JPH06265960A - Remote controller for camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To achieve a remote control function without using a transmitter dedicated for remote control and receiving the effect of diffused external light. CONSTITUTION:This remote controller of a camera which can be seved also as the function part of an active automatic focusing device is provided with flask means 2, 3 and 4, photodetector means 5, 7 and 9 photodetecting light projected from the flash means 2-4 and reflected on an object, a discrimination means 1 detecting the existence of a remote controlling command based on the outputs of the photodetector means 5, 7 and 9, and a flash control means 100 adjusting the light outputted from the flash means based on the light made incident from the object, thereby a remote control action is executed based on the output of the discrimination means 1. Besides, the controller is provided with a display means 16 displaying the state of the remote controlling action, a first timer means regulating the actuation time of the flash means 2-4 and a second timer means regulating a time when the flash means 2-4 are not actuated, thereby the display means can be actuated only during the time regulated by the second timer means.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a remote control device for a camera, which can be configured, for example, to have a part of the function of an active autofocus device, and can be remotely controlled without a transmitter dedicated to remote control. Remote control device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, in response to the diversification of camera usage methods, a person who is a subject himself / herself emits light from a remote control transmitter toward the camera and performs shutter release based on the light. A camera equipped with is proposed.

Further, recently, a remote control device for an autofocus camera has been proposed which realizes a remote release function by also using part of a light receiving optical system or a signal processing circuit of an active autofocus device (special feature: JP-A-60-249127, JP-A-6-26
No. 2-123436).

[0004]

However, such a conventional remote control device has a disadvantage that the cost of the entire camera system increases because a transmitter dedicated to remote control is required. Also,
Such a transmitter must be separate from the camera, or it must be removable from the camera,
There are drawbacks that the configuration of the entire camera system becomes complicated and the camera becomes large when the transmitter is attached to the camera. Further, the conventional remote control device has a disadvantage that it is apt to malfunction due to ambient light such as fluorescent light.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to allow the remote control of the camera to be accurately performed without a transmitter dedicated to the remote control, and to prevent the camera system from becoming complicated and large by the addition of the remote control function. To do.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a remote control device which operates properly without causing malfunction due to ambient light such as fluorescent light.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a remote control device for a camera which can also have a part of the function of an active autofocus device. Projecting means for projecting light on the subject, light receiving means for receiving the reflected light of the light emitted from the subject, and presence or absence of a remote control command based on the level of the output signal of the light receiving means. It is characterized in that it comprises a discriminating means for detecting and a light projecting control means for adjusting the light output of the light projecting means on the basis of incident light from the subject, and a remote control operation is carried out based on the output of the discriminating means.

Further, the remote control device for the camera defines a display means for displaying that the camera has been set to a remote control operating state, and a first time period for operating the light projecting means in the remote control operating state. Timer means and second timer means for defining a time period during which the light projecting means is inoperative in the remote control operating state, and the display means of the display means is operated during the time period defined by the first timer means. Conveniently, the operation is prohibited and the display means is enabled during the time defined by the second timer means.

[0009]

In the above structure, the light projected onto the subject by the light projecting means is reflected and received by the light receiving means. Then, the discrimination means detects the presence or absence of the remote control command based on the level of the output signal of the light receiving means.
Therefore, for example, by reflecting the light projected from the light projecting means at the location of the subject by a mirror or the like,
The output level of the light receiving means becomes high. As a result, the determining means determines that there is a remote control command, and commands the shutter release and other remote control operations. Therefore, it is possible to perform remote control accurately without the need for a transmitter dedicated to remote control. Further, the light projecting control means adjusts the light output of the light projecting means based on, for example, the level, the spectrum, etc. of the light incident from the subject. Therefore, for example, when the amount of incident light is large, by increasing the light output of the light projecting means, the remote control operation can be appropriately performed without being affected by the ambient light.

