JP2001117152A - Image pickup device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image pickup device having two battery power sources. SOLUTION: This image pickup device for processing an image is equipped with a conventional camera part 10, a battery for driving 70 supplying power to the camera part 10, a processing part 30 picking up and processing the image projected by the camera part 10, a battery for processing 72 supplying the power to the processing part 30 and provided independently of the battery 70, and a switching part 60 supplying the power to the camera part 10 from the battery 72 when the battery 70 does not supply sufficient power to the camera part 10. The switching part 60 has a means for supplying the power to the camera part 10 from the battery 72 on a condition that the voltage of the battery 70 is equal to or under specified voltage.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus having two battery power supplies. In particular, the present invention relates to an imaging apparatus including a switching unit that supplies power from the processing battery to the driving unit when the voltage of the driving battery falls below a predetermined value.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional imaging device is used instead of a driving battery when the driving battery is exhausted or when power cannot be supplied from the driving battery to the imaging device such as when the driving battery is replaced. It has a so-called backup battery that supplies weak power to the imaging device.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-160772 (publication date: June 18, 1999) discloses an imaging apparatus in which a power supply source is switched from a battery to a capacitor when a battery is replaced. Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 11-18310 (publication date: January 22, 1999) discloses a system having a battery for an imaging device and a battery for a printer.

[0004]

In the conventional imaging apparatus, when power cannot be supplied from the driving battery to the imaging apparatus, the backup battery supplies only weak power to the imaging apparatus. For this reason, the imaging device cannot perform any operation other than the timing operation.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an image pickup apparatus which can solve the above-mentioned problems. This object is achieved by a combination of features described in the independent claims. The dependent claims define further advantageous embodiments of the present invention.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an imaging apparatus for processing an image, comprising: a conventional camera unit; a driving battery for supplying power to the conventional camera unit; A processing unit that captures and processes an image projected by the conventional camera unit, a processing battery that supplies power to the processing unit, and a processing battery that is provided independently of the driving battery; A switching unit that supplies power from the processing battery to the conventional camera unit when sufficient power is not supplied to the camera unit.

[0007] The switching section may include means for supplying power from the processing battery to the conventional camera section on condition that the voltage of the driving battery has become equal to or lower than a predetermined voltage.

[0008] The switching section may further include means for supplying power from the processing battery to the conventional camera section when the driving battery is not attached.

[0009] The conventional camera unit may include a strobe unit that emits light when the image is captured, and a control unit that controls charging of the strobe unit. A means may be provided for prohibiting charging of the strobe unit when power is supplied to the conventional camera unit.

[0010] The conventional camera unit may include a strobe unit that emits light when the image is picked up, and a control unit that controls charging of the strobe unit. Means may be provided for prohibiting charging of the flash unit when is less than the predetermined value.

[0011] The maximum current of the driving battery may be larger than the maximum current of the processing battery.

[0012] The imaging battery may be a non-rechargeable primary battery, and the processing battery may be a rechargeable storage battery.

[0013] The capacity of the driving battery may be larger than the capacity of the processing battery.

The above summary of the present invention does not enumerate all of the necessary features of the present invention, and sub-combinations of these features may also constitute the present invention.

[0015]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described through embodiments of the present invention. However, the following embodiments do not limit the claimed invention and have the features described in the embodiments. Not all combinations are essential to the solution of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a digital camera as a first embodiment of an imaging apparatus. This digital camera includes a conventional camera unit 10, a driving battery 70, a driving battery voltage detecting unit 74, a processing unit 30, a determining unit 50, a switching unit 60, a processing battery 72, and a processing battery voltage detecting unit 7.
6 is provided. The conventional camera unit 10 projects an image of the outside world. The processing unit 30 records the image projected by the conventional camera unit 10. The driving battery 70 supplies electric power to the conventional camera unit 10. The processing battery 72 supplies power to the processing unit 30.
The determination unit 50 controls the conventional camera unit 10 based on the voltages of the driving battery 70 and the processing battery 72 detected by the driving battery voltage detection unit 74 and the processing battery voltage detection unit 76. This digital camera is a single-lens reflex type, and the lens may be interchangeable.

