JP2000307981A - Electronic camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic camera having an image printer for preparing a hard copy in a desired size. SOLUTION: This electronic camera is provided with image pickup means 12, 13 and 14 for performing photoelectric conversion from a subject formed by a photographing lens system 11 into an electric image signal, recording means 15, 17 and 19 for recording the image signal acquired by the image pickup means to a recording medium 16 as data in a prescribed format, a printing means 3 for printing out an image based on the image signal acquired by the image pickup means to a medium for printing, a recording picture quantity selecting means for selecting a recording picture quantity in the case of recording operation with the recording means and a print picture quality selecting means 25 for selecting a print picture quantity in the case of print-out operation due to the printing means 3 and the print picture quality selecting means 25 can select at least two print picture quality modes of a first print picture quality mode for controlling the printing means so as to perform printing at an ordinary pixel interval and a second print picture quality mode for controlling the printing means so as to perform printing at a pixel mode coarser than the first print picture quality mode.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic camera, more specifically, an image signal is obtained by photoelectrically converting an optical object image formed by a photographing lens system by using an image pickup device or the like. The present invention relates to an electronic camera capable of reproducing and displaying an image represented by the following expression using a display device, and integrally including an image printing device for producing a printout of the image.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, an electrical image signal is obtained by photoelectrically converting an optical subject image formed by a photographing lens system using an image pickup device such as a CCD, and this image signal is converted into a predetermined form. Digital image data can be generated by performing signal processing such that the digital image data is recorded on a recording medium, and an image based on the digital image data thus obtained is displayed on a liquid crystal display (LCD) or the like. A so-called digital camera, electronic still camera, or the like (hereinafter simply referred to as an electronic camera) configured to be able to display by means is generally put into practical use.

The image data obtained by such an electronic camera can be reproduced and displayed by using the display means as described above, and by transferring the image data to various external information devices, It can be used in various ways.

For example, by transferring image data obtained by an electronic camera to an image printing apparatus as an external information device, a hard copy of an image represented by the image data, that is, a printout of the image can be created. For this purpose, various proposals have been made and small-sized image printing apparatuses that are easy to carry around have been put into practical use.

Further, the electronic camera as described above and an image printing apparatus capable of producing a printout (hard copy) of an image based on image data obtained by the electronic camera are integrally formed, and a photographing operation is performed. Various proposals have been made in the past for making a hard copy of the captured image immediately after the above.

On the other hand, in an electronic camera handling still images, the image quality of an image obtained by the camera is regarded as important, and in recent years, the number of pixels of an image sensor applied to the electronic camera has been increased. Accordingly, an image based on image data that can be acquired has higher resolution (higher density).
Tend to be. Therefore, the display image size of one image becomes larger, for example, 1280 dots in the horizontal direction × 960 dots in the vertical direction, and the file size of the image is also increasing.

In a normal case, as the file size per image increases, the time required to perform various signal processings on the image signal also increases, so that the load on the internal circuits and the like of the electronic camera also increases. Become something.

In order to reduce the file size of image data during a recording operation, for example, a compression signal processing or the like is usually performed on an image signal obtained by a conventional electronic camera. is there.

However, the file size of the image data generated by this compression processing becomes smaller as the compression ratio increases, but on the other hand, the image quality of the display image reproduced by the image data tends to deteriorate. .

In consideration of the above, in a conventional electronic camera, when recording image data to be recorded, a plurality of combinations of elements that determine image quality, such as a display image size and a compression ratio, are used. Usually, a plurality of set photographing / recording image quality modes are provided so that a desired photographing / recording image quality mode according to a use can be selected before performing a photographing / recording operation.

[0011]

However, when printing an image based on image data obtained by an electronic camera using a conventional image printing apparatus, the display image size set at the time of shooting, that is, the image, is printed. Generally, a printed output having a size corresponding to the total number of constituent pixels is created. This is a problem caused by the fact that the printing resolution of the conventional image printing apparatus is set to a fixed value of, for example, about 360 dpi (dot par inch). However, when creating a printout of an image, there is a demand to create a hard copy in a desired size.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and has as its object to select an image size (print quality) of a printout to be created and to obtain a desired size. An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic camera having an image printing apparatus capable of producing a printout (hard copy) of the present invention.