Further, if the camera is set to the remote control operating state by, for example, a remote control mode setting switch, the display means displays it. This display can be performed, for example, by blinking the light emitting diode in a long cycle. The display time of such display means is defined by the first timer means. Then, after the time defined by the first timer means, the light projecting means is deactivated for the time defined by the second timer means. The operation of the display means is prohibited during the time defined by the first timer means, and the operation of the display means is enabled during the time defined by the second timer means. Thereby, the light projecting means and the display means do not operate at the same time, and the blinking noise of the display means does not adversely affect the operation of the remote controller.
In addition, the voltage drop of the power supply battery is small, the voltage is stable, and the reliability of operation is improved.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a remote control device for a camera according to an embodiment of the present invention. The apparatus shown in FIG. 1 includes a CPU 1, a drive circuit 2, an infrared LED 3, and a light projecting means including a light projecting lens 4, a light receiving lens 5, a semiconductor position detecting element (PSD) 7, current-voltage converters 9 and 10, and an amplifier 11. , 12 and synchronous detection circuits 13 and 14, a light receiving means including a light receiving lens 17, a white balance sensor 18 and a discriminating means 19, switches SW1, SW2 and SW3, a photographing means 15, and a display. Means 16 are included.

The CPU 1 is composed of, for example, a microprocessor and performs various controls necessary for the camera. The drive circuit 2 is connected to the CPU 1 and drives the infrared LED 3. In particular, the drive circuit 2 blinks the infrared LED 3 by the control signal C1 from the CPU 1 and controls the lighting current of the infrared LED 3 by the control signal C3. Incidentally, such a light projecting means can also be used as a light projecting means for an active autofocus device of a camera (not shown).

The PSD 7 generates two photocurrents I1 and I2, the intensity of which varies depending on the intensity of the received light and the position of the received light, and the respective photocurrents I1 and I2. Are converted into corresponding voltages by the respective current-voltage converters 9 and 10. Also, these voltages are amplified by amplifiers 11 and 12 at a predetermined amplification factor, respectively, and then synchronously detected and smoothed by synchronous detection circuits 13 and 14, respectively, to generate voltage signals V1 and V2 to generate CP.
Input to U1.

In the projection current control means 100, the incident light from the subject is received by the white balance sensor 18 via the light receiving lens 17. The output of the white balance sensor 18 is connected to the discrimination means 19, and the discrimination means 19 is connected.
Is output to CPU1 as signal SC1. The white balance sensor 18 analyzes and outputs the incident light from the subject for each spectral band and inputs it to the discriminating means 19. The discriminating unit 19 discriminates, among the incident light from the subject, a component having a spectrum close to that of the light projected from the light projecting unit, that is, a light component in which the remote control device is likely to malfunction, and determines the light component. In response, the signal SC1 is generated and input to the CPU1.

Of the switches SW1, SW2 and SW3, the switch SW1 is a half-press switch of a camera (not shown), and SW2 is a release switch. Also SW
Reference numeral 3 denotes a remote control mode operation switch, which starts the remote control operation when the SW3 switch is turned on.

The photographing means 15 includes, for example, a photometric device for determining the exposure, a shutter driving device, an aperture setting device, and other functional parts necessary for photographing. further,
The display means 16 performs a display related to the photographing operation of the camera and a display related to the remote control, such as a remote control operation state described later and a display during the self-timer operation. is there. Display related to this remote control can be performed by, for example, an LED included in the display unit 16.

The apparatus of FIG. 1 also has various timer means relating to the remote control operation. These timer means can be realized by the function of the CPU 1, for example, or can be provided as separate hardware. The main one of these timer means is the A timer,
B timer and C timer. The timer A and the timer B are, for example, as shown in FIG.
The light emitting period of D3 is defined, and the B timer defines the period in which the light projecting means is not operated. Further, the C timer corresponds to a so-called self-timer, as will be described later, and defines the time from the reception of the remote control command until the actual shooting such as shutter release.

In the remote control device as described above, the drive circuit 2 causes the infrared LED to blink and emit light in response to the control signal C1 from the CPU 1. in this case,
The intensity of the blinking light emission is the control signal C from the CPU 1.
Controlled by 3. The light from the infrared LED 3 strikes the mirror 6 of the subject 6 via the light projecting lens 4.

