JP6024135B2 - Subject tracking display control device, subject tracking display control method and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a subject tracking display control device having a subject tracking function, a subject tracking display control method, and a program.

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, image processing apparatuses having a tracking function for sequentially detecting and tracking the position of a moving subject have been developed as functions for supporting imaging in imaging apparatuses.
Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for creating various display information such as an arrow indicating the state of a subject being tracked and displaying it on a display unit based on the movement and position of the subject being tracked in a display screen. Yes.

JP 2009-218719 A

  However, when the subject being tracked is outside the display unit, an arrow indicating the moving direction of the subject is displayed on the display unit, but the moving direction of the subject is displayed on the display unit with an arrow. In order to find the current position of the subject again, it is necessary to pan by relying on intuition, and it is possible to quickly track the destination of the subject after losing sight of the subject. There was a problem that it was not possible.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a subject tracking display control device, a subject tracking display control method, and a program that make subject tracking easier.

In order to achieve the above object , the present invention
Tracking means for tracking the subject;
A moving state detecting means for sequentially detecting a moving speed and a moving direction of the subject tracked by the tracking means;
Detects whether or not the subject tracked by the tracking unit is immediately before coming off the display unit based on the sequentially changing moving speed and moving direction of the subject that are sequentially detected by the moving state detection unit. Means for detecting that the display is not displayed immediately before
Display control means for changing the display unit to wide-angle zoom when detecting that the subject is immediately before being removed from the display unit by the immediately preceding display outside detection unit;
Out-of-display detection means for detecting whether or not the subject being tracked by the tracking means has been removed from the display unit;
Equipped with a,
The display control means includes
After the display unit is changed to wide-angle zoom, the movement immediately before the subject detected by the movement state detection unit when the out-of-display detection unit detects that the subject has moved away from the display unit. An object tracking display control apparatus, characterized in that display information indicating speed and a moving direction immediately before the object is displayed on the display unit .

Further, the subject tracking display control method of the present invention includes:
Tracking processing to track the subject,
A movement state detection process for sequentially detecting a moving speed and a moving direction of a subject that is being tracked by the tracking process;
Detects whether or not the subject tracked by the tracking processing is immediately before being removed from the display unit based on the sequentially changing moving speed and moving direction of the subject that are sequentially detected by the moving state detection processing. And immediately before display detection processing,
A display control process for changing the display unit to a wide-angle zoom when detecting that the subject is just before being removed from the display unit by the immediately preceding display outside detection process ;
An out-of-display detection process for detecting whether or not the subject being tracked by the tracking process has been removed from the display unit;
I have a,
In the display control process,
After the display unit is changed to the wide-angle zoom, the movement of the subject immediately before detected by the movement state detection process when the outside detection process detects that the subject has been removed from the display unit. Display information indicating a speed and indicating a moving direction of the subject immediately before is displayed on the display unit .

The program of the present invention is
In the computer of the subject tracking display control device,
Tracking function to track the subject,
A movement state detection function for sequentially detecting a moving speed and a moving direction of a subject tracked by the tracking function,
Detects whether or not the subject tracked by the tracking function is immediately before being removed from the display unit based on the sequentially changing moving speed and moving direction of the subject that are sequentially detected by the moving state detection function. Detection function just before display,
A display control function for changing the display unit to a wide-angle zoom when detecting that the subject is just before being removed from the display unit by the immediately preceding display outside detection function;
An out-of-display detection function for detecting whether or not the subject being tracked by the tracking function has been removed from the display unit;
Realized ,
The display control function is:
After the display unit is changed to the wide-angle zoom, the movement immediately before the subject detected by the movement state detection function when the out-of-display detection function detects that the subject is removed from the display unit. Display information indicating a speed and indicating a moving direction of the subject immediately before is displayed on the display unit .

  According to the present invention, subject tracking can be made easier.

(A), (B), and (C) are a front view, a rear view, and a plan view showing an appearance of an imaging apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an imaging apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows the control procedure of the "automatic tracking process 1" which concerns on 1st Embodiment. (A), (B), and (C) are diagrams showing display examples in the “automatic tracking process 1” of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the imaging device which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the control procedure of the "automatic tracking process 2" in 2nd Embodiment. (A)-(D) are figures which show the example of a display transition in the "automatic tracking process 2" of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the imaging device which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the control procedure of the "automatic tracking process 3" in 3rd Embodiment. (A)-(D) are figures which show the example of a display in the "automatic tracking process 3" of FIG.

