JP2001339630A - Image pickup device, control means and medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image pickup device which sets or allows suitable mode according to rest of charge of a battery and can use the battery as effective as possible. SOLUTION: An image pickup device can operate using a battery and predicts power consumption in each operation mode and determines if the battery can supply sufficient power for each operation mode according to prediction. The image pickup device executes or allows the determined operation mode in which the battery can supply sufficient power.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus for capturing and recording a still image or a moving image and a method for controlling the image processing apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an imaging device such as an electronic camera for recording and reproducing a still image or a moving image using a memory card having a solid-state memory element as a recording medium is already on the market, and is provided with an electronic finder such as a color liquid crystal panel. Electronic cameras are also on sale.

According to these electronic cameras, it is possible for a user of the electronic camera to determine a composition by continuously displaying images before photographing. Further, this electronic camera is driven by a battery, and when the voltage of the battery drops, the electronic components in the electronic camera, especially the CPU, become inoperable, and the operation of the camera cannot be guaranteed.

For this reason, the battery voltage is constantly monitored during operation of the electronic camera, and when the battery voltage falls below a certain voltage at which the electronic components can operate, the camera user is warned that there is no remaining battery power, and Had stopped working.

In order to check the remaining battery power, a certain amount of electrical load is applied to the camera, and from the voltage drop at that time, the power consumed (voltage drop) according to the camera operating state is calculated. There is known a method of calculating the remaining battery level based on whether the value is below a certain value.

[0006] This battery remaining amount check is performed before the operation of increasing the power consumption of the electronic camera, for example, before turning on the power to the electronic finder. When the finder is turned on and it is determined that there is no remaining battery power, the camera user is warned that there is no remaining battery power, and the operation of the camera is stopped.

[0007]

The power consumption of an electronic camera differs depending on the operation mode of the camera. For example,
When the above-described electronic viewfinder is driven, the power consumption is large. When the optical viewfinder is used without driving the electronic viewfinder, the power consumption can be reduced.

However, in a conventional electronic camera, the remaining battery level is determined without considering the operation state of the camera.
When it is determined that there is no remaining battery, the camera user is warned that there is no remaining battery and the operation of the camera is stopped.

That is, when the voltage becomes low in the electronic viewfinder display state where the power consumption is large, the camera operation is stopped in spite of the fact that the camera can be operated in the electronic viewfinder non-display mode where the power consumption is small. there were.

Further, the amount of voltage drop varies depending on conditions such as battery usage (new or consumables), battery temperature, camera current consumption, etc., and the remaining battery level cannot be accurately determined. If it is determined that there is no remaining battery power and the camera operation is stopped, then it is determined that the battery power is remaining when the electronic camera is started, and the camera is started up. And the camera becomes uncontrollable due to a decrease in the image quality.

The present invention has been made under such a background, and an object of the present invention is to set or permit an appropriate mode according to the remaining capacity of the battery so that the battery can be used as effectively as possible. To make it available.

[0012]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an image pickup apparatus which can be driven by a battery, a prediction means for predicting power consumption in various modes, and a prediction means for predicting power consumption in various modes. Determining means for determining whether or not the battery can supply sufficient power to execute the various modes based on power consumption in the various modes; and sufficient power to execute the determination means. Mode control means for executing or permitting the mode in which it is determined that the battery can be supplied.

According to the present invention, in a control method of an imaging device which can be driven by a battery, a prediction step of predicting power consumption in various modes and a power consumption in various modes predicted by the prediction step are provided. A determining step of determining whether the battery can supply sufficient power to execute the various modes; and determining that the battery can supply sufficient power to execute the determining step. A mode control step of executing or permitting the determined mode.

According to the present invention, there is provided a computer-readable medium applicable to an imaging device which can be driven by a battery, wherein a prediction routine for predicting power consumption in various modes, and a prediction routine for various modes predicted by the prediction routine are provided. A determination routine for determining whether or not the battery can supply sufficient power to execute the various modes based on the power consumption of the battery; and determining whether the battery has sufficient power to execute the determination routine. And a mode control routine for executing or permitting the mode determined to be able to be supplied.

[0015]

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

[Overall Configuration] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an imaging apparatus (electronic camera) to which the present invention is applied.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 100 denotes an electronic camera. Reference numeral 10 denotes a photographing lens, 12 denotes a shutter having an aperture function, 14 denotes an image sensor that converts an optical image into an electric signal, 16
Is an A / D converter for converting an analog signal output of the image sensor 14 into a digital signal. 18 is an image sensor 14, A
A timing generation circuit that supplies a clock signal and a control signal to the / D converter 16 and the D / A converter 26, and is controlled by the memory control circuit 22 and the system control circuit 50.

Reference numeral 20 denotes an image processing circuit which performs predetermined pixel interpolation processing and color conversion processing on data from the A / D converter 16 or data from the memory control circuit 22. Further, the image processing circuit 20 performs a predetermined calculation process using the captured image data, and performs TTL based on the calculation result.
AWB (auto white balance) processing is performed.

The system control circuit 50 includes the image processing circuit 2
0, the exposure control means 40,
TTL (through-the-lens) type AF (autofocus) processing for controlling the distance measurement control means 42;
AE (automatic exposure) processing and EF (flash pre-emission) processing are performed. TTL (through-the-lens) type AF (autofocus) processing, AE (automatic exposure) processing, and EF (flash pre-emission) processing are performed.

Reference numeral 22 denotes a memory control circuit, which includes an A / D converter 16, a timing generation circuit 18, an image processing circuit 20,
Image display memory 24, D / A converter 26, memory 30,
The compression / decompression circuit 32 is controlled. The output data of the A / D converter 16 is written into the image display memory 24 or the memory 30 through the image processing circuit 20 or directly without passing through the image processing circuit 20 under the control of the memory control circuit 22. It is.

26 is a D / A converter, 28 is a TFT LC
D (a thin film transistor driven liquid crystal display) or the like, and display image data written in the image display memory 24 is displayed on the image display unit 28 via the D / A converter 26. You.

If the image data picked up by the image display unit 28 is sequentially displayed, an electronic finder function can be realized. Further, the image display unit 28 can arbitrarily turn on / off the display under the control of the system control circuit 50 in accordance with ON / OFF of an image display ON / OFF switch 66 described later, and the image display is unnecessary. By turning off the display in such a case, the power consumption of the digital camera 1 can be significantly reduced.

The memory 30 stores photographed still images and moving images. The storage capacity of the memory 30 is sufficient to store a predetermined number of still images and a moving image for a predetermined period of time. In the case of continuous shooting or continuous panoramic shooting in which a plurality of still images are continuously shot. In addition, high-speed and large-volume image writing is enabled. The memory 30 can also be used as a work area of the system control circuit 50.

32 is an adaptive discrete cosine transform (ADCT)
A compression / decompression unit for compressing / decompressing image data by performing a compression process or a mediation process by reading an image stored in the memory 30 and writing the data after the compression / decompression process to the memory 30 again. .

An exposure controller 40 controls the shutter 12 having an aperture function, and also has a flash dimming function in cooperation with the flash 48. Reference numeral 42 denotes a distance measurement control unit that controls a focusing operation by the photographing lens 10. Reference numeral 44 denotes a zoom control unit that controls the zooming operation of the photographing lens 10, and 46 denotes a barrier control unit that controls the operation of the barrier 102 for protecting the photographing lens 10 and the like from dust and the like. The flash 48 has an AF auxiliary light projecting function in addition to the flash light control function.

The exposure control unit 40 and the distance measurement control unit 42 are TTL
Is controlled using a method, and based on a calculation result obtained by calculating the captured image data by the image processing circuit 20,
The system control circuit 50 controls the exposure control unit 40 and the distance measurement control unit 42. Reference numeral 50 denotes a system control circuit that controls the entire electronic camera 100, and reference numeral 52 denotes a memory that stores constants, variables, programs, and the like for operation of the system control circuit 50. It should be noted that the memory 52 includes the following FIG.
Programs corresponding to the flowcharts of 4, 6 to 14 are stored.

Reference numeral 54 denotes a display unit including an LCD, a speaker, and the like for displaying an operation state, a message, and the like using characters, images, sounds, and the like in accordance with the execution of the program by the system control circuit 50. The display unit 54 is singly or plurally provided at a position near the operation unit 70 of the electronic camera 100 where it is easily visible, and is configured by a combination of, for example, an LCD, an LED, and a sound element. The optical viewfinder 1
04 also has a display function like the display unit 54.
Is part of.

Of the display contents of the display unit 54, those displayed on the LCD or the like include a single shot / continuous shooting display, a self-timer display, a compression ratio display, a recording pixel number display, a recording number display, and a remaining number of recordable images. Display, shutter speed display, aperture value display, exposure compensation display, flash display, red-eye reduction display, macro shooting display, buzzer setting display,
There are a remaining battery display for a clock, a remaining battery display, an error display, an information display using a plurality of digits, a detachable state display of the recording media 200 and 210, a communication I / F operation display, a date / time display, and the like.

Of the display contents of the display unit 54, those displayed in the optical viewfinder 104 include a focus display, a camera shake warning display, a flash charge display, a shutter speed display, an aperture value display, an exposure correction display, and the like. There is.

Reference numeral 56 denotes an electrically erasable / recordable nonvolatile memory, for example, an EEPROM or the like. 6
Reference numerals 0, 62, 64, 66, 68, and 70 denote operation devices for inputting various operation instructions of the system control circuit 50, such as a switch, a dial, a touch panel, a pointer based on line-of-sight detection, a voice recognition device, or the like. It is composed of multiple combinations.

Here, these operation devices will be specifically described. Reference numeral 60 denotes a mode dial switch, which includes a power-off, an automatic shooting mode, a shooting mode, a panoramic shooting mode, a playback mode, a multi-screen playback / erase mode,
Each function mode such as a connection mode can be switched and set.

Reference numeral 62 denotes a shutter switch SW1,
The shutter button is turned on when the shutter button (not shown) is pressed down shallowly, and AF (auto focus) processing, AE (auto exposure) processing, AWB (auto white balance) processing, E
An instruction to start an operation such as F (flash pre-emission) processing is given.

Reference numeral 64 denotes a shutter switch SW2.
Pressing the shutter button (not shown)
N, a signal read from the image sensor 12 was subjected to an exposure process of writing image data to the memory 30 via the A / D converter 16 and the memory control circuit 22, and an operation in the image processing circuit 20 and the memory control circuit 22 was used. It instructs the start of a series of processing operations of developing processing, reading image data from the memory 30, compressing the data by the compression / decompression circuit 32, and writing the image data to the recording medium 200 or 210.

An image display ON / OFF switch 66 can set ON / OFF of the image display unit 28. With this function, it is possible to save power by cutting off the current supply to the image display unit 28 composed of a TFT-LCD or the like when shooting using the optical viewfinder 104.

Reference numeral 68 denotes a quick review ON / OFF switch for setting a quick review function for automatically reproducing photographed image data immediately after photographing. In this embodiment, a function for setting a quick review function when the image display unit 28 is turned off is provided.

An operation unit 70 includes various buttons, a touch panel, and the like, and includes a menu button, a set button, a macro button, a multi-screen playback page break button, a flash setting button, a single-shot / continuous-shot / self-timer switching button, and a menu shift. + (Plus) button, menu move-
A (minus) button, a play image move + (plus) button, a play image-(minus) button, a shooting image quality selection button, an exposure correction button, a date / time setting button, and the like are provided.