[0013]

In order to achieve the above object, an electronic camera according to a first aspect of the present invention has an image pickup device that photoelectrically converts an optical subject image formed by a taking lens system into an electric image signal. Means, recording means for recording an image signal obtained by the imaging means on a recording medium as image data in a predetermined form, and printing for printing and outputting an image based on the image signal obtained by the imaging means to a printing medium Means, a print quality selecting means for selecting a print quality when performing a printing operation by the printing means, and a print quality selecting means for selecting a print quality when performing a print output operation by the printing means; The image quality selecting unit controls a first printing image quality mode for controlling the printing unit to perform printing at a normal pixel pitch, and a pixel pitch coarser than the first printing image quality mode. In characterized in that the the like may select the at least two print quality mode and the second print image quality mode for controlling so as to perform printing.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the electronic camera according to the first aspect, the electronic camera further comprises a power supply detecting means for detecting a remaining capacity of a power supply means for driving the printing means, wherein the print image quality selecting means is provided. The present invention is characterized in that an appropriate print image quality mode is selected according to the detection result of the power supply detecting means.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the electronic camera according to the first aspect, the print image quality selecting means selects the first print image quality mode when the electronic camera is operated by an external power supply. It is characterized by doing.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the electronic camera according to the first aspect, the print image quality selecting means selects an appropriate print image quality mode in accordance with the setting of the recording image quality selected by the recording image quality selecting means. It is characterized by doing so.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the electronic camera according to the first aspect, the print image quality selecting means selects an appropriate print image quality mode in accordance with the image quality of the image data recorded on the recording medium. It is characterized by doing so.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the electronic camera according to the first aspect or any one of the second, third, and fourth aspects, the printing means obtains the image using the imaging means. And an exposing means for exposing the printing medium based on the image signal and the image information attached thereto, and a moving means for conveying the printing medium.

[0019]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the illustrated embodiments. The following mainly describes the electrical configuration of the components of the electronic camera according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a main block diagram showing the internal configuration of the electronic camera. FIG. 1 mainly shows only parts related to the present invention, and illustration of other components is omitted.

As shown in FIG. 1, the electronic camera 1 comprises a plurality of lenses and the like, and a photographic lens system 11 for forming an optical object image, and an optical object formed by the photographic lens system 11. An imaging system that converts an image into an electric signal and generates an image signal in a predetermined form; and a recording unit that records an image signal generated by the imaging system as image data in a predetermined form on a recording medium. A camera unit 2 including various electric circuits and members constituting a certain recording system and the like, and an image based on image data acquired by the camera unit 2 is converted into a desired image on a predetermined printing medium (not shown). Printer unit 3 which is an image printing apparatus including various electric circuits and members constituting a printing unit or the like for printing out the image
And a power supply system such as a power supply unit 26 that is a power supply control unit that controls power supply such as supplying electric power to various electric circuits and the like constituting the electronic camera 1. The electronic camera 1 is entirely composed of a system controller (abbreviated as syscon in FIG. 1) 2
5 is controlled.

As a printing medium used in the printer unit 3 of the electronic camera 1, for example, a conventional instant camera film is used (details will be described later).

The photographing lens system 11 includes a plurality of photographing lenses for converging a subject light beam and forming an optical subject image, and a predetermined lens among the plurality of photographing lenses is moved in the optical axis direction to change the magnification. It is constituted by a lens driving unit (not shown) including a driving motor, a driving mechanism, a driving control circuit, and the like for performing an operation and a focusing operation.

An image pickup system and a recording system constituting the camera section 2 include an image pickup device 12 such as a CCD for photoelectrically converting a subject image formed by a photographing lens system 11 into an image signal, and the image pickup device 12 acquires the image pickup device. An imaging circuit 13 that performs predetermined signal processing on an image signal, and an A / D conversion circuit 14 that converts an output signal (analog signal) from the imaging circuit 13 into a digital signal (in FIG. Abbreviation)
A built-in memory 17 which is a buffer memory such as a non-volatile memory for temporarily storing an image signal digitized by the A / D conversion circuit 14, and a digital image signal stored in the built-in memory 17 A detachable memory 16 which is a recording medium for recording as an image data file and is composed of a non-volatile memory or the like. When the detachable memory 16 is loaded into the electronic camera 1, an electrical connection between the two is ensured to perform data control. A card interface (I / F) 15 including an electric circuit such as a controller,
An LCD 21 including a liquid crystal display or the like, which is a display device for displaying a display image signal generated by the image processing means 18 and various image information accompanying the display; a display circuit 20 for driving and controlling the LCD 21; An external input / output terminal 27 to which a cable (not shown) for electrically connecting the electronic camera 1 to an external information device or the like (not shown) is detachably provided; And an electronic circuit for ensuring an electrical connection between the electronic camera 1 and the electronic camera 1. The image signal for display generated by the image processing means 18 and various image information and the like accompanying the image signal are stored in the detachable memory 16. Data control is performed so as to output the recorded image data or the like to an external information device or to receive an input signal from an external information device or the like connected to the external input / output terminal 27. Part interface (I / F) section 2
2 and generating an image signal in a form optimal for converting a digital image signal stored in the built-in memory 17 into a signal in a form optimal for displaying as an image or reproducing and displaying image data from the detachable memory 16 An image processing means 18 for executing various image processing such as performing image processing, and an image for recording in a form most suitable for performing compression processing on the digital image signal stored in the built-in memory 17 and recording the digital image signal in the removable memory 16. A compression / decompression circuit 19 for performing signal processing such as generating data, reading image data for recording recorded in the detachable memory 16 and performing decompression processing to generate a signal of a predetermined form; Have been.

The camera section 2 of the electronic camera 1 includes:
An operation including a strobe device 23 for irradiating auxiliary illumination light to a desired subject during a photographing operation, and a plurality of switches for generating various command signals and the like to execute various operations in the electronic camera 1 A part 24 and the like are provided.

The operation unit 24 is used for, for example, a switch for generating a command signal for starting a photographing preparation operation and an exposure operation, and switching and setting various operation modes such as a recording image quality mode and a printing image quality mode. These switches are operating members provided on the exterior of the electronic camera 1 for performing various operations, such as a release button and a mode switching dial (not shown). Are linked to each other.

On the other hand, the power supply system is a power supply means for supplying necessary electric power to the internal electric circuit and the like of the electronic camera 1 and includes, for example, AA alkaline batteries, NiCd batteries, nickel hydride batteries. Battery 26a such as a lithium battery, and power from the power battery 26a and other power supply means such as an external power supply (not shown). A power supply unit 26 for controlling supply of necessary power to circuits and the like; and an electronic camera 1 for receiving power supplied from an external power supply or the like (not shown) to the power supply unit 26. An external power supply input terminal 28 and the like are provided so that a cable (not shown) and the like for electrically connecting the power supply and the external power supply can be detachably provided.

The power supply section 26 functions as a power supply control means for controlling power supply to each circuit as described above.
For example, it is determined whether power is supplied from the power supply battery 26a or the external power supply device.
When power is supplied from the battery 26a
It also serves as a power supply detecting means for detecting the remaining power of the power supply.

The photographing lens system 11, the camera unit 2,
All of these various electric circuits and components constituting the power supply system and the like are controlled by the system controller 25 as described above.

As described above, the configuration of the camera unit 2 in the present embodiment is basically similar to that of a conventional general electronic camera or the like.

On the other hand, inside the electronic camera 1, various electric circuits and components constituting the printer section 3 which is a printing means and an image printing apparatus are disposed as described above. The printer section 3 is optimal for printing a corresponding image by receiving an image signal temporarily recorded in the built-in memory 17 or an image signal based on image data recorded in the removable memory 16. A print image generation circuit 31 for generating print image data of the form, and receiving a print image data generated by the print image generation circuit 31, performs a predetermined exposure operation on a print medium (not shown). An optical head unit 35 that is an exposure unit that executes image printing
A head drive circuit 32 that drives and controls the optical head unit 35 in response to a command signal from the system controller 25;
Head position sensor 34 for detecting the position of optical head 35
And a cartridge holder 4 for holding a print cartridge 38 containing a plurality of printing media such as instant camera films in a predetermined position inside the electronic camera 1.
1, a cartridge detection sensor 37 for detecting that a print cartridge 38 is loaded in the cartridge holder 41, and a print medium in the print cartridge 38 loaded in the cartridge holder 41. And a drive control circuit 33 that drives and controls the drive unit 36 in response to a command signal from the system controller 25. . Various electric circuits and components constituting the printer unit 3 are also controlled by the system controller 25.

