JPH10145648A - Digital still camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a digital still camera suitable for photographing an event which unperiodically occurs by preserving a digital image to be picked up repeatedly at prescribed timing when the generation of any prescribed change in such an image is detected. SOLUTION: A converting part (a) converts an optical image using a CCD or the like into digital image data and stores them in an initial image storage part (b). At the time of photographing, after a current picture is fetched, the initial image stored in the initial image storage part (b) and the current image are compared with comparative conditions. When any image matches the comparative conditions, namely, when any change occurs at the place of photographing, that image is recorded and preserved in a photographed result recording part (e). When no image matches the comparative conditions, however, the current image is not preserved in the photographer result storage part (e) and the latest image is fetched again and repeatedly compored with the initial image. It is not necessary for a photographed to wait and photograph the event which unperiodically occurs and automation is possible.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a digital still camera, and more particularly, to a digital still camera capable of automatic photographing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional digital still camera, a photographer takes a picture by pressing a shutter and the photographed image data is stored in a built-in memory or an external memory card. Then, after shooting, the photographer performs an operation of deleting unnecessary images as necessary. In some cases, automatic shooting such as continuous shooting in certain cases is possible.

[0003]

In the above-mentioned conventional digital still camera, whether or not to shoot is determined by the photographer's judgment. Therefore, in order to shoot an event that occurs irregularly, the photographer must use the viewfinder. There was a problem that it was necessary to look in and wait. It is assumed that a plurality of images are taken and various operations are performed.
As shown in FIG. 0, a digital still camera alone can be used to combine captured images as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H08-140025, or as shown in FIG. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-304377 discloses a method in which a single still camera is used to synthesize a single image, but none of these methods can solve the above-mentioned problems. In addition, even if a commercial security camera was installed, someone had to keep monitoring changes in the image.

[0004] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to provide a digital still camera suitable for use in photographing an event that occurs irregularly.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided an image pickup means for repeatedly converting an optical image into a digital image at a predetermined timing and photographing the digital image, and an image photographed by the image pickup means. Storage means for storing a digital image, image change detection means for detecting whether a predetermined change has occurred based on the digital image captured by the imaging means, and a digital image captured by the imaging means, When the image change detecting means detects that a predetermined change has occurred, the image storing control means stores the image by the storing means.

In the present invention having the above-mentioned structure, the image pickup means can repeatedly convert an optical image into a digital image at a predetermined timing and shoot the digital image, and the storage means can save the digital image shot by the image pickup means. In addition, the image change detecting means can detect whether a predetermined change has occurred based on the digital image picked up by the image pickup means. Here, when the photographing means converts the optical image into a digital image and photographs at a predetermined timing, the image change detecting means detects whether or not a predetermined change has occurred in the digital image. If it is, the image storage control means causes the storage means to store the digital image,
If the predetermined change has not occurred, the image storage control means does not cause the storage means to store the digital image. That is, although the image is repeatedly taken at a predetermined timing, it is stored only when a predetermined change occurs.

The image pickup means converts an optical image into a digital image and shoots the image. The image pickup means comprises an optical system and a CCD element. The storage means may be an internal memory or a card-type memory element as long as it can store so-called digital data.

[0008] As an example of the image change detecting means, claim 2
According to the invention, the image change detecting means in the digital still camera includes an initial image storing means for storing an initial image serving as a reference for change, and a current image storing means for storing a current image photographed at the predetermined timing. And a comparing means for comparing the initial image with the current image to detect whether or not a predetermined change has occurred.

The image change detecting means includes an initial image storing means for storing an initial image serving as a change reference, and a current image storing means for storing a current image photographed in response to the photographing instruction. The comparing means compares the initial image stored in the initial image storing means with the current image stored in the photographing instruction to detect whether a predetermined change has occurred.

In this case, the comparing means does not necessarily need to perform the comparison over the entire area of the image. According to the invention according to claim 3, the comparing means in the digital still camera according to claim 2 is provided in a predetermined area. It is configured to compare images.

If the change in the image is detected, the processing time will be longer if the comparison is performed in all areas. However, if the comparison is performed in a predetermined area, the processing time is reduced and the change in the unimportant portion is changed. Can be ignored.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the digital still camera, the digital still camera includes display means for displaying the initial image, and a pointing device for indicating an area in the display image for detecting a change in the image. There is.

[0013] In the invention according to claim 4 configured as described above, since the display means displays the initial image, the pointing device instructs an area in the display image to detect a change in the image. Here, the meaning of the region indicates a portion for detecting a change in an image, and an area as a certain range may be designated as in the invention according to claim 3, or a certain pixel may be designated. You can specify it.

Further, according to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the digital still camera, the image change detecting means detects a change in an image based on a change in image data for a predetermined pixel.

In the invention according to claim 5 configured as described above, when the image change detecting means detects a change in the image, the change in the image is detected based on a change in the image data for a predetermined pixel. Compared to comparison on an image-by-image basis, detection can be performed by extremely simple processing using data on pixels.

Further, in the invention according to claim 6, the image change detecting means in the digital still camera includes:
When the hue in the digital image changes, it is determined that a predetermined change has occurred.

In the invention according to claim 6 configured as described above, the image change detecting means detects the color in the digital image, and when the color changes, it is determined that a predetermined change has occurred. . If the image data is simply compared, if the surrounding brightness changes, the image has changed, and an image that differs only in brightness may be stored. On the other hand, if the color tone is extracted and determined, if only the brightness differs, the image is treated as having no change.

Further, in the invention according to claim 7, the image change detecting means in the digital still camera includes:
When the color tone in the digital image matches a predetermined condition, it is determined that a predetermined change has occurred.
In the invention according to claim 7 configured as described above, the image change detecting means determines that a predetermined change has occurred when the color tone in the digital image matches a predetermined condition.

Among the image changes, there are cases where an expected image change and an unintended image change can be distinguished by a change in color. For example, if a bait box is prepared and you want to capture only the red birds among the wild birds that flew to this bait box, it is only necessary to regard the change in image when the hue becomes red. . Accordingly, the image change detecting means determines that a change has occurred when the color tone in the digital image matches such a condition, and the image storage control means causes the storage means to store the digital image of the same image.

[0020]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a digital still camera according to one embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, a conversion unit “a” in the photographing unit 1 includes an optical system and C
It is composed of a CD or the like, and converts optical information of a subject into an electric signal and converts it into digital image data.

The initial image storage section b of the image change detecting means 2 is a memory for storing the background of the place to be photographed, that is, the image data of the state before the change occurs, and the state change detection setting section c stores The comparison detection unit d sets a comparison condition when comparing the image and the comparison target image. The comparison detection unit d compares the latest image information with the initially stored initial screen using the previously set comparison condition, This is for detecting a change in the current image with respect to the initial image. Also,
The photographing result storage unit e in the storage unit 3 stores the current image that satisfies the comparison condition in the comparison detection unit d.

That is, the conversion section a constitutes the photographing means 1, and the initial image storage section b, the state change detection setting section c and the comparison detection section d constitute the image change detection means 2,
The photographing result storage unit e constitutes the storage means 3, and the flow for comprehensively controlling them constitutes the image storage control means 4.
Of course, the image storage control means is constituted by a CPU described later and a predetermined procedure.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the present embodiment. First, in step S1, the conversion unit a converts an optical image using a CCD or the like into digital image data and stores it in the initial image storage unit b. Next, step S
In step 2, the conditions for comparison are set. When these conditions are set, shooting starts. At the time of photographing, after the current screen is captured in step S3, the initial image stored in the initial image storage unit b and the current image are compared in step S4 according to comparison conditions. Then, when the comparison condition is satisfied, that is, when a change occurs in the photographing place, the image is recorded and stored in the photographing result recording unit e in step S6. However, if the comparison condition is not satisfied, the current image is not stored in the photographing result storage unit e, the latest image is fetched again in step S3, and the comparison with the initial image is repeated.

The operation has been briefly described above.
This will be described in more detail. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a digital still camera according to the present invention. First, individual components will be described. The imaging device 6 is a CCD or the like including an optical system, and converts a subject image into a C image via the optical system.
An image is formed on a CD, photoelectrically converted by the CCD, and output as an electronic signal representing optical information. The AD converter 7 converts an analog CCD output signal into digital data. PC
The card controller 8 connects an external storage medium such as a PC card to the CPU, and the captured image can be stored in the PC card via the PC card controller 8. Of course, various types of such external storage media can be used, and the external storage media need not always be external storage media, and can be stored in a battery-backed internal memory. The LCD unit 9 is a liquid crystal display for displaying a digital image in color.

The CPU 10 performs various controls described later by the RO.
This is performed by executing the firmware written in M11, and controls the entire system. The RAM 12 is a memory having a capacity enough to store two screens of image data including an initial image to be compared and the latest image data. The operation panel 13 includes switches for setting the camera, designation of a comparison area, and the like. And a pointing device for use by the photographer.

Next, the operation when the bird is observed using the digital camera will be described with reference to FIG. First, the initial screen is photographed. Here, as an example, FIG.
A bird feed box as shown in FIG. 4A is targeted, and a monitoring target area 14 shown in FIG. 4B is set as a comparison condition. This setting operation is performed by operating a cursor key 16 as a pointing device while viewing the initial screen on the liquid crystal display panel 15 as shown in FIG.

Next, conditions such as a photographing time and a photographing interval when a change continuously occurs are set. For example, as the photographing time, a photograph is taken every second, and when a change occurs, 1 is taken.
Settings such as shooting every minute are possible. Of course, both may be set at the same time. When the setting of the interval condition and the like is completed, the shooting is started. Now, as an example, 1
It is assumed that the current image is captured at a constant period every second and compared with the initial image. Here, the comparison is performed only in the area registered as the monitoring area earlier. Therefore,
As shown in FIG. 4 (D), even if there is a change outside the monitoring area, shooting is not performed and is ignored.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4E, when there is a change in the state in the monitoring area, the current image is recorded on an image storage medium such as a PC card. Then, as shown in FIG. 4 (F), when the bird disappears from the monitoring area, the photographing is stopped and the state returns to the standby state. In addition, the photographing is ended after a preset time, and the useful results shown in FIG. 4G are displayed as a list. Of course, such display is arbitrary, and it may be a simple slide display.

Next, an image comparison method according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIGS. 6 and 7 are flowcharts showing the image comparison method. In step S107, the photographer sets in advance a color change value regarded as a state change. The reason for viewing in color is that if the image data is simply viewed as image data, it is assumed that a predetermined change has occurred due to only a change in brightness, and even a slight change in weather may result in shooting.

Next, in step S108, FIG.
Is divided into a predetermined number of divisions in the form of a grid, and the pixel at the intersection of the grid is regarded as the pixel 18 to be compared. The size of the grid at this time can be freely set by the operator. By making the monitoring points grid points, comparison of image data becomes extremely easy. In the present embodiment, the initial image is stored, but it is also possible to reduce the required memory by storing only the image data of the grid points.

In step S109, the first image shown in FIG. 5B and the latest image shown in FIG.
The pixel in the row is selected as a pixel to be compared, and the subsequent step S
At 110, the data of the comparison target pixel of the initial image is loaded into a work memory constituted by a RAM. After that, in step S111, the data of the comparison target pixel of the current image is loaded into the work memory, and in step S112, the color data of the pixel in the work memory is converted from RGB format into lightness and again color data. When the color data is obtained, in step S113, the difference between the color data of the initial image and the color data of the current image is calculated.

In the example shown in FIG. 5C, the pixel data in column C and one row is different from the initial image shown in FIG. 5B. In step S114, it is determined whether or not there is a difference in the hue of the pixel data. If there is a difference equal to or greater than a preset threshold, the image is stored in step S115. However, if the difference between the hue data is smaller than the set value, the comparison target pixel is moved from column A, row 1 to row B, row 1 in FIG. 5B in step S116, and all the comparison target pixels are shifted in step S117. The comparison between the initial image and the current image is continued until it is determined that has been moved. In the example of FIG.
All pixels in columns 〜C and 1１〜３3 are compared, and if no change is found, the image comparison operation ends.

Next, an image comparison method according to the second embodiment will be described. 8 and 9 are flowcharts showing the image comparison method. First, in step S217,
Set the color to be captured and the allowable range for comparison. The permissible range for comparison is to judge the same color with a certain tolerance because it is not considered that there is actually a case where the color of the object to be compared is completely the same as the set color. is there. Thereafter, in steps S218 to S225, the same comparison processing as in the case of the image comparison is performed.

If it is determined in step SS25 that the colors of the initial image and the current image are different, the process proceeds to step S25.
At 226, a difference between the preset color data of the photographing object and the color data of the current image is calculated. If it is determined in step S227 that the difference between the color data is within the set allowable range, it is determined that the current image is capturing the target, and the current screen is stored in the shooting result storage unit e in step S228. . On the other hand, if the color difference between the current image and the object to be measured is outside the set allowable range, it is considered that the current image does not capture the desired image, and the comparison target pixel is moved in step S229. This is repeated until it is determined that all the comparison target pixels have been moved.

According to such an image comparison method, when the object to be photographed is specified to be red, no photograph is taken when a brown bird comes in FIG. 5C, and when a red bird comes, the image is taken. A specific color can be selected and stored, such as storing.

The above is summarized as follows. First
In addition, since the digital still camera automatically determines that a change has occurred and performs photographing, monitoring and photographing can be performed unattended for a long time. Secondly, since the image is stored in the memory only when there is a change in the subject, it is possible to efficiently store only necessary information and save storage memory. Third, compared to using a conventional surveillance camera as a conventional means, it can be realized with small size, light weight, and low cost (tens of thousands of yen). As a result, not only for business use such as collecting people's selling data by taking pictures of people using vending machines and performing crime prevention, but also taking pictures of wild birds who came to play in food boxes and being scared It can be used for a wide range of hobbies, such as shooting insects.

Fourth, when comparing the initial image with the current image, only the hue is used as a comparison element, and lightness and saturation are not compared. It is possible to prevent photographing as a state change of the measurement object. Fifth, it is possible to photograph only a subject having a specific color, and it is possible to selectively photograph only a subject having a desired color.

As described above, under the control of the CPU 10, the digital image data photographed by the image pickup device 6 is compared with the initial image and the original image in the RAM 12 and periodically compared. (Steps S3 to S
5) Since the color change is stored in the PC card via the PC card controller 8 or the like only when a change in color is recognized (step S6), the photographer operates the finder to photograph an irregular event. There is no need to wait while looking through the screen.

[0039]

As described above, according to the present invention, among digital images photographed at a predetermined timing, those having a predetermined change are stored, so that an event which occurs irregularly can be taken by the photographer. Therefore, there is no need to wait for shooting and a digital still camera that can be automated can be provided. Further, according to the second aspect of the present invention, by comparing the initial image with the image at each predetermined timing, there is the same effect as capturing an image only when the initial image changes.

Further, according to the invention of claim 3,
Since the change of the image is determined by narrowing it down to the area, the processing becomes easy, and the change of the range unnecessary as the photographing condition can be removed. Furthermore, according to the invention according to claim 4, an area can be designated while looking at the initial image, and the operation becomes easy. Further, according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since a change in image data in a pixel unit is detected, processing is extremely easy, and there is an effect that only important points can be designated.

Further, according to the invention of claim 6,
By judging based on the hue, it is possible to remove a change in lightness, and it is possible not to save when only mere brightness changes. Further, according to the invention of claim 7, it is possible to more select an expected condition by waiting for a desired color.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a digital still camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a schematic operation of the digital still camera.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the digital still camera.

FIG. 4 is a sample diagram for explaining the operation of the digital still camera.

FIG. 5 is a sample diagram showing an image comparison method in the digital still camera.

FIG. 6 is a first flowchart showing the image comparison.

FIG. 7 is a second flowchart showing the same image comparison.

FIG. 8 is a first flowchart illustrating an image comparison method according to a modification.

FIG. 9 is a second flowchart showing the image comparison method.

FIG. 10 is an image diagram of a first conventional example.

FIG. 11 is an image diagram of a second conventional example.

[Description of Signs] 1 imaging means 2 image change detection means 3 storage means 4 image storage control means 6 imaging element 7 AD conversion unit 8 card controller 9 LCD unit 10 CPU 11 ROM 12 RAM 13 operation panel 14, 17 monitoring area 15 liquid crystal Display panel 16 Cursor keys 18 Pixels to be compared a Conversion unit b Initial image storage unit c State change detection condition setting unit d Comparison unit e Photographing result storage unit

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An image capturing means for repeatedly converting an optical image into a digital image at a predetermined timing and capturing the digital image, a storage means for storing the digital image captured by the image capturing means, and a digital image captured by the image capturing means. Image change detection means for detecting whether a predetermined change has occurred based on the digital image captured by the imaging means,
A digital still camera, comprising: an image storage control unit that stores the image data when the image change detection unit detects that a predetermined change has occurred. 2. The digital still camera according to claim 1, wherein said image change detecting means includes an initial image storing means for storing an initial image serving as a reference for change, and a current image taken at said predetermined timing. A digital still camera comprising: a current image storage unit for storing; and a comparison unit for comparing these initial image with the current image to detect whether a predetermined change has occurred. 3. The digital still camera according to claim 2, wherein said comparing means compares images within a predetermined area. 4. The digital still camera according to claim 1, wherein a display means for displaying the initial image, and a pointing device for indicating a region for detecting a change in the image in the display image. A digital still camera comprising: 5. The digital still camera according to claim 1, wherein said image change detecting means detects a change in an image based on a change in image data for a predetermined pixel. Digital still camera. 6. The digital still camera according to claim 1, wherein the image change detecting means determines that a predetermined change has occurred when the color of the digital image has changed. Features a digital still camera. 7. The digital still camera according to claim 1, wherein said image change detecting means determines that a predetermined change has occurred when a color tone of the digital image matches a predetermined condition. A digital still camera.