Reference numeral 80 denotes a power supply control unit, which includes a battery detection circuit,
It comprises a DC-DC converter, a switch circuit for switching a block to be energized, and the like, and detects the presence or absence of a battery, the type of battery, and the remaining battery level, and performs DC based on the detection result and an instruction from the system control circuit 50. -Control the DC converter to supply a required voltage to each unit including the image display unit 28 and the recording media 200 and 210 for a required period.

Reference numeral 82 denotes a connector, 84 denotes a connector, and 86 denotes a power supply unit including a primary battery such as an alkaline battery or a lithium battery, a secondary battery such as a NiCd battery, a NiMH battery, or a Li battery, and an AC adapter. Reference numeral 87 denotes a battery cover switch for detecting opening and closing of a cover containing a battery. The battery cover switch 87 can detect that the battery is about to be replaced.

Reference numerals 90 and 94 denote interfaces with recording media such as a memory card and a hard disk, reference numerals 92 and 96 denote connectors for connecting to recording media such as a memory card and a hard disk, and reference numeral 98 denotes recording media 200 and 210 to the connectors 92 and / or 96. Is a recording medium attachment / detachment detection unit that detects whether or not is attached.

In this embodiment, the description has been made assuming that there are two interfaces and connectors for mounting the recording medium. Of course, the interface and the connector for attaching the recording medium may have a single or plural number of systems. In addition, the configuration may be such that interfaces and connectors of different standards are provided in combination. As the interface and the connector, those conforming to standards such as a PCMCIA card and a CF (Compact Flash (registered trademark)) card may be used.

Further, the interfaces 90 and 94 and the connectors 92 and 96 are connected to a PCMCIA card or CF.
(Compact flash) When using a card conforming to the standard such as a card, a LAN card, a modem card, a USB card, an IEEE1394 card, a P128
By connecting various communication cards such as a 4-card, a SCSI card, a communication card such as a PHS, and the like, image data and management information attached to the image data are transferred to and from other peripheral devices such as a computer and a printer. I can do it.

Reference numeral 102 denotes a lens 10 of the electronic camera 100.
Is a protection unit that functions as a barrier that prevents the imaging unit from being stained or damaged by covering the imaging unit that includes. Reference numeral 104 denotes an optical finder, which can perform photographing using only the optical finder without using the electronic finder function of the image display unit 28. In the optical viewfinder 104, some functions of the display unit 54, such as a focus display, a camera shake warning display, a flash charge display,
A shutter speed display, an aperture value display, an exposure compensation display, and the like are provided.

Reference numeral 110 denotes a communication unit, which is an RS232C or U
It has various communication functions such as SB, IEEE1394, P1284, SCSI, modem, LAN, wireless communication, and the like. 1
Reference numeral 12 denotes a connector for connecting the electronic camera 100 to another device by the communication unit 110. However, in the case of wireless communication, an antenna performs the connection function instead of the connector.

Reference numeral 200 denotes a recording medium such as a memory card or a hard disk. The recording medium 200 includes a recording unit 202 including a semiconductor memory and a magnetic disk, an interface 204 with the electronic camera 100,
And a connector 206 for making connection with the power supply. 210 is also a recording medium such as a memory card or a hard disk.

The recording medium 210 includes a recording unit 212 composed of a semiconductor memory, a magnetic disk, or the like, and the electronic camera 10.
0 and an connector 216 for connecting to the electronic camera 100.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of power supply control unit 80 shown in FIG. The same components as those in FIG. 1 are given the same numbers.

Reference numeral 302 denotes a DC / DC converter, which converts the voltage of the power supply 86 into a voltage required in the system. An A / D converter 303 determines the type of the battery. Reference numeral 303 denotes an A / D converter for determining the type of the battery. A contact (not shown) having a different voltage according to the type of the battery is provided in the power source 86, and the voltage is A / D converted through the connectors 84 and 82. The battery type can be determined by the determination by the device 303.

For example, AC coupler, lithium battery, Mi
In the case of a system in which three types of Mh batteries can be connected as the power source 86, a terminal for determination is provided for each of them, and the A / C coupler as the power source 86 has the determination terminal connected to the GND level, and the lithium battery has a determination terminal. To the Vcc level,
The type of the power source 86 of the NiMh battery can be determined by connecting the determination terminal to an intermediate level between Vcc and GND, and performing A / D conversion on the voltage of the determination terminal by the A / D converter 303.

An A / D converter 300 for measuring a power supply voltage converts a voltage value of the connected power supply 86 into a digital value and sends the digital value to the system control 50.

Reference numeral 301 denotes a pseudo load, which is a load circuit for supplying a constant current to the power supply 86. When a circuit that consumes a large amount of current is driven in a device, it is necessary to avoid an unstable operation due to a shortage of power during driving of the circuit. For this purpose, a pseudo load 301 of a constant current load circuit set in advance to a predetermined value is connected to the power supply 86, and the voltage drop at that time is measured by the A / D converter 300, so that the next drive It is possible to predict a voltage drop (that is, power consumption during execution of the operation mode) of the circuit to be attempted. This voltage drop is predicted by the following equation.

Voltage drop during circuit driving (during operation mode) = voltage drop of pseudo load × coefficient The coefficient is determined by how many times the power of the circuit to be driven corresponds to that of the pseudo load circuit. The coefficient value is set for each circuit that consumes a large amount of current for driving, that is, for each operation mode, and is stored in the nonvolatile memory 56 or the like.

As described above, by predicting the power consumption at the time of execution of the operation mode using the pseudo load as the constant current circuit and the above-described coefficient, even when the operation mode is executed according to the remaining capacity of the battery as the power supply 86, It is possible to accurately predict the power consumption at the time of executing the operation mode even if the current amount fluctuates.