The conventional camera section 10 has a lens 14, an aperture 16, a strobe section 20, a control section 22, and a drive section 24. The lens 14 forms an image of the subject, and the aperture 16 adjusts the aperture amount. The flash unit 20 emits light to supplement the light amount required for photographing. The conventional camera unit 10 may further include a mechanical shutter for adjusting a shutter speed.

The control unit 22 controls the operation of the lens 14 and the stop 16. That is, the control unit 22 controls at least one of the zoom and focus of the lens 14 and the stop amount of the stop 16. The control unit 22 also permits or prohibits the operation of the lens 14 and the aperture 16 based on the information on the shooting mode received from the determination unit 50. The control unit 22 also permits or prohibits charging of the flash unit 20. The drive unit 24 drives the lens 14 and the stop 16. The drive unit 24 has a motor and the like.

The processing section 30 captures an image formed by the lens 14 and processes the image. The processing unit 30 is a CCD
(Charge coupled device) 34 and A /
D conversion unit 36, memory 38, signal processing unit 40, and recording unit 4
2 and a display unit 44.

The CCD 34 has an electronic shutter function and captures an image. In order to realize the electronic shutter function, the CCD 34 is provided with a shutter drain via a shutter gate. When the shutter gate is driven, accumulated charges are swept out to the shutter drain. By controlling the shutter gate, the time for accumulating the electric charges in each sensor element, that is, the shutter speed can be controlled. The CCD 34 further converts the captured image into an electric signal. The A / D converter 36 converts an analog signal received from the CCD 34 into a digital signal and outputs the digital signal to the memory 38. The memory 38 stores the received image of the subject. The signal processing unit 40 processes the image stored in the memory 38 and sends the processed image to the recording unit 42 and the display unit 44.

The display unit 44 displays the image received from the signal processing unit 40. The display unit 44 may be, for example, a built-in camera type liquid crystal monitor for displaying images and characters on a screen.

The recording section 42 records the image received from the signal processing section 40 on a recording medium. As a recording medium, a removable nonvolatile semiconductor memory such as a memory card,
A removable magnetic recording medium such as a floppy disk may be used. As the memory card, a medium that can electrically read and write data, such as a flash ROM (Read-Only Memory), is used. As the recording unit 42, a memory card writer, a floppy disk drive, or the like is used.

The driving battery 70 supplies electric power to the strobe unit 20, the control unit 22, and the driving unit 24 of the conventional camera unit 10 via the switching unit 60. Processing battery 7
2 supplies power to the processing unit 30. The second battery 72 also supplies power to the control unit 22 and the driving unit 24 via the switching unit 60. The processing unit 30 and the driving unit 24 do not require a larger instantaneous current than the strobe unit 20. Therefore,
The maximum current of the processing battery 72 may be smaller than the maximum current of the driving battery 70. Driving battery 70 and second battery 7
2 is preferably, for example, two batteries with a maximum current ratio of 3: 1. The driving battery 70 and the processing battery 72 further have a maximum current of about 6 A and 2 A, respectively.
It is preferred that it is about. The driving battery 70 is a non-rechargeable primary battery, and the second battery 72 is a rechargeable storage battery.

The driving battery voltage detecting section 74 detects the voltage of the driving battery 70 and outputs the voltage of the driving battery 70 to the driving section 2.
Then, voltage information indicating whether or not the voltage is higher than a reference voltage sufficient to operate the control signal No. 4 is sent to the determination unit 50. The processing battery voltage detection unit 76 detects the voltage of the processing battery 72 and
The voltage information indicating whether the second voltage is higher than the minimum voltage required to operate the processing unit 30 is sent to the determination unit 50.