The cartridge holder 41 is formed so that a print cartridge 38 accommodating a plurality of printing media therein can be inserted and withdrawn, and when the print cartridge 38 is closed with the print cartridge 38 loaded therein. The print cartridge 38 is positioned at a predetermined position inside the electronic camera 1 and serves to hold the position. That is, the cartridge holder 41 functions as a holding unit that holds the print cartridge 38 in a cartridge storage chamber (not shown) in which the holder 41 is stored.

The print cartridge 38 is, for example, Captiva 95 Film (JOYCAM 95 Film) manufactured by Polaroid.
lm) or the like can be used.

Here, the configuration of the printer section 3 which is the image printing apparatus of the present embodiment will be described in more detail.
FIG. 2 is a plan view of a main part of the optical head unit 35 in the printer unit 3 of the electronic camera 1 when viewed from the light emitting surface side.

The printer unit 3 of the electronic camera 1 includes:
Basically, it has the same configuration as a conventional so-called LED printer or the like that performs printing by the light emitting action of a light emitting diode (LED).

That is, the optical head 35 comprises a plurality of light emitting members 35a such as light emitting diodes.
a are linearly arranged at intervals (pitch) of about 0.07 mm. Therefore, the maximum printing resolution of the printer unit 3 is 360 dpi.

On the light emitting surface side of the light emitting member 35a, R
A G / B color filter or the like is provided, which emits light for each color element, and collects irradiation light emitted from each light emitting member 35a to expose the printing medium. A micro lens (not shown) for forming a predetermined image at a predetermined position on the surface is provided. As described above, the configuration of the optical head unit 35 is configured in a form similar to a general LED printer or the like.

The optical head 35 is controlled in a predetermined manner by a head drive circuit 32 controlled by a command from the system controller 25. At this time, the head drive circuit 32 controls the light emission of the optical head unit 35 based on the image data generated by the print image generation circuit 31. by this,
The exposure surface of the predetermined printing medium is subjected to predetermined exposure by light emission of the optical head unit 35.

The printing medium is conveyed in a predetermined direction by a drive unit 36 via a drive control circuit 33 controlled by a command from the system controller 25. The transport speed of the printing medium 38a is:
The light is synchronized with the exposure operation by the light emission of the optical head unit 35.

That is, the configuration of the driving member 36 forming the moving means for transporting the printing medium includes the following various members. FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a main part of the electronic camera 1 in which only the vicinity of the printer unit 3 is taken out and shown.

As shown in FIG. 3, the driving section 36 includes, for example, a driving step motor (not shown) and a first capstan shaft 36a mainly serving to convey the printing medium 38a in conjunction with the driving step motor. The second capstan shaft 3 for assisting the conveyance of the printing medium 38a by the first capstan shaft 36a
6c and a position opposed to the first capstan shaft 36a via the printing medium 38a. The printing medium 38a is pressed toward the first capstan shaft 36a, and the printing medium 38a is pressed. As a result, the pressure roller 36b contributing to the predetermined exposure action (chemical printing action) and conveying the printing medium 38a and the position facing the second capstan shaft 36c via the printing medium 38a. The printing medium 38a is arranged and pressed toward the second capstan shaft 36c side, and the printing medium 38a is pressed, whereby an auxiliary conveying action (mainly an ejection action) of the printing medium 38a is performed.
And a driving force transmitting mechanism (not shown) for transmitting the rotational driving force of a driving step motor for driving the conveying rollers 36d to the two capstan shafts 36a and 36c, respectively. It is constituted by a drive control circuit (not shown) for driving and controlling a step motor and the like.

In this case, the driving section 36 conveys the printing medium at a predetermined speed by the following operation.
First, the system controller 25 drives and controls a driving step motor (not shown) constituting a part of the driving unit 36 via the driving control circuit 33 to execute a predetermined rotation operation. The rotational driving force of the driving step motor is a driving force transmission mechanism (not shown) constituted by gears and the like.
To the first capstan shaft 36a.

A pressure roller 36b is pressed against the first capstan shaft 36a by a predetermined pressure via a printing medium 38a. Therefore, when the first capstan shaft 36a rotates in a predetermined direction and at a predetermined speed, the pressure roller 36b follows the rotation. As a result, the printing medium 38a is transported in a predetermined direction and speed.

When the printing medium 38a reaches a position where the printing medium 38a is sandwiched between the second capstan shaft 36c and the conveying roller 36d, the rotational driving force is transmitted to the second capstan shaft 36c in the same manner, and the printing medium 38a Will be discharged to the outside. The discharging direction of the printing medium 38a at this time is the direction indicated by the arrow X in FIG. This mechanism is similar to, for example, a means for transporting a tape medium in a general cassette tape recorder or the like.

As described above, the conventional instant camera film is used as the printing medium 38a used in the printer unit 3 of the electronic camera 1 of the present embodiment.

The developing action by the instant camera film as the printing medium 38a is performed as follows. First, the printing medium 38a, which has been exposed to a predetermined area by the optical head unit 35 as described above, is attached to the first capstan shaft 36a and the pressing roller 3a.
6b while being conveyed at a predetermined speed. At this time, a packet portion (not shown) filled with a developing chemical provided at the leading end of the printing medium 38a.
Are ruptured by the pressing force between the first capstan shaft 36a and the pressing roller 36b.

At the same time, the first capstan shaft 36a
The pressure roller 36b acts to squeeze the same chemical from the inside of the packet portion to the outside. The chemicals squeezed out of the packet portion are substantially uniformly distributed on the exposed surface of the printing medium 38a by the first capstan shaft 36a and the pressure roller 36b as the printing medium 38a is transported. Will be applied.

In this manner, the printing medium 38a is conveyed at a predetermined speed while applying the developing agent to the exposed portion of the optical head 35. And
The tip of the printing medium 38a is the second capstan shaft 36c.
And when it reaches the position nipped by the transport roller 36d,
The system controller 25 controls the driving of the driving step motor via a predetermined driving force transmission mechanism (not shown) to transmit the rotation driving force to the second capstan shaft 36c. As a result, the printing medium 38a is sent out of the electronic camera 1 while being held between the second capstan shaft 36c and the transport roller 36d.

At a predetermined position on the rear end side of the printing medium 38a, a second packet portion (not shown) is provided. The second packet portion receives excess chemicals. It is supposed to.

In the above-described configuration of the printing medium 38a, the configuration of each unit such as the packet unit containing the chemicals and the second packet unit for receiving the excess chemicals is the same as the conventional instant media. This is a general component of a camera film. Therefore, the printing medium 38a
Detailed illustration of the configuration itself is omitted.

Since the second capstan shaft 36c assists the conveyance of the printing medium 38a, the pressing force of the conveying roller 36d pressed against the printing medium 38a is reduced by the pressing roller 36b against the first capstan shaft 36a. Is set to be lighter than the crimping force.

Further, the transport speed of the printing medium 38a is:
The rotation speed is determined by the rotation speed of the first capstan shaft 36a and the pressure roller 36b pressed against the rotation speed. Then, the rotation speed of the first capstan shaft 36a is synchronized with the exposure operation by the light emission of the optical head unit 35, and the printing medium 3
Control is performed so that 8a is conveyed.

By the way, as for the recording image quality mode which can be set in the electronic camera 1, various recording modes are prepared in advance as shown in Table 1. The recording image quality mode is set by combining the compression ratio of image data at the time of shooting and recording, the display image size of image data to be acquired, and the like. It shows the correspondence between the image quality mode, the display image size set in each recording image quality mode, and the compression ratio at the time of recording. The print image quality mode in Table 1 will be described later.

[0053]

[Table 1] In Table 1, [SQ] shown in the column of recording image quality mode is as follows:
Indicates a standard quality mode. In this case, the compression ratio when recording image data is 1 /
Sixteen. The recording image quality mode [HQ] indicates a high image quality mode (High Quality Mode). In this case, the compression ratio at the time of recording image data is 1/8. The recording quality mode [SHQ] is a super high quality mode (Super Hig
h Quality Mode), and the compression ratio at the time of recording image data in this case is 1/4. Note that the above-mentioned numerical value of the compression ratio is the compression ratio with respect to the image data in the non-compressed state, that is, the image data in the case where the image signal acquired by the imaging means (imaging system) of the camera unit 2 is recorded without performing the compression processing. It shows.

[SXG] shown in the display image size column
A] (Super eXtended Graphics Array) size is, for example, a pixel of 1280 dots in the long side direction × 960 dots in the short side direction, and is the maximum image size (full size) that can be acquired by the electronic camera 1. It shows. In addition, [VGA] (V
The (ideo Graphics Array) size is, for example, 640 dots in the long side direction × 480 dots in the short side direction, and is a predetermined reduction so that the aspect ratio is equal to the full size display image size. 9 shows an image of a reduced size reduced at a rate.

At the time of photographing and recording, one of the display image sizes [SXGA] or [VGA] is set in each of the image quality modes [SQ], [HQ] and [SHQ]. I am getting it.

In the electronic camera 1, the recording image quality mode includes a mode switching dial or the like which is a recording image quality selecting means for selecting a recording image quality when performing a recording operation by the recording means among operation members provided on the camera exterior. By operating a predetermined operation member (not shown), a predetermined command signal is generated from a predetermined switch included in the operation unit 24 interlocked with the operation member, and a desired recording mode (recording image quality mode) is selected. Have to be able to. Then, before actually performing the photographing / recording operation, a desired recording image quality mode is first selected prior to this.

On the other hand, in the electronic camera 1, a plurality of print image quality modes are prepared in advance as an operation mode when an image printout is created by the printer unit 3. The print image quality mode includes a high print resolution (360
high-quality mode (H), which is a first print quality mode capable of creating a high-quality print output by performing printing in dpi).
Mode) and a resolution (18
0 dpi), there is a low image quality mode (L mode) which is a second print image quality mode for creating a print output product.

Here, Table 2 shows the set values of the feed pitch of the printing medium 38a in each print image quality mode.

[0059]

[Table 2] Here, the size of the effective print area in which printing can be performed on the print medium 38a using the printer unit 3 of the electronic camera 1 is about 90 mm × about 70 mm. In this case, if image data having a display image size of SXGA size is printed in the high image quality mode (360 dpi), the size per pixel (1 dot) in the print image, that is, the pixel pitch is about 0.07 mm. (Figure 2
reference).

Therefore, the feed pitch of the printing medium 38a in the high image quality mode (H mode) is set to 0.07 mm / dot as shown in Table 2. Also,
At this time, control is performed so that all the light emitting members 35a of the optical head unit 35 emit light. In this way, the printing medium 38
Pixel rows constituting image data are printed at an interval (pitch) of about 0.07 mm in both the vertical and horizontal directions in the effective print area a (reference numerals A1 and B1 in FIG. 4). FIG.
At this time, a pixel row to be printed on the printing surface of the printing medium 38a is conceptually shown.

On the other hand, in the low image quality mode (180 dpi), the feed pitch of the printing medium 38a is set to 0.14 mm / dot as shown in Table 2. At this time, the light-emitting members 35a of the optical head unit 35 are controlled to emit light alternately in the column direction, that is, so-called thinning light emission control. In this way, pixel rows constituting image data are printed at an interval (pitch) of about 0.14 mm in both the vertical and horizontal directions in the effective print area of the printing medium 38a (reference numerals A2 and B2 in FIG. 5). ). FIG. 5 conceptually shows a pixel row printed on the printing surface of the printing medium 38a at this time.

The print output operation of the printer unit 3 in the electronic camera 1 according to the present embodiment configured as described above will be described below. When a printout of an image is created using the printer unit 3 of the electronic camera 1, an image signal obtained by a shooting operation using the camera unit 2 is attached and detached as image data immediately after the shooting operation. Simultaneously with recording in the memory 16, the image data is transferred to the printer unit 3, and the image is printed and output in response to the image. There may be a case where desired image data is read from the data, an image signal based on the read image data is transferred to the printer unit 3, and a print output operation of the image is executed in response thereto.

In this case, the operation of photographing an image signal using the camera unit 2 and the operation of recording image data to be executed thereafter are exactly the same as those of a conventional general electronic camera. Detailed description is omitted, and a print output operation based on the obtained image signal will be described below.

An image signal obtained by using the camera unit 2 or an image signal representing a desired image among image data recorded in the detachable memory 16 is temporarily stored in the built-in memory 17 through a predetermined procedure. After that, the internal memory 17
To the print image generation circuit 31 of the printer unit 3 via the system controller 25. In response to this, the print image generation circuit 31 generates an image signal for printing that is optimal for printing an image. This printing image signal is a set of image signals converted for each line, for example.

