JPS62150341A - Automatic composition determining device for camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To apply the titled device as an automatic photographing robot by detecting the position information to a photographing screen of an object to be photographed, and determining a direction for directing a camera, based on the the position information. CONSTITUTION:An infrared ray sensor 5 detects an infrared ray from an object to be photographed. A peak detector 7 detects a peak of a signal of the infrared ray sensor 5, and applies an interruption to a microprocessor 8. The microprocessor 8 stores position information of an encoder 12 in a RAM 9 by an interrupting signal from the peak detecting circuit 7, determines a direction to be directed, of a camera part 1 by its position information, and also outputs an operation command to an actuator 10 through a controlling circuit 11.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Application of the Invention] The present invention provides a camera that automatically operates the camera so that, when photographing a plurality of subjects such as people, the plurality of subjects are photographed in the center of the photographing screen. The present invention relates to an automatic composition determining device.

[Background of the invention]

Traditionally, when taking commemorative photos while traveling in a group, if you try to take a photo that includes everyone in the group,
I had no choice but to use a self-timer or ask someone else to take the photo.

However, when using the self-timer, it is necessary to decide on the composition in advance, and the subject cannot move until the self-timer is released.
In some cases it was painful.

Also, when I asked someone else to take a picture, I was worried because I didn't know how they would do it.

[Purpose of the invention]

An object of the present invention is to use an infrared sensor to memorize the position of a subject, such as a person, at a distance of -Å or more, in order to eliminate the complication when taking a commemorative photo, and to use that position information to place the subject on the shooting screen. An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic camera composition determining device that automatically operates a camera to take a photograph at the center of the camera.

Another object of the present invention is that by combining it with an automatic focusing device using an infrared sensor, it can be used as an automatic commemorative photographing device at wedding halls, party venues, tourist spots, etc. It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic composition determining device for a camera that can be used for portrait photography and as an automatic photographic aperture pot by providing a function.

[Summary of the invention]

The first feature of the automatic composition determining device for a camera according to the present invention is an infrared sensor that detects positional information of a subject with respect to a photographic screen, a storage means that stores positional information of a subject detected by the sensor, and a storage means for storing positional information of a subject detected by the sensor. The present invention is provided with calculation means for determining the direction in which the camera should be directed based on the position information obtained.

A second feature of the automatic composition determining device for a camera according to the present invention is an infrared sensor that detects positional information of a subject with respect to the photographic screen, a storage means that stores positional information of the subject detected by the sensor, and a storage unit that stores the positional information of the subject detected by the sensor. The present invention includes a calculation means for determining the direction in which a camera having a zoom lens should be pointed based on the above, and an automatic focusing device for determining the optimum focal length based on the above-mentioned positional information of the subject.

[Embodiments of the invention]

The present invention will be described below based on embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.
indicates the camera section. This device uses a pyroelectric infrared sensor as an infrared sensor. 2 is an aperture for limiting the field of view of the pyroelectric infrared sensor; 3 is a lens that is an optical system for condensing infrared rays from the subject; 4
5 is a filter that cuts light with wavelengths below the near-infrared region in order to remove the influence of sunlight, 5 is a pyroelectric infrared sensor that is an infrared sensor for detecting infrared rays from the subject, and 6 is a pyroelectric infrared sensor. An amplifier for amplifying the signal from the pyroelectric infrared sensor 5; 7 is a peak detection circuit that detects the peak of the signal from the pyroelectric infrared sensor 5 and interrupts the microprocessor 8; 8 is a microprocessor; be. The microprocessor 8 transfers the position information of the encoder 12 to the RAM 9 using the interrupt signal of the peak detection circuit 7.
The direction in which the camera section 1 should be pointed is determined based on the position information, and an operation command is issued to the actuator 10 through the control circuit 11.

9 is a RAM; 10 is an actuator for horizontally rotating the camera unit 1; 11 is a control circuit for driving the actuator; and 12 is an encoder directly connected to the actuator 10 to provide position information to the microprocessor 8.

The sections 2 to 90 are fixed to the camera section 1, and the optical axis of the pyroelectric infrared sensor 5 is arranged so that it almost coincides with the optical axis of the photographing optical system of the camera section 1, which is not shown in FIG. It is attached.

Further, the field of view of the sensor 5 is narrowed down by an aperture 2 and a lens 3 in the form of a cylindrical spot.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be explained. 2 and 3 are diagrams for explaining the operation, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing how the camera section 1 scans.

When this device starts operating, the microprocessor 8 first operates the actuator 10 through the control circuit 11, and the camera section 1 scans.

Assuming that the scanning area is the area shown in FIG. 2 P1 to P2, the microprocessor 8 first operates the actuator 10 so that the camera unit 1 is directed in the P1 direction. Next, scanning is started and the actuator 10 is operated until the camera unit 1 is directed in the P2 direction.

The pyroelectric infrared sensor 5 used here is a sensor that detects changes in the amount of incident infrared rays, and generates a signal when an object with a different environment and temperature, such as a human being, comes within the sensor's field of view. As shown in Figure 2, for example, three subjects A,
If B and C are within the scanning range, the optical axis of the pyroelectric infrared sensor 5 will almost coincide with the photographing optical system as described above, and the field of view of the senna will be in the form of a cylindrical spot due to the aperture 2 and lens 3. Since the aperture is narrowed down, the output of the pyroelectric infrared sensor 5 when the camera unit 1 is scanned from Pl to P2 is as shown in FIG. Beaks a and b of the signal in FIG.

t corresponds to when the subjects A, B, and C respectively enter the senna field of view. While the camera section 1 is scanning, when the pyroelectric infrared sensor 5 detects a subject and generates a peak signal, the peak detection circuit 7 sends an interrupt signal to the microprocessor 8. When the microprocessor 8 receives an interrupt, it reads the value of the encoder 12 connected to the actuator 10 and stores it in the RAM 9. In other words, this stored encoder value becomes the position information of the detected object.

The microprocessor 8 stores in the RAM 9 the value of the encoder 12 (subject position information) at the time of the interrupt, and also stores the number of times the interrupt signal was applied (ie, the number of people within the scanning area).

When the camera section 1 moves and scans up to P2, the microprocessor 8 calculates the direction in which the camera section 1 should point from the stored object position information and information on the number of people. Now, suppose there are N people in the scanning area, the memorized position information of each person is P, ~PN, and the direction to be pointed is PD. This calculation takes only the people at both ends into question, and the left and right positions at the time of shooting. You can use PD = (P, + P, )/2 so that the margins are equal, or you can use the average PD = Σ of each person's position information so that the area where people are gathered is in the center of the shooting screen.
It may be determined by P,/N 1=1.

Next, the microprocessor 8 issues an operation command and operates the actuator 10 so that the camera section 1 is pointed in the direction determined by the calculation. After the camera section 1 faces the target direction, it is manually operated (including by remote control switch) or automatically operated to perform IJ-Z and take pictures.

Although a lens is used in the sensor optical system in the above embodiment, it goes without saying that a reflecting mirror, a prism, etc., or an optical system that combines these may also be used.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, an example was shown in which a sensor, a microprocessor, etc. were attached to the camera section, but a configuration in which some or all of these were attached to a pan head and made independent from the camera section itself is also possible. It doesn't matter if you do it.

4 to 6 are explanatory views for explaining a second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the pyroelectric infrared sensor is a differential type sensor that detects changes in the amount of incident infrared rays, but also generates a signal due to changes in the sensor's own temperature. For this temperature compensation, two pyroelectric elements are often differentially connected.

This embodiment is an example using such a differential type sensor.

FIG. 4 is a front view of a differential pyroelectric infrared sensor 30 used in this embodiment, showing two pyroelectric elements 31m in the scanning direction.
, 31b are arranged side by side. These two pyroelectric elements 31a*3lb are differentially connected inside the sensor as shown in FIG. When scanning is performed using this sensor as shown in Figure 2, the differential pyroelectric infrared sensor 3
The output of 0 is as shown in FIG. In this embodiment, the value of the encoder 12 at the zero crossing point IL'+b'He' of this signal is used as the position information of the subjects A, B, and C. In this embodiment, there is a temperature compensation effect of the sensor, and since the position information is read at the zero-crossing point of the sensor signal, it has the effect that it is easier to obtain the position more accurately than when reading at the peak point.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a third embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the diaphragm 2. Lens 3・Filter 4. Sensor 5. an actuator 14 for driving the sensor section 13 comprising the amplifier 6 separately from the camera section 1; Control circuit 15.
This is an example in which an encoder 16 is provided. By adopting the configuration of this embodiment, when searching for a heat source within the scanning area, only the sensor section 13 is driven, the camera section 1 is not moved, and scanning and calculation of the direction in which the camera should be pointed are completed. Only then can the operation of driving the camera unit 1 to point in the calculated pointing direction become possible. By operating only the sensor unit 13, it is not necessary to operate the camera unit 1 during scanning, so the field of view of the camera unit 1 does not change greatly due to repeated scanning, and the present invention can be applied to TVs. It becomes possible to apply it to cameras and video cameras. sensor scanning,
By continuously repeating the calculation of the camera pointing direction and the driving of the camera unit, for example, it is possible to automatically track a scene where multiple people are moving while walking, and automatically create a composition for multiple people. This has the effect of allowing you to take pictures while making precise decisions.

In addition, since the average moving speed of the object can be determined by continuously scanning the sensor, predictive tracking can be performed by operating the camera unit according to the moving speed while the sensor is scanning. The movement of the camera section can be made smoother. In this embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the senna section 13 and the actuator 14. Control circuit 15. The encoder 16 may be configured to be independent of the camera section and attached to the pan head side. FIG. 7 also shows the sensor section 13 including the sensor 5.
Although a configuration is shown in which the lens 3'' is driven, only the optical system including the lens 3'' and the reflecting mirror are driven.
The sensor may be scanned by changing the field of view of the sensor.

FIG. 8 shows a fourth embodiment of the invention. This shows an example in which a zoom lens and an autofocus device are incorporated into the above-mentioned automatic composition determining device. It has been incorporated. In the first embodiment, depending on the focal length of the photographic optical system, the person at the end of the plurality of people may protrude from the frame. In order to solve this problem, the present embodiment uses a zoom lens 17, and the microprocessor 8 determines the optimum focal length from the subject position information obtained during senna scanning, operates the zoom drive system 18, and moves the zoom lens 17 to its focal point. By setting the distance, it is possible to ensure that all the people are included in the frame. Specifically, the focal length of the zoom lens can be uniquely determined from the difference p, -p between the position P1 of the first person detected and the position PM of the last person detected, and preset left and right margin values.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, the automatic composition determining device for a camera according to the present invention uses an infrared sensor to obtain positional information of a plurality of subjects such as people with respect to the photographic screen, and from that positional information,
It is possible to automatically determine the composition by calculating the direction in which the camera should be pointed, and in the case of a combination of zoom lenses, the zoom ratio of the zoom lens. Extremely effective for automation.

Also, compared to a self-timer, the time from deciding the composition to shooting is shorter, so the time the subject has to remain still is shorter, and it can automatically take continuous shots of people. Effective for photographing people.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a professional diagram of the first embodiment of the automatic composition determining device according to the present invention, and FIGS. 2 and 3 are diagrams for explaining the operation of the embodiment shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the scanning state of the camera unit, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the output of the pyroelectric infrared sensor during scanning, and FIGS. 4 to 6 are explanatory diagrams of the second embodiment of the present invention. Figure 4 is a front view of the differential pyroelectric infrared sensor, Figure 5 is a diagram showing the differential connection of the pyroelectric elements, and Figure 6 is the differential pyroelectric infrared sensor during scanning. FIG. 7 is a block diagram of the third embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a diagram of the fourth embodiment of the present invention. 1...Camera section 2...Aperture 3...Lens 4...Filter 5...Pyroelectric infrared sensor 6...Amplifier 7...Peak detection circuit 8.
...Microprocessor 9...RAM io...Actuator 11...Control circuit 12...Encoder 1
3...Sensor part 14...Actuator 15
...Control circuit 16...Encoder 17...
Zoom lens 18...Zoom drive source 1 figure γ figure!

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An infrared sensor that detects positional information of a subject with respect to a photographic screen, a storage means that stores positional information of a subject detected by the sensor, and a camera pointing based on the stored positional information. 1. An automatic composition determining device for a camera, characterized in that it is equipped with a calculation means for determining a direction to be taken. 2. An infrared sensor that detects positional information of the subject relative to the shooting screen, a storage means that stores the positional information of the subject detected by the sensor, and a direction in which the camera with a zoom lens should be pointed based on the above positional information. What is claimed is: 1. An automatic composition determining device for a camera, characterized in that it is equipped with an automatic focusing device that determines the optimum focal length based on the above-mentioned positional information of the subject.