JP3344757B2 - Focus area setting device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a focus area setting device for detecting a moving amount of a line of sight of a photographer and setting a focus area using information on the moving amount of the line of sight.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, input of various types of information to a photographing apparatus such as a camera has been performed by, for example, a dial or a button. As the input information increases, the operation environment becomes complicated. For example, JP-A-63-194237, JP-A-04-307506, and the like disclose a technique of detecting a line-of-sight direction of a photographer looking into a finder and inputting information to a camera based on the line-of-sight information.

Further, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 04-163537 and 04-171427, the gaze time is detected by a camera having a multi-point distance measuring function, and the gaze time /
A technique for controlling a camera such as focus control according to the amount of motion is disclosed.

[0004] Also, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Sho 59-146028,
JP-A-59-193307, JP-A-01-276
Japanese Patent Publication No. 106/106 or the like discloses a technique relating to selection of ranging data after multi-point ranging of a camera.

Furthermore, it is known that the focus detection rate of the current distance measurement data selected by the current multi-point distance measurement is quite high, and that the movement of the line of sight within a short time when watching is stable. Have been. It is said that the main subject is predominantly arranged at the center also in photographing.

[0006]

However, although the focusing rate is increased by the distance measurement algorithm of the multi-point distance measurement, an incorrect distance measurement data may still be selected depending on photographing conditions.

Further, when a focus area is selected based on information of a photographer's line of sight, it is necessary to pay close attention to the focus area at the focus area selection timing, which imposes a considerable burden on the photographer. And
If the wrong focus area is selected due to timing or the like, the focusing rate is reduced.

In addition, a highly accurate gaze direction detection that prevents erroneous detection due to timing or the like in a plurality of times of detection requires a detection time and increases a shutter time lag more than necessary. To improve the accuracy, for example, a two-dimensional CCD
(Charge Coupled Device) or other high-resolution sensor is required, and the cost is high and the mounting is large.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to provide a low-cost and simple configuration.
An object of the present invention is to select only a distance measurement value that captures the photographer's intention by detecting only the amount of movement of the line of sight of the photographer and adding the movement of the line of sight as information on a plurality of distance measurements.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention calculates the amount of movement of the photographer's line of sight pointed into the viewfinder, and sequences various operations based on the information on the amount of line of sight. In the focus area setting apparatus executed by the method, a distance measuring means for detecting a subject distance for a plurality of distance measuring points, and a line of sight center of gravity for detecting only a plurality of center of gravity of fundus reflection or corneal reflection of the photographer at predetermined time intervals Detecting means, means for storing the coordinate data of the position of the center of gravity detected by the line-of-sight center-of-gravity position detecting means, initialize means for initializing the sequence, and a plurality of positions detected by the line-of-sight center-of-gravity position detecting means after the initialization. A gaze shift amount is calculated from a difference between the maximum value and the minimum value of the coordinate data of the center of gravity, and the shift amount is calculated from a predetermined amount. A distance-measuring point selecting means for selecting the plurality of distance-measuring points when the distance is smaller, and selecting one of the plurality of distance-measuring points when the moving amount is smaller than a predetermined amount; It is characterized by having.

[0011]

[0012]

In other words, the focus area setting means of the present invention comprises:
A plurality of center-of-gravity positions of the photographer's fundus reflection or corneal reflection are detected at predetermined time intervals by the line-of-sight center-of-gravity position detecting means, and coordinate data of the center-of-gravity position detected by the line-of-sight center-of-gravity position detecting means are stored in the storage means. The sequence is initialized by the initialization means.
Then, the distance-measuring-point selecting means calculates the gaze movement amount from the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value of the coordinate data of the plurality of barycentric positions detected by the gaze center-of-gravity position detecting means after the initialization. When the amount is larger than the predetermined amount, a plurality of ranging points are selected, and when the moving amount is smaller than the predetermined amount, one ranging point is selected from the plurality of ranging points.

