Camera with visual axis detecting device

• US 6,014,524 A
• Filed: 04/29/1994
• Issued: 01/11/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 03/23/1988
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Konishi, Kazuki, Tsunekawa, Tokuichi, Nagano, Akihiko, Suzuki, Kenji, Suda, Yasuo, Ishizaki, Akira, Ohtaka, Keiji, Fukahori, Hidehiko
• Primary Examiner(s): PERKEY, WILLIAM B
• Application Number:
  US08/235,337
• Time in Patent Office: 2,083 Days
• Field of Search: 354/62, 354/219, 354/410, 354/432, 351/210, 351/211, 396/50, 396/51, 396/121, 396/147, 396/114
• US Class Current: 396/50
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 7/287 including a sight line detecting device
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 7/346 using horizontal and vertical areas in the pupil plane, i.e. wide area autofocusing
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 13/02 Viewfinders
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 2213/025 Sightline detection

Abstract

A camera comprising: finder means for inspecting an object, illumination means for illuminating an operator'"'"'s eye by which the operator looks in at the finder means, a condensing optical system for condensing a reflected light from the operator'"'"'s eye, photoelectric converter means for receiving the condensed reflected light, calculation means for calculating a direction of a visual axis of the operator'"'"'s eye on the basis of an output of the photoelectric converter means, and condition setting means operable in response to the result of the calculation of the calculation means, for setting taking conditions of the camera.

Claims

1. An optical device comprising:

an inspection system for inspecting an object;

detection means for optically detecting a direction of an optic axis of an operator'"'"'s eyeball in which the operator looks in at said inspection system;

discrimination means for discriminating whether said eyeball is a right eye or a left eye; and

compensating means for compensating the direction of said optic axis detected by said detection means on the basis of information from said discrimination means and for forming information regarding a direction of a visual axis of said eyeball.

2. An optical device according to claim 1, wherein said optical device is a camera, and said inspection system comprises a finder of said camera.

3. An optical device comprising:

an inspection system for inspecting an object;

detection means for optically detecting a direction of an optic axis of an operator'"'"'s eyeball in which the operator looks in at said inspection system;

discrimination means for discriminating whether an operator'"'"'s eye looking in at said inspection system is a right eye or a left eye; and

calculation means for calculating a direction of a visual axis of the operator'"'"'s eye, on the basis of an output signal from said discrimination means and an output signal from said detection means.

4. An optical device according to claim 3, wherein said discrimination means statistically discriminate whether the operator'"'"'s eye looking in at said inspection system is a right eye or a left eye, on the basis of the result of a plurality of detections time-serially performed by said detection means.

5. An optical device comprising:

an observation system for observing a scene;

detection means for optically detecting an optical axis of an operator'"'"'s eye looking into said observation system;

compensating means, comprising a memory, for compensating for an output of said detection means by a storing in said memory the difference between the direction of said optical axis and the direction of a gazing point of the operator'"'"'s eye, and for outputting information regarding the direction of the gazing point;

input means for manually inputting data on said difference; and

control means for controlling said optical device on the basis of an output of said compensating means.

6. A camera or a camera body, comprising:

a viewer for observing a scene;

first detection means for detecting a direction of the eye of an observer observing the scene through the viewer;

second detection means for detecting rotation of said camera or camera body; and

means for correcting a result of detection of said first detection means and for providing an output for indicating a corrected direction corresponding to the direction of the observer'"'"'s eye.

7. A camera or a camera body according to claim 6, wherein said second detection means detects the direction and amount of the rotation of said camera or said camera body on the basis of an imaging signal obtained by imaging an object.

8. A camera or a camera body according to claim 6, wherein said second detection means detects the direction and amount of the rotation of said camera or said camera body on the basis of an inclination angle of a pendulum.

9. A camera or a camera body according to claim 6, wherein said second detection means includes a mercury switch which outputs the direction and amount of the rotation of said camera or said camera body.

10. A camera or a camera body according to claim 6, wherein said first detection means includes irradiation means for irradiating the observer'"'"'s eye and two-dimensional photoelectric conversion elements for receiving light reflected by the observer'"'"'s eye.

11. An apparatus comprising:

a finder having a pentagonal prism and an eyepiece lens;

means for illuminating an eye with light;

a detection optical system for detecting light from an eye through the eyepiece lens;

detection means for detecting an intensity distribution of the light from the eye through said detection optical system; and

gazing direction detecting means for detecting a gazing direction of the eye by using an output of said detection means,

wherein said gazing direction detecting means detects a direction of an optical axis of the eye based upon the output of said detecting means,

wherein said gazing direction detecting means detects the gazing direction of the eye based on the detected direction of the optical axis of the eye and correction data, and

wherein said finder and said detection optical system have a common optical axis, and said illuminating means and said detection optical system are provided at the eyepiece side of said pentagonal prism.

12. An apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising:

display means for displaying a gazing object in the view field in said finder,

wherein said gazing direction detecting means detects the difference between the direction of the optical axis of the eye viewing the gazing object obtained based on the output of said detecting means and the gazing direction of the eye corresponding to the gazing object, so that said correction data for performing correction of the deviation based on the difference is determined.

13. An apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said display means displays a gazing point mark at a position corresponding to the direction of the optical axis of the eye in the view field.

14. An apparatus according to claim 13, wherein said gazing direction detecting means includes adjusting means for adjusting the correction value so that the gazing point mark overlaps the gazing object.

15. An apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said gazing direction detecting means includes an EEPROM for storing the correction value.

16. An apparatus according to claim 12, wherein a gazing object is displayed so that the gazing object overlaps an image formed in the view field.

17. An apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising:

focusing state detecting means for detecting a focusing state of an objective lens for forming an image of an object,

wherein a mark for indicating a portion of the object for adjusting the focusing state for the object is used as the gazing object.

18. An apparatus according to claim 11, wherein said detecting means receives light from the eye through said eyepiece lens of said finder.

19. An apparatus according to claim 18, wherein said detecting means receives light from the eye via a dichroic mirror.

20. An apparatus according to claim 18 further comprising:

illuminating means for illuminating the eye with infrared light.

21. An apparatus according to claim 11, wherein said optical apparatus is a camera.

22. An optical apparatus according to claim 11, wherein said optical apparatus is capable of changing its posture and further comprises:

posture detecting means for detecting the posture of said optical apparatus; and

means for detecting the viewing direction of the eye based on the outputs of said intensity distribution detecting means and said posture detecting means.

23. An apparatus according to claim 22, wherein said optical apparatus is a camera.

24. An optical apparatus according to claim 11, wherein said optical apparatus is capable of changing its posture said optical apparatus further comprising:

means for controlling said gazing direction detecting means according to the posture of said optical apparatus.

25. An apparatus according to claim 24, wherein said optical apparatus is a camera.

26. An apparatus comprising:

a finder having a pentagonal prism and an eyepiece lens;

means for illuminating an eye with light;

a detection optical system for detecting light from the eye through the eyepiece lens;

detection means for detecting an intensity distribution of light from the eye through said detection optical system,

wherein said finder and said detection optical system have a common optical axis, and said illuminating means and said detection optical system are provided at the eyepiece side of said pentagonal prism,

gazing direction detecting means for detecting a gazing direction of the eye by using an output of said detection means,

wherein said gazing direction detecting means detects a direction of an optical axis of the eye based upon the output of said detecting means, and

wherein said gazing direction detecting means detects the gazing direction of the eye based on the detected direction of the detected optical axis of the eye and correction data;

display means for displaying a gazing object in the view field in said finder,

wherein the difference between the direction of the optical axis of the eye when viewing the gazing object obtained based on the output of said detecting means and the gazing direction corresponding to a position of the gazing object is detected and said correction data is determined based on the detected difference,

focusing state detecting means for detecting a focusing state of an objective lens for forming an image of an object,

wherein a plurality of marks indicating a plurality of mutually different portions of the object are formed in said view field and a mark of said plurality of marks is used as the gazing object, and

wherein when said gazing direction detecting means detect a state where the eye gazes at a mark among the plurality of marks, focusing is performed for a portion of the object corresponding to the mark at which the eye gazes by using said focusing state detecting means.

27. An apparatus comprising:

a finder having a pentagonal prism and an eyepiece lens;

focusing state detecting means for detecting a focusing state of an objective lens for forming an image of an object;

gazing direction detecting means for detecting a gazing directiom of an eye,

wherein said gazing direction detecting means comprises means for detecting the direction of an optical axis of the eye,

wherein said optical axis direction detecting means including means for illuminating the eye with light, a detecting optical system for detecting light from the eye through the eyepiece lens, and means for detecting an intensity distribution of the light from the eye through the detection optical system,

wherein said illuminating means and said detection optical system are provided at the eyepiece side of said pentagonal prism,

wherein said gazing direction detecting means performs correction of a deviation between the gazing direction of the eye and the direction of the optical axis of the eye to detect the gazing direction of the eye,

wherein a mark indicating a portion of the object used for detecting the focusing state is used as a gazing object for detecting the deviation between the gazing direction of the eye and the direction of the optical axis of the eye,

wherein when said gazing direction detection means detects a state where the eye gazes at a mark among the plurality of marks, focusing state detecting is performed for a portion of the object corresponding to the mark at which the eye gazes, and wherein correction data are formed based on the deviation between the gazing direction corresponding to a position of the mark as the object and the direction of the optical axis of the eye when gazing at the mark as the object, said correction data being used to correct the deviation.

28. An apparatus according to claim 27, wherein said apparatus is a camera.

29. An apparatus comprising:

a pentagonal prism;

an eyepiece lens;

means for illuminating an eye with light;

a detection optical system for receiving light from the eye through the eyepiece lens and for forming an image of the eye;

an image pick-up element for receiving the image of the eye;

means for calculating a direction of an optical axis of the eye based on an output of said image pick-up element;

determining means for determining a gazing direction of the eye based on the calculated direction of the optical axis and correction data, wherein the correction data includes information relating to a deviation between the direction of the optical axis of the eye and the gazing direction of the eye;

a plurality of marks provided to a plurality of mutually different portions in a view field;

means for performing an auto-focus operation of an objective lens according to an output of said determining means,

said means for performing the auto-focus operation performing the autofocus operation for the portion in the view field corresponding to the mark positioned in the determined gazing direction of the eye among the plurality of marks; and

means for forming the correction data by using said detecting means and a mark among the plurality of marks,

wherein said illuminating means and said detection optical system are provided at the eyepiece side of said pentagonal prism.

30. An apparatus according to claim 29, wherein said apparatus is a portable apparatus.