JP3201421B2 - Camera with gaze detection means - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a camera having a line-of-sight detecting means for detecting a line-of-sight position in a photographing screen and controlling the operation of the camera.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a camera provided with this kind of gaze detecting means measures a distance in a plurality of regions or a plurality of portions in a photographing screen, and divides a photographing screen into a plurality of parts to perform photometry. Detecting the position of the photographer's line of sight within the screen, selecting which part of the photographing screen is to be the main subject, and performing drive control and exposure control of the photographing lens (Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 1-241511, 2-5).

[0003]

However, in the camera provided with the above-mentioned conventional line-of-sight detecting means, the position for distance measurement or photometry is detected by the line of sight in the photographing screen. When the display inside is changed, the line of sight moves to that position, and the line of sight is detected at an incorrect position, so that there is a possibility that shooting that does not match the intention of the photographer may be performed.

An object of the present invention is to provide a camera provided with a visual line detecting means which prevents a photographer's visual line from moving and prevents erroneous detection of the visual line position by a display in a finder during visual line detection. It is to be.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a camera provided with a gaze detecting means according to the present invention comprises the following first to tenth solving means. A first solution is a camera provided with a line-of-sight detection unit that includes a line-of-sight detection unit that detects a line-of-sight position of a finder observer, and a display unit that performs display in the viewfinder. When repeatedly detecting , includes the photometry and the distance measurement repeatedly displayed by the display means.
In the display of the current camera settings, the
A display control means is provided for controlling a changing display so as to make the display form inconspicuous.

In a second solution, the display control means turns off the display on the display means when the visual axis detection means detects the visual axis.

In a third aspect, the display control means fixes the display on the display means when the visual line detection means detects the visual line.

In a fourth aspect of the present invention, the display control means reduces the illuminance on the display means when the visual axis detecting means detects the visual axis.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, when the display means displays an error even when the line-of-sight detecting means is detecting the line of sight, the display control device returns to the original display mode. It is configured to display.

[0010]

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a camera provided with a visual line detecting means including a visual line detecting means for detecting a visual line position of a finder observer, and a display means for displaying an image in the finder. A display control unit that causes the display unit to perform display when the detection position of the line-of-sight detection unit is outside the visual field frame, and that does not allow the display unit to perform display when the detection position is outside the visual field frame. . According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the sixth aspect, the display control device is configured such that, even when the detection position of the line-of-sight detection unit is within the visual field frame, the display unit displays an error. In this case, an error is displayed on the display means.

Eighth solution means includes a finder for observing a scene corresponding to a photographing screen, a sight line detecting means for detecting a sight line position of an observer of the finder, and a display means for performing display in the finder. And a display control means for generating a control signal for operating the display means, comprising:
An operation interrupting unit for interrupting the operation of the line-of-sight detecting unit in response to generation of a control signal indicating information indicating a failure of each part of the camera is provided. A ninth solution means is a finder for observing an object scene corresponding to a shooting screen, a sight line detecting means for detecting a sight line position of an observer of the finder,
In a camera provided with a line-of-sight detection unit including a display unit for performing display in the viewfinder, a display control unit that generates a control signal for operating the display unit, and a line- of- sight detection from the display control unit is impossible. Information that there is
And an operation interrupting unit for interrupting the operation of the line-of-sight detecting unit in response to the generation of a control signal for displaying
A tenth solution means includes manual operation means manually operated by the observer, wherein the display control means generates the control signal when manual operation is applied to the manual operation means. It can be a feature.

[0012]

According to the present invention, during the line-of-sight detection operation, the display in the viewfinder is set to an inconspicuous display form, for example, by turning off the display, fixing the display, or setting the illuminance to be low. Since the display is performed only when the line of sight looks out of the field of view, the line of sight of the photographer is not stimulated by the display in the viewfinder and does not move. In addition, in the case of an error display, the display is performed even while the line of sight is being detected. On the other hand, when the specific information is generated, the gaze detection is interrupted until the display of the specific information becomes unnecessary. When a display instruction is given by a manual operation, the line of sight detection is interrupted, and the display is brought into a normal state in which various displays can be visually recognized.

[0013]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a camera provided with a visual line detecting means of the present invention. The control means 1
The control means 1 controls the entire camera system. The control means 1 includes a line-of-sight detecting means 2, a setting means 3, a display means 4, a display control means 5, a distance measuring means 6, a lens driving means 7, a main switch MAIN-SW. , Half-press switch S
W1, a release switch SW2 and the like are connected.

The line-of-sight detecting means 2 is a means for detecting the point of gaze of the photographer in the viewfinder. One that detects the viewpoint (for example,
274736).

