KR20040033967A - Method for controlling digital camera wherein location of indicating detection area varies - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A method for controlling a digital camera changing a position of a designated spot point is provided to remove restriction of deciding a subject area according to a designated spot point by changing a position of the designated spot point by the operation of a user. CONSTITUTION: It is confirmed whether a digital camera is in a designated exposure mode. If not, the mean brightness of a frame is calculated, and an exposure amount to the calculated mean brightness is set. According to the set exposure amount, an iris driving motor drives the iris. If so, a designated spot point(SP) is displayed on a display panel(35). It is confirmed whether direction-moving buttons are turned on by the operation of a user. If not, the mean brightness of the designated spot point is calculated, and an exposure amount to the calculated mean brightness is set. According to the set exposure amount, the iris driving motor drives the iris. If so, a position of the designated spot point is reset according to signals from the direction-moving buttons, and the designated spot point is displayed at the reset position. The mean brightness of the designated spot point is calculated, and an exposure amount to the calculated mean brightness is set. According to the set exposure amount, the iris driving motor drives the iris.

Description

Method for controlling digital camera where location of indicating detection area varies}

The present invention relates to a control method of a digital camera, and more particularly, when a partial area desired by a user in the target area matches the designated detection area displayed on the display panel of the digital camera, The control method of the digital camera which sets the exposure amount of the said digital camera.

1 illustrates a screen in which a designated detection area is fixed in a display panel of a conventional digital camera. Referring to FIG. 1, in the invention of a conventional digital camera, for example, US Pat. No. 4,322,142 or 4,176,955, it is designated in a designated exposure mode (commonly referred to as a 'spot metering mode' but hereinafter referred to as a designated exposure mode). The detection area SP is fixedly positioned at the center of the display panel DP. In this case, the designated exposure mode means that when the desired area of the target area coincides with the designated detection area SP displayed on the display panel DP of the digital camera, the digital display of the specified brightness of the designated detection area SP is performed. It means the mode which sets the exposure amount of a camera.

Therefore, according to the conventional digital camera as shown in FIG. 1, as the designated detection area SP is fixedly positioned at the center of the display panel DP, the target area must be determined according to the designated detection area SP. There is a limitation. Display panels DP of a conventional digital camera having an auto-exposure lock to remedy this problem are shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B.

When the designated exposure mode is selected by the user, as illustrated in FIG. 2A, the designated detection area SP is fixedly positioned at the center of the display panel DP. Here, when the user moves the subject area while pressing the autoexposure lock button, the designated detection area SP moves together with the subject area while the position of the designated detection area SP is fixed as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B. do. Therefore, the limitation that the target area must be determined in accordance with the designated detection area SP can be eliminated.

However, according to the conventional digital camera as shown in Figs. 2A and 2B, even if the designated detection area SP is moved together with the shot area, the designated detection area SP 'of the transferred area (Fig. 2B) after the movement is moved. The average brightness of the designated detection area SP of the target area (FIG. 2A) before the average brightness of N is not calculated is calculated. This is because the position of the designated detection area SP is also fixed at the center, so that the average brightness of the designated detection area SP must be calculated before the autoexposure lock button is pressed. Here, the exposure amount is set for the calculated average brightness. Therefore, there is a problem that the average brightness of the designated detection area SP 'of the target area (FIG. 2B) desired by the user cannot be accurately calculated, and the exposure dose cannot be set precisely in the designated exposure mode.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a control method of a digital camera capable of precisely setting an exposure amount and removing the limitation that the target area must be determined according to the designated detection area in the designated exposure mode of the digital camera.

1 is a view showing a screen in which a designated detection area is fixed in a display panel of a conventional digital camera.

2A and 2B are views showing that the display of the designated detection region is moved together with the subject area while the position of the designated detection region is fixed in the display panel of another conventional digital camera.

Figure 3 is a perspective view showing the front appearance of the digital camera according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a rear view illustrating a rear shape of the digital camera of FIG. 3.

5 is a diagram illustrating an incident side structure of the digital camera of FIG. 3.

6 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the digital camera of FIG.

7 is a flowchart illustrating a photographing control algorithm of the microcontroller of FIG. 6.

8 is a flowchart showing an algorithm of the auto-exposure (AE) setup routine (step 706) of FIG.

FIG. 9A illustrates a screen in which a designated detection area is displayed on a display panel by performing step 83 of FIG. 8.

FIG. 9B is a view illustrating a screen in which a position of a designated detection region is changed in the display panel by performing step 86 of FIG. 8.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

DP, 35 ... color LCD panel, SP ... designation detection area,

1 ... digital camera, 11 ... self-timer lamp,

12 ... flash, 13 ... shutter button,

14 ... mode dial, 15 ... function-selection button,

16 shooting-information display section 17a, 17b viewfinder,

18 ... function-block button, 19 ... flash-light sensor,

20 Lens part, 21 External interface part,

MIC ... microphone, SP ... speaker,

31 ... power button, 32 ... monitor button,

33.Auto-focus lamp, 34.Flash standby lamp,

36 OK / Delete button, 37 Enter / Play button,

38 ... menu button, 39w ... wide-zoom button, 39t ... telephoto-zoom button, 40up ... up-move button,

40ri ... right-go button, 40lo ... down-go button,

40le ... left-move button, OPS ... optical system,

41 ... filter unit,

ZL ... zoom lens, FL ... focus lens,

CL ... compensation lens, OLPF ... optical low pass filter,

IRF ... infrared cut filter, OEC ... photoelectric conversion unit,

M _Z ... zoom motor, M _F ... focus motor,

M _A ... aperture motor, 501 ... analog-to-digital converter,

502 timing circuit, 503 clock clock,

504 ... DRAM, 505 ... EEPROM,

506 memory card interface, 507 digital signal processor,

508 ... RS232C interface, 509 ... video filter,

21a ... USB connection, 21b ... RS232C connection,

21c ... video output, 510 ... lens drive,

511 flash controller, 512 microcontroller,

INP ... user input, LAMP ... emitter,

513 audio processor, 514 LCD driver.

According to the present invention for achieving the above object, the digital setting for setting the exposure amount of the digital camera with respect to the average brightness of the designated detection area, if the desired area in the subject area is matched with the designated detection area displayed on the display panel of the digital camera Camera control method. Here, the position of the designated detection area is changed by the user's operation.

According to the control method of the digital camera of the present invention, since the position of the designated detection area is changed by the user's operation, the following effects can be obtained.

First, in the designated exposure mode of the digital camera, the limitation that the target area must be determined according to the designated detection area can be eliminated.

Second, in the designated exposure mode of the digital camera, the average brightness of the designated detection area can be calculated in the desired area of the user's desired exposure, so that the exposure amount can be set precisely.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail.

Referring to FIG. 3, in front of the digital camera 1 according to the present invention, a microphone (MIC), a self-timer lamp 11, a flash 12, a shutter button 13, a mode dial 14, a function -Selection button 15, shooting-information display section 16, view finder 17a, function-block button 18, flash-light sensor 19, lens section 20, and external interface section 21 There is.

In the self-timer mode, the self-timer lamp 11 operates for a set time from the time when the shutter button 13 is pressed to the time when the shutter is operated. The mode dial 14 is used to select and set various modes, for example, a still image shooting mode, a night view shooting mode, a moving picture shooting mode, a playback mode, a computer connection mode, and a system setting mode. The function-selection button 15 is used for the user to select one of the operation modes of the digital camera 1, for example, a still image shooting mode, a night view shooting mode, a moving picture shooting mode, and a playback mode. The shooting-information display section 16 displays information of each function related to shooting. The function-block button 18 is used for the user to select each function displayed on the shooting-information display unit 16.

Referring to FIG. 4, behind the digital camera 1 according to the present invention, the representative-voice button 42, the speaker SP, the power button 31, the monitor button 32, the auto-focus lamp 33 ), Viewfinder 17b, flash standby lamp 34, display panel 35, confirm / delete button 36, enter / playback button 37, menu button 38, wide angle-zoom (zoom) button 39w, telephoto-zoom button 39t, up-move button 40up, right-move button 40ri, down-move button 40lo, and left-move button 40le There is.

