JPH0667260A - Camera with self-timer photographing function. - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide the camera which does not make a self-timer photographing time unnecessarily long while preventing an intruder from being photographed. CONSTITUTION:A range finder 2 which detects a subject distance, a photographing device 3 which takes a picture, and a field angle switching device 4 which switches the field angle of a photographic lens according to the ON/ OFF states of switches SW4 and SW5 are connected to a controller 1 which performs self-timer photographic processing. With the switch SW3 ON, a main timer 5 starts clocking the time and the subject distance is repeatedly measured; when the subject distance varies, the time clocking of the main timer is interrupted and a subordinate timer 6 is actuated to extend the self-timer photographic time by its set time. After the subordinate timer 6 finishes clocking the time, the main timer 5 restarts clocking the time. The set time of the subordinate timer 6 is made longer and longer as the lens field angle is wider and wider or as the passing position of the intruder is closer and closer to the subject, thereby preventing the self-timer photographing time from becoming unnecessarily long when the intruder passes right before the lens in telephoto side.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a camera having a self-photographing function.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a camera equipped with a self-shooting function,
As described in JP-A-2-37335,
During the time measurement by the self-timer, the distance to the subject within the distance measurement area set in a part of the predetermined shooting area is at least 2
If the subject distance measured after the measurement is repeated and the subject distance measured later does not match the previous subject distance, the timer measurement is interrupted, the time measurement is restarted when the subject distance returns to the original value, and the photographing is performed after a predetermined time has elapsed. Are known. According to such a camera, when a passerby, an automobile, or the like crosses in front of an object in the distance measuring area, the timer clock is interrupted until these intruders come out of the distance measuring area. Therefore, if the remaining time from the restart of the timer counting to the photographing is set to be longer than the time required for the intruder that has left the distance measurement area to frame out, the intruder's reflection is prevented. The time required for the intruder to frame out may be determined based on the walking speed of the human, which is estimated to be the slowest of the intruders. In the example of the above publication, the remaining time until the photographing is set to 2 seconds after the restart of the timing.

[0003]

However, as described above, if the time from the restart of the timer measurement to the photographing is constant, the following problems will occur. The first problem occurs in a camera in which the angle of view of the taking lens can change. For example, in a camera with a multifocal lens, when the angle of view of the taking lens widens, it takes longer for the intruder that has left the distance measuring area to frame out, and when the angle of view narrows, the time to frame out becomes shorter. For this reason, in order to prevent the intruder from being reflected regardless of the angle of view, the remaining time from resuming timekeeping to shooting is based on the time required for the intruder to frame out when the angle of view is widest. It is necessary to set it, and as a result, when the angle of view is narrowed, the remaining time from the restart of timing to shooting is unnecessarily long.

The second problem arises because the passage position of the intruder is not always constant. Even if the angle of view does not change, the time it takes for the intruder to frame out differs depending on how far the intruder passes from the shooting lens, and it takes a long time when the intruder crosses in front of the subject. It takes a short time to cross the front of the taking lens. Therefore, if the remaining time after the restart of the timekeeping is determined with reference to the time when the intruder crosses just in front of the subject, a dead time occurs when the intruder crosses near the photographing lens.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a camera which prevents an intruder from being reflected and prevents the self-photographing time from being unnecessarily lengthened.

[0006]

When the invention of claim 1 is described in association with FIG. 1, which shows an embodiment, a clocking means 5 for clocking a self-photographing time and a clocking by this clocking means 5 are predetermined. A photographing means 3 for starting a photographing operation when the self-photographing time is reached, a subject distance detecting means 2 for detecting a distance to a subject within a distance measuring area set in at least a part of a predetermined photographing area, and a time measuring means. When the subject distance detected by the subject distance detecting means 2 changes during the time counting, the self-shooting time extending means 6 for extending the remaining time until the photographing means 3 starts the photographing operation is applied to the camera. It Then, the above-mentioned object is based on the angle-of-view determination means (1, SW4, SW5) for determining the angle of view of the photographing lens and the angle of view determined by the angle-of-view determination means (1, SW4, SW5). This is achieved by providing the angle-of-view correspondence control unit 1 that changes the extension time so that the extension time set by the self-photographing time extension unit 6 becomes longer as the angle of view becomes wider.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the subject distance changes while the time measuring means 5 measures the time, based on the changed subject distance detected by the subject distance detecting means 2, the larger the distance, the longer the self photographing time. The above-mentioned object is achieved by providing the distance-corresponding control means 1 that changes the extension time so that the extension time set by the means 6 becomes longer.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the self-shooting time is extended if an intruder enters the distance measuring area while the self-shooting is being timed. At this time, the longer the angle of view of the taking lens, the longer the extension time. According to the second aspect of the invention, the closer the position of the intruder crossing in front of the subject is to the subject, the longer the self-imaging time is. Incidentally, in the section of means and action for solving the above problems for explaining the configuration of the present invention, the drawings of the embodiments are used to make the present invention easy to understand, but the present invention is limited to the embodiments. Not something.

[0009]

【Example】

First Embodiment Hereinafter, a first embodiment in which the invention according to claim 1 is applied to a camera with a bifocal lens will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG. 1 shows the circuit configuration of the camera of this embodiment. Reference numeral 1 denotes a control device that controls the operation of the camera. The control device 1 includes a half-press switch SW1 that is turned on by half-pressing a release button (not shown), a release switch SW2 that is turned on by fully-pressing the release button, A self switch SW3 that is turned on by pressing a self button (not shown), and a teleswitch SW that is turned on by pressing a telephoto selection button (not shown)
4. A wide switch SW5 that is turned on by pressing a wide-angle selection button (not shown) is connected.

The control device 1 includes switches SW1 to SW5.
In addition to the distance measuring device 2, the photographing device 3 and the angle of view switching device 4
Is also connected. The distance measuring device 2 measures the distance to a part of the photographing area, for example, a subject in the distance measuring area set at the center of the photographing area, and outputs a distance signal according to the result. As a distance detection method, various known methods such as a method of emitting infrared light toward a subject and calculating the subject distance from the position of the reflected light thereof are used.

The photographing device 3 responds to a command from the control device 1 to perform photographing and film winding. During normal shooting, press the release button and press the half-press switch SW1.
When is turned on, the distance measuring device 2 starts measuring the subject distance,
Then, when the full-press switch SW2 is turned on, a command is issued from the control device 1 to the photographing device 3, and the photographing device 3 starts the photographing operation. At the time of this photographing, focusing of the photographing lens (not shown) is performed according to the distance signal from the distance measuring device 2, and the shutter speed and the aperture value of the photographing lens are adjusted based on a command from an exposure control device (not shown). It

The angle-of-view switching device 4 switches the angle of view of the photographing lens in two steps in response to a command from the control device 1.
When the tele switch SW4 is turned on, the angle of view is switched to the telephoto side, and when the wide switch SW5 is turned on, it is switched to the wide angle side. The on / off states of the switches SW4 and SW5 are stored in the control device 1, and it is determined whether the angle of view of the taking lens is on the wide angle side or the telephoto side during photographing.

The control device 1 incorporates two types of timers, a main timer 5 and a sub timer 6, in preparation for self-shooting. The main timer 5 measures the self-shooting time,
The set time until the time is up is set to be equal to the normal self-shooting time (for example, 10 seconds) of the camera. The sub-timer 6 is for extending the self-photographing time, and the set time is set to either St seconds as standard time or Sw seconds longer than the standard time according to the procedure described later. These set times St and Sw are set according to the angle of view of the taking lens, and the setting method will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 2, the distance from the taking lens L to the desired object O is A ₁ , the distance from the taking lens L to the intruder I is A ₂ , and the moving speed of the intruder I is constant at v. The angle of view of can be switched between two stages of θ ₁ and θ ₂ , and when the corresponding shooting areas are Zt and Zw, the shooting area Z
An intruder I entering the distance measuring area F set at the center of t and Zw
The moving distance Bt, Bw until the object moves out of the shooting area Zt, Zw
Is dependent on the size of the intruder I, the angle of view θ ₁ ,
It can be roughly calculated from θ ₂ and the distance A ₂ of the intruder I. Therefore,
These moving distances Bt and Bw are divided by the moving speed v to obtain an estimated time until the intruder I moves from the distance measuring area F to the outside of the photographing areas Zt and Zw, and some margin time is added to this estimated time. The set times St and Sw are added up. The distance A ₁ may be appropriately selected from the range of the shooting distance (for example, 3 to 10 m) which is assumed to be frequently taken by the self-shooting. Also, the distance A
₂ is set as close as possible to the distance A ₁ . This is because if the distance A ₂ is too short, the time taken for the intruder I to move out of the imaging areas Zt and Zw is short, and there is no point in providing the sub timer 6. The moving speed v should be adjusted to the average walking speed of humans.

In the camera having the above structure, when the self button is pushed and the self switch SW3 is turned on, the self photographing process by the control device 1 is started. The procedure is shown below in Figure 3.
It will be described in accordance with the flowchart of. When the self-switch SW3 is turned on, the control device 1 causes the distance measuring device 2 to perform distance measurement in step S1 and stores the measurement result as the subject distance a. In the next step S2, the main timer 5 is activated to start measuring the self-photographing time. Then, in step S3, distance measurement is performed by the distance measuring device 2 to obtain the subject distance b, and in step S4, it is determined whether or not the subject distance a previously obtained and the subject distance b match. If the subject distances a and b match, the process proceeds to step S5, and it is determined whether or not the main timer 5 has timed up. If the main timer 5 has not timed out, the process returns to step S3, and the measurement of the subject distance b is repeated until the main timer 5 times out. If the main timer 5 times out, step S6
Then, in step S7, a release signal is output to the photographing apparatus 3 to start the photographing operation, a predetermined photographing operation is performed in step S7, and the self-photographing process ends.

When it is determined in step S4 that the subject distance b does not match the first subject distance a, the process proceeds to step S8, and the main timer 5 stops counting time. Next, in step S9, it is determined whether or not the angle of view of the taking lens is on the telephoto side.
Set the measured time of to St seconds. When it is determined that the angle of view of the taking lens is not on the telephoto side, that is, on the wide-angle side, the process proceeds to step S11 and the time measured by the sub timer 6 is set to Sw seconds, which is longer than St seconds. After setting the time count of the sub timer 6, the process proceeds to step S12 to start the sub timer 6. Then, in step S13, it is determined whether the time is up, and if not, the determination is repeated. When the sub timer 6 has timed up, the process proceeds to step S14, the time counting of the main timer 5 is restarted, and the process proceeds to step S5.

According to the above processing procedure, when an undesired person or the like intrudes in front of the subject in the distance measuring area while measuring the self-photographing time, the distance to the intruder is determined as the subject distance b in step S3. It is measured and step S4 is denied. Then, by the processing from step S8 to step S14, the time measured by the sub timer 6 is added to the time measured by the main timer 5, and the remaining time until the start of the photographing operation is extended. Since the time measured by the sub-timer 6 is set to be equal to or longer than the expected time until the intruder in the distance measurement area is framed out as described above, there is little possibility that the intruder is imaged. Moreover, in the present embodiment, the extension amount of the self-photographing time by the sub timer 6 is not uniform as in the conventional case, and the step S9 is performed.
~ If the angle of view is narrow due to the processing in step S11, St
When the angle of view is wide, the time is set to Sw seconds, which is longer than this, so that the self-shooting time is not unnecessarily lengthened when the angle of view is narrow.

Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment in which the invention according to claim 1 is applied to a camera with a bifocal lens will be described with reference to FIG. In addition,
This embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the processing procedure of self-imaging in the control device 1 is changed. Therefore,
Only the parts different from those of the first embodiment will be described below, and the common parts are denoted by the same reference numerals as those of the first embodiment and the description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 4, this embodiment differs from the first embodiment in the processing procedure when step S4 is denied during the self-shooting processing. That is, in the present embodiment, when the subject distance a immediately after the self-start does not match the subject distance b measured thereafter, the time measurement of the main timer 5 is interrupted in step S8, and then the subject distance b in step S20.
Is measured, and it is determined in step S21 whether or not it matches the subject distance a initially measured. If they do not match, the process returns to step S20, and thereafter, the measurement of the subject distance b is repeated until the subject distance b matches the original subject distance a. If the subject distance b matches the subject distance a, step S
Then, the process proceeds to step S9, and thereafter, the process of adding the self-photographing time until step S14 is executed, and then the process proceeds to step S5.

According to the above processing, since the time measured by the sub-timer 6 is changed according to the angle of view of the taking lens, the self-timer taking time is unnecessarily lengthened when the angle of view is narrow, as in the first embodiment. Absent. In addition, by the processing of steps S20 and S21, even if the time measurement of the main timer 5 is interrupted, the time measurement of the sub timer 6 is not started until the subject distance b matches the first subject distance a. If the vehicle has stopped within the distance area, in addition to the extension of the self-shooting time by the sub timer 6, the time until the intruder starts moving toward the outside of the shooting area is also added to the self-shooting time. Therefore, the reflection of an intruder can be more reliably prevented.

In the above first and second embodiments, the camera with a bifocal lens is taken as an example, but the invention of claim 1 is a multifocal camera or a camera with a zoom lens in which the focal length is switched in three or more steps. It applies to any camera whose lens angle of view can be changed. When applied to a lens interchangeable camera such as a single-lens reflex camera, a ROM storing a focal length may be provided on the lens side to determine the angle of view of the lens, and the focal length information may be read as necessary. . The detection of the subject distance is not limited to the one in which the distance itself is directly measured, but is based on, for example, the amount of deviation between the plane equivalent to the film surface and the image plane of the subject and the focal length of the photographing lens at that time. Any method of calculating the subject distance by detecting a parameter that changes according to the subject distance may be used, such as obtaining the subject distance by The distance measuring area is not limited to the center of the photographing area, and may be multi-point distance measuring. The method of extending the self-imaging time is not limited to the example in which the time counting of the main timer 5 is interrupted and the sub timer 6 is activated, but the set time itself of the main timer 5 may be changed.

Third Embodiment Next, a third embodiment in which the invention according to claim 2 is added to the camera described in the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. The same parts as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted. As shown in FIG. 5, the camera of this embodiment is different from that of the first embodiment in that in the processing procedure of self-imaging, the measured time St, Sw seconds set in step S10 or step S11 is measured in step S3. Correcting based on the subject distance b
31 is added. Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 6 showing the photographing region similarly to FIG. 2, steps S30 and S3 are performed.
The correction method in 1 will be described.

In FIG. 6, when the intruder I crosses a position separated from the taking lens L by a distance A ₂ , the moving distances Bt1 and Bw1 until the intruder I comes out of the frame and the distance A ₃ from the taking lens L ( As is clear when comparing the moving distances Bt2 and Bw2 across the position separated by <A ₂ ), the moving distance until the intruder I in the distance measuring area F is out of the frame is from the taking lens L. Increase or decrease in proportion to the distance to the intruder I. Therefore, the moving speed v of the intruder I
Is constant, the time required for the intruder I to leave the imaging areas Zt and Zw also changes in proportion to the distance to the intruder I, and the rate of change is unique to the angles of view θ ₁ and θ ₂ . Takes the value of. Therefore, in steps S30 and S31, how much the distance A ₃ actually passed by the intruder I deviates from the reference distance A ₂ to the front and back is measured by the subject distance b in step S3.
Then, the amount of deviation is multiplied by the coefficient corresponding to the angles of view θ ₁ and θ ₂ to obtain the correction amount of the clocking time. Then, when the subject distance b is larger than the reference distance A ₂ , the correction amount is added to the measured time St, Sw, and when the subject distance b is smaller than the reference distance A _{2, the} measured time St, Sw is calculated. Subtract the correction amount.

As is clear from the above, in the present embodiment, by the processing of steps S30 and S31, when the intruder passes relatively close to the photographing lens, the self-photographing time extension amount is small, and conversely, the intruder photographs. Since the amount of extension of the self-shooting time increases when the lens passes a distance, it is possible to prevent the self-shooting time from being unnecessarily extended while preventing an intruder from being reflected. In particular, it is effective in preventing dead time when an intruder passes near the photographing lens. In the present embodiment, the reference position of the intruder when determining the timed time of the sub-timer 6 can be set arbitrarily, so that these designs are easy. In this respect, in the first embodiment, since the time counts St and Sw must be set uniformly, it is necessary to determine the most effective extension time in consideration of the actual situation of self-photographing.

In this embodiment, the time measured by the sub-timer, which is increased or decreased according to the angle of view of the taking lens, is further corrected according to the distance of the intruder. Not only the combination of the correction of the distance and the correction of the distance but also when applied to the camera of the single focus lens, the extension amount of the self-imaging time can be appropriately determined according to the passing position of the intruder. Further, it may be combined with the camera of the second embodiment. The change of the extension amount of the self-shooting time according to the subject distance is not limited to the example of correcting the set time of the sub timer, and the set time of the main timer 5 itself may be changed.

In each of the above embodiments, if the subject distance changes even a little, step S4 is denied and the self-photographing time is extended. However, the "subject distance change" in the present invention is such a strict case. Not limited to, when the amount of change in the subject distance is within a predetermined allowable range, it is determined as “no change”,
It also includes the case of judging that there is a change when the allowable range is exceeded. In this case, the self-shooting time is not extended even if the desired subject itself changes its position a little or the subject of the self-switch is added to the subject and the subject distance changes a little, which is convenient. Further, the detection of the subject distance during the time counting of the self-photographing time is not limited to the example of being repeatedly performed during the time counting, and the subject distance may be detected only immediately before the time is up to extend the self-photographing time.

In the above embodiment, the main timer 5 serves as a time measuring means, the photographing device 3 serves as a photographing means, the distance measuring device 3 serves as a subject distance detecting means, the tele switch SW4 and the wide switch SW.
5 and the control device 1 constitute an angle-of-view determination means, the sub timer 6 constitutes a self-imaging time extension means, and the control device 1 constitutes an angle-of-view correspondence means and a distance-based control means.

[0028]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the invention, since the extension time of the self-photographing time is increased or decreased depending on the angle of view of the photographing lens, the reflection of an intruder can be prevented. Meanwhile, the dead time is eliminated from the extension time when the angle of view is narrow, and the self-shooting time can always be appropriately extended regardless of the angle of view. According to the invention of claim 2, since the extension time of the self-imaging time is increased or decreased depending on the passing position of the intruder, when the intruder passes near the photographing lens while preventing the intruder from being reflected. The dead time can be eliminated from the extension time, and the self-imaging time can always be appropriately extended regardless of the passage position of the intruder.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a circuit configuration of a camera according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a method of setting a sub timer measured time in the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure in the control device of the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure in the control device of the second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure in the control device of the third embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining setting and correction of a sub timer measured time according to the third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Control device 2 Distance measuring device 3 Photographing device 4 View angle switching device SW3 Self switch SW4 Tele side selection switch SW5 Wide side selection switch

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification code Office reference number FI technical display location G03B 17/40 Z

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A time measuring means for measuring a self photographing time, a photographing means for starting a photographing operation when the time measured by the time measuring means reaches a predetermined self photographing time, and at least a part of a predetermined photographing area. Subject distance detecting means for detecting the distance to the subject in the distance measuring area, and the photographing means starts the photographing operation when the subject distance detected by the subject distance detecting means changes during the timing of the timing means. In a camera equipped with a self-shooting time extension means for extending the remaining time until, the angle of view determination means for determining the angle of view of the taking lens and the angle of view determined by the angle of view determination means A cell provided with an angle-of-view corresponding control unit for changing the extension time so that the extension time set by the self-photographing time extension unit becomes longer as the angle of view becomes wider. Photographing function with camera. 2. A time measuring means for measuring a self photographing time, a photographing means for starting a photographing operation when the time measured by the time measuring means reaches a predetermined self photographing time, and at least a part of a predetermined photographing area. Subject distance detecting means for detecting the distance to the subject in the distance measuring area, and the photographing means starts the photographing operation when the subject distance detected by the subject distance detecting means changes during the timing of the timing means. In a camera provided with self-shooting time extension means for extending the remaining time until, when the subject distance changes during the time counting by the time measuring means, based on the changed subject distance measured by the distance measuring means, The distance-corresponding control means for changing the extension time is provided such that the extension time set by the self-imaging time extension means becomes longer as the distance increases. Self-photographing function with camera characterized the door.