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Digital cameraDigital camera description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20060192882, Digital camera. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a digital camera that comprises a solid image sensor element (referred to as an image sensor element hereinafter) such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device), a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) and, more particularly, to a technique for reproducing colors that can be recognized by the color-vision handicapped. [0003] 2. Description of the Related Art [0004] In the field of cellular engineering, it is known to reproduce the colors recognized by the color-vision handicapped through performing, using a computer, arithmetic operation of images taken by a digital camera. [0005] However, with a conventional digital camera that takes pictures in full colors, the color-vision nonhandicapped cannot understand in what tone of colors the color-vision handicapped recognize the colors they cannot discriminate. Furthermore, if videos filmed by a digital camera are arithmetically operated by a computer, they cannot be checked immediately and there requires an extra work for conversion. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0006] The main object of the present invention therefore is to achieve a digital camera capable of grasping the discriminating state of the color-vision handicapped, and to enable the color-vision handicapped to recognize neighboring colors that are not identifiable by the color-vision handicapped as being different colors. [0007] In order to overcome the foregoing problems, the digital cameral of the present invention comprises: an image-taking device for converting light from a subject to a video signal and outputting the video signal; a gain adjuster which performs gain adjustment individually for respective color information of R, G, B of the video signal outputted from the image-taking device, and outputs an adjusted video signal; an image data converter for converting the adjusted video signal outputted from the gain adjuster into image data; a displaying device for displaying the image data; a setting device in which gain adjusting amounts for the respective color information are set; and a controller for controlling the gain adjuster such that gain adjustment is performed individually on the respective color information according to the gain adjusting amounts set in the setting device. [0008] With this, it is possible for the gain adjuster to perform gain adjustment individually on the respective color information of R, G, B. Thus, the color-vision nonhandicapped can understand how it looks to the color-vision handicapped of various degrees. [0009] In the above-described structure, for the gain adjuster, there are some preferable forms as described in the followings. [0010] That is, there may be a case where it is constituted such that the video signal obtained by the image-taking device is a color signal of Cy (cyan), Mg (magenta), Ye (yellow), G, and, after converting the color signal of Cy, Mg, Ye, G into a color signal of R, G, B by a complementary-color/primary-color converter, gain adjustment for each color is performed. [0011] With this, in the case of the image sensor element comprising a color filter of complementary colors Cy, Mg, Ye, G, the same gain adjustment as that of the primary colors R, G, B can be performed by performing gain adjustment after converting them to R, G, B by the complementary-color/primary-color converter. In other words, the gain adjustment values can be used in common even if the color filter of the image sensor element is changed. [0012] In the above-described structure, the followings are also preferable. That is, the digital camera further comprises a storage device for storing the gain adjusting values of the respective color information according to degrees of color-vision impairment, wherein: the setting device has the degrees of the color-vision impairment set therein instead of the gain adjusting amounts; and the controller reads out, from the storage device, the gain adjusting value corresponding to the degree of the color-vision impairment set in the setting device, and transmits the read out gain adjusting value to the gain adjuster. [0013] In this form, the gain adjusting values for each color according to the degrees of the color-vision impairment are stored in the storage device. Examples of such values may be: a first color-vision gain adjusting value for performing gain adjustment to provide the color information of the first color-vision impairment with which the red cone of an eyeball does not function; a second color-vision gain adjusting value for performing gain adjustment to provide the color information of the second color-vision impairment with which the green cone of the eyeball does not function; and a third color-vision gain adjusting value for performing gain adjustment to provide the color information of the third color-vision impairment with which the blue cone of the eyeball does not function. The controller searches the storage device according to the degree of the color-vision impairment from the setting device for reading out the corresponding gain adjusting value, and transmits the read out gain adjusting value to the gain adjuster. The gain adjuster performs the gain adjustment in accordance with the gain adjusting value from the controller. Thereby, it is possible for the color-vision nonhandicapped to understand how it looks to the color-vision handicapped of each degree. [0014] In the above-described structure, the followings are also preferable. That is, the digital camera further comprises: a color discriminator for discriminating a boundary between two color regions which are adjacent to each other in the image digital data on a plane; and a superimposing device that generates superimposing data, which is image data where at least one of luminance, hue, or saturation is changed in the boundary discriminated by the discriminator, and superimposes the superimposing data on the image data, wherein the controller controls the color discriminator and the superimposing device. [0015] With this, the boundary between the color regions can be easily recognized by the difference of luminance even through the colors cannot be discriminated. It is effective to superimpose bright superimposing data when the image data is dark, and to superimpose dark superimposing data when the image data is bright. Further, when the image data is relatively bright, a specific recognizable color is sued for expressing the boundary between the color regions so that the part expressed by the color can be easily recognized as the boundary between the color regions. [0016] Furthermore, in the above-described structure, the following form is preferable. That is, the image data converter outputs both of image data obtained by converting the video signal with no gain adjustment, and image data obtained by converting the adjusted video signal with gain adjustment; the color discriminator further discriminates a difference between color information of the two color regions of the image data that is obtained by converting the video signal and color information of the two color regions of the image data that is obtained by converting the adjusted video signal; and the superimposing device generates the superimposing data exclusively for the boundary between the two color regions that satisfy following conditions of A), B) from a result of discrimination by the color discriminator, and superimposes the superimposing data on the image data that is obtained by converting the adjusted video signal. [0017] A) In the image data obtained by converting the video signal, color information differs between the two color regions. [0018] B) In the image data obtained by converting the adjusted video signal, hues are same for the two color regions. [0019] With this, it is possible to superimpose the superimposing data for making the boundary between the color regions easily recognizable, only when the color information of the gain adjusted color regions turns the same color as that of the color information of the image data adjacent thereto so that the boundary between the color regions cannot be discriminated. [0020] In the above-described structure, the followings are preferable. That is, the image processor outputs both of image data obtained by converting the video signal with no gain adjustment, and image data obtained by converting the adjusted video signal with gain adjustment; the color discriminator further discriminates a difference between color information of the two color regions of the image data that is obtained by converting the video signal and color information of the two color regions of the image data that is obtained by converting the adjusted video signal; and the superimposing device generates superimposing data, which is image data where at least one of luminance, hue, or saturation is changed in either one of the two color regions that satisfy following conditions of A), B) from a result of discrimination by the color discriminator, and superimposes the superimposing data on the image data. [0021] A) In the image data obtained by converting the video signal, color information differs between the two color regions. [0022] B) In the image data obtained by converting the adjusted video signal, hues are same for the two color regions. [0023] With this, it becomes easier to recognize when the periphery of the color regions of different colors turn the same color due to the gain adjustment. [0024] Further, in the above-described structure, the followings are preferable. That is, the digital camera further comprises: a color discriminator for discriminating a boundary between two color regions which are adjacent to each other in the image digital data on a plane, and for discriminating color information of the boundary; a storage device for storing color information of the image data obtained by converting the adjusted video signal; and an superimposing device that generates superimposing data, which is image data where the color information of the boundary discriminated by the color discriminator is converted to the color information that is not stored in the storage, and superimposes the superimposing data on the image data, wherein the controller controls the color discriminator and the superimposing device. [0025] With this, the boundary between the color region with changed color and the periphery thereof can be expressed by a recognizable color, so that change of color can be easily recognized. [0026] Moreover, in the above-described structure, the followings are preferable. That is, the digital camera further comprises: a color discriminator for discriminating a boundary between two color regions which are adjacent to each other in the image digital data on a plane; a storage device for storing an unexpressed color for showing a color that cannot be obtained from the color information that is gain-adjusted according to the gain adjusting amount set in the setting device; and a superimposing device that generates superimposing data, which is image data where the color information of the boundary discriminated by the color discriminator is converted to the unexpressed color that is stored in the storage, and superimposes the superimposing data on the image data, wherein the controller controls the color discriminator and the superimposing device. Continue reading about Digital camera... 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