The reflected light from the mirror 6 is received by the PSD 7 through the light receiving lens 5. Two output currents I1 and I2 from the PSD 7 are supplied to the current-voltage converters 9 and 1, respectively.
Converted to the corresponding voltage by 0 and the amplifier 11, 1
It is amplified by 2 with a predetermined gain. Then amplifier 1
The outputs from 1 and 12 are synchronously detected by the synchronous detection circuits 13 and 14 by the control signal C1 from the CPU 1. That is, the outputs from the amplifiers 11 and 12 are taken out at substantially the same timing as when the infrared LED 3 is caused to emit light, and after smoothing, the voltage signals V1 and V2 are input to the CPU 1 and A / D converted. . The CPU 1 uses these voltage signals V
Based on the sum of 1 and V2, the presence / absence of a remote control command is determined as will be described later in detail. If the sum of the voltages V1 and V2 is greater than or equal to a predetermined value, it is determined that a remote control command has been issued, and the photographing means 15 performs a photographing operation.

Further, in this case, as described above, the projection current control means detects the incident light from the subject by the light receiving lens 7 and the white balance sensor 18, and the discriminating means 19 analyzes the light component around the subject, When the remote controller has many light components that are likely to malfunction, the control signal S is sent to the CPU 1.
Enter C1. As a result, the CPU 1 increases the emission intensity of the infrared LED 3 by the control signal C3,
Prevents malfunction of the remote controller due to ambient light.

Next, the operation of the remote control device described above will be described in detail with reference to FIG. First, when the remote control switch SW3 is turned on, the remote control mode is set and the flow starts. In step S2, the light of the subject is incident on the white balance sensor 18 via the light receiving lens 17 of the projection current control means 100. The white balance sensor 18 generates a signal corresponding to the light intensity of each spectrum of the subject light and inputs the signal to the discrimination means 19. The discriminating means 19 determines the current value of the light projecting current based on the output of the white balance sensor 18, and supplies it to the CPU 1 as a signal SC1.
Based on this SC1, the CPU 1 sets the lighting current value of the drive circuit 2 by the signal C3, and sets the blinking current of the infrared LED 3, that is, the IRED.

Next, in step S3, the timer A is started and the infrared LED 3 is controlled so as to blink at a predetermined current for the time defined by the timer. Then, in step S4, the light projected from the infrared LED 3 with a predetermined current is reflected by the mirror 6 of the subject and imaged on the PSD 7. The current outputs I1 and I2 of the PSD 7 are voltage-converted by the current-voltage converters 9 and 10 and amplified by the amplifiers 11 and 12 with a predetermined gain, and then synchronously detected and smoothed to output V.
1, 1 and V2 are input to the CPU 1. The CPU 1 A / D-converts the voltage signals V1 and V2 to obtain these voltages V1 and V1.
After calculating the sum of V2, the process proceeds to step S5.

In step S5, it is determined whether or not the sum of the signals V1 and V2 is a predetermined value or more. If it is the predetermined value or more, the process proceeds to step S8, and if it is not the predetermined value or more, the process proceeds to step S6. In step S6, it is determined whether or not the remote control mode has been released. If not in the remote control mode, the process ends, and if in the remote control mode, the process proceeds to step S7.

In step S7, it is determined whether or not the timer A has expired. If the timer A has expired, the process proceeds to step S13,
If not completed, the process returns to step S4. That is, in the loop of steps S4 to S7, the infrared LED 3 blinks for a predetermined time defined by the timer A, the reflected light from the mirror 6 of the subject is synchronously detected, and it is determined whether or not a remote control command is issued. Are doing.

In step S13, the B timer is started, and the process proceeds to step S14. In step S14, it is determined whether or not the remote control mode is released,
If it is not the remote control mode, the process is terminated, and if it is the remote control mode, the process proceeds to step S15. Step S15
In step S16, the remote control display LED of the display means 16 blinks a predetermined amount, and then the process proceeds to step S16. In this case, for example, the remote control display LED blinks at a relatively long cycle. In step S16, it is determined whether the B timer has expired. If the time specified by the B timer has not elapsed, the process returns to step S14, and if the time specified by the B timer has elapsed, the process returns to step S3.

That is, of the above steps, in steps S3 to S7, the infrared LED 3 emits light within the time defined by the timer A and it is determined whether or not there is a remote control command (step S5). No indication is given. Further, the time of the B timer is defined by the loop of steps S13 to S16, during this time, the emission of the infrared LED 3 is stopped and the presence / absence of a remote control command is not determined, and a display indicating that the remote control mode is set, That is, a display indicating that the remote control is operating is displayed.

In step S5, if the reflected light from the mirror 6 of the subject is equal to or more than a predetermined value,
Since the remote control command has been issued, the process proceeds to step S8. In step S8, the C timer is started and then the process proceeds to step S9. In step S9, the photographer knows that the remote control display LED of the display means 16 has blinked at a period earlier than the blinking period in the remote control mode display, that is, the display indicating that the remote control is in operation, and has accepted the remote control command. After displaying on step S10
Proceed to. In step S10, it is determined whether or not the time defined by the C timer has elapsed. If it has not elapsed, the process returns to step S9, and if it has elapsed, the process proceeds to step S11.
That is, in steps S9 to S10, for example, the photographer waits for a predetermined period of time defined by the C timer so that photographing is performed after hiding a mirror 6 having a high reflectance in the pocket. Then, in step S11, photometry and distance measurement processing is performed, and in step S12, release processing is performed based on the photometry and distance measurement processing in step S11, and then the processing ends.

In the operation flow of the above embodiment, the remote control command confirmation operation flow (steps S2 to S7) is performed before the display operation flow (steps S13 to S15). However, the order of these operations should be reversed. Needless to say, the display operation flow may be performed first.

Further, in the above embodiment, the photocurrent value of the infrared LED 3 is determined by the discriminating means 19, but it is obvious that the function of the discriminating means 19 may be performed by the CPU 1. Further, the discriminating means 19 may be replaced by an external switch (not shown). In other words, the photographer may determine whether the room is outdoors and manually operate the external switch.

In the above embodiment, the remote control mode is activated when the remote control setting switch SW3 is turned on once. However, when the switch SW3 is turned on once, the remote control mode is displayed on the LCD display element as a display means. Alternatively, it can be configured to operate when the release switch SW2 is turned on in that state.

Further, the life of the infrared LED can be further extended by making the time defined by the A timer in the above embodiment shorter than the blinking time of the infrared LED during the normal autofocus operation. Moreover, battery consumption can be reduced.

Further, in the above embodiment, the light emitting element repeatedly blinks during the time defined by the timer A, and the CPU outputs a voltage obtained by synchronously detecting and smoothing the voltage output corresponding to the reflected light. Although the modulated light system for A / D conversion has been described, it is obvious that the same can be applied to the single light emission system for calculating each pulse of the light emitting element.

In the above operation, the mirror is used in the above embodiment to reflect the remote control optical signal emitted from the light projecting means. In the case of a mirror, however, the light projecting means is used. It is necessary to set so that the irradiated light beam is reflected toward the light receiving lens. When a corner cube used for a light wave distance measuring device is used instead of such a mirror, the light beam incident on the corner cube is reflected in the same direction, and therefore remote control operation becomes easier as compared with a mirror. FIG. 4 shows such a corner cube. That is, as shown in FIG. 4A, a prism in which one corner of cubic glass is cut by the A surface is a corner cube. That is, the corner cube 6a
Is formed by planes B, C and D which are orthogonal to each other and plane A which is not orthogonal to these planes.

By using such a corner cube 6a, as shown in FIG. 4B, the incident light from the light projecting means is reflected. In this figure, reference numerals 3, 4, 5
Reference numerals 7 and 7 respectively denote the infrared emitting LED, the light projecting lens 4, the light receiving lens 5 and the PSD indicated by the same reference numeral in FIG.
7 is shown. The infrared light from the infrared LED 3 reaches the point F on the A surface of the corner cube 6a via the light projecting lens 4, and D
The infrared rays are reflected at the points E and E, respectively, and go out from the point G to return strong infrared light to the PSD 7 through the light projecting lens 5. In this case, the incident angles α and β of light at the points D and E are α + β
FD and EG are parallel because they have a relation of = 90 °. Therefore, if the incident light on the point F and the reflected light from the point G are parallel to each other and the distance between FG is the same as the distance between the optical axes of the light projecting lens 4 and the light receiving lens 5, Stronger light will be collected on the PSD 7.