[0013]

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Before describing the embodiments of the present invention, the principle of gaze detection employed in the embodiments of the present invention will be described. There are various methods for detecting the direction of the line of sight, and here, as a method applicable to a camera, a method of detecting using a Purkinje image and a reflection image of the fundus, or an edge of an iris will be briefly described.

As shown in FIG. 15, generally, when light 95 passes through the eyeball 90, reflection occurs at each interface. That is,
Anterior corneal surface 91, posterior corneal surface 91 ', anterior surface 93' of lens,
It is reflected at each interface of the posterior surface 93 "of the lens, and the image formed by these reflections is well known to those skilled in the art and is commonly referred to as the Purkinje image. The first Purkinje image, the second Purkinje image, the third Purkinje image, and the fourth Purkinje image from the anterior corneal surface 91, respectively.
It is called a Purkinje image. In the figure, reference numeral 92 denotes an iris, 93 denotes a crystalline lens, 94 denotes a retina, and 97 denotes a sclera.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the line of sight is detected using the first Purkinje image. The first Purkinje image is a virtual image of a light source formed by light reflected from the front surface 91 of the cornea, and is simply a corneal image. This is the strongest reflection image also called a reflection image.

The first Purkinje image 95a which is the reflection image
Is shown by FIG. 16, the light is projected on the eyeball 90,
When the reflected image is captured, a first Purkinje image 95a having a high light receiving output is detected. It is difficult to detect a Purkinje image other than the first Purkinje image 95a because the amount of reflected light is weak and the position where the reflected image can be formed is different.

When the light is projected on the eyeball 90, the fundus image is detected as a silhouette of the periphery 99 of the pupil by the reflected light 95b from the fundus. Reflected image 95 from this fundus
b is shown in FIG. 16 together with the first Purkinje image 95a, and the gaze direction is detected using these two images.

The detected image changes as shown in FIG. 17 due to the rotation of the eyeball.

That is, when the optical axis 98 of the eyeball 90 is parallel to the light beam projected to the eye, as shown in FIG.
The center of the fundus image 95b, that is, the center of the pupil coincides with the center of the first Purkinje image 95a. Then, when the eyeball 90 rotates, the optical axis 98 rotates around the rotation center 90c of the eyeball 90 as shown in FIG. In that case, the center of the fundus image 95b can be received at different positions on the sensor pixel row that receives the reflected light from the eye. Further, the center of the first Purkinje image 95a receives light at a position relatively different from the center of the fundus image 95b. This is because the center of the curved surface in front of the cornea 91 is different from the center of rotation of the eyeball.

Therefore, the amount of rotation and the amount of shift of the eyeball 90 of the photographer looking through the finder can be obtained from the displacement of the absolute position of the two images with respect to the sensor pixel row and the relative displacement of the two images. Further, it is possible to determine where the photographer is looking.

Next, a description will be given of a feature extraction process from a visual line detection image employed in the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 18 (a)
(C) is a diagram showing the rotation and the state of the corneal reflection 95a and the fundus reflection 95b when the center of the eyeball is fixed. In the embodiment of the present invention, the feature extraction is performed on the corneal reflection image 95a.
Alternatively, detection is performed using the fundus reflection image 95b. That is, if the center of the eyeball is fixed, the center of gravity position ix of the fundus reflection 95b,
The rotation angle can be detected by detecting the barycentric position including only the barycentric position px of the corneal reflection 95a or both.

In the figure, px indicates the position of the center of gravity of the corneal reflection 95a, and ix indicates the position of the center of gravity of the fundus reflection 95b. Further, the fundus reflection 95b is generally in a red-eye state (a large amount of light is reflected from the fundus), and when not in a red-eye state (when the iris is narrowed down in a bright state or when the reflected light does not return to the light receiving system), The output of the fundus reflex 95b further decreases. When viewed from the center of the viewfinder, FIG.
18A shows the center at the reference (rotation angle 0), FIG. 18B shows the left side with a negative rotation angle, and FIG. 18C shows the right side with a positive rotation angle.

Next, FIGS. 19A to 19C show the eyeball 90.
Shift and the corresponding corneal reflex 95a and fundus reflex 95
It is a figure showing a situation of b. In the embodiment of the present invention, the position ix of the center of gravity of the fundus reflex 95b and the position p of the center of gravity of the corneal reflection 95a
A rough shift amount can be detected by detecting the position of the center of gravity including only x or both. In the figure, px indicates the position of the center of gravity of the corneal reflection 95a, and ix indicates the position of the center of gravity of the fundus reflection 95b. In addition, the fundus reflection shown in the same manner as in FIG. 18 is generally in a red-eye state (a large amount of reflected light from the fundus) and not in a red-eye state (when the iris is narrowed down in a bright state, or when the reflected light does not return to the light receiving system). ), The output of the fundus reflection 95b further decreases. Then, when viewed from the center of the finder, FIG.
19B shows the left side with the shift amount negative, and FIG. 19C shows the right side with the shift amount positive.

As is clear from FIGS. 18 and 19, the line-of-sight direction can be detected by detecting the position of the center of gravity of the detected light amount distribution. Further, in general, in one shutter sequence (from the vicinity of the 1st release to the 2nd release), the shift of the eye does not largely change, and the size of the range that the photographer wants to see by detecting the relative movement is It can be determined. Further, by performing the reference position detection in the sequence, it is possible to roughly detect the position to be viewed.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention based on the above-described principle will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a focus area setting device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the first embodiment has a configuration in which a distance measuring unit 1, a line-of-sight detecting unit 2, and a photographing optical system 4 are coupled to a distance measuring point selecting unit 3.

In such a configuration, the distance measuring section 1 measures the distance at a plurality of points without depending on the focal length of the photographing optical system 4,
The distance measurement information is sent to the distance measurement point selection unit 3. The distance measuring unit 1 measures the distance at a predetermined position in the finder regardless of the zoom of the photographing lens in the photographing optical system 4. Further, the line-of-sight direction detecting unit 2 detects the temporal movement of the corneal reflection and sends information on the moving position to the distance measuring point selecting unit 3. And the ranging point selection unit 3
Determines the determination movement amount K (a predetermined value for determining the movement of the eye) based on the focal length information of the imaging optical system 4, and determines the photographer's view based on the determination movement amount K and the movement amount from the gaze direction detection unit 2 The estimated visual field range is determined, distance measurement information is determined based on the estimated visual field range information, and the driving amount is sent to the photographing optical system 4. Further, the photographing optical system 4 drives the photographing optical system 4 based on the drive amount determined by the distance measuring point selection unit 3.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a focus area setting device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the multi-AF circuit 11 and the photographing lens 14 are connected to a central processing unit (CPU) 12, and the CPU 12 is connected to a display circuit 13. Then, the CPU 12 controls the lens 14 via the drive circuit 15.
Is connected to the light-emitting LED 17 and the light-emitting LED 17 and the finder optical system 1.
Reference numeral 6 is connected to the visual axis detection optical system 18. The line-of-sight detection optical system 18 is connected to a line-of-sight sensor (PSD: device for detecting the position of the center of gravity of the light amount distribution) 19, and the PSD 19 outputs a signal corresponding to the detection of the center of gravity of the light amount, and the interface circuit (I / F circuit) 20 to the CPU 12.

