JP2003280080A - Photographing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a photographing device which is very available. <P>SOLUTION: The photographing device has an XYZ 3-geomagnetic sensor 5 which detects magnetism, a decoder 16A as a photographic direction angle detecting means which detects a photographic direction angle according to the detection output of the geomagnetic sensor 5, a decoder 16B as a tilt angle detecting means which detects the tilt angle of a device body according to the detection output of the geomagnetic sensor 5, a finder display circuit 24 which displays photographic information in a finder, and a control circuit 20 which controls respective parts; and the control circuit 20 inputs the detection outputs of the decoder 16A and decoder 16B in photography and makes the finder display circuit 24 display the photographic direction angle and the tilt angle of the device body according to those detection outputs. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a photographing device such as an electronic still camera, a digital camera and a video movie, and more particularly to a photographing device having a built-in magnetic sensor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional photographing apparatus of this type, there is a photographing apparatus with a built-in date function. In order to obtain the horizontality of the photographing screen with this photographing device, it was necessary to attach a level alone to the photographing device. The image capturing apparatus described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-247512 is a camera in which a geomagnetic sensor (orientation sensor) is built in, and the orientation can be displayed or recorded.

[0003]

Among the above-mentioned photographing devices, the photographing device with a built-in date function only records the date and time, and the horizontal level of the photographing screen is used by attaching a level alone to the photographing device. Therefore, there is a problem in that it is not possible to take a picture while looking at the finder screen of the photographing apparatus, and the usefulness is remarkably lacking.

Further, the photographing apparatus described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-247512 has a built-in geomagnetic sensor, but this geomagnetic sensor is used only for detecting the direction. The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an extremely useful imaging apparatus.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, an invention according to claim 1 is a method of controlling a photographing apparatus having a geomagnetic sensor, which is based on a detection output of the geomagnetic sensor at the time of photographing. The photographing azimuth angle and the tilt angle of the apparatus body are detected, and the photographing azimuth angle and the tilt angle of the apparatus body are displayed in the viewfinder.

The invention described in claim 2 is the same as claim 1
In the control method of the photographing device according to claim 1, a warning is issued when the horizontality of the device main body is out of the setting range based on the tilt angle of the device main body detected based on the detection output of the geomagnetic sensor at the time of photographing. Characterize.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of controlling a photographing device having a geomagnetic sensor and a GPS module, wherein the photographing azimuth angle and the inclination of the main body of the device are determined based on the outputs of the geomagnetic sensor and the GPS module during photographing. It is characterized in that the corner and position information of the photographing point are displayed in the finder.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a geomagnetic sensor for detecting magnetism, and a photographing azimuth angle detecting means for detecting a photographing azimuth angle based on a detection output of the geomagnetic sensor,
The tilt angle detecting means for detecting the tilt angle of the apparatus main body based on the detection output of the geomagnetic sensor, the display means for displaying the photographing information in the viewfinder, and the control means for controlling each part, the control means, It is characterized in that the detection outputs of the photographing azimuth angle detecting means and the tilt angle detecting means are taken in at the time of photographing, and the photographing azimuth angle and the tilt angle of the apparatus main body are displayed on the display means based on these detection outputs.

The invention according to claim 5 is the same as claim 4
The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a GPS module that acquires position information of a shooting point, and the control unit displays the position information of the shooting point together with the shooting azimuth angle and the tilt angle of the apparatus body at the time of shooting. It is characterized by being displayed on.

The invention according to claim 6 is the invention according to claim 4.
The photographing apparatus according to any one of 5 or 5 further includes an alarm unit that generates a warning sound, and the control unit takes in a detection output of the tilt angle detection unit at the time of photographing, and based on the detection output. The alarm means is driven when the levelness of the apparatus main body is out of the set range.

The invention according to claim 7 is the same as claim 4
The imaging device according to any one of 1 to 6, further comprising:
The recording means records the image information of the photographed field on a recording medium, and the control means records the photographing azimuth information together with the image information of the photograph for each photograph of the photographed field. The recording means is controlled so as to do so.

The invention described in claim 8 is the same as claim 4
8. In the photographing apparatus according to any one of 7 to 7, the control means records the position information of the photographing point in a recording medium together with the image information of the photograph for each photograph of the field at the time of photographing. The recording means is controlled.

The invention according to claim 9 is the same as claim 4
9. The photographing device according to any one of 8 to 8, wherein the control unit records the tilt angle of the device main body in a recording medium together with the image information of the photograph for each photograph of the field at the time of photographing. The recording means is controlled.

