Camera having a red-eye forecasting and/or preventing device

• US 4,978,989 A
• Filed: 11/21/1989
• Issued: 12/18/1990
• Est. Priority Date: 11/25/1988
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Olympus Optical Corporation Limited (Olympus Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Olympus Optical Corporation Limited (Olympus Corporation)
• Inventors: Inoue, Akira, Nakamura, Hiroaki, Nakano, Toshifumi, Higuchi, Tatsuji, Kikuchi, Juro
• Primary Examiner(s): Brown, Brian W.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Gray, David M.
• Application Number:
  US07/439,787
• Time in Patent Office: 392 Days
• Field of Search: 354/413-424, 354/149.1, 354/149.11, 354/145.1
• US Class Current: 396/88
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 15/05 Combinations of cameras with electronic flash apparatus; Electronic flash units
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 17/18 Signals indicating condition of a camera member or suitability of light indicating depth of field G03B13/30
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 2215/051 with movable reflector, e.g. change of illumination angle or illumination direction

Abstract

A camera having a red-eye alarm device which receives a signal representative of a distance l between an object to be photographed and a camera, the focal length f of a taking lens, a signal representative of a distance d between the optical axis of the taking lens and the center of an electronic flash discharge tube, and develops an alarm signal based upon the object distance l, the focal length f and the spacing d, the red-eye alarm signal being developed when a conditional formula ##EQU1## is satisfied.

Claims

1. For use with a camera having a taking lens and an electronic flash spaced a distance d from said taking lens, apparatus for detecting a potential red-eye phenomenon comprising;

first means for providing a signal representative of said distance d,

second means for providing a signal representative of the object distance l between a subject to be photographed and the camera;

third means responsive to said first and second means for determining whether the relation between the object distance l and the spacing distance d satisfies the formula ##EQU3## signal means for providing a red-eye alarm signal when the aforesaid relation between object distance and spacing distance d is satisfied.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said electronic flash includes an electronic flash discharge tube and said distance d is measured between the optical axis of the taking lens and the center of said electronic flash discharge tube.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said camera includes a camera housing and said apparatus is arranged within said camera housing.

4. For use with a camera having a taking lens and an electronic flash spaced a distance d away from said taking lens, apparatus for detecting a potential red-eye phenomenon comprising:

first means for providing a signal representative of said distance d;

second means for providing a signal representative of the focal length f of the taking lens;

third means for providing a signal representative of the object distance l between a subject to be photographed and the camera;

fourth means for determining whether the relation between the object distance l and the spacing distance d satisfies the formula ##EQU4## means for providing a red-eye alarm signal when the aforesaid relation between object distance l and spacing distance d and the relation between object distance l and focal length f are satisfied.

5. For use with a camera having a taking lens and an electronic flash spaced a distance d from said taking lens, apparatus for detecting a potential red-eye phenomenon comprising:

first means for providing a signal representative of said distance d;

second means for providing a signal representative of the focal length f of the taking lens;

third means for providing a signal representative of the object distance l between a subject to be photographed and the camera;

fourth means responsive to the signals from said first, second and third means for determining whether the relation between the object distance l and the spacing distance d and the relation between the object distance l and the focal length f satisfy the formula ##EQU5## means for providing a red-eye alarm signal when the aforesaid relation between object distance l and spacing distance d and the relation between the object distance l and the focal length f are satisfied.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said electronic flash includes an electronic flash tube and said distance d is measured between the optical axis of the taking lens and the center of said electronic flash tube.

7. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said camera includes a camera housing;

and

said apparatus being arranged within said camera housing.

8. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said taking lens includes means for changing the focal length thereof;

and

control means for changing the focal length f of said taking lens to a focal length value which no longer satisfies the condition of the aforementioned formula responsive to said red-eye alarm signal.

9. The apparatus of claim 5 further comprising control means for moving said electronic flash to increase the distance d to a value which no longer satisfies the conditions of the aforementioned formula responsive to said red-eye alarm signal.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said camera includes a camera housing, said electronic flash being movably mounted upon said camera housing.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein said means for moving said electronic flash further includes motor means being activated responsive to said red-eye alarm signal;

means movably mounting said electronic flash upon said camera housing; and

means responsive to activation of said motor means for moving said movable mounting means.

12. In combination, a camera having automatic focal point detection means, a zoom lens and an electronic flash spaced a predetermined distance d away from said zoom lens and apparatus for detecting the occurrence of red-eye phenomenon comprising:

means for determining a distance l between a subject to be photographed and the camera,

means for determining a critical distance l₀, said critical distance being a distance at which the red-eye phenomenon occurs, said critical distance determining means including computing means receiving signals representing said distance d and an angle value α

₀ which represents the critical angle at which a red-eye phenomenon occurs, said critical angle being represented by the angle computed from a pupil diameter determined by the brightness of the scene or an external field;

comparing means for determining when the value l is greater than l_o which is computed from the values d and α

₀ (l>

l₀); and

means responsive to said comparing means for providing an alarm signal when l is greater than l₀.

16. The combination of claim 12 where in said critical distance l₀ is determined based upon the relationship l₀ =d/ tan|α

₀ |.

17. The combination of claim 12 further comprising means for providing scene brightness information;

means for preventing the red-eye alarm signal generating means from outputting a red-eye alarm signal when the brightness of the scene to be photographed as represented by the scene brightness information is lower than a predetermined value.

13. In combination, a camera having automatic focal point detection means, a zoom lens and an electronic flash spaced a predetermined distance d from said zoom lens and apparatus for detecting the occurrence of red-eye phenomenon comprising:

means for determining a distance between a subject to be photographed and the camera,

means for determining a critical distance l₀, said critical distance being a distance at which the red-eye phenomenon occurs, said critical distance determining means including computing means receiving signals representing said distance d and an angle value l₀ which represents the critical angle at which a red-eye phenomenon occurs, being three degrees (3°

).

14. In combination, a camera having automatic focal point detection means, a zoom lens and an electronic flash spaced a predetermined distance d from said zoom lens and apparatus for detecting the occurrence of red-eye phenomenon comprising:

means for determining a distance l between a subject to be photographed and the camera,

means for determining a critical distance l₀, said critical distance being a distance at which the red-eye phenomenon occurs, said critical distance determining means including computing means receiving signals representing said distance d and an angle value α

₀ which represents the critical angle at which a red-eye phenomenon occurs, said critical angle being two degrees (2°

).

15. In combination, a camera having automatic focal point detection means, a zoom lens and an electronic flash spaced a predetermined distance d from said zoom lens and apparatus for detecting the occurrence of red-eye phenomenon comprising:

means for determining a distance l between a subject to be photographed and the camera,

means for determining a critical distance l₀, said critical distance being a distance at which the red-eye phenomenon occurs, said critical distance determining means including computing means receiving signals representing said distance d and and angle value α

₀ which represents the critical angle at which a red-eye phenomenon occurs, said critical angle lying in the range from two to three degrees (2°

-3°

).

18. In combination a camera having automatic focal point detecting means, a zoom lens and an electronic flash, and apparatus for detecting the occurrence of red-eye phenomenon comprising:

means for providing a signal representative of a critical angle α

₀ which is computed from a pupil diameter determined by the brightness of an external field;

means for providing a signal representing a distance d between the taking lens and the electronic flash;

said automatic focal point detecting means detecting the object distance l between the object and the camera;

means for computing a critical distance l₀ utilizing the values l₀ and d wherein the critical distance represents the distance at which there is a possibility of occurrence of the red-eye phenomenon;

means for comparing the object distance l from said automatic focal point detecting means and the critical distance l₀ for providing an output when l>

l₀ ;

second means for computing a critical object distance l₀, based on the value φ

₀ representative of the dimension of the pupil of the subject to be photographed, the focal length f of the taking lens and a minimum dimension φ

_F, which represents the size of the image of the pupil of an object which is formed on a film which does not cause a red-eye condition;

means for comparing the object distance value l and said critical distance l₀, for generating a potential red-eye condition when l<

l₀ ; and

means for providing a red-eye phenomenon alarm signal when said first and second comparing means indicate that the conditions l>

l₀ and l<

l₀ '"'"' are satisfied.

19. The combination of claim 18 wherein said minimum dimension φ

_F '"'"' representing the light reflected from an eye of the subject which is not recognized as a red-eye condition is 0.1 mm.