The setting means 3 is a means for transmitting information from the line-of-sight detecting means 2 and the like to the control means 1 and setting those values by a control signal from the control means 1.

The display means 4 is a means for displaying the photographing information set by the setting means 3.

The display control means 5 is an interface which drives the display means 4 and serves as an interface for exchanging information between the control means 1 and the display means 4. Is performed, and the state of the camera system control system is displayed on the display means 4 as necessary.

The distance measuring means 6 measures the photographing distance to the object by the light incident on the distance measuring element, and outputs the information to the control means 1, thereby calculating the movement amount of a focus adjusting lens (not shown). It is a means to do.

The lens driving means 7 drives and controls a photographic lens (not shown) in accordance with the amount of movement of the focusing lens calculated by the control means 1 with respect to the focal position detected by the distance measuring means 6. Means.

The main switch MAIN-SW is a switch for activating a control system of the camera system. Also,
The half-press switch SW1 is a switch that is turned on when the release button is half-pressed, and starts a series of operations in the line of sight detection. The release switch SW2 is turned on when the release button is fully pressed, and releases the shutter. Switch. Each switch MAIN-SW, SW1, SW
2 is monitored by the control means 1.

Next, referring to the block diagram of FIG.
The operation of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG.
5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the control means of the first embodiment of the camera provided with the visual line detection means according to the present invention. In step S200, when the main switch MAIN-SW is turned on, initialization of the control system is performed, and a series of control systems are in a state of waiting for activation.

In step S201, when the photographer half-presses a release button (not shown), a half-press switch SW1 is pressed.
Is turned on, and the gaze detection is activated, and step S202 is performed.
Proceed to. If the half-press switch SW1 is not turned on, the state of waiting for the activation of the line-of-sight detection remains.

In step S202, the display state is detected. If the display is on, the process proceeds to step S203. If the display is not on, the process proceeds to step S206, and the line of sight is detected immediately.

In step S203, control means 1
Monitors the state of the lit display via the display control means 2. If the display is a normal display, the process proceeds to step S204. If the error display needs to take precedence over the visual line detection in photographing, the process proceeds to step S204. Proceed to S208.

In step S204, the display control means 2 turns off the display so that the display does not attract the photographer's attention.

In step S205, if the line of sight is detected immediately after the display is turned off, the sight line may be deviated due to the stimulus for turning off the display. 50ms) Wait.
The waiting time may be the minimum time for returning to the original position even if the line of sight comes due to the stimulus caused by turning off the display.

In step S206, the line of sight is detected using the line of sight detecting means 5, and the line of sight detection position is determined.

In step S207, the setting means 4
Sets one of the plurality of ranging areas shown in FIG. 4 based on the set line-of-sight detection position.

In step S208, the display state of the display means 4 is monitored again. If the display is off, the process proceeds to step S209. If not, the process proceeds to step S21.
Go to 0.

In step S209, since the distance measuring position has already been set in step S207, the display is turned on again.

In step S210, the focus detection is performed by the distance measuring means 6 on the distance measuring area selected in step S207.

In step S211, step S2
Lens driving means 7 based on the focus detection result
Drives the photographing lens to the in-focus position.

In step S212, when the release switch SW2 is turned on by fully pressing the release button,
The process proceeds to step S213, and if it remains off in consideration of other control information and the like, the process returns to step S201.

In step S213, the release operation is started, and after the release is completed, step S201 is performed.
The process returns to and waits for the gaze detection to start.

3 and 4 are plan views showing a display unit for observing information, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a distance measurement area, and FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an error display. In a first embodiment,
Examples of normal display include an in-focus display and a photographing mode display as shown in FIG. 3. In particular, an example of an error display that is an object of step S203 as an error is an inability to detect focus as shown in FIG. Display and aperture setting mistakes can be cited.

In addition to the first embodiment, step S
Instead of turning off the display in step 204, the display content may be fixed, that is, the display content may not be changed, or the illuminance of the display may be reduced, and the display may be returned to the original display in step S209. In this way, the gaze is not guided against the will by the stimulus of the display.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a second embodiment of the camera provided with the visual line detecting means according to the present invention. In addition,
The circuit configuration is the same as that of FIG.
A description will be given based on FIG. In step S500, when the main switch MAIN-SW is turned on, the initialization of the control system is performed, and the apparatus enters a state of waiting for the activation of the line-of-sight detection.

In step S501, step S2
Similarly to 01, when the photographer half-presses the release button (not shown) and turns on the half-press switch SW1, the control means 1 monitoring the switch SW1 activates the line-of-sight detection. If the half-press switch SW1 is on, the process proceeds to step S502. If it is not on, the line of sight detection is in a standby state.