In such a configuration, the multi-AF circuit 11 measures the distance for a plurality of points, and outputs the distance measurement information to the CP.
Send to U12. Then, the lens 14 sends focal length information (zoom value information) to the CPU 14. Further, upon receiving a command from the CPU 12, the light emitting LED 17 emits light to the eyeball 90 via the line-of-sight detection optical system 18 and the finder optical system 16, and the reflected light from the eyeball is again transmitted to the finder optical system 16, Eye gaze sensor 1 via eye gaze detection optical system 18
9 is received. The output signal from the PSD 19 is converted by the I / F circuit 20 into a signal corresponding to the position of the center of gravity, and is then input to the CPU 12. The CPU 12 uses the information on the line of sight output from the I / F circuit 20. To set the defocus amount. Further, the CPU 12
Based on the set defocus amount, the driving circuit 15
The lens 14 is driven via. Next, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a detailed configuration of the visual axis detection optical system 18. As shown in FIG.

In the figure, light emitted from a light emitting LED 17 is reflected by a half mirror 22 via a light emitting lens 21. Then, the light reflected by the half mirror 22 is reflected by the reflecting surface 23 a of the prism 23, and then guided to the photographer's eyeball 90 via the finder 24. Further, the reflected light from the photographer's eyeball 90 passes through the same optical path as the incident light and passes through the finder 24 through the prism 23.
And is reflected by the reflection surface 23a. The reflected light passes through the half mirror 22 and is received by the line-of-sight sensor 19 via the light receiving lens 25.

On the other hand, the subject light is made incident on the prism via the display liquid crystal 26 which is superimposed on the subject light, and transmitted through the reflective surface 23a, and further to the eyeball 90 of the photographer via the finder 24. It is led.

Hereinafter, referring to the flowchart of FIG.
A main sequence according to the second embodiment will be described.

When the main sequence is started (step S101), it is determined whether the main switch is ON or OFF (step S102).
If "N", initialization is performed subsequently. Here, the focus area is set at the center, the counters i and j are set to “0”, the timer t is set to “0”, and the data X
(I), Xs (j) is set to “0” (Step S1)
03). Then, the gaze direction of the photographer is detected (step S104), and ON / OFF of the 1st release is determined (step S105).

In this step S105, when the 1st release is "OFF", the counting of the timer t is started (step S106), and subsequently, the determination of the timer t ≧ T0 (T0; predetermined time) is performed (step S107). ).
If the timer t is not equal to or greater than T0, step S10
5, when the timer t ≧ T0, the line-of-sight information is read, and the barycentric coordinates are stored in Xs (j) (step S10).
8). Then, the timer t is set to “0”, and the counter j is set.
Is counted up to j + 1 (step S10).
9) Return to step S105.

On the other hand, in step S105, l
If the st release is "ON", the multi AF is started (step S110), and the counter i and the timer t are set to "0".
Is set to (step S111). Subsequently, counting of the timer t is started (step S112), and ON / OFF of the second release is determined (step S113).

In step S113, if the second release is "OFF", the first release is turned on.
/ OFF is determined (step S114). And l
If the st release is "OFF", the above step S1 is performed.
Returning to 03, if the 1st release is “ON”, a determination is made that timer t ≧ T0 (T0: predetermined time) (step S115). When the timer t ≧ T0 is not satisfied, the process returns to step S113. When the timer t ≧ T0, the line of sight information is read and the barycentric coordinates are stored in X (i) (step S116). Subsequently, the timer t is set to “0”,
The counter i is counted up to i + 1 (step S1).
17), the counter i = i0 is determined (step S1)
18). Then, in this step S118, i =
If it is not I0, the process returns to step S113, and i = I0
In the case of, the process moves to step S120.

On the other hand, in step S113, 2
If the second release is “ON”, it is determined that the AF operation has been completed (step S119). If the AF has not been completed, the process proceeds to step S115. If the AF has been completed, the process proceeds to step S115.
A later-described subroutine "movement amount detection" is executed to detect the amount of movement of the line of sight (step S120). Subsequently, the amount of motion is determined (step S121). If the amount of motion is larger than the predetermined amount 2K0, distance measurement data is created by multi-AF (step S122). If the amount of movement is smaller than the predetermined amount 2K0, distance measurement data is created using AF data of the central one-point AF (step S123).

