JP2000137280A - Data recorder for camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a data recorder for a camera capable of intelligibly recording a date. SOLUTION: Whether date information is recorded on a recording medium in any arranging order out of 'year, month and day', 'month day and year' and 'day, month and year' or it is not recorded can be selected in this data recorder for the camera, which is provided with a means for inputting an area information such as a country (country setting switch 56), a control means 51 selecting one of the respective arranging orders based on the area information, and a recording circuit 58 recording the date information on the recording medium in the selected arranging order.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a camera data recording device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Some cameras are capable of recording data such as date on a recording medium such as a film. When the date recording mode of the conventional camera is switched, for example, as shown in FIGS. 12A to 12E, the display on the liquid crystal display panel is switched every time the mode button is pressed to determine which recording mode is in. As shown.

FIG. 12A shows a form in which the date is displayed in the order of date, which is generally used in Japan. FIG. 12 (b)
Is a display format of month, day and year, and is generally used in the United States. FIG. 12C shows a form in which the date is displayed in the order of day, month and year, and is generally used in the UK and Europe. FIG.
(D) is a mode for recording "day" and time. FIG.
(E) is a mode in which date information is not recorded, and "-----" is displayed on the liquid crystal display panel.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 06-27,521 discloses that by setting country information, characters and characters are recorded in the language of the set country. In this recording method, characters are recorded by forming a dot matrix by moving a film with respect to a plurality of LEDs arranged in a vertical line.

[0005]

As described above, there is a known technique in which country information can be set and characters can be printed on a dot matrix. On the other hand, although the notation of the date, month, day, and year, month, and year is generally determined by the country as described above, when setting the recording mode, scroll through a number of displays. Therefore, there is a disadvantage that the selection operation is troublesome because a desired recording mode must be selected.

[0006] In the date data recorded on the film, "'" is displayed before "year", so that "year" can be easily recognized.
“Month” and “day” are displayed as they are and the order changes according to the habit, so that there is a problem that it is difficult to understand.

The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to make it possible to set date information in a notation according to a user's habit so that the notation of the date can be easily understood. The object of the present invention is to provide a data recording device for a camera that can obtain the above.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a data recording apparatus for a camera.
Select an array of "Date", "Monday, Year", or "Day, Month, Year" and use a camera that can record date information on a recording medium in the selected array based on input information that is not related to date. To select one of the above sequences.

The data recording device for a camera according to the second invention is the data recording device for a camera according to the first invention, wherein the input information not relating to the date is information relating to a region such as a country.

A data recording device for a camera according to a third aspect of the present invention is an apparatus for recording date information on a recording medium in an arrangement of "date", "date", or "date". In a data recording device of a camera that can select whether or not to record,
A means for inputting regional information such as a country, a selecting means for selecting one of the arrangements based on the regional information, and a recording means for recording date information on a recording medium in the arrangement selected by the selecting means. Have.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. 1 (a) to 1 (c)
2 (a) to 2 (c) show the appearance of the camera of the present embodiment in three views. This camera is a single-lens reflex camera and has a system capable of arbitrarily setting various photographing modes.

The power switch 1 is a power switch, which is turned on by a sliding operation to a predetermined position to enable the camera to take a picture. The flash 2 is usually provided with a strobe unit housed in the head of the main body, and is used by releasing the locking of the spring bias as necessary and starting up. The release button 3 is a switch for permitting a shutter release and performing a shooting operation.

The self / remote control window 4 is a window opened to turn on and blink an internal LED when the self-timer is activated, and to show the self-timer operation to the user. It is also a window for receiving remote control signals. The lens 5 is a lens for photographing. The tripod screw 6 is a screw hole necessary for fixing to a tripod.

The midway rewind button 7 is a switch operated to rewind the film when taking out the film in the middle of photographing. The battery cover opening / closing lever 8 is a lever for opening and closing the battery cover 9 when replacing the battery. The cartridge lid 10 is opened and closed by operating a cartridge lid opening knob 13 and a lock button 14 when a film cartridge (not shown) is loaded. The lock lever 11 is a lever for mechanically detecting that a cartridge has been loaded.