When the predicted value of the voltage drop obtained by the above equation is lower than the voltage value required for driving the circuit, a warning of a voltage shortage is issued to the display unit 54 and the driving of the circuit is performed. Is performed.

[First Embodiment] A first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a main routine of the imaging process according to the first embodiment.

In FIG. 3, when the power is turned on due to battery replacement or the like, the system control circuit 50 first initializes flags, control variables, and the like (step S101). At this time, the flag indicating the display state stored in the nonvolatile memory 56 is also read.

Next, the system control circuit 50 determines the set position of the mode dial 60 (step S102).
If the mode dial 60 is set to power off, the display on each display unit is changed to the end state, and the barrier 102
Is closed to protect the imaging unit, necessary parameters, setting values and setting modes including flags and control variables and the like are recorded in the non-volatile memory 56, and the power control unit 80 controls the components of the electronic camera 100 including the image display unit 28. After performing a predetermined end process such as shutting off unnecessary power (step S103), the process returns to step S102.

On the other hand, if the mode dial 60 has been set to the photographing mode (step S102), the flow advances to step S104 to perform display activation processing of the image display unit 28. Details of the display activation processing in step S104 will be described later.

The system control circuit 50 controls the image display unit 28
Is started again, the state of the mode dial 60 is checked again (step S105), and if the power is set to OFF, the process proceeds to step S103, performs the above-described end processing (step S103), and returns to step S102. .

On the other hand, if the mode dial 60 has been set to the photographing mode, the process proceeds to step S106, where the state of the mode dial 60 is checked.
0 determines whether or not the image display ON / OFF switch 66 has been pressed. As a result, when the image display ON / OFF switch 66 is pressed, a display switching process for switching the display state of the image display unit 28 is performed (step S10).
7), and proceed to step S108. Step S10
The details of the image display switching process 7 will be described later. If the image display ON / OFF switch 66 has not been pressed, step S107 is skipped and step S10 is performed.
Proceed to 8.

In step S108, the state of the shutter switches 62 and 64 is checked. As a result, when the shutter switches 62 and 64 are pressed, the photographing / recording process (Step S109) is performed, and then Step S105
Return to

On the other hand, when the shutter switches 62 and 64 are not pressed, the photographing / recording process is not performed and
It returns to step S105. Note that the method of the photographing / recording process is well known and will not be described here.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the display activation process of the image display unit 28 in step S104 of FIG.

In this display activation process, the system control circuit 50 checks the display flag stored in the nonvolatile memory 56 (Step S201). The states identified by the display flags are OVF, EVF, and INFO.
In this case, if the value of the display flag is “1”, it is OVF, if it is “2”, it is EVF, and if it is “3”, it is INF.
O is represented. The value of the display flag is identifiable 3
Any kind of value may be used.

The state of OVF, EVF, and INFO will be described. OVF indicates a state in which the image is displayed by the optical viewfinder 104 without displaying anything on the image display unit 28 at the time of shooting. EVF indicates a state in which image capturing is performed by an electronic finder that sequentially displays image data captured on the image display unit 28 during image capturing. INFO indicates a state in which information such as shooting conditions is displayed on the image display unit 28 in addition to the electronic finder function. In other words, the magnitude relation of the power consumption in these states is OVF <EVF <IN
It is FO.

FIG. 5 shows a display example in the INFO state, in which a photographed image (through image) 1101 and size information 1102 of an image to be photographed as photographing information are shown.
Are displayed on the image display unit 28. The size information 1102 shown in FIG. 5 is 1600 pixels × 1200 pi
xel image is recorded. Note that, as the shooting information, a white balance mode, an exposure correction value, a close-up mode, a strobe light emission mode, and the like may be displayed.

The system control circuit 50 determines in step S10
If it is determined in step 2 that the display flag is OVF,
That is, when the electronic finder function is not used, the process returns to the main routine of FIG. 3 without performing anything. When the display lag is other than OVF, that is, when the electronic finder function is used, the power of the image display unit 28 is turned on (step S202), and a through display state in which captured image data is sequentially displayed is set (step S20).
3).

Next, the state of the display flag is checked (step S204), and if the INFO for displaying information is indicated, information necessary for display is obtained and displayed on the image display unit 28 (step S205). Returning to the main routine of FIG. 3, if the display flag indicates EVF, skip step S205 and return to the main routine of FIG.

Next, details of the display switching process in step S107 of FIG. 3 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

When the image display ON / OFF switch 66 is pressed, the system control circuit 50 changes the display state of the image display section 28 as follows.

That is, the display flag stored in the nonvolatile memory 56 is determined (step S301), and the OV
If it is F, a process for changing the display of the image display unit 28 to the EVF state is performed. First, the power of the image display unit 28 is turned on.
And sequentially display the captured image data (step S
302). Next, the display flag stored in the nonvolatile memory 56 is rewritten to “2” representing EVF (step S303), and the process returns to the main routine of FIG.

On the other hand, if the display flag is EVF, a process for setting the display of the image display unit 28 to the INFO state is performed. That is, information to be displayed on the image display unit 28 is acquired and displayed (step S304), and the display flag is set to INF.
3 (step S305).
Return to the main routine.

If the display flag is INFO, a process for changing the display of the image display unit 28 to the OVF state is performed. That is, the power of the image display unit 28 is turned off, and the process of sequentially displaying the captured images is stopped (step S3).
06), the display flag is rewritten to “1” representing OVF (step S307), and the process returns to the main routine of FIG.

The display flag is stored in the non-volatile memory 56, and its value is retained even when the power of the electronic camera 100 is turned off.

According to the first embodiment, the display flag stored in the non-volatile memory 56 is changed in the display switching process (step S107) of FIG. 3, and the non-volatile memory 56 is changed in the display activation process (step S104). By starting the screen display section 28 in the state indicated by the display flag stored in the
When “0” is changed from the power supply OFF to the shooting mode, the electronic camera 100 can be started in the same state as the state last displayed on the image display unit 28.

[Second Embodiment] Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a main routine of the image pickup processing according to the second embodiment. Steps S101, S102, 103, 105, 106, and 10 in FIG.
The processing of steps 8 and 109 is the same as the processing of the steps indicated by the same reference numerals in FIG. 3 (first embodiment), and therefore the differences will be mainly described here.

In the second embodiment, when it is determined in step 106 that the image display ON / OFF switch 66 has not been operated, it is checked whether or not the remaining power source energy is sufficient. (Step S10
7B), which is different from the first embodiment. Also, in conjunction with the power energy remaining amount check processing, the display activation processing (step S104A) and the display switching processing (step S1)
07A) is also slightly different from the first embodiment.

The display activation process according to the second embodiment includes:
This is performed based on the flowchart shown in FIG. FIG.
The processing of steps S201 to S205 is the same as the processing of the steps denoted by the same reference numerals in FIG. 4 (first embodiment), and therefore, the differences will be mainly described here.

The system control circuit 50 determines the display flag (step S201) and turns off the power of the screen display unit 28.
If it is not OVF that needs to be set to N, step S2
01A, the L stored in the nonvolatile memory 56
The value of the ow Battery flag is determined.

The Low Battery flag is a value stored in the non-volatile memory 56 and indicates that the remaining power source energy is insufficient to display the electronic finder. Here, the value of the Low Battery flag is represented by “0” when the remaining power source energy is sufficient, and is represented by “1” when the remaining power is insufficient. Clearing the Low Battery flag means that the value of the Low Battery flag is set to “0”, and the Low Battery flag is set to “0”.
Turning on the flag is equivalent to Low Battery
This means that the value of the y flag is set to “1”. Note that L
The value of the ow Battery flag may be any value as long as it is two types of values that can be identified.

At step S201A, Low Bat
If the value of the tery flag is “1” and it is determined that there is no remaining power source energy, the process returns to the main routine of FIG. 7 as it is. That is, when there is no remaining power source energy, the image display unit 28 is not turned on, and the electronic finder is not displayed (OVF).

On the other hand, when the value of the Low Battery flag is “0” and there is a remaining power source energy, it is determined whether or not the remaining power source energy is sufficient to display the image display unit 28. (Step S201
B).

As a result, when the remaining power source energy is sufficient, the display flag in the first embodiment is set to OVF.
(Step S)
202-S205).

On the other hand, if the remaining power source energy is not enough to display the image display section 28,
The ttery flag is rewritten to "1" (step S20).
1C), and returns to the main routine of FIG.

The display switching process in the second embodiment is
This is performed based on the flowchart shown in FIG. FIG.
The processing of steps S301 to S307 is the same as the processing of the steps denoted by the same reference numerals in FIG. 6 (first embodiment), and therefore, the differences will be mainly described here.

The system control circuit 50 first sets the Low
A Battery flag is determined (Step S301)
A). As a result, the Low Battery flag is turned ON.
If the power supply energy shortage has occurred in the past and the image display unit 28 is not displayed and indicates that the camera is in the OVF state, the process proceeds to step S301B.

When the Low Battery flag is set to O
Even if it is FF, if it is determined in step S301 that the display flag is OVF, step S301B
Proceed to.

In step S301B, it is determined whether or not the remaining power source energy is sufficient to display the electronic finder on the image display unit 28. If the result is insufficient, a warning sound is sounded for a few seconds to warn the user (step S301C), and the Low Batter is output.
The y flag is turned on, and the process returns to the main routine of FIG. That is, in this case, display switching is not performed.

When the remaining power source energy is sufficient, the power of the image display unit 28 is turned on and the image display unit 28 is turned on.
Is sequentially displayed (step S30).
2). Next, the display flag of the nonvolatile memory 56 is set to EVF.
Is rewritten to “2” (step S303),
The Battery flag is cleared to “0” (step S
303A), and returns to the main routine of FIG.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the details of the power source energy remaining amount checking process (step S107B) of FIG.

The system control circuit 50 operates as follows: Low Bat
The territory flag is discriminated (step S801), L
If the ow Battery flag is ON, the process advances to step S803 to check whether there is a sufficient amount of power energy remaining for shooting.

On the other hand, if the Low Battery flag is
If it is FF, the display flag is determined (step S80).
2) If the display flag is OVF, step S803
To check whether there is a sufficient amount of power energy remaining for shooting.

If the display flag is other than OVF, it is determined whether or not there is a voltage sufficient to display the image on the image display unit 28.
Checked by the / D converter 300 (step S804),
If the voltage is sufficient, the process ends.

On the other hand, if there is not enough voltage to display the image on the image display unit 28 and the voltage is low, the power of the image display device 28 is turned off, and the process of sequentially displaying captured images is stopped (step S805). ). Then, a Low Battery flag indicating that the power supply energy is insufficient is turned on (step S806), and it is determined whether there is a sufficient power supply energy remaining for photographing (step S803).

As a result, when the remaining power source energy is sufficient for the photographing operation, the process returns to the main routine of FIG.
If the remaining energy level is insufficient for the photographing operation, the end processing in FIG. 7 (step S103) is performed. In this termination processing, not only the image display unit 28 cannot be displayed, but also a warning indicating that there is no remaining power source energy so that the photographing operation cannot be performed, is displayed on the liquid crystal display device of the display unit 54, and the mode dial 60 is changed. Until the operation, the imaging operation is prohibited.

