KR20030069074A - An automatic photographing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

An automatic photographing apparatus having a rendering effect means and a inspection window or a skylight in a shooting booth, wherein the rendering effect means is prevented from being photographed and produced by external light from the inspection window or the skylight. To prevent it from getting damaged. The automatic photographing apparatus includes curtain driving means for driving the curtain to be movable between a shielding state of shielding the directing effect means in the photographing view of the photographing means and an exposure state of exposing the directing effect means to the photographing view of the photographing means. At the same time, the photographing means, the rendering effect means and the curtain driving means are controlled in synchronization. Alternatively, the automatic photographing device is a curtain driving means for driving the curtain to be movable between a shielding state shielding an inspection window or skylight provided on the side or the back of the shooting booth and an exposure state of exposing the inspection window or skylight. At the same time, the photographing means and the curtain driving means may be controlled in synchronization.

Description

Automatic photography system {AN AUTOMATIC PHOTOGRAPHING APPARATUS}

The present invention relates to an automatic photographing apparatus for photographing a subject in a photographing booth, and more particularly, to an automatic photographing apparatus capable of photographing with a directing effect such as lighting or a background, and an inspection window or a skylight window. It relates to an automatic photographing device comprising.

Background Art Conventionally, an automatic photographing apparatus is known in which an image of a subject is photographed by a photographing means such as a camera provided toward a photographing booth and the image is provided to the user as a photograph.

In such an automatic photographing apparatus, studies have been conducted to increase the entertainment of the apparatus by enabling photographing with various effects of the production.

For example, in Japanese Patent No. 3109507 and Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-284086, arrangement effects means such as a movable background apparatus and strobe light provided in the rear portion of a photography booth are arranged, Shooting can be performed under various atmospheres, such as a club salon and a concert hall, which are produced by taking pictures with various landscapes as a background, lighting, etc. by configuring a photographic session while controlling these effects means. The device is starting.

However, in the automatic photographing apparatus having the rendering effect means provided in the rear portion of the photographing booth as described above, when the rendering effect means is not used, the photograph is taken without the background device or the strobe light being used as the rendering effect means. There is a problem that the aesthetics and pleasure of the photograph are lost.

In order to cope with this problem, for example, a curtain which can be opened and closed in front of the rendering effect means is not used, and when the rendering effect means is not used, the user can operate the curtain to shield the rendering effect means from the camera's photographing clock and take a picture. Configuration is considered.

However, since photography in this type of automatic photographing apparatus is usually performed in a state where the user faces his back to the direction effecting means, there is a possibility that the opening / closing operation of the curtain cannot be appropriately performed before photographing. Therefore, the operation rate of the photographing apparatus is reduced as a result of repeated retrying of photographing.

Recently, an automatic photographing apparatus employing a system in which a plurality of photographic photographs are automatically taken through a continuous photographing session has been increasing. In the case where the above-described directing effect means is introduced into such an automatic photographing apparatus, it is preferable to perform a combination of a shooting session including a photographing showing a directing effect and a photographing session without performing the directing effect.

However, since the photographing in this kind of automatic photographing apparatus is performed repeatedly at relatively short time intervals of several seconds to several tens of seconds, it is for the user to operate the curtain in response to the shooting at such short time intervals. It is very difficult and complicated.

In addition, in the automatic photographing apparatus having the booth space configured as a booth, it is possible to easily check whether or not there is a user in the booth by providing an inspection window at an appropriate position of the booth. Care is needed to block the inspection window from being photographed.

In addition, in the automatic photographing apparatus which realizes the atmosphere of a club salon and a concert hall by the lighting effect, it is possible to reduce the influence on the lighting effect by external light, for example, by forming a shooting booth with a light-shielding material. On the other hand, it is also necessary to secure a certain amount of brightness except during shooting. Therefore, although it is preferable to provide a skylight at a suitable place of a photography booth, also in this case, the process to prevent a skylight from being taken in an imaging image, and to block external light from entering into a photography booth during photography is needed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and according to an aspect of the present invention, a photographing booth having a space for accommodating a subject, photographing means and control for photographing a subject in the photographing booth provided adjacent to the photographing booth. A casing provided with means, and the rendering effect means in the photographing field of the photographing means, wherein the photographing booth exposes the shielding state shielding the rendering effect means in the photographing field and the rendering effect means in the photographing field of the photographing means. The apparatus further includes a curtain driving means for driving the curtain to be movable between exposure states, wherein the control means is provided with an automatic photographing apparatus for synchronizing the photographing means, the effect effect means, and the curtain driving means.

According to the present invention, the control means controls the photographing apparatus, the rendering effect means, and the curtain driving means in synchronism or in conjunction with each other, so that the curtain is shielded according to the timing at which the photography with the rendering effect is switched to the photography without the rendering effect. The curtain can be moved to the exposed state according to the timing of switching to the state or vice versa from the photographing not involving the rendering effect to the photographing accompanied by the rendering effect. Therefore, the problem that the unused rendering effect means is taken to a picture is reliably prevented.

In addition, according to the present invention, since the effector means can be arranged even at a position that cannot be conventionally arranged, it becomes possible to increase the degree of freedom in designing the device more conventionally, thereby realizing various effect that could not be realized conventionally. .

The rendering effect means of the present invention may be composed of one or a combination of various lighting devices such as fluorescent light, spot light, RGB light, strobe light, and the like. Can be realized.

Further, as the effector of the present invention, the background device disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 3109507 can be used instead of or in combination with the above lighting device. Therefore, by controlling such a background device by the control means, it is possible to take a picture in the background of various landscapes and shapes.

In addition, since the automatic photographing apparatus is provided with a plurality of photographing means to enable photographing from a plurality of different angles and each photographing means may have a zoom function, the photographing means used, photographing angle, and zoom ratio are used. Alternatively, the photographing field included in the frame of the photographed photograph may be different according to different photographing conditions. In the shielding state, by shielding all the rendering effect means that can be included in the photographing field of the photographing means by the curtain, the configuration and control process of the apparatus can be simplified.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a photographing booth having a space for accommodating a subject, a casing provided adjacent to the photographing booth and having photographing means and control means for photographing a subject in the photographing booth, and the photographing booth And a window provided on the side or the rear side of the photographing booth, wherein the shooting booth further comprises curtain driving means for driving the curtain to be movable between a shielding state of shielding the window and an exposure state of exposing the window. There is provided an automatic photographing device for synchronizing the photographing means and the curtain driving means.

That is, by providing the inspection window or the skylight at an appropriate position on the side or the back of the photographing booth, it is possible to easily check whether the user is in the photographing booth and to secure the brightness in the photographing booth. In addition, by controlling the photographing means and the curtain driving means synchronously, the inspection window or the skylight window is prevented from being photographed at the time of photographing, and the external light incident through the inspection window or the skylight window affects the effect of using the lighting device. To prevent giving.

1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of an automatic photographing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

2 is a front view of the vicinity of the rear portion in the photographing booth of the automatic photographing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

3 is another front view of the vicinity of the rear portion in the photographing booth of the automatic photographing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention;

4 is an explanatory diagram showing the structure of a curtain driving means;

5 is an explanatory diagram showing a system configuration of an automatic photographing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the automatic photographing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention;

7 is another front view of the vicinity of the rear part in the photographing booth of the automatic photographing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention;

8 is another front view of the vicinity of the rear part in the photographing booth of the automatic photographing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, and

Fig. 9 is another front view of the vicinity of the rear side in the photographing booth of the automatic photographing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

1 is a perspective view of the exterior of an automatic photographing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 2 and 3 are front views of the vicinity of the rear portion inside the photographing booth of the apparatus. Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to these drawings.

