Human body-mounted camera

• US 6,558,050 B1
• Filed: 07/21/2000
• Issued: 05/06/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 07/23/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Minolta Corporation Limited (Konica Minolta Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Minolta Corporation Limited (Konica Minolta Inc.)
• Inventors: Ishibashi, Kenji
• Primary Examiner(s): Mathews, Alan A.
• Application Number:
  US09/620,944
• Time in Patent Office: 1,019 Days
• Field of Search: 396/51, 396/287, 396/301, 396/302, 396/303, 396/311, 396/312, 396/420, 396/427, 396/428, 396/429, 396/50, 396/58, 348/114, 348/115, 348/143, 348/157, 348/158, 348/375, 348/376, 348/552, 348/333.03, 352/1, 352/25, 352/131, 345/8
• US Class Current: 396/420
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 17/00 Details of cameras or camera bodies; Accessories therefor lens hoods or caps G03B11/04
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 15/004 using portable personal devices hand-held or body-worn self-defence devices using repellent gases or chemicals F41H9/10

Abstract

The camera, which is put on a user, shoots and processes image into image data and records the same. The camera has two or more operation modes and is provided with a detector for detecting either the motion state or the physiological state of the user or both of them and a controller for selecting one mode from among the operation modes on the basis of the detection results by the detector.

Claims

1. A camera comprising:

a shooting unit for shooting one or more images of an object in a plurality of operating modes, wherein said shooting unit can be worn by a user;

a detector for automatically detecting a state of the user when said detector is being worn by the user;

a selector for selecting an operation mode, based on the state detected by said detector, from among the plurality of operation modes provided for controlling said shooting unit, the operation modes differing from each other in at least one of power consumption, compression rate of the images, color of the images, resolution of the images, rate of shooting the images, and amount of image data; and

a controller for controlling said shooting unit based on the operation mode selected by said selector.

2. A camera as claimed in claim 1,

wherein said detector detects a physiological state of the user.

3. A camera as claimed in claim 1,

wherein said detector detects at least one of orientation of the user'"'"'s head;

direction of line of sight;

speaking condition;

walking condition;

pulse rate;

blood pressure;

body temperature;

perspiration; and

size of a pupil.

4. A camera as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a recorder for recording a date and a time of shooting an image along with image data representative of the image.

5. A camera as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

an indicator for indicating to the user the operation mode selected by said selector.

6. A camera as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a manual selector for selecting an operation mode from among said plurality of operation modes in accordance with a manual operation by the user.

7. A camera as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a sound recorder for recording sound data,

wherein said camera determines amount of sound data to be recorded based on the state detected by said detector.

8. A camera as claimed in claim 1, wherein the operation modes that differ in power consumption are due in part to a difference in a number of images recorded per unit of time.

9. A camera as claimed in claim 1, wherein the operation modes that differ in power consumption are due in part to the controller operating at a different operating frequency.

20. A camera as claimed in claim 9, further comprising:

a sound recorder for recording sound data,

wherein said camera determines amount of sound data to be recorded based on the state detected by said detector.

10. A camera comprising:

a shooting unit for shooting an image of an object, wherein said shooting unit can be worn by a user;

a detector for automatically detecting a state of the user when said detector is being worn by the user;

a selector for selecting an operation mode, based on the state detected by said detector, from among a plurality of operation modes provided for controlling said shooting unit; and

a controller for controlling said shooting unit based on the operation mode selected by said selector;

wherein said plurality of operation modes differ from each other in consumption of electricity and include an operation mode to suspend supply of electricity to said shooting unit.

11. A camera comprising:

a shooting unit for shooting one or more images of an object in a plurality of operating modes, wherein said shooting unit can be worn by a user;

a processor for processing image data representative of the images shot by said shooting unit;

a detector for automatically detecting a state of the user when said detector is being worn by the user;

a selector for selecting an operation mode, based on the state detected by said detector, from among the plurality of operation modes provided for controlling said processor, the operation modes differing from each other in at least one of power consumption, compression rate of the images, color of the images, resolution of the images, rate of shooting the images, and amount of image data to be recorded; and

a controller for controlling said processor based on the operation mode selected by said selector.

12. A camera as claimed in claim 11,

wherein said detector detects a physiological state of the user.

13. A camera as claimed in claim 11,

wherein said detector detects at least one of orientation of the user'"'"'s head;

direction of line of sight;

speaking condition;

walking condition;

pulse rate;

blood pressure;

body temperature;

perspiration; and

size of a pupil.

14. A camera as claimed in claim 11,

wherein a difference in the amount of image data to be recorded is due to a difference in at least one of

compression rate;

color resolution;

positional resolution; and

recording rate corresponding to a number of images recorded per unit time.

15. A camera as claimed in claim 11,

wherein the detector detects orientation of the user'"'"'s head;

wherein a difference in the amount of image data to be recorded is due in part to a difference in a recording rate corresponding to a number of images recorded per unit time; and

wherein the recording rate is higher when amount of change in orientation of the user'"'"'s head detected by said detector is equal to or greater than a predetermined value than when amount of the change is less than the predetermined value.

16. A camera as claimed in claim 11,

wherein the detector detects line of sight of the user;

wherein a difference in an amount of image data to be recorded is due in part to a difference in a positional resolution; and

wherein the positional resolution is higher when amount of change in direction of line of sight of the user detected by said detector is less than a predetermined value than when amount of the change is greater than the predetermined value.

17. A camera as claimed in claim 11, further comprising:

a recorder for recording a date and a time of shooting an image along with image data representative of the image.

18. A camera as claimed in claim 11, further comprising:

an indicator for indicating to the user the operation mode selected by said selector.

19. A camera as claimed in claim 11, further comprising:

a manual selector for selecting an operation mode from among said plurality of operation modes in accordance with a manual operation by the user.

21. A method of controlling a camera that is worn by a user, said method comprising:

a step of automatically detecting a state of the user by a detector worn by the user; and

a step of controlling, based on the state detected by said detector, at least one of a shooting unit for shooting one or more images of an object in a plurality of operating modes and a processor for processing image data representative of the image shot by said shooting unit;

wherein the step of controlling includes controlling at least one of power consumption, compression rate of the images, color of the images, resolution of the images, rate of shooting the images, and amount of image data.

22. A camera comprising:

a shooting unit for shooting one or more images of an object in a plurality of operating modes, wherein said shooting unit can be worn by a user;

a detector for automatically detecting a state of the user when said detector is being worn by the user;

a selector for automatically selecting an operation mode, based on the state detected by said detector, from among the plurality of operation modes provided for controlling said shooting unit; and

a controller for controlling said shooting unit based on the operation mode selected by said selector.

23. A camera comprising:

a shooting unit for shooting one or more images of an object in a plurality of operating modes, wherein said shooting unit can be worn by a user;

a processor for processing image data representative of the images shot by said shooting unit;

a detector for automatically detecting a state of the user when said detector is being worn by the user;

a selector for automatically selecting an operation mode, based on the state detected by said detector, from among the plurality of operation modes provided for controlling said processor; and

a controller for controlling said processor based on the operation mode selected by said selector.