JP2002232770A - Image recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To avoid occurrence of camera shake even if a camera is made small- sized and light-weight. SOLUTION: An image recording apparatus 1 comprises an imaging lens system 3 to optically cut an image from the outside, a record medium 10 to fetch the image cut by the lens system 3 and record it as image information, and an operating means to output an image fetch instruction for fetching the image cut by the lens system 3 into the medium 10, where the operating means are touch sensors 8a, 8b sensing touches by different types of bodies.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to a novel image recording apparatus. More specifically, the present invention relates to a technique for preventing a minute movement of a camera caused by pressing a shutter button at the time of shutter release, that is, a so-called camera shake.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIGS. 19 to 21 show an example a of a camera as a conventional image recording apparatus.

The camera a has a lens system c and an optical finder d which are located on the front of a housing b and faces forward.
A power switch e and a shutter switch f are provided on the upper surface of the housing b (see FIGS. 19 and 20).

[0004] In an electronic recording type camera, a so-called digital camera, an image pickup device for converting an image cut by the lens system c into an electric signal in a housing b, and the image pickup device converts the image into an electric signal. A recording medium or the like for receiving and recording the image signal thus recorded is housed. In a silver halide camera, a silver halide film or the like is stored as a recording medium in a housing b.

When taking a picture, first, the power switch e is turned on, and the shutter switch f is depressed at an appropriate time. With the pressing of the shutter switch f, in the case of a digital camera, an image signal converted into an electric signal by an image sensor is recorded on a recording medium, and in the case of a silver halide camera, a silver halide film is exposed and an image is recorded. Is done.

[0006]

Incidentally, the above-mentioned conventional camera a has a problem of so-called camera shake.

For example, when a right-handed person shoots with the camera a, as shown in FIG. 21, the left hand g holds the camera a, and the right hand h holds the camera a while holding the camera a with the finger i of the right hand h. Press the shutter switch f. Then, when the shutter switch f is pressed with the finger i of the right hand h, a force is applied in the direction of arrow A, and the camera a moves as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. Therefore, there is a problem that a clear image cannot be obtained.

Conventionally, in order to prevent the above-mentioned camera shake, (1) the camera must be large and heavy so that the camera can be held firmly by hand when the shutter switch is pressed. Give a feeling (2)
Methods such as fixing the camera to a tripod or the like have been adopted.

[0009] On the other hand, on the other hand, there is a demand for smaller and lighter cameras in order to enhance portability. If the camera is small and lightweight, camera shake is likely to occur.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to reduce camera shake even when the camera is small and lightweight.

[0011]

According to the present invention, there is provided an image recording apparatus comprising:
In order to solve the above-described problems, an optical system that optically cuts an image from the outside, a recording medium that captures the image cut by the optical system and records the image as image information, and records the image cut by the optical system into the recording medium Operating means for outputting an image capturing command to be captured into a medium, wherein the operating means is a touch sensor for detecting contact of a foreign object.

Therefore, in the image recording apparatus of the present invention,
An image capture command can be issued by simply touching the touch sensor with a different kind of object, for example, a finger, so there is no need to apply force to move the camera like pressing a conventional shutter button (switch). Therefore, it is possible to prevent the movement of the camera at the time of capturing an image, that is, camera shake.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the image recording apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In each of the illustrated embodiments, the present invention is applied to an electronic camera, a so-called digital camera.

FIGS. 1 to 9 show a first embodiment of the image recording apparatus of the present invention.
1 shows a digital camera 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The digital camera 1 has a housing 2, and a front end of a photographing lens system 3 is exposed on a front surface 2 a of the housing 2. The front end of the optical viewfinder 4 is exposed on the front surface of the housing 2 and the rear end is exposed on the back surface 2b of the housing 2 (see FIGS. 1 and 2). A liquid crystal display device 5 is disposed at substantially the center of the rear surface 2b of the housing 2 as image display means (see FIG. 2). The liquid crystal display device 5 displays the remaining amount of a battery, the number of shots, and the like, which will be described later, and can be used as an image output device to display a shot image. In addition, if an image cut by the photographing lens system 3 can be displayed (via an image sensor), it can be used as a finder, and the optical finder 4 can be omitted. Further, a camera / viewer switch (liquid crystal display device 5)
Mode setting switches 6, 6, and 6 for performing mode setting such as switching of an image to be output to a camera, editing of a captured image, and setting of a captured pixel (see FIG. 2).