20. The combination of claim 18 in which the computing means for determining l₀ '"'"' calculates the value l₀ '"'"' according to the formula:

21. The combination of claim 18 further comprising

means for determining the brightness of the scene to be photographed;

and

means for preventing said means for providing an alarm signal from generating an alarm signal when the brightness value detected is greater than a predetermined value.

34. The combination of claim 18 wherein said means for providing an α

₀ signal further comprises means for determining the value of the α

₀ signal based upon a value α

₀ representing the size of the pupil of the subject to be photographed.

35. The combination of claim 34 further comprising:

means for determining the brightness of the scene to be photographed; and

means for determining the value φ

₀ based on the brightness value of the scene to be photographed.

36. The combination of claim 35 wherein said means for determining the value φ

₀ further comprises table look-up memory means.

22. A red-eye phenomenon detector for use with a camera having a taking lens and flash means having a center located a distance d from the optical axis of said taking lens, said detector comprising:

means for producing a signal representing the distance d;

means responsive to a scene brightness value for determining a pupil diameter value;

means responsive to said pupil diameter value for providing a signal representing a critical angle α

₀, which is computed from a pupil diameter determined by the brightness of an external field;

means responsive to the distance signal d and said critical angle signal for determining a critical distance l₀ at which the red-eye phenomenon occurs;

means for determining the distance l between the person being photographed and the camera;

means responsive to the distance l and the critical distance l₀ for providing an alarm condition when l>

l₀.

23. A red-eye phenomenon detecting device for use with a camera having a taking lens and flash means whose center lies a distance d from the optical axis of the taking lens, said detecting device comprising:

means for generating a signal representative of the brightness Bv of the scene being photographed;

means for providing a signal representative of the focal length f of the taking lens;

means responsive to said brightness signal Bv for providing a pupil diameter signal φ

₀ representing the diameter of the pupil of a subject to be photographed;

means for providing a signal φ

_F '"'"' representative of the light of the electronic flash reflected by the eye of the subject to be photographed and imaged on the film plane of the camera, said signal being of a value which is a minimum value at which the red-eye phenomenon will not occur;

means for calculating a critical distance value l₀ '"'"' between the subject being photographed and the camera based on the aforesaid values f, φ

_F '"'"' and φ

₀ ;

means for comparing the critical value l₀ '"'"' with the actual distance value l between said subject and said camera; and

means for generating a red-eye alarm signal when l<

l₀ '"'"'.

24. A method for detecting the potential occurrence of red-eye phenomenon preparatory to photographing a subject by means of a camera having a taking lens and being used in combination with an electronic flash, said method comprising the steps of;

determining the distance d between said electronic flash and said taking lens;

determining the distance l between said camera and the subject to be photographed; and

determining a critical subject distance value l₀ from the formula d/tan|α

|, wherein α

₀ represents the critical angle which is computed from a pupil diameter determined by the brightness of an external field; and

providing a red-eye alarm when l>

l₀.

25. The method of claim 24 further comprising the step of changing the distance d between said electronic flash and said taking lens to a distance whose value sufficient to prevent occurrence of the red-eye phenomenon responsive to said red-eye alarm.

26. The method of claim 24 further comprising the step of;

changing the focal length of the taking lens responsive to the presence of said red-eye phenomenon alarm to thereby prevent the occurrence of the red-eye phenomenon.

30. The method of claim 24 further comprising the step of;

determining the brightness of the scene to be photographed; and

preventing the generation of a red-eye phenomenon alarm when the brightness is greater than a predetermined value.

42. The method of claim 24 further comprising the step of:

determining the brightness of the scene to be photographed; and

generating a red-eye phenomenon alarm when the brightness is less than a predetermined value and when l is greater than 0.

27. A method for detecting the potential occurrence of red-eye phenomenon preparatory to photographing a subject by means of a camera having a taking lens and being used in combination with an electronic flash, wherein said method comprises the steps of;

determining the focal length f of the taking lens;

determining the value φ

₀ of the pupil diameter determined by the brightness of an external field;

providing a value φ

_F '"'"' representative of the minimum value of light image which can not be observed as a red-eye phenomenon when it is formed in the film plane and printed on a photographic print paper;

determining a critical value l₀ '"'"' at which the red-eye condition will not occur in accordance with the formula

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">l.sub.0 '"'"'=(φ

.sub.0 ×

f)/φ

.sub.F '"'"'; and

providing a red-eye phenomenon alarm when the actual distance l between the subject to be photographed and the taking lens is less than the critical value l₀ '"'"'.

28. The method of claim 27 further comprising the step of:

changing the focal length of the taking lens responsive to said red-eye phenomenon alarm by an amount sufficient to prevent the occurrence of the red-eye phenomenon.

31. The method of claim 27 further comprising the step of:

determining the brightness of the scene to be photographed; and

preventing the generation of a red-eye phenomenon alarm condition when the brightness is greater than a predetermined value.

43. The method of claim 27 further comprising the step of:

determining the brightness of the scene to be photographed; and

generating a red-eye phenomenon alarm condition when the brightness is less than a predetermined value and when l is less than l₀ '"'"'.

29. A method for detecting the potential occurrence of red-eye phenomenon preparatory to photographing a subject by means of a camera having a taking lens and being used in combination with an electronic flash, said method comprising the steps of:

determining the distance d between said electronic flash and said taking lens;

determining the distance l between said camera and the subject to be photographed;

determining a critical subject distance value l₀ from the formula d/tan|α

₀ |, wherein α

₀ represents the angle computed from a pupil diameter determined by the brightness of an external field;

providing a red-eye alarm when the value l is greater than the value l₀ ;

determining the focal length f of the taking lens;

determining the value α

₀ of the pupil diameter determined by the brightness of an external field;

providing a value φ

_F '"'"' representative of the minimum value of light imaged which can not be observed as a red-eye phenomenon when it is printed on a photographic print pater;

determining a critical value l₀ '"'"' at which the red-eye condition will not occur in accordance with the formula l₀ '"'"'=(φ

₀ ×

f)/φ

_F '"'"'; and

providing a red-eye phenomenon alarm when the actual distance l between the subject to be photographed and the taking lens is less than the critical value l₀ '"'"', i.e. when l<

l₀ '"'"'.

32. Apparatus for preventing the occurrence of red-eye phenomenon when photographing a subject comprising:

a camera having a taking lens and a movable electronic flash;

means responsive to the distance of the subject to be photographed from said camera for generating a red-eye alarm condition signal when said distance falls within a predetermined range; and

means responsive to said red-eye alarm condition signal for changing the separation distance between said electronic flash and said taking lens to prevent the occurrence of the red-eye phenomenon.

33. Apparatus for preventing the occurrence of red-eye phenomenon when photographing a subject comprising:

a camera having a taking lens and a movable electronic flash;

means responsive to the distance of the subject to be photographed from said camera for generating a red-eye alarm condition signal when said distance falls within a predetermined range; and

means responsive to said red-eye alarm condition signal for changing the separation distance between said electronic flash and said taking lens to prevent the occurrence of the red-eye phenomenon.

37. For use with a camera having a taking lens with an adjustable focal length and an electronic flash spaced a distance d from said taking lens, apparatus for detecting a potential red-eye phenomenon comprising:

means for determining a value φ

_F, representing the size of an eye of a subject to be photographed which will not cause red-eye phenomenon when printed upon photographic print of a predetermined size;

means for determining the image size φ

_F of a pupil of a subject to be photographed based upon the distance l of the subject to be photographed from the camera, the focal length f of the taking lens and a value φ

₀ representing the pupil size of the subject to be photographed; and

means for generating a red-eye alarm when φ

_F >

φ

_F '"'"'.

38. The apparatus of claim 37 wherein φ

_F '"'"'=0.1 mm.

39. The apparatus of claim 37 further comprising:

means for determining the brightness Bv of the scene to be photographed; and

means for determining φ

₀ based upon the brightness Bv.

40. The apparatus of claim 39 wherein said means for determining φ

₀ comprises table look-up memory means.

41. The apparatus of claim 37 wherein said means for determining φ

_F comprises means for determining the value φ

_F according to the formula φ

_F =(φ

₀ ×

f)/l