As shown in the figures, the automatic photographing apparatus 10 includes a photographing booth 20 and a casing 40 provided adjacent to the photographing booth 20.

The casing 40 includes a CCD camera 41 and 42 installed in the middle of the center of the casing 40 and an upper portion thereof, a display 43 and 44 which displays images captured by the camera in real time, and photographing. A set of touch panel monitors 45 and input pens 46 that perform various types of input, such as mode selection or image editing, front lights 47 for irradiating appropriate lighting to a subject in a shooting booth, and for a user. A speaker 48 for reproducing the guide or explanation and the background music, a coin inlet 49 for accepting the usage fee, and a photo outlet 50 for discharging the developed photo print. It also includes control means 51 (see Fig. 5) for controlling the CCD cameras 41 and 42, the illumination light 47, the speaker 48 and the like in accordance with the progress of the imaging session.

In addition, the imaging booth 20 is provided adjacent to the casing 40 and consists of a light-shielding plate or sheet and casing 40 composed of the ceiling surface 21 of the imaging booth 20 and the rear surface 22 facing the casing. An imaging space is formed in the space surrounded by the space. One side or both sides 23 of the imaging booth is provided with a hole 24 for the user to enter and exit. The opening 24 is provided with a light-shielding curtain or accordion door 25 and closes the curtain or accordion door 25 during shooting, so that the shooting space becomes an independent space where external light is blocked. Can be.

As shown in FIG. 2, the rear surface 22 and the ceiling surface 21 of the imaging booth 20 include fluorescent lights 26, spot lights 27, RGB lights 28, strobe lights 29, and the like. Directing effect means with various lightings are installed.

These illumination lights 26 to 29 and the front light 47 provided in the casing are configured to operate according to the control from the control means 51, and by adjusting the illumination to be turned on and the amount of light of each illumination, In addition to the basic lighting such as backlight and sunlight, various lighting effects such as a club salon atmosphere and a concert hall atmosphere can be realized.

The control means 51 is a CCD camera (in a state in which a photographing session is performed according to shooting conditions set in advance or set by a user through input means such as a touch panel monitor 45 and an input pen 46). By controlling the illumination lights 47, 26 to 29 in synchronism with or in synchronism with the photographing timing of 41 and 42 and the photographing timing of the CCD cameras 41 and 42, the lighting effect desired by the user or the like at each photographing timing can be obtained. Is realized.

Moreover, the predetermined area | region of the back 22 of the photography booth 20 is colored black so that the dark background suitable for illumination of the said club salon atmosphere or the concert hall atmosphere may be provided.

On the other hand, the curtain rail 30 arranged enough to cover all of the strobe lights 29 provided on the rear surface 22 is suspended from the curtain rail 30 disposed a predetermined distance from the rear surface 22 near the ceiling surface 21. have. The curtain 31 is driven by an electric curtain driving means 60, which will be described later, to expose an exposure state (Fig. 2) exposing all the strobe lights 29 provided on the rear surface 22, and all the strobe lights 29. It is movable between the shielding states (FIG. 3) to shield.

The curtain driving means 60 is operated in synchronization with or interlocked with the shutter timing of the CCD cameras 41 and 42 and the strobe light 29 under the control from the control means 51. As a result, the curtain is moved to the exposed state (Fig. 2) at the timing when shooting is performed using the strobe light 29, while the curtain is shielded at the timing at which shooting is performed without using the strobe light 29. It moves to the state (Fig. 3).

That is, since the strobe light 29 is arranged on the rear surface 22 of the shooting booth with the intention of realizing a backlighting effect, at least a part of the strobe light 29 in each shooting is performed by the CCD camera 41, It is located within the field of view of 42). However, when the strobe light is not used, all the strobe lights 29 are shielded by the curtain, and photography is performed with the curtain as a background. As a result, the unused strobe light 29 is captured on the picked-up image, thereby eliminating the problem of losing the beauty and enjoyment of the picture.