Subsequently, after performing a camera sequence such as a lens drive, an exposure sequence, and a winding sequence, the process returns to step S103 (step S124), and the above operation is repeated. In step S102, the main switch is turned off. End all the operations (step S125).

Next, referring to the flowchart of FIG.
The sequence of the subroutine "motion amount detection" executed in step S120 will be described in detail.

In this routine, first, the counter value j ≧
The determination of I0 is performed (step S201). And j ≧
If I0, data of Xs (j-I0) to Xs (j) is read (step S203), and if j <I0, X
The data of s (0) to Xs (j) is read (Step S)
204). Then, the maximum value of the read data is stored in the register MAX1 (step S205), and the minimum value of the read data is stored in the register MIN1 (step S206).

Subsequently, it is determined whether the counter i = I0 (step S207). Then, if i = I0, X
The data of (0) to X (I0-1) is read (step S208), and if i = I0, X (0) to X (0) to X (I0-1) are read.
The data of (i) is read (step S209). Then, the maximum value of the newly read data is stored in the register M
AX2 is stored (step S210), and the minimum value of the newly read data is stored in the register MIN2 (step S211).

Further, the registers MAX1, MAX2
Is stored in the register MAX (step S212), and the maximum value among the values stored in the registers MIN1 and MIN is stored in the register MAX.
The minimum value of IN2 is stored in the register MIN (step S213), the amount of motion (MAX-MIN) is calculated (step S214), and the present sequence ends (step S215).

As described above, in the second embodiment,
The amount of movement of the line of sight of the photographer is detected, and if the amount of movement is larger than a predetermined amount, distance measurement data is created by multi-AF, and if the amount of movement is smaller than a predetermined amount, distance measurement is performed by central one-point AF. Focusing accuracy is improved by creating data.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.

The configuration of the focus area setting device and the sequence of the main routine according to the third embodiment are the same as those in the second embodiment, and therefore, the description thereof is omitted here.

Hereinafter, referring to the flowchart of FIG.
A sequence of a subroutine "motion amount detection" which is a characteristic part of the third embodiment will be described.

In this routine, first, a counter value j ≧
The determination of I0 is performed (step S302). And j ≧
If I0, data of Xs (j-I0) to Xs (j) is read (step S303), and if j <I0, X
The data of s (0) to Xs (j) is read (Step S)
304). Subsequently, the counter i = I0 is determined (step S305). Then, if i = I0, X
The data of (0) to X (I0-1) is read (step S306), and if i = I0, X (0) to X (0)
The data of (i) is read (step S307).

The information thus read is subjected to histogram processing (step S308), and the value of this histogram is binarized by a predetermined value (step S308).
309), the maximum value (MAX),
The minimum value (MIN) is detected (step S310), and the motion amount (MAX-MIN) is calculated (step S311).
This sequence ends (step S312).

For example, FIG.
It is a figure showing a situation of a value-ized process.

FIG. 7A shows a state where the coordinate information read in step S308 is converted into a histogram.
FIG. 7B shows a state where the data subjected to the histogram processing in step S309 is binarized. MAX and MIN depend on the size of the horizontal axis.

As described above, in the third embodiment,
The amount of movement of the photographer's line of sight is subjected to histogram processing on the read information, and the histogram value is set to a predetermined value of 2
It calculates by detecting the maximum value and the minimum value from the binarized information from the binarized information. If the motion amount is larger than a predetermined amount, distance measurement data is created by multi-AF, and the motion amount is smaller than the predetermined amount. When the distance is small, focusing accuracy is improved by creating distance measurement data using the central one-point AF.

Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described.

The configuration of the focus area setting device according to the fourth embodiment is the same as that of the above-described second embodiment, and thus the description thereof is omitted here.

Hereinafter, referring to the flowchart of FIG.
A main sequence which is a feature of the fourth embodiment will be described.