The monitor button 32 is used by the user to control the operation of the display panel 35. For example, when the user presses the monitor button 32 first, an image of the subject and shooting information thereof are displayed on the display panel 35, and when the user presses the second button, only the image of the subject is displayed on the display panel 35. When pressed, the power applied to the display panel 35 is cut off. The auto-focus lamp 33 operates when the focus is well achieved. The flash standby lamp 34 operates when the flash (12 in FIG. 1) is in standby for operation. The confirm / delete button 36 is used as a confirm button or a delete button in the process of setting each mode by the user. The enter / playback button 37 is used for inputting data from the user or for a function such as stopping or playing in the playback mode. The menu button 38 is used to display the menu of the mode selected in the mode dial 14. The up-movement button 40up, the right-movement button 40ri, the down-movement button 40lo, and the left-movement button 40le are also used in the process of setting each mode by the user.

FIG. 5 shows the incident side structure of the digital camera 1 of FIG. FIG. 6 shows the overall configuration of the digital camera 1 of FIG. 3. 5 and 6, the overall configuration of the digital camera 1 of FIG. 3 will be described.

The optical system OPS including the lens unit 20 and the filter unit 41 optically processes light from a subject.

The lens unit 20 of the optical system OPS includes a zoom lens ZL, a focus lens FL, and a compensation lens CL.

When the user presses the wide angle-zoom button (39w in FIG. 4) or the telephoto-zoom button (39t in FIG. 4) included in the user input unit INP, a corresponding signal is output to the microcontroller 512. ) Is entered. Accordingly, as the microcontroller 512 controls the lens driver 510, the zoom motor M _Z is driven to move the zoom lens ZL. That is, when the wide angle-zoom button (39w in FIG. 4) is pressed, the focal length of the zoom lens ZL is shortened to widen the angle of view, and the telephoto-zoom button 39t is When pressed, the focal length of the zoom lens ZL becomes long and the angle of view becomes narrow. According to such a characteristic, the microcontroller 512 uses an angle of view with respect to the position of the zoom lens ZL from the design data of the optical system OPS. ) Can be obtained. Here, since the position of the focus lens FL is adjusted while the position of the zoom lens ZL is set, the angle of view ( ) Is hardly influenced by the position of the focus lens FL.

On the other hand, when the focus is automatically or manually focused on the subject, the current position of the focus lens FL changes with respect to the subject distance Dc. Here, since the position of the focus lens FL is adjusted while the position of the zoom lens ZL is set, the subject distance Dc is affected by the position of the zoom lens ZL. In the auto focus mode, the focus motor M _F is driven by the microcontroller 512 controlling the lens driver 510. Accordingly, the focus lens FL is moved from the front to the rear, and in this process, the position of the focus lens FL, in which the high frequency component of the image signal is the largest, for example, the number of driving steps of the focus motor M _F is increased. Is set.

The compensating lens CL serves to compensate for the overall refractive index and is not driven separately.

Reference numeral M _A denotes a motor for driving an aperture (not shown). Here, the rotation angle of the diaphragm drive motor M _A varies depending on the case of the designated exposure mode and the case where it is not. As described above, the designated exposure mode refers to the average brightness of the designated detection area SP when the partial area desired by the user in the shot area matches the designated detection area SP displayed on the display panel 35 of the digital camera. Refers to a mode for setting the exposure amount of the digital camera. In the designated exposure mode, the microcontroller 5120 initially displays the designated detection area (SP in Fig. 9A) in the center of the color LCD panel 35, but the user selects the direction-shift buttons (40up, 40ri in Fig. 4). The position of the designated detection area SP is changed by manipulating the operations 40lo and 40le (see Fig. 9B), which will be described in more detail with reference to Figs.

In the filter unit 41 of the optical system OPS, an optical low pass filter (OLPF) removes optical noise of high frequency components. Infra-Red cut filters (IRFs) block infrared components of incident light.

