 110 placed on a flat surface such as a desk. At this time, the distance between the proximity sensor 152 and the object (desk) is approximately d0 regardless of the lens replacement operation, so the camera MPU 122 determines that the state is “detection state”. At the same time, the camera MPU 122 can determine that the posture of the camera body 110 is the bottom surface and the photographing lens 160 side is directed upward based on the detection output of the posture sensor 156. From these determination results, the camera MPU 122 can determine that the lens has been replaced while the back surface of the camera is in contact with the plane.

  A characteristic control operation of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  In step S <b> 300, the camera MPU 122 receives a passcode input by a user operation on the operation unit 146 including the touch panel on the surface of the LCD 142. The camera MPU 122 stores the input passcode in a built-in memory.

  In step S <b> 301, the camera MPU 122 activates the proximity sensor 152 and starts capturing the detection output of the proximity sensor 152.

  In step S <b> 302, the camera MPU 122 determines whether lens information such as the individual identification number of the photographing lens 160 can be acquired. If acquisition is possible, the camera MPU 122 proceeds to S303. If acquisition is not possible, the camera MPU 122 determines that the photographing lens 160 is not attached, and re-executes S302. That is, the camera MPU 122 waits for the photographing lens 160 to be properly attached and to be in a state where it can communicate with the lens MPU 176 appropriately.

  In S303, the camera MPU 122 stores the data acquired from the photographic lens 160 attached in S302 in the built-in memory, and proceeds to S304.

  In step S <b> 304, the camera MPU 122 acquires lens information from the attached shooting lens 160 at a predetermined time interval again in order to identify whether the shooting lens 160 is attached to the camera body 110. If the lens information cannot be obtained, the camera MPU 122 determines that the taking lens 160 has been removed, and proceeds to S306. If the lens information can be acquired, the photographing lens 160 remains attached, so the camera MPU 122 determines that the normal photographing operation is performed in S305, and returns to S304.

  In step S <b> 306, the camera MPU 122 compares the detection distance of the proximity sensor 152 with the threshold value dx to determine whether the “detection state” is set. If it is determined as “detection state”, the camera MPU 122 proceeds to S307, and if it is determined as “non-detection state”, the process proceeds to S308. In step S <b> 307, the camera MPU 122 determines whether the camera body 110 is facing upward based on the output of the attitude sensor 156. If it is upward, the camera MPU 122 proceeds to S308, and if it is other than upward, it proceeds to S309.

  In step S308, the camera MPU 122 determines that the lens replacement operation is normal. In order to determine whether or not a new photographing lens is attached, the camera MPU 122 returns to S302.

  That is, the photographing lens 160 has been removed (N in S304). At this time, if the distance between the back side of the camera body 110 and the photographer is equal to or greater than the threshold value dx (N in S306), the photographer It is determined as a normal lens exchange operation. Even if the distance between the back side of the camera body 110 and the photographer is less than the threshold dx (Y in S306), if the camera body 110 is facing upward (Y in S307), the camera body 110 is placed on a desk or the like and the taking lens 160 is placed. It can be determined that the lens is changed by the photographer.

  In step S <b> 309, the camera MPU 122 determines that an abnormal lens exchange operation, specifically, an unintended lens exchange by a third party. This is because it can be assumed that the photographer has removed the photographing lens 160 while the camera strap 159 is hung from the shoulder.

  In S310, the camera MPU 122 issues a warning to the photographer to prevent theft. The warning may be a warning sound from the buzzer 154 or the strobe 158 may emit light.

  In S311 and subsequent steps following S310, the camera MPU 122 determines the warning output stop requirement from the buzzer 154.

  In step S <b> 311, the camera MPU 122 determines whether lens information from the photographing lens 160 can be acquired. That is, the camera MPU 122 determines whether or not the photographic lens 160 of the same model or a different model is remounted. The camera MPU 122 repeats S311 until some lens information can be acquired. If the lens information can be acquired, the camera MPU 122 proceeds to S312.

  In step S312, the camera MPU 122 compares the lens information stored in step S311 with the lens information acquired in step S304. When both lens information is the same, the camera MPU 122 determines that the same photographing lens has been reattached, and proceeds to S313. If the two lens information is different, the camera MPU 122 determines that another photographing lens is attached and proceeds to S314.

  In step S313, the camera MPU 122 stops outputting the warning and returns to step S304.

  In step S <b> 314, the camera MPU 122 requests the photographer to input a predetermined passcode in order to determine whether the newly mounted photographing lens has been changed by the photographer. The passcode is determined in advance by the user and stored in the camera body 110. The user inputs a password to the camera MPU 122 by operating the operation unit 146 (its touch panel). The method of inputting the passcode is an example, and other methods such as voice input and specific key combination operation may be used.

  In step S315, the camera MPU 122 determines whether the passcode input by the photographer in step S314 matches the set passcode. If they do not match, the camera MPU 122 returns to S311 and continues to issue a warning. If they match, the camera MPU 122 stops outputting the warning in S316. After S316, the camera MPU 122 returns to S303 in order to obtain lens information of the mounted photographing lens.

  The mounting and removal of the photographing lens 160 may be continuously detected by electrical connection of the communication contact 182 or a mechanical switch. In this case, in response to detection of the removal of the photographic lens 160, the camera MPU 122 controls the determination of unintentional removal and the start of warning based on the determination result in the same processing as S306 to S310. In response to detection of the mounting of the photographic lens 160 after the start of the warning, the camera MPU 122 determines whether or not the warning needs to be stopped by a process similar to S311 to S316.

  The proximity sensor 152 and the attitude sensor 156 are both hardware components that have been or have been employed in other applications. Therefore, in order to realize the functions of the above-described embodiment, a control program that operates on the camera MPU 122 may be added, and the cost required to implement the embodiment is low. Furthermore, it is possible to incorporate the functions of this embodiment into an existing camera having the proximity sensor 152 and the attitude sensor 156 by updating the firmware.

  As mentioned above, although preferable embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to these embodiment, A various deformation | transformation and change are possible within the range of the summary.

  The various controls described as being performed by the camera MPU 122 may be performed by a single piece of hardware, or a plurality of pieces of hardware (for example, a plurality of processors and circuits) share the processing to control the entire apparatus. You may go.

  Although the present invention has been described in detail based on preferred embodiments thereof, the present invention is not limited to these specific embodiments, and various forms within the scope of the present invention are also included in the present invention. . Furthermore, each embodiment mentioned above shows only one embodiment of this invention, and it is also possible to combine each embodiment suitably.

  (Other Embodiments) The present invention can also be realized by executing the following processing. That is, software (program) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus via a network or various storage media, and a computer (or CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or apparatus reads the program code. To be executed. In this case, the program and the storage medium storing the program constitute the present invention.

Claims (11)

An imaging device capable of removing a taking lens from a main body,
A proximity sensor disposed on the back side of the main body;
An attitude sensor for detecting the attitude of the main body;
A communication contact that is electrically connected to the photographic lens in a mounted state and allows lens information to be acquired from the photographic lens;
Alarm means;
Control means for controlling a warning output by the warning means according to a determination result of each detection output of the proximity sensor and the attitude sensor in a state where the lens information cannot be acquired via the communication contact. apparatus.   The control means can acquire new lens information via the communication contact in a state where the warning is output, and the acquired new lens information includes the lens information acquired before outputting the warning. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein in the same case, output of the warning by the warning unit is stopped.   3. The imaging according to claim 1, wherein the control unit stops the output of the warning by the warning unit according to a predetermined operation by a photographer in a state where the warning is being output. apparatus.   When the control unit detects proximity when the lens information cannot be acquired via the communication contact, and the detection output of the posture sensor indicates that the main body is in a predetermined direction. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the warning unit outputs the warning.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the predetermined direction is an orientation other than an upward direction of the main body.   The control means, when the proximity sensor detects proximity in a state where the lens information cannot be acquired via the communication contact, and the detection output of the posture sensor indicates that the main body is upward, The imaging apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the warning unit does not output the warning.   The proximity determination threshold by the proximity sensor is determined to be proximity when the photographer is looking through the optical viewfinder and when the proximity sensor is facing the holder's body side while the body is hung from a shoulder. The imaging apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the imaging apparatus is set as follows.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the alarm unit is a buzzer. An imaging device capable of removing a taking lens from a main body,
A proximity sensor disposed on the back side of the main body;
An attitude sensor for detecting the attitude of the main body;
A communication contact that is electrically connected to the photographic lens in a mounted state and allows lens information to be acquired from the photographic lens;
A method for controlling an imaging device comprising an alarm means,
Detecting the mounting and removal of the photographic lens on the main body;
Determining proximity to the proximity sensor;
Determining the posture of the main body by the posture sensor;
An image pickup apparatus comprising: a control step for controlling a warning output by the alarm means according to a proximity determination result of the proximity sensor and a determination result of the attitude of the attitude sensor when removal of the photographing lens is detected. Control method.   The program for functioning a computer as each means of the imaging device described in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 8.   A computer-readable storage medium storing a program for causing a computer to function as each unit of the imaging apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

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