JPH02189128A - Optical apparatus having close observation point detecting means - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain an optical apparatus having close observation point detecting means capable of easily detecting the close observation point of an observer regardless of personal equation by projecting a designated pattern on an observer's retina and detecting the position relation of the pattern on the retina. CONSTITUTION:An optical apparatus comprises projection means for projecting a designated pattern on the retina 3 of an observer's eye-ball 101, illuminating means for illuminating the retina 3, means for detecting the pattern formed on the retina 3 and processing means for obtaining the image formation position relationship of the pattern formed on the retina from an output signal from the detecting means and obtaining the close observation point of the observer from the obtained position relationship. By this arrangement, it is possible to obtain an optical apparatus having close observation point detecting means capable of easily detecting which position on the observation surface an observer observes, that is, the closer observation point of the observer regardless of personal equation.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to an optical device having a gaze point detection means. An optical device having a gaze point detection means that detects the position (area) observed by an observer (photographer), the so-called gaze point, by using a pattern projected onto the retinal surface of the observer's eyeball. It is related to.

(Prior Art) Various devices have been proposed to detect a gaze point corresponding to a so-called visual axis that detects which position on an observation surface an observer is observing.

For example, Journal of' 0pticalS
ociety or Americav61.63
．． No. 8.921 pages and below (hereinafter referred to as "publicly known example")
In JP-A-61-172552, a light beam from a light source is projected onto the anterior segment of the eye to be examined, and the imaging state of a Purkinje image, which is a reflected image based on light reflected from the cornea or crystalline lens, is used. I'm looking for a visual axis (point of gaze).

By detecting the direction of the line of sight (point of gaze) of the observer's eye to be examined, it is possible to know which position on the focal plane the photographer is observing in, for example, an eye reflex camera.

For example, when an automatic focus detection device has distance measuring points not only at the center of the screen but also at multiple locations within the screen, and an observer selects one of the distance measuring points to perform automatic focus detection, This is effective in eliminating the trouble of selecting and inputting one of them, treating the point that the observer is observing as the distance measurement point, automatically selecting the distance measurement point, and performing automatic focus detection.

Spot metering, which detects the area on the focal plane that the observer is observing, the so-called gaze point, and measures which area in the screen to focus on in the other side light, and This is effective when performing evaluation photometry such as partial photometry.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, the device of Known Example 1 is composed of an illumination means for illuminating the cornea and sclera of the eyeball, and a light receiving means for receiving the light beam reflected from the boundary between the sclera and the iris. The line of sight cannot be accurately determined unless the relative positional relationship between the line of sight detection means and the subject's eyeballs is constant, and the relationship between the line of sight detection means and the eyeballs must be set in advance. Therefore, there were problems in that the operability was poor and only the inclination of the optical axis of the eyeball could be determined.

Further, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 172552/1983, the relationship between the device and the eyeball is arbitrary, and the optical axis of the eyeball is determined. However, because the difference between the reflectance from the aperture region and the reflectance from the iris region is small, it is difficult to detect the center of the pupil, and the accuracy of detecting the visual axis decreases. There is a problem that reflected light from the cornea occurs near the boundary between the pupil and the iris, making it impossible to detect the center of the pupil, and that the accuracy of line-of-sight detection decreases due to individual differences in eyeball shape, size, etc. Ta.

The present invention does not depend on which position on the observation surface the observer is observing, that is, the observer's gaze point is determined by the relative positional relationship between the detection means and the eyeball of the U-fold book, and is independent of individual differences. Another object of the present invention is to provide an optical device having a gaze point detection means that can always detect a point of interest with high precision while preventing the entire device from becoming complicated.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention includes a projection means for projecting a predetermined pattern onto the retina of an observer's eyeball, an illumination means for illuminating the retina, and a detection means for detecting the pattern formed on the retina. and processing means for determining the imaging positional relationship of the pattern formed on the retina from the output signal from the detecting means and determining the observer's gaze point from this. .

(Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the main parts of an optical system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of the main parts when the first embodiment shown in Fig. 1 is applied to a single-lens reflex camera, and Fig. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the pattern image of the mask formed on the retina of the fundus of the eye in Fig. 1. be.

In Figure 1, 101 is the eyeball, l is the cornea, 2 is the iris, and 3
A mask pattern, which will be described later, is formed on the retina.

4 is the fovea, and the observation point formed here corresponds to the gaze point. 5 is a nipple.

The cornea 1, the iris 2, the crystalline lens (not shown), etc. are hereinafter referred to as the "ocular system", and the reference numeral 10 is a light source, for example, a light emitting diode that emits infrared light that is insensitive to the observer.

Reference numeral 25 denotes a light projecting lens, which condenses the light beam from the light source 10 and irradiates the mask 9 with it. The mask 9 is made of, for example, a liquid crystal element, and has a pattern in which three rectangular light-shielding areas a, b, and c are arranged at equal intervals. 23 is a projection lens, and 26 is a diopter correction lens which can be moved on the optical axis. Reference numeral 22 designates an eyepiece lens in which a half mirror 22a is provided.In this embodiment, each element 23.2
6.22, the pattern of the mask 9 is projected onto the retina 3.

Reference numeral 24 denotes a detection lens which forms the pattern image of the mask 9 projected onto the net 11i3 on seven 296 planes.

In this embodiment, the infrared light from the light source 10 is focused by the projection lens 25, enters the corner M41 of the eyeball via the projection lens 23, the diopter correction lens 26, and the eyepiece 22, and is focused near the iris 2. After the light is emitted, the retina 3 is illuminated.

On the other hand, the pattern of light-shielding areas a, b, and c on the mask 9 illuminated by the projection lens 25 with the light beam from the light source 10 is transmitted through the projection lens 23, the diopter correction lens 26, the eyepiece lens 22, and the eyeball system. Net as shown! l! The image is formed on I3.

In FIG. 3, mesh lines represent blood vessels, which originate from the papilla 5 and wrap around the fovea 4.

At this time, an image of a point on the observation plane (focus plane 40 in FIG. 2) that the observer is observing, a so-called gaze point, is formed near the fovea 4 on the retina 3. The infrared light based on the pattern of the mask 9 reflected on the mesh M3tlii is emitted from the cornea l, then reflected on the half mirror surface 22a, and is reflected on the detection lens 2.
4 forms a pattern image on an image sensor 6.

In this embodiment, the observer's gaze point is detected by determining the light shielding areas a, b, and c of the mask 9 formed near the fovea 4 on the surface of the image sensor 6 at this time.

That is, there is a light shielding layer of the mask 9 near the center height 4 on the retina 3.
, b, and c, the observer's gaze point is detected by detecting which shaded area is projected. In FIG. 3, since the image bt of the light-shielding region is projected near the fovea 4, the region corresponding to the light-shielding class IIAb of the mask 9 is the gaze point.

Next, a description will be given of FIG. 2 in which the optical device having the gaze point detection means shown in FIG. 1 is applied to a single-lens reflex camera.

In FIG. 2, the same elements as those shown in FIG. 1 are given the same reference numerals.

In the figure, a subject image captured by a photographic lens 20 is projected onto a focusing surface 40 of a focusing plate 40a via a flip-up mirror 30. Then, the subject image 4° above the focal plane is captured by a condenser lens 21. Observation is made through a pentagonal roof prism 33, a diopter correction lens 26, and an eyepiece lens 22.

In this embodiment, the illumination system of the gaze point detection means is arranged above the pentagonal roof prism 33, and the detection means is arranged above the eyepiece lens 22.

That is, the infrared light from the light source IO illuminates the mask 9 via the projection lens 15. Here, the mask 9 is set at a position optically substantially equivalent to the focal plane 40 with respect to the eyepiece lens 22. The light-shielding regions a, b, and c of the mask 9 are controlled by the processing means 7 so that one of them becomes a light-shielding region and the others become transmissive regions.