A photoelectric conversion unit (OEC) of a charge coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) converts light from an optical system (OPS) into an electrical analog signal. Here, the digital signal processor 507 controls the timing circuit 502 to control the operations of the photoelectric converter OEC and the analog-digital converter 501. The CDS-ADC (Correlation Double Sampler and Analog-to-Digital Converter) element 501 as an analog-to-digital converter processes the analog signal from the photoelectric converter (OEC), removes the high frequency noise, and adjusts the amplitude. After that, it is converted into a digital signal. The digital signal processor 507 operating under the control of the microcontroller 512 processes the digital signal from the CDS-ADC element 501 to generate a digital image signal classified into luminance and chroma signals.

The light emitting portion LAMP driven by the microcontroller 512 includes a self-timer lamp 11, an auto-focus lamp (33 in FIG. 4) and a flash standby lamp (34 in FIG. 4). The user input unit INP includes a shutter button (13 in FIG. 3), a mode dial (14 in FIG. 3), a function-selection button (15 in FIG. 3), a function-block button (18 in FIG. 3), a monitor button ( 32 in FIG. 4, OK / Delete button (36 in FIG. 4), Enter / Playback button (37 in FIG. 4), Menu button (38 in FIG. 4), Wide-Zoom button (39w in FIG. 4), Tele- Zoom button (39t in FIG. 4), up-move button (40up in FIG. 4), right-move button (40ri in FIG. 4), down-move button (40lo in FIG. 4), and left-move button (FIG. 4) 40le).

The digital video signal from the digital signal processor 507 is temporarily stored in the DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) 504. The EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) 505 stores algorithms and setting data necessary for the operation of the digital signal processor 507. The memory card of the user is attached to or detached from the memory card interface 506.

The digital image signal from the digital signal processor 507 is input to the LCD driver 514, whereby the image is displayed on the color LCD panel 35.

On the other hand, the digital video signal from the digital signal processor 507 can be transmitted by serial communication via the USB (Universal Serial Bus) connection 21a or the RS232C interface 508 and its connection 21b, and the video filter ( 509 and the video output unit 21c may be transmitted as a video signal.

The audio processor 513 outputs the audio signal from the microphone MIC to the digital signal processor 507 or the speaker SP, and outputs the audio signal from the digital signal processor 507 to the speaker SP.

On the other hand, the microcontroller 512 drives the flash 12 by controlling the operation of the flash controller 511 according to the signal from the flash-light amount sensor 19.

FIG. 7 shows a photographing control algorithm of the microcontroller of FIG. 6. The photographing control algorithm of the microcontroller 512 of FIG. 6 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 7 as follows. Here, the shutter button 13 included in the user input unit INP has a two-stage structure. That is, after the user operates the wide-zoom button 39w and the tele-zoom button 39t, the S1 signal from the shutter button 13 is turned on by pressing the shutter button 13 only one step, and 2 When the button is pressed all the way, the S2 signal from the shutter button 13 is turned on. Thus, the photographing algorithm of FIG. 5 starts when the user presses the shutter button 13 one step (step 701). Here, the current position of the zoom lens ZL is already set.

First, the remaining amount of the memory card is checked (step 702), and it is checked whether or not the capacity of the digital video signal can be recorded (step 703). If it is not a recordable capacity, it is indicated that the capacity of the memory card is insufficient (step 704). In the case of a recordable capacity, the following steps are performed.

First, an Auto White Balance (AWB) mode is performed to set relevant parameters (step 705).

An auto exposure (AE) mode is next performed, whereby the exposure amount for incident luminance is calculated, and the aperture driving motor M _A is driven in accordance with the calculated exposure amount (step 706). Matters related to this automatic exposure control will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 8 to 9B.

Next, an auto focusing mode (AF) is performed to set the current position of the focus lens FL (step 707).

Next, it is checked whether the S1 signal, which is the first-stage signal from the shutter button 13, is on (step 708). If the S1 signal is not On, it ends because there is no user intention. If the S1 signal is On, the following steps are continued.

