JPH03130741A - Camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To automatize a camera at high level by rotating the camera by a rotating means, performing range-finding when a sound pressure release condition within a specified time holds at an angle position corresponding to each direction of an object and executing release when the stored range-finding value is equal to the obtained value. CONSTITUTION:The camera is rotated and stopped at the rotational angle position of the object which is stored in a memory by the rotation of an oscillating mechanism 20, and a distance l1' to the object is measured. The camera waites for a specified time until the sound pressure of an input sound satisfies the release condition. When the release condition is satisfied, the distance l1' is compared with the stored distance l1 to the object. When l1=l1', a release action is performed to take a photograph. Thus, the camera automatically stops at the rotational angle position corresponding to the direction of the object which is previously set by a pre-AF action and performs the photographing. When the object moves to another place or when other substance enters and exists this side, photographing is not performed. Thus, an unnecessary photograph is prevented from being taken.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to an oscillating camera that performs a release operation in response to input sound.

(Prior art) In recent years, cameras have become increasingly automated, and in consideration of this trend, the applicant proposed an auto-release camera that automatically releases the shutter in response to input sound. The sound pressure level of an input sound such as applause or applause is detected, and a release operation is performed when the detected sound pressure level continues to be equal to or higher than a reference sound pressure level for a predetermined period of time. Therefore, if such a camera is used, for example, when taking pictures of a banquet or party, it is very convenient because it can capture the excitement and automatically release the camera.

Although such a camera frees the user from the release action, the user still has to set the framing. This is because if you leave your camera on a tripod or stand, you will always be taking pictures with the same frame, and you will end up taking dozens of pictures with the same composition. However, it is easy to forget to change the framing during a banquet or party, and it is also a considerable burden on the photographer.

Therefore, the applicant proposed a camera that automatically changes the framing by changing the direction of the camera little by little in synchronization with the photographing operation (Japanese Patent Application No. 1-51490).

By the way, in the above-mentioned automatic framing changing camera (so-called oscillating camera), the film is wound after shooting.
In conjunction with the lifting motion, the camera is swung in one direction at a certain angle, and when it reaches a certain angle, it is then swung in the opposite direction at a certain angle at a time, and the sound pressure level is at a certain level at the intermediate position. When this happens, a release operation is performed. By devising the camera's swing mechanism, it is possible to swing the camera in one direction at a fixed angle, allowing you to photograph people and scenes all around the camera.

By the way, in this type of swinging auto-release camera, even if there is no subject such as a person at the position where the camera is facing, the shutter will be released if the sound pressure level of the input sound satisfies the release conditions. There is a risk that you will end up with useless photos that do not show the correct information.

(Object and Structure of the Invention) The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to avoid unnecessary photographs that do not show the subject.In order to achieve this object,! Before taking the M shadow, rotate the camera so that the optical axis of the photographing lens changes direction within the same plane, measure the distance during this rotation, input the direction of the subject and the distance to the subject, and memorize it. When entering the actual shooting mode, the camera is sequentially rotated by swinging to the pre-memorized subject direction, and when the release conditions are met within a predetermined time in each subject direction, distance measurement is performed. Compare the measured distance with the previously stored distance to a certain subject, and if the two almost match, release the camera, and if they do not match, swing the camera in the direction of the next subject5.
If the release condition was not satisfied within a predetermined time, the camera was instructed to either swing the camera to the next subject or wait in the original direction until the release condition was satisfied.

(Example) The present invention will be explained below based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the appearance of an embodiment of a camera according to the present invention.

In the figure, l is a photographing lens, 2 is a finder, 3a and 3b are windows for infrared light emission and light reception for distance measurement, and 4
5 is a release button, and 5 is an auto-release lever for setting auto-release mode. This auto-release mode automatically releases the camera when the sound pressure level of the input sound (such as a person's voice, laughter, or other sound) continues for a predetermined period of time.

When the auto-release lever 5 is slid upward, a microphone hole 5a appears, and a microphone for sound pressure detection is installed below the microphone hole 5a. Also, auto release lever 5
Below, five LEDs 6 for displaying the sound pressure level of the sound input from the microphone are attached to the camera body. In other words, the auto-release lever 5 is not only an operating member but also a display member, and the user can operate the lever that displays the sound pressure level to set the auto-release mode to 0N10FF, so it is very easy to understand, and even when in the auto-release mode. , a release operation is performed by pressing the release button 4.

7 is a switch button for selecting whether to use the self-timer or not, strobe light emission mode, etc., or if the camera is in auto release mode or is using the Buri AF operation (described later), the operation is ended and the auto release is activated by sound. This is an instruction button for transitioning to the state. 8 is a level setting button that adjusts the standard sound pressure level at which the release operation is performed; 9 is a lens barrier for protecting the photographing lens; 10 is a liquid crystal display that displays the number of film shots, the setting value of the standard sound pressure level, and other shooting-related information. A display panel, 11 a strobe, and 12 a light receiving lens for photometry. Note that the distance measurement method of this camera is an active method.

The release operation of this camera and the like are not directly related to the present invention and are not necessary for understanding the present invention, so they will not be explained, but if necessary, please refer to the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application No. 1-51490.

Next, a swing mechanism for swinging the camera body up and down and left and right will be explained with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5.

Figures 2 (A) and (B) show the attachment position of the swing mechanism to the camera.2 The swing mechanism 20 is housed in a case 21 at the center of the bottom of the camera body 100 and is attached to the camera body. It is rotatably mounted. If the bottom of the case 21 is fixed on a stand or the like by an appropriate method, the camera position can be fixed without using a special equipment such as a tripod, and swinging operation is possible as described later. The means for supporting the camera may be as simple as those described herein.

3, 4, and 5 show the detailed structure of the swing mechanism 20.

As shown in FIG.
The case 21 is housed in a recess 100a provided at the center of the bottom surface of the case 21, and the case 21 is rotatably supported by a support shaft 22 extending horizontally above the case 21 via bearings 23a and 23b. Both ends of the support shaft 22 are firmly fixed to the camera body 100 so that the support shaft 22 does not rotate.

Now, inside the case 21 are two motors 30a and 30.
b is arranged horizontally, and gearboxes 31a and 31 are coaxially arranged.
b (see FIG. 4). The motor 30a functions as a drive source for rotating the camera body in the horizontal direction, and the motor 30b functions as a drive source for rotating the camera body in the vertical direction.

An ohmic gear 32a is supported near the motor 30a in parallel with the axial direction of the motor so that it does not move in the axial direction but only rotates with respect to the case 21, and a spur gear 33a is attached to the shaft of the ohmic gear 32a. Fixed. This spur gear 33aζ is connected to the gear pock 31a via a spur gear 34a in the gearbox 31a. Similarly, an ohmic gear 32b and an ohmic gear 32a are rotatably supported close to the motor 30b and parallel to the axial direction of the motor, and a spur gear 33b is fixed to the shaft of the ohmic gear 32b. This spur gear 33bC':l is connected to the gear box 31b via a spur gear 34b in the gear box 31b.

The ohmic gear 32a meshes with the ohmic wheel 36. A shaft 35 extending vertically at the center of the case 21 is connected to a ohm wheel 36 via a friction clutch (not shown), and six ohm wheels are provided on the upper part of the shaft 35 at regular intervals (for example, every ζfl'') on the periphery. 37a, and a hole 37b for detecting the front position of the camera (
A rotation detection disk 37 (see FIG. 6) is fixed thereto. A transmission type photointerrupter 38 (
(see FIG. 4), and a reflective photo-interrupter 39 is further provided at a position slightly inside one periphery, through which the lens 637b passes. Note that the lower end of the shaft 35 has a mounting screw 20 for the tripod 200 (indicated by a one-dot chain line in FIG. 3).
A boss 35a is formed in the attachment that screws into 0a.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5, a sector-shaped ohm plate 40 is engaged with the other ohm gear 32b. This ohm plate 40 is connected to the support shaft 22 via a friction clutch (not shown), and a sector-shaped vertical angle detection plate 41 is also fixed to the support shaft 22 in close proximity. A plurality of holes 41a are formed at equal intervals along one side edge of the vertical angle detection plate 41, and a hole 41b for horizontal position detection is formed closer to the support shaft 22 than the holes 41a. A U-shaped transmission type photointerrupter 42 is provided in the case 21 so as to sandwich the side edges of the vertical angle detection plate 41, and the hole 41 is located close to the vertical angle detection plate 41.
A reflective photointerrupter 43 is provided at a position facing b.

Next, the movement of the camera will be explained.

When the horizontal rotation motor 30a rotates, the gear box 31
The gear inside a rotates and becomes the spur gear 34a.

The ohm gear 32a rotates via the gear 33a.

Since the ohm wheel 36 is engaged with the ohm gear 32a, the shaft 35 is rotated via a friction clutch (not shown). When attaching the lower end of the shaft 35, the boss 35a is screwed into the mounting screw 200a of the tripod 200, and the resistance to rotation of the fixed tripod 200 is greater than the resistance to rotation on the camera body 100 side.
Instead of rotating, the camera body lOO rotates in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation of the shaft 35 as a reaction. When the horizontal rotation motor 30a is reversed, the direction of rotation of the camera body 100 is also reversed. In this way, the camera body lOO rotates left and right on the tripod 200.

On the other hand, when the vertical motor 30b rotates, the 2-gear box 3
The gear inside 1b rotates, and the ohm gear 32b rotates via the spur gears 34b and 33b. Since the worm gear 32b is engaged with the worm plate 40, the worm plate 40 rotates together with the support shaft 22 via a friction clutch (not shown) around the support shaft 22. As a result, the camera body lO fixed at both ends to the support shaft 22
For example, O rotates upward. Vertical rotation motor 30b
When the rotation is reversed, the camera body lOO rotates, for example, downward. In this way, the camera body 100 swings up and down on the tripod. Although an example using a tripod has been described here, it is not necessarily necessary to use a tripod, and the same result can be obtained by fixing the bottom surface of the case 21 on a stand or the like.

The initial setting angular position of the camera body 100 in the horizontal plane is
The light that has been reflected from the rotation detection disk 37 and is incident on the light receiving section of the reflective photointerrupter 39 no longer enters through the hole 37b of the rotation detection disk 37, so that it can be detected from the output of the photointerrupter 39. The swing angle of the camera body 100 in the horizontal plane can be detected from the output of the transmission type photointerrupter 38 based on the presence or absence of light passing through the hole 37a provided at the periphery of the rotation detection disc 37. Further, the initial setting angle position in the vertical plane of the camera body 100 is such that the light reflected from the vertical angle detection plate 41 and entering the light receiving section of the reflective photointerrupter 43 is set at the hole 41b of the vertical angle detection plate 41. Since no light enters the camera body, the vertical swing angle of the camera body 100 can be detected from the output of the photointerrupter 43.
Transmissive photointerrupter 42 depending on the presence or absence of light passing through it.
It can be detected from the output of

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the circuit configuration of the camera of FIG. 1.

In the figure, 45 is a battery, 46 is a power supply circuit that supplies power to each part of the circuit, and 47 is A that controls the photographing sequence.
/Microcomputer with built-in D converter
, 48 is an LCD for the liquid crystal display panel 10 and its drive circuit, 49 is a strobe circuit that causes the strobe 11 to emit light, 50 is a shutter motor driver that drives the shutter drive motor 51, and 52 is a sensor that detects the position of the shutter blade. It is.

