JPH03130728A - Automatic focusing camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To accurately execute rang-finding and to surely prevent middle omission by providing horizontally osillating mechanism which rotates a camera by a desired angle on a horizontal plane and performing multipoint range-finding while rotating the camera from right to left by means of the mechanism. CONSTITUTION:The oscillating mechanism is housed in the recessed part 100a on the bottom part of a camera main body 100. The swinging mechanism is provided with a driver 34 for controlling a horizontal rotation motor 30a and a driver 35 for controlling a vertical rotation motor 30b. The position of horizon tal rotation is detected by photointerrupters 38 and 39 and the position of verti cal rotation is detected by photointerrupters 42 and 43. Since a pulse signal is outputted fromt he photointerrupters 38 every time the camera is rotated once, a microcomputer confirms the rise and fall of the pulse signal and performs the range-finding by having infrared light emitted from an infrared LED. Thus, the range-finding is performed within the range which is 20 degrees right and left by taking the position of the camera as a center every time the camera is rotated, and 41 range-finding data are totally obtained. Thus, the multipoint range-finding is executed by one infrared light emitting element.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to an autofocus camera that automatically changes the photographing range.

(Prior Art) In recent years, cameras have become increasingly automated, and in view of this trend, the applicant proposed an auto-release camera that automatically releases the shutter in response to input sound (Patent Application No. 63-32
(See No. 9184 “Auto-release camera”).

This camera detects the sound pressure level of any input sound that enters the camera, such as human voices, laughter, cheers, applause, or applause, and the detected sound pressure level continues to exceed the reference sound pressure level for a predetermined period of time. Perform the release operation when this happens. Therefore, if such a camera is used, for example, when taking pictures of a banquet or party, it is very convenient because it can automatically release the camera when the camera is at its peak.

With such a camera, the user is certainly freed from the release action, but the user still has to set the framing. This is because if the camera is left on a tripod or stand, it will always take pictures with the same framing, resulting in dozens of pictures with the same composition. However, it is easy to forget to change the framing during a banquet or party, and it is also a considerable burden on the photographer.

Therefore, the applicant would like to propose a camera in which the orientation of the camera changes little by little in synchronization with the photographing operation, and the framing can be automatically changed (Japanese Patent Application No. 1-51490).

By the way, if this type of camera that automatically changes framing (so-called oscillating camera) employs an autofocus (AF) mechanism that automatically adjusts the focus of the photographic lens, it will be possible to take shots that are in focus for various framings. This may be convenient because conventional autofocus mechanisms can only measure distances in a narrow area in the center of the shooting screen, so when two people are standing side by side, the distance between them is limited. becomes the distance measurement area and focuses at infinity, which can cause the person to become blurry (so-called ``remote focus'').Conversely, objects such as bottles or dishes may be placed in the center of the screen near the person. If you do, those objects will be in focus and the person will be out of focus in the photo.

In order to prevent such blank spots, autofocus cameras have been proposed that are equipped with a pre-focus mechanism that once places the subject in the distance measurement area, measures the distance, and then frames the image. l'F! says that the shooting operation is troublesome! 'I have a question.

In order to solve this problem, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 60-176009
In this system, multiple light-emitting elements are arranged parallel to the photographic screen and are turned on in chronological order to emit infrared light toward the subject, and the reflected infrared light from the subject is detected as a semiconductor device called PSD. The focus of the photographic lens is adjusted based on the distance data obtained by processing the output signal received by the camera.

Furthermore, in JP-A No. 60-217321, light is emitted several times while changing the position or direction of one infrared light emitting element in a short period of time, and the infrared light reflected from the subject is reflected in the same manner as above. Processing and obtaining distance data.

In either method, a plurality of light emitting elements or light emitting element moving means must be provided in a limited space inside the camera, and there are various problems such as an increase in parts cost, increased space, and design constraints.

(Objective and Structure of the Invention) The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned points, and provides a swing-type autofocus camera that can capture multiple subjects with gaps between them without increasing the cost or space of distance measurement-related parts. In contrast, the aim is to obtain highly accurate distance measurement results according to the actual condition of the subject. A rotating means for rotating the camera is provided, and the camera is configured to perform wide ranging while rotating the camera using the rotating means.

(Example) The present invention will be explained below based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the appearance of an embodiment of a swing-type autofocus camera according to the present invention, and here, a camera having an auto-release mode is illustrated.

In the figure, l is a photographing lens, 2 is a finder, 3a and 3b are windows for infrared light emission and light reception for distance measurement, and 4
5 is a release button, and 5 is an auto-release lever for setting an auto-release mode. In this auto-release mode, a release operation is automatically performed when the sound pressure level of a person's voice, laughter, applause, or other input sound input to the camera continues for a predetermined period of time or more.

When the auto-release lever 5 is slid upward, a microphone hole 5a appears, and a microphone for sound pressure detection is installed below the microphone hole 5a. Also, auto release lever 5
Below, five LEDs 6 are attached to the camera body to display the sound pressure level of the sound input from the microphone. That is, the auto-release lever 5 is not only an operating member but also a display member, and the user can easily understand the auto-release mode by operating the lever on which the sound pressure level is displayed. Further, even in the auto-release mode, a release operation is performed by pressing the release button 4.

7 is a mote switching button for selecting whether or not to use the self-timer and the strobe light emission mode; 8 is a level setting button for adjusting the reference sound pressure level at which the release operation is performed; 9 is a lens barrier for protecting the photographic lens; 10 11 is a liquid crystal display panel that displays the number of film shots, reference sound pressure level settings, and other shooting-related information; 11 is a strobe; 12
is a light receiving element for photometry. Note that the distance measurement method of this camera is an active method.

The release operation of this camera is not directly related to the present invention and is not necessary for understanding the present invention, so it will not be explained, or if necessary, please refer to the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application No. 1-51490.

Next, a swing mechanism for swinging the camera body up and down and left and right will be explained with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5.

Figures 2 (a) and (b) show the mounting position of the swing mechanism with respect to the camera. It is rotatably mounted. By fixing the bottom of the case 21 on a stand or the like using an appropriate method, the camera position can be fixed without using a special camera device such as a tripod, and swinging operation is possible as described later. The support means may be simple means as described herein.

3, 4, and 5 show the detailed structure of the swing mechanism 20.

As shown in FIG.
The case 21 is housed in a recess 100a provided in the center of the bottom of the case 21, and the case 21 is rotatably supported by a support shaft 22 extending horizontally at the upper part of the case 21 via bearings 23a and 23b. Both ends of the support shaft 22 are connected to the camera body 100.
is firmly fixed to prevent rotation.

Now, inside the case 21 are two motors 30a and 30.
b is arranged horizontally, and gearboxes 31a and 31 are coaxially arranged.
b (see FIG. 4). The motor 30a functions as a drive source for rotating the camera body in the horizontal direction, and the motor 30b functions as a drive source for rotating the camera body in the vertical direction.

An ohmic gear 32a is supported near the motor 30a in parallel with the axial direction of the motor so that it does not move in the axial direction but only rotates with respect to the case 21, and a spur gear 33a is attached to the shaft of the ohmic gear 32a. Fixed. This spur gear 33a is coupled to a gear pock 31a via a spur gear 34a in a gear box 31a. Similarly, motor 3
0b and parallel to the axial direction of the motor.
2b is pivotally supported in the same manner as the ohmic gear 32a, and a flat gear 33b is fixed to the shaft of the ohmic gear 32b. This spur gear 33b is coupled to the gear box 31b via a spur gear 34b within the gear box 31b.

The ohm gear 32a meshes with the worm wheel 36. A shaft 35 extending vertically at the center of the case 21 is connected to a ohm wheel 36 via a friximin clutch (not shown).The upper part of the shaft 35 is provided with holes at regular intervals (for example, every 1 inch) along its periphery. 37a, and a rotation detection disk 37 is fixed inside which is provided with a hole 37b (see FIG. 6) for detecting the front position of the camera. A transparent photointerrupter 38 (see Fig. 4) is provided so as to sandwich the hole 3 in a U-shape.
A reflective photointerrupter 39 is provided at a position through which the light beam 7b passes. Note that a tripod 200 (
A boss 35a is formed in the mounting screw 200a shown in FIG. 3 by a dashed line.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5, a sector-shaped ohm plate 40 is engaged with the other ohm gear 32b. This ohm plate 40 is connected to the support shaft 22 via a friction clutch (not shown), and a fan-shaped vertical angle detection plate 41 is also fixed to the support shaft 22 in close proximity. A plurality of holes 41a are formed at equal intervals along one side edge of the vertical angle detection plate 41, and a hole 41b for horizontal position detection is formed around the support shaft 22'N. A U-shaped transmission type photointerrupter 42 is provided in the case 21 so as to sandwich the side edges of the vertical angle detection plate 41, and the hole 4 is located close to the vertical angle detection plate 41.
A reflective photointerrupter 43 is provided at a position facing 1b.

Next, the movement of the camera will be explained.

When the Mokuro rotary motor 30a rotates, the gear box 31
The gear inside a rotates and becomes the spur gear 34a.

The ohm gear 32a rotates via the gear 33a.

Since the ohm wheel 36 is engaged with the ohm gear 32a, the shaft 35 rotates via a friction clutch (not shown). When attaching the lower end of the shaft 35, the boss 35a is screwed into the mounting screw 200a of the tripod 200, and the resistance to rotation of the fixed tripod 200 is greater than the resistance to rotation on the camera body 100 side.
0 rotates, but as a reaction, the camera body 100 rotates in the opposite direction to the rotation direction of the shaft 35. When the horizontal rotation motor 30a is reversed, the direction of rotation of the camera body 100 is also reversed. In this way, the camera body 100 rotates left and right on the tripod 200.

On the other hand, when the vertical motor 30b rotates, the gear box 3
The gear in 1b rotates, and the ohm gear 32b rotates via the spur gears 34b and 33b. Since the ohmic plate 40 is engaged with the ohmic gear 32b, the ohmic plate 40 rotates together with the support shaft 22 via a friction clutch (not shown) around the support shaft 22. As a result, the camera body 10 is fixed at both ends to the support shaft 22.
0 rotates upwards, for example. Vertical rotation motor 30b
When the camera body 100 is reversed, the camera body 100 rotates, for example, downward. In this way, the camera body 100 swings up and down on the tripod. Although an example using a tripod has been described here, it is not necessarily necessary to use a tripod, and the same result can be obtained by fixing the bottom surface of the case 21 on a stand or the like by an appropriate method.

The initial setting direction in the horizontal plane of the camera body 100 is reflected from the rotation detection disk 37 and the reflective photointerrupter 39
Is the light incident on the light receiving part of the rotation detection disk 37 hole 3?
7b, the photointerrupter 3
9, and the swing angle of the camera body 100 in the horizontal plane can be detected from the output of the transmission type photointerrupter 38 depending on the presence or absence of light passing through the hole 37a provided at the periphery of the rotation detection disc 37. In addition, the camera body 100
The initial setting direction in the vertical plane is determined by the fact that the light reflected from the vertical angle detection plate 41 and entering the light receiving section of the reflective photointerrupter 43 no longer enters through the hole 41b of the vertical angle detection plate 41. , is detected from the output of the photointerrupter 43, and the vertical swing angle of the camera body 100 is detected from the output of the photointerrupter 42 based on the presence or absence of light passing through the hole 41a provided at the periphery of the vertical angle detection plate 41. .

7+3 is a block diagram showing the circuit configuration of the camera of FIG. 1;

In the figure, 45 is a battery, 46 is a power supply circuit that supplies power to each part of the circuit, and 47 is A that controls the photographing sequence.
/Microcomputer with built-in D converter
It is. 48 is an LCD for the liquid crystal display panel IO and its drive circuit; 49 is a strobe circuit that causes the strobe 11 to emit light; 50 is a shutter motor driver that drives the shutter drive motor 51; and 52 is a sensor that detects the position of the shutter blade. .

Furthermore, 53 is a lens motor driver that controls the photographic lens drive motor 54, 55 is a lens position sensor that detects the moving position of the photographic lens, and 56 is the film feeding motor 5.
This is a film motor driver that drives 7.

Additionally, a driver 34 for controlling the horizontal rotation motor 30a and a driver 35 for controlling the vertical rotation motor 30b are provided as components related to the swing mechanism 20, and the horizontal rotation position of the camera body is controlled by photointerrupters 38 and 39.
The vertical rotation position is detected by the photointerrupter 4.
2 and 43.

Also, to explain the switches, SO is the main switch that turns on when the lens barrier 9 is opened, SL is the switch that turns on when you press the release button one step, S2 is the switch that turns on when you press the release button one more step, and MOS is the remote switch button. 7
PMS is a switch that is turned on when the auto release lever 5 is operated, SB is a switch that is turned on when the camera back is opened, and SSP is a switch that is turned on when the film is fed.

58 is an infrared LED for distance measurement that emits infrared light onto the subject;
59 is a light receiving element such as a PSD that receives reflected light from the subject; 60 is a distance measuring circuit that detects the distance to the subject from the light receiving position of the light receiving element 59; and 61 is a measuring circuit that measures the brightness of the subject based on the output from the light receiving element 62. 63 is micro 4
This is an audio processing circuit that processes input signals from.

The audio processing circuit 63 includes a micro 4 as shown in FIG.
It is composed of an amplifier 65 that amplifies the output signal from the amplifier 65, and a half-wave rectifier circuit 66 that converts the amplified signal into a sound pressure signal representing the loudness of the sound. The sound pressure signal is output to an A/D converter within the CPU 47.

FIG. 9 is a detailed circuit diagram of the audio processing circuit 63, in which a first-stage operational amplifier 67 amplifies the signal from the micro 4, and a next half-wave rectifier circuit including an operational amplifier 68 converts it into a sound pressure signal. Although not shown, a logarithmic compression circuit may be connected after the half-wave rectification circuit.

Next, among the operations of the embodiment, the multi-point ranging operation will be explained using the timing chart of FIG. 1O and the flowchart of FIG. 11.

As an example, as shown in FIG. 12, it is assumed that distance measurement is performed every 1'' in a range of 20 degrees to the right and 20 degrees to the left from the position where the camera is set.

In Fig. 11, when the switch Sl is turned on, first set the movement angle N by 20 degrees to the left and right, and a total of 40 degrees F.
-1), put (N+1) into I as a distance measuring counter (F-2), and further put (N/2+1) into M as a rotation counter when not measuring distance (F-3). Here, in response to a command from the microcomputer 47, the horizontal rotation motor 30a is rotated forward by the driver 34, and the camera body is rotated to the left by the mechanism shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 (F-4).
. Every time the camera body rotates 1", the photo interrupter 3
The microcomputer 47 checks the rise and fall of the pulse signal output from 8 (F-5, F-6), counts down the rotation counter M (F-7), and the count value of M becomes 0. At this point (F-8), the horizontal rotation motor 30a is stopped (F-9). At this time, the camera is facing in the direction A shown in FIG. Here, this time, horizontal rotation motor 3
When 0a is reversed, the camera starts rotating to the right (
F-10>. As the camera rotates clockwise, a pulse signal is output from the photointerrupter 38, and the microcomputer 47 checks the rise and fall of the pulse signal (F-11, F-11,
-12), the infrared LED 34 emits infrared light to perform distance measurement (F-13). The distance measurement data is stored in the microcomputer 47. Each time IH distance measurement is performed, the distance measurement counter I is counted down (F-15), and when the count value of the counter I reaches 0 (F-16), the rotation of the horizontal rotation motor 30a is stopped. (F-17). At this time, the camera is
It faces in the direction of B shown in the figure. By this time a total of 4
One piece of ranging data is obtained.

Next, enter N/2 into the motor rotation counter M (F-
18) When the motor 30a is rotated forward, the camera begins to rotate to the left (F-19). While checking the rise and fall of the pulse signal output from the photointerrupter 38 (F-20, F-21), count down the motor rotation counter M (F-22) until the count value of the counter M reaches 0. When this happens (F-23) and the motor 30a is stopped (F-24), the camera faces the position set before distance measurement.

In this way, distance measurement is performed every 1" in a range of 20 degrees left and right around the set position of the camera, and a total of 41 distance measurement data are obtained.

Now, as shown in Figure 12, the subject is 2 with his back against the wall.
Assuming that the persons are M□ and M2, distance measurement data as shown in FIG. 13 will be obtained.

Next, the operation of processing this distance measurement data to calculate the focus position will be explained using the flowchart of FIG. 14.

The flowchart in FIG. 14 shows that in the final step (F-24) of the ranging operation shown in FIG.
It will start after it has stopped.

First, clear the MIN value register that stores the minimum subject distance (hereinafter referred to as MIN value) obtained as a result of the focusing distance calculation (P-1), and set the address counter of the memory that stores distance measurement data to 1. (P-2). In this way, read the distance measurement data that was first stored in the memory (the distance measurement data at the position where the camera was rotated an amount of lo to the right).P
-3), Put the read distance measurement data into the MIN value register as an initial value (P-4), then count up the address counter of the distance measurement data memory by 1 p-s
), after determining whether the memory address is equal to or less than 42 (P-6), if it is less than or equal to 42, the distance measurement data stored at that address is read out (P-7). This read distance measurement data is stored in the MIN value register in the previous step (P-4) and compared with the MIN value (p-8), MIN
If the value is greater than the value, clear the temporary MIN value register P-9
), return to step (ps) and repeat the same operation. Conversely, if the distance measurement data read from the memory is less than the MIN value, check whether the temporary MIN value register has been cleared (P-10), and if it has been cleared, the read distance measurement data CP-11) which stores the data in the temporary MIN value register. On the other hand, if it is determined in step (p-10) that the temporary MIN value register has not been cleared, the primary read distance data is almost equal to the temporary MIN value stored in the temporary MIN value register. It is determined whether or not (p-12). As a result, if the two are almost equal, store the read distance measurement data in the MIN value register (P-13) and clear the temporary MIN value register (P-13).
P-14) By comparing the MIN values twice in a row in this way, it is possible to prevent the influence of erroneous distance measurement due to noise and the like, and it is possible to calculate an accurate MIN value.

Jump to step (ps), count up the memory address, repeat the same operation, and the memory address becomes 42.
(P-6), the distance measurement data stored in the MIN value register is the minimum subject distance for the current multiple distance measurements, and the shooting lens is moved so that the focus is on that MIN value. The camera moves to focusing operation (P-15), then turns on the S2 switch to enter a series of shooting sequences, and when the sound pressure level conditions are met, the release operation is performed to take a photo, followed by film winding. An action is taken.

In the above embodiment, focusing was performed by searching for the MIN value among a large number of distance measurement data, but the method of processing the distance measurement data is not limited to this, and for example, the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 60-255921 can be used. Of course, calculation may also be used.

Note that since the camera of the present invention is equipped with a horizontal rotation motor, the camera can be swung by rotating the camera in a horizontal plane by a certain angle in the shooting mode, or it can be swung in a direction with a high sound pressure level. Although it is possible to move in any direction such as, this point is not the gist of the present invention and will not be explained here.

In addition, although the camera in the above embodiment has a swing mechanism that swings in the horizontal plane (left and right) and in the vertical plane (up and down), in order to perform multi-point distance measurement, Since the camera according to the present invention only needs to be oscillated in a horizontal plane, a vertical oscillation mechanism is not necessarily required.

Although the above embodiment has been exemplified with respect to a camera having an auto-release mode, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited thereto and can be applied to conventional manual-release cameras.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained above, in the present invention, a horizontal swinging mechanism is provided to rotate the camera body by a desired angle in a horizontal plane, and this horizontal swinging mechanism allows the camera to rotate from side to side at multiple points. Since it is configured to measure distance, multi-point distance measurement is possible with one infrared light-emitting element, and the positioning or orientation of multiple infrared light-emitting elements and infrared light-emitting elements required for conventional multi-point distance measurement can be adjusted. There is no need for a mechanism or space to change it. As a result, there is no increase in component costs or design constraints. In addition, although the present invention performs multi-point distance measurement, it is different from the conventional method, which only measures a few points at most, because it can obtain much more distance measurement data, making accurate distance measurement possible within a detailed range. , the prevention of hollowing out is ensured.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of an example of a camera according to the present invention, Figures 2 (a) and (b) are front and side views of the camera showing the mounting position of the swing mechanism, and Figure 3 is a swing mechanism. Figure 4 shows the internal structure of the mechanism, Figure 4 is a plan view of the main parts of the swing mechanism, Figure 5 shows the main parts of the vertical rotation mechanism of the swing mechanism, and Figure 6 detects the rotation angle of the camera. 7 is a block diagram showing the circuit configuration of the camera according to the present invention, and FIGS. 8S and 9 are a block diagram Σ and a circuit diagram of the audio processing circuit shown in FIG. 7. , Fig. 10 is a timing chart for distance measurement, Fig. 11 is a timing chart showing distance measurement operation, Fig. 12 is a diagram showing the positional relationship between the camera and the subject during shooting, and Fig. 13 is Fig. 12. FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating the processing of the distance measurement data. l...Photographing lens, 3a, 3b--light emission for distance measurement, light receiving window 24...release button, 5...auto release lever 120...swing mechanism, 30a...horizontal rotation motor , 30b...Vertical rotation motor, 37...Rotation detection disc, 38.39, 42.43...Photointerrupter special applicant Konica Corporation

Claims (1)

[Claims] Rotating the camera so that the optical axis of the photographing lens is in the same plane in a camera equipped with a distance measuring means that measures the distance to a subject located within a predetermined range of the photographing screen and outputs distance information. control for driving the rotation means so that the camera rotates at every predetermined angle within a rotation range of the camera corresponding to the angle of view of the photographic lens, and driving the distance measuring means at every predetermined angle; means and
An autofocus camera for performing wide-area distance measurement, comprising: storage means for storing distance information outputted at each predetermined angle by the distance measurement means.