JP2005328168A - Trigger signal generating apparatus and photographing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a trigger signal generating device capable of accurately notifying a photographing device of photographing start timing or photographing end timing of a subject and a photographing device for photographing a subject using the trigger signal generating device.
An imaging apparatus 10 detects a phenomenon in which a subject changes momentarily at a high speed and generates a trigger signal, a high-speed imaging apparatus 30 that processes a video signal of the subject, and displays an image. The trigger generator 20 includes a lens 21 that collects incident light from the subject, and a color that separates the collected incident light into blue light 22a, red light 23a, and green light 24a. The separation prism 25, a photo sensor 26 that detects the amount of red light 23a, a trigger generation circuit 27 that generates a trigger signal, and a CCD 28 that receives the green light 24a and photographs a subject.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a trigger signal generation device that generates a trigger signal by detecting a phenomenon in which a subject changes momentarily at a high speed, and an imaging device that uses this to photograph a subject.

A conventional trigger signal generation device includes a sound collection microphone having directivity in the direction of a subject and a sound detection device that converts sound detected by the sound collection microphone into a trigger signal, and generates sound waves generated by instantaneous movement of the subject. By generating a trigger signal when it is received, it is possible to notify the photographing start timing of the subject to the photographing apparatus (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP-A-8-265616 (page 3-4, FIG. 1)

  However, such a conventional trigger signal generator generates a trigger signal using sound waves, so if you want to capture the instantaneous movement of the subject under conditions where the distance from the subject to the sound collection microphone is long Because a certain amount of time is required for the sound wave from the subject to reach the sound collection microphone, the subject's instantaneous movement ends before the trigger signal generated by the sound detection device arrives at the photographing device, and the subject starts to be photographed. There was a problem that the timing could not be accurately notified to the photographing apparatus.

  Specifically, taking as an example a case where 100 frames are shot after the subject starts moving at a shooting speed of 8000 frames per second, the shooting time in this case is 12.5 milliseconds. On the other hand, for example, when the subject and the sound collecting microphone are 6 m apart under the environmental conditions of a temperature of 25 ° C., an altitude of 0 m, and an atmospheric pressure of 1013 Hp, the sound wave propagation time is 17.3 milliseconds, which is longer than the shooting time. When the signal arrives at the photographing apparatus, 100 frames cannot be taken after the subject starts moving.

  In order to avoid this problem, the subject and the sound collecting microphone may be brought close to each other so as to shorten the propagation time of the sound wave. However, when the shooting distance is limited, for example, in sports competition shooting, the subject and the sound collecting microphone are arranged. Since the microphone cannot be brought close to the microphone, the conventional trigger signal generator has a problem that it cannot accurately notify the photographing start timing of the subject to the photographing device.

  The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and even when the subject is far away, the trigger signal generation that can accurately notify the photographing start timing or photographing end timing of the subject to the photographing device. A device is provided.

  The trigger signal generator according to the present invention generates a trigger signal based on the light quantity, a light quantity detecting means for detecting a light quantity of at least one light split by the light splitting means, and a light quantity detecting means for dispersing the incident light. And a trigger signal generating means.

  With this configuration, the trigger signal generation device of the present invention generates the trigger signal based on the light amount of at least one light split by the spectroscopic means, so that the subject can be detected even when the subject is far away. The photographing start timing or the photographing end timing can be accurately notified to the photographing apparatus.

  Further, the trigger signal generation device of the present invention has a configuration characterized in that the light amount detection means is a photo sensor.

  With this configuration, the trigger signal generation device of the present invention can detect the amount of light with an appropriate number of photosensors according to the amount of light emitted from the spectroscopic means, and can generate a trigger signal based on the amount of light. Even when the subject is far away, the photographing start timing of the subject can be accurately notified to the photographing apparatus.

  Furthermore, the trigger signal generation device of the present invention has a configuration in which the spectroscopic means is a color separation prism that separates the light into a plurality of colors.

  With this configuration, the trigger signal generation device of the present invention can generate a trigger signal based on the amount of light split by the color separation prism because the color separation prism splits the incident light.

  Furthermore, the trigger signal generator of the present invention has a configuration characterized in that the spectroscopic means is a prism that disperses the light.

  With this configuration, the trigger signal generation device of the present invention can generate a trigger signal based on the amount of light split by the prism because the prism splits the incident light.

  Furthermore, the trigger signal generation device of the present invention has a configuration characterized in that the spectroscopic means is a half mirror that splits the light into transmitted light and reflected light.