When the main sequence is started (step S401), first, initialization is performed. That is, the focus area is set at the center, and the timer t is set to "0" (step S402). Next, O of the 1st release
N / OFF is determined (step S403).

In step S403, if the 1st release is "OFF", the process proceeds to step S417, and if the 1st release is "ON", multi-AF is started (step S404). Then, the line-of-sight data X0
(Center-of-gravity coordinates) is read (step S405), and counting of the timer t is started (step S406).
The determination of ≧ T0 (T0: predetermined value) is performed (Step S40)
7).

Then, in this step S407, t
If ≧ T0, display in the viewfinder is performed (step S
408). This display may be used also as the display of the end of the distance measurement or the display of other functions. Subsequently, the timer t is initialized (t = 0) (step S409), and the timer t = T1
(T1: predetermined value) is determined (step S410).
When t ≧ T1 in step S410, the line-of-sight data X1 (coordinate of the center of gravity) is read (step S41).
1), the end of AF is determined (step S412). If the AF is not completed, the process returns to step S412, and if the AF is completed, the 1st release is determined (step S413).

Then, in this step S413,
If the first release is "OFF", step S41 is executed.
7 and 2nd in case of 1st release “ON”
The release is determined (step S414). And
If the second release is not “ON”, step S41
Returning to step 3, if the second release is "ON", a subroutine "focus area setting I" described later is executed (step S415). Subsequently, a camera sequence such as a lens drive, an exposure sequence, and a winding sequence is performed (step S416). This sequence ends (step S417).

Next, referring to the flowchart of FIG.
The sequence of the subroutine "focus area setting I" executed in step S415 will be described.

When this routine is started (step S50)
1) First, a determination is made as to the amount of motion | X0−X1 | ≦ K (step S502). Here, K is a predetermined value, and when the focus area changes due to a change in the zoom value, it changes according to the zoom value.

Then, when | X0−X1 | ≦ K,
The focus area is set at the center (step S50).
4) When | X0−X1 | ≦ K, (X0−X
1) The determination of> K is performed (step S503).

If (X0-X1)> K, the focus area is set to the right (step S505), and
If (X0-X1)> K is not satisfied, the focus area is set to the left (step S506), and the present sequence ends (step S507).

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a viewfinder display. In addition to the superimposed display at the center of the screen as shown in FIG. 10A, a frame is displayed as shown in FIG. It can also be displayed on the part.

As described above, in the fourth embodiment,
The amount of movement of the photographer's line of sight is determined, and if the size is equal to or less than a predetermined value, a focus area is set at the center. .

Next, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described.

The structure of the focus area setting device according to the fifth embodiment is the same as that of the above-described second embodiment, and therefore the description is omitted here.

Hereinafter, the main sequence, which is a feature of the fifth embodiment, will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

When the main sequence is started (step S601), initialization is first performed. That is, the focus area is set at the center, and the timer t is set to "0" (step S602). Next, O of the 1st release
N / OFF is determined (step S603).

In this step S603, if the first release is "OFF", the flow shifts to step S620, and if the first release is "ON", multi-AF is started (step S604). Then, the line-of-sight data X0
(Center-of-gravity coordinates) is read (step S605), and counting of the timer t is started (step S606).
= T0 (T0: predetermined value) is determined (step S60).
7).

At step S607, timer t = T
When the value becomes 0, the sound is displayed in the viewfinder and sounds for attention. The display and the sound generation are performed only for a predetermined time, and the display and the sound generation time may be different (step S).
608).

Subsequently, the timer t is initialized (t =
0) (step S609), and the timer t = T1 (T1:
(Predetermined value) is determined (step S610). If t ≧ T1 in step S610, the line-of-sight data X
1 (coordinate of the center of gravity) is read (step S611), and the timer t is initialized (t = 0) (step S61).
2). Then, the timer t = T2 (T2: predetermined value) is determined (step S613). In this step S613, when t ≧ T2, the line-of-sight data X2 (barycentric coordinates) is read (step S614).