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an external configuration of a digital camera to which the present invention is applied. As shown in the figure, the digital camera 1 has a taking lens 2 and a finder window 3 on the front surface of the camera body 1a. Camera body 1a
Includes an XYZ triaxial geomagnetic sensor 5 used for detecting the azimuth (shooting azimuth) and the tilt angle (horizontal degree) of the camera body 1a. This XYZ 3-axis geomagnetic sensor 5
Are arranged near the shutter button 4.

The shutter button 4 has a magnetic body 6 at a position (lower part) facing the XYZ triaxial geomagnetic sensor 5, and the geomagnetic sensor 6 is made to approach the geomagnetic sensor 5 by being pressed during shutter release. It is arranged in the vicinity of 5. The shutter button 4 and the XYZ triaxial geomagnetic sensor 5 form a switch unit 10 (see FIG. 2) that is a mechanical unit of the shutter that functions as a non-contact type switch device.

Further, by pressing the shutter button 4,
The magnetic material 6 provided under the shutter button 4 is XYZ.
The magnetic material forming the magnetic body 6 is adjusted so that a magnetic field of 1 (Oe) or more, which is a magnetic field sufficiently larger than the magnetic field due to the geomagnetism, is applied to the XYZ triaxial geomagnetic sensor 5 when approaching the upper surface of the triaxial geomagnetic sensor 5. There is.

Next, FIG. 2 shows an electrical configuration of a digital camera to which the present invention is applied. In the figure, the digital camera includes a switch unit 10 having a shutter button 4 having a magnetic body 6 fixedly mounted on the lower portion thereof and an XYZ triaxial geomagnetic sensor 5, an A / D converter 12, and a decoder 16.
ROM 18, control circuit 20, operation unit 22, finder display circuit 24, photographing circuit 26, recording unit 28,
It has a GPS module 30, an alarm sound generator 32, and a timer 34.

Here, the electrical construction of the XYZ triaxial geomagnetic sensor 5 is shown in FIG. In the figure, the XYZ triaxial geomagnetic sensor 5 has a GMR (Giant Magneto Resistive) circuit 50 and a voltage / magnetic field conversion circuit 51. G
The MR circuit 50 includes a constant current bias circuit 500, an X-axis GMR element 501 that detects an X component of the geomagnetism, a Y-axis GMR element 502 that detects a Y component of the geomagnetism, and a Z of the geomagnetism.
It has a Z-axis GMR element 503 for detecting a component.

The constant current bias circuit 500 is turned on.
Receiving signals, X-axis GMR element 501, Y-axis GMR element 5
02 and the Z-axis GMR element 503 are supplied with a constant current.
The X-axis GMR element 501, the Y-axis GMR element 502, and the Z-axis GMR element 503 are elements whose resistance values change in response to changes in magnetism. By applying a constant current as a bias to these elements, changes in magnetism can be suppressed. Detected as a voltage change. That is, when the X-axis GMR element 501, the Y-axis GMR element 502, and the Z-axis GMR element 503 that form the XYZ triaxial geomagnetic sensor 5 rotate, the X-axis component of the geomagnetism, Y.
The axial component and the Z-axis component change, which appears as a voltage change.

The voltage / magnetic field conversion circuit 51 is a GMR circuit 5.
It has a function of converting the voltage output from 0 into a magnetic field value and outputting it. The decoder 16 receives the output of the XYZ triaxial geomagnetic sensor and detects the shooting azimuth angle.
A (first decoder), a decoder 16B (second decoder) that takes in the output of the XYZ 3-axis geomagnetic sensor and detects an inclination angle, and takes an output of the XYZ 3-axis geomagnetic sensor 5 and determines whether or not the shutter button 4 has been pressed. It is composed of a decoder 16C (third decoder) for detecting whether or not.

Further, the decoder 16 outputs signals Vx (Oe), Vy (Oe), Vz of the XYZ triaxial geomagnetic sensor 5.
A ROM that stores a conversion table showing the relationship between the azimuth (shooting azimuth) (deg) and the tilt angle (deg) with respect to (Oe) is built in, and each of the three decoders 16A, 16
B and 16C refer to this conversion table,
The azimuth (shooting azimuth angle), the tilt angle, and the operation state of the shutter button 4 are detected.

As shown in FIG. 4, the X axis is taken in the optical axis direction of the taking lens 2 of the camera body 1a, the Y axis is taken in the lateral direction of the camera body 1a, and the Z axis is taken in the vertical axis direction of the camera body 1a. In this case (in this specification, the XYZ right-handed orthogonal coordinate system), the rotation angle about the X axis with reference to the Y axis is the tilt angle of the camera body 1a, and the rotation angle about the Z axis with respect to the X axis. Is defined as a shooting azimuth angle (azimuth).