  With this configuration, the trigger signal generation device of the present invention can generate a trigger signal based on the amount of light split by the half mirror because the half mirror splits the incident light.

  An imaging device of the present invention includes a trigger signal generation device and an imaging unit that starts imaging or ends imaging by a trigger signal output from the trigger signal generation device. ing.

  With this configuration, the trigger signal generation device generates a trigger signal based on the light amount of at least one light split by the spectroscopic unit, and the high-speed imaging device installed at a different point from the trigger signal generation device Even when the subject is far away, it is possible to capture the phenomenon that the subject changes momentarily at a high speed by acquiring the shooting start timing or the shooting end timing of the subject.

  The present invention provides a trigger signal generation device having an effect of being able to accurately notify a photographing device of a photographing start timing or a photographing end timing of a subject, and a photographing device that starts or ends photographing of a subject by the trigger signal. Is something that can be done.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described.

(First embodiment)
First, the configuration of the photographing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the photographing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment includes a trigger generator 20 that detects a phenomenon in which a subject changes instantaneously at a high speed (hereinafter referred to as “high speed phenomenon”) and generates a trigger signal. The high-speed photographing device 30 that starts photographing by a trigger signal, the video display device 40 that displays the photographed video, and the video display device 60 that can visually recognize the subject as a viewfinder are provided.

  The trigger generator 20 includes a lens 21 that collects incident light from a subject (not shown), and a color separation prism 25 as a spectral unit that splits the collected incident light into blue light 22a, red light 23a, and green light 24a. A photo sensor 26 as a light amount detecting means for detecting the light amount of the red light 23a, a trigger generating circuit 27 for generating a trigger signal, and a CCD (Charge Coupled) as a photographing means for receiving the green light 24a and photographing a subject. Device: Charge Coupled Device) 28.

  The color separation prism 25 is composed of three prisms, a first prism 22, a second prism 23, and a third prism 24. In FIG. 1, for easy understanding of the configuration, the color separation prism 25 is illustrated as being separated into three prisms. However, the three prisms are integrated with, for example, an adhesive.

  The first prism 22 emits blue light 22a, an incident surface 22b on which light from the subject is incident, a reflective surface 22c on which a reflective film that reflects blue light 22a out of incident light incident on the incident surface 22b is formed. And an exit surface 22d.

  The second prism 23 includes an incident surface 23b on which light other than the blue light 22a is incident, a reflecting surface 23c on which a reflecting film that reflects the red light 23a among incident light incident on the incident surface 23b is formed, and red light. And an exit surface 23d for injecting 23a.

  The third prism 24 includes an incident surface 24b that receives light other than the blue light 22a and the red light 23a, and an exit surface 24c that emits green light 24a.

  The light receiving surface 26a of the photosensor 26 is installed facing the exit surface 23d of the second prism 23, and the distance from the exit surface 23d to the light receiving surface 26a is adjusted so that an image of the subject is formed on the light receiving surface 26a. The photosensor 26 is configured to output a signal having a level corresponding to the amount of input light.

  The trigger generation circuit 27 includes a trigger signal generation circuit, a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and the like. The trigger generation circuit 27 detects the level of the signal output from the photosensor 26, and the signal level is out of a predetermined range. When a trigger signal is generated.

  The CCD 28 is installed so as to face the exit surface 24c of the third prism 24, and forms an image of the subject. Although not shown, the lens 21 is provided with a mechanism for adjusting the focus and angle of view of the subject image, and the subject image determined by this mechanism is formed on the CCD 28. .

  The high-speed photographing device 30 is a device using a known technique (for example, a technique described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-203937), and has a photographing optical system (not shown) different from the trigger generator 20. A CCD 31 provided, an AD conversion circuit 32 that converts an analog video signal of a subject output from the CCD 31 into a digital video signal, a DSP (Digital Signal Processor) circuit 33 that processes the digital signal, and an analog video signal. A DA conversion circuit 34 that converts the signal into a signal, and a control circuit 35 that controls the operation of the CCD 31, the AD conversion circuit 32, the DSP circuit 33, and the DA conversion circuit 34 based on the trigger signal generated by the trigger generation circuit 27. ing.

  The control circuit 35 is constituted by, for example, a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and the like, and transfers data from the CCD 31, AD conversion processing for converting an analog video signal into a digital video signal, and processes the digital video signal. Storage processing stored in the memory, DA conversion processing for reading a digital video signal from the memory and converting it into an analog video signal, and the like are executed according to a predetermined program, and the video signal captured by the high-speed imaging device 30 is processed. It can be done.

