JP2001352473A - Electronic camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To proactively solve the problem of the conventional electronic cameras that a photographed image can no longer be printed out. SOLUTION: The electronic camera is provided with electronic image pickup means 12, 13 that apply photoelectric conversion to an object image for generating image information, a printing means 50 that prints out an image on the basis of the image information, a mode-setting means 35 that sets a photographing mode, discrimination means 17, 33 that discriminate the remaining capacity of a battery for activating the camera and discriminate the remaining capacity of the battery, together with a capacity including the electrical energy required for printing, when the photographing mode set by the mode-setting means is photographing mode, where the image is photographed and the image on the basis of the photographing image information is automatically printed out after the photographing, and a warning means 41 that warns of it prior to the start of the photographing, when the discrimination means has discriminated that the remaining capacity of the battery is lower than the required electrical energy.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic camera, and more particularly to an electronic camera having a printing mechanism.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, an electronic camera with a print function for printing a photographed image on a self-developing type film (print paper) such as an instant film has been proposed. Since a normal electronic camera does not have a print function, it is necessary to record and store image data of a photographed image on a recording medium such as a memory card. Since a photographed image can be printed on site, it is possible to set a photographing mode in which image data is printed only without being recorded on a recording medium such as a memory card.

[0003]

However, when the above-described photographing mode for performing only printing is set, a photographed image can be obtained only by a print image since no image data is recorded on a recording medium.
If the amount of power required by the time the printing is completed does not remain in the battery, a problem arises in that a shot image cannot be obtained despite shooting.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and has as its object to provide an electronic camera capable of preventing a problem that a photographed image cannot be printed.

[0005]

According to the present invention, there is provided an electronic camera, comprising: an electronic imaging unit for generating image information by photoelectrically converting a subject image; a printing unit for printing an image based on the image information; A mode setting means for setting the image quality and a remaining battery level for operating the camera, wherein the shooting mode set by the mode setting means is used for shooting an image and automatically obtaining shooting image information after shooting. In the case of a shooting mode for printing an image based on the image, a determination unit for determining the remaining battery level including the amount of power required for printing, and the determination unit determines that the remaining battery level is less than the required power amount. And a warning unit that warns the user before the start of photographing when the judgment is made.

An electronic camera according to the present invention comprises: an electronic image pickup unit for generating image information by photoelectrically converting a subject image; a print unit for printing an image based on the image information;
A mode setting means for setting a shooting mode, and determining a remaining amount of a battery for operating the camera, wherein the shooting mode set by the mode setting means automatically shoots an image after shooting. In the case of the photographing mode for printing an image based on image information, a determination unit for determining the remaining amount of the battery including the amount of power required for printing, and the determination unit determines that the remaining amount of the battery is reduced to the required amount of power. And a photographing control unit for prohibiting photographing when it is determined that the number is not enough.

The determining means includes a battery voltage detecting means for detecting a voltage of the battery, and a comparing means for comparing the detected voltage value with a specified value. In the case of the photographing mode in which printing is performed, it is preferable to perform comparison with a higher specified value than in the case of the photographing mode without printing.

[0008]

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

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of an electronic camera with a printer according to the present embodiment.

The basic structure of the image pickup unit is the same as that of a normal electronic camera, and includes a lens system 11, a CCD (image pickup device) 1
2. It is composed of an A / D conversion / imaging circuit 13. That is, the subject image formed by the lens system 11 is represented by C
A digitally converted image signal is obtained by inputting the photoelectrically converted image signal from the CD 12 to the A / D conversion / imaging circuit 13. The lens of the lens system 11 is driven by the driver 15 under the control of the controller 14. The controller 14 also controls the strobe 16.

A system control of the whole electronic camera is performed by a RISC CPU 17 functioning as a main CPU, and a program for controlling the whole system is stored in a ROM (flash ROM) 18.
Each part of the electronic camera is connected via a bus 19 and the like.

The output of the A / D conversion / imaging circuit 13 is ASI
The ASIC unit 20 performs various image processing, JPEG compression / decompression processing, and the like. The ASIC unit 20 includes an SRAM 21 and an SR 21 to which an image signal from the A / D conversion / imaging circuit 13 is input.
Encoder circuit 2 for encoding the signal from AM21
2. D / A conversion circuit 23 for converting a signal from encoder circuit 22 to an analog signal, A / D conversion / imaging circuit 13
Timing generator 2 for creating various timings
4. Signal processor 25 for performing AF processing, AE processing and AWB processing, AF / AE / AWB integrator 26, and SDRAM for controlling an SDRAM to be described later
Controller 27, JPE for performing compression / decompression processing
G controller 28 and JPEG compression / decompression circuit 29,
UART 30 and PI functioning as interface
O31 and the like.

An SDRAM 32 controlled by an SDRAM controller 27 is connected to the ASIC section 20, and the SDRAM 32 has a function as a buffer memory.

A CPU 33 is connected to the ASIC section 20 via a PIO 31.
The ROM 34 is connected. The CPU 33 has a sub CP
U, a function of determining an input from the operation unit 35 (including a release button, a print button, a mode selection switch, etc.), a control / management function of a power supply unit,
It has a clock function and the like.

As the power supply of the electronic camera, an external power supply connected via an external power supply terminal 37 can be used in addition to the camera battery 36, and the voltage of the camera battery 36 or the external power supply is DC / DC. The voltage is boosted by the DC converter 38 and power is supplied to each part of the electronic camera. Further, the voltage of the camera battery 36 can be detected by a voltage detection unit 39, and the detected battery voltage is CP
The voltage is compared with a predetermined voltage value by the power management function of U33, and the remaining battery level is determined based on the comparison result.

The output of the D / A conversion circuit 23 of the ASIC section 20 is input to an LCD driver 40, and a photographed image or the like is displayed on an LCD display 41 by the LCD driver 40. Also, on the LCD display 41,
If the remaining battery capacity is less than a predetermined capacity, a warning display is provided to inform the user of the fact. D / A
The output of the conversion circuit 23 is also input to the Y-C mix circuit 42, the output from the Y-C mix circuit 42 is sent to the driver 43, and the output from the driver 43 is output to the outside via the video-out terminal 44. It can be sent.

A driver 45 is connected to the ASIC unit 20 through the UART 30, so that communication with an external device is possible through a serial interface terminal 46 for RS232C.

A bus interface 19 is connected to a card interface unit 47 through which image information is written to a memory card and image information is read from the memory card.

The above description has mainly concerned the camera section of the electronic camera with a printer. Next, the printer unit 50 provided in the electronic camera with a printer will be described.

The printer unit 50 is connected to the bus 19, and transmits and receives image data and the like to and from the camera unit via the I / O converter 51. A RISC / CPU 52 is connected to the I / O converter 51.
The RISC / CPU 52 controls the printer unit 5
0 is controlled.

For printing by the printer unit 50,
A self-developing film such as an instant film is used, and a plurality of films are stored in a detachable cartridge. This cartridge is provided with a film battery 53, which is connected to a DC / DC converter 54. The power supply of the camera unit is also connected to the DC / DC converter 54, and the power supply of the printing process in the printer unit 50 is mainly performed by the power supply of the camera unit.

At the time of printing, a driver 55 drives a liquid crystal shutter (LCS) 56, a driver 57 drives an LED 58, and a driver 59 drives a film feed motor 60, so that an image is formed on the film in one line unit. Is printed. The liquid crystal shutter 56 is formed with a plurality of shutter portions for one line.
The EDs 58 (the three primary colors of R, G, and B) are provided in an array. By controlling the opening time of each shutter of the liquid crystal shutter 56 based on the image information, the amount of exposure by the light from each LED 58 is changed, and an image is formed line by line on the film.

The printer unit 50 includes an encoder 61 and a sensor section 62, from which various kinds of information such as the state of transport of the film and the detection of the film position are acquired.

(Operation) Hereinafter, the operation of the electronic camera with a printer according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of the photographing processing operation.

First, with the release button of the operation unit 35 half-pressed (first trigger), the camera battery 36
Is confirmed (S1). If it is determined based on the remaining battery capacity information of the camera battery 36 that there is no battery capacity required before the end of shooting (S2), a warning indicating that shooting is not possible is displayed on the LCD display 41 (S3). .

If it is determined that there is sufficient battery capacity before the end of shooting, a shooting mode for automatically printing a shot image without shooting the image data on a recording medium such as a memory card after shooting (hereinafter referred to as “the shooting mode”). Is determined (S4). If the printing mode is the immediate printing mode, it is determined whether or not there is a battery capacity required before printing is completed based on the remaining capacity information of the camera battery 36 (S5). If it is determined that there is not enough battery capacity before the printing is completed, a warning display indicating that printing is not possible is displayed on the LCD display 41 (S
6). However, in this example, since the photographing itself is not prohibited, after the AF and AE processing (S7), the photographing can be performed by fully pressing the release button (second trigger).

As described above, in this embodiment, the remaining capacity of the battery is determined, including the amount of power required until the end of printing, and if the remaining capacity is less than the required amount, a warning is given before the start of photographing. Therefore, the photographer can recognize before the start of photographing that the photographed image cannot be printed, and the problem that the photographed image cannot be printed can be prevented beforehand.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing another example of the photographing processing operation.

First, when the release button of the operation unit 35 is half-pressed (first trigger), the camera battery 36 is released.
Is checked. Specifically, the voltage detector 39
Thereby detecting the voltage value of the camera battery 36 (S1).
1). Subsequently, the remaining capacity X of the camera battery 36 is compared with the battery capacity (reference capacity A) required until the end of shooting. Specifically, the voltage value corresponding to the remaining capacity X is compared with the voltage value corresponding to the reference capacity A (S1).
2). When the remaining capacity X is smaller than the reference capacity A (X <A), a warning display indicating that shooting is not possible is displayed on the LC.
This is performed on the D display 41 (S13), and further, the second trigger is prohibited, and the photographing is not permitted even if the release button is fully pressed (S14).

If the remaining capacity X of the camera battery 36 is not less than the reference capacity A (X ≧ A), it is determined whether or not the print mode is set immediately (S15). If the print mode is not the immediate print mode, AF and AE processes are performed (S
16). In the immediate print mode, the remaining capacity X is compared with the battery capacity (reference capacity B; B> A) required until the end of printing. Specifically, the voltage value corresponding to the remaining capacity X is compared with the voltage value corresponding to the reference capacity B (S17). If the remaining capacity X is smaller than the reference capacity B (X <B), a warning display indicating that printing is not possible is displayed on the LCD display 41 (S18), the second trigger is prohibited, and the release button is pressed. Shooting is not permitted even if is fully pressed (S14).

As described above, in this embodiment, the remaining capacity of the battery is determined, including the amount of power required until the end of printing, and if the remaining capacity is less than the required amount, a warning to that effect is issued and the photographing is performed. Since this is prohibited, it is possible to reliably prevent the photographing from being wasted, and it is possible to prevent the problem that the photographed image cannot be printed.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be variously modified and implemented without departing from the gist thereof.

[0034]

According to the present invention, the remaining capacity of a battery is determined, including the amount of power required for printing, and if the remaining capacity is less than the required amount of power, a warning to that effect or shooting is performed. Since the printing is prohibited, the problem that the photographed image cannot be printed can be prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of an electronic camera with a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the electronic camera with a printer according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing another example of the operation of the electronic camera with a printer according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Lens system 12 ... CCD 13 ... A / D conversion / imaging circuit 14 ... Controller 15 ... Driver 16 ... Strobe 17 ... RISC / CPU 18 ... ROM 19 ... Bus 20 ... ASIC part 21 ... SRAM 22 ... Encoder circuit 23 ... D / A conversion circuit 24 ... Timing generator 25 ... Signal processor 26 ... AF / AE / A
WB integrator 27 SDRAM controller 28 JPEG controller 29 JPEG compression / decompression circuit 30 UART 31 PIO 32 SDRAM 33 CPU 34 EPROM 35 Operation unit 36 Camera battery 37 External power terminal 38 DC / DC Converter 39 ... Voltage detector 40 ... LCD driver 41 ... LCD display 42 ... Y-C mix circuit 43 ... Driver 44 ... Video out terminal 45 ... Driver 46 ... Serial I /
F terminal 47 ... Card I / F unit 50 ... Printer unit 51 ... I / O conversion unit 52 ... RISC / CPU 53 ... Film battery 54 ... DC / DC converter 55 ... Driver 56 ... Liquid crystal shutter 57 ... Driver 58 ... LED 59 ... Driver 60 ... Motor 61 ... Encoder 62 ... Sensor

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An electronic imaging means for photoelectrically converting a subject image to generate image information, a printing means for printing an image based on the image information, a mode setting means for setting a shooting mode, and operating the camera. If the shooting mode set by the mode setting means is a shooting mode for shooting an image and automatically printing an image based on the shot image information after shooting, Means for determining the remaining amount of the battery including the amount of power required for printing; and, if the determining unit determines that the remaining amount of the battery is less than the required amount of power, An electronic camera, comprising: a warning unit that warns of the fact. 2. An electronic imaging means for generating image information by photoelectrically converting a subject image, a printing means for printing an image based on the image information, a mode setting means for setting a shooting mode, and operating the camera. If the shooting mode set by the mode setting means is a shooting mode for shooting an image and automatically printing an image based on the shot image information after shooting, Means for determining the remaining amount of the battery, including the amount of power required for printing, and prohibiting shooting if the determining unit determines that the remaining amount of the battery is less than the required amount of power. An electronic camera, comprising: control means; 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the determining means includes a battery voltage detecting means for detecting a battery voltage, and a comparing means for comparing the detected voltage value with a specified value. 3. The electronic camera according to claim 1, wherein the comparison is performed with a higher specified value in a photographing mode in which printing is performed selectively than in a photographing mode without printing. 4.