As a means for reflecting the light from the light projecting means, in addition to such a mirror and a corner cube, any one may be used as long as it has a high reflectance for infrared light. Needless to say, for example, white paper may be used. However, in this embodiment, since a single light projecting element and a single light receiving element are used, the light that hits the subject is at one place, and it is necessary to place a light source having a high reflectance at that place. On the other hand, it is also possible to implement the present invention by utilizing an autofocus device of a multi-point distance measuring type, and in this case, by causing the multi-point light emitting elements to emit light sequentially or simultaneously, there are many positions of light hitting the subject. Since the width is widened, it becomes easy to perform a remote control operation with a high reflectance object being pointed at the camera.

[0036]

As described above, according to the present invention, the remote control operation can be performed accurately without the need for a dedicated remote control transmitter, and the camera system equipped with the remote control device can be made smaller. And the configuration is simple.

In addition, the incident light from the subject is analyzed by a white balance sensor or the like to determine whether or not the remote control is apt to malfunction, and when the remote control is apt to malfunction, such as under a fluorescent lamp, the light is projected. Increase the emission intensity of the device. Therefore, the remote control operation can be performed accurately without being adversely affected by the ambient light.

Further, since the display indicating the operating state of the remote controller is constructed so as not to operate at the same time when the infrared LED of the light projecting means blinks, the blinking noise of the display means does not adversely affect the operation of the remote controller, and The voltage of the power battery is stabilized and the reliability of the camera system is improved.
Further, since the infrared LED is not continuously turned on during the operation of the remote controller, the battery consumption is small even when the remote controller is used, or the life of the LED is not deteriorated even when the infrared LED is used for auto focus and remote controller. .

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a remote control device for a camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a timing chart showing a light projection waveform and a light emission waveform of a remote control mode display LED when the remote control is operated in the remote control device of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation of the remote control device of FIG.

4 is a schematic explanatory view showing the structure and operation of a corner cube that can be used in the remote control device of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 CPU 2 Driving Circuit 3 Infrared LED 4 Light Emitting Lens 5 Light Receiving Lens 6 Mirror 7 PSD 8 Reference Potential Source 9, 10 Current / Voltage Converter 11, 12 Amplifier 13, 14 Synchronous Detection Circuit 15 Photographing Means 16 Display Means 17 Light-Receiving Lens 18 White balance sensor 19 Discrimination means 100 Projection current control means SW1 Half-press switch SW2 Release switch SW3 Remote control mode operation switch

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A light projecting means for projecting light onto a subject, a light receiving means for receiving reflected light of the light emitted from the light projecting means by the subject, and a remote control based on a level of an output signal of the light receiving means. A remote control operation based on the output of the determining means; and a determining means for detecting the presence or absence of a control command, and a light emitting control means for adjusting the light output of the light emitting means based on the incident light from the subject. A remote control device for a camera characterized by performing. 2. A display means for displaying that the camera has been set to a remote control operating state, a first timer means for defining a time for operating the light projecting means in the remote control operating state, Second timer means for defining a time period during which the light projecting means is inoperative in a remote control operating state, and prohibiting the operation of the display means during the time period defined by the first timer means. The remote control device for a camera according to claim 1, wherein the display means is operable during a time period defined by the second timer means. 3. The light projection control means includes a white balance sensor for detecting a spectral component near a spectral component used for remote control in incident light from a subject, and the white balance sensor is provided according to the magnitude of the spectral component. 2. The camera remote control device according to claim 1, wherein the light output of the light projecting unit is adjusted. 4. The remote control device for a camera according to claim 2, wherein the display means is also used as a display means for indicating that a self-timer for remote control is operating. 5. The light projecting means is also used as a light projecting means for an active autofocus device, and the light receiving device is also used as a semiconductor position detecting element for the active autofocus device. Items 1 to 4
The remote control device for a camera according to any one of items 1 to 7.