The strap attachment portions 12 and 15 include:
There is a hole for the strap to pass through. The finder window 16 can observe an image from the photographing lens 6 by a single-lens reflex method and also partially confirm information on a predetermined photographing mode in the field of view of the finder.

The print type switching knob 17 is a lever for switching the photographing screen to several types, and is linked with the display inside the viewfinder window 16. Zoom lever 1
Reference numeral 8 denotes a button for changing the focal length of the camera. The button 8 includes two switches, a zoom-up switch and a zoom-down switch.

The liquid crystal display panel 19 displays and outputs various information of the camera. The diopter adjustment knob 20 is a knob that adjusts the viewfinder screen so as to be appropriately viewed in accordance with the eyesight of the photographer.

The flash mode button 21 is a mode button for setting the flash mode of the flash 2.
The self / remote control button 22 is a mode button for setting a self-timer mode and a remote control shooting mode. The backlight correction button 23 is a button for correcting overexposure during backlight.

The full auto button 24 and the image select button 25 are buttons for selecting and setting five shooting modes, and are mode setting buttons composed of a switch group. One switch is assigned to one shooting mode. With one touch, for example, one of five shooting modes such as “landscape mode”, “portrait mode”, “stop action mode”, “night scene mode” and “full auto mode” can be selected. The select button group is a button for switching a plurality of predetermined photographing modes, and a photographer selects a desired mode according to photographing conditions.

The date set / write button 26 is a button for operating to move up the desired data by "1" when correcting the date, and a button for illuminating the display panel with the backlight provided on the liquid crystal display panel 19. The switch also serves as a switch.

The date mode button 27 is a switch serving both as a button for switching a recording mode for date information and a button for switching to a mode for correcting date information. Each time the date mode button 27 is pressed, the recording mode is switched. When the user wants to change the mode, the date information blinks by pressing and holding the date mode button 27 for 2 seconds or more, and the date can be corrected by the date set / write button 26. When the date mode button 27 is pressed, You can modify the following information: By continuing these operations, the date information is corrected.

Reference numeral 28 denotes a country information setting button (input means) for inputting and setting country information as information not related to the date. Each time the button is pressed, the information is incremented. Is set by displaying the country information set in the date data display area 38 as shown in FIG. Figure 1 shows the relationship between country information and country names.
It is like 0.

The title setting button 29 is a button for setting a title such as a message to be recorded. Each time the button is pressed, the information is incremented and set in a date data display area of the liquid crystal display panel 19, which will be described later. The title information is set by displaying it as shown in FIG. The relationship between the title information and the message is as shown in FIG. However, the message is a word corresponding to the country information.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the display on the liquid crystal display panel 19. As shown in FIG. An area 31 displays the number of frames to be photographed, the number of frames that can be photographed, and the film sensitivity. 32 is
Displays the remaining battery power. 33 and 35 are areas for displaying a shooting mode, 33 indicates that the shooting mode is a full auto mode, 35 indicates which mode of the image select mode is selected, and , The full auto button 24 and the image select button 25 are displayed.

Reference numeral 36 is a notation for indicating that the mode is the backlight correction mode. 37 is a notation for indicating that the camera is in the self-timer shooting mode or the remote control shooting mode.

Reference numeral 38 denotes a date data display area.
This is an area for displaying both the date data and the display of the country name and title. Reference numeral 39 is lit when the information shared and displayed in the 31 shooting frame number area is the number of frames that can be shot. Reference numeral 40 is turned on when the information displayed alternately in the number-of-shots area 31 is the film sensitivity.
41 lights up when the cartridge is loaded in the camera.

FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of a camera to which the present invention is applied. Reference numeral 51 denotes a control means composed of a one-chip microcomputer or the like, and all operations of the camera are controlled by the control means 51. Reference numeral 52 denotes a power switch for turning on / off the power of the camera. A release switch 53 is turned on when the release button 3 is pressed.
Reference numeral 4 denotes a date mode switch that is turned on when a date mode button 27 for switching the date recording mode is pressed. Reference numeral 55 denotes a button for correcting the date and a backlight for illuminating the liquid crystal display panel from the back. Date set that also functions as a backlight button for turning on /
A date set switch that is turned on when the light button 26 is pressed.

Reference numeral 56 denotes a country setting switch for setting country information, which is turned on when the country information setting button 28 is pressed. Reference numeral 57 denotes a switch for setting a title to be recorded. A switch that is turned on when 29 is pressed. 58 is a recording circuit (recording means)
Then, under the control of the control means 51, while moving the loaded film, date information and title information are controlled and recorded in the light emitting diode group 59 composed of seven pieces arranged in a line. Reference numeral 61 denotes a non-volatile memory, which is a storage circuit for temporarily storing an adjustment value of each camera, the number of frames, and information to be recorded.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the processing of the control means 51 composed of a one-chip microcomputer built in the camera of this embodiment. When the power switch 52 is turned on, the control means 51 initializes country information and title information and performs various initial settings (step S1). next,
Whether or not the country information setting button 28 has been pressed is detected based on whether or not the country setting switch 56 is on (step S).
2). If the country setting switch 56 is on, then step S
Then, if the country setting switch 56 is not on, the process proceeds to step S4.

In step S3, the set country information is incremented by "1" and displayed in the date data display area 38 of the liquid crystal display panel 19 (see FIG. 6). With this processing, each time the country information setting button 28 is pressed, the country information is updated.

In step S4, it is determined whether or not the title setting button 29 has been pressed.
Detection is made based on whether or not 7 is on. If the title setting switch 57 is ON, the process proceeds to step S5, in which the title information is incremented by "1" and the title information is corrected in the same manner as the country information is incremented by "1" in step S3. If is not ON, the process proceeds to step S6.

In step S6, the date mode button 27
Is detected based on whether the date mode switch 54 is on. Next, whether the photographer wants to modify the date information or change the recording mode is determined based on whether the date mode button 27 is pressed for two seconds or more (step S7). If it is determined that the button has been pressed for 2 seconds or more, the process proceeds to step S8 to correct the date information. If it is determined that the time is shorter than 2 seconds, the process proceeds to step S9 to change the recording mode. Do.

In step S8, the date information is corrected. Then, control goes to a step S10. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S7 that the date mode button 27 has not been pressed for more than 2 seconds, the process proceeds to step S9 to change the recording mode.
Then, the recording mode is changed.

The recording mode is changed in accordance with the notation of the date according to the country information set in step S2 (see FIG. 9). Any one of the date information arrays, "date and time", and "do not record" can be selected. For example, the above step S
When the country information is set to "02" in the step 2 and the United States is selected, the control means 51 having a function as a selecting means,
The "Month / Year / Year" arrangement is selected for Americans. In this case, “(a) month, day, year”, “(b) date and time” in FIG.
Date mode button 27 in the order of “(c) Do not record”
Each time is pressed, the display changes repeatedly, and the recording mode can be selected.

Thereafter, in step S10, it is determined whether or not the date set button 26 has been pressed. If so, the process proceeds to step S11, and if not, the process proceeds to step S12. In step S11, when the date set button 26 is pressed when the date information is not being corrected, the date set button 26 is used as the backlight button so that the date set button 26 can be used as the backlight button. To illuminate the display panel.
After that, it moves to step S12.

In step S12, the release switch 5
By determining whether 3 is on, it is determined whether or not the release button 3 is pressed. If the release switch 53 is off, the process returns to step S2 to repeat the processing. On the other hand, when the release switch 53 is on, the process proceeds to step S13.

In step S13, distance measurement and photometry are performed.
Next, the photographing lens is extended so as to focus on the subject based on the information obtained by the distance measurement performed in step S13 (step S14), and then the shutter is controlled to perform photographing (step S15).

Next, after the photographing is completed, the control means 51 controls a film mechanism (not shown) to start recording on the loaded film by the recording circuit 58 (step S16). Further, the control means 51 controls the recording circuit 58 to record the title or date information in the photographing information recording area on the film (step S17). Subsequently, the control means 51 determines whether or not the recording on the film has been completed (step S18), and if not completed, returns to step S17 to continue the recording, and the recording of the information for one frame is completed. At this point, the process proceeds to step S3, and the above processing is repeated.

When the user enters "0" in the country information as shown in FIG.
2 "USA" is set, and the title to be recorded is "02" H
If “APPY BIRTHDAY” is set and the setting is as shown in FIG. 7A, the date in the recording mode is automatically imprinted as “month, day, year”. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a state in which the notation at this time is actually transferred to a photograph.

As another display method, in order to make it easy to distinguish between "month" and "day", "month" can be displayed in an alphabet corresponding to country information. that's all,
According to the above-described embodiment, by entering date information into the information on the user's habits, for example, country information, a notation method that matches the customs of the country is automatically set. It is easier to understand and avoids confusion in recognizing the date shown.

The above-described specific embodiment includes an invention having the following configuration. (Supplementary Note 1) Setting means for setting the order in which dates are recorded, storage means for switching and storing the characters to be recorded and the order in accordance with the order set by the setting means, and date information based on the storage means A recording device for a camera, comprising: recording means for recording.

(Supplementary note 2) The recording device for a camera according to supplementary note 1, further comprising a clock function for updating date information.

(Supplementary note 3) The camera recording apparatus according to supplementary note 1, wherein the setting means sets the order of recording the date based on the country information.

(Supplementary note 4) The camera recording apparatus according to supplementary note 1, further comprising means for selecting at least one of a recording order set by the setting means and a non-recording mode.

[0045]

According to the present invention, since the date information can be set in a notation according to the habit of the user, it is possible to provide a data recording device for a camera capable of obtaining an easy-to-understand date notation. In particular, by setting country information, the notation method of date information that matches the custom of the country is automatically set, so that confusion in recognizing the written date can be avoided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the camera according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining display on a liquid crystal display panel.

FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of a camera to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a process of a control unit including a one-chip microcomputer built in the camera of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing country information and title information displayed in a date data display area of a liquid crystal display panel.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a display example of a date data display area when a recording mode is changed.

FIG. 8 is a view showing a state where a title and “month, year, and year” are imprinted on a photograph.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of notation of a date.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the relationship between country information and country names.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a relationship between title information and a message.

FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining a method of switching a date recording mode of a conventional camera.

[Explanation of symbols]

 19: LCD display panel, 26: Date set / light button, 27: Date mode button, 28: Country information setting button, 29: Title setting button, 51: Control means, 52: Power switch, 53: Release switch, 54 ... Date mode switch, 55 Date set switch, 56 Country setting switch, 57 Title switch, 58 Recording circuit, 59 Light emitting diode group, 61 Memory.

Claims (3)

[Claims] Claims: 1. A camera capable of selecting an array of "year, month, day", "month, day, year", or "day, month, year" and recording date information on a recording medium in the selected array. A data recording device for a camera, wherein one of the above arrangements is selected based on input information not to be input. 2. The data recording apparatus for a camera according to claim 1, wherein the input information not related to the date is information on an area such as a country. 3. A data recording apparatus for a camera which can select whether to record date information on a recording medium in any one of the arrangements of “year, month, day”, “month, day, year” and “day, month, year”. , A means for inputting regional information such as a country, a selecting means for selecting one of the arrangements based on the regional information, and a recording means for recording date information on a recording medium in the arrangement selected by the selecting means. A data recording device for a camera, comprising: