Video camera with automatic zoom adjustment based on distance between user's eyes

• US 6,172,706 B1
• Filed: 04/05/1996
• Issued: 01/09/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 04/19/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Tatsumi, Shingo
• Primary Examiner(s): Garber, Wendy
• Assistant Examiner(s): Harrington, Alicia M.
• Application Number:
  US08/630,950
• Time in Patent Office: 1,740 Days
• Field of Search: 382/118, 348/135, 348/347, 348/358, 348/361, 348/77, 348/399, 348/169, 348/170, 396/14, 396/18
• US Class Current: 348/169
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/61 based on recognised objects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/611 where the recognised objects include parts of the human body
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/69 Control of means for changing angle of the field of view, e.g. optical zoom objectives or electronic zooming

Abstract

An video camera capable of auto-zoom control, where light projector 14 irradiates a subject at fixed periods, a correlation calculator 16 inputs an image signal pre-stored in a memory 6 and an image signal from an image sensor 2 into an adder 7, and outputs information on bright points, corresponding to the subject'"'"'s eyes upon light emission period of the light projector 14, into a zoom controller 18. The zoom controller 18 controls a zoom driver 12 such that an interval between the subject'"'"'s eyes, detected based on the input bright point information, is a predetermined value.

Claims

1. A video camera having:

a zoom lens capable of varying its focal distance;

image sensing means for image-sensing a user via said zoom lens and outputting an image signal of the user; and

signal processing means for converting the image signal into a display signal, comprising;

memory means for storing the image signal outputted by said image sensing means;

calculation means for detecting images of user'"'"'s eyes from the image signal as a feature of the user and calculating a change of a distance between a right eye and a left eye of the user'"'"'s eyes by comparing the image signal stored in said memory means and the image signal outputted from said image signal sensing means; and

zoom driving means for driving said zoom lens such that the calculated distance is maintained at a predetermined value.

2. The video camera according to claim 1, further comprising a light projection mean for projecting light on the user at fixed time intervals, and wherein said calculation means extracts light reflected from retinas of the user'"'"'s eyes when said light projection means projects light on the user, and calculates the distance between the user'"'"'s eyes based on the extracted light.

3. The video camera according to claim 2, wherein said calculation means calculates the distance between the user'"'"'s eyes based on a reference clock from said image sensing means and horizontal and vertical scanning signals of said video camera.

4. The video camera according to claim 2, wherein said light projection means projects light having a wavelength within a range of red light signal of said image sensing means.

5. The video camera according to claim 4, wherein the light is infrared light.

6. The video camera according to claim 1, wherein said light projection means projects light having a wavelength within a spectral sensitivity range of said image sensing means.

7. A video camera having:

image sensing means for image-sensing a user and outputting an image signal of the user; and

signal processing means for converting the image signal into a display signal, comprising;

detecting means for detecting an image signal of user'"'"'s eyes from the image signal outputted by said image sensing means;

calculation means for calculating a change of a position of the user'"'"'s eyes based on the image signal outputted from said detecting means; and

pan head control means for controlling an external pan head or pan head of said video camera for changing a direction of said video camera such that the calculated position of the user'"'"'s eyes is substantially maintained at a predetermined position of an image screen.

8. The video camera according to claim 7, wherein said calculation means extracts light reflected from retinas of the user'"'"'s eyes when said light projection means projects light on the user, and calculates the distance between the user'"'"'s eyes based on the extracted light for calculating a change of a position of the user'"'"'s eyes.

9. The video camera according to claim 8, wherein said calculation means calculates the distance between the user'"'"'s eyes based on a reference clock from said image sensing means and horizontal and vertical scanning signals of said video camera.

10. The video camera according to claim 8, wherein said light projection means projects light having a wavelength within a range of red light signal of said image sensing means.

11. The video camera according to claim 10, wherein the light is infrared light.

12. The video camera according to claim 7, wherein said light projection means projects light having a wavelength within a spectral sensitivity range of said image sensing means.

13. An image sensing device comprising:

a zoom lens capable of varying its focal distance;

image sensing means for image-sensing a user via said zoom lens and outputting an image signal of the user;

detecting means for detecting an image signal of user'"'"'s eyes from the image signal outputted by said image sensing means;

calculation means for calculating a distance between the user'"'"'s eyes and change of a position of the user'"'"'s eyes based on the image signal outputted from said image sensing means;

zoom driving means for driving said zoom lens such that the calculated distance is maintained at a predetermined value; and

pan head control means for controlling an external pan head or pan head of said image sensing device for changing a direction of said image sensing device such that calculated position of the user'"'"'s eyes is substantially maintained at a predetermined position of an image screen.

14. The device according to claim 13, further comprising a light projection means for projecting light on the user at fixed time intervals, and wherein said calculation extracts light reflected from retinas of the user'"'"'s eyes when said light projection means projects light on the user, and calculates the distance between the user'"'"'s eyes based on the extracted light.

15. The device according to claim 14, wherein said calculation means calculates the distance between the user'"'"'s eyes based on a reference clock from said image sensing means and horizontal and vertical scanning signals of said image sensing device.

16. The device according to claim 14, wherein said light projection means projects light having a wavelength within a range of red light signal of said image sensing means.

17. The device according to claim 16, wherein the light is infrared light.

18. The device according to claim 13, wherein said light projection means projects light having a wavelength within a special sensitivity range of said image sensing means.

19. A control method for a video camera comprising:

an image sensing step of image-sensing a user using an image sensor to produce an image signal of the user; and

a signal processing step of converting the image signal into a display signal by

detecting the user'"'"'s eyes from the image signal obtained in said image signal obtained in said detecting step; and

sensing step;

calculating a change of a position of the user'"'"'s eyes based on the image signal obtained in said detecting step; and

controlling an external pan head or pan head of the video camera for changing direction of the video camera such that the calculated position of the user'"'"'s eyes is substantially maintained at a predetermined position of an image screen.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein the calculating includes determining a change of distance between the user'"'"'s eyes as the change of a position of the user'"'"'s eyes.

21. The method according to claim 19, further comprising projecting light on the user at fixed intervals, and wherein the calculating extracts light reflected from retinas of the user'"'"'s eyes when the light is projected on the user during the fixed intervals, and calculates a distance between the user'"'"'s eyes based on the extracted light for calculating a change of a position of the user'"'"'s eyes.

22. The method according to claim 21, wherein the calculating determines the distance between the user'"'"'s eyes based on a reference clock signal outputted from the image sensor and horizontal and vertical scanning signals of the video camera.

23. The method according to claim 21, wherein the light projecting projects light having a wavelength within a spectral sensitivity range of the image sensor.

24. The method according to claim 21, wherein the light projecting projects light having a wavelength within a range of red light signal of the image sensor.

25. The method according to claim 24, wherein the light is infrared light.