[First Embodiment]
First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

1A and 1B are diagrams illustrating an appearance of the imaging apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment, in which FIG. 1A is a front view, FIG. 1B is a rear view, and FIG. 1C is a plan view.
In FIG. 1, the imaging apparatus 100 includes an imaging lens 1 as a lens unit on the front side as shown in FIG. Further, as shown in FIG. 1B, a mode dial 20, a display unit 8, a cursor key 21, a SET key 22, and the like are provided on the back surface of the imaging apparatus 100. Further, as shown in FIG. 1C, the zoom lever 23, shutter button 10a and power button 24 are provided on the upper surface, and although not shown, the side portion includes an external device such as a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a personal computer) or a modem. A USB terminal connection unit used when connecting the apparatus to a USB cable is provided.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the imaging apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment.
As illustrated in FIG. 2, the imaging apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment includes a lens unit 1, an electronic imaging unit 2, an imaging control unit 3, an image data generation unit 4, an image memory 5, and image processing. Unit 6, display control unit 7, display unit 8, recording medium control unit 9, operation input unit 10, and central control unit 11. Here, the lens unit 1 and the electronic imaging unit 2 constitute an imaging unit.
Further, the imaging control unit 3, the image processing unit 6, and the central control unit 11 are designed as a custom LSI 1A, for example.

The lens unit 1 is a zoom lens including, for example, a plurality of lens balls, and includes, for example, a focusing lens and a variator lens.
Although not shown, the lens unit 1 includes, for example, a zoom drive unit that moves the variator lens in the optical axis direction, a focus drive unit that moves the focus lens in the optical axis direction, and the like.

  The electronic imaging unit 2 is composed of an image sensor such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or a CMOS (Complementary Metal-oxide Semiconductor), for example, and converts an optical image that has passed through various lenses of the lens unit 1 into a two-dimensional image signal. To do.

Although not shown, the imaging control unit 3 includes a timing generator, a driver, and the like. Then, the imaging control unit 3 scans and drives the electronic imaging unit 2 with a timing generator and a driver, converts the optical image into a two-dimensional image signal with the electronic imaging unit 2 every predetermined period, and the electronic imaging unit 2 The image frames are read out from the imaging area for each screen and are sequentially output to the image data generation unit 4.
In addition, the imaging control unit 3 performs adjustment control of imaging conditions of the subject such as AF (automatic focusing process), AE (automatic exposure process), AWB (automatic white balance), and the like.

The image data generation unit 4 appropriately adjusts the gain for each RGB color component with respect to the analog value signal of the image frame transferred from the electronic imaging unit 2, and then performs sample holding by a sample hold circuit (not shown). The digital signal is converted into digital data by a / D converter (not shown), color processing including pixel interpolation processing and γ correction processing is performed by a color process circuit (not shown), and then a digital luminance signal Y and color difference signal Cb , Cr (YUV data) is generated as image data.
Image data output from the color process circuit is DMA transferred to an image memory 5 used as a buffer memory via a DMA controller (not shown).

  The central control unit 11 controls each unit of the imaging device 100. Specifically, the central control unit 11 includes a CPU, a RAM, and a ROM (all not shown), and performs various control operations according to various processing programs (not shown) for the imaging apparatus 100.

  The image memory 5 is composed of, for example, a DRAM or the like, and temporarily stores the image data transferred from the image data generation unit 4. The image memory 5 temporarily stores data processed by the image processing unit 6, the central control unit 11, and the like.

  The image processing unit 6 includes a subject detection unit 6a and a tracking unit 6b.

  The subject detection unit 6a has subject detection means for detecting the face or the entire body of the subject H. The subject detection means reads an image from the image memory 5, detects a human face or the like from the image, and specifies the position or size of the detected face or the like. The subject detection unit 6a recognizes whether or not there is a human face in the entire area (the entire range of the angle of view) of the captured image data. That is, the range to be subjected to face recognition processing is the entire area of the image data.

  The subject detection unit 6a is imaged with, for example, general human face feature point data (feature data such as eyes, eyebrows, nose, mouth, ears, etc.) for identifying a human face included in the image area. The face is detected by comparing and collating with the image data.

The subject detection unit 6a may be configured to detect a face by detecting one eye and generating a binocular pair candidate based on the one eye.
The subject detection unit 6a may be configured to detect a face by template matching (also referred to as block matching) using a reference template corresponding to the contour of the entire face.

  In addition, the subject detection unit 6a extracts shape information representing a feature region of the shape of the subject H as a feature point. In this case, the subject detection unit 6a extracts the contour of the subject H from the image data as shape information.

  The tracking unit 6b tracks the subject H that moves within the entire area of the image data. The tracking unit 6b includes a motion detection unit and a motion estimation unit. Here, the tracking unit 6b constitutes tracking means.

The tracking unit 6b detects a movement in the movement of the object in the entire region (the entire range of the angle of view) of the captured image data. Specifically, an inter-frame difference of an image read from the image memory 5 is obtained in units of pixels, and an object is calculated using an inter-frame difference method that estimates that a moving object with motion exists in the pixel area having the difference. Detecting the movement of
In addition, a region estimated as motion in the previous frame is cut out as a template image, a region having a high correlation with this template image is searched in the current frame, and a region where the correlation value is equal to or greater than a threshold is a region where a moving object exists. It is also possible to detect the motion of an object using a matching method that estimates that.

  Further, the tracking unit 6b predicts the speed of the subject H and the moving direction of the subject H based on the motion vector detected by the motion detection unit.

The display control unit 7 performs control to read the reduced image data stored in the image memory 5 and display the reduced image on the display unit 8.
Specifically, the display control unit 7 includes a VRAM, a VRAM controller, a digital video encoder, and the like. The digital video encoder reads the luminance signal Y and the color difference signals Cb and Cr of the reduced image data read from the image memory 5 and stored in the VRAM (not shown) under the control of the central control unit 11 into the VRAM. The data is periodically read from the VRAM via the controller, and a video signal is generated based on these data and output to the display unit 8. The display control unit 7 also displays a live view image based on a plurality of image frames generated by imaging by the electronic imaging unit 2 and the imaging control unit 3 or a REC view image captured as a main captured image in the imaging mode. And the like are also displayed on the display unit 8.

  The display unit 8 is, for example, a liquid crystal display device, and functions as a display unit that displays a reduced image based on a video signal from the display control unit 7. The display unit 8 displays a live view image, a REC view image, a composite image, and the like on the display unit 8 based on the video signal from the display control unit 7.

  The recording medium control unit 9 is configured such that the recording medium 9a is detachable, and controls reading of data from the loaded recording medium 9a and writing of data to the recording medium 9a. That is, the recording medium control unit 9 records the recording image data encoded by the JPEG compression unit (not shown) of the image processing unit 6 on the recording medium 9a. The image data for recording includes cut-out image data.

  The recording medium 9a is composed of, for example, a non-volatile memory (flash memory) or the like. However, the recording medium 9a is an example and is not limited to this, and can be arbitrarily changed as appropriate.

  The operation input unit 10 is for performing a predetermined operation of the imaging apparatus 100. Specifically, the operation input unit 10 includes a shutter button 10a related to a shooting instruction of the subject H and various instruction buttons 10b. The instruction button 10b corresponds to the mode dial 20, the cursor key 21, the SET key 22, the zoom lever 23, and the like. In the menu screen, an imaging mode, a function, and the like are selected, a composition instruction is given, and a zoom amount adjustment instruction is given. A predetermined operation signal is output to the central control unit 11 in response to the operation of these buttons.

  Further, the operation input unit 10 functions as a unit for inputting instructions related to various settings.

Next, the operation of the imaging device 100 according to the first embodiment will be described.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of “automatic tracking process 1” executed in the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is an example showing a display screen in the “automatic tracking process 1”.
Hereinafter, the operation of “automatic tracking process 1” by the imaging apparatus 100 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 3 and FIG.

When the “automatic tracking process 1” is started, the central control unit 11 first performs subject analysis by the subject detection unit 6a, and the tracking unit 6b performs subject tracking (step S01). As a result, if the subject is being tracked, the process branches to “YES” and proceeds to step S02. On the other hand, if the subject is not being tracked, the process branches to “NO” and proceeds to step S01.

When tracking is started, the central control unit 11 starts detecting the moving speed and moving direction of the subject H by the tracking unit 6b. And while tracking is implemented, the detection of the moving speed and moving direction of the subject H is continued.
Here, the central control unit 11 constitutes first detection means for detecting the moving speed and moving direction of the subject H.

In step S02, the central control unit 11 controls the tracking unit 6b to display a tracking frame 25 surrounding the grasped subject H's face or the entire body.
4A to 4C show a state in which the tracking subject frame 25 is displayed on the subject H. FIG.

In step S <b> 03, it is determined whether or not the subject H has moved and removed from the display unit 8 while the subject H is being tracked. If the subject H moves during subject tracking and moves away from the display unit 8, the process branches to "YES" and proceeds to step S04. If not deviated from the display unit 8, the process branches to "NO" and proceeds to step S02.
FIG. 4D shows a case where the subject H is detached from the display unit 8.
Here, the central control unit 11 constitutes a second detection unit that detects whether or not the subject H has come off the display unit 8 while tracking the subject H.

In step S04, the central control unit 11 acquires the moving speed and the moving direction of the immediately preceding subject H from the tracking unit 6b, and sets the moving speed and the moving direction to a length L corresponding to the moving speed. And it displays on the said display part 8 as the arrow Y of the direction of a moving direction. As the display method, for example, the direction is indicated by the direction of the arrow Y, and the moving speed is indicated by the length L of the arrow Y.
Here, the immediately preceding subject H in the first embodiment is, for example, the subject in the last image frame in which subject tracking has been performed.
In addition, the central control unit 11 displays on the display unit 8 an arrow Y having a length corresponding to the moving speed of the subject H detected by the tracking unit 6b and indicating the moving direction of the subject H. Configure.
FIG. 4D shows a state where an arrow Y indicating the moving speed and the moving direction is displayed on the display unit 8.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, the imaging apparatus 100 detects the tracking unit 6b that tracks the subject H, and the movement speed and direction of the subject H that is tracked by the tracking unit 6b. The first detection means 11, the second detection means 11 for detecting whether or not the subject H being tracked by the tracking portion 6 b has come off the display portion, and the second detection means 11 causes the subject H to be displayed on the display portion 8. Display control means 11 for displaying on the display unit 8 display information indicating the moving speed of the subject H detected by the first detecting means 11 and indicating the moving direction of the subject H when it is detected that the object is off the screen. These components of the imaging device 100 function as a subject tracking display control device.
Then, while tracking the subject H by the tracking unit 6b, the moving speed and the moving direction of the subject H are detected, whether or not the subject H is detached from the display unit 8 is detected, and the subject H is detached from the display unit 8. When this is detected, an arrow Y indicating the length L corresponding to the moving speed of the subject H and the direction of the moving direction of the subject H is displayed on the display unit 8, so that the subject H moves. If the display unit 8 is out of the display unit, vector information (direction and speed) immediately before the subject H can be displayed. Therefore, even if the photographer loses sight of the subject H, the photographer can visually confirm both the direction of the arrow Y and the length L thereof, and the direction of the imaging device 100 is approximately in which direction. If it is moved, it can be grasped instantaneously whether the subject H can be put in the display unit 8 again.

  The display information is a length L corresponding to the moving speed of the subject H detected by the first detection unit 11 and is an arrow Y indicating the direction of the moving direction of the subject, so that the display information is easy to understand. .

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  In the first embodiment described above, the example in which the arrow Y is displayed when the subject H moves and is detached from the display unit 8 during tracking of the subject has been described. However, in the second embodiment, the lens unit is displayed. An example of changing the zoom magnification of 1 will be described.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the imaging apparatus 200 according to the second embodiment. The imaging apparatus 200 according to the second embodiment has substantially the same configuration as that of the imaging apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment except for the details described below, and detailed description thereof is omitted. The external appearance of the imaging apparatus 200 is the same as that in FIG. 1, and illustration and description thereof are omitted.

  In the imaging apparatus 200 according to the second embodiment, a tracking zoom control unit 12 is added to the configuration of the imaging apparatus 200 illustrated in FIG. Under the control of the central control unit 31, the tracking zoom control unit 12 controls the zoom drive unit of the lens unit 1 according to the following “automatic tracking process 2”. Further, the imaging control unit 3, the tracking zoom control unit 12, the image processing unit 6, and the central control unit 31 are designed as, for example, a custom LSI 1B.

  Next, the operation of the imaging apparatus 200 according to the second embodiment will be described.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of “automatic tracking process 2” executed in the second embodiment. FIG. 7 shows an example of display screen transition in the “automatic tracking process 2”.
Hereinafter, the operation of the “automatic tracking process 2” by the imaging apparatus 200 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 6 and FIG.

When the “automatic tracking process 2” process is started, the central control unit 31 first performs subject analysis by the subject detection unit 6a and performs subject tracking (step S01). As a result, if the subject is being tracked, the process branches to “YES” and proceeds to step S12. On the other hand, if the subject is not being tracked, the process branches to “NO” and proceeds to step S11.
Here, the central control unit 31 constitutes first detection means for detecting the moving speed and moving direction of the subject H.

In step S12, the central control unit 31 controls the tracking unit 6b to display the tracking subject frame 25 on the grasped subject H.
FIGS. 7A to 7B show a state in which the tracking subject frame 25 is displayed on the subject H and the subject H is being tracked.

  In step 13, the central control unit 31 controls the tracking unit 6b to determine whether or not “the subject H is just before the angle of view before the wide-angle zoom is off. Here, the angle of view before the wide-angle zoom is the step. This means the angle of view of the current lens before the wide-angle zoom-out process performed in S14.The subject H moves during the subject tracking, and “when the subject H is just before the subject H deviates from the angle of view before the wide-angle zoom. The process branches to “YES” and proceeds to step S14. “If it is not immediately before the subject H deviates from the angle of view before the wide-angle zoom, the process branches to“ NO ”and proceeds to step S12.

A method for determining whether or not the subject H is just outside the angle of view before the wide-angle zoom is as follows. That is, when it is assumed that the subject H is deviated from the speed and its direction after a predetermined time, it is assumed that it is immediately before deviating.
Specifically, the motion estimation unit predicts the speed of the subject H and the moving direction of the subject H based on the motion vector detected by the motion detection unit, and after a predetermined time (for example, 0.5 seconds), It is assumed that it is immediately before the case where it is predicted that the display screen will be removed.

  Further, for example, when the subject H is a human, a predetermined ratio, for example, 20% of the entire face has been removed from the display screen portion of the display unit 8, or one of the eyes on one side of the face. A case where the eye cannot be recognized can be defined as immediately preceding. Further, a state in which a predetermined ratio of the original tracking frame, for example, 20% has been removed from the display screen part of the display unit 8, or a state in which the element for recognizing the tracking frame has become unstable. It can also be defined as just before.

In addition, for example, it may be determined that the time immediately before reaching the periphery exceeding 90% of the distance from the center of the screen to the display screen portion of the display unit 8 is reached.
Here, the central control unit 31 is a second detection unit that detects whether or not the subject H is immediately before being detached from the display screen while tracking the subject H.

In step S <b> 14, the central control unit 31 controls the tracking zoom control unit 12 to perform “zoom out to wide angle”. The “zoom out to wide angle process” is a process in which the tracking zoom control unit 12 under the control of the central control unit 31 controls the zoom drive unit of the lens unit 1 to change the focal length of the zoom lens to be small.
FIG. 7C illustrates a state in which the subject H is just before being removed from the display screen. The determination method of whether or not it is immediately before is “when the speed of the subject H and the moving direction of the subject H are predicted, and the display screen portion of the display unit 8 is predicted to be removed after a predetermined time (for example, 0.5 seconds). Is. Then, it is detected that it is immediately before in step S13, and "zoom out to wide angle" is performed in step S14. In FIG. 7D, the screen before zooming is indicated by a dotted line T1, and the screen after zooming is indicated by a solid line T2. Due to the zooming, the subject H remains inside the display screen after zooming.
Here, when the central control unit 31 and the tracking zoom control unit 12 detect that the subject H is just before coming off the display screen unit by the third detection unit, the display control unit changes the display screen unit to the wide-angle zoom. It is.

As described above, according to the second embodiment, the imaging apparatus 200 detects the tracking unit 6b that tracks the subject and the moving speed and the moving direction of the subject tracked by the tracking unit 6b. Detection means 31, second detection means 31 for detecting whether the subject being tracked by the tracking unit 6 b is immediately before coming off from the display unit 8, and the subject from the display unit 8 is taken off by the second detection means 31. The display control means 31 and 12 for changing the display unit 8 to wide-angle zoom when it is detected that it is immediately before are provided, and these components of the imaging device 200 function as a subject tracking display control device. Yes.
Then, while tracking the subject H, the moving speed and moving direction of the subject H are detected, whether the subject H is just before the display unit 8 is removed, and the subject H is just before the display unit 8 is removed. When the image is detected, the display unit 8 is changed to the wide-angle zoom. Therefore, the photographer performs an action such as taking a video / still image or waiting for a shooting opportunity without losing the subject H by the wide-angle zoom process. be able to.

[Third Embodiment]
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.

In the third embodiment, an example will be described in which the zoom magnification of the lens unit 1 is changed during subject tracking, and a predetermined display is performed when the subject H moves and deviates from the display screen.
FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an imaging apparatus 300 according to the third embodiment. The imaging apparatus 300 according to the third embodiment has substantially the same configuration as that of the imaging apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment except for the details described below, and detailed description thereof is omitted. The appearance of the imaging apparatus 300 is the same as that in FIG. 1, and illustration and description thereof are omitted.

  In the imaging apparatus 300 according to the third embodiment, a tracking zoom control unit 12 is added to the configuration of the imaging apparatus 100 illustrated in FIG. Under the control of the central control unit 41, the tracking zoom control unit 12 controls the zoom drive unit of the lens unit 1 in accordance with the following “automatic tracking process 2”. In addition, the imaging control unit 3, the tracking zoom control unit 12, the image processing unit 6, and the central control unit 41 are designed as a custom LSI 1C, for example.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of “automatic tracking process 3” executed in the third embodiment. FIG. 10 is an example showing a display screen in the “automatic tracking process 3”.
Hereinafter, the operation of the “automatic tracking process 3” by the imaging apparatus 300 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 9 and FIG.

  When the “automatic tracking process 3” process is started, the central control unit 41 first performs subject analysis by the subject detection unit 6a and performs subject tracking (step S21). As a result, if the subject is being tracked, the process branches to “YES” and proceeds to step S222. As a result, if the subject is not being tracked, the process branches to “NO” and proceeds to step S21.

Further, when tracking is started, the tracking unit 6b starts detecting the moving speed and moving direction of the subject H. And while tracking is implemented, the detection of the moving speed and moving direction of the subject H is continued.
Here, the central control unit 41 constitutes first detection means for detecting the moving speed and moving direction of the subject H.

In step S22, the central control unit 41 controls the tracking unit 6b to display the tracking subject frame on the grasped subject H.
FIGS. 10A and 10B show the tracking subject frame 25 displayed on the subject H. FIG.

In step 23, the central control unit 41 controls the tracking unit 6b to determine whether or not “the subject H is just before the angle of view before the wide-angle zoom is off. Here, the angle of view before the wide-angle zoom is the step. This means the angle of view of the current lens before the wide-angle zoom-out process performed in S24.The subject H moves during tracking of the subject, The process branches to “YES” and proceeds to step S24. “If it is not immediately before the subject H deviates from the angle of view before the wide-angle zoom, the process branches to“ NO ”and proceeds to step S22. As a determination method, the same method as in the second embodiment can be cited.
Here, the central control unit 41 is a third detection unit that detects whether or not the subject H is immediately before being removed from the display screen while tracking the subject H.

In step 24, the central control unit 41 controls the tracking zoom control unit 12 to “perform a zoom-out process to a wide angle. The zoom-out process is performed by the tracking zoom control unit 12 under the control of the central control unit 41. In this process, the zoom drive unit of the lens unit 1 is controlled to change the focal length of the zoom lens small.
Here, when the central control unit 41 and the tracking zoom control unit 12 detect that the subject H is immediately before being removed from the display screen unit, the display control unit changes the display screen unit to wide-angle zoom.
In FIG. 10C, the screen before zooming is indicated by a dotted line, and the screen after zooming is indicated by a solid line. As shown by the solid line in FIG. 10C, the subject H remains inside the display unit 8 after the wide-angle zoom process of the display unit 8 due to the zooming.

  In step S25, the central control unit 41 performs subject analysis by the subject detection unit 6a and performs subject tracking. As a result, if the subject is being tracked, the process branches to “YES” and proceeds to step S22. As a result, if the subject is not being tracked, the process branches to “NO” and proceeds to step S26.

In step S26, the central control unit 41 obtains the moving speed and moving direction of the immediately preceding subject H from the tracking unit 6b, and sets the moving speed and moving direction to a length L corresponding to the moving speed. In addition, it is displayed on the display unit 8 as an arrow Y indicating the direction of movement of the subject H. In the display method, the direction is indicated by the direction of the arrow Y, and the moving speed is indicated by the length Y of the arrow Y.
Here, the immediately preceding subject H in the third embodiment is, for example, the subject in the last image frame in which subject tracking has been performed.
Here, the central control unit 41 constitutes second detection means for detecting whether or not the subject H has been detached from the display unit 8 while tracking the subject H.
Further, the central control unit 41 displays on the display unit 8 an arrow Y indicating the length L corresponding to the moving speed of the subject H detected by the tracking unit 6b and the direction of the moving direction of the subject H. It is.
FIG. 10D shows a state in which an arrow Y indicating the moving speed and the moving direction is displayed on the display unit 8.

As described above, according to the third embodiment, the imaging apparatus 300 detects the tracking unit 6b that tracks the subject, and the moving speed and the moving direction of the subject H that is tracked by the tracking unit 6b. The first detection means 41, the second detection means 41 for detecting whether or not the subject being tracked by the tracking means has deviated from the display section 8, and the subject H being tracked by the tracking hand section 6b. A third detecting means 41 for detecting whether the subject H is just before coming off from the display unit, and when the second detecting means 41 detects that the subject H is detached from the display unit 8, the first detecting means 41 detects it. The display information indicating the moving speed of the subject H and the moving direction of the subject H is displayed on the display unit 8, while the subject H is just before being removed from the display unit 8 by the third detection unit 41. When we detect And display control means 41,12 for changing the display unit 8 in the wide-angle zoom, equipped with these components of the imaging device 300 functions as the object tracking display control device.
Therefore, the photographer can perform actions such as moving image / still image shooting or waiting for a shooting opportunity without missing the subject H by the wide-angle zoom processing. Furthermore, when the subject H is not detected in the screen even by the wide-angle zoom process, the vector information (direction and speed) immediately before the subject H can be displayed on the screen. Therefore, even if the photographer loses sight of the subject H, the direction of the imaging apparatus 300 can be moved into the display unit 8 again by moving the direction of the imaging device 300 in which direction from the arrow Y displayed on the display unit 8. You can see if you can.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and is included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalent scope thereof.
For example, when it is detected that the subject has been removed from the display unit, the length corresponding to the detected moving speed of the subject is displayed as display information indicating the moving speed of the detected subject and the moving direction of the subject. And an arrow indicating the direction of movement of the subject is used, but speed data indicating the detected moving speed of the subject may be displayed near the arrow indicating the direction of movement of the subject. Good. Further, instead of the arrow, the detected moving speed of the subject and the moving direction of the subject may be indicated by character data.
Hereinafter, the invention described in the scope of claims of the present application will be appended.
[Appendix]
<Claim 1>
Tracking means for tracking the subject;
First detecting means for detecting the moving speed and moving direction of the subject tracked by the tracking means;
Second detection means for detecting whether or not the subject being tracked by the tracking means has deviated from the display unit;
Display information indicating the moving speed of the subject detected by the first detecting means and indicating the moving direction of the subject when the second detecting means detects that the subject is removed from the display unit. Display control means for displaying on the display unit;
An object tracking display control apparatus comprising:
<Claim 2>
2. The display information according to claim 1, wherein the display information is an arrow indicating a length corresponding to a moving speed of the subject detected by the first detecting unit and indicating a direction of the moving direction of the subject. Subject tracking display control device.
<Claim 3>
Tracking means for tracking the subject;
First detecting means for detecting the moving speed and moving direction of the subject tracked by the tracking means;
Second detection means for detecting whether the subject being tracked by the tracking means is immediately before coming off the display unit;
A display control unit for changing the display unit to a wide-angle zoom when the second detection unit detects that the subject is immediately before being removed from the display unit;
An object tracking display control apparatus comprising:
<Claim 4>
Tracking means for tracking the subject;
First detecting means for detecting the moving speed and moving direction of the subject tracked by the tracking means;
Second detection means for detecting whether or not the subject being tracked by the tracking means has deviated from the display unit;
Third detection means for detecting whether the subject being tracked by the tracking means is immediately before coming off the display unit;
Display information indicating the moving speed of the subject detected by the first detecting means and indicating the moving direction of the subject when the second detecting means detects that the subject is removed from the display unit. A display control unit for changing the display unit to a wide-angle zoom when the third detection unit detects that the subject is immediately before being removed from the display unit while displaying on the display unit;
An object tracking display control apparatus comprising:
<Claim 5>
A tracking step for tracking the subject;
A first detection step for detecting a moving speed and a moving direction of the subject tracked by the tracking step;
A second detection step of detecting whether or not the subject being tracked by the tracking step is out of the display unit;
When it is detected that the subject has been removed from the display unit, display information indicating the moving speed of the subject detected by the first detection step and indicating the moving direction of the subject is displayed on the display unit. A display control step;
An object tracking display control method characterized by comprising:
<Claim 6>
The subject tracking display control computer
Tracking means for tracking the subject;
First detecting means for detecting the moving speed and moving direction of the subject tracked by the tracking means;
Second detection means for detecting whether or not the subject being tracked by the tracking means has deviated from the display unit;
Display information indicating the moving speed of the subject detected by the first detecting means and indicating the moving direction of the subject when the second detecting means detects that the subject is removed from the display unit. Display control means for displaying on the display unit;
A program characterized by functioning as

100, 200, 300 Imaging device 1 Lens part (imaging means)
2 Electronic imaging unit (imaging means)
3 imaging control unit 4 image data generation unit 5 image memory 6 image processing unit 6a subject detection unit 6b tracking unit (tracking means)
7 Display control unit 8 Display unit 9 Recording medium control unit 10 Operation input unit 10a Shutter button 10b Instruction buttons 11, 31, 41 Central control unit (first detection unit, second detection unit, third detection unit, display Control means)
12 Tracking zoom control unit (display control means)
20 Mode dial 21 Cursor key 22 Set key 23 Zoom lever 24 Power button 25 Tracking frame

Claims (6)

Tracking means for tracking the subject;
A moving state detecting means for sequentially detecting a moving speed and a moving direction of the subject tracked by the tracking means;
Detects whether or not the subject tracked by the tracking unit is immediately before coming off the display unit based on the sequentially changing moving speed and moving direction of the subject that are sequentially detected by the moving state detection unit. Means for detecting that the display is not displayed immediately before
Display control means for changing the display unit to wide-angle zoom when detecting that the subject is immediately before being removed from the display unit by the immediately preceding display outside detection unit;
Out-of-display detection means for detecting whether or not the subject being tracked by the tracking means has been removed from the display unit;
Equipped with a,
The display control means includes
After the display unit is changed to wide-angle zoom, the movement immediately before the subject detected by the movement state detection unit when the out-of-display detection unit detects that the subject has moved away from the display unit. An object tracking display control apparatus, characterized in that display information indicating speed and a moving direction immediately before the object is displayed on the display unit. The immediately preceding non-display detection means is a state before the display control means changes the display unit to wide-angle zoom, and the moving speed and moving direction of the subject that are sequentially changed detected by the moving state detection means. Based on whether the subject being tracked by the tracking means is immediately before coming off the display unit,
The out-of-display detection unit detects whether or not the subject tracked by the tracking unit has moved out of the display unit after the display control unit has changed the display unit to wide-angle zoom. The subject tracking display control apparatus according to claim 1 . It further comprises an imaging means for acquiring images at a predetermined cycle,
3. The subject according to claim 1, wherein the moving state detecting unit sequentially detects a moving speed and a moving direction of the subject that are sequentially changed from a plurality of consecutive images acquired by the imaging unit. Tracking display control device. The display information is an arrow indicating a length corresponding to a moving speed immediately before the subject detected by the moving state detecting means, and indicating a direction of a moving direction immediately before the subject. subject tracking display control apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3. Tracking processing to track the subject,
A movement state detection process for sequentially detecting a moving speed and a moving direction of a subject that is being tracked by the tracking process;
Detects whether or not the subject tracked by the tracking processing is immediately before being removed from the display unit based on the sequentially changing moving speed and moving direction of the subject that are sequentially detected by the moving state detection processing. And immediately before display detection processing,
A display control process for changing the display unit to a wide-angle zoom when detecting that the subject is just before being removed from the display unit by the immediately preceding display outside detection process ;
An out-of-display detection process for detecting whether or not the subject being tracked by the tracking process has been removed from the display unit;
I have a,
In the display control process,
After the display unit is changed to the wide-angle zoom, the movement of the subject immediately before detected by the movement state detection process when the outside detection process detects that the subject has been removed from the display unit. An object tracking display control method , comprising: displaying information indicating a speed and indicating a moving direction immediately before the object on the display unit . In the computer of the subject tracking display control device,
Tracking function to track the subject,
A movement state detection function for sequentially detecting a moving speed and a moving direction of a subject tracked by the tracking function,
Detects whether or not the subject tracked by the tracking function is immediately before being removed from the display unit based on the sequentially changing moving speed and moving direction of the subject that are sequentially detected by the moving state detection function. Detection function just before display,
A display control function for changing the display unit to a wide-angle zoom when detecting that the subject is just before being removed from the display unit by the immediately preceding display outside detection function;
An out-of-display detection function for detecting whether or not the subject being tracked by the tracking function has been removed from the display unit;
Realized ,
The display control function is:
After the display unit is changed to the wide-angle zoom, the movement immediately before the subject detected by the movement state detection function when the out-of-display detection function detects that the subject is removed from the display unit. A program characterized by causing the display unit to display display information indicating a speed and a moving direction immediately before the subject .

Images