JP2649937B2 - Electronic camera - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic camera that performs photographing using a battery as a power supply.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, still and movie video cameras using a nickel-cadmium battery or a lead-acid battery as a power source are widely known. In this type of camera, a large amount of power is required for a device (mechanical) drive system, an imaging system, and the like. Therefore, it is necessary to perform a battery check so that power is normally supplied to each system. Then, the low battery warning notifies the user of the request for battery replacement. However, if there is no charged battery, the user shoots until the camera stops operating, so the number of shots is limited.

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention] Therefore, there is a problem that the user may have to give up photographing because there is no charged battery even though the user wants to continue photographing anyway.

The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and has as its object to provide an electronic camera capable of increasing the number of shots by saving power.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, in the electronic camera of the present invention, when the power supply voltage is lower than a certain level, each operation of the distance measuring means and the means for driving the lens to the focal point is performed. Is provided.

[Operation] According to the present invention, when the power supply voltage is equal to or lower than a certain level, the driving of the automatic focus (AF) is prohibited, and the aperture is reduced to perform shooting, thereby minimizing power consumption.
The aim is to maximize the shooting time.

[Embodiment] Fig. 1 is a block diagram of an electronic camera according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a photometry / light control system, 2 is a distance measurement system, 3 is a colorimetry system, 4 is a strobe system, and 5 is a strobe system. System control system, 6
Is a light emitting diode (LED) display system, 7 is a clock and switch detection system, 8 and 10 are batteries, 9 is a power supply system, 11 is a mechanical drive system, 12 is a lens, 13 is an aperture drive system, and 14 is a shutter. Drive system, 15 is a CCD, 16 is a timing generator, 17 is a signal processing system, 18 is a magnetic recording system, 19 is a deck control system,
20 is a servo drive system, 21 is a motor, 21 'is a disk, 22, 2
3, 24, 25 are switches (SW).

In the electronic camera having the configuration shown in FIG. 1, when the SW 22 is turned on, the clock and switch detection system 7 detects it, and the system control system 5 and the power supply system 9 turn on the power. And deck control system 19, servo drive system 20
Drives the disk motor 21 via the. Thereafter, photometry and colorimetry are performed by the photometry / light control system 1 and the colorimetry system 3.
At this time, if ON of SW23 is detected, the distance is measured by the distance measuring system 2. Then, the mechanical drive system 11 is driven, and the lens 12 is driven based on the distance measurement information obtained by the distance measurement system 2. The aperture and shutter speed are calculated by the system control system 5 based on the photometric information obtained from the photometry / light control system 1, and the aperture is driven by the aperture drive system 13. Then, the shutter drive system 14 is caused to travel, the CCD 15 is read by the timing generator 16, and the data is recorded on the disk 21 ′ by the magnetic recording system 18 via the signal processing system 17.
The above is the shooting sequence of a normal electronic camera.

Here, after SW22 is turned on, the voltage check of the battery 10 is repeatedly performed for the photometry of the photometry / light control system 1 and the color measurement of the colorimetry system 3. Next, a sequence in the case where the voltage of the battery 10 decreases and slightly exceeds the operation prohibition level (battery replacement request level) will be described. The photometry of the photometry / light control system 1 and the colorimetry of the colorimetry system 3 after SW22 is turned on are performed in the same manner. Next, SW
After 23 ON, the distance measurement of the distance measurement system 2 and the driving of the lens 12 are not performed.
From the photometry information of the photometry / light control system 1, the aperture drive system 13 narrows down the aperture as much as possible and calculates the shutter time with priority on AV so that a sufficient depth of field can be obtained.

Then, at the time of the shutter, the shutter drive system 14 is driven to drive the shutter, and similarly, image capturing, signal processing,
Perform the recording operation.

In the above embodiment, the example in which the distance measurement and the focus drive are prohibited after the battery voltage drops to the battery replacement request level has been described. However, even when the battery voltage is lower than the battery replacement request level, the subject is sufficiently bright, When it is clear that the depth can be obtained, the system control system 5 may omit the focus drive for driving the lens to the focal point.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to extend the number of shots by saving power by prohibiting the distance measurement operation and the focus drive based on the power supply voltage level.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an electronic camera according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure. 1: metering / light control system, 2: distance measurement system 3: colorimetry system 5: system control system 6: LED display system 7: clock and switch detection system 8, 10: battery, 9: power supply system 11: mechanical drive system , 12: Lens 13: Aperture drive system, 14: Shutter 16: Timing generator, 17: Signal processing system 18: Magnetic recording system 19: Deck control system 21: Motor, 21 ': Disk 22-25: Switch

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A light measuring means, a means for determining an aperture value and a shutter time based on information from the light measuring means, a distance measuring means, a means for driving a lens to a focal point based on information from the distance measuring means, and a power supply In an electronic camera having a means for checking a voltage and a means for determining an operation sequence based on a voltage value from the means, when the power supply voltage is below a certain level, the lens is driven to the distance measuring means and the focal point. An electronic camera comprising means for inhibiting each operation of the means. 2. The electronic camera according to claim 1, wherein the focus driving is prohibited when it is determined from the distance information and the aperture value that the current lens position is within the focusing range. An electronic camera, comprising: