JP3634494B2 - Finder device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a finder device that is used in a video camera, a still camera, and the like and includes a line-of-sight detection means.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, several finder apparatuses such as a video camera and a still camera provided with a line-of-sight detection means have been proposed. FIG. 6 schematically shows an example of the configuration.
As shown in FIG. 6, this finder device includes a lens imaging system 1 for photographing a subject such as a television camera, a finder screen 2 and a finder 3 for observing a subject photographed by the lens imaging system 1, and this finder. The eyepiece 4 arranged in front of 3, the line-of-sight detection means 6 for detecting the line of sight of the photographer's eye 5, the outline of the focus area, and other information necessary for the photographer, such as the photographing mode, are displayed on the viewfinder screen 2. A display circuit 7 for displaying and a system control means 8 for controlling each part of the camera are schematically configured.
[0003]
The line-of-sight detection means 6 is reflected by an infrared light emitting diode circuit 60 that irradiates the photographer's eye 5 with infrared light, a dichroic mirror 61 that transmits visible light and reflects infrared light, and the dichroic mirror 61. A condensing lens 62 for condensing the infrared light, a photoelectric conversion element 63 for converting the infrared light collected by the condensing lens 62 into an electric signal, and a photographer's eyes on the photoelectric conversion element 63 And a gazing point detection circuit 64 for obtaining a gazing point on the finder screen 2 of the photographer based on the five images.
[0004]
Since the dichroic mirror 61 transmits visible light, the photographer can observe the viewfinder screen 2 through the eyepiece 4. Further, the dichroic mirror 61 reflects infrared light, so that the reflected image of the photographer's eye 5 irradiated by the infrared light emitting diode circuit 60 is reflected and condensed by the condensing lens 62 to be a photoelectric conversion element. An image is formed on 63.
[0005]
The gazing point detection circuit 64 includes a microcomputer and a memory (not shown), and is disclosed by, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 1-241511 and 2-32312 based on the image of the photographer's eye 5 on the photoelectric conversion element 63. The gaze point on the finder screen 2 of the photographer is obtained according to the algorithm. Briefly describing the algorithm, the positions of the pupil center and the reflection image (corneal reflection image) of the corneal surface of the infrared light emitting diode are obtained from the eyeball image captured by the photoelectric conversion element 63. From these two positional relationships, the rotation angle θx of the horizontal eyeball and the rotation angle θy of the vertical eyeball are obtained. From the obtained rotation angle of the eyeball, the horizontal coordinate X and the vertical coordinate Y on the finder screen 2 are calculated by the following equations.
X = m × θx
Y = m × θy
Here, m is a constant obtained from the viewing angle of the eyepiece and the size of the viewfinder screen 2.
[0006]
Further, as another line-of-sight detection means, there is one that operates as an eyepiece detection means that simply detects whether or not the photographer's eyes are in contact with the eye, instead of detecting the above-described gazing point of the photographer. FIG. 7 shows an operation flow of the eyepiece detecting means. This is irradiated by the infrared light emitting diode circuit 60, the signal of the photoelectric conversion element 63 is read (S1), it is determined whether an image signal due to some reflection is detected (S2), and if the image signal is detected, the photographer The system control means 8 is notified that the eye of the photographer has been in contact (S5), and the power of the finder 3 is turned on (S6). If it is determined that there is no reflecting object (S4), a process of returning to the process of reading the output of the photoelectric conversion element 63 is performed again.
[0007]
FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of an example in which the line-of-sight detection means and the eyepiece detection means are incorporated in a finder of a video camera. In the figure, reference numeral 901 denotes an eye point adjustment knob which moves integrally with the viewfinder 3. By operating this knob 901 to change the distance between the viewfinder screen 2 and the eyepiece lens 4, even a person with near or farsightedness can see the viewfinder 3 clearly. In particular, when the distance between the finder screen 2 and the eyepiece 4 is made close as shown in FIG. 8B, the image on the finder screen 3 can be clearly recognized even if the photographer peeks away from the eyepiece.
[0008]
Compared to the eye point EP (a) when the image y on the viewfinder is on the focal length (f) of the eyepiece as shown in FIG. 9A, this is on the viewfinder as shown in FIG. 9B. This is because the eye point EP (b) in the case where the image is located substantially inside (s) of the focal length (f) of the eyepiece 4 is much wider in EP (b).
In general, such a finder state with a wide eye point is referred to by a name such as “sport finder” or “sport finder mode”.
[0009]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the conventional example has the following problems.
In the finder having the above-described line-of-sight detection function and eyepiece detection function, the line-of-sight detection operation is always repeated in a normal state, and the gazing point detection circuit 64, the photoelectric conversion element 63, and the infrared light emitting diode circuit 60 are continuously driven. . In such a normal use, there is no problem. However, in the above-described sports finder mode, since the photographer's eyes are far away from the eyepiece, the infrared light emitted by the infrared light emitting diode circuit 60 is the eyes of the photographer. Or the eye image formed on the photoelectric conversion element 63 is too small, so it is practically impossible to detect the gaze point coordinates or to detect the photographer's eyepiece. . For this reason, during the sport finder mode, the line-of-sight detection means 6 may perform a useless detection operation, resulting in an unnecessarily consuming current.
[0010]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems and to obtain a finder apparatus that stops operation in the sports finder mode and eliminates wasteful current consumption.
[0011]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
According to a first aspect of the finder apparatus of the present invention, in the finder apparatus having a line-of-sight detecting means and an eye point adjusting means, the state of eye point adjustment in the eye point adjusting means is identified, and the finder mode is based on the identification result. A finder mode detecting means for identifying the finder mode, and a control means for switching and controlling the operating state of the line-of-sight detecting means between a plurality of operating states in accordance with the finder mode identification result by the finder mode detecting means. The control means controls the line-of-sight detection means so as not to perform line-of-sight detection when the viewfinder mode detection means discriminates from a sport finder mode with a long eye point.
According to a second aspect of the finder apparatus of the present invention, in the finder apparatus having a line-of-sight detecting means and an eye point adjusting means, the state of eye point adjustment in the eye point adjusting means is identified, and the finder mode is based on the identification result. A finder mode detecting means for identifying the finder mode, and a control means for switching and controlling the operating state of the line-of-sight detecting means between a plurality of operating states in accordance with the finder mode identification result by the finder mode detecting means. The control means controls the line-of-sight detection means so as not to perform eyepiece detection when the finder mode detection means is identified as a sport finder mode with a long eye point.
According to a third aspect of the finder apparatus of the present invention, in the finder apparatus having a line-of-sight detection means and an eye point adjustment means, the state of eye point adjustment in the eye point adjustment means is identified, and the finder mode is based on the identification result. A finder mode detecting means for identifying the finder mode, and a control means for switching and controlling the operating state of the line-of-sight detecting means between a plurality of operating states in accordance with the finder mode identification result by the finder mode detecting means. The control means controls the line-of-sight detection means so as not to perform line-of-sight detection and eyepiece detection when the viewfinder mode detection means identifies the sports viewfinder mode with a long eye point.
[0012]
[Action]
According to the present invention, wasteful current consumption can be suppressed by appropriately controlling the operating state of the line-of-sight detecting means in accordance with the eye point adjustment state.
[0013]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a finder apparatus provided with a line-of-sight detection means in the present invention. The same components as those in the conventional example of FIG. FIG. 2 is a sectional view in which the contacts 101a and 101b of the finder mode detection unit are incorporated in the finder apparatus described in the conventional example of FIG. 8, and the same components as those in FIG. One of the features of this configuration is that a finder mode detection unit 101 is provided as shown in FIG.
[0014]
In the normal use mode (a) in FIG. 2, since the contacts 101a and 101b are not in contact, the finder mode detection unit 101 determines that the mode is not the sports finder mode.
As shown in FIG. 2B, when the eye point adjustment knob 901 is pressed to enter the sports finder state, the contact points 101a and 101b come into contact with each other, so that the finder mode detection unit 101 determines that it is in the sports finder mode. This determination signal is sent to the gaze point detection circuit 64a in the line-of-sight detection means 6a in FIG. The gazing point detection circuit 64a performs a different control method depending on the signal from the finder mode detection unit 101.
[0015]
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the gazing point detection circuit 64a composed of a microcomputer, a memory and the like.
First, the gazing point detection circuit 64a reads a signal from the finder mode detection unit 101 (S31), and determines whether the mode is the sports finder mode (S32). If it is determined that the mode is the sport finder mode, the subsequent process is not performed, and the mode change is continuously monitored while the finder mode reading process (S31) is performed. If the mode is not the sports finder mode, the detection coordinates of the normal gaze coordinates are detected (S33), and the gaze coordinates are output to the system control means 8a (S34). Thereafter, when the operation is continued, the process returns to the first process (S35).
[0016]
By performing the above-described processing, in the sports finder mode, the line-of-sight detection means 6a can prevent unnecessary consumption of current without performing useless detection operation.
[0017]
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the gazing point detection circuit 64a according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The same processes as those in FIG. 3 according to the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted. This flow is for not only detecting the gaze coordinate of the gaze point detection circuit 64a but also performing the eyepiece detection operation of the photographer. When the determination unit (S32) determines that the mode is not the sport finder mode, the output of the photoelectric conversion element 63 is read (S41), and it is determined whether there is any reflection (S42). If there is no reflection, the process returns to (S31). If there is any reflection, it is determined whether the reflection is a cornea reflection image of the eye 5 (S43). Thereafter, it is further determined whether or not there is a pupil-like image in the reflection object (S44). If both the cornea reflection image and the pupil are present, it is determined that the reflection object is the photographer's eye 5 (S45). . If either the cornea reflection image or the pupil is not detected, the process returns to the initial process.
