Camera and object tracing mechanism of camera

Details Camera and object tracing mechanism of camera Camera and object tracing mechanism of camera

1999-06-16

2001-12-04

Perkey, W. B. (Department: 2851)

Photography

With exposure objective focusing means, focusing aid, or...

Plural focusing or rangefinding areas

C396S147000, C396S296000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06327436

ABSTRACT:

This application is based on application No. 10-168280 filed in Japan, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a camera, and relates to an object tracing mechanism of the camera which makes it possible to follow up an object to be photographed.
2. Description of the Related Arts
Conventionally, there has been proposed an auto-focusing camera of a type in which its focusing area (focusing region) can be switched. The auto-focusing camera of this type has a following problem. Namely, provided that a right-hand focusing area
2
c,
for example, of three focusing areas
2
a,
2
b,
2
c
is selected and an object (or a subject) M is brought into a focus as shown in FIG.
1
(A), and provided that the object M is moved in the left direction as shown in FIG.
1
(B), it is not possible to bring the object M into the focus unless a photographer switches the focusing area from the right-hand focusing area
2
c
to the left-hand focusing area
2
a.
On the other hand, conventionally, there has been proposed a camera of another type in which a focusing area is automatically determined by foreseeing a movement of the object from its change of contrast for example, so as to execute the focusing operation. According to this type of camera, however, in case that a plurality of objects M
1
to M
8
, to be photographed, move as shown in
FIG. 2
, a photographer cannot voluntarily select a main object (or a main subject), to be photographed, out of the whole objects. Therefore, which object should be followed, or traced, to be focused on, depends upon the camera itself; namely, the photographer cannot select a particular main object to be focused on.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a camera with an object tracing mechanism which can follow a movement of a main subject, even if the main subject moves.
In order to achieve the above object, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a camera comprising: a detector for sensing an image of an object, for extracting a first characteristic of the image, and for outputting data of the first characteristic extracted; a selector for selecting a particular region within a visual field; and a memory for storing the data of the first characteristic, extracted by the detector, of the image which corresponds to the particular region selected by the selector, as characteristic reference data.
In the mechanism, the visual field, for example, can be a visual field within a finder of the camera.
The camera, for example, may be constructed as follows.
That is, the detector may further sense the image of the object, extract a second characteristic of the image, and output data of the second characteristic extracted, after the selector selects the particular region within the visual field, wherein the selector compares the data of the second characteristic with the characteristic reference data which is stored in the memory, so that a region generally coincident between the data of the second characteristic and the characteristic reference data is selected as a renewed particular region within the visual field.
According to the mechanism, the particular region which has once been selected by the selector, is renewed into the renewed particular region which is generally coincident mutually between the data of the second characteristic and the characteristic reference data, namely the region generally common both to the data of the second characteristic and to the characteristic reference data, within the visual field. Therefore, the object is followed up, or traced, within the visual field of the camera, when the object moves.
In order to achieve the above object, according to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a camera comprising: a detector for sensing an image of at least one object, for extracting a first characteristic of the image, and for outputting data of the first characteristic extracted; a recognition means for recognizing at least one candidate region on which the image of a main object of the at least one object can locate, on a basis of the data of the first characteristic extracted by the detector; a display part for displaying the at least one candidate region which is recognized by the recognition means; a selection means for selecting one of the at least one candidate region, wherein the image of the main object is in the one thereof; and a memory for storing the data of the first characteristic, extracted by the detector, of the image which corresponds to the one, selected by the selection means, of the at least one candidate region, as characteristic reference data.
According to the mechanism, there is provided the memory for storing the data of the first characteristic of the image as characteristic reference data. Therefore, by using the characteristic reference data, the object is possible to be followed up, or traced, within the visual field of the camera when the object moves.


REFERENCES:
patent: 5210566 (1993-05-01), Nishida
patent: 5461452 (1995-10-01), Iwasaki
patent: 5512974 (1996-04-01), Abe et al.
patent: 5-173242 (1993-07-01), None
patent: 7-38796 (1995-02-01), None

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