In step S502, the line-of-sight position is detected by the line-of-sight detecting means 2 and is taken into the control means 1.

In step S503, the control unit 1
Monitors the line-of-sight detection position of the line-of-sight detection means 2 and proceeds to step S504 if the position is outside the visual field frame A of the display unit, and proceeds to step S505 if within the visual field frame.

In step S504, control unit 1
Determines that the line of sight is out of the field of view and the photographer has moved his line of sight to see the display, and turns on the display means 3.

In step S505, the control means 1
Determines that the line of sight is under detection because the line of sight is within the field of view,
The AF ranging area in FIG. 3 is determined based on the line-of-sight detection position detected in step S502, and step S506 is performed.
Proceed to.

In step S506, control unit 1
Monitors the state of the lit display via the display control means 2 and proceeds to step S507 if it is a normal display, and to step S508 if it is an error display that needs to take precedence over gaze detection in photographing. Proceed to.

In step S507, the display control means 2 turns off the normal display because the line of sight is within the visual field frame.

In step S508, the control means 1 drives the lens to the in-focus position by the lens driving means 7 based on the distance value of the distance measuring means 6.

In step S509, step S2
Similarly to 12, when the release button (not shown) is fully pressed, the switch SW2 is turned on, and the control unit 1 proceeds to step S510. If the switch SW2 remains off, the process returns to step S501.

In step S510, the release operation is started, and after the release is completed, the flow returns to step S501, and the control means 1 is in a state of waiting for the activation of the line-of-sight detection.

In the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, a normal display example is shown in FIG. 3, and in particular, a display which is the target of step S506 as an error is shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a third embodiment of the camera provided with the visual line detecting means according to the present invention. In addition,
The circuit configuration is the same as that of FIG.
A description will be given based on FIG. The third embodiment is based on the following request. During the gaze detection operation, there is specific information to be displayed even if this operation is interrupted. Such specific information includes, for example, information indicating a failure of each part of the camera, information indicating that gaze detection is impossible because the intensity of light reflected from the eyeball is too weak, and the like. When this specific information occurs, it is desirable to suspend the line of sight detection until the display of the specific information becomes unnecessary. In addition, various displays (various displays as shown in FIG. 3) are turned off or the illuminance of the display is reduced during the operation of gaze detection. However, it may be necessary to visually recognize the various displays. Therefore, it is desirable that the line-of-sight detection is interrupted even when the camera user performs a display command operation, and the various displays are performed in a normal state in which the display is visible or easy to view.

The processing shown in FIG. 6 is executed by the control means 1, and is executed in step S806 in FIG. 2 and step S5 in FIG.
02 can be exchanged. In FIG.
In step S1000, gaze detection is performed for a certain period of time. If the gaze detection is not completed, that is, even if the gaze detection position cannot be determined, the process proceeds to step S1001 if a certain period of time has elapsed from the start of gaze detection. In addition,
On the other hand, the line-of-sight detection processing of step S206 in FIG. 2 and step S502 in FIG. 5 did not shift to the next step until the line-of-sight detection was completed.

Next, in step S1001, it is determined whether or not the specific information has been generated.
Proceed to step S1002. In step S1002,
It is determined whether or not a predetermined manual operation for restarting the various displays has been performed. This manual operation determination
This is performed by connecting a normally closed switch (not shown) that is closed only when a push button (not shown) is pressed to the control means 1 and monitoring the state of this switch.

In the case of a negative result in step S1002, it is determined whether or not the visual line detection has been completed, that is, whether or not the visual line detection position has been determined. If the result is affirmative, the process proceeds to the next process (S1006). If the result is negative, the process returns to step S1000 and returns to step S1001.
Result in step S1002, affirmative result in step S1
These steps are repeated until one of the negative results in 003 is obtained.

If a positive result is obtained in step S1001,
That is, if it is determined that specific information has been generated, the process proceeds to step S1005, the display of the specific information is displayed in the field of view of the finder, and the process returns to step S1001. Therefore, the display of the specific information in the finder field frame is continued as long as a positive result is obtained in step S1001. The reason for not returning to step S1000 after step S1005 to perform line-of-sight detection is that, when the specific information is displayed in the viewfinder field frame, it is almost certain that the display is gazed at. This is because there is a high possibility that it will become meaningless even if it is performed.

If an affirmative result is obtained in step S1002, that is, if it is determined that a display command operation has been performed, the flow advances to step S1006 to display various lights that have been turned off or whose illuminance has been reduced. Is displayed outside the viewfinder's field of view, and the process returns to step S1002. Therefore, the various displays are performed in step S1002.
Is continued as long as a positive result is obtained. Step S1005
After that, the reason for not performing gaze detection by returning to step S1000 is that it is almost certain that the user is looking at this display when performing the above-described display command operation. This is because it is likely to be meaningful.

