JP2000338564A - Stroboscopic device and camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a camera and a stroboscopic device capable of compensating the shortage of a battery and a memory. SOLUTION: A power distributing means 34 which transmits an electric power from a built-in power source built in a main body of a device or an external power source 51 connected to the main body of the device to a means 12 to be supplied with the electric power of an electronic camera 10 is provided in an external stroboscopic device 30. Further, a voltage conversion means 33 to convert voltages of the build-in power source or the external power source to the pre-determined voltage is provided, and the voltage converted by the voltage conversion means 33 is made to send to the electronic camera.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a flash device and a camera.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an electronic still camera or the like, power is usually supplied to each part by a battery built in the camera. However, the capacity of the battery is limited, and incorporating a large-capacity battery increases the size and weight of the camera.

Also, an external strobe device mounted on a camera and used is usually supplied with power to each part by a built-in battery, and has the same problem as the above-described camera.

In an electronic still camera, image processing is performed after temporarily storing image information captured by a CCD in a buffer memory. However, for example, when performing continuous shooting, the storage capacity may be insufficient with only the built-in buffer memory. Further, incorporating a large-capacity buffer memory increases the size and cost of the camera.

[0005]

As described above, in the conventional cameras and strobe devices, there is a possibility that the capacity of the built-in battery or the built-in memory is insufficient and normal operation is hindered.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and has as its object to provide a camera and a strobe device capable of compensating for a shortage of a battery and a memory.

[0007]

According to the present invention, there is provided a strobe device for supplying power from a built-in power supply built in a device main body or an external power supply connected to the device main body to a power supply means of a camera. It is characterized by having means.

[0008] It is preferable that the power supply further includes voltage conversion means for converting the voltage of the internal power supply or the external power supply to a predetermined voltage, and the power distribution means supplies the voltage converted by the voltage conversion means to a camera. .

Preferably, the voltage conversion means is configured to adjust the value of the converted voltage based on an instruction from a camera.

A camera according to the present invention comprises a power receiving means for receiving power from a built-in power supply built in a strobe device or an external power supply connected to the strobe device, and a power supply to which the power received by the power receiving means is supplied. Means.

Preferably, the power receiving means receives the voltage converted by the voltage conversion means of the strobe device. The camera further comprises an instruction means for indicating a voltage converted by the voltage conversion means of the strobe device. Is preferred.

According to the above-mentioned invention, since power can be supplied from the flash device side to the electronic camera side, it is possible to prevent problems such as consumption of a battery and a shortage of capacity of the electronic camera.

Further, the strobe device according to the present invention has a power receiving means for receiving power from an external power supply connected to the camera, and a power receiving means for supplying power received by the power receiving means. And

Further, the camera according to the present invention is characterized in that it has a power distribution means for supplying power from an external power supply connected to the apparatus main body to a power supply means of the strobe device.

According to the above-described invention, electric power can be supplied from the camera side to the strobe side, so that problems such as exhaustion of the battery and insufficient capacity of the strobe device can be prevented.

Also, the strobe device according to the present invention has information transmission means for exchanging information between a camera and a built-in storage means built in the apparatus main body or an external storage means connected to the apparatus main body. Features.

Further, the camera according to the present invention is characterized in that it has an information transmission means for exchanging information with a built-in storage means built in the strobe device or an external storage means connected to the strobe device. .

According to the above-mentioned invention, information can be exchanged between the storage means of the strobe device and the electronic camera, so that problems such as insufficient memory capacity of the electronic camera can be prevented. It is possible to sufficiently cope with continuous shooting and the like.

[0019]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a first embodiment of the present invention, in which an external strobe 30 is connected to an electronic camera (electronic still camera) 10. Things.

The electronic camera 10 and the external strobe 30 have a controller 11 and a controller 31, respectively, so that information can be exchanged (communicated) between these controllers.

The basic configuration of the electronic camera 10 is similar to that of a normal electronic camera, and an analog image signal from an image pickup unit using a photoelectric conversion element such as a CCD is converted into a digital image signal by A / D conversion.
After the conversion, the data is stored in the buffer memory. Further, image data stored in the buffer memory is subjected to processing such as image compression, and then recorded on an external storage medium such as a memory card. FIG.
In FIG. 2, a block having a series of these functions is shown as a photographing / processing block 12. The power supply to the photographing / processing block 12 is performed by the built-in battery 13 when the external strobe 30 is not connected. That is, the voltage converted by the voltage conversion circuit 14 connected to the built-in battery 13
Is supplied to the imaging block 12 via the.

The external strobe 30 is configured to be detachable from the electronic camera 10, and the basic structure of a strobe light emitting section 32 (comprising an arc tube, a charging circuit, etc.) is the same as that of a normal external strobe. It is. Further, a voltage conversion circuit 33 is provided, and the output from the voltage conversion circuit 33 is input from the power distribution terminal 34 to the power receiving terminal 16 of the electronic camera 10. In addition to the built-in battery (not shown), a battery pack 51 as an external power source can be connected to the external strobe 30. In this example, power is supplied from the battery pack 51. ing.

Hereinafter, the operation of this embodiment will be described. When the external strobe 30 is connected to the electronic camera 10, the controller 11 of the electronic camera 10 determines the connection. As a result, the external strobe 3
The power supply on the 0 side can be used, and the instruction information is transmitted to the controller 31 of the external strobe 30 in order to switch the power supply source to the photographing / processing block 12 to the external strobe 30 side. This instruction information includes shooting /
The voltage information required in the processing block 12 is also included. On the external strobe 30 side, the voltage from the battery pack 51 is converted by the voltage conversion circuit 33 based on the instruction information from the electronic camera. On the electronic camera 10 side,
The power supply source for the photographing / processing block 12 is switched by the switching unit 15, and the voltage from the voltage conversion circuit 33 of the external strobe 30 is supplied to the photographing / processing block 12.

As described above, in the present embodiment, when the external strobe 30 is connected, power can be supplied from the external strobe 30 to the electronic camera 10. The shortage of the remaining capacity of the built-in battery 13 of the electronic camera 10 can be compensated.

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a second embodiment of the present invention, in which an external strobe 30 is connected to an electronic camera (electronic still camera) 10. Things. The basic configuration and operation of each of the electronic camera 10 and the external strobe 30 are similar to those of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In the present embodiment, the built-in battery is usually used to emit light by using the built-in battery 13 of the electronic camera 10 to generate a high voltage by the light-emitting circuit in the strobe light-emitting unit 17. Is connected, the strobe light emitting section 32 of the external strobe 30
The high voltage generated by the light emitting circuit in the inside is supplied to the strobe light emitting section 17 of the electronic camera 10 via the power distribution terminal 34 and the power receiving terminal 16 so that the built-in strobe of the electronic camera 10 can emit light.

As described above, in the present embodiment, power can be supplied from the external strobe 30 to the electronic camera 10, so that problems such as consumption of the built-in battery 13 of the electronic camera 10 and insufficient remaining capacity are prevented. Besides, the light emitting circuit of the built-in flash of the electronic camera 10 can be charged at a high speed by the external flash 30.

(Embodiment 3) FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a third embodiment of the present invention, in which an external strobe 30 is connected to an electronic camera (electronic still camera) 10. Things.

The electronic camera 10 and the external strobe 30 have a controller 11 and a controller 31, respectively, and can exchange information (communication) between these controllers.

The basic configuration of the electronic camera 10 is the same as that of a normal electronic camera, and includes a photographing / processing block 12 having a configuration substantially similar to that of the first embodiment shown in FIG. In addition to the built-in battery (not shown), the electronic camera 10 can be connected to a battery pack 52 as an external power supply. Power is supplied to the processing block 12.

The external strobe 30 is configured to be detachable from the electronic camera 10, and the basic configuration of the strobe light emitting section 32 is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG. The electronic camera 1 is connected to the strobe light emitting section 32.
0 is not connected, the power is supplied by the built-in battery 35, but when connected to the electronic camera 10, the connection is switched by the switching unit 36 so that the power distribution unit 19 and the power receiving unit 37 are switched. Power is supplied from the battery pack 51 of the electronic camera 10 via the.

The operation of this embodiment will be described below. When the external strobe 30 is connected to the electronic camera 10, the controller 31 of the external strobe 30 determines the connection. As a result, the power supply of the electronic camera 10 can be used in the external strobe 30, the instruction information is transmitted from the controller 31 of the external strobe 30 to the controller 11 of the electronic camera, and the strobe light emitting unit is switched by the switching unit 36. The power supply source for the electronic camera 32 is switched, and the electric power from the battery pack 52 attached to the electronic camera 10 is supplied to the strobe light emitting unit 32.

As described above, in the present embodiment, power can be supplied from the electronic camera 10 side to the external strobe 30 side, so that consumption of the built-in battery 35 of the external strobe 30 can be suppressed, and the external strobe can be suppressed. The shortage of the remaining capacity of the 30 built-in battery 35 can be compensated.

(Embodiment 4) FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a fourth embodiment of the present invention, in which an external strobe 30 is connected to an electronic camera (electronic still camera) 10. Things.

The electronic camera 10 and the external strobe 30 have a controller 11 and a controller 31, respectively, and can exchange information (communication) between these controllers.

The basic structure of the electronic camera 10 is the same as that of a normal electronic camera, and includes a photographing / processing block 12 having substantially the same structure as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG. Further, the external strobe 30 is configured to be detachable from the electronic camera 10 and has a strobe light emitting unit 3.
The basic configuration of the second embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG.

In this embodiment, the switching section 22 can switch between the memory section 21 (functioning as a buffer memory) on the electronic camera 10 side and the memory section 41 on the external strobe 30 side. Transmission and reception of image data and the like are performed between the memory unit 41 on the 30 side and the electronic camera 10 via the information transmission terminals 42 and 23.

The operation of this embodiment will be described below. When the external strobe 30 is connected to the electronic camera 10, the controller 11 of the electronic camera 10 determines the connection. As a result, the external strobe 3
0 memory can be used, and the electronic camera 1
The instruction information is transmitted from the controller 11 of the external flash 30 to the controller 31 of the external strobe 30, and the connection of the memory unit to the photographing / processing block 12 is switched by the switching unit 22. Data is exchanged with the processing block 12.

In an electronic camera, it is difficult to increase the storage capacity of a built-in memory from the viewpoint of a normal size or the like. For example, for a continuous shooting or the like, the storage capacity of the built-in memory alone becomes insufficient. In this embodiment, since the memory of the external strobe can be used as the buffer memory, by increasing the memory capacity of the external strobe,
It is possible to sufficiently cope with continuous shooting and the like.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.
Various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[0042]

According to the present invention, it is possible to compensate for the shortage of the remaining capacity of the battery of the camera and the external strobe and the shortage of the memory, and it is possible to ensure the normal operation of the camera and the external strobe.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration example according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration example according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Electronic camera 11, 31 ... Controller 12 ... Photographing / processing block 13, 35 ... Built-in battery 14, 18, 33 ... Voltage conversion circuit 15, 22, 36 ... Switching part 16, 37 ... Power receiving terminal 17, 32 ... Strobe light emission Units 19 and 34 Power distribution terminals 21 and 41 Memory units 23 and 42 Information transmission terminals 30 External strobes

Claims (10)

[Claims] An electronic flash device having power distribution means for supplying power from a built-in power supply built in the apparatus main body or an external power supply connected to the apparatus main body to a power supply means of a camera. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a voltage converter for converting a voltage of the internal power supply or the external power supply to a predetermined voltage, wherein the power distribution means supplies the voltage converted by the voltage converter to a camera. The strobe device according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The strobe device according to claim 2, wherein the voltage conversion means is configured to adjust the value of the converted voltage based on an instruction from a camera. 4. A power receiving means for receiving power from a built-in power supply built in the strobe device or an external power supply connected to the strobe device, and a power supplied means to which the power received by the power receiving means is supplied. A camera characterized by the following. 5. The camera according to claim 4, wherein said power receiving means receives the voltage converted by the voltage converting means of the strobe device. 6. The camera according to claim 5, further comprising instruction means for indicating a voltage converted by the voltage conversion means of the strobe device. 7. A strobe device comprising power receiving means for receiving power from an external power supply connected to a camera, and power supplied means for supplying power received by the power receiving means. 8. A camera having power distribution means for supplying power from an external power supply connected to the apparatus main body to a power supply means of a strobe device. 9. A flash device comprising information transmission means for exchanging information between a camera and a built-in storage means built in the apparatus main body or an external storage means connected to the apparatus main body. 10. A camera having information transmission means for exchanging information with built-in storage means built in a flash device or external storage means connected to the flash device.