The light shielding area of the mask 9 is connected to the projection lens 23 and the dahama mirror 3 in this order.
4. Penta roof prism 33. It is projected onto the retina of the eye (not shown) via the diopter correction lens 26 and the eyepiece 22. Here, the roof mirror 34 is adhered to the roof portion of the penta roof prism 33, and a galvanic multilayer film is formed on the adhesive surface of the roof mirror 34 so that infrared light can selectively pass through the irises adhesive surface.

The infrared light based on the light-blocking area pattern reflected on the retinal surface of the eyeball is reflected by the half-mirror surface 22a of the eyepiece lens 22, which has a half-mirror surface 22a intended for infrared light, and is reflected onto the image sensor 6 by the detection lens 24. The image is formed as shown in FIG.

In this embodiment, the position of the mask 9 is set to be optically approximately equivalent to the position of the focus plane 40 of the finder optical system with respect to the observer, so that the mask 9 projected onto the observer's retina is The diopter is corrected by the diopter correction lens 26 so that the image in the light-shielded area becomes clear. That is, the image sensor 6 detects the image of the light-blocking area of the mask 9 projected onto the retina, and the processing means 7 detects the sharpness of the image. Further, the processing means 7 uses the driving device f! of the diopter correction lens 26 based on the sharpness of the image in the light-blocking area! 8 to drive the diopter correction lens 26.

At this time, diopter correction for the observer is performed by setting the diopter correction lens 26 at a position where the sharpness of the image of the light-blocking area of the mask 9 detected by the image sensor 6 is highest.

Then, similarly to the embodiment shown in FIG. is being observed or detected.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of one embodiment of the gaze point detection operation according to the present invention.

In response to an instruction to start gaze point detection, the light source 10 is turned on based on a signal from the processing means 7 and infrared light is emitted, and the light shielding areas a, b, and c of the mask 9 are first set to a transparent state. The infrared light transmitted through the mask 9 illuminates the mesh [13], and an image on the retina is formed on the image sensor 6.

In the processing means 7, the position of the fovea 4 is determined by detecting a dark region through which blood vessels do not pass in the fundus image.
The area a of the mask 9 is set to a light-shielded image state based on a signal from the zero-order processing means 7 that detects and stores the image. A projected image al of area a is formed on the image sensor 6F, and its position Y is detected. Here, in the processing means 7, if the position Y0 of the center 84 and the position of the monk al match, the gaze point information F is set to a, and the area corresponding to the area a in the fiander is determined to be the gaze point.

Further, if the position Y0 of the fovea 4 and the position N Y- of the image al do not match, the area a of the mask 9 is set to a transmitting state, and the area is then set to a light blocking state.

Thereafter, the gaze point is determined through the same operations as in the case of area a. The same applies to area C.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the main parts of an optical system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a main part of an embodiment when the second embodiment of FIG. 5 is applied to a single-lens reflex camera.

In FIGS. 5 and 6, the same elements as those shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are given the same reference numerals.

This embodiment is basically the same as the first embodiment except that light sources 11, 12, and 13 are used instead of the light shielding areas a, b, and c of the mask 9 in FIG.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, a lighting signal is given to the light source 10 by the processing means 7 based on an instruction to detect a gaze point using a switch (not shown).

Infrared light from a light source 1O consisting of a diode that emits infrared light that is insensitive to the observer is transmitted to the corner of the eyeball by a projection lens 25, half mirrors 32, 31, and a projection lens 23.
1il, and after being imaged near the iris 2, the mesenterium 3 is illuminated.

