Eyeball detection apparatus

• US 5,790,234 A
• Filed: 12/20/1996
• Issued: 08/04/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 12/27/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Matsuyama, Shinichi
• Primary Examiner(s): MAI, HUY KIM
• Application Number:
  US08/770,804
• Time in Patent Office: 592 Days
• Field of Search: 351/205, 351/206, 351/210, 351/212, 351/247
• US Class Current: 351/212
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 13/02 Viewfinders
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 2213/025 Sightline detection

Abstract

An eyeball detection apparatus has a light-receiving device, a first determination circuit, and a second determination circuit. The light-receiving device receives a reflection image from the cornea of an eyeball of a user or a person being tested. The first determination circuit determines whether the signal of the reflection image from the cornea received by the light-receiving device exceeds a specified level. The second determination circuit determines whether the size of the reflection image from the cornea received by the light-receiving device falls in a specified range only when the first determination circuit determines that the signal of the reflection image from the cornea received by the light-receiving device exceeds the specified level. It is determined that the eyeball of the user or the person being tested has approached the apparatus only when the second determination circuit determines that the size of the reflection image from the cornea received by the light-receiving device falls in the specified range.

Claims

1. An eyeball detection apparatus comprising:

a light-receiving device for receiving a reflection image from the cornea of an eyeball of a user or a person being tested;

a first determination circuit for determining whether the signal of the reflection image from the cornea received by said light-receiving device exceeds a specified level; and

a second determination circuit for determining whether the size of the reflection image from the cornea received by said light-receiving device falls in a specified range only when said first determination circuit determines that the signal of the reflection image from the cornea received by said light-receiving device exceeds said specified level;

wherein it is determined that the eyeball of the user or the person being tested has approached said apparatus only when said second determination circuit determines that the size of the reflection image from the cornea received by said light-receiving device falls in the specified range.

2. An eyeball detection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said light-receiving device is provided with a plurality of blocks each made up of a plurality of pixels, wherein a signal for each pixel and a signal for each block made up of a plurality of pixels can be output, and a signal for each pixel is output only when said first determination circuit determines that the signal of the reflection image from the cornea for each block received by said light-receiving device exceeds said specified level.

3. An eyeball detection apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a block is made by dividing said light-receiving device into rows.

4. An eyeball detection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said first determination circuit repeatedly operates so long as the received image signal does not exceed the specified level.

5. An eyeball detection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said light-receiving device outputs a signal corresponding to the maximum luminance.

6. An eyeball detection apparatus comprising:

an illumination device for illuminating an eyeball of a user or a person being tested;

a light-receiving device for receiving a reflection image from the cornea of an eyeball projected by said illumination device;

a detection circuit for detecting the approach of the eyeball of the user or the person being tested by detecting said reflection image from the cornea;

a determination circuit for determining whether the signal of the reflection image from the cornea received by said light-receiving device exceeds a specified level; and

an illumination control circuit for increasing the amount of illumination generated by said illumination device when said determination circuit determines that the signal of the reflection image from the cornea received by said light-receiving device exceeds said specified level.

7. An eyeball detection apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said light-receiving device outputs a signal corresponding to the maximum luminance.

8. An eyeball detection apparatus comprising:

a light-receiving device for receiving an image of an eyeball of a user or a person being tested;

a control circuit for controlling said light-receiving device so that said light-receiving device outputs an appropriate signal level;

a line-of-sight detection circuit for detecting the line of sight of the user or the person being tested according to the image of the eyeball received by said light-receiving device; and

an eyeball detection circuit for detecting the approach of the eyeball of the user or the person being tested according to the image of the eyeball received by said light-receiving device;

wherein said control circuit differently controls line-of-sight detection performed by said line-of-sight detection circuit and eyeball approach detection performed by said eyeball detection circuit.

9. An eyeball detection apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said light-receiving device has a light-receiving sensor, and said control circuit operates in a first control mode in which control is performed according to the level of light received by said light-receiving sensor and a second control mode in which control specified in advance is performed regardless of the level of light received by said light-receiving sensor.

10. An eyeball detection apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said light-receiving device is a storage-type image device and said control circuit controls a storage period for said storage-type image device.

11. An eyeball detection apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said control circuit operates in a first control mode in which a storage period for said storage-type image device is controlled according to the level of light received by said storage-type image device and a second control mode in which said storage-type image device is controlled using the storage period specified in advance regardless of the level of light received by said storage-type image device.

12. An eyeball detection apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said light-receiving device has a light-receiving sensor and an amplifier for amplifying the output of said light-receiving sensor, and said control circuit controls the amplification rate of said amplifier.

13. An eyeball detection apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said control circuit operates in a first control mode in which the amplification rate of said amplifier is controlled according to the level of light received by said light-receiving sensor and a second control mode in which said amplifier is controlled using amplification rate specified in advance regardless of the level of light received by said light-receiving sensor.

14. An eyeball detection apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said control circuit has a first amplifier in which the amplification rate is controlled according to the level of light received by said light-receiving sensor and a second amplifier controlled using the amplification rate specified in advance regardless of the level of light received by said light-receiving sensor.

15. An eyeball detection apparatus comprising:

a light-receiving device having a light-receiving sensor for receiving an image of an eyeball of a user or a person being tested;

a control circuit for controlling said light-receiving device so that said light-receiving device outputs an appropriate signal level, said control circuit operating a first control mode in which control is changed according to the level of light received by said light-receiving sensor and a second control mode in which control specified in advance is performed regardless of the level of light received by said light-receiving sensor; and

an eyeball detection circuit for detecting the approach of the eyeball of the user or the person being tested according to the image of the eyeball received by said light-receiving device.

16. An eyeball detection apparatus according to claim 15, wherein said eyeball detection circuit detects the approach of the eyeball of the user or the person being tested when the output signal of said light-receiving device satisfies a specified condition, and said specified condition differs according to the control mode of said control circuit.

17. An eyeball detection apparatus according to claim 16, wherein said specified condition is whether the output signal level of said light-receiving device exceeds the specified level, so long as said control circuit operates in the second control mode.

18. An eyeball detection apparatus according to claim 16, wherein said specified condition is whether the output signal of said light-receiving device includes a steep, highly-luminous image, so long as said control circuit operates in the first control mode.

19. An eyeball detection apparatus according to claim 16, wherein said specified condition is whether a highly luminous image included in the output signal of said light-receiving device has a smaller area than the specified area, so long as said control circuit operates in the first control mode.

20. An eyeball detection apparatus according to claim 15, wherein said control circuit starts the control in the second control mode as detection starts, and performs the control in the first control mode only when the output signal level of said light-receiving device exceeds the specified level.