The image signal for printing generated by the print image generating circuit 31 is transmitted to the optical head unit 35 via the head driving circuit 32 for each line of data. At this time, the head driving circuit 32
The optical head 35 is controlled by the command of No. 5. Thereby, the optical head unit 35 performs a predetermined light emitting operation,
The printing medium 38a is exposed.

In this case, the system controller 2
5 automatically refers to image information attached to an image signal to be printed and output, and automatically selects a predetermined print image quality mode based on information on a recording image quality mode and a display image size at the time of shooting and recording of the image data; The light emitting operation of the optical head unit 35 is controlled according to the selected print image quality mode.
The print image quality mode selected here is as shown in Table 2.

That is, if the information on the recording image quality mode of the image data to be printed is [SQ] or [HQ] and the information on the display image size is [VGA], the system controller 25 A low image quality mode is selected as a mode, and a predetermined command is issued to execute control of the optical head 35 according to the selected mode.

If the information on the recording image quality mode of the image data to be printed is other than the case described above, the system controller 25 selects the high image quality mode as the printing image quality mode and controls the optical head 35 in accordance with this. Command. Thus, the system controller 25
Also serves as a print image quality selection unit.

At the same time, the system controller 25
Controls the drive unit 36 via the drive control circuit 33, and synchronizes with the light emission operation of the optical head unit 35 so that the printing medium 38a
Is carried out.

As described above, the printing medium 38a includes
While the image based on the printing image signal generated by the printing image generation circuit 31 and transmitted from the printing image generation circuit 31 is exposed, the printing medium 38a is conveyed at a predetermined speed in a predetermined direction at a predetermined speed by the above-described operation. By performing the development processing, a printout of an image is created. The printing medium 38a on which the image is printed is the electronic camera 1
And the print output operation is completed.

The power supply to the electronic camera 1 at the time of executing the print output operation is, for example, an external power supply device connected to the external power supply input terminal 28 or the like.
In some cases, the power supply battery 26 is used, but in the latter case,
Since the battery capacity is limited, the following control is performed particularly in consideration of power saving.

That is, when the print output operation is executed, as described above, the system controller 25 outputs the information (recording image quality mode and display image size at the time of recording) accompanying the image data to be subjected to the print output operation. ), And sets the print image quality mode based on this.

At the same time, the system controller 25
The power supply source via the power supply unit 26 is a power supply battery 26a
Is obtained, information on the remaining power of the power supply battery 26a, and the like are obtained, and after referring to these, in accordance with a predetermined criterion, regardless of the accompanying information of the image data, the second print quality mode is used. A certain low image quality mode (L mode) is selected.

As a criterion in this case, for example, when it is determined that the present electronic camera 1 is operating in a state where power is supplied from the power supply battery 26a, or when the present electronic camera 1 is This is the case in which the power supply 26a is operating in a state where power is supplied from the power supply and the remaining power of the power supply battery 26a is determined to be equal to or less than a predetermined value.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the electronic camera 1 is operated by the external power supply, the high quality mode (H mode) which is always the first print quality mode regardless of the accompanying information of the image data. Is controlled to be selected.

The print image quality mode automatically selected by the determination of the system controller 25 as described above can be arbitrarily changed before the actual print output operation is started. I have.

That is, after a predetermined print image quality mode is selected by the system controller 25 based on a predetermined judgment criterion, the printer unit 3 of the electronic camera 1 performs a series of operations before starting execution of an actual print output operation. Stop the print output operation temporarily. Then, the system controller 25
The system controller 25 uses various display means or warning means (not shown), such as an information display device such as a liquid crystal display, or a light emitting or blinking display such as a light emitting diode (LED). A confirmation is made to the user as to whether or not the print output operation can be performed in the print image quality mode automatically set based on the print output mode.

Here, if the displayed print image quality mode is not the desired one, the user who confirms the print quality mode can arbitrarily operate a predetermined operation member, for example, a mode switching dial or the like, to obtain a desired print image quality mode. Change the setting to image quality mode. After that, to resume execution of the print output operation,
By operating a predetermined operation member, an instruction signal to that effect is generated.

On the other hand, if it is not necessary to change the print image quality mode which is automatically set, an instruction to resume execution of the print output operation is made by operating a predetermined operation member without performing the setting change operation. You just have to put it out.

As a result, the user can execute a print output operation in a desired print image quality mode, and can create a print output of a desired image size.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, when a print output operation is executed, a print image signal is generated based on image data to be printed. At this time, the image information accompanying the image data is referred to, and the recording image quality mode at the time of recording and the print image quality mode according to the display image size are automatically selected. Therefore, it is possible to easily and automatically create a printout of an image corresponding to the image quality selected at the time of recording the image data.

If the automatically selected print image quality mode is not the desired one, the user can arbitrarily select the desired print image quality mode. Accordingly, the user can easily create a printout of an image in a desired print image quality mode regardless of information regarding the recording image quality mode and the display image size of the image data.

Further, the electronic camera 1 is connected to the power battery 26a.
When the battery is driven by the power source, the fact is detected, and the remaining power of the power supply battery 26a is detected. As a result, when it is determined that the remaining power is less than or equal to a predetermined value, a low image quality is detected. Since the mode is selected, the time required for the print output operation can be reduced, and the power consumption of the power supply battery 26a can be suppressed. Therefore, the power battery 2
Even when the power remaining capacity of the power supply 6a is small, it is possible to reliably execute a print output operation that is considered to consume relatively large power.

When the electronic camera 1 is driven by using an external power supply, the fact is detected and the print output operation in the high image quality mode is executed. You can create things.

[0085]

As described above, according to the present invention, a printout (hard copy) of a desired size is prepared by selecting the image size (print quality) of the printout to be created. It is possible to provide an electronic camera having the image printing device that is obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a main block diagram showing the internal configuration of an electronic camera according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a main part of the electronic camera shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an essential part cross-sectional view showing only the vicinity of a printer unit in the electronic camera of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing a pixel array printed on a printing surface of a printing medium when a print output operation is performed in a high image quality mode (H mode) by the electronic camera of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram showing a pixel array printed on a printing surface of a printing medium when a print output operation is performed in a low image quality mode (L mode) by the electronic camera of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Electronic camera 2 ... Camera part 3 ... Printer part (printing means) 11 ... Shooting lens system 12 ... Imaging element (imaging means) 15 ... Card interface (I / F) part (recording means) 16 ... Removable memory (recording medium) 17. Built-in memory (buffer memory; recording means) 19... Compression / expansion circuit (recording means) 25... System controller (control means, print image quality selecting means) 26. Power supply control means, power supply detection means) 26a power battery (power supply means) 35 optical head section (exposure means; printing means) 36 drive section (moving means; printing means) 38 print cartridge 38a Printing medium 41: Cartridge holder

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2C061 AP10 HK11 HM01 HM07 5C052 AA12 AB04 CC11 DD02 FA02 FA03 FB01 FC01 FC06 FD00 FE01 FE07 FE08 FE09 5C053 FA04 FA08 FA17 GA11 GB21 GB40 HA33 KA21 KA24 LA06 LA01 LA03

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An image pickup means for photoelectrically converting an optical object image formed by a photographing lens system into an electric image signal, and an image signal obtained by the image pickup means is recorded as image data in a predetermined form. Recording means for recording on a medium, printing means for printing out an image based on the image signal obtained by the imaging means on a printing medium, and recording quality selection for selecting a recording quality when performing a recording operation by the recording means Means, and print quality selection means for selecting a print quality at the time of performing a print output operation by the printing means, wherein the print quality selection means controls the printing means to perform printing at a normal pixel pitch. At least two of a first print quality mode and a second print quality mode for controlling printing at a coarser pixel pitch than the first print quality mode. An electronic camera characterized in that a print image quality mode can be selected. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a power supply detecting unit configured to detect a remaining capacity of a power supply unit that drives the printing unit. 2. The electronic camera according to claim 1, wherein said electronic camera is selected. 3. The print image quality selection means, when the electronic camera is operated by an external power supply means, the first print quality selection means.
2. The electronic camera according to claim 1, wherein a print image quality mode is selected. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the print image quality selecting means selects an appropriate print image quality mode in accordance with the setting of the recording image quality selected by the recording image quality selecting means. Electronic camera. 5. The print quality selecting mode according to claim 1, wherein said print quality selecting means selects an appropriate print quality mode according to a recording quality of image data recorded on said recording medium. Electronic camera. 6. An exposure means for exposing the printing medium based on an image signal obtained by using the imaging means and image information attached thereto, and a moving means for transporting the printing medium. The electronic camera according to claim 1, wherein the electronic camera is configured to have: