JP2000276559A - Data storage medium and its adapter - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a data storage medium which is provided with a displaying means composed of a memory liquid crystal and has excellent compatibility and operability. SOLUTION: This data storage medium is a memory card 56 where a liquid crystal display element 10 constructing a display screen by using memory liquid crystal is attached onto the surface of a housing 57 including a flash memory. The data of the flash memory are inputted or outputted to/from a connector 46 provided at one edge surface of the housing 57, and also, a drive signal to the element 10 is inputted to the connector 46.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a data storage medium such as a memory card and a floppy disk, and an adapter used when the medium is mounted on an information electronic device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the development of information electronic devices such as computers and digital cameras, electronic data has been generated daily. Although these data are ultimately stored on a storage medium, since they are electronic data, once they are stored once,
There is a problem that it must be set in a computer or the like.

[0003] In order to solve such a problem, there has been known an apparatus in which a display unit is provided on a storage medium to display the contents stored in the storage medium, as described below. JP 1
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 305784 describes that a liquid crystal display unit is provided on a memory card that is detachable from a digital camera to enable image display. JP-A-1-1175
Japanese Patent Publication No. 80 describes that a liquid crystal display unit is provided on a memory card that is detachable from a digital camera so that the remaining amount of memory can be displayed.

However, the display means in these storage media uses a liquid crystal which needs to be supplied with electric power in order to keep the display state, and if the daily check of the power supply is neglected, the display contents disappear without notice. It was inconvenient.

On the other hand, in recent years, liquid crystals having memory properties such as ferroelectric liquid crystals, cholesteric liquid crystals, and chiral nematic liquid crystals have become known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,625,477 discloses a method for performing multi-tone display using a chiral nematic liquid crystal. In the display means using these liquid crystals, power is required for updating the display, but power for maintaining the display state is not required.

In fact, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-317324 discloses an example in which ferroelectric liquid crystal is applied to an electronic camera. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 10-197850 discloses an example in which ferroelectric liquid crystal is used in a display device of a pen computer to save energy.

[0007]

However, when a memory liquid crystal is used in a storage medium, no consideration is given to compatibility with a conventional storage medium, display visibility, or operability. Did not.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a data storage medium having display means made of a memory liquid crystal and having good compatibility and operability. Still another object of the present invention is to provide an adapter for providing a data storage medium to an information electronic device, the adapter including a display unit made of a memory-like liquid crystal.

[0009]

To achieve the above object, a data storage medium according to the present invention has data storage means, a connector for inputting and outputting data to and from the data storage means, and a memory function. And display means for forming a display screen using liquid crystal, and a drive signal to the display means is input via the connector.

In the above data storage medium, the display means displays the storage contents of the medium and the like, so that the searchability is improved and the display can be updated. Moreover, since the display means made of the memory liquid crystal is used, no power is required to maintain the display, and energy can be saved. Further, in the data storage medium according to the present invention, the drive signal to the liquid crystal display means is input via the connector of the data storage means. Therefore, it is compatible with a conventional data storage medium having no display means.

In particular, when an error occurs in the data storage means or the display means, the occurrence of the error can be surely known by displaying the occurrence of the error on the display means. For this purpose, it is preferable to provide a dedicated capacitor so that the display means operates even when an error occurs.

[0012] Further, the data storage medium according to the present invention comprises:
Data storage means comprising a storage element and a housing accommodating the storage element, and display means comprising a liquid crystal with memory,
This display means is detachable from the surface of the housing. Even when the liquid crystal of the display means has deteriorated or failed, it can be easily replaced with a new one. The transmission of the drive signal to the display means may be configured such that the electrode provided on the back surface of the display means comes into contact with and separates from the electrode provided on the front surface of the housing as the display means is attached and detached.

If the display means is mounted in a recess formed in the surface of the housing, the surface of the housing can be kept substantially flat, which is convenient for handling. Further, if the display means is configured to be attachable to a predetermined mounting position on the housing only when the upper and lower sides and the left and right sides thereof coincide with each other, erroneous mounting of the display means can be reliably prevented. Further, if display means are attached to a plurality of surfaces of the housing, the variety of display and the searchability can be further improved.

If the housing is provided with an insertion portion for the display means and a display window, the display means can be easily replaced and protection can be achieved. In addition, if a configuration for inputting a signal for driving the display unit from the information electronic device is adopted, the display unit can be controlled from the outside, and the data storage medium does not need the control unit and has the display unit. It has compatibility with data storage media that do not have it, and can reduce the cost of the media itself. Furthermore, if the address controller of the storage unit and the display unit is used, the cost of the medium can be further reduced.

Further, the adapter according to the present invention is an adapter for mounting a data storage medium to an information electronic device, and includes a display means having a display screen using a liquid crystal having a memory function. A liquid crystal display function can be provided by attaching a conventional data storage medium having no liquid crystal display means to the adapter as it is. By incorporating a drive circuit for the display means in this adapter, the conventional data storage medium can be completely used even if the information electronic device does not support liquid crystal display.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of a data storage medium and an adapter thereof according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(Configuration of Memory Card with Memory Liquid Crystal)
A memory card with a memory-like liquid crystal according to an embodiment of the present invention is based on the PCMCIA type 2 standard,
PCMCI for digital cameras and personal computers
It is used by attaching it to the A card slot. A well-known flash memory is used for the memory unit, and a liquid crystal composition having a memory property and exhibiting a cholesteric phase at room temperature (hereinafter, referred to as cholesteric liquid crystal) is used for the display unit.

(Display Principle of Memory Liquid Crystal) First, a liquid crystal display element used as a display unit will be described.
This liquid crystal display element is composed of a liquid crystal display element in which cholesteric liquid crystal is sandwiched between substrates, and a driving unit thereof. FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional structure of a liquid crystal display element 10 as an example.

In FIG. 1, reference numerals 11, 12, 13, and 14 denote transparent substrates, and a plurality of transparent electrodes 15 and 16 are formed on the front and back surfaces of these transparent substrates in a strip shape and in a matrix shape orthogonal to each other. ing. A voltage is applied to a portion where the electrodes 15 and 16 intersect as described below, and this portion constitutes one pixel. 17 is a transparent substrate 11-14
Between the pixels, and are provided at equal intervals (random arrangement) over the entire surface of the transparent substrate between the pixels (see FIG. 2). Reference numeral 18 denotes a cholesteric liquid crystal composition. Reference numeral 19 denotes a sealing material for sealing the liquid crystal composition 18 between the transparent substrates. Each substrate 11 to
14 may be provided with transparent films 15 and 16 and further provided with an insulating film and an orientation control film as required.

In the liquid crystal display element 10, a red layer R for displaying by switching between a red selective reflection state and a transparent state is disposed on a light absorber 20, and a green selective reflection state and a transparent state are disposed thereon. And a green layer G for performing display by switching between them, and a blue layer B for performing display by switching between a blue selective reflection state and a transparent state.

In the liquid crystal display element 10, when the liquid crystal is in a planar arrangement, it is in a selective reflection state, and when it is in a focal conic reflection state, it is in a transparent state. That is, when the liquid crystal is in the planar state, assuming that the helical pitch of the cholesteric liquid crystal is P and the average refractive index of the liquid crystal is n, light of wavelength λ = P · n is selectively reflected.

In the focal conic state, visible light is scattered when the selective reflection wavelength of the cholesteric liquid crystal is in the infrared light region, and visible light is transmitted when the selective reflection wavelength is shorter than that. Therefore, the observation side of the liquid crystal display element 10 (arrow A)
By providing the light absorber 20 on the side opposite to the side opposite to the reference color and setting the selective reflection wavelength in the visible light region, display in a specific color (planar state) and black (focal conic state) is possible. Further, when the selective reflection wavelength is set in the infrared light region, it is possible to display black (planar state) and white (focal conic state) due to scattering.

Assuming that a first threshold voltage for untwisting a liquid crystal exhibiting a cholesteric phase is Vth1, a voltage Vt
After applying h1 for a sufficient time, the voltage is changed to the first threshold voltage V
When the voltage is reduced to the second threshold value Vth2 or less, which is smaller than th1, a planar state is set. Further, when a voltage of Vth2 or more and Vth1 or less is applied for a sufficient time, a focal conic state is established. These two states are stably maintained even after the voltage application is stopped. It is also known that a mixture of these two states exists, and it is known that halftone display (gradation display) is possible (US Pat. No. 5,384,067). reference).

As shown in FIG. 3, the pixel configuration of the liquid crystal display element 10 includes a plurality of scanning electrodes R1, R2 to Rm.
And signal electrodes C1, C2 to Cn (m and n are natural numbers). The scanning electrodes R1, R2 to Rm are connected to the output terminal of the scanning drive circuit 21, and the signal electrodes C1, C
2 to Cn are connected to output terminals of the signal drive circuit 22.

The scan drive circuit 21 includes scan electrodes R1, R2
... Rm to a selected state by outputting a selection signal, while outputting a non-selection signal to the other electrodes in a non-selected state. The scanning drive circuit 21 sequentially switches each of the scanning electrodes R1, R2 to Rm while switching the electrodes at predetermined time intervals.
Is applied to the selection signal. On the other hand, the signal drive circuit 22
Simultaneously outputs a signal corresponding to image data to each of the signal electrodes C1, C2 to Cn in order to rewrite each pixel on the scanning electrodes R1, R2 to Rm in the selected state. For example, when the scanning electrode Ra is selected (a is a natural number satisfying a ≦ m), the scanning electrode Ra and each of the signal electrodes C1, C2 to Cn
, The pixels LRa-C1 to LRa-Cn at the intersection with are rewritten simultaneously. Thereby, the voltage difference between the scanning electrode and the signal electrode in each pixel becomes the rewriting voltage of the pixel,
Each pixel is rewritten according to the rewriting voltage.

For example, as shown in FIG. 4, when image data to be displayed is represented by a matrix of m rows and n columns represented by [Pij], first, a row vector (P11, P12,
, P1n), a pulse voltage corresponding to the data of the first row is applied to the signal electrodes C1, C2,..., Cn, and R1 of the scan electrodes R1, R2, R3,.
Only at a predetermined potential. As a result, the pixel row L11,
, L1n are in the planar state or the focal conic state, and the display state of each pixel L11, L12,..., L1n is maintained even when the application of the voltage to the scanning electrode R1 is released.

Similarly, the row vectors (Pi1, Pi2,
, Pin), a pulse voltage corresponding to the data on the i-th row is applied to the signal electrodes C1, C2,..., Cn, and among the scan electrodes R1, R2, R3,.
Only at a predetermined potential. As a result, the pixel row Li1,
, Lin only become the planar state or the focal conic state, and the display state of each pixel Li1, Li2,..., Lin is maintained even if the application of the voltage to the scanning electrode Ri is released. This is sequentially repeated for all i satisfying 1 ≦ i ≦ m, whereby the display of one screen [Pij] is completed, and the state is maintained.

Such a matrix drive is performed by using each of the layers B,
A full-color image is displayed on the liquid crystal display element 10 by sequentially or simultaneously performing each of G and R. A moving image can be displayed by driving the liquid crystal while changing the data [Pij] corresponding to the screen in time series.

(Materials that can be used for Liquid Crystal Display Device and Manufacturing Method) As the transparent substrate, a colorless and transparent glass substrate or a polymer film such as polyether sulfone,
Resins such as polycarbonate and polyethylene terephthalate can be used.

As the electrode, a transparent electrode such as an ITO film or a Nesa film can be used. The electrode may be formed on the transparent substrate by a sputtering method or a vacuum evaporation method. For the lowermost electrode, a black electrode can be used including the role as a light absorber.

As the liquid crystal material, a material showing a cholesteric phase at room temperature is particularly preferable. As such a liquid crystal material, a so-called chiral nematic liquid crystal in which a chiral material is added to a nematic liquid crystal so as to exhibit a cholesteric phase at room temperature can be suitably used. Specific examples of suitable nematic liquid crystals include, but are not limited to, liquid crystalline tolan compounds, liquid crystalline pyrimidine compounds, liquid crystalline ester compounds, liquid crystalline cyanobiphenyl compounds,
Compounds containing a liquid crystal phenylcyclohexyl compound, a liquid crystal terphenyl compound, a mixture thereof, or the like as a main component are exemplified. Dyes such as dichroic dyes may be added.

As the columnar structure, for example, a thermoplastic resin can be used. For this purpose, it is desired that the material is softened by heating and solidified by cooling, does not cause a chemical change with the liquid crystal material, and has appropriate elasticity. Although the columnar structure functions as a spacer between the substrates, a conventionally used spherical spacer made of an inorganic material may be used in combination.

(Configuration of Memory Card with Memory Liquid Crystal)
Memory cards having a display unit using a memory liquid crystal as described above are roughly classified into two types, a memory unit / display unit integrated type and a display unit / memory unit separated type, according to the configuration of the display unit. is there.

(Integrated Memory / Display Unit) FIGS. 5 and 6
The memory card 40 shown in FIG. 1 conforms to the PCMCIA type 2 standard, and has a drive circuit 45 including flash memories 43 and 44 and an address decoder on a substrate (not shown) in a metal card case 41; The device 10 and its driving circuits 21 and 22 are arranged. A transparent plastic window 42 is formed in a case 41 at a portion corresponding to the liquid crystal display element 10. One side of the case 41 has a connector 46 of PCMCIA standard.
Is provided. The memory card 40 is used by attaching it to an information electronic device such as a digital camera or a personal computer having a PCMCIA standard connector in the direction of the arrow X.

In this memory card 40, electric power is supplied from the information electronic device. However, since the display section is constituted by liquid crystal having a memory function, the memory card 40 is removed from the information electronic device and becomes non-conductive. The display of the liquid crystal display element 10 can be continued even when the power is turned on. Details of the display mode will be described later. The connector 46 also has a function of inputting power and a drive signal to the drive circuits 21 and 22 of the liquid crystal display element 10 at the same time as a function of inputting and outputting power and a signal to and from the memory unit.

(Separated memory / display unit type) An adapter type for utilizing an existing memory card (having no liquid crystal display element 10), and for facilitating replacement when the liquid crystal display element 10 is deteriorated. There is a type in which a display unit is attached to a housing of a memory card.

(Adapter Type) As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a liquid crystal display element 10 is provided on a PC card adapter 52 for a compact flash memory card 50 widely used as a data storage medium of a digital camera. is there. The display of the liquid crystal display element 10 can be seen from the transparent plastic window 53. Memory card 50 is attached to the direction of arrow X ₁ in the frame portion 54 of the adapter 52, the connector 51 connected to the drive circuits 21 and 22 are coupled to a connector 55 provided in the adapter 52. The connector 55 is connected to the connector 46 provided on one side of the adapter 52. FIG.
8 and FIG. 8, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 indicate the same members.

(Display Part Pasting Type) As shown in FIG. 9B, a recess 58 for pasting the display part is formed on the surface of the housing 57 of the compact flash memory card 56. Is provided with an electrode 59 for driving the display section. The liquid crystal display element 10 is integrally bonded to a support 25. The driving circuit 2 is provided on the back surface of the support 25.
An electrode 26 electrically connected to the first and second electrodes 22 is provided. The center of the back surface of the support 25 is attached to the recess 58 with a double-sided tape or an adhesive to form the electrode 2.
6, 59 are electrically connected.

A bulge 58a is formed in the recess 58, and a dent 25a is formed in the support 25. The liquid crystal display element 10 cannot be set in the recess 58 unless the depression 25a matches the bulging portion 58a, so that the liquid crystal display element 10 is not attached in the wrong direction. Of course, the size of the support 25 is slightly smaller than the recess 58, and
With the liquid crystal display element 10 attached to the memory card 56, the surface of the display element 10 and the recess 5
8 so that the surface of the part other than 8 is flush with the surface.
8, the thickness of the electrodes 26 and 59, the thickness of the support 25 and the thickness of the display element 10 are set. Therefore, the liquid crystal display element 10 is not peeled off when the memory card 56 with the memory function liquid crystal is mounted on a digital camera or a personal computer, and the liquid crystal is deteriorated or damaged. The operation can be easily performed even when it is desired to replace the display unit.

Further, instead of attaching the display unit, a slot may be provided in the memory card and mounted. This example is shown in FIG. 10 and FIG. That is, the connector 4 of the housing 61 of the compact flash memory card 60
6 and on the opposite side, a slot 62 is provided for inserting the display unit composed of a liquid crystal display device 10 formed on a supporting member 27, the slot display section in the direction of arrow X ₁ 62
By mounting the device to the bottom, electrical connection between the electrode 26 of the liquid crystal display element 10 and the electrode 59 (see FIG. 12) provided inside the housing 61 is achieved.

Further, a transparent plastic window 63 corresponding to a place where the liquid crystal display element 10 is to be inserted is provided on the surface of the housing 61. It can be used as Further, the housing 61 is provided with a lever 64 for taking out the display unit from the slot 62. Regarding the take-out mechanism provided with this lever 64,
Since this is the same as a well-known PCMCIA slot, its description is omitted.

FIG. 12 shows a memory / display separate type (FIG.
11 (see FIG. 10). The reference numerals assigned to the circuit members are the same as those in FIG. 6, and the description thereof is omitted.

(Driving Circuit) Here, regarding the mechanism for displaying the contents of image data on the liquid crystal display element 10, particularly the details of the scanning driving circuit 21 and the signal driving circuit 22 are shown in FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 13 shows a portion related to driving of the liquid crystal display element 10.
Actually, the flash memories 43 and 44 are mounted on the memory card as described above.

A memory card with a liquid crystal display is a PCM controlled by a CPU of a digital camera or a personal computer via a card interface.
It conforms to the CIA specification. Accordingly, the terminals of the card include four types of terminals (all not shown) of a data bus, an address bus, a control bus, a power supply line, and a ground line. When displaying an image on the liquid crystal display element 10, a CPU such as a digital camera or a personal computer issues a write command to the control bus, designates an address, and outputs data.

Based on the output of the data, the timing controller 70 first stores the image data to be displayed on the first line in the line buffer 71, and when the storage is completed, the image data on the first line The columns are read simultaneously, and the timing is controlled so that each D / A converter 72 converts the 8-bit image data into an analog image signal.

A voltage of +5 V is supplied to this drive circuit from a power supply of a digital camera or a personal computer via a memory card interface. However, in order to drive the liquid crystal display element 10, it is necessary to set the potential difference between the electrodes to a predetermined value in order to change the state of the liquid crystal to a focal conic state or a planar state. Therefore, the input voltage is boosted to a predetermined value by the DC / DC converter 73 and then supplied to the driving buffer 74. As a result, the driving buffer 74 stores the D /
The analog image signal output from the A converter 72 is amplified and applied to the electrode rows C1, C2,..., Cn.

On the other hand, the timing controller 70
At the timing to display the image data on the line,
Data is sent to the decoder 75 such that only the switching circuit 76-1 is turned on and the other switching circuits are turned off. When only the switching circuit 76-1 is turned on,
The output of the DC / DC converter 73 is applied only to the electrode row R1. As a result, only the first row of the electrodes becomes a display state corresponding to the image data, and the display state is maintained even if the voltage application is stopped because the liquid crystal has a memory property.

Similarly, for displaying the image data of the i-th row (1 ≦ i ≦ m), the image data of the i-th row is stored in the line buffer 71 based on the timing signal (in the column direction). At the stage where the storage is completed, the i-th row of image data is simultaneously read out of each column, and the D / A converter 72 converts the 8-bit image data into an analog image signal. 72 amplifies the analog image signal output from the electrode array C1, C2,
..., applied to Cn.

On the other hand, the timing controller 70
At the timing to display the image data on the line,
Data is sent to the decoder 75 such that only the switching circuit 76-i is turned on and the other switching circuits are turned off. Therefore, the output of the DC / DC converter 73 is applied only to the electrode row Ri, and only the i-th row among the electrodes becomes a display state corresponding to the image data, and the display state is maintained even when the voltage application is stopped.

The above driving is repeated over one screen.
If the screen is further updated, it is rewritten from the first line in the same procedure each time.

As described above, the signal drive circuit 22 includes the line buffer 71, the D / A converter 72, and the drive buffer 74, and the scan drive circuit 21 includes the timing controller 70, the DC / DC converter 73, the decoder 75, It comprises switching circuits 76-1 to 76-m. The timing controller 70 and the DC / DC
Converter 73 may be included in signal drive circuit 22. Further, it is not difficult to configure these circuits on one chip. Further, since the liquid crystal display element 10 performs a full color display, the driving circuits 21 and 22 need three RGB channels. Therefore, actually, three sets of the signal drive circuit 22, the decoder 75, and the switching circuits 76-1 to 76-m are provided, and these are controlled by one timing controller 70.

By the way, because of the nature of a memory card, which is a storage medium that can be exchanged for information electronic equipment, the driving form is such that the memory card itself has a built-in drive unit in which a drive circuit is built in, or a common part in the drive circuit. There are two types, an external drive unit type in which is disposed outside the memory card.

(Driving unit built-in type) This is a liquid crystal display element 1
All the drive circuits of 0 are built in the memory card, and display of one screen is completed only by sending RGB data for display from the outside. Therefore, there is an advantage that control is simplified. Also, as in the example described above, PCMCIA
When using a general-purpose interface such as this, it is necessary to adopt this method.

(External type of drive unit) In this type, a part of the drive circuit of the liquid crystal display element 10 is provided in a device such as a digital camera or a personal computer to which a memory card is attached. Therefore, there are advantages that the memory card becomes compact and the cost is reduced.

In the drive circuit shown in FIG. 13, the block surrounded by double lines is a block which is preferably mounted on a memory card, and the other blocks are blocks which can be mounted on a digital camera or a personal computer. Applicable. By mounting a block surrounded by at least a double line on a memory card, there is an advantage that it is not necessary to increase the number of pins of the connector so much even if the number of electrodes increases with the number of display pixels.

(Digital Camera That Can Use Memory Card with Memory Liquid Crystal) A digital camera that can use the memory card with memory liquid crystal described above as a storage medium for image data will be described.

In this digital camera, since the display section is provided on the memory card, various displays of the digital camera may be displayed on the display section on the memory card. First, however, a description will be given of a type that does not double as a display unit of a digital camera and a display unit of a memory card.

(Display Non-Combined Type) (Configuration of Digital Camera) As shown in FIGS. 14 to 17, the digital camera 100 includes a camera body 102 and an image pickup unit 103. The imaging unit 103 is detachable from the right side of the camera body 102 when viewed from the front.

The image pickup unit 103 has a well-known CCD 303 (FIG. 18) which functions as a color area sensor at an appropriate position behind the zoom lens 301 having a macro function as a photographing lens.
Reference). In addition, similarly to a camera using a silver halide film, a dimming circuit 304 including a dimming sensor 305 that receives reflected light of a flash light from a subject in an appropriate position in the imaging unit 103, for measuring the distance to the subject. A distance measurement sensor 306 and an optical finder 307 are provided.

On the other hand, inside the image pickup section 103, a zoom motor M1 (FIG. 1) for changing the zoom ratio of the zoom lens 301 and moving the lens between the accommodation position / photographing position.
8) and a motor M2 for focusing.

A grip section 104 and a built-in flash 105 are provided on the front of the camera body section 102.
An IRDA port 106 for performing infrared communication between the digital camera 100 and an external device (for example, another digital camera or a personal computer) is provided. A shutter button 10 is provided on the upper surface of the camera body 102.
9 are provided.

As shown in FIG. 15, the camera body 102
An LCD display section 110 for displaying a captured image on a monitor (corresponding to a viewfinder) and displaying and reproducing a stored image is provided substantially at the center of the rear surface of the LCD. Also, LC
The digital camera 100 is located below the D display unit 110.
Switch group 111 and power switch 11
2 are provided. On the left side of the power switch 112, there are provided an LED 113 that lights up when the power is on, and an LED 114 that indicates that the memory card is being accessed.

Further, on the back of the camera body 102,
Shooting / switching between “shooting mode” and “playback mode”
A reproduction mode setting switch 120 is provided. The photographing mode is a mode in which a photograph is taken, and the playback mode is a mode in which a photographed image recorded on a memory card is displayed on the LCD display unit 110.
Is a mode for reproducing and displaying. The shooting / playback mode setting switch 120 is a two-contact slide switch. For example, when the switch is slid downward, the playback mode is set, and when the switch is slid upward, the shooting mode is set.

On the right side of the back of the camera body 102, a four-way switch is provided.
By pressing the button 22, the zoom motor M1 is driven to perform zooming, and by pressing the buttons 123 and 124, the exposure is corrected.

In FIG. 15, an LCD button 311 and a macro button 312 are provided on the back side of the imaging unit 103. LCD button 311 is pressed every time LC is pressed.
The on / off state of the D display unit 110 is switched. For example, when photographing is performed exclusively using the optical viewfinder 307, the LCD display unit 110 can be turned off for power saving. When the macro button 312 is pressed during macro shooting, the focus motor M2 is driven, and the shooting lens 301 enters a state in which macro shooting is possible.

As shown in FIG. 16, the digital camera 10
0, the DC input terminal 308 and the LCD display unit 1
A video output terminal 309 is provided for outputting the image displayed on 10 to an external video monitor.

As shown in FIG. 17, the camera body 102
A battery loading chamber 131 and a card loading chamber 132 for a memory card are provided on the bottom surface, and the loading chambers 131 and 132 are closed by a clamshell type lid 130. The digital camera 100 uses a power supply battery 135 that is formed by connecting four AA batteries in series as a drive source. Further, on the bottom surface, a release lever 136 for releasing the engagement between the imaging section 103 and the main body section 102 connected by a connector and a hook-shaped connecting tool is provided.

(Control Circuit) Next, a control circuit of the image pickup section 103 will be described with reference to FIG. CCD303
Converts the light image of the subject formed by the macro zoom lens 301 into image signals of R (red), G (green), and B (blue) color components (from a signal train of pixel signals received by each pixel). ) And output. The timing generator 314 generates various timing pulses for controlling driving of the CCD 303.

The exposure control in the image pickup unit 103 is performed by adjusting the exposure amount of the CCD 303, that is, the charge accumulation time of the CCD 303 corresponding to the shutter speed, since the stop is a fixed stop. If an appropriate shutter speed cannot be set when the subject brightness is low, the CCD 3
By performing the level adjustment of the image signal output from the device 03, the improper exposure due to the insufficient exposure is corrected. That is, when the luminance is low, the exposure control is performed by combining the shutter speed and the gain adjustment. The level adjustment of the image signal is performed in the gain adjustment of the AGC circuit in the signal processing circuit 313.

The timing generator 314 generates a drive control signal for the CCD 303 based on the reference clock transmitted from the timing control circuit 202. For example,
Integration start / end (exposure start / end) timing signal,
Readout control signal (horizontal synchronization signal,
A clock signal such as a vertical synchronization signal and a transfer signal is generated and output to the CCD 303.

The signal processing circuit 313 performs predetermined analog signal processing on the image signal (analog signal) output from the CCD 303. This signal processing circuit 313 has a CDS
It has a (correlated double sampling) circuit and an AGC (auto gain control) circuit. The CDS circuit reduces noise of the image signal, and the level of the image signal is adjusted by adjusting the gain of the AGC circuit.

The light control circuit 304 controls the light emission amount of the built-in flash 105 during flash photography to a predetermined light emission amount set by the overall control unit 211. In the flash photography, the reflected light of the flash light from the subject is received by the sensor 305 at the same time as the exposure starts, and when the amount of received light reaches a predetermined amount of light emission, the light control circuit 3
04 outputs a light emission stop signal. The flash drive circuit 216 forcibly stops the light emission of the built-in flash 105 in response to the light emission stop signal, whereby the light emission amount of the built-in flash 105 is controlled to a predetermined light emission amount.

The image pickup section 103 and the main body section 102 are provided with seven groups of connection terminal groups 334a, 334b, 334c, 334d, 33 provided on the mounting surface 334 of the image pickup section 103.
4e, 334f, 334g and the connection surface 2 of the main body 102
34, seven connection terminal groups 234a, 2
34b, 234c, 234d, 234e, 234f, 2
34g, they are electrically connected.

Next, a control circuit of the camera body 102 will be described. A / D in the camera body 102
The converter 205 converts each pixel signal of the image signal into a 10-bit digital signal. That is, each pixel signal (analog signal) is converted into a 10-bit digital signal based on an A / D conversion clock input from the timing control circuit 202.

The timing control circuit 202 includes a reference clock, a timing generator 314, and an A / D converter 20.
5 for generating a clock for the overall control unit 21.
1 is controlled.

The black level correction circuit 206 corrects the black level of the A / D converted pixel signal (hereinafter referred to as pixel data) to a reference black level. The WB circuit 207 performs level conversion of pixel data of each of the R, G, and B color components so that the white balance is also adjusted after the γ correction. The WB circuit 207 uses the level conversion table input from the overall control unit 211 to convert the level of the pixel data of each of the R, G, and B color components. The conversion coefficient (gradient of the characteristic) of each color component in the level conversion table is set by the overall control unit 211 for each captured image.

The γ correction circuit 208 corrects the γ characteristics of the pixel data. The image memory 209 is a memory that stores the pixel data output from the gamma correction circuit 208. The image memory 209 has a storage capacity for one frame. That is, the image memory 209 stores the CCD 303
Has n rows and m columns of pixels, it has a storage capacity for pixel data of n × m pixels, and each pixel data is stored in a corresponding pixel position.

The VRAM 210 is a buffer memory for image data reproduced and displayed on the LCD display unit 110. The VRAM 210 has a storage capacity of image data corresponding to the number of pixels of the LCD display unit 110.

In the photographing standby state, each pixel data of an image photographed by the
After undergoing predetermined signal processing by the / D converters 205 to γ correction circuit 208, the signals are stored in the image memory 209, transferred to the VRAM 210 via the overall control unit 211, and displayed on the LCD display unit 110. (Live view display). Thereby, the photographer can visually recognize the subject image from the image displayed on the LCD display unit 110. Further, in the reproduction mode, the image read from the memory card is subjected to predetermined signal processing by the overall control unit 211, and then transferred to the VRAM 210, where the image is read from the LCD display unit 110.
Will be displayed.

The card I / F 212 is an interface for writing image data to a memory card and reading image data.

The flash drive circuit 216 is a circuit for controlling light emission of the built-in flash 105. The drive circuit 216 controls the presence / absence of light emission of the built-in flash 105, the amount of light emission, the light emission timing, and the like based on the control signal of the overall control unit 211, and controls the built-in flash 105 based on the light emission stop signal input from the dimming circuit 304. Controls the amount of light emission. The RTC 219 is a clock circuit for managing the shooting date and time, and is driven by another power source (not shown). Operation unit 2
Reference numeral 50 denotes the various keys, switches, and buttons described above.

The shutter button 109 is a two-stage switch capable of detecting a half-pressed state S1 and a depressed state S2 as employed in a camera using a silver halide film. When the shutter button 109 is set to the S1 state in the standby state, distance information from the distance measurement sensor 306 is input to the overall control unit 211. The overall control unit 211 drives the AF motor M2 based on the distance information, and moves the zoom lens 301 to a focus position.

The overall control section 211 is composed of a CPU, and controls the driving of each member in the image pickup section 103 and the camera body section 102 in an organic manner so as to totally control the photographing operation of the digital camera 100. The peripheral circuits and the like are connected by an address bus, a data bus, and a control bus. Note that, in FIG. 18, arrows are shown for convenience to show the flow of signals and image data, and in actuality, image data is sent to each circuit via the overall control unit 211, For this purpose, a work memory (not shown) and an R for storing a program are stored.
OM is built in.

The overall control section 211 includes a luminance determination section for setting an exposure control value (shutter speed) and a shutter speed setting section. The luminance determination unit is
In the photographing standby state, 1/30
The brightness of the subject is determined using an image captured every (second). That is, the brightness determination unit determines the brightness of the subject using the image data stored in the image memory 209 in an updated manner. The shutter speed setting unit sets the shutter speed (the integration time of the CCD 303) based on the result of the brightness determination of the subject by the brightness determination unit.

Further, the overall control unit 211 includes a filter unit for performing a filtering process and a recorded image generating unit for generating a thumbnail image and a compressed image in order to perform the recording process of the photographed image. In order to reproduce the recorded image on the LCD display unit 110, a reproduction image generation unit for generating a reproduction image is provided.

The filter section corrects the high-frequency component of the image to be recorded by the digital filter and corrects the image quality related to the outline.

The recording image generator reads out the pixel data from the image memory 209 and generates a thumbnail image and a compressed image to be recorded on the memory card. The recording image generation unit reads pixel data for every eight pixels in both the horizontal direction and the vertical direction while scanning the image in the raster scanning direction from the image memory 209, and sequentially transfers the pixel data to the memory card. While being generated, it is recorded on the memory card.

Further, the recording image generating section is provided with the image memory 20.
9, all pixel data are read out, and these pixel data are subjected to a predetermined compression process according to the JPEG system such as two-dimensional DCT conversion and Huffman coding to generate image data of a compressed image. Record in the image area.

When the photographing is instructed by the shutter button 109 in the photographing mode, the overall control unit 211
A thumbnail image of the image fetched into the image memory 209 after the photographing instruction and a compressed image compressed by the JPEG method according to the compression ratio set by the compression ratio setting switch are generated. Then, the generated compression is performed together with tag information (frame number, exposure value, shutter speed, compression ratio, shooting date, flash ON / OFF data at shooting, scene information, image determination result, etc.) regarding the shot image. The image is stored on the memory card.

Each frame of the image recorded by the digital camera 100 includes a tag portion, high-resolution image data (1600 × 1200 pixels) compressed in JPEG format, and image data for thumbnail display (80 × 60 pixels). Is recorded. The capacity of one frame of image data is about 1 MB.

When the photographing / reproduction mode setting switch 120 is set to the reproduction mode, the image data having the largest frame number in the memory card is read out, the data is decompressed by the reproduction image generation section, and transferred to the VRAM 210. As a result, the image with the largest frame number, that is, the most recently captured image is displayed on the LCD display unit 110. By operating the UP switch 111a, an image with a large frame number is displayed, and the DOWN switch 111
By pressing b, an image with a small frame number is displayed.

(Display Sequence of Liquid Crystal Display Element)
An example of a data display sequence on the liquid crystal display element 10 in the non-display unit type will be described.

(1) Image Update on Card As an example of a memory card, a memory card 56 of a separated memory section / display section and a built-in drive section shown in FIG.
9 and FIG. As described above, the memory card 56 is compatible with a conventional general memory card. The liquid crystal display element 10 includes 300 pixels in the column direction and 400 pixels in the row direction in FIG. 19, and the electrodes 15 and 16 are provided corresponding to the number of pixels.

Such a memory card 56 is provided to the user with the liquid crystal display element 10 in a non-display state (FIG. 19).
reference). The control procedure described below is based on the assumption that the user updates the thumbnail of the captured image on the liquid crystal display element 10 every time the user mounts the memory card 56 on the digital camera 100 and shoots.

That is, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 21, when the digital camera 100 is started, first, in step S10, the presence or absence of a memory card is determined. If no card has been inserted, a warning display indicating no card is displayed in step S11. If there is a card, step S1
In step 2, it is determined whether or not a memory card with a memory liquid crystal is inserted. The type of the memory card is determined based on an attribute (data set in advance at a predetermined address) given to the card. If no card is inserted, or if a conventional memory card is inserted (NO in step S12), a conventional digital camera process is performed in step S13. If a memory card with a memory-equipped liquid crystal is inserted, it is determined in step S14 whether a format for a digital camera is necessary.

If a format is required, step S
At 15, a format process is performed. In the formatting process in step S15, the formatting process is started after the user confirmation, and during the formatting process, the overall control unit 211 transmits the liquid crystal display element 10 via the card I / F 212.
Perform write processing to the After formatting is completed,
0, a frame 80 for displaying thumbnails, the number of shot frames 82, the free space of the card 8 is displayed on the liquid crystal display element 10.
3 is displayed. The size of one thumbnail image is 8
Since it is 0 × 60 mm and there is a margin for displaying surrounding information, 16 thumbnail images can be displayed. Note that, depending on the image size of the digital camera and the capacity of the memory card, it may be possible to capture 16 or more frames. At that time, the thumbnail image is reduced in size to display all the frames, or only the 16 most recently shot frames are displayed based on the shooting time.

If the format is unnecessary (step S
14 is NO), and the digital camera 100 is
It is determined by a flag (not shown) whether or not this state is a state immediately after the memory card with memory liquid crystal is mounted. This flag is reset to 0 when there is no memory card, and is set to 1 when the memory card is installed. Therefore, it can be determined by detecting a change in this flag.

Immediately after the card is inserted, there is a possibility that the display of the liquid crystal display element is disturbed by the pressing when the card is inserted. Therefore, the display of the liquid crystal display element is updated in step S17 even if no image is taken. Specifically, a process of reading and displaying the thumbnail images recorded on the memory card is performed. Thereafter, the control for the liquid crystal display element is performed in step S18.

Next, the control procedure of the liquid crystal display element in step S18 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, in step S21, the mode of the camera is determined. If the mode is the shooting mode, steps S22 to S24
Is performed. That is, it is determined whether or not the shutter button 109 has been pressed in step S22, that is, whether or not the camera has entered the S2 state. If the shutter button 109 is pressed, image processing of the captured image data and recording processing to the flash memory in the memory card 56 are performed in step S23. Further, in step S24, the thumbnail image of the liquid crystal display element 10 is updated. That is, as shown in FIG. 23, the thumbnail image 85 of the captured image and the frame number 81 are displayed at the display position of each frame. At the same time, the number of shot frames 82 and the display 83 of the free space of the memory card 56 are also updated. Next, other processing of the photographing mode is performed in step S25, and the process proceeds to step S33.

Since the liquid crystal display element 10 has a configuration in which the signal drive circuit 22 drives the signal electrodes arranged in the column direction as described above, data is written in row units. Therefore, the addition of the thumbnail image is performed in the row direction as indicated by the arrow Y in FIG. If the thumbnail image is added in the column direction (perpendicular to the arrow)
For example, when the thumbnail image of the second frame is added, it is necessary to rewrite the image of the first frame again, and it takes time to display.

If the signal drive circuit 22 is configured to drive the electrodes arranged in the row direction, the thumbnail images are added in the column direction. That is, the additional direction of the thumbnail image is made to coincide with the arrangement direction of the electrodes driven by the scanning drive circuit 21.

On the other hand, in the playback mode, the L
The CD display unit 110 can display a list of captured images, format a memory card, and delete specific images. FIG. 24 shows the main part of the screen transition in the playback mode. Immediately after switching from the photographing mode to the reproduction mode, the photographed image with the highest frame number is displayed, and the screen shifts to the menu selection screen D1 by a predetermined operation of the operation key 111.

On the screen D1, four modes shown in the figure can be selected.
By pressing 4, a selection can be made cyclically. When the execution key 111d is pressed while the format of the memory card is selected on the screen D1, the screen D
2 and the display state of "FORMING" is displayed. When the formatting of the memory card is completed, the screen returns to the screen D1.

Further, when the user selects "delete image data" and presses the execution key 111d, the screen transits to the screen D3, and a list of captured images is displayed. At this time, the four keys 121 to 12
By the operation of 4, the specific frame image is selected, and a frame 90 is displayed around the selected image. When the delete key 111d is pressed on the screen D3, the image data of the specific frame in the memory card is deleted. Pressing the return key 111f returns to the screen D1.

Returning to FIG. 22, the above operation will be described with reference to a flowchart. In step S26, it is determined whether the format of the memory card is specified. If the format is specified and the execution of the format is instructed, the memory card is formatted in step S27. Next, in step S28, the liquid crystal display element 1
The display state of “0” is updated so that all thumbnail images are deleted.

When the deletion of the image data is designated (YES in step S29), the image data of the designated frame is deleted in step S30, and the thumbnail image is updated in step S31. That is, if the data of the n-th frame is deleted, the captured image data of the (n + 1) -th frame is re-registered as the image of the n-th frame, and the thumbnail image of the captured image data of the (n + 1) -th frame is replaced with the n-th frame. Display again on the frame. These processes are performed on all image data after the (n + 1) th frame. In step S32, other processes in the reproduction mode are executed, and the process proceeds to step S33.

In steps S33 to S35, a power cutoff process is executed. In step S33, it is determined whether an instruction to turn off the power has been issued by operating the power switch 112. If there is no power-off operation, the process returns to the main routine. If the power-off operation has been performed, the process waits for the completion of the drawing of the thumbnail image in step S34, and then proceeds to step S35.
To execute the power cutoff process. This can prevent the disadvantage that the power is turned off during the update of the thumbnail image.

(Display / Common Type) Since the memory card according to the present invention is provided with a liquid crystal display, the liquid crystal display can also be used to display the contents stored in the memory card as well as the operation display of the digital camera. Conceivable. Less than,
A description will be given of the digital camera that also serves as a display unit. The front and side views of the camera 100 'are as shown in FIGS. 14 and 16, and the rear view is shown in FIG.
FIG. 26 shows a bottom view. The reference numerals are common to those in FIGS. 14 to 17, and the duplicate description will be omitted. Although the memory card is represented by the one shown in FIG. 9, it goes without saying that other memory cards can be used.

25 and 26, the camera body 1
02, a card slot 141 for the memory card 56 and a connector 142 on a display support 140 provided on the back of
Is installed. The memory card 56 is used for the display unit support 14.
0 can be attached to the camera 100 'from the lower end face. A window 14 is provided on the back side of the display unit support 140 and at a portion corresponding to the liquid crystal display element 10 of the memory card 56.
3 are formed. Therefore, when the memory card 56 is inserted, the screen of the liquid crystal display element 10 can be visually recognized, and in this state, it can be used as a display section of the camera 100 '.

Further, in the digital camera 100 ',
A conventional T that irradiates the main body 102 with a backlight
An LCD display unit 110 using FT liquid crystal is also provided. Since the cholesteric liquid crystal used in the liquid crystal display element 10 has a relatively slow response, the LCD display section 110 is used exclusively for displaying moving images. LC
Pressing the D button 311 causes the LCD display unit 110
Can be switched on / off. In addition,
If it is okay to update the screen of the moving image display slowly, use the LCD
The display unit 110 does not necessarily need to be provided. If there is no LCD display section 110, the LCD button 311 is not required.

Next, a memory card 56 with a memory liquid crystal
Will be described with respect to an operation sequence in which is also used as a display unit of a camera.

(1) The case where the LCD display unit 110 is not provided. In this case, the control circuit shown in FIG.
M210, LCD display unit 110 and backlight 160
Becomes unnecessary. In particular, the life of the battery is prolonged by reducing the power consumption by eliminating the need for the backlight 160.

The processing after the power is turned on is the same as the flowchart shown in FIG. 21. However, if no memory card is inserted, there is no display unit, so that step S
In the no-card warning display processed in step 11, LE
A warning is issued by blinking D114. The display state of the display section of the formatted card is as shown in FIG. 27, and the thumbnail display frame 80 (FIG. 2)
0 is not displayed. For the display unit type,
This is because it is not desirable to display the thumbnail frame 80 uniformly at the time of formatting because other various camera information besides the thumbnail image is displayed on the liquid crystal display element 10 of the memory card 56.

In the control of the liquid crystal display element in step S18, control is performed according to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. First, in step S51,
The state of the mode changeover switch 120 at that time is determined, and a shooting mode process (step S52) is performed in the shooting mode, and a playback mode process (step S53) is performed in the playback mode. Note that the power shutdown process in steps S54 to S56 is performed in steps S33 to S35 shown in FIG.
The processing is the same as that described above.

Next, the photographing mode processing executed in step S52 will be described with reference to FIG. First, in step S61, the screen of the liquid crystal display element 10 is updated to the shooting mode screen shown in FIG. In FIG. 30, the dotted line indicates the memory card 5 loaded in the camera body 102.
6 is represented. Also, 82 is the number of shot frames,
Reference numeral 83 denotes the free space of the memory card. Reference numeral 87 denotes a status line for displaying various warnings such as insufficient illuminance.
Reference numerals 88, 89, and 90 denote labels indicating the state of the camera 100 'corresponding to the keys immediately below, respectively. By pressing the key 111d immediately below the label 88, one-frame shooting, continuous shooting, and interval shooting can be performed. Label 89
By pressing the key 111e immediately below, the flash 1
05 mode can be switched. The keys 111f immediately below the label 90 are the live view display areas 91 and 92.
The size is switched.

The live view display areas 91 and 92 include 9
It is possible to switch between a small size indicated by 1 and a large size indicated by 92. When the size is small, the number of pixels used for display is small, so rewriting of a wide area of the screen is not necessary, and the screen update interval of the liquid crystal display element 10 can be shortened. On the other hand, when the size is large, the screen update interval is slightly longer, but the details of the subject can be confirmed because the number of pixels used for display is large. As described above, the operability and the visibility can be made compatible by appropriately using the size of the live view display area depending on the application.

Returning to FIG. 29, it is determined in step S62 whether or not the shutter button 109 is in the S1 (half-pressed) state. If the state is not the S1 state, it is determined in step S63 whether or not the screen of the liquid crystal display element 10 is being drawn. If the screen is not being drawn, it is determined in step S71 whether or not there is another key operation. If there is no other key operation, the overall control unit 211 proceeds to step S73 where the imaging unit 10
3 is energized, and an instruction to capture a live view image is issued in step S74. Thereafter, in step S75, the image data is fetched into the image memory 209, and after the fetching of the image data is completed, the power supply to the imaging unit 103 is cut off in step S76. Next, in step S77, drawing of live view image data on the liquid crystal display element 10 is started using the image data in the image memory 209, and the process returns to step S62.

On the other hand, when the drawing is completed, unless the other key operation is performed (NO in step S71), the next live view image is captured in step S74. As described above, by instructing the image capturing unit 103 to capture a live view image with the screen update of the liquid crystal display element 10 as a trigger, C
The power of the CD 303 can be turned off, and power can be further saved. The trigger for capturing the next live view image may be a timing slightly earlier than the completion in anticipation of the completion of drawing without waiting for the completion of drawing in step S63.

In the above control procedure, NO in step S63
The process moves to step S71 when. That is, the key operation is not accepted while the image is being drawn on the liquid crystal display element 10. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a situation in which a key operation is received each time and drawing is performed again each time, that is, a situation in which time is spent for updating the display can be prevented, so that operability is extremely enhanced.

When the shutter button 109 is in the S1 state (YES in step S62), power is supplied to the imaging unit 103 in step S64, and AF processing and AE processing are executed in step S65. Thereafter, if it is determined in step S66 that the shutter button 109 is in the S2 (depressed) state, the image data captured by the CCD 303 is fetched in step S68, and the image data is written to the flash memory of the memory card 56 in step S69.
In step S70, the power supply to the imaging unit 103 is turned off, and the process proceeds to step S71.

On the other hand, if the shutter button 109 does not enter the S2 state (NO in step S66), the process proceeds to step S66.
It is determined in step S67 whether the state is the S1 state. If the state is the S1 state, the process returns to step S65. If the state is not the S1 state, the power supply to the imaging unit 103 is turned off in step S70.
Move to 1.

As described above, the key operation is not accepted during the image drawing on the liquid crystal display element 10, but the key operation is accepted only in the S1 state. Never miss.

If it is determined in step S71 that another key operation has been performed, a process corresponding to the key operated in step S72 is executed. For example, if the switching processing to the reproduction mode is performed, the reproduction mode processing described below is executed.

Here, the control procedure of the reproduction mode processing will be described with reference to FIG. First, in step S81, it is determined whether or not there has been a change from the shooting mode. If there is such a change, the timer T1 used for determining whether or not there is no operation for a predetermined time is reset in step S82, and the process of rewriting the screen to the screen in the reproduction mode is performed in steps S83 to S85.

That is, the image data having the largest frame number is fetched from the flash memory of the memory card 56 in step S83, and the display state of the liquid crystal display element 10 is updated in step S84. The update screen here is as shown in FIG. 32, and the same reference numerals in FIG. 32 as those in FIG. 30 indicate the same contents. As a new display, reference numeral 94 denotes a label for deletion, and a key 111d immediately below the label 94.
Is a delete key. Reference numeral 95 denotes a one-frame display label, and indicates that the key 111e immediately below the label 95 is a key for switching between one-frame display and thumbnail display. Reference numeral 87 denotes a status display, but the file name of the displayed image and the shooting date and time may be displayed as necessary. Reference numerals 91 and 92 denote areas where captured images are displayed, and the display size can be changed by pressing the key 111f immediately below the label 90 in the same manner as in the shooting mode.

As described above, even if there is a transition of the display state between the photographing mode and the reproduction mode, some of the display contents (the number of shot frames 82, the free space 83, etc.) are shared, and the There is no need to rewrite the entire surface, and the display update time can be shortened.

Returning to FIG. 31, in step S85, the display state of the liquid crystal display element 10 is temporarily stored in the work memory in the overall control unit 211. The reason will be described later. The format of the temporary storage is as follows.

Codes to be displayed on the status line: file name, shooting date and time, etc. Display frame number: number of the displayed frame Display state corresponding to the key: contents of 88, 89, 90

Next, in step S86, it is determined whether or not the display frame has been switched, and in step S87, the timer T1 is reset. To switch the display frame, when the four-way switch 121 is pressed, the image data of the previous frame number is captured and displayed on the liquid crystal display element 10, and when the switch 122 is pressed, the image data of the next frame number is captured and displayed. I do. That is, in steps S88 and S89, the image data is fetched and the display is updated.
Then, the display state is overwritten and stored in the work memory.

Next, in a step S91, it is determined whether or not the image display size is switched. When the image display size is switched, the timer T is set in step S92.
1 is reset, the display frame image data is fetched again in step S93, and displayed in the size specified in step S94. Next, in step S95, the liquid crystal display element 10
Is overwritten and stored in the work memory described above.

Further, if another key operation is confirmed in step S96, the timer T1 is reset in step S97, and each processing corresponding to the key operation is executed in step S98. If necessary, the display state of the liquid crystal display element 10 is updated and stored, and the process returns to the original routine.

On the other hand, if NO in step S96, that is, if no key operation is performed, step S9
In step 9, the timer T1 is counted up.
At 00, after confirming that there is no operation for a predetermined time (for example, 5 minutes) based on the count value of the timer T1, the current display state of the liquid crystal display element 10 is read from the work memory at step S101, and accordingly, at step S10
2 to update the display state of the liquid crystal display element 10,
At 103, the timer T1 is reset.

The reason for updating the display state of the liquid crystal display element 10 in step S102 is as follows. The cholesteric liquid crystal used in the present embodiment has an advantage that power is not consumed when the display is continued, and therefore, if no operation is performed, the same display state will continue for a long time. . During that time, when an external pressure is applied to the display screen, the state of the liquid crystal in that part changes partially, and the displayed image may be hard to see.
Such a situation is restored by updating the display at regular time intervals, for example, at 5 minute intervals.

The operations in steps S96 and S100 include an operation for switching from the reproduction mode to the photographing mode. The change from the reproduction mode to the shooting mode is performed in step S98. At this time, the work memory is cleared.

(2) When the Display Unit 110 is Provided In this case, only the live view display in the photographing mode is performed by the display unit 110 using the conventional TFT liquid crystal and backlight. The control procedure in the playback mode is shown in FIG.
FIG. 33 shows the control procedure in the shooting mode.

When the mode is switched from the reproduction mode to the photographing mode, first, at step S111, the liquid crystal display
The display of 0 is updated to a thumbnail display as shown in FIG. In this thumbnail display, a thumbnail image of a photographed image is added to the liquid crystal screen every time a photograph is taken, as in FIG. In FIG. 34, portions having the same functions as those in FIGS. 23 and 30 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

In this photographing mode, the live view image is displayed on the display section 110 composed of a TFT liquid crystal with a backlight. Therefore, the image pickup section 103 is turned on in step S112, and the live view image is displayed at predetermined intervals. Perform imaging. That is, in step S113, it is determined whether the shutter button 109 is in the S1 (half-pressed) state. S
If it is not the 1 state, when it is confirmed that there is another key operation in step S119 (for example, switching to the reproduction mode), a process corresponding to the key operation is executed in step S120, and the process returns to the main routine.

If there is no other key operation (step S
(NO in step 119), live view imaging is instructed in step S121, live view image data is fetched into the image memory 209 in step S122, and L is set in step S123.
The information is displayed on the CD display unit 110, and the process returns to step S113.

If YES in step S113, that is, if the shutter button 109 is in the S1 state, step S114
To execute the AF and AE processing, wait for the shutter button 109 to be in the S2 (pressed) state in step S115, capture the image data captured in step S116, execute the image processing, and store the data in the image memory. 209, and is recorded in the flash memory of the memory card 56 in step S117. Next, a thumbnail image of the image data captured in step S118 is displayed on the liquid crystal display element 10.

(Error Processing) Error List In using a memory card with a memory-like liquid crystal, it is sometimes impossible to write or read data to or from the flash memory for some reason, similarly to a conventional memory card. . The major errors and their causes are listed in the table below.

Since the memory card of this embodiment has a liquid crystal display unit having a memory function, it is possible to display an error code on the display unit and indicate the cause to the user. Further, not only the error code but also the cause and the countermeasure can be displayed.

[0142]

[Table 1]

In order to cope with the above-described error processing, the timing controller 70 of the memory card according to the present invention is used.
Is a timing signal generator 70, as shown in FIG.
1, an error detection unit 702, error display data 703, a capacitor 704, and a memory management unit 705.

(Write Error 1 to Memory Card) The timing signal generator 701 executes display of the liquid crystal display element 10 and write processing to the flash memory in accordance with an instruction from the overall controller 211. When actually writing data to the flash memory, the overall control unit 211 confirms whether or not predetermined data has been written. If a mismatch occurs during the checking operation, the occurrence of a write error 1 to the flash memory is notified to the error detection unit 702 via the timing signal generation unit 701. Thereby, the error detection unit 702
Display data corresponding to error 1 in the error display data 703 is returned to the timing signal generator 701, and the display data is displayed at an appropriate place on the liquid crystal display element 10.

(Error 2 in Writing to Memory Card) The memory management unit 705 includes a flash memory in which data of the current free space and the number of shot frames is stored. When actually writing data to the flash memory, the overall control unit 211 writes the data in units of 1024 bits. When the remaining capacity is smaller than 1024 bits, the overall control unit 211 detects an error via the timing signal generation unit 701. Write error 2 to flash memory in unit 702
Tell the outbreak. Thereby, the error detection unit 702
Returns the display data corresponding to the error 2 in the error display data 703 to the timing signal generator 701, and the display data is displayed at an appropriate place on the liquid crystal display element 10.

(Read error 1 from memory card)
Next, when reading data from the flash memory, the overall control unit 211 specifies an address of the flash memory from which data is to be read, and the timing signal generation unit 701
The data is read based on the read timing signal output from the device. At this time, if it is not possible to read data from a specific address of the memory, the error detection unit 702 returns display data corresponding to the error 3 in the error display data 703 to the timing signal generation unit 701, and the display data is displayed on the liquid crystal display. It is displayed at an appropriate place on the element 10.

(Read error 2 from memory card)
As described above, when reading data from the flash memory, the overall control unit 211 specifies an address of the flash memory from which data is read, and reads data based on a read timing signal output from the timing signal generation unit 701. At this time, if there is data inconsistency in the checksum, it is considered that some data inconsistency has occurred at the time of writing.
2 returns the display data corresponding to the error 4 in the error display data 703 to the timing signal generator 701, and the display data is displayed at an appropriate place on the liquid crystal display element 10.

(Inoperative 1) The above error check processing is incorporated in an internal routine of the overall control unit 211. If the overall control unit 211 stops running out of control (the system Power may be shut down to protect the device). The same applies when the memory card is removed during access.

Therefore, the memory card is provided with the capacitor 704 having a capacity of about 300 microfarads. When the overall control unit 211 runs away, an error display is performed using the power stored in the capacitor 704.

The error detector 702 monitors signals on the control bus exchanged between the overall controller 211 and the timing signal generator 701. If the timing clock stops or the timing clock operates but the memory access signal on the control bus stops unexpectedly, the overall control unit 211 runs away,
Alternatively, it is determined that the memory card was removed during access, and display data corresponding to error 5 in the error display data 703 is returned to the timing signal generator 701, and the display data is displayed at an appropriate place on the liquid crystal display element 10. Is done.

As described above, since the error display can be continued even when the power is turned off by utilizing the memory property of the liquid crystal display element 10, the effect that the protection of the system and the ease of responding to the error can be achieved at the same time. is there.

(Other Embodiments) The data storage medium and its adapter according to the present invention are not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be variously modified within the scope of the invention.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, a memory card is exemplified as a storage medium. However, the liquid crystal display element 10 may be mounted on a surface of a housing 191 of a magneto-optical disk or a floppy disk indicated by reference numeral 190 in FIG.
In order to maintain compatibility with conventional products, an electrical contact 195 is provided at the tip, and data and power for display are supplied using the contact 195. Further, similarly to the memory card 56 shown in FIG. 9, the housing 191 is provided with a recess 192 for attaching the liquid crystal display element 10 and an electrode 193 for bonding to the electrode 26 of the element 10.

Further, in the disk 190 shown in FIG. 36, the liquid crystal display elements 10 are attached to both surfaces of the housing 191 respectively. If possible, it may be attached to the side surface. The memory card 56 includes a plurality of liquid crystal display elements 10
Can also be attached. Various liquid crystals such as ferroelectric liquid crystals may be used as long as they have memory properties.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a liquid crystal display device attached to a data storage medium according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a state in which a columnar structure and a sealing material are formed on a substrate of a liquid crystal display element.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a driving circuit of a liquid crystal display element.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a driving method of a liquid crystal display element.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a memory card according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of the memory card shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a memory card according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of the memory card shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a memory card according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a memory card according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view of the memory card shown in FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of the memory card shown in FIGS. 9 and 10;

FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a driving circuit of a liquid crystal display element.

FIG. 14 is a front view showing a first example of a digital camera.

FIG. 15 is a rear view of the digital camera.

FIG. 16 is a side view of the digital camera.

FIG. 17 is a bottom view of the digital camera.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing a control circuit of the digital camera.

FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram showing a state before formatting of a liquid crystal display element.

FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a format process of a liquid crystal display element.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing a control procedure at the time of startup in the digital camera.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of the liquid crystal display element.

FIG. 23 is an explanatory view showing a thumbnail display of a liquid crystal display element.

FIG. 24 is an LCD installed in the digital camera.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a display example of a display unit.

FIG. 25 is a rear view showing a second example of the digital camera.

FIG. 26 is a bottom view of the digital camera shown in FIG. 25;

FIG. 27 is an explanatory view showing another example of the format processing of the liquid crystal display element.

FIG. 28 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of a liquid crystal display element in the digital camera of the second example.

FIG. 29 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of a shooting mode process in the digital camera of the second example.

FIG. 30 is an explanatory view showing another display example of the liquid crystal display element.

FIG. 31 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of a reproduction mode process in the digital camera of the second example.

FIG. 32 is an explanatory view showing another display example of the liquid crystal display element.

FIG. 33 is a flowchart showing another control procedure of the photographing mode processing in the digital camera of the second example.

FIG. 34 is an explanatory view showing another display example of the liquid crystal display element.

FIG. 35 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a timing controller.

FIG. 36 is a perspective view showing a data storage medium according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Liquid crystal display element 25a ... Depression 26 ... Input electrode 40, 50, 56, 60 ... Memory card 41, 57, 61 ... Housing 43, 44 ... Flash memory 46 ... Connector 52 ... Adapter 58, 92 ... Recess 58a ... Expansion Outgoing parts 59, 193 Output electrode 62 Slot 63 Window 70 Timing controller 100, 100 'Digital camera 211 Overall control unit 704 Capacitor 190 Data storage medium 191 Housing 195 Contact

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H01R 33/74 H04N 5/907 B 5C053 H04N 5/225 G06K 19/00 K 5E024 5/907 Q 5/765 H04N 5/91 L (72) Inventor Naoki Shozumi 2-3-13 Azuchicho, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka Inside Osaka International Building Minolta Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Katsuhiko Asai Machiji Azuchi-cho, Osaka-shi, Osaka No. 3-13 Osaka International Building Minolta Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 5B035 AA00 BB09 BC00 CA06 CA12 CA27 CA33 5B058 CA40 KA06 YA20 5B065 BA09 CA40 CC01 ZA03 ZA11 5C022 AA13 AC00 AC03 AC77 AC78 5C052 GA02 GA03 GC10 GE06 FA06 GB14 HA33 KA04 KA05 5E024 CA30

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. A data storage means, a connector for inputting / outputting data to / from the data storage means, and a display means comprising a display screen using a liquid crystal having a memory function,
A data storage medium, wherein a drive signal to the display means is input via the connector. 2. A data storage means, a display means comprising a display screen using a liquid crystal having a memory function, and an error occurring when an error occurs in data writing or reading processing to or from the data storage means. A data storage medium, comprising: a control unit for displaying on the display unit. 3. A data storage means, a display means comprising a display screen using a liquid crystal having a memory function, and a control means for displaying an error occurrence on the display means when the display means has an error. A data storage medium comprising: 4. The data storage medium according to claim 2, further comprising a capacitor, wherein power is supplied from said capacitor to said display means when said error occurrence is displayed. 5. A data storage means comprising a storage element and a housing accommodating the storage element, a display screen comprising a liquid crystal having a memory function, and a display means detachable on a surface of the housing, An output electrode provided on the front surface of the housing and outputting a drive signal to the display unit; and an input electrode provided on the back surface of the display unit and coming into contact with and separating from the output electrode when the display unit is attached or detached. A data storage medium characterized by the above-mentioned. 6. A data storage means comprising a storage element and a housing accommodating the storage element, and a display means comprising a display screen using a liquid crystal having a memory function, and a recess formed on a surface of the housing. A data storage medium characterized in that the display means is attached to a location. 7. A data storage means comprising a storage element and a housing accommodating the storage element, and a display means comprising a display screen using a liquid crystal having a memory function, wherein the display means is provided on a predetermined portion of the housing. A data storage medium which can be attached to and detached from a position, and can be attached only when the upper and lower sides and the left and right sides of a display means match a predetermined position of a housing. 8. A data storage means comprising a storage element and a housing accommodating the storage element, and a display means comprising a display screen using a liquid crystal having a memory function, wherein the display means comprises a plurality of the housings. A data storage medium, which is mounted on a surface of a data storage medium. 9. A data storage means comprising a storage element and a housing accommodating the storage element, and a display means comprising a display screen using liquid crystal having a memory function, wherein the housing is provided with the display means. A data storage medium, wherein an insertion portion and a display window are formed. 10. A data storage means comprising a storage element and a housing accommodating the storage element, and a display means comprising a display screen using a liquid crystal having a memory function, wherein the display means is driven by the housing. A data storage medium provided with an input section to which a signal to be input is input. 11. A data storage means, and a display means comprising a display screen using a liquid crystal having a memory function, wherein an address controller of the data storage means and an address controller of the display means are shared. A data storage medium characterized by the following. 12. An adapter for mounting a data storage medium to an information electronic device, the adapter comprising display means for forming a display screen using a liquid crystal having a memory function. 13. The adapter according to claim 12, further comprising a drive circuit for said display means.