FIG. 11 shows step S201B in FIG. 8, step S301B in FIG. 9, and step S80 in FIG.
6 is a flowchart showing a power source energy remaining amount check process (load test) in FIG.

The system control circuit 50 includes the A / D converter 3
In step S150, the voltage of the power supply 86 before performing the pseudo load is measured. Thereafter, the dummy load 301 is connected to the power supply 86 (step S151), and the voltage of the power supply 86 is measured again by the A / D converter 300 (step S151).
152). When the measurement is completed, the dummy load is disconnected (step S153).

Next, a coefficient corresponding to the operation mode is read from the non-volatile memory 56 (step S154). This coefficient is stored in the nonvolatile memory 56 for each operation mode as a value determined in advance according to the current consumption in each operation mode.

Note that the coefficient read at step S154 is
Step S201B in FIG. 8, Step S301B in FIG.
Now, for driving the image display unit 28, step S803 in FIG.
Is for shooting operation. Since the power consumption during the driving of the image display operation is larger than that during the driving of the shooting operation, the coefficient at the time of driving the image display operation is a larger value than the coefficient at the time of driving the shooting operation. After setting the coefficient, the following arithmetic processing is performed to predict a voltage drop during circuit driving (that is, power consumption during execution of the operation mode) (step S155).
S156). Pseudo load voltage drop = Voltage before connecting dummy load-Voltage drop when driving voltage circuit when connecting dummy load (when executing operation mode) = Pseudo load voltage drop x coefficient The predicted value of the voltage drop when driving the circuit is a predetermined value. If it is within the value, it is determined that there is a battery remaining (step S157), and if the voltage drop is out of the predetermined range, it is determined that there is no battery remaining (step S158), and the power supply remaining amount checking process is terminated.

According to the second embodiment, when the remaining power source energy is not sufficient in the power source energy remaining amount checking process (step S301B) in FIG.
8 is turned off (step S302), and the Low Battery flag stored in the nonvolatile memory 56 is turned on (step S303A). In this state, turn off the mode dial to end shooting.
(Step S102 in FIG. 7), the mode dial is turned to the photographing mode (step S10 in FIG. 7) to perform photographing.
If set to 2), the Low Battery flag is ON
, The display activation process (step S1 in FIG. 7)
04A) starts up in the OVF mode requiring less power consumption.

Further, according to the second embodiment, the dial is switched from the stop state of the electronic camera, and the image display unit 28 is driven in step S201B of FIG. It is determined whether there is a remaining battery level. If there is a remaining battery level, the drive of the image display unit 28 is started. If there is no remaining battery level, at step S803 in FIG. It is determined whether or not there is a battery. If there is a battery remaining, the imaging operation is continued as it is. If there is no battery remaining, the process proceeds to the end process (step S103) of FIG. 7 and the imaging operation is prohibited.

[Third Embodiment] FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the main routine of the image pickup processing according to the third embodiment. The main routine according to the third embodiment is shown in FIG.
The only difference is that the processes of steps S107C and S107D are added to the routine according to the second embodiment shown in FIG. 21. Therefore, steps S107C and S107D will be mainly described.

In the third embodiment, after performing the power source energy remaining amount check processing (step S107B), it is determined whether or not the battery cover switch 87 has been detected (step S107C). As a result, when the battery cover switch 87 is detected, it is considered that the battery replacement is about to be performed, the Low Battery flag is cleared (step S107D), and the end process of step S103 in FIG. 7 is performed.

The details of the display activation process (step S104A), the display switching process (step S107A), and the power source energy remaining amount check process (step S107B) are described in the second section.
And is not described here.

According to the third embodiment, when the battery cover is opened, the Low Battery flag is cleared. Therefore, in the display activation process when the power is turned on next,
The screen display unit 28 is started up in the state indicated by the display flag.

That is, since the remaining power source energy is not sufficient in the power source energy remaining amount checking process in step S107B in FIG. 12, after the image display unit 28 is automatically turned off in step S805 in FIG. When the battery cover is opened to replace the battery, the battery cover switch 87
Is detected (step S107C in FIG. 12), and the Low Battery flag stored in the nonvolatile memory is cleared (step S107D in FIG. 12).

When the power is turned on in a state where the Low Battery flag is cleared and the remaining power source energy is sufficient by replacing the battery, initialization is performed (FIG. 12).
Step S101), the display activation process after performing the mode dial determination (step S102 in FIG. 12) (FIG. 12)
In step S104A), the screen display unit 28 is started up in the state indicated by the display flag stored in the nonvolatile memory 56, as shown in FIG. In other words, the electronic camera is activated in a state immediately before the remaining power source energy is insufficient.

Therefore, even if the power of the electronic finder is automatically turned off due to a decrease in the remaining energy of the power while the photographing is being performed using the electronic finder, the mode dial 60 is once turned off to turn off the energy. When the battery is replaced with a sufficient battery and the mode dial 60 is again set to the photographing mode, the electronic finder is automatically started with the power turned on.

[0109] Replaceable power sources include primary batteries such as alkaline batteries and lithium batteries, NiCd batteries and Ni batteries.
There are secondary batteries such as MH batteries and Li batteries, and AC couplers that can use commercial power.

[Fourth Embodiment] FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a display activation process according to a fourth embodiment.
The display activation process according to the fourth embodiment is performed in step S1 of the main routine according to the second embodiment shown in FIG.
The process corresponds to the display start-up process in FIG. 07A, and differs from the display start-up process according to the second embodiment shown in FIG. 8 only in that the processes in steps S200A and S200B are added.
Will be explained with emphasis.

First, it is determined whether or not the type of power supply is an AC coupler (step S200A). If the power supply is an AC coupler, the Low Battery flag is set to O.
FF (step S200B), step S201
Proceed to. If the power supply is not an AC coupler, the process skips step S200B and proceeds to step S201.

The method of determining whether the power supply is an AC coupler is widely known and will not be described in detail here. However, as an example, since the AC coupler has a ground contact, And if it is determined to be ground, there is a method of determining that it is an AC coupler.

The processing after step S201 is exactly the same as the display activation processing according to the second embodiment shown in FIG. 8, and therefore the description is omitted here.

According to the fourth embodiment, the type of the power supply is determined at the time of performing the display activation process, and if the power supply is an AC coupler, the L stored in the nonvolatile memory 56 is used.
In order to clear the owBattery flag, the screen display unit 28 is started up in a state indicated by the display flag stored in the nonvolatile memory 56. That is, the electronic camera is activated in a state immediately before the remaining power source energy is insufficient.

For this reason, even when the electronic finder is automatically turned off due to a decrease in the remaining power source energy during photographing using the electronic finder, the mode dial 60 is once turned off to turn off the power. Is switched to the AC coupler, and when the mode dial 60 is again set to the photographing mode, the electronic finder is automatically activated with the power turned on.

[Fifth Embodiment] FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a display activation process according to a fifth embodiment.
The display activation process according to the fifth embodiment is performed in step S1 of the main routine according to the second embodiment shown in FIG.
This corresponds to the display activation process in 07A.

The system control circuit 50 checks the display flag stored in the nonvolatile memory 56 (step S).
901). If the display flag is not OVF, the value of the low battery stored in the nonvolatile memory 56 is determined (step S902), and the low battery is determined.
The following power remaining amount check processing is changed according to the y flag value.

That is, if the Low Battery flag is OFF, the remaining power for starting the normal electronic viewfinder (EVF) mode is checked (step S903).
If the Low Battery flag is ON, a stricter Low than the normal electronic viewfinder (EVF) mode activation
At Battery, the remaining power of the EVF for starting EVF is confirmed (step S904).

The remaining power amount confirmation processing is the load test shown in FIG. 11, and the coefficient set in step S154 in FIG. 11 is the normal EVF activation value or Low Bat.
The value of EVF activation at the time of territory is set, respectively, and the latter coefficient value is larger than the former.

If it is determined in step S903 that there is no remaining power, the process proceeds to step S910. If it is determined in step S904 that there is no remaining power, the process proceeds to step S912.

Step S903 or step S90
If it is determined in step 4 that there is a power supply remaining, the power of the image display unit 28 is turned on (step S905), and a through display state for sequentially displaying captured image data is set (step S905).
906), the Low stored in the nonvolatile memory 56
Turn off the Battery flag (step S90)
7).

Then, the state of the display flag is checked (step S808). If the INFO for displaying information is indicated, information necessary for display is obtained and displayed on the image display unit 28 (step S909). The imaging operation is started (step S914), and the process returns to the main routine of FIG. In this imaging operation, the power is turned on to the imaging element 14 and the like, and the video signal is taken into the memory control circuit 22.

If it is determined in step S901 that the display flag is OVF, or if it is determined in step S903 that there is no remaining power, the low battery is used.
The value of the flag is determined (step S910), and the Low B
If the battery flag is OFF, the remaining power supply for starting the normal optical viewfinder (OVF) mode is checked (step S911). If the low battery flag is ON, the OVF starts at the time of the low battery which is more severe than the normal optical viewfinder (OVF) start. The remaining power source is checked (step S912).

The remaining power source confirmation processing is the load test shown in FIG. 11, and the coefficient set in step S154 in FIG. 11 is the value of the normal EVF activation or Low Bat.
The value of EVF activation at the time of territory is set, respectively, and the latter coefficient value is larger than the former.

Step S911 or step S91
If it is determined in step 2 that there is remaining power, the imaging operation is started (step S914), and the process returns to the main routine of FIG. In this imaging operation, the power is turned on to the imaging element 14 and the like, and the video signal is taken into the memory control circuit 22.

If it is determined in step S911 that there is no remaining power, the low battery flag is turned on (step S913), and the end processing in FIG. 7 (step S103)
Perform If it is determined in step S912 that there is no remaining power, the end process of FIG. 7 is immediately performed (step S103).
Perform

In these end processes, since the remaining power source energy is insufficient, a warning indicating that the power source voltage has dropped is displayed on the liquid crystal display device of the display unit 54, and the imaging operation is prohibited until the mode dial 60 changes. .

According to the fifth embodiment, when the power supply runs out during the operation of the electronic camera, the Low Battery flag is turned on, the operation of the electronic camera is temporarily stopped, and
When the electronic camera is activated, the Low Battery
If the flag is ON, the power remaining amount check is performed at a stricter level than usual.

Further, according to the fifth embodiment, before the dial is switched from the stop state of the electronic camera and before the image display unit 28 consuming a large amount of power is started, the image display is performed in step S903 or S904 in FIG. It is determined whether there is a remaining battery level capable of driving the unit 28,
If the battery level is low, the image display unit 28 is driven to set the electronic viewfinder mode with large power consumption (steps S905 and S906), and the imaging operation is started (step S914).

Step S903 or step S90
If there is no remaining battery in step 4, the process proceeds to step S91 in FIG.
In step S912, it is determined whether or not there is a remaining battery level for photographing operation. If the remaining battery level is present, the optical finder mode with low power consumption is started when the imaging operation is started in step S914. become.

Step S911 or step S91
If it is determined in step 2 that there is no remaining battery charge for photographing operation, the process proceeds to the end processing of step S103 in FIG. 7, and the photographing operation is prohibited.

The above is an explanation of each embodiment of the present invention. However, the present invention is not limited to the contents disclosed in each of the above embodiments, and the functions described in the claims or the configuration of the embodiments are described. The present invention can be applied to any function as long as the function of the function can be achieved.

For example, in the description so far, the electronic finder mode has been described as an operation mode with high power consumption, and the optical finder mode has been described as an operation mode with low power consumption. Is a continuous AF mode in which the photographing lens 10 is always driven to focus on the subject, a one-shot AF mode in which the photographing lens 10 is driven only during photographing, or the zoom control unit 4
It is also possible to apply to a mode in which the power consumption is different, such as a zoom permission mode in which the focus position can be changed by driving the photographing lens 10 and a zoom inhibition mode in which the driving of the photographing lens 10 is prohibited.

Further, the software configuration and the hardware configuration of the above embodiments can be replaced as appropriate.

In the present invention, the above embodiments or their technical elements may be combined as necessary.

Further, the present invention relates to the present invention,
Or, the whole or a part of the configuration of the embodiment may be one that forms one device, or may be combined with another device, or may be an element that constitutes a device. There may be.

The present invention also relates to an electronic camera such as a video camera capable of shooting a moving image or a still image, a camera using a silver halide film, a camera having a replaceable shooting lens, a single-lens reflex camera, a lens shutter camera, Cameras and the like, various forms of cameras, further, imaging devices other than cameras, optical devices, and other devices, further, cameras, imaging devices, optical devices, devices applied to other devices, methods,
A medium such as a computer-readable storage medium, and
The present invention can be applied to the constituent elements.

[0138]

As described above, according to the imaging apparatus of the present invention, in the imaging apparatus which can be driven by a battery, the prediction means for predicting power consumption in various modes, and the prediction means for predicting power consumption in various modes. Determining means for determining whether or not the battery can supply sufficient power to execute the various modes based on power consumption in the various modes; and sufficient power to execute the determination means. The mode determined to be able to supply the battery, or has a mode control means for permitting, even if the remaining capacity of the battery is reduced and the imaging operation cannot be performed in the operation mode with large power consumption,
Set an appropriate mode according to the remaining battery capacity, such as performing an imaging operation in an operation mode with low power consumption,
Alternatively, the permission allows the battery to be used as effectively as possible.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an imaging apparatus to which the present invention has been applied.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a power supply control unit in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a main routine of an imaging process according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a display activation process according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a display example of an electronic finder.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a display switching process according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a main routine of an imaging process according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a display activation process according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a display switching process according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a power source energy remaining amount check process.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a load test in a power supply energy remaining amount check process.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a main routine of an imaging process according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a display activation process according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a display activation process according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 28: Image display unit 50: System control circuit 52: Memory 56: Non-volatile memory 80: Power supply control unit 86: Power supply unit 87: Power supply cover switch 100: Electronic camera 104: Optical finder 300: A / D converter 301: Simulated load

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04N 5/225 G02B 7/11 N // H04N 101: 00 G03B 3/00 A F-term (Reference) 2G016 CA04 CB12 CC01 CC03 CC04 CC06 CC07 CC16 CC27 CC28 CE03 2H011 AA03 DA00 2H044 DC00 2H051 AA00 EA24 EA30 GB09 GB15 GB16 5C022 AB15 AB22 AB40 AB66 AB67 AC02 AC03 AC12 AC16 AC18 AC32 AC52 AC54 AC56 AC61 AC69 AC71

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. An image pickup apparatus that can be driven by a battery, a prediction unit that predicts power consumption in various modes, and executes the various modes based on power consumption in various modes predicted by the prediction unit. Determining means for determining whether or not the battery can supply sufficient power, and executing a mode in which the battery is determined to be capable of supplying sufficient power to execute by the determining means; Alternatively, an imaging apparatus comprising: mode control means for permitting. 2. The prediction means calculates power consumption in various modes based on a multiplication value obtained by multiplying a voltage drop when a constant current is supplied from the battery to a pseudo load by a coefficient corresponding to the various modes. The imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the prediction is performed. 3. The imaging apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the coefficient is determined based on a ratio between power consumption when a corresponding mode is executed and power consumption in the pseudo load. 4. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the various modes are various modes related to an electronic finder. 5. An electronic viewfinder dedicated mode for exclusively displaying a captured image on a predetermined display screen, and an electronic viewfinder information display for displaying various shooting information together with the captured image on a predetermined display screen. 5. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising an electronic viewfinder OFF mode in which a captured image is not displayed on a predetermined display screen. 6. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the various modes are various modes related to an automatic focusing process. 7. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the various modes are various modes related to a scaling process. 8. A remaining capacity determining means for determining whether the remaining capacity of the battery is equal to or less than a predetermined capacity, and a setting means for setting a criterion for determining the possibility of power supply by the determining means, The setting unit is stricter when the remaining capacity of the battery is determined to be equal to or less than the predetermined capacity by the remaining capacity determination unit, as compared to when the remaining capacity of the battery is not determined to be equal to or less than the predetermined capacity. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a criterion is set. 9. An exchange detecting means for detecting that the battery has been exchanged, wherein the setting means sets the gradual criterion when the exchange detecting means detects that the battery has been exchanged. The imaging device according to claim 8, wherein 10. A method for controlling an imaging device that can be driven by a battery, comprising: a prediction step of predicting power consumption in various modes; and a power consumption in the various modes predicted by the prediction step. A determination step of determining whether the battery can supply sufficient power to perform the operation; anda mode in which the battery is determined to be capable of supplying sufficient power to perform in the determination step. And a mode control step of executing or permitting. 11. A computer readable medium applicable to a battery-powered imaging device, comprising: a prediction routine for predicting power consumption in various modes; and a power consumption in various modes predicted by the prediction routine. A determination routine for determining whether the battery can supply sufficient power to execute the various modes based on the determination routine; andthe battery can supply sufficient power to execute the determination routine. A medium storing a program including: a mode control routine for executing or permitting a mode determined to be present.