The determination unit 50 includes a control unit 22 and a switching unit 60
Control the operation of. The determining unit 50 may control the operation of the processing unit 30. The determination unit 50 determines the driving battery 70 and the processing battery 7 based on the voltage information received from the driving battery voltage detection unit 74 and the processing battery voltage detection unit 76.
2 to the switching unit 60 indicating which of the two units supplies power to the conventional camera unit 10. The determination unit 50 also sets a shooting mode based on the voltage information received from the driving battery voltage detection unit 74 and the processing battery voltage detection unit 76, and transmits the information of the set shooting mode to the control unit 2.
Send to 2. The photographing mode includes a flash photography mode in which the flash unit 20 can be used to perform photographing with the flash unit 20 emitting light and a non-flash photographing mode in which the flash unit 20 does not emit light. There are a flash photography mode and a photography prohibition mode in which photography cannot be performed, that is, the conventional camera unit 10 does not perform a photography operation.

The judging section 50 provides voltage information indicating that the voltage of the driving battery 70 is higher than the reference voltage and the processing battery 7.
When voltage information indicating that the voltage of the second is higher than the minimum voltage is received, instruction information indicating that power is supplied from the driving battery 70 to the conventional camera unit 10 is transmitted to the switching unit 60. The determination unit 50 also sets the shooting mode to the flash shooting mode and sends information on the flash shooting mode to the control unit 22. In this case, the control unit 22 permits the photographing operation and charging of the flash unit 20.

The judging section 50 provides voltage information indicating that the voltage of the driving battery 70 is lower than the reference voltage and the processing battery 7.
When voltage information indicating that the voltage of the second battery is higher than the minimum voltage is received, instruction information indicating that power is supplied from the processing battery 72 to the conventional camera unit 10 is transmitted to the switching unit 60. The determination unit 50 also sets the shooting mode to the non-flash shooting mode, and sends information on the non-flash shooting mode to the control unit 22. In this case, the control unit 22 permits the photographing operation and prohibits charging of the flash unit 20. As a result, even when the voltage of the driving battery 70 falls below the reference value, power can be supplied from the processing battery 72 to the conventional camera unit 10. In addition, by setting the camera to the non-flash shooting mode, shooting can be performed even when power is supplied from the processing battery 72 having a smaller maximum current than the driving battery 70.

When receiving the voltage information indicating that the voltage of the processing battery 72 is lower than the minimum voltage, the judgment unit 50 switches the instruction information indicating that the supply of power to the conventional camera unit 10 is stopped. Send to 60. The determination unit 50 also sets the shooting mode to the shooting prohibited mode,
Information on the shooting prohibition mode is sent to the control unit 22. In this case, the control unit 22 prohibits the photographing operation and charging of the flash unit 20. As a result, the processing battery 72 can stop supplying power to the conventional camera unit 10 while keeping the capacity of a backup battery.
For this reason, the processing battery 72 can continue to supply power to a mechanism that always needs power, such as the clock mechanism of the processing unit 30.

The switching unit 60 supplies power of either the driving battery 70 or the processing battery 72 to the conventional camera unit 10 based on the instruction information received from the determining unit 50. The switching unit 60 may be a switch circuit.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the digital camera shown in FIG. When the operation of the digital camera is started, the processing battery voltage detection unit 76 detects the voltage of the processing battery 72 (S100) and determines whether the voltage is higher than the minimum voltage (S102). When the voltage of the processing battery 72 is lower than the minimum voltage (S102), the determination unit 50
Corresponds to the switching camera 60 and the conventional camera unit 1
The supply of power to 0 is stopped (S104). The determining unit 50 also sets the shooting mode to the shooting prohibition mode (S106). In this case, the photographing operation and the flash unit 20
Prohibit charging the battery. When the photographing is prohibited, the operation of the digital camera ends.

When the voltage of the processing battery 72 is higher than the minimum voltage in S102, the driving battery voltage detecting section 74 detects the voltage of the driving battery 70 (S110) and is sufficient to drive the driving section 24. It is determined whether the voltage is higher than the reference voltage (S112). When the voltage of the driving battery 70 is higher than the reference voltage (S112), the determination unit 50 causes the switching unit 60 to supply power from the driving battery 70 to the conventional camera unit 10 (S114). The determination unit 50 also sets the shooting mode to the flash shooting mode (S
116). In this case, the control unit 22 permits the photographing operation and charging of the flash unit 20. Next, photographing is permitted, and the photographer can perform stroboscopic photographing or non-stroboscopic photographing (S118). Further, when the photographing is continuously performed (S120), the battery voltage for processing is detected (S10).
Returning to 0), the processing battery voltage detection unit 76 detects the voltage of the processing battery 72 again and determines whether the voltage of the processing battery 72 is higher than the minimum voltage. When the photographing is to be ended (S120), the operation of the digital camera ends.

If the voltage of the driving battery 70 is lower than the reference voltage in S112, the judgment unit 50 sends the switching camera 60 a signal from the processing battery 72 to the conventional camera unit 10.
Power is supplied (S140). The judgment unit 50 also
The shooting mode is set to the non-flash shooting mode (S14)
2). In this case, the control unit 22 permits the photographing operation and prohibits charging of the flash unit 20. Next, non-flash photography is permitted, and the photographer can perform non-flash photography (S144). If the photographing is to be continued further (S146), the process returns to the processing battery voltage detection step (S100), and the processing battery voltage detection unit 76 again returns to the processing battery 7.
2 is detected, and it is determined whether the detected voltage is higher than the minimum voltage. To end shooting (S14
6), the operation of the digital camera ends.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a digital camera as a second embodiment of the imaging apparatus. The switching unit 60 in the present embodiment includes the driving battery voltage detection unit 74 and the processing battery voltage detection unit 76 in the first embodiment, and detects the voltages of the driving battery 70 and the processing battery 72. The switching unit 60 supplies the electric power of either the driving battery 70 or the processing battery 72 to the conventional camera unit 10 based on the detected voltage value. In this regard, the present embodiment is
This is different from the first embodiment in which the determination unit 50 controls the switching of the switching unit 60. When detecting that the voltage of the driving battery 70 is higher than the reference voltage, the switching unit 60 supplies power from the driving battery 70 to the conventional camera unit 10. When detecting that the voltage of the driving battery 70 is lower than the reference voltage, the switching unit 60 supplies power from the processing battery 72 to the conventional camera unit 10. Switching unit 60
Detects that the voltage of the processing battery 72 is lower than the minimum voltage, and stops supplying power to the conventional camera unit 10. Switching unit 60 in the present embodiment
May be an IC (Integrated Circuit).

The determination section 50 sets a shooting mode based on the voltage information received from the switching section 60 and sends information on the set shooting mode to the control section 22. Judgment unit 50
The operations performed by the control unit 22 and the signal processing unit 40 are as follows:
The operation is the same as the operation of the determination unit 50 described in FIG.

The operation of the conventional camera unit 10 and the processing unit 30 in this embodiment is the same as the operation of the conventional camera unit 10 and the processing unit 30 described with reference to FIG. The operations of the driving battery 70 and the processing battery 72 are the same as the operations of the driving battery 70 and the processing battery 72 described in FIG. Also, the flowchart showing the operation of the camera is the same as the flowchart showing the operation of the camera in the first embodiment described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a digital camera as a third embodiment of the imaging apparatus. The switching unit 60 of the present embodiment has a first diode 90 connected from the driving battery 70 to the conventional camera unit 10 and a second diode 92 connected from the processing battery 72 to the conventional camera unit 10. When the voltage of the driving battery 70 becomes lower than the voltage of the processing battery 72, the switching unit 60
Power is supplied from the processing battery 72 to the conventional camera unit 10. In this regard, in this embodiment, the driving battery 7
The third embodiment differs from the first and second embodiments in which electric power is supplied from the processing battery 72 to the conventional camera unit 10 on condition that the voltage of 0 becomes lower than the reference voltage.

When the voltage of the driving battery 70 is higher than the voltage of the processing battery 72, the switching unit 60 supplies power from the driving battery 70 to the conventional camera unit 10 via the first diode 90. The switching unit 60 includes the driving battery 7
When the voltage of 0 becomes lower than the voltage of the processing battery 72, power is supplied from the processing battery 72 to the conventional camera unit 10 via the second diode 92. It is desirable that the voltage drop of the first diode 90 is lower than the voltage drop of the second diode 92. Thereby, the driving battery 7
Even when 0 and the output voltage of the processing battery 72 are substantially the same, power can be supplied to the conventional camera unit 10 from the driving battery 70 preferentially. Judgment unit 50
Are performed by the control unit 22 and the processing unit 30 in FIG.
Since the operation is the same as that of the determination unit 50 described in the above, the description is omitted. As described above, in the present embodiment, the switching unit 60 can switch the power supply source to the conventional camera unit 10 from the driving battery 70 to the processing battery 72 without receiving the instruction information from the determination unit 50.

The operation of the conventional camera unit 10, the processing unit 30, the driving battery voltage detection unit 74, and the processing battery voltage detection unit 76 in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. Driving battery voltage detector 74 and processing battery voltage detector 7
6, the description is omitted. The operations of the driving battery 70 and the processing battery 72 are the same as the operations of the driving battery 70 and the processing battery 72 described in FIG. Also, the flowchart showing the operation of the camera is the same as the flowchart showing the operation of the camera in the first embodiment described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a camera as a fourth embodiment of the image pickup apparatus. The camera according to the present embodiment is different from the other embodiments in that the driving battery voltage detection unit 74 and the processing battery voltage detection unit 76 are not provided, and the camera further includes a driving battery detection unit 66 instead of them. . The switching unit 60 of the present embodiment supplies power from the processing battery 72 to the conventional camera unit 10 when there is no driving battery 70. In this respect, the present embodiment is different from the first to third embodiments.

The switching unit 60 supplies power to the conventional camera unit 10 from the driving battery 70 when the driving battery 70 is set at a predetermined position. Switching unit 60
When the driving battery 70 is not set at a predetermined position, such as when the driving battery 70 is replaced,
Power is supplied from the processing battery 72 to the conventional camera unit 10. Therefore, even when the driving battery 70 is not set, power can be supplied from the processing battery 72 to the conventional camera unit 10 via the switching unit 60.

The driving battery detector 66 is provided with a driving battery 70.
Is detected, and battery detection information indicating the presence or absence of the driving battery 70 is sent to the determination unit 50. The determination unit 50 sets a shooting mode based on the received battery detection information, and sends information on the set shooting mode to the control unit 22. When the driving battery 70 is set at a predetermined position, the determination unit 5
0 sets the shooting mode to the flash shooting mode. When the driving battery 70 is not set at a predetermined position,
The determination unit 50 sets the shooting mode to the non-flash shooting mode. Thus, even when the driving battery 70 is not set at a predetermined position, shooting can be performed by supplying power from the processing battery 72 having a smaller maximum current than the driving battery 70.

The configuration and operation of the conventional camera unit 10 and the processing unit 30 in this embodiment are the same as those of the conventional camera unit 10 and the processing unit 30 in FIG. The operation of the driving battery 70 and the processing battery 72 is the same as that of the first battery shown in FIG.
Since the operation is the same as that of the driving battery 70 and the processing battery 72 in the embodiment, the description is omitted.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the digital camera according to this embodiment. When the operation of the digital camera starts, the switching unit 60 detects the presence or absence of the driving battery 70 (S200). Driving battery detector 66
However, if the switching unit 60 detects that the driving battery 70 is set (S202), the switching unit 60 supplies power from the driving battery 70 to the conventional camera unit 10 (S2).
04). Next, the determination unit 50 determines the shooting mode to be the flash shooting mode based on the battery detection information received from the driving battery detection unit 66 (S206). Next, photographing is permitted, and the photographer performs stroboscopic photographing or non-stroboscopic photographing (S208). Further, when the photographing is continuously performed (S210), the process returns to the driving battery detection step (S200), and the driving battery detection unit 66 detects the presence or absence of the driving battery 70 again. When the shooting ends, the operation of the digital camera ends here.

In S202, the switching unit 60 sets the driving battery 70
When detecting that there is no power, the switching unit 60 supplies power from the processing battery 72 to the conventional camera unit 10 (S220). Next, the determination unit 50 switches the shooting mode to the non-flash shooting mode based on the battery detection information received from the driving battery detection unit 66 (S22).
2). Next, photographing is permitted, and the photographer can perform only non-flash photographing (S224). If the photographing is to be continued further (S226), the process returns to the driving battery detection step (S200), and the driving battery detection unit 66 again detects the presence or absence of the driving battery. When the shooting ends, the operation of the digital camera ends here.

As described above, when the voltage of the driving battery 70 is lower than the reference voltage, power can be supplied from the processing battery 72 to the conventional camera unit 10.
Further, when the voltage of the driving battery 70 is lower than the reference voltage, the charging of the strobe unit 20 is prohibited, so that
Processing battery 7 having a smaller maximum current than driving battery 70
Shooting can be performed even when electric power is supplied from the camera 2. When the voltage of the processing battery 72 is lower than the minimum voltage,
By prohibiting the photographing operation and the charging of the flash unit 20, the processing battery 72 can hold the capacity of the backup battery. Therefore, the processing battery 72
Can continuously supply power to a mechanism that always needs power, such as a clock mechanism of the processing unit 30.

Further, according to the above embodiment, the switching unit 60
When the driving battery 70 is set at a predetermined position, the conventional camera unit 10
When the driving battery 70 is not set, power is supplied from the processing battery 72 to the conventional camera unit 10 via the switching unit 60. If the driving battery 70 is not set at a predetermined position,
A value of 0 causes the control unit 22 to prohibit charging of the flash unit 20, so that power can be supplied from the processing battery 72 having a smaller maximum current than the driving battery 70, and shooting can be performed.

As described above, the present invention has been described using the embodiments. However, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments. Various changes or improvements can be added to the above embodiment. It should be noted that such modified or improved embodiments may be included in the technical scope of the present invention.
It is clear from the description of the claims.

[0048]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the driving section can use the electric power supplied from two different battery power supplies.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a digital camera.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation of the digital camera shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a digital camera according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a digital camera according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a digital camera according to a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation of the digital camera according to the fourth embodiment shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Conventional camera part 14 Lens 16 Aperture 20 Strobe part 22 Control part 24 Drive part 30 Processing part 34 CCD 36 A / D conversion part 38 Memory 40 Signal processing part 42 Recording part 44 Display part 50 Judgment part 60 Switching part 66 Battery for driving Detector 70 Drive battery 72 Processing battery 74 Drive battery voltage detector 76 Processing battery voltage detector 90 First diode 92 Second diode

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on front page F term (reference) 2H053 AA04 AC21 BA03 2H100 CC07 DD02 DD13 5C022 AA13 AB15 AB40 AB66 AC42 AC52 AC54 AC56 AC69 5G003 BA04 DA02 DA18 EA06 GC05

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. An imaging apparatus for processing an image, comprising: a conventional camera unit; a driving battery for supplying power to the conventional camera unit; and a processing unit for photographing and processing an image projected by the conventional camera unit. And a processing battery that supplies power to the processing unit and is provided independently of the driving battery; and the processing battery when the driving battery does not supply sufficient power to the conventional camera unit. And a switching unit for supplying power to the conventional camera unit from the control unit. 2. The switching unit includes means for supplying power from the processing battery to the conventional camera unit on condition that the voltage of the driving battery becomes a predetermined voltage or less. The imaging device according to claim 1. 3. The switching unit according to claim 1, further comprising means for supplying power from the processing battery to the conventional camera unit when the driving battery is not attached. An imaging device according to claim 1. 4. The conventional camera unit includes: a strobe unit that emits light when the image is captured; and a control unit that controls charging of the strobe unit. The imaging device according to claim 1, further comprising a unit configured to prohibit charging of the strobe unit when power is supplied to the camera unit. 5. The conventional camera unit includes: a strobe unit that emits light when the image is captured; and a control unit that controls charging of the strobe unit. The control unit controls a voltage of the driving battery. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a unit configured to prohibit charging of the strobe unit when the value becomes equal to or less than the predetermined value. 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein a maximum current of the driving battery is larger than a maximum current of the processing battery.
The imaging device according to any one of claims 1 to 5. 7. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the imaging battery is a non-rechargeable primary battery, and the processing battery is a rechargeable storage battery. 8. The imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the capacity of the driving battery is larger than the capacity of the processing battery.