  The video display device 40 is for playing back and monitoring a video image of a high-speed phenomenon that has been captured and stored in the memory of the DSP circuit 33 later.

  The video display device 60 is realized by, for example, a circuit constituting an existing video camera, and visually recognizes a video of a subject that generates a high-speed phenomenon.

  Next, the operation of the photographing apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment will be described.

  In FIG. 2, first, incident light is collected by the lens 21 (step S1). Next, the color separation prism 25 separates the incident light into the blue light 22a, the red light 23a, and the green light 24a (step S2). Then, the CCD 28 captures the green light 24a and forms a subject image (step S3).

  The red light 23a decomposed in step S2 is received by the light receiving surface 26a of the photosensor 26 (step S4), converted into an electrical signal corresponding to the amount of red light 23a, and output to the trigger generation circuit 27.

  Then, the trigger generation circuit 27 monitors the output voltage of the photosensor 26 and determines whether or not the light amount of the red light 23a has changed (step S5). If it is not determined that the amount of red light 23a has changed, the process returns to step S4.

  If it is determined in step S5 that the light amount of the red light 23a has changed, a trigger signal is generated by the trigger generation circuit 27 (step S6), and this trigger signal is sent to the control circuit 35 of the high-speed photographing device 30. Is output.

  Immediately, the control circuit 35 controls the CCD 31, the AD conversion circuit 32, the DSP circuit 33, and the DA conversion circuit 34, and processes the video signal of the subject output from the CCD 31 mounted on the high-speed photographing apparatus 30 (step). S7). Then, the video of the subject is displayed by the video display device 40 connected to the high-speed photographing device 30 (step S8).

  Here, steps S4 to S6 will be described in detail with specific examples.

  FIG. 3 illustrates a high-speed phenomenon when the tennis ball 53 collides with the wall 52 in the shooting range 51 from the right side of the shooting range 51 set by the shooting device 10 of the present embodiment and rebounds. is there.

  The upper part of FIG. 3 shows the positional relationship among the shooting range 51, the wall 52, and the tennis ball 53 at times T1 to T6. Note that the tennis ball 53 outside the shooting range 51 is indicated by a two-dot chain line.

  At time T 1, the tennis ball 53 flying from the right side of the shooting range 51 is on the verge of entering the shooting range 51. At time T2, the tennis ball 53 is in the shooting range 51, and at time T3, the tennis ball 53 is in contact with the wall 52.

  Further, the tennis ball 53 is most deformed by colliding with the wall 52 at time T4, returns to its original shape at time T5 after rebounding from the wall 52, and deviates from the shooting range 51 at time T6.

  Next, the middle graph of FIG. 3 will be described. This graph shows the output level 61 of the photosensor 26, the first threshold 62, and the second threshold 63 with respect to time.

  Until time T1, there is only a stationary wall 52 in the shooting range 51, and the luminance in the shooting range 51 does not change, so the output level 61 of the photosensor 26 is constant.

  However, when the tennis ball 53 enters the shooting range 51 at the time T1, the luminance in the shooting range 51 decreases, so the output level 61 decreases.

  Then, in a state where the tennis ball 53 is completely within the shooting range 51, the output level 61 becomes the minimum value, and the times T2, T3 and the output level 61 are constant. However, before and after time T4, since the tennis ball 53 collides with the wall 52 and deforms, the luminance in the shooting range 51 slightly increases.

  At time T5, the shape of the tennis ball 53 is restored to its original shape, and the luminance within the shooting range 51 is the aforementioned minimum value. After time T6, the tennis ball 53 is outside the shooting range 51, and the luminance in the shooting range 51 returns to the value before time T1.

  Next, the lower graph of FIG. 3 will be described. This graph shows the output level of the trigger generation circuit 27 with respect to time.

  The trigger generation circuit 27 generates a trigger signal 64 at time Ts. This time Ts is the time when the output level 61 of the photosensor 26 intersects the first threshold 62 as shown in the middle graph. That is, the trigger generation circuit 27 determines that a high-speed phenomenon has occurred in the imaging range 51 when the output level 61 of the photosensor 26 deviates from the range from the first threshold value 62 to the second threshold value 63, and trigger signal 64 is output. Therefore, the photographing apparatus 10 can reliably photograph the high speed phenomenon around the time T4.

  In the above description, the example in which the luminance of the shooting range 51 decreases has been described, but when the luminance in the shooting range 51 increases, for example, even when an object brighter than the background enters the shooting range 51. Since the luminance in the photographing range 51 changes before and after entering, the trigger generation circuit 27 can generate a trigger signal in the same manner as described above.

  Further, in the above description, the example in which the luminance in the shooting range 51 changes depending on what has jumped from outside the shooting range 51 has been described. However, the movement of a person or object in the shooting range 51 causes a change in the shooting range 51. Even when the luminance changes, a trigger signal can be generated as described above.

  In FIG. 3, the first threshold value 62 and the second threshold value 63 are examples that do not change with respect to time. However, the first threshold value 62 and the second threshold value 63 are dynamically changed with time. It is good also as a structure. With this configuration, even when the output level 61 of the photosensor 26 gradually changes with time, by setting a dynamic threshold in accordance with the change of the output level 61, the luminance in the shooting range 51 changes abruptly. It can be considered that the high-speed phenomenon of the subject has occurred, and the photographing apparatus 10 can reliably photograph the high-speed phenomenon.

  As described above, according to the photographing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, the trigger generation apparatus 20 decomposes the light from the subject by the color separation prism 25 and sets the output level of the photosensor 26 that has received the separated light. Since the trigger signal is generated based on the above, even when the subject is far away, the high-speed phenomenon can be reliably photographed by acquiring the photographing start timing of the subject.

  In the present embodiment, an example has been described in which one photosensor 26 is installed facing the exit surface 23d of the second prism 23, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a plurality of photosensors 26 are provided. The photo sensor 26 may be disposed to face the exit surface 23d of the second prism 23, and one or more photo sensors facing the exit surface 22d of the first prism 22 and the exit surface 23d of the second prism 23, respectively. The same effect can be obtained by providing the sensor 26.

  Moreover, although the above description was about the case where imaging was started by a trigger signal, an imaging device that ends imaging by a trigger signal can also be realized. In this case, shooting is started by manual operation, and the video signal taken at high speed is stored in the memory. When all of the memory is used, it is overwritten in order from the oldest, and this is repeated until it is finished. When the trigger signal is input from the trigger signal generator, the high-speed shooting is terminated. At this time, the video signal stored in the memory holds a high-speed phenomenon for a certain period of time until the trigger signal is generated. Will be. The photographer decides whether to use the trigger signal as a shooting start timing signal or a shooting end timing signal in consideration of the nature of the high-speed phenomenon of the subject.

(Second Embodiment)
First, the configuration of the photographing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described. Note that the imaging apparatus of the present embodiment is obtained by changing the color separation prism 25 in the imaging apparatus 10 of the first embodiment of the present invention, and other configurations are the same. The same reference numerals are assigned and detailed description is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the imaging device 70 of the present embodiment includes a trigger generation device 80 that detects a high-speed phenomenon of a subject and generates a trigger signal, and a high-speed imaging device 30 that starts imaging based on the trigger signal. A video display device 40 that displays the captured video and a video display device 60 that can visually recognize a subject as a viewfinder are provided.

  The trigger generating device 80 includes a prism 81 as a spectroscopic unit. In FIG. 4, the prism 81 is separated into two prisms for easy understanding of the configuration, but the two prisms are integrated with, for example, an adhesive.

  The prism 81 includes a first prism 82 and a second prism 83, and outputs a first light 82a and a second light 83a, respectively.

  The first prism 82 includes an incident surface 82b on which light of the subject is incident, a reflecting surface 82c that reflects the first light 82a out of the incident light incident on the incident surface 82b, and the first light 82a as the photosensor 26. And an injection surface 82d for injection.

  The second prism 83 includes an incident surface 83 b for entering light and an exit surface 83 c for emitting the second light 83 a to the CCD 28.

  Next, the operation of the imaging device 70 of the present embodiment will be described. However, detailed description of operations similar to those of the image capturing apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention is omitted.

  The light collected by the lens 21 enters the first prism 82, and the first light 82 a reflected by the reflecting surface 82 c is emitted to the photosensor 26.

  On the other hand, the light transmitted through the reflection surface 82c of the first prism 82 is emitted from the emission surface 83c of the second prism 83 to the CCD 28 as the second light 83a.

  Then, the trigger generation circuit 27 monitors the output voltage of the photosensor 26 to determine whether or not the light amount of the first light 82a has changed, and based on the threshold value, the light amount of the first light 82a has changed. If it is determined, a trigger signal is generated and output to the control circuit 35 of the high-speed photographing device 30.

  As described above, according to the imaging device 70 of the present embodiment, the trigger generation device 80 decomposes the light from the subject into the first light 82a and the second light 83a by the prism 81, and the first light 82a. Since the trigger signal is generated based on the output level of the photo sensor 26 that has received the light 82a, even when the subject is far away, the shooting start timing of the subject is acquired and the high-speed phenomenon is reliably shot. Can do. As in the first embodiment, the trigger signal can also be used as the photographing end timing.

(Third embodiment)
First, the configuration of the photographing apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be described. Note that the imaging apparatus of the present embodiment is obtained by changing the color separation prism 25 in the imaging apparatus 10 of the first embodiment of the present invention, and other configurations are the same. The same reference numerals are assigned and detailed description is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the imaging device 90 of the present embodiment includes a trigger generation device 100 that detects a high-speed phenomenon of a subject and generates a trigger signal, and a high-speed imaging device 30 that starts imaging based on the trigger signal. A video display device 40 that displays the captured video and a video display device 60 that can visually recognize a subject as a viewfinder are provided.

  The trigger generating device 100 includes a half mirror 101 as a spectroscopic means that is configured by a mirror having substantially the same light transmittance and reflectance. The half mirror 101 includes a reflection surface 101b that reflects incident light and emits first light 101a, and an emission surface 101d that emits second light 101c.

  Next, the operation of the imaging device 90 of the present embodiment will be described. However, detailed description of operations similar to those of the image capturing apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention is omitted.

  The light collected by the lens 21 enters the half mirror 101, and the first light 101 a reflected by the reflecting surface 101 b is emitted to the photo sensor 26.

  On the other hand, the second light 101 c that has passed through the half mirror 101 and exited from the exit surface 101 d is emitted to the CCD 28.

  Then, the output voltage of the photo sensor 26 is monitored by the trigger generation circuit 27 to determine whether or not the light amount of the first light 101a has changed. Based on the threshold value, the light amount of the first light 101a has changed. If it is determined, a trigger signal is generated and output to the control circuit 35 of the high-speed photographing device 30.

  As described above, according to the imaging device 90 of the present embodiment, the trigger generation device 100 separates the light from the subject into the first light 101a and the second light 101c by the half mirror 101, and the first light 101c. Since the trigger signal is generated based on the output level of the photo sensor 26 that has received the light 101a, even when the subject is far away, the photographing start timing of the subject is acquired and the high-speed phenomenon is reliably photographed. be able to. Further, the trigger signal can be used as the photographing end timing as in the above-described embodiment.

The block diagram of the imaging device of the 1st Embodiment of this invention The flowchart of each step of the imaging device of the first embodiment of the present invention. The figure which shows the example of imaging | photography of the high speed phenomenon by the imaging device of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. The block diagram of the imaging device of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention The block diagram of the imaging device of the 3rd Embodiment of this invention

Explanation of symbols

10, 70, 90 Imaging device 101 Half mirror 20, 80, 100 Trigger generator 21 Lens 22, 82 First prism 22a Blue light 22b, 23b, 24b, 82b, 83b Incident surface 22c, 23c, 82c, 101b Reflecting surface 22d , 23d, 24c, 82d, 83c, 101d Emitting surface 23, 83 Second prism 23a Red light 24 Third prism 24a Green light 25 Color separation prism 26 Photo sensor 26a Light receiving surface 27 Trigger generating circuit 28 CCD
30 High-speed photography device 31 CCD
32 AD converter circuit 33 DSP circuit 34 DA converter circuit 35 Control circuit 40 Video display device 51 Shooting range 52 Wall 53 Tennis ball 60 Video display device 61 Output level 62 First threshold 63 Second threshold 64 Trigger signal 81 Prism 82a, 101a First light 83a, 101c Second light

Claims (6)

Spectroscopic means for splitting incident light, light quantity detection means for detecting the light quantity of at least one light split by the spectral means, and trigger signal generation means for generating a trigger signal based on the light quantity A trigger signal generator characterized by that. The trigger signal generator according to claim 1, wherein the light amount detecting means is a photo sensor. The trigger signal generator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the spectroscopic means is a color separation prism that separates the light into a plurality of colors. 3. The trigger signal generator according to claim 1, wherein the spectroscopic unit is a prism that disperses the light. The trigger signal generator according to claim 1, wherein the spectroscopic unit is a half mirror that splits the light into transmitted light and reflected light. A trigger signal generator according to any one of claims 1 to 5 and imaging means for starting imaging or ending imaging according to a trigger signal output from the trigger signal generator. An imaging apparatus characterized by that.

Images