First, it is checked whether the S2 signal is on (step 709). If the S2 signal is not turned on, the user does not press the second stage of the shutter button 13 for capturing. Therefore, the process moves to the step 706.

If the S2 signal is On, the user presses the second stage of the shutter button 13 for shooting, and thus the shooting operation is performed (step 710). That is, the digital signal processor 507 is operated by the microcontroller 512, and the photoelectric converter OEC and the analog-to-digital converter 501 are operated by the timing circuit 502. Next, the image data is compressed (step 711) to generate a compressed image file (step 712). After the generated image file is stored in the user's memory card from the digital signal processor 507 via the memory card interface 506 (step 713), the execution of the algorithm is terminated.

8 shows the algorithm of the auto-exposure (AE) setup routine (step 706) of FIG. FIG. 9A illustrates a screen in which the designated detection area SP is displayed on the display panel 35 by performing step 83 of FIG. 8. FIG. 9B illustrates a screen in which the position of the designated detection area SP is changed on the display panel 35 by performing step 86 of FIG. 8. The auto-exposure (AE) setting algorithm of FIG. 8 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6 and 8 to 9A as follows.

First, it is checked whether it is the designated exposure mode (step 81). As described above, the designated exposure mode means that when a partial area desired by the user in the target area matches the designated detection area SP displayed on the display panel 35 of the digital camera 1, The mode which sets the exposure amount of a digital camera with respect to average luminance.

If not in the designated exposure mode, the average luminance of the frame that is all of the current shot area is calculated (step 82), the exposure amount for the calculated average brightness is set (step 88), and the aperture driving motor M _A is set according to the set exposure amount. The aperture is driven (step 89).

In the designated exposure mode, the designated detection area SP is displayed at the reference position of the display panel 35, for example, in the center (step 83, see FIG. 9A). Next, it is checked whether the direction-shift buttons (40up, 40ri, 40lo, 40le in Fig. 4) are On by the user's operation (step 84).

When the direction-shift buttons (40up, 40ri, 40lo, 40le in Fig. 4) are not turned on by user's operation, the average brightness of the designated detection area SP is calculated (step 87), and the calculated The exposure amount for the average luminance is set (step 88), and the aperture driving motor M _A is driven in accordance with the set exposure amount to drive the aperture (step 89).

When the direction-movement buttons (40up, 40ri, 40lo, 40le of FIG. 4) are turned on by a user's operation, they are designated according to the signal from the direction-movement buttons 40up, 40ri, 40lo, 40le. The position of the detection area SP is reset (step 85), and the designated detection area SP is displayed at the reset position (step 86, see Fig. 9B). Next, the average brightness of the designated detection area SP with the position shifted is calculated (step 87), the exposure amount for the calculated average brightness is set (step 88), and the aperture driving motor ( M _A ) is driven to drive the aperture (step 89).

As described above, according to the control method of the digital camera according to the present invention, since the position of the designated detection area is changed by the user's operation, the following effects can be obtained.

First, in the designated exposure mode of the digital camera, the limitation that the target area must be determined according to the designated detection area can be eliminated.

Second, in the designated exposure mode of the digital camera, the average brightness of the designated detection area can be calculated in the desired area of the user's desired exposure, so that the exposure amount can be set precisely.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, but may be modified and improved by those skilled in the art within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the claims.

Claims (2)

In the control method of the digital camera which sets the exposure amount of the said digital camera with respect to the average brightness of the said predetermined detection area, when the some area | region which a user wants in a subject area matches the designated detection area displayed on the display panel of a digital camera, And a control method for changing the position of the designated detection area by a user's operation. In the control method of the digital camera which sets the exposure amount of the said digital camera with respect to the average brightness of the said predetermined detection area, when the some area | region which a user wants in a subject area matches the designated detection area displayed on the display panel of a digital camera, Displaying a designated detection area on the display panel when a designated exposure mode for setting an exposure amount for setting an average luminance of only the partial area desired by a user is selected by a user's operation; Changing the position of the designated detection area according to a user's operation; Calculating an average brightness of the designated detection area; And A control method comprising the step of setting the exposure amount for the calculated average brightness.