The infrared light reflected on the surface of the retina 3 of the eyeball is transmitted to the projection lens 231.
An image is formed on the image sensor 6 via the half mirror 31% detection lens 24. The processing means 7 detects a dark region in which no blood vessels pass in the fundus image projected onto the image sensor 6, and thereby calculates the center height r! IY
When o is detected and stored, the light source lO is turned off and the light sources 11, 12, and 13 are sequentially turned on. light source 1
Infrared light from each light source of 1.12.13 is sent to half mirror 3.
2, 31, the projection lens 23 forms an image on the retina 3 via the corner 111. Furthermore, the images of the light sources 11, 12, and 13 reflected on the surface of the retina 3 are transferred to the projection lens 23 and the half mirror.
31, the image is re-imaged on the image sensor 6-H via the detection lens 24. The processing means 7 detects at which position of the fundus image the image of the light source L1.12°13 is projected;
A comparison is made with the position Y0 of the fovea 4 and the light source projected onto the fovea 4 is found. The figure shows an example in which the projected image of the light source 12 onto the retina 3 matches the position of the center height 4 on the retina 3, and the region corresponding to the light source 12 is the gaze point at which the observer is gazing. is detected.

Next, FIG. 6 will be described in which the optical device having the gaze point detection means shown in FIG. 5 is applied to a single-lens reflex camera.

In FIG. 6, the observer
A subject image on a focus plane 40 is observed through an eyepiece 22 having a diameter of 1.a. At this time, light source 11.12.13
is arranged so as to be optically equivalent to a predetermined gaze point set near the focus plane 4o of the finder optical system of a single-lens reflex camera.

The light sources 11, 12, and 13 are then turned on in sequence, and their images are formed on the retina.

The light source image at this time is transferred to the dichroic mirror surface 22a, the projection lens 23, the half mirror 31, and the detection lens 24.
is formed on the surface of the image sensor 6. The image sensor 6 then detects the light source formed near the fovea in the same manner as the light shielding areas a, b, and c in FIG.
The upper position, that is, the gaze point is detected.

In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 2 and 6, the aerial image formed by the projection lens may be observed without using a focusing plate.

(Effects of the Invention) According to the present invention, by projecting a predetermined pattern onto the observer's retina and detecting the position of the pattern on the retina, the observer can determine which position on the observation surface is 111*L. In other words, the observer's point of gaze can be easily adjusted regardless of individual differences, and if a diopter correction lens is used, a sharper image of the pattern image projected on the retina can be obtained, allowing for higher precision detection. It is possible to achieve an optical device having a gaze point detection means that can perform the following.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the main parts of an optical system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of the main parts when the first embodiment shown in Fig. 1 is applied to a single-lens reflex camera, and Fig. 3 shows a pattern image of the entire mask surface formed on the retina of the fundus of the eye in Fig. 1. It is an explanatory diagram. FIG. 4 is a flowchart of one embodiment of the gaze point detection operation according to the present invention. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the main parts of an optical system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a main part of an embodiment when the second embodiment of FIG. 5 is applied to a single-lens reflex camera. In the figure, 1 is a cornea, 2 is a color, 3 is a retina, 4 is a fovea, 6 is an image sensor, 7 is a processing means, 8 is a drive device, 9 is a mask, 10 to 13 are light sources, 20 is a photographing lens, 21 is a condenser lens, 22 is an eyepiece lens 223 is a projection lens, 24 is a detection lens, 25 is a projection lens, 26 is a diopter correction lens, 33 is a penta roof prism, and 34 is a roof mirror 40 is a focusing surface. Diagram

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) Projection means for projecting a predetermined pattern onto the retina of the observer's eyeball, illumination means for illuminating the retina, detection means for detecting the pattern formed on the retina, and output from the detection means What is claimed is: 1. An optical device having a point of gaze detection means, comprising a processing means for determining an imaging positional relationship of a pattern formed on the retina from a signal and determining a point of gaze of an observer from this. (2) The predetermined pattern is arranged at a position optically equivalent to the observation surface on which the subject image is formed by the imaging system, and the observer's point of gaze is determined from the area on the observation surface. An optical device having a gaze point detection means according to claim 1. (3) The detection means has a diopter correction lens, and the diopter correction lens is drive-controlled based on a signal from the processing means.
An optical device having the gaze point detection means described above.