Furthermore, 53 is a lens motor driver that controls the photographic lens drive motor 54, 55 is a lens position sensor that detects the moving position of the photographic lens, and 56 is the film feeding motor 5.
This is a film motor driver that drives 7.

Additionally, a driver 34 that controls the horizontal rotation motor 30a and a driver 35 that controls the vertical rotation motor 30b are provided as related to the swing mechanism 20, and the horizontal rotation position of the camera body is controlled by photointerrupters 38 and 39.
The vertical rotation position is detected by the photointerrupter 4.
2 and 43.

Also, to explain the switches, SO is the main switch that turns on when the lens barrier 9 is opened, Sl is the switch that turns on when you press the release button one step, and S2 is a switch that turns on when you press the release button one more step.

MOS is a switch that turns ON when button 7 is pressed, PMS is a switch that turns ON when auto release lever 5 is operated, SB is a switch that turns ON when the back cover is opened, and SSP turns ON 10 F F according to film feeding. It's a switch.

58 is an infrared LED for distance measurement that emits infrared light onto the subject;
59 is a light receiving element such as a PSD that receives reflected light from the subject; 6o is a distance measuring circuit that detects the subject distance from the light receiving position of the light receiving element 59; and 61 is a measuring circuit that receives the output from the light receiving element 62 and measures the brightness of the subject. Photometering circuit, 63 is micro 4
This is an audio processing circuit that processes output signals from the .

The audio processing circuit 63 includes a micro 4 as shown in FIG.
It is comprised of an amplifier 65 that amplifies the output signal from the amplifier 65, and a half-wave rectifier circuit 66 that converts the amplified signal into a sound pressure signal representing the loudness of the sound. The sound pressure signal is output to an A/D converter within the CPU 47.

FIG. 9 is a detailed circuit diagram of the audio processing circuit 63, in which a first-stage operational amplifier 67 amplifies the signal from the micro 4, and a next half-wave rectifier circuit including an operational amplifier 68 converts it into a sound pressure signal. Note that a logarithmic compression circuit (not shown) may be connected after the half-wave rectification circuit.

Next, the operation of the embodiment will be explained using the flowchart of FIG. 1O.

Prior to photographing, the position of the camera is fixed using a support means such as a tripod, and when the PMS switch is turned on using the auto release lever 5, the camera enters the AF operation shown in FIG. 10. The user looks through the finder of the camera, rotates the camera horizontally, brings objects to be photographed (for example, people) in front or around the viewfinder one after another, and lightly presses the release button 4 each time to turn on the Sl switch. For example, if three subjects (persons) M I , M 2 , and M 3 are lined up in front of the wall 70 as shown in No. 11 [J], first rotate the camera K horizontally in six directions and press F-1.
), place the subject M□ in the center of the viewfinder and lightly press the release button 4 just one step. At this time, the swing mechanism 2
Photointerrupter 3 due to rotation of rotation detection disk 37 of 0
The rotation angle position of the object M can be determined from the number of pulse signals output from the distance measuring circuit 60, and the distance afL to the object M1 can be determined from the output from the ranging circuit 60. These data are stored in the memory of the microcomputer 47. (F-2).

Next, rotate the camera toward subject M2 (F-3)
, while looking through the viewfinder, place it in the center of the finder and lightly press release button 4 one step again. the result,
Similarly, the data of the rotation angle position to the subject M2 and the distance it to the subject M2 are stored in the memory (F
-4).

Next, if you rotate the camera and perform the same operation toward subject M3 (F-5), you will see the rotation angle position and distance to subject M3! ; Stored in L3 or memory (F-6), this is the AF operation, and switch button 7
Press to turn on the MOS switch, the camera will turn on
It is determined that the F operation is completed, and the process jumps to step (F-8) and starts F-7) sound pressure release photography.