[0018]
After it is determined that the eye is the photographer's eye 5, the system control means 8a is notified of the eye contact (S46), and the system control means 8a that has received the notification performs processing such as turning on the viewfinder power supply (not shown). Thereafter, the gaze point detection circuit 64a performs gaze coordinate detection processing (S33) and the like. Thereafter, the processes of S34 and S35 are performed in the same manner as in FIG.
[0019]
By performing such processing, also in the second embodiment, when the finder mode is the sports finder mode, the line-of-sight detection means 6a does not perform wasteful eyepiece detection or gaze coordinate detection operation without any mischief. It is possible to prevent current consumption.
[0020]
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the system control means 8a according to the third embodiment of the present invention. The difference from the first embodiment is that the system control means 8a reads and processes the output of the finder mode detection unit 101, not the gaze point detection circuit 64a. A block diagram of the configuration is omitted.
[0021]
The system control means 8a reads the output of the finder mode detection unit 101 (S51), and when it is determined that the sports finder mode is selected, the control for turning off the line-of-sight detection means 6a is performed (S54). If it is not determined to be the sports finder mode, the line-of-sight detection means 6a is turned on (S53), and the gazing point detection circuit 64a performs gazing coordinate and eyepiece detection processing. Thereafter, the system control means 8a performs other necessary system control processing (S55). When the operation continues, the process returns to the first process (S56).
[0022]
By performing such a control flow, unnecessary current consumption can be prevented in the sport finder mode.
[0023]
In each of the above-described embodiments, the finder mode is determined at the beginning of the process. However, the determination is not necessarily performed at the beginning of the process, and may be performed in the middle of the process, or the microcomputer interrupt process. The finder mode may be checked frequently, for example.
[0024]
Further, when the finder mode detection unit 101 identifies the sports finder mode, the gaze detection and eyepiece detection may be stopped, and the display circuit 7 may display on the finder screen 2 that the sports finder mode is set.
Alternatively, when the sport finder mode is identified, only the display may be performed, and the user may stop the gaze detection or eyepiece detection by looking at the display.
[0025]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, wasteful current consumption can be suppressed by controlling the operation of the line-of-sight detection means in accordance with the eye point adjustment state.
[0026]
In addition, when it is identified that the finder eyepoint is far away, the gaze detection means does not perform useless detection operation during the sport finder mode by not performing gaze detection or eyepiece detection. , Can prevent wasteful consumption of current.
[0027]
Further, by displaying that the mode is the sports finder mode, if the operation of the line-of-sight detecting means is stopped when there is a display, it is possible to prevent wasteful current consumption.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a finder portion in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the third exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a conventional finder device.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a conventional operation.
8 is a configuration diagram of a finder portion in FIG. 6;
FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram illustrating a sports finder mode.
[Explanation of symbols]
2 Viewfinder screen 3 Viewfinder 6a Line-of-sight detection means 64a Gaze point detection circuit 7 Display circuit 8a System control means 101 Viewfinder mode detection units 101a and 101b Contact point 901 Eye point adjustment knob

Claims (3)

In a finder apparatus having a line-of-sight detection means and an eye point adjustment means,
A finder mode detecting means for identifying a state of eye point adjustment in the eye point adjusting means and identifying a finder mode based on the identification result;
Control means for switching and controlling the operation state of the line-of-sight detection means between a plurality of operation states according to the finder mode identification result by the finder mode detection means,
The finder apparatus, wherein the control means controls the line-of-sight detection means not to perform line-of-sight detection when the finder mode detection means identifies a sports finder mode with a long eye point. In a finder apparatus having a line-of-sight detection means and an eye point adjustment means,
A finder mode detecting means for identifying a state of eye point adjustment in the eye point adjusting means and identifying a finder mode based on the identification result;
Control means for switching and controlling the operation state of the line-of-sight detection means between a plurality of operation states according to the finder mode identification result by the finder mode detection means,
The finder apparatus, wherein the control means controls the line-of-sight detection means not to perform eyepiece detection when the finder mode detection means identifies a sports finder mode with a long eye point. In a finder apparatus having a line-of-sight detection means and an eye point adjustment means,
A finder mode detecting means for identifying a state of eye point adjustment in the eye point adjusting means and identifying a finder mode based on the identification result;
Control means for switching and controlling the operation state of the line-of-sight detection means between a plurality of operation states according to the finder mode identification result by the finder mode detection means,
The finder apparatus, wherein the control means controls the line-of-sight detection means not to perform line-of-sight detection and eyepiece detection when the finder mode detection means identifies a sports finder mode with a long eye point.

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