JP2000305152A - Camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a camera constituted so that a display picture being easy to be viewed can be presented. SOLUTION: This camera is provided with a positional information set means [a GPS(global positioning system) 35, a positional information storage medium 37, a signal processing circuit 36 and a control circuit 1] for setting information related to a present position, a photographing information set means (a film information input circuit 2 and the control circuit 1) for setting information related to a photographing action and a display means (the control circuit 1) selectively displaying one out of the positional information and the photographing information at a display part 38.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

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

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a camera, when photographing a subject, for example, a GPS (Global Positioning System) is used.
Some of them have a function of receiving information relating to the current position from the satellite in m), displaying the information on the display unit to allow the user to confirm, and storing the position information. By recording the position information at the time of photographing in this way, the photographed place can be confirmed even at a later date. It is also common practice to display photographing information, such as exposure information, on a display unit to allow a user to confirm the photographing when photographing.

[0003] Generally, the photographing information and the position information are
With the recent miniaturization of cameras, they are mixedly displayed on one display element.

[0004]

As described above, in the conventional camera, the photographing information and the photographing position information are mixedly displayed on one display element, so that the display information increases and the image becomes unsightly. There was a problem that it would.

The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a camera capable of providing a display screen which is easy to see.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, a camera according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a position information setting unit for setting information relating to a current position and a photographing information setting unit for setting information relating to photographing. And display means for selectively displaying one of the position information and the photographing information on a display unit.

A camera according to a second aspect of the present invention includes a position information output unit that measures the current position of the camera and outputs position information, a photographing information output unit that outputs information related to photographing, Display means capable of displaying information on a display unit, wherein the display means displays the shooting information at a timing synchronized with the shooting operation, and displays the position information at a predetermined timing different from the shooting operation. .

[0008] A camera according to a third aspect of the present invention includes a position information output unit that measures the current position of the camera and outputs position information, a display unit that can display the position information on a display unit, and a photographing operation. Display control means for prohibiting display of the position information at the synchronized timing.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a camera to which the present invention is applied. In FIG.
A control circuit (CPU) 1 controls the entire camera, and sends control signals to each unit described later to control the operation. The photometric sensor 15 includes, for example, a silicon photodiode (SPD), and generates an electric signal corresponding to the amount of input ambient light. The ambient light measuring circuit 14 converts this electric signal into a form suitable for processing in the control circuit 1 and sends it to the control circuit 1.

In this embodiment, an active AF system is employed, and light is projected from a light projecting element 10 to a subject 9 via a light projecting lens 11. The reflected light from the subject 9 forms an image on the PSD 13 via the light receiving lens 12. At this time, electric signals corresponding to the imaging positions on the PSD 13 are generated at both ends of the PSD 13. The distance measuring circuit 8 includes a PSD 13
The signal is converted into a signal indicating the subject distance by taking the ratio of the electric signals generated at both ends of the control signal and sent to the control circuit 1. The control circuit 1 converts the subject distance information into information on the drive amount of the focus lens and sends the information to the focus motor drive circuit 20.
The focus motor drive circuit 20 drives the focus motor 22 according to the drive amount from the control circuit 1. Thereby, the focus lens 21 is extended through the driving mechanism 23. At this time, the position of the focus lens 21 is detected by the focus lens position detection circuit 25, and the detection information is sent to the control circuit 1.
Can be accurately moved to the in-focus position.

The IS attached to the film cartridge 3 when the film cartridge 3 is loaded in the camera.
Film information such as O sensitivity is read out by the film information input circuit 2 and input to the control circuit 1. The film feed circuit 4 supplies a predetermined drive current to the film motor 6 according to a control signal from the control circuit 1. As a result, the film motor 6 is driven to feed the film 5 via the film feeding mechanism 7. The film feeding state detection circuit 24 detects the number of perforations of the moving film 5 to detect the feeding amount of the film 5, and sends a detection signal to the control circuit 1. For example, when eight perforations are detected, it is determined that the winding of one frame of the film has been performed.

The GPS circuit 35 outputs position information (latitude and longitude) relating to the current position input from a satellite (not shown) via the antenna 50 to the signal processing circuit 36 as needed. Further, the position information storage medium 37 including a detachable memory element stores information on the shooting position (place name) in association with the latitude and longitude information. The signal processing circuit 36 searches the location information storage medium 37 for a place name (character information) corresponding to the current latitude and longitude from the GPS circuit 35 and sends it to the control circuit 1.

The magnetic recording circuit 40 records the latitude information and the longitude information sent from the control circuit 1 on the magnetic recording section 39 of the film 5 via the magnetic head 4. The above GPS circuit 3
5. The position information storage medium 37, the signal processing circuit 36, and the control circuit 1 constitute position information setting means for setting information on the current position. Further, the film information input circuit 2 and the control circuit 1 constitute a photographing information setting unit. Further, the control circuit 1 has a function as display means for displaying photographing information at a timing synchronized with the photographing operation and displaying position information at a timing different from the photographing operation.

A main operation member detection switch (hereinafter, referred to as a main switch) 46 is a main operation member 45 of the camera.
Is a switch that turns ON and OFF when is operated.
By transmitting the ON / OFF state to the control circuit 1, it is understood that the main operation member 45 has been operated. The sector shutter 17 has both an aperture function and a shutter function. The shutter control circuit 16 opens and closes the sector shutter 17 by driving a shutter motor 18 according to a control signal from the control circuit 1. The sector position of the sector shutter 17 at this time is detected by the sector position detection switch 19 and sent to the control circuit 1.

1st release detection switch 33 and 2nd
The release detection switch 34 is interlocked with the release button 32, and is released when the release button 32 is half-pressed.
When the st release detection switch 33 is turned on and the release button 32 is fully pressed, the second release detection switch 34 is turned on.

The strobe circuit 26 charges the strobe 27 and controls light emission according to a control signal from the control circuit 1. The display unit 38 displays L for displaying shooting information and position information.
LCD by a CD display element and a control signal from the control circuit 1
And a drive circuit for driving the display element. The display unit 38 may be provided in a finder (not shown).

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the control circuit 1 shown in FIG. When a battery is loaded, the control circuit 1 executes the following operation flow by a power-on reset operation. First, in step # 1, it is determined whether the main switch is ON. Where N
In the case of O, the process proceeds to step # 2 to perform an initialization operation. Here, an operation of resetting the state of each port of the control circuit 1 and returning the mechanical mechanism to the initial position is performed. Next, the process proceeds to step # 3, and enters an energy saving mode in which the main switch 46 is on standby until the main switch 46 is turned on.

When the main operation member 45 is operated and the main switch 46 is turned on, the system automatically exits from the energy saving mode and proceeds to step # 4. If the determination in step # 1 is YES, the process immediately proceeds to step # 4. In step # 4, it is determined whether or not the idle feeding of the film is completed based on the detection signal from the film feeding state detecting circuit 24. Here, in the case of YES, the process immediately proceeds to step # 6. If the determination in step # 4 is NO, the process proceeds to step # 5 to perform the idle feeding operation, and then proceeds to step # 6.

In step # 6, the signal processing circuit 36 is operated to obtain position information (latitude and longitude information) from the GPS circuit 35.
And reads the location information storage medium 37 to obtain the corresponding place name information. Next, proceeding to step # 7, the film information input circuit 2 reads photographing information such as ISO sensitivity and exposure information, and also reads information on the number of photographed frames stored in the register of the control circuit 1.

Next, the process proceeds to display 1 in step # 8, and the position information acquired from the signal processing circuit 36 is displayed on the display unit 38 as shown in FIG. In FIG. 4A, HACHIOJI (Hachioji), TOKYO (Tokyo), JAPAN
(Japan) is displayed. Here, only the position information is displayed, but photographing information may be displayed in addition to the position information or instead of a part of the position information.

Next, proceeding to step # 9, the photographing lens is set up. Normally, the main switch 46 is turned off.
In the case of F, the photographing lens is at the retracted position, and here, the operation of extending the photographing lens to the photographable position is performed. Next, the routine proceeds to step # 10, where it is determined whether or not the charging of the strobe is completed based on the signal from the strobe circuit 26. If NO here, the flow proceeds to step # 11 to perform strobe charging, and then proceeds to step # 12. If the determination in step # 10 is YES, the process immediately proceeds to step # 12.

In step # 12, it is determined whether or not the first release switch detection switch 33 is ON. If NO, the process proceeds to step # 21 to determine whether or not the main switch 46 is ON. .
Here, in the case of YES, the process returns to step # 12, and in the case of NO, the process proceeds to step # 22, where
FF is performed, and an operation of retracting the taking lens is performed in the next step # 23.

After the main switch is turned on, steps # 12 and # 1 until the first release switch is turned on.
21 is repeatedly executed, but when the release button 32 is fully pressed, the determination in step # 12 becomes YES and the distance measurement operation (step # 13) and the photometry operation (step # 1)
4) The exposure calculation operation (step # 15) is performed in order.
Then, in display 2 of step # 16, the photographing information as shown in FIG. 4B is switched and displayed on the display unit 38. Here, the film sensitivity information (ISO 200), the number of photographed images / the number of recordable images (12/40), the aperture value (F5.6), the shutter time (1/25
0) and mode (AUTO) are displayed.

Next, in step # 17, it is determined whether the second release switch is ON. If NO, the process proceeds to step # 24 to determine whether the first release switch is ON. Here, in the case of YES, the process returns to step # 17, and in the case of NO, the process returns to step # 21.

After the release button 32 is half-pressed, steps # 17 and # 24 are repeatedly executed until the release button 32 is fully pressed. However, when the release button 32 is fully pressed, the determination in step # 17 is YES. In step # 18, the operation for reading the position information is performed. With this operation, the position information is read again. At this time, the read position information is not displayed, and the display section 38 keeps displaying the exposure information. Here, the position information is read again because the position information may be different from the position information read in step # 6.

Next, proceeding to step # 19, an exposure operation for imprinting the subject image on the film 5 is performed, and thereafter, an operation of winding one frame of the film is performed. At this time, film 5
The position information read in step # 18 is written into the magnetic recording unit 39, and the number of photographed frames is counted. In counting the number of shot frames, it is compared whether the number of shot frames matches the number of shot frames. Then, in the next step # 25 shown in FIG. 3, it is determined from the comparison result whether or not it is the film end. If NO, the process returns to step # 21 to repeat the above operation. On the other hand, in the case of YES, since it is the film end, the flow advances to step # 26 to read the position information. Next, the read position information is displayed on the display unit 38 in the display 1 in the next step # 28. Next, a rewind operation is executed in step # 28. During the rewinding operation, the display in step # 28 is continued. When the rewinding operation is completed, the process proceeds to step # 29, where the display on the display unit 38 is turned off (step # 29), and the process waits until a new film cartridge is loaded (step # 30).
When loaded, the flow returns to step # 1 to perform the above operation.

In the above-described embodiment, the position information is obtained at a timing irrelevant to the photographing operation such as the initial operation of the camera (lens setup, idle feed) and the end operation (collapse of the lens, rewinding of the film). Since it is displayed, it does not hinder the display of the photographing information and the confirmation. That is, since the display of the position information is permitted only at a timing different from the photographing operation, it is possible to provide a display screen which is easy to see both when displaying the position information and when displaying the photographing information.

In the above embodiment, the position information set by the position information setting means is assumed to be obtained from a satellite. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the position information is set by a radio signal from a terrestrial base station. May be received. The position information may be input by the user by searching a recording medium such as a CD-ROM.

The invention having the following configuration is extracted from the specific embodiment described above.

(1) Position information output means for measuring the current position of the camera and outputting position information, photographing information output means for outputting information relating to photographing, and selectively displaying the position information or photographing information on a display unit. A camera, comprising: display means capable of displaying, wherein the display means displays the shooting information at a timing synchronized with the shooting operation, and displays the position information at a timing not synchronized with the shooting operation.

(2) Position information output means for measuring the current position of the camera and outputting position information, photographing information output means for outputting information relating to photographing, and selectively displaying the position information or photographing information on a display unit. Display means for displaying, wherein the display means displays the shooting information at a timing synchronized with the shooting operation, and displays the position information at a predetermined timing different from the shooting operation. camera.

(3) The position information is displayed at the time of an initial operation of the camera, such as lens setup or film skipping, or at the time of camera ending operation, such as film rewinding or lens retracting. The camera according to (1) or (2), wherein

(4) The camera according to (1) or (2), wherein the photographing information is information on film sensitivity and the number of photographed images.

(5) The camera according to (1) or (2), wherein the photographing information is information relating to exposure such as shutter time and aperture value.

(6) The camera according to (1) or (2), wherein the position information is information on a place name.

(7) There is further provided a recording circuit for recording the output of the position information output means on a film, and this recording circuit records information on longitude and latitude on the film. Or the camera according to (2).

(8) The camera according to (1) or (2), wherein the photographing operation is an operation started in association with the operation of a release button.

(9) The camera according to (1) or (2), wherein the display section is provided in a finder of the camera.

(10) Position information output means for measuring the current position of the camera and outputting position information, display means for displaying the position information on a display unit, and display of the position information at a timing synchronized with a photographing operation. A camera comprising: display control means for prohibiting display and permitting display of the position information at a predetermined timing different from the photographing operation.

[0040]

According to the present invention, either one of the position information and the photographing information is selectively displayed, so that the camera can provide a display screen which is easy to see.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a camera to which the present invention has been applied.

FIG. 2 is a front part of a flowchart for explaining the operation of the control circuit 1 shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a latter part of a flowchart for explaining the operation of the control circuit 1 shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4A is a diagram illustrating an example of position information displayed on a display unit, and FIG. 4B is a diagram illustrating an example of shooting information displayed on a display unit;

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Control circuit (CPU), 2 ... Film information input circuit, 3 ... Film cartridge, 4 ... Film feeding circuit, 5 ... Film, 6 ... Film motor, 7 ... Film feeding mechanism, 8 ... Distance measuring circuit, 9 ... Subject, 10 ... Light projecting element, 11 ... Light projecting lens, 12 ... Light receiving lens, 13 ... PSD, 14 ... Ambient light measuring circuit, 15 ... Light measuring sensor, 16 ... Shutter control circuit, 17 ... Sector shutter, 18 ... Shutter Motor: 19: Sector position detection switch, 20: Focus motor drive circuit, 21: Focus lens, 22: Focus motor, 23: Drive mechanism, 25: Focus lens position detection circuit, 26: Strobe circuit, 27: Strobe, 33 ... 1st release detection switch, 34 ... 2nd release detection switch, 35 ... GPS circuit, 36 ... signal Processing circuit, 37 ... position information storage medium, 38 ... display unit, 40 ... magnetic recording circuit 41 ... magnetic head, 45 ... main operation member, 46 ... main operating member detection switch (main switch), 50 ... antenna.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A position information setting means for setting information relating to a current position; a photographing information setting means for setting information relating to photographing; and a display for selectively displaying one of the position information and the photographing information on a display unit. Means, and a camera. 2. A position information output means for measuring a current position of a camera and outputting position information, a photographing information output means for outputting information relating to photographing, and a display capable of displaying the position information or the photographing information on a display unit. Means, wherein the display means displays the shooting information at a timing synchronized with the shooting operation, and displays the position information at a predetermined timing different from the shooting operation. 3. A position information output means for measuring a current position of the camera and outputting position information, a display means capable of displaying the position information on a display unit, and displaying the position information at a timing synchronized with a photographing operation. And display control means for prohibiting the operation of the camera.