Further, as the curtain driving means, for example, the mechanism shown in Fig. 4 can be used.

As shown in Fig. 4, the curtain driving means 60 includes a drive portion 61, a curtain rail 62 and a gear cable 63. The curtain rail 62 includes two rail grooves 62a and 62b and the gear cable 63 is slidable through each rail groove 62a and 62b.

The gear cable 63 is composed of a single cable having a spiral groove formed on a surface thereof, and one end thereof 63a is accommodated in one rail groove 62a and the gear cable passed through the rail groove 62a is driven by a drive unit 61. ) And extends through the other rail groove 62b so that the other end 63b of the gear cable 63 is accommodated in the rail groove 62b.

In addition, a plurality of curtain hanger members 65a are slidably attached to a portion extending to the rail groove 62b of the gear cable 63 and one curtain hanger member near the tip 63b of the gear cable. 65b is fixed to the gear cable 63. In addition, the curtain hanger member 65a disposed closest to the drive part 61 is locked to the hook 66 provided on the back surface 22 or the side surface 23 of the imaging booth, and is fixed at that position.

In addition, the drive unit 61 includes a motor 67 and a rotation shaft 68 connected to the control means 51, and the gear mechanism 69 is coupled to the spiral groove of the gear cable 63. When the motor 67 is rotated in response to a signal from the control means, the gear cable is driven in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 4 and the curtain 31 is towed by the curtain hanger member 65b to open and close the curtain. It will work.

In addition, the curtain driving means 60 includes a limit switch 70 at the tip of the curtain rail 62, so that when the contact between the gear cable tip 63b and the limit switch 70 is detected, the curtain is shielded. It is assumed that the movement of the furnace is completed, and the driving of the motor 67 is stopped.

Next, the system configuration of the automatic picture taking device 10 will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 5, the control means 51 is a personal computer which controls the entire automatic photographing apparatus 10, and includes a CPU 82, a ROM 83, a RAM 84, and a hard disk 86. As shown in FIG. ), A CD-ROM 87 and an interface (I / F) 85 connected to an external device as described below, and these components are connected to each other via a bus 81.

The CPU 82 controls the operation, processing, etc. of the entire automatic photographing apparatus 10, the ROM 83 stores basic programs for controlling the personal computer, and the RAM 84 is used for the work of the CPU 82. The data and inputs made by the user are temporarily stored, and the hard disk 86 is used to store a program read from the CD-ROM 87 and various data provided for shooting or editing of a subject image. In addition, a program for controlling the rendering effect means, the curtain driving mechanism, the photographing means, and the like in the photographing session is stored in the CD-ROM 87.

The interface 85 includes an input device consisting of CCD cameras 41 and 42, a touch panel monitor 45 and a touch pen 46, a voice output device 54 connected to a speaker 48, and a coin processing unit 52. And an external device such as a printer 53, various illumination lights 47, 26 to 29, and curtain drive means 60, and enable exchange of signals between the CPU 82 and each of these devices.

The touch panel monitor 45 is formed by stacking the transparent touch panel 45-1 on the monitor screen of the CRT monitor 45-2. Various types of input are enabled by bringing the touch pen 46 into contact with the touch panel 45-1.

In addition, the coin processing unit 52 detects the coin injected into the coin inlet and notifies the CPU 82 of the fact when a predetermined usage fee is paid. The printer 53 prints the laid out shot image on the A6 size photo seal and discharges it to the photo discharge port 50.

6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the automatic photographing apparatus 10 in the photographing session.

The automatic photographing apparatus 10 starts a game when the CPU 42 receives a predetermined coin detection signal from the coin processing unit 52, and designates from the input apparatuses 45, 46, etc., or the CD-ROM. Processing of the shooting session is executed in accordance with the program recorded in (87) and the like.

Fig. 6A shows a process for automatically proceeding with a shooting session in accordance with a program recorded on a CD-ROM 87 or the like. The input mode 45 or 46 selects a desired mode selected from a plurality of shooting modes prepared in advance. After reception (step 11), the curtain drive device is controlled in accordance with the first shooting condition.

That is, in the first imaging, a judgment is made as to whether or not the rendering effect means (for example, strobe light 29) arranged in the imaging field of the CCD camera is used (step 12). When used, the curtain drive means 60 is controlled so that the curtain is exposed (step 13), and when not used, the curtain drive means 60 is controlled so that the curtain is shielded (step 14).

Subsequently, the image in the first shooting is recorded as a still image in a state in which a predetermined direction effecting means is operated according to the program (step 15).

At this time, a notice is given to the user for notifying the shooting timing through the sound from the audio output device 54 and the image from the touch panel monitor.

The photographing is set to be performed a predetermined number of times at regular intervals, and it is determined whether or not the photographing has been performed a predetermined number of times (step 16). If not, the processes of steps 12 to 15 are repeated, and the photographing is predetermined. If the number of times has been executed, the shooting session is terminated.

Fig. 6B is an example of a shooting session in which processing is performed in accordance with an instruction from the input devices 25 and 26 by the user. When the shooting session is started, the user is requested to select the desired effect (shooting condition) using the input devices 25 and 26 (step 21).

Subsequently, it is judged whether or not the rendering effect means (e.g., strobe light 29) disposed within the photographing field of the CCD camera is used (step 22), in accordance with the type of the rendering effect selected, and if the curtain is used, The curtain drive means 60 is controlled to be in an exposed state (step 23), and when not used, the curtain drive means 60 is controlled to be in a shielded state (step 24).

Thereafter, the image in the first shooting is recorded as a still image in a state in which the predetermined rendering effect means is operated in accordance with the type of the rendering effect selected (step 25).

Then, it is judged whether or not photographing has been performed for a predetermined number of times (step 26). If photographing is not performed for a predetermined number of times, the processes of steps 22 to 25 are repeated, and photographing is executed for a predetermined number of times. If so, the shooting session ends.

As described above, when the directing effect means positioned within the photographing field of the CCD camera is not used, photography is automatically performed while the directing effect means is shielded by the curtain, so that the user is not inconvenienced. The problem that the unintentional production effect means is captured in the photographed image is also solved.

According to the above-described embodiment, the automatic photographing apparatus has been described in the condition that all the effector means (strobo light 29) that is likely to enter the photographing field of the photographing means in the shielding state by the curtain is shielded. In the shielding state, it is also possible to shield only the directing effect means in a particularly prominent position among the directing effect means positioned in the photographing field of view, and the directing effect positioned in the photographing field of vision for each photographing of the unused directing effect means. It is also possible to selectively shield only the means.

In addition, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which a hanger-type curtain is used has been described, but the present invention is not limited to such a form, but any form that can realize a shielding state and an exposure state such as an accordion type or a shutter type is realized. A curtain can be adopted.

Further, according to the embodiments described above, by using a non-transparent material for the curtain, any shielding effect can be shielded from being transmitted through the curtain and not to be photographed. Semipermeable materials may also be used.

That is, when the strobe light is turned on in a state of being shielded by a semi-transparent curtain, illumination light having a substantially constant brightness is radiated toward the subject by diffusion and reflection, so that a good backlight state is generated. In this case, semipermeable sheets, such as cloth, satin material, plastic sheet, and Japanese paper, can be used as the curtain material.

Further, the curtain driving means is not limited to the specific aspects in the above-described embodiment, but any mechanism may be employed as long as the curtain state and the exposed state can be realized by the curtain in accordance with a signal from the control means.

In addition, the present invention can also use the background apparatus 32 as a directing effect means instead of the various illumination lights 47, 26 to 29 in the above embodiment, or in combination with all or part thereof.

As shown in FIG. 7, by arranging the background device 32 on the rear side of the imaging booth 20, various rendering effects that cannot be obtained by lighting alone can be obtained and the shooting timing when the background device 32 is not used. In the same manner as in the above embodiment (Fig. 3), the same effect as in the above embodiment can be achieved by shielding the background device 32 from the photographing field.

Further, as disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 3109507, various landscapes and colors are adopted by adopting a configuration of sequentially supplying the long sheet 33 in which a plurality of backgrounds are arranged in the longitudinal direction from the roller 34 of the background apparatus. Image shooting with a back and the like can be realized.

Alternatively, even in the case of performing image synthesis using a chroma key technique in which the background device 32 is composed of plates or curtains of a predetermined color, image photographing with various landscapes, colors, and the like can be realized.

8 and 9 are front views of the vicinity of the rear portion of the photographing booth of the automatic photographing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. According to this embodiment, the inspection booth 35 or the skylight 36 is provided on the rear surface of the imaging booth 22 instead of the strobe light 29 or the background device 32 in the above embodiments.

That is, as shown in Figs. 8 and 9, the curtain driving means 60 is provided in the shielding state (a) while providing the inspection window 35 or the skylight 36 on the rear surface 22 of the imaging booth 20. By shielding the inspection window 35 or skylight 36 and moving the curtain such that the curtain drive means 60 exposes the inspection window 35 or skylight 36 in an exposed state (b). In addition, the inspection window 35 or the skylight 36 is prevented from being picked up on the photographed image, and furthermore, the effect of using various lights is prevented from being damaged by external light.

The control of the curtain driving means 60 of this embodiment moves the curtain to the shielded state at each shooting timing, or moves the curtain to the shielded state at the start of the shooting session, and moves the curtain at the end of the shooting session. It may be done to move to an exposed state.

In order to suppress the influence of external light in the shielding state, the curtain 31 is preferably made of a light-shielding material, and when the curtain 31 is positioned within the photographing field of view, the rear surface (to prevent the background of the picture from becoming unnatural) It is preferable to use the curtain 31 having the same color and feel as the color and feel of 22).

As apparent from the above description, the present invention includes curtain driving means for driving the curtain to move the shielding effecting means from the shielding state of shielding the directing effecting means in the photographing field to the exposure state exposing the directing effecting means to the photographing field of the photographing means. At the same time, the photographing means, the rendering effect means and the curtain driving means are controlled in synchronization. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the problem that the rendering effect means, which is not used, is taken in the picture so as not to inconvenience the user.

In addition, the present invention includes a curtain driving means for driving the curtain to be movable between a shielding state shielding the inspection window or the skylight provided on the side or the back of the imaging booth and an exposure state of exposing the inspection window or the skylight; At the same time, the photographing means and the curtain driving means are controlled in synchronization. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the inspection window or the skylight window from being photographed or the effect of the illumination by the external light not to disturb the user.

Claims (4)

A photographing booth having a space for accommodating a subject, a casing provided adjacent to the photographing booth, the photographing means for photographing a subject in the photographing booth, and a control means; As an automatic photographing device that includes, The photographing booth further includes curtain driving means for driving the curtain to be movable between a shielding state shielding the effector means in the photographing field of view and an exposure state of exposing the effector means in the photographing field of the photographing means and the control. Means for synchronizing the photographing means, the rendering effect means, and the curtain driving means in synchronization. The automatic photographing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rendering effect means is a lighting apparatus. The automatic photographing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said rendering effect means is a background apparatus for displaying a background image. A photographing booth having a space for accommodating a subject, a casing provided adjacent to the photographing booth, the casing including photographing means and control means for photographing a subject in the photographing booth, and a window provided on the side or the back of the photographing booth. It includes an automatic photographing device, The photographing booth further includes curtain driving means for driving the curtain to be movable between a shielding state of shielding the window and an exposure state of exposing the window, wherein the control means synchronizes the photographing means and the curtain driving means. Automated photographing device to control.