Now, the camera is operated by the horizontal rotation motor 30a of the swing mechanism 20.
The rotation of the subject M is rotated to the rotation angle position of the subject M stored in the memory and stopped, and distance measurement is performed there (F
-8) As a result of distance measurement, the distance to the subject is '. Here, it waits for a predetermined period of time until the sound pressure of the input sound satisfies the release condition, and when the release condition is met, it is determined that it is time to start shooting (F-9), and it is determined whether or not Sentence and Sentence ′ are approximately equal. is determined (F-10), and if the difference between JL+ and 1,' is large, it means that another object such as a bottle was placed in front of subject M, or that subject M8 moved after the AF operation. It is judged that the process jumps to step (F-12). If lI=text, ', the release operation is performed and the photograph is taken (F-11). Note that even if the release condition is not satisfied even after a predetermined period of time has elapsed in step (F-9), step CF-12 ) to do haejanbu.

In step (F-12), the camera rotates to the rotational angle position of the next subject M2 stored in the memory, and
The distance statement 2' up to 2 is measured.

Subsequent decision to start shooting (F-13), 2 sentences,
' Judgment (F-14) and photography (F-15) are the same as for subject M1, and are completely the same for subject M3 (F-16, F17, F-18, F-19).
).

In this way, the camera automatically stops at a rotation angle position that corresponds to the preset subject direction using the AF function and takes pictures, and even if the subject moves to a different location or another object enters in front of the subject, the camera automatically stops and takes pictures. You can prevent unnecessary photos that do not include the subject by preventing them from being photographed.

In the embodiment described in -1-, the release condition is waited for a predetermined period of time until the release condition is met, and if the release condition is not met, the camera moves to the next rotational angle position where the subject exists, but the release condition is set at the original rotational angle position. It is also possible to continue to wait for the establishment of .In the above embodiment, the case where the number of subjects is three has been described, but it goes without saying that the number of subjects may be any number.

The above embodiment is an example in which the photographer presses the release button 4 to manually input and store the position of the subject.

At this time, to change the shooting direction of the camera within the horizontal plane,
The camera may be manually rotated horizontally against the frictional force of a friction clutch that connects the ohm wheel 36 to the shaft 35, or a separate operating member may be provided to control the motor 30a.
You can also rotate the camera horizontally.

Next, an embodiment in which the camera is automatically rotated and a rotational angular position corresponding to the direction of the object is input and stored will be described using the flowchart of FIG. 12.

After attaching the camera to the tripod and setting it to the start position (rotation angle position at this time is 00), slide the auto release lever 5 upward and turn on the PMS switch, the camera will start rotating in steps of, for example, 10. (
P-1). The distance measurement is performed every 1', and the distance measurement data and the rotation angle position at that time are stored in the memory in the microcomputer 47 (P-2). Perform distance measurement every 1° for two rotations of the camera (P-3), and stop the camera after two rotations (P-3).
P-4). Here, the average fti of the first distance measurement data and the second distance measurement data obtained for each rotation angle position is determined and stored (P-5). Therefore, in this embodiment, PMS
The switch is the manual operation means referred to in the claims.

Note that the distance measurement data here is data that has a small value when the distance is long and a large value when the distance is short, and is data that can be converted into distance.

Next, read the average value of the distance measurement data for the rotation angle reduction of 80'' of the camera from the memory (P-6), then read the average value of the distance measurement data for the next rotation angle position 1° (P-6).
P-7), subtract the former from the latter (p-s). As a result, if the difference is larger than a predetermined positive value, it is determined that this is the starting edge of the subject (P-9), and the rotation angle position θ of the camera at that time is memorized (P-10). If the absolute value is smaller than D or equal to D, it is determined that the subject is in the middle (P-11).

While continuing such processing, when the difference becomes smaller than a predetermined negative value -〇, it is determined that the object is at its end (P-12), and the rotation angle position θ8 of the camera at that time is determined. Store (P-13), from the rotational angular position θ of the camera corresponding to the starting edge of the subject that has already been calculated and stored, and the rotational angular position θ8 of the camera with respect to the ending edge of the subject that has been calculated this time, (θ.-〇 , )/2 is calculated and stored (p-14
>, this value becomes the rotation angle position in the direction of the center of the subject.

