FR2662322A1 - FIXED IMAGE ELECTRONIC CAMERA AND MAGNETIC DISC. - Google Patents

Abstract

A magnetic disk storing control information for controlling an electronic still-image camera. The magnetic disk (D) is the same one used to record a picture and sound. The control information is stored in a recording track (D2) in the form of DPSK modulated information. A plurality of control information can be stored in a plurality of recording tracks, that is, many different kinds of control information can be stored in the magnetic disk (D). The still image electronic camera is controlled according to the control information obtained from the magnetic disk (D).

Description

FIXED IMAGE ELECTRONIC CAMERA

AND MAGNETIC DISC

  The present invention relates to an electronic still image camera into which a magnetic disc is inserted to store a video signal. Still image electronic cameras have become very popular recently, since an image photographed by a still image electronic camera can be observed immediately after photography Another reason for the popularity of the still image electronic camera is that a magnetic disc used as a recording medium therein is easy to handle For example, when an image photographed by the electronic still image camera is recorded on a magnetic disc housed in the camera, even if parts of the magnetic disc remain unused, it can easily be removed from the device and placed in a reproducing device for

  observe the image that has just been photographed.

  The magnetic disc is usually provided with 52 tracks, and images and sounds are recorded on the tracks going from the first to the 50th track. The 52nd track is an order track which can be used to record a code by which picture and sound are combined appropriately, and no information is

recorded on the 5th track.

  Such a conventional still image electronic camera, however, can perform only operations such as a change of shot and exposure control which are fixed, and therefore, the photographer cannot modify these operations to

  get the desired photography operation.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to create an electronic still image camera which can freely execute different operations by a

simple system.

  To this end, the present invention provides a magnetic disc inserted into an electronic still image camera. The magnetic disc comprises at least one recording track on which a video signal and / or an audio signal can be stored, and a storage system. which stores control information for controlling the still image electronic camera The storage system is arranged in at least part of the same recording track The control information is stored in the form of DPSK modulated information (modulated by differential phase shift). In addition, the present invention provides an electronic still image camera in which a magnetic disc is mounted. The electronic still image camera includes a reading system and a control system. The reading system reads information from command stored on the magnetic disc in the form of modulated information DPSK The control system controls an operation of the electronic camera

  still image based on order information.

  The characteristics and advantages of the invention

  will emerge from the description which follows

  by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a control circuit of an embodiment of an electronic still image camera according to the present invention; Figure 2 is a schematic view of a magnetic disk; Figure 3 is a diagram of a program diagram; Fig. 4A is a diagram showing an example of the photography information stored in the recording track; Fig. 4B is a diagram showing another example of the photograph control information stored in the recording track; FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of figures displayed by a display device, the figures indicating functions of the photograph control information; Figure 6 is a diagram showing another example of figures displayed by a display device, and Figure 7 is a flowchart showing a preparation process for a photographic operation

  by the still image electronic camera.

  The present invention will now be described in detail.

  referring to the embodiments shown in the drawings.

  Figure 1 shows a control circuit of an embodiment of an electronic still image camera of the present invention, and Figure 2 shows a magnetic disk which is inserted into the camera

still image electronics.

  The control unit of the system il shown in FIG. 1 is a usual microcomputer performing a control of

  the entire electronic still image camera.

  The system control unit It is composed of a central processing unit (CPU), a read only memory (ROM) and a random access memory (RAM), and it is connected to various operating switches 12 In a photography operation, an image of an object is formed on a CCD (charge coupled device) 15 as a solid state imaging device through a diaphragm of a lens 14 The CCD 15 is connected to an image processing circuit 17 by means of an image forming circuit 16 The image forming circuit 16 and the image processing circuit 17 are connected to, and controlled by, the image processing unit system control 11 A diaphragm control circuit 13 is also connected to, and controlled by, the system control unit 11, based on information received from a device

photometry not shown.

  An image formed on the CCD 15 is entered into the image processing circuit 17 through the image forming circuit 16 In the image processing circuit 17, the image signal input from the circuit forming image 16 is divided into differential color signals and a luminance signal; the two differential color signals (R-Y, B-Y) being arranged alternately every 1 H (a period of

horizontal scan).

  A white balance detector 21 is connected to the control unit of the system II via a white balance processing circuit 22 for

  guarantee the correct tone of a photographed image.

  The disk drive device includes a magnetic head 31, a head control circuit 32 for driving and controlling the magnetic head 31, a spindle motor 33 for rotating a magnetic disk D, a motor control circuit 34 to control the motor 33, and a pulse generator coil (PG) 35 to detect a synchronization of rotation of the magnetic disc D The coil PG 35 is connected to the motor control circuit 34, and the motor control circuit 34 and the head control circuit 32 are connected to

  the system control unit 11.

  The luminance signal and the two differential color signals included in the image signal are frequency modulated, respectively, and identification information (ID) such as a photograph date is modulated by differential phase shift (modulated DPSK) The DPSK modulated signals corresponding to the ID information are recorded in multiplex mode on the same track. To carry out this operation, a frequency modulation circuit 41 is connected to the image processing circuit 17, and a DPSK modulation circuit. 47 and a DPSK demodulation circuit 49 are connected to the system control unit 11 The frequency modulation circuit 41 is connected to the magnetic head 31 via a head amplifier 43 and a contactor 44 ; the DPSK modulation circuit 47 is connected to a point located between the frequency modulation circuit 41 and the head amplifier 43; and the DPSK demodulation circuit 49 is connected to the magnetic head 31 via a low pass filter (LPF) 48, a

  head amplifier 45, and contactor 44.

  The contactor 44 is selectively switched on the side of the DPSK modulation circuit 47 or on the side of the DPSK demodulation circuit 49, under the control of the system control unit 11 Namely, the contactor 44 connects the head amplifier 43 of the frequency modulation circuit 41 to the magnetic head 31 during the recording of the image information on the magnetic disk D, whereby the image information is frequency modulated, and the ID information such that a photograph date is modulated DPSK and recorded on the magnetic disc D Conversely, as described above, when a photograph control information stored on the magnetic disc D is written in the unit of system control 11, the contactor 44 connects the head amplifier 45 of the DPSK demodulation circuit 49 to the magnetic head 31, and consequently, the photograph control information stored on the dis that magnetic D is demodulated DPSK and

  entry into the system control unit 11.

  A display device 51 for displaying the current state of the camera is connected to the camera unit.

system control 11.

  Two types of magnetic discs mounted in the disc device are known, namely, a conventional magnetic disc (hereinafter referred to as a conventional disc), i.e., that for recording an image and a magnetic disc D of the embodiment according to the present invention, that is to say the one for storing photography control information (hereinafter referred to as being an information disc). Figure 2 shows the magnetic disk D This magnetic disk D has the same appearance as a magnetic disk of the type of 2 inches used for a camera

  usual fixed image electronics, and which comprises 52 tracks.

  Although the tracks from the first to the 50th track D 2, counted from the outer edge of the magnetic disc D, are information tracks used to record image information, audio information, and the digital information such as a photograph date in a conventional disc, the photograph control information comprising a diaphragm aperture and a shutter speed are modulated by differential phase shift (DPSK) and stored in the tracks record D 2 in the embodiment of the present invention It should be noted that the 52 th track Dl is an order track in which an order signal is recorded No signal is recorded in

the 5th track.

  Figure 3 shows a relationship between a diaphragm aperture and a shutter speed, using EV (exposure value) as a parameter; that is, it shows a program diagram S On the information disc in the embodiment, the inflection points and the end points of the program diagram of Figure 3, i.e. , the information of the points P (8 points are represented in figure 3) marked by a symbol "o", are modulated DPSK and memorized as information of order of photography The order of photography information stored on the disc information is written in the RAM of the system control unit 11 In this embodiment, an intermediate value is obtained based on the slope of the line between each point information P by an interpolation, so that an actual aperture value and a shutter speed corresponding to the program diagram are obtained without reducing the accuracy of the

  processing the system control unit 11.

  One of the photograph control information described above is stored in one of the recording tracks Usually, a plurality (e.g. 12) of photograph control information is stored in an information disc i.e. , tracks corresponding to the number of pieces of information are used to store the photographic control information. It should be noted that in the ROM of the control unit of the system 11, a program diagram, for example, is stored as that order information from

basic photography.

  Figures 4A and 4B show examples of the photograph control information stored in the

recording track.

  In the example shown in FIG. 4 A, 8 shutter speed values (1/8, 1/15 ,, 1/1000) are stored in the ROM of the system control unit 11, apertures of diaphragm corresponding to these shutter speeds are modulated DPSK and stored sequentially in the information disc D In this embodiment, up to 10 different aperture apertures can be stored in the RAM of the system control unit, and therefore, 4 bits are enough to designate all the different aperture apertures In the example shown in Figure 4 A, 8 different aperture values, which correspond to the number of shutter speed values stored in the ROM of the The system control unit is modulated DPSK and stored, and therefore 8 x 4 = 32 bits are used to store the photograph control information. On the other hand, in the example shown in FIG. 4B, ten different aperture values (1 4, 2, 2.8, 32) are stored in the ROM of the system control unit 11, and the shutter speeds corresponding to these aperture values are modulated DPSK and stored sequentially in the information disc D In this embodiment, up to 8 different shutter values can be memorized, and therefore 3 bits are sufficient to store all of these different shutter speeds As mentioned above, 10 aperture values are stored in the ROM of the system control unit 11 Therefore, 3 x 10 = 30 bits are used to store the photograph control information in the example shown in Figure 4B. In addition to this program diagram, the information indicating a designation of a plane change area, the information indicatingan exposure mode designation, and information indicating an AF mode designation can be stored in the information disc as

  as photograph control information, respectively.

  For the change area, parameters giving the width, the change area, are stored in the information disc, and the system control unit determines a plan change area by reading these parameters D ' similarly, when designating the exposure mode and AF mode, the system control unit reads the parameters from the information disc and makes a designation

predetermined.

  It should be noted that the embodiment is constructed in such a way that the information in each of the program diagrams, the designation of the area of change of plan, the designation of the mode of exposure, and the designation of the mode of AF are written in an area

  different from the RAM of the system control unit 11.

  In addition, it should be noted that, in comparison with the photographic control information such as the program diagram, a smaller number of bits can be used to indicate the photographic control information such as the area of change. Therefore, the information for determining some kind of photograph control information is included in the photograph control information other than the program diagram The CPU of the system control unit 11, based on whether or not this determination information is included in the photograph control information, and based on the nature of the determination information, writes each information to a different area of the RAM of the scanning unit. ordered

of the system 11.

  As described above, the volume of each photograph control information is reduced, i.e., 32 bits at most, but the information capacity of a user area in a magnetic disc in which DPSK modulated information can be recorded is 54 bits for a track on the magnetic disc Therefore, the capacity is large enough to store all of the photograph control information Therefore, the user area used to record the photography control information amounts to 24 bits or 22 bits, and it memorizes the information indicating the function of the photography control information, which information is modulated DPSK The control unit of the system recognizes the function of the photograph control information based on this information, and it produces a display of a number, a

  symbol or figure corresponding to this function.

  Figure 5 shows the functions of the photograph control information displayed by the display device 51, i.e., a number, symbol or figure as shown in this drawing are shown on a display surface of the display device 51 When one of the photography control information is selected, a lamp disposed at a location corresponding to the selected photography control information is turned on, whereby the number, the

  corresponding symbol or figure is displayed.

  The numbers 1 to 4 designated by the references Dl to D 4 each indicate a program diagram, and the figures designated by the references D 5 to D 7 each indicate an area of plan change, the reference D 5 shows an area of change planes ranging from 80 to 105 mm, the reference D 6 shows a plane change range from 50 to 80 mm, and the reference D 7 shows a plane change range from 35 to 50 mm The figures indicated by references D 9 and D 10 each indicate a mode of exposure, and show a usual mode and a mode of night photography, respectively The figures shown by the references D 8, Dll and D 12 each indicate a mode of AF, and show a fixed focus, a usual mode and

macro mode, respectively.

  Namely, in this embodiment, one of the program diagrams (references DI to D 4), one of the areas of plan change (references D 5 to D 7), one of the exposure modes (reference D 9 and D 10), and one of the AF modes (references D 8, Dll and D 12) can be

selected, respectively.

  This embodiment is constructed in such a way that four different program diagrams can be selected Therefore, since 4 bits are required to indicate the digits O to 9, 16 bits are necessary to indicate four different program diagrams by digits Three different plan change areas can be selected, and therefore 2 bits are required to indicate the plan change areas; two different exposure modes can be selected, therefore 2 bits are required to indicate the exposure modes; and three different AF modes can be selected, and therefore 2 bits are required to indicate AF modes Therefore, in a user area in which DPSK modulated information can be written, 22 bits are used to indicate l 'information

of photography order.

  It should be noted that, while Figure 5 shows, by way of example, numbers, symbols and figures indicating the functions of the photograph control information, the present invention is not limited to this. example Namely, as shown in FIG. 6, the photograph control information can be indicated alphabetically. In this example, a part designated by the reference E1 shows a program diagram, a part designated by the reference E 2 shows an area of change of plan, a part designated by the reference E 3 shows an exposure mode, and a part designated by the reference E 4 shows an AF mode, respectively To indicate the entire alphabet of "A" to "Z", 5 bits are required Therefore, to indicate four different photographic information, bits are used in the user area of the magnetic disc. Figure 7 is a flowchart showing an operation of the electronic image camera

fixed.

  In step 101, a magnetic disk is inserted into the disk drive of the electronic still image camera, and in step 102, a pre-search of the magnetic disk is performed whereby the information stored in each track is read In step 103, depending on the pre-search in step 102, it is determined whether or not the magnetic disc placed in the device is an information disc, i.e. , that it is determined whether photography control information is stored in this magnetic disc When the magnetic disc is an information disc, step 111 and the following steps are executed, but when the magnetic disc

  is a usual disc, steps 104 to 109 are executed.

  A case in which the usual disc is currently

  placed in the disk drive is described below.

  When an information disc has been previously placed, and step 111 and the following steps have been performed, the photograph control information is

  stored in the RAM of the system control unit il.

  Conversely, if step 111 and the following steps have not been performed, a program diagram, for example, which is stored beforehand in the ROM as basic photography control information is stored in RAM A step 104, the current content of the RAM is displayed by the display device 51 In more detail, the figures indicating the content of the photograph control information are stored in the RAM, and the one of the digits corresponding to the photograph control information is displayed in

step 104.

  In step 105, it is determined whether the photograph control information stored in the RAM is the same as the photograph control information stored in the ROM of the system control unit 11 When this information is the Likewise, the command goes to step 106 which is a photograph standby state, and thus a photograph operation based on the photograph control information stored in the RAM becomes possible. Conversely, when it is determined in step 105 that the photography control information stored in the ROM and in the RAM is different, it is determined in step 107 whether the photography control information currently stored in the RAM must be used for the photography operation This determination is carried out by an operation in which the photographer actuates a control switch 12 a according to the indication provided by the device

display 51, for example.

  When a photography operation is performed using the photography control information currently stored in RAM, the control goes to step 106 Conversely, when the photography is not performed using the photography control information currently stored in RAM, the command goes to step 108, and the information stored in an area of the RAM in which the information written in step 109 is stored is erased Then, the photograph control information base stored in ROM is written to RAM in step 109, and in step 110 the contents of RAM are displayed Namely, in step 110, the display device 51 does not display a digit (shown by the references D1 to D 4 in Figure 5), which means that the basic photography control information is stored in RAM The step 106 is a photography standby state in which an operation photography with the basic photography control information newly stored in RAM can be executed In this state, when the camera's shutter button is released, a photography operation depending on

  the photograph control information is executed.

  On the other hand, in step 103, if it is determined that an information disc is mounted in the disk drive,

  step 111 and the following steps are executed.

  First, in step 111, it is determined which track of the magnetic disc should be read. The instruction for this reading is given by an operation of the control switch 12b by the photographer When an instruction for reading a track is given in step 112, the photograph control information stored in the designated track is reproduced by the demodulation circuit DPSK 49, and the figure or the like (FIG. 5) indicating the function of the control information of

  photograph is displayed by the display device 51.

  Then, in step 113, based on the indications of the display device 51, the photographer determines whether or not the photograph control information is such

  as required, and it operates the control switch 12 a.

  When it is determined that the current photograph control information is not as required, the control returns to step 111 again, and the operation of selecting the photograph control information is repeated Conversely , when it is determined that the photograph control information present is

  as required, steps 114 and 115 are performed.

  In step 114, in the current photograph control information stored in the RAM of the system control unit 11, the information corresponding to the photograph control information reproduced in step 112 is deleted. namely, for example, a program diagram is reproduced as photograph control information, in step 112, the program diagram which had previously been stored in RAM is erased in step 114 Then at step 115, the photograph control information (for example, a program diagram) reproduced in step 112 is written

  in the RAM of the system control unit 11.

  Then, in step 133, it is determined whether the operation of selecting the photographic control information has been completed or not. This is carried out by an operation of the control switch 12c by the photographer When the operation of selection of the photography control information has been completed, this program ends But when the operation of selecting the photography control information has not been completed, the control returns again to step 111 By example, when a program diagram has been selected in a previous photograph control information selection operation, a designation of a plan change area, for example, can be performed by designating a predetermined track in step 111 in the next operation

  selection of photograph control information.

  When performing such an operation, the photograph control information of each of the program diagrams, the designation of the plan change area, the designation of the exposure mode, and the designation of the AF mode are stored in the RAM. of the system control unit 11 It should be noted that it is not necessary to read all of this information from an information disc; that is, instead of the photograph control information which is not read from the information disc, the information previously recorded in the ROM of the system control unit

it is used.

  On the other hand, in step 111, when it is determined that no instruction has been given to determine which track of the magnetic disc should be read, step 121 and the following steps are executed and photograph control information is reproduced on each track; and it is determined whether or not the photograph control information is as required, as is

described below.

  In step 121, a counter "t" is set to "1", and in step 122, the photograph control information stored in track track number "t" is reproduced by the demodulation circuit DPSK 49, and a figure or the like (Figure 5) indicating the functions of the photograph control information is displayed by the display device 51 Then, in step 123 based on the indication of the display device 51, the photographer determines whether or not the photograph control information is as required, and operates the control switch 12 a accordingly When it is determined that the present photograph control information is as required, steps 124 and 125 are executed These steps are the same as steps 114 and, and in these steps, the photograph control information currently stored in the RAM of the system control unit 11 is erased, and the new order information of photography is recorded

in RAM.

  In step 123, when it is determined that the photograph control information present is not as required, the command goes to step 131, in which the counter "t" is increased by "2" , and in step 132 it is determined whether the counter "t" has become greater than or equal to "49" If the counter "t" is smaller than "49", steps 122 and 123 are executed again A namely, the following photograph control information is reproduced, and it is determined whether or not this photograph control information is as required It should be noted that the counter "t" is increased by "2" in step 131 because the photograph control information is both recorded

disc tracks.

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step 132 that the counter "t" is greater than or equal to "49", the command returns to step 121, whereby the counter "t" is set to "1", and step 122 and the following steps

are executed again.

  As described above, since the embodiment is constructed in such a way that steps 122, 123 and 131 are executed until it is determined that the counter "t" has reached "49 "in step 132, an information disc can store 25 different photography control information In the example described with reference to Figure 5, however, since 12 photography control information is used, the program can be constructed in such a way that steps 122, 123 and 131 are executed until it is determined that the counter "t" has reached "25" in

step 132.

  After the execution of step 125, the control returns to step 133, and it is determined whether the operation of selecting the photography control information has been completed, as described above A namely, when it is determined that the operation for selecting the photography control information is completed, the program ends, and when it is determined that the operation for selecting the photography control information is not complete has not been completed, the command returns to

step 111.

  Therefore, after the photograph control information has been recorded in the RAM of the system control unit 11, the photographer can put a usual disc in the disc unit and execute a photograph operation by function of the selected photography control information When a modification of the photography control information is required, the information disc is again placed in the disk drive and the operations described above

are executed.

  Note that step 113, in which it is determined whether or not the reproduced photograph control information is as required, can be omitted, and step 114 is executed immediately after step

112 has been executed.

  As described above, this embodiment is constructed in such a way that a photography operation can be performed according to the photography control information stored in the information tracks of the magnetic disc, and since twenty-five different photography control information, for example, can be stored on an information disc, a photography operation can be performed according to photography control information different from the photography control information basic memorized in the ROM of the system control unit 11, and thus various photography operations can be performed Furthermore, since the photography control information is obtained from the magnetic disk, the apparatus does not require an exclusive implementation system for storing the photograph control information Therefore

  the construction of the device is simplified.

  Furthermore, the embodiment is constructed so that the photograph control information

  is modulated DPSK and stored in the magnetic disk.

  Therefore, basically only the DPSK modulation circuit 49 is required as a reproducing circuit to read the control information of

  photograph stored in the magnetic disc.

  Since DPSK modulation is performed in a low frequency band, the DPSK modulation circuit 49 is of a simple embodiment, and therefore, the construction of the control circuit (FIG. 1) in this embodiment

  is very simple, and it can be made at low cost.

  Although the photograph control information is obtained from the ROM of the system control unit in a conventional apparatus, the photograph control information is obtained from the magnetic disc in this embodiment Therefore , the ROM for storing photography control information does not need to be located in the camera or an area in the ROM for storing photo control information

  photograph command can be deleted.

  Although some preferred embodiments have been shown and described, it should be understood that many changes and modifications can be made

  here without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (7)

  1 magnetic disk mounted in an electronic still image camera, said magnetic disk (D) being characterized in that it comprises: at least one recording track (D 2) in which a video signal or an audio signal can be memorized; and means for storing control information for controlling a photographic operation of said electronic still image camera, said storing means being arranged in at least part of said recording track (D 2), said information being stored in the form of information   DPSK modulated (by differential phase shift).   2 magnetic disk according to claim 1, characterized in that a plurality of said recording tracks are provided, and each of said plurality of recording tracks stores a kind of   said control information, respectively.   3 magnetic disk according to claim 1, characterized in that the information indicating a function of said control information is stored in said recording track (D 2) in which said   control information is stored.   4 Magnetic disc according to claim 1, characterized in that said information is stored under   the form of DPSK modulated information.   Magnetic disk according to claim 1, characterized in that said control information is at least one of the information used to control an exposure value, of the information used to control a focal distance, and of the information used   to order a photography mode.   6 Magnetic disk mounted in an electronic still image camera, characterized in that said magnetic disk stores control information as a function of which said electronic still image camera is controlled, said control information being modulated DPSK to be stored in a recording track (D 2) formed on said magnetic disc (D). 7 Electronic still image camera in which a magnetic disk (D) is mounted; characterized in that it comprises: means for reading control information stored in said magnetic disk (D) in the form of DPSK modulated information; and means for controlling an operation of said electronic still image camera as a function of said order information.   8 electronic still image camera according to claim 7, characterized in that said magnetic disk (D) stores information indicating a function of said control information, and in that   said reading means read said information.   9 electronic still image camera according to claim 7, characterized in that said control means comprise means for storing said control information stored in said disc magnetic (D).