In the decoder 16C, any one of the output values Vx, Vy and Vz of the XYZ triaxial geomagnetic sensor 5 is 1 (O.
In the case of e) or more, the shooting ON signal indicating that the shutter button 4 is operated is output as a decode value. R
Various control programs and fixed data are stored in the OM 18. The control circuit 20 controls each unit by executing a control program stored in the ROM 18.

The operation unit 22 has a power switch and switches for setting various functions. The GPS module 30 has a plurality of (3 or more) GPs at predetermined time intervals.
Position-measuring radio waves from the S satellite are received, position information (latitude and longitude data) of the photographing point is calculated based on the data, and stored in a predetermined memory area of the RAM 11,
It has the function of updating.

As shown in FIG. 7, the finder display circuit 24 has a photographic azimuth angle (shooting azimuth) 5 detected by the decoder 16 in the finder 24A of the digital camera 1.
0, inclination angle (horizontal degree) 51, and position information (latitude, longitude data) of the shooting point acquired from the GPS module 30.
It has a function of displaying 2 and transmitting azimuth angle and tilt angle data to the photographing circuit 26. The recording unit 28 outputs the image information of the captured field output from the image capturing circuit 26, the image capturing conditions, the image capturing date and time, the image capturing azimuth angle (image capturing azimuth), the tilt angle (horizontal degree), and the image capturing point acquired from the GPS module 30. It has a function of recording data such as position information on a recording medium.

The image pickup circuit 26 includes an image pickup device such as a CCD and drives an image pickup optical system (not shown) including the image pickup lens 2 to perform automatic focus control for focusing on an object, setting of image pickup conditions, and focal plane. Control such as drive control of the image pickup device disposed in the camera, shooting operation, and instruction to record shooting information such as image information of the scene, shooting conditions, shooting date and time on the recording medium of the recording unit 28. It is performed under the control of the circuit 20.

Under the control of the control circuit 20, the alarm sound generator 32 generates an alarm sound when the tilt angle of the camera body 1a is equal to or greater than a set value, and informs the user that the camera body 1a is not in a horizontal state. To do. The timer 34 has a calendar function that outputs time information and data that indicates the date when the image was taken.

The operation of the digital camera having the above-mentioned configuration, which is performed by the control circuit 20 executing the control program stored in the ROM 18, will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 5 and 6. In these figures, when the power switch in the operation unit 22 is operated, the control programs shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 are started, and first, automatic focus control is performed to focus the photographic optical system on the subject (step). 100). Next, the field information, that is, the field brightness information, is taken into the imaging circuit 26 via the taking lens 2 (step 101).

Next, under the control of the control circuit 20, the photographing circuit 26 calculates and sets photographing conditions such as shutter speed and aperture (step 102). In addition, XYZ
When the triaxial geomagnetic sensor 5 is turned on by the control signal output from the control circuit 20 (step 103), X
Constant current bias circuit 500 in YZ 3-axis geomagnetic sensor 5
A constant current is supplied to the X-axis GMR element 501, the Y-axis GMR element 502, and the Z-axis GMR element 503.
The voltage output from the R element 501, the Y-axis GMR element 502, and the Z-axis GMR element 503 is the voltage / magnetic field conversion circuit 51.
Is converted into an X component Vx, a Y component Vy, and a Z component Vz of the magnetic field due to the geomagnetism.

Next, X component Vx, Y component Vy, Z of the magnetic field due to the geomagnetism output from the XYZ triaxial geomagnetic sensor 5
The component Vz is taken in (step 104), and the X component Vx, Y component Vy, and Z component Vz of this magnetic field are A / D converter 12.
Is converted into a digital value by. X component of magnetic field Vx,
The Y component Vy and the Z component Vz are input to the decoder 16, and the decoders 16A and 16B refer to the conversion table stored in the built-in ROM, and the X component Vx of the magnetic field, the Y component Vy,
The Z component Vz is converted into an azimuth angle (imaging direction) and a tilt angle (horizontal degree) and sent to the control circuit 20 (step 10).
5).

Next, at step 106, the position information of the current position, that is, the position information (latitude and longitude data) of the photographing point is acquired from the GPS module 30. Further, in step 107, the X component Vx, Y component Vy, and Z component Vz of the magnetic field are Vx ≧ 1 (Oe), Vy ≧ 1 (Oe), and Vz ≧ 1 (O
It is judged by the decoder 16C whether it is one of e). When this determination is affirmative, that is, when it is determined that the shutter button 4 has been operated, the decoder 16C outputs a photographing ON signal for permitting photographing to the control circuit 20. The control circuit 20 receives the photographing ON signal received from the decoder 16C via the data bus 31 and the photographing circuit 2
Transfer to 6.

As a result, the photographing circuit 26 photographs the field image formed on the image pickup device arranged on the focal plane via the photographing lens 2, and the image information is recorded in the recording medium by the recording unit 28. (Step 111). At this time, shooting data such as shooting date and time, shooting azimuth angle, tilt angle (horizontal degree), and position information of the shooting point acquired from the GPS module 30 is also recorded in the recording medium by the recording unit 28 at the same time. On the other hand, if the determination in step 107 is negative, the finder display circuit 24 receives data such as the azimuth angle, the tilt angle, and the position information of the shooting point from the control circuit 20, and as shown in FIG. The tilt angle 51 and the position information 52 of the shooting point are displayed on the finder 24A (step 10).
8).

Next, it is determined whether the tilt angle of the camera body 1a is greater than or equal to the set value, that is, whether the camera body 1a is in the horizontal state (step 109). When the determination in step 109 is affirmative, that is, when the camera body 1a is not in the horizontal state, the alarm sound generation unit 32 is driven, an alarm sound is emitted, and this operation is ended (step 110). In addition, if the determination in step 109 is negative or after the image capturing is performed in step 111, the process proceeds to step 112.

At step 112, it is judged whether or not the photographing operation is to be ended. This determination can be made based on whether or not the shutter button 4 has not been operated for a certain period of time or longer. If it is determined in step 112 that the shooting has not ended, the process returns to step 104,
The processing described above is repeated.

If it is determined in step 112 that the shooting has ended, the shooting circuit 26 clears the set shooting conditions (step 113), and then XYZ.
An OFF signal is output to the triaxial geomagnetic sensor 5 (step 114), the power switch in the operation unit 22 is turned off (step 115), and this operation ends.

In this embodiment, step 109,
Although the warning sound is generated when the camera body 1a is not in the horizontal state by performing the processing of 110, the processing of steps 109 and 110 may not be performed. In this case, the image taken by rotating the image of the photograph taken from the tilt angle of the camera body 1a recorded on the recording medium during image reproduction is equivalent to the image taken in the horizontal state of the camera body 1a. Can be played in the state.

In addition, the place name search function is used when the computer reproduces the above image information from the position information of the photographing location recorded together with the image information of the photograph taken by the digital camera according to the present embodiment and displays it on the display device. By doing so, the place name of the photographing point can be displayed on the display device.
Further, in the present embodiment, a digital camera has been described as an example of a photographing device, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention can be applied to other photographing devices such as an electronic still camera and a video movie.

According to the photographing apparatus of this embodiment, the photographing azimuth angle and the tilt angle of the apparatus main body are detected based on the detection output of the built-in geomagnetic sensor at the time of photographing, and the photographing azimuth angle and the tilt angle of the apparatus main body are detected. Is displayed in the viewfinder, it is possible to detect the tilt angle of the device body and to display the shooting azimuth angle and the tilt angle of the device body in the viewfinder without newly providing a dedicated sensor.

According to the photographing device of the present embodiment, the photographing azimuth angle, the tilt angle of the main body of the device and the position information of the photographing point are displayed in the finder based on the output of the built-in geomagnetic sensor and the GPS module during photographing. Since this is done, the shooting azimuth angle, the tilt angle of the main body of the apparatus, and the position information of the shooting point can be grasped at the time of shooting, and a highly useful shooting apparatus can be realized.

[0040]

As described above, according to the photographing apparatus of the present invention, the photographing azimuth angle and the tilt angle of the apparatus main body are detected based on the detection output of the built-in geomagnetic sensor at the time of photographing, and the photographing azimuth angle is detected. Since the tilt angle of the device body is displayed in the viewfinder, the tilt angle of the device body can be detected without newly installing a dedicated sensor, and the shooting azimuth angle and the tilt angle of the device body can be displayed in the viewfinder. Can be displayed.

Further, according to the photographing apparatus of the present invention, when the horizontality of the apparatus body is out of the set range based on the tilt angle of the apparatus body detected based on the detection output of the geomagnetic sensor at the time of photographing, Since the alarm is issued, it is possible to easily take a picture with the camera main body being horizontal when taking a picture.

Further, according to the photographing apparatus of the present invention, the photographing azimuth angle, the tilt angle of the main body of the apparatus and the position information of the photographing point are displayed in the finder based on the outputs of the geomagnetic sensor and the GPS module incorporated at the time of photographing. Since this is done, the shooting azimuth angle, the tilt angle of the main body of the apparatus, and the position information of the shooting point can be grasped at the time of shooting, and a highly useful shooting apparatus can be realized.

Furthermore, according to the photographing apparatus of the present invention,
Since the azimuth angle information, the tilt angle of the main body of the apparatus, and the position information of the photographing point are recorded on the recording medium together with the image information of the photograph for each photograph of the field at the time of photographing, it is obtained by photographing. When the image information is reproduced, the image information of the photograph taken based on the tilt angle of the device body is rotated to reproduce the image information in a state equivalent to that when the device body is photographed in a horizontal state. be able to.

Further, the place name of the photographing point is displayed on the display device at the time of image reproduction on the basis of the position information of the photographing point recorded for each photo on the recording medium by using the place name search function provided on the reproducing device side such as a personal computer. It becomes possible to display.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of a digital camera to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the digital camera shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of an XYZ triaxial geomagnetic sensor in FIG.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between a shooting azimuth angle and a tilt angle in the digital camera body.

5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the digital camera shown in FIG.

6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the digital camera shown in FIG.

7 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of display contents on a finder display unit in the digital camera shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

5 ... XYZ 3-axis geomagnetic sensor, 10 ... switch section, 12
... A / D converter, 16 ... Decoder, 18 ... ROM, 20
... control circuit, 22 ... operation section, 24 ... finder display circuit, 26 ... shooting circuit, 28 ... recording section, 30 ... GPS module, 32 ... alarm sound generating section, 34 ... timer

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) // G01C 21/00 G01C 21/00 ZF term (reference) 2F029 AA07 AB01 AB07 AC02 AC04 AC06 AC18 2H102 AB23 BB01 BB32 CA01 CA11 2H105 EE16 5C022 AA13 AC03 AC18 AC26 5J062 BB05 CC07 FF06 HH04

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A method for controlling a photographing device having a geomagnetic sensor, wherein a photographing azimuth angle and a tilt angle of the device main body are detected based on a detection output of the geomagnetic sensor at the time of photographing, and the photographing azimuth angle and the device main body are detected. A method for controlling a photographing apparatus, wherein the tilt angle is displayed in a viewfinder. 2. An alarm is issued when the levelness of the device body is out of a set range based on the tilt angle of the device body detected based on the detection output of the geomagnetic sensor during photographing. 1. The method for controlling the image capturing apparatus according to 1. 3. A method of controlling a photographing device having a geomagnetic sensor and a GPS module, wherein a photographing azimuth angle, a tilt angle of the main body of the device, and position information of the photographing point are obtained based on outputs of the geomagnetic sensor and the GPS module during photographing. A method for controlling a photographing device, characterized by displaying in a finder. 4. A geomagnetic sensor for detecting magnetism, a photographing azimuth angle detecting means for detecting a photographing azimuth angle based on the detection output of the geomagnetic sensor, and an inclination angle of the apparatus main body based on the detection output of the geomagnetic sensor. The tilt angle detecting means for detecting, the display means for displaying the photographing information in the viewfinder, and the control means for controlling each part, the control means, of the photographing azimuth angle detecting means and the tilt angle detecting means at the time of photographing. An imaging apparatus, which captures a detection output and displays the imaging azimuth angle and the tilt angle of the apparatus body on the display unit based on the detection output. 5. A GPS module that acquires position information of a shooting point is provided, and the control unit displays the position information of the shooting point on the display unit together with the shooting azimuth angle and the tilt angle of the apparatus body at the time of shooting. The imaging device according to claim 4, wherein 6. An alarm means for generating a warning sound is provided, wherein the control means captures a detection output of the tilt angle detection means at the time of photographing, and the levelness of the apparatus main body is determined based on the detection output. The photographing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the alarm means is driven when the value is out of the set range. 7. The recording medium further includes recording means for recording image information of a photographed field on a recording medium, and the control means includes image information of the photograph for each photograph of the photographed field at the time of photographing, 7. The photographing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the recording unit is controlled so as to record the photographing azimuth angle information. 8. The control means controls the recording means so as to record, on a recording medium, position information of the photographing location together with image information of the photograph for each photograph of the field at the time of photographing. The imaging device according to any one of claims 4 to 7, which is characterized in that. 9. The control means controls the recording means so as to record the tilt angle of the apparatus main body on a recording medium together with the image information of the photograph for each photograph of the field at the time of photographing. The imaging device according to any one of claims 4 to 8, which is characterized.