Subsequently, it is determined whether the AF operation has been completed (step S615). When the AF is completed, the first release is determined (step S616).

Then, in this step S616,
If the 1st release is “OFF”, step S62
0, 2nd when 1st release is “ON”
The release is determined (step S617). And
If the second release is not “ON”, step S61
Returning to step 6, if the second release is "ON", a subroutine "focus area setting I" described later is executed (step S618). Subsequently, a camera sequence such as a lens drive, an exposure sequence, and a winding sequence is performed (step S619). This sequence ends (step S620).

Next, the sequence of the subroutine "focus area setting II" executed in step 618 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

Upon entering this routine (step S70)
1) First, the motion amount is detected, that is, S0 = X0-X1, S1
= X2-X1 (step S702), and then S
It is determined whether 0 × S1 ≧ 0 (step S703).

Then, in this step S703,
If S0 × S1 <0, it is determined that the eye is moving left and right across the center, and a distance measurement value is calculated by a multi-AF algorithm (closest selection).
The process moves to 711 (step S706). On the other hand, if S0 × S1 ≧ 0, then | S0 + S1 |
Is determined (step S704). And | S0 +
If S1 | ≦ K (K: predetermined value), the focus area is set to the center, that is, the center distance measurement value is set, and then the process proceeds to step S711 (step S707). further,
If | S0 + S1 |> K, then S0 + S1> K
Is determined (step S705).

Then, in this step S705,
If S0 + S1> K, the focus area is set to the right, and the process proceeds to step S711 (step S70).
8) If S0 + S1> K is not satisfied, the focus area is set to the left (step S709). Thus, the present sequence ends (step S710).

As described above, in the fifth embodiment,
Since the photographer's line-of-sight data is acquired three times and the amount of movement of the photographer's line of sight is detected in consideration of the time-series change, the accuracy can be further improved.

Next, a sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described.

The configuration of the focus area setting device according to the sixth embodiment is the same as that of the above-described second embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

The main sequence, which is a characteristic part of the sixth embodiment, will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

When the main sequence is started (step S801), initialization is first performed. That is, the focus area is set at the center, and the timer t is set to "0" (step S802). And ON of the 1st release
/ OFF is determined (step S803).

If it is determined in step S803 that the first release is "OFF", the flow shifts to step S815. If the first release is "ON", the multi AF is started (step S804). Then, the line-of-sight data X0 (coordinate of the center of gravity) is read (step S805), and display in the viewfinder is performed (step S806).

Subsequently, the count of the timer t is started (step S807), and the 1st release is determined (step S808). And the first release “OF
In the case of "F", the process proceeds to step S815, and in the case of the first release "ON", the determination of the second release is performed (step S809).

In step S809, if the second release is not “ON”, the timer t ≧ T0 (T0;
(Predetermined value) (step S810), and t <T0
In step S808, the process returns to step S808, and when t ≧ T0, the line-of-sight data X1 (coordinate of the center of gravity) is read (step S808).
812). Subsequently, a subroutine "focus area setting III" described later is executed (step S812). Then, the timer t is initialized (t = 0), and the process returns to the step S808 (step S813).

On the other hand, in step S809, 2
If the second release is “ON”, a camera sequence such as a lens drive, an exposure sequence, and a winding sequence is performed based on the distance measurement value (step S814), and the sequence ends (step S815).

Next, the sequence of the subroutine "focus area setting III" executed in step S812 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. When this routine starts (step S90)
1) First, detection of motion amount | X1-X0 | ≦ K2 (K2:
(Predetermined value) is determined (step S902). And
When | X1−X0 | ≦ K2, the process proceeds to step S910, and when | X1−X0 |> K2, (X1−X0)
> K2 is determined (step S903).