, the process from steps (P-7) to (P-14) is carried out for all the average values of the distance measurement data, and upon completion (pts), the sound pressure release operation is accepted (P-16).

Subsequent camera operations change the rotation angle position of the subject (θ.−
〇, )/2, and the distance obtained from the average value of the distance measurement data corresponding to the rotation angle position is the distance to the subject, standing 2
Alternatively, the steps in Figure 10 (F-
8) Since the subsequent operations are the same, the explanation will be omitted. Further, in the embodiment described above, when the change in the rotational angular position of the camera is constant, if the change in the measured distance information is larger than a predetermined value, it is determined that a subject exists. However, the determining means for determining the presence of a subject is not limited to this, and may be any means that determines that the subject is a subject based on calculation of the rotation angle position of the camera and measured distance information.

In the above embodiment, it is possible to oscillate horizontally and vertically.
Although a swinging mechanism has been illustrated, the present invention only needs to be able to swing in the horizontal direction, and swinging in the vertical direction is not essential.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained above, in the present invention, the camera is rotated prior to photographing, and during this rotation, the distance is measured and the rotation angle position corresponding to the direction of the subject and the distance to the subject are input. When entering the actual shooting mode, the camera is sequentially rotated by swinging to the rotation angle position corresponding to the pre-memorized subject direction, and then the camera is rotated to the rotation angle position corresponding to each subject direction. When the sound pressure release condition is met within a predetermined time, the distance measurement is performed, and the distance measurement result is compared with the distance to the subject stored in advance. If they match, the shutter is released, and if they do not match, the next If the sound pressure release condition is not satisfied within a predetermined time by swinging the camera to a rotation angle position corresponding to the subject direction, the camera shakes the camera to the fifth subject angle position, or the sound pressure release condition is satisfied at the original angle position. I configured it to wait until.

The effect is that the subject can be photographed reliably and no unnecessary photographs are taken. In addition, the photographer only needs to fix the camera position and perform preparatory operations, and the camera can then reliably photograph the subject without any further operations, making the shooting operation highly automated. Can be done.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of an example of a camera according to the present invention, FIGS. Figure 4 is a plan view of the main parts of the swing mechanism, Figure 5 is a diagram showing the main parts of the vertical rotation mechanism of the swing mechanism, and Figure 6 is a diagram showing the rotation angle of the camera. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the circuit configuration of the camera according to the present invention; FIGS. 8 and 9 are country and circuit diagrams of the audio processing circuit shown in FIG. 7; FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of an embodiment of the auto-release camera according to the present invention, FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the flowchart shown in FIG. 10, and FIG. It is a flowchart explaining operation of another example of a camera. l...Photographing lens, 3a, 3b--distance measurement light emitting, light receiving window, 4...release button, 5...auto release lever-120...swing mechanism, 30a...horizontal rotation Motor, 30b... Vertical rotation motor, 37... Rotation detection disk, 38, 39, 42. 43... Photo interrupter

Claims (1)

[Claims] a distance measuring means for measuring a subject distance and outputting distance information;
In a camera equipped with an auto-release means that detects an input sound and performs a release operation, there is a rotation means that rotates the camera within one plane, and a rotation means that rotates the camera to a position corresponding to the position of the subject prior to shooting. Manual operation of detecting the rotational angular position of the camera, activating the angle storage means for storing the rotational angular position, activating the distance measuring means, and activating the distance storage means for storing distance information to the subject at each rotational angular position. an operating means, and when the auto-release means is activated, the camera is rotated by the rotation means to a rotational angular position stored in the angle storage means, and the distance is measured at the rotational angular position. A camera comprising: a control means that compares distance information with distance information stored in the distance storage means and enables release when both distance information are substantially equal.