Various modifications can be made without being limited to the embodiment described above. For example, in the case of an error display,
The display may be switched from visual display to auditory display. Further, when information that greatly affects shooting is input, resetting can be performed.

[0056]

As described above, the display in the viewfinder during photographing reduces the possibility of inadvertently drawing the photographer's attention, and prevents erroneous detection of a line of sight that does not suit the photographer's will. Accurate distance measurement and photometry position can be selected. Therefore, even in a camera provided with a line-of-sight detecting means, control such as multi-point distance measurement and divided photometry can be performed more accurately. On the other hand, when specific information is generated, the gaze detection is interrupted until the display of the specific information is no longer necessary, or when a display instruction is given by a manual operation, the gaze detection is interrupted and various displays can be visually recognized. Since the normal state is set, various displays can be reliably performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of a camera provided with a visual line detecting means according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a first embodiment of a camera equipped with a gaze detecting unit according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view illustrating a distance measurement area of a display unit according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing an error display according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a second embodiment of the camera provided with the visual line detecting means according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a third embodiment of the camera provided with the visual line detecting means according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 control means 2 display control means 3 display means 4 setting means 5 line-of-sight detecting means 6 distance measuring means 7 lens driving means MAIN-SW main switch SW1 half-press switch SW2 release switch

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-2-6340 (JP, A) JP-A-3-87818 (JP, A) JP-A-2-32312 (JP, A) JP-A-3-323 45940 (JP, A) JP-A-1-219728 (JP, A) JP-A-1-149625 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G02B 7/28-7 / 40 G03B 7/00-7/28 G03B 13/00-13/28 G03B 15/00-15/035 G03B 15/06-15/16

Claims (10)

(57) [Claims] 1. A camera provided with a line-of-sight detecting means for detecting a line-of-sight position of a finder observer, and a display means for performing display in the viewfinder, wherein the line-of-sight detecting means repeatedly detects the line of sight. The display means includes the photometry and the distance measurement repeatedly displayed by the display means.
In the display of the current camera settings, the
A camera equipped with a line-of-sight detecting means, comprising: display control means for controlling a changing display so as to make the display form inconspicuous. 2. The gaze detecting unit according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit turns off the display on the display unit when the gaze detecting unit detects the gaze. camera. 3. The gaze detecting unit according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit fixes the display on the display unit when the gaze detecting unit detects the gaze. camera. 4. The gaze detecting unit according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit sets the display on the display unit to low illuminance when the gaze detecting unit detects the gaze. Equipped camera. 5. The display control device according to claim 1, wherein even when the line-of-sight detection unit detects a line of sight, if the display unit displays an error, the error is displayed in the original display form. A camera comprising the visual line detection means according to claim 1. 6. A camera provided with a line-of-sight detecting means for detecting a line-of-sight position of a finder observer, and a display means for performing display in the finder, wherein the detection position of the line-of-sight detecting means is a visual field. A camera provided with a visual line detection means, comprising: display control means for causing the display means to perform display when outside the frame, and for not allowing the display means to perform display when within the visual field frame. 7. The display control device according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit performs an error display on the display unit when the display unit displays an error even when the detection position of the visual line detection unit is within the visual field frame. A camera provided with the visual line detecting means according to claim 6. 8. A gaze detection system comprising: a finder for observing an object scene corresponding to a shooting screen; a gaze detection unit for detecting a gaze position of an observer of the finder; and a display unit for performing display in the finder. A display control means for generating a control signal for operating the display means, and information indicating a failure of each part of the camera from the display control means.
A camera provided with a line-of-sight detecting means, comprising an operation interrupting means for interrupting the operation of the line-of-sight detecting means in response to generation of a control signal to be displayed . 9. A line-of-sight detection comprising: a finder for observing an object scene corresponding to a photographing screen; a line-of-sight detecting means for detecting a line-of-sight position of an observer of the finder; and a display means for displaying within the finder. A display control means for generating a control signal for operating the display means, and a gaze detection from the display control means being impossible.
A camera equipped with a line-of-sight detecting means, further comprising an operation interrupting means for interrupting the operation of the line-of-sight detecting means in response to the generation of a control signal for displaying the indicated information . 10. A display device, comprising: manual operation means manually operated by the observer; wherein the display control means generates the control signal when manual operation is applied to the manual operation means. A camera comprising the line-of-sight detection means according to claim 8.