If (X1-X0)> K2, it is determined whether or not the focus area is set at the right end (step S904). If the focus area is set at the right end, the process goes to step S908. If the focus area is not set at the right end, the focus area is shifted right by one from the current position and goes to step S908 (step S908). S907).

On the other hand, in step S903,
If (X1-X0)> K2 is not satisfied, it is determined whether or not the focus area is set to the left end (step S).
904). If the focus area is set at the left end, the process proceeds to step S908. If the focus area is not set at the left end, the focus area is shifted left by one from the current position, and the process proceeds to step S90.
8 (step S906).

In step S908, the information of X1 is replaced with X0
To be stored. Subsequently, the display in the finder is performed using the information of the new focus area (step S909), and the present sequence ends (step S910).

As described above, in the sixth embodiment,
When the photographer turns his or her eyes, the focus area can be shifted to a desired position.

As described in detail above, in the focus area setting apparatus of the present invention, the AF sequence is changed using only the movement of the photographer's line of sight. Can be provided.

The focus area setting device according to the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be variously improved.
Of course, changes are possible.

For example, the multi-AF algorithm may use a known selection algorithm other than the closest selection.
Further, a line sensor other than the PSD may be used as long as the center of gravity can be detected. In addition, the ratio of white / black eyes may be detected by a photodiode instead of corneal reflection and used as eye movement. If there are a plurality of ranging points, there is no need to be caught by three points. In addition, when gaze detection is not necessary as a camera sequence (for example, when the ranging point is within the depth), the gaze detection sequence may be omitted.

[0097]

According to the present invention, only the center of gravity of the fundus reflection or corneal reflection of the photographer is detected with a simple and inexpensive configuration, and the line-of-sight movement amount is calculated from the difference between the positions of the centers of gravity. By selecting, it is possible to provide a focus area setting device capable of selecting a distance measurement value that further captures the photographer's intention.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a focus area setting device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a focus area setting device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a detailed configuration of a visual line detection optical system 18.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a main sequence of the second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a sequence of a subroutine “motion amount detection” executed in step S120 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a sequence of a subroutine “motion amount detection” executed according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a state of a histogram process and a binarization process.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a main sequence executed by the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a subroutine “focus area setting I” executed in step S415 of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a viewfinder display.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a main sequence executed by the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a sequence of a subroutine “focus area setting II” executed in step 618 of FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a main sequence executed by the sixth embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a sequence of a subroutine “focus area setting III” executed in step S812 of FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a state of a human eyeball.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a first Purkinje image, which is a virtual image of a light source formed by reflected light from the front surface of the cornea.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a state where the first Purkinje image changes due to the rotation of the eyeball.

FIG. 18 is a diagram for explaining a feature extraction process from a visual line detection image.

FIG. 19 is a diagram for describing feature extraction processing from a visual line detection image.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 distance measuring unit, 2 line-of-sight direction detecting unit, 3 distance measuring point selecting unit,
4: Photographing optical system.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-63-194237 (JP, A) JP-A-1-190177 (JP, A) JP-A-59-146028 (JP, A) JP-A 61-194 61135 (JP, A) JP-A-5-100150 (JP, A)

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] [Claim 1] to calculate the amount of eye movement of the photographer directed in the finder, in the focus area setting apparatus for executing the sequence of various operations based on the vision shift amount of information, the object for a plurality of distance measuring points Distance measuring means for detecting distance
When the line-of-sight gravity center position detection means detecting a plurality of only the center of gravity of the fundus reflection or corneal reflex of the photographer at a predetermined time interval, the gravity center position detected by the visual line centroid position detecting means
Means for storing coordinate data, and an initialization means for initializing the sequence.
And the maximum of the coordinate data of the plurality of centroid positions detected by the line-of-sight centroid position detection means after the initialization.
A gaze movement amount is calculated from a difference between the value and the minimum value, and if the movement amount is larger than a predetermined amount, the plurality of distance measuring points are selected .
A focus point setting device for selecting one of the focus detection points from the focus detection points.