A power switch 7 is provided on the upper surface 2c of the housing 2. When the power switch 7 is turned on, power is supplied to each unit, and the camera 1 becomes usable.

Two shutter switches 8a and 8b are arranged on the right side surface 2d of the housing 2 at an interval vertically (see FIG. 3). These shutter switches 8a, 8b
Is constituted by a touch sensor, that is, a sensor that senses contact of a foreign object, for example, a finger of a person.

The housing 2 has two slots 9a and 9b formed in the bottom surface 2e. The slot 9a has a memory stick as a recording medium for recording an image.
A storage module 10 such as a CF (Compact Flash (registered trademark) memory) card or smart media is mounted, and a battery 11 is mounted in a slot 9b (see FIG. 5). In addition, battery 1
1 may be a primary battery or a secondary battery, or
It may be possible to selectively use different types of batteries. Further, the recording medium for image information is not limited to the detachable storage module described above, but may be a memory built in the housing 2.

FIG. 8 shows an example of the circuit of the digital camera 1.

A system controller 12 composed of a microcomputer or the like controls all operations of the digital camera 1.

When the power switch 7 is turned on, power is supplied from the battery 11 to the system controller 12 and other circuits to be described later via the DC / DC converter 13.

An image pickup device 14 such as a CMOS or a CCD is provided. Optical information of an image cut out according to the angle of the photographing lens system 3 is input to the image pickup device 14.
As a result, the optical image information is converted into an electric image signal. Then, the electric image signal obtained by the image sensor 14 is processed by the image signal processing circuit 15 (for the image sensor). Then, the signal processed by the image signal processing circuit 15 is input to the image signal processing circuit 16 (for display) and the image compression / decompression circuit 17.

In the photographing mode, an image cut by the photographing lens system 3 is displayed on the liquid crystal display device 5 in real time on the basis of the signal processed by the image signal processing circuit 16 (for display). The display device 5 also functions as a finder.

In the image compression / expansion circuit 17, the signal input from the image signal processing circuit 15 is compressed and converted into a signal suitable for recording.

When the shutter switches 8a and 8b are sequentially touched (contacted), a command to capture an image is issued. That is, the signal (ON signal) that the shutter switches 8a and 8b are touched is transmitted to the system controller 1
The ON / OFF state of the shutter switches 8 a and 8 b is detected by the system controller 12, and when the ON / OFF state is predetermined (described later), the system controller 12 sends the signal to the image sensor 14. Then, an image capture command is issued to the image signal processing circuit 15, and the image signal from the image signal processing circuit 15 is compressed / compressed.
The image signal is compressed by the expansion circuit 17, and the compressed image signal is recorded in the storage module 10.

As described above, the digital camera 1
In FIG. 6, a touch sensor is used for the shutter switches 8a and 8b for issuing an image capture command.
As shown in FIG. 7, the digital camera 1 is held by one hand 18, and the finger 19 of the other hand is held as shown by an arrow in FIG.
The shutter switches 8a and 8b can be turned on and off in order by simply moving the shutter switches 8a and 8b along the right side surface 2d from top to bottom. Therefore, the shutter switches 8a, 8
The case 2 of the digital camera 1 does not exist in the direction in which the force caused by the movement of the finger 19 when operating b operates, so that the digital camera 1 moves when capturing an image, that is, so-called camera shake is prevented. Can be.

By the way, the shutter switch 8a,
Since the touch switch 8b is constituted by a touch sensor, there is a risk that an unintended image may be captured simply by touching the shutter switches 8a and 8b by mistake. Therefore, in the digital camera 1, the shutter switch 8
The time from when a is turned on until it is turned off, the time until the shutter switch 8b is turned on, and the time until the shutter switch 8b is turned off are measured, and the image is captured only when they meet the predetermined conditions. To do. That is, as shown in FIG. 9, the time when the shutter switch 8a is turned on is set as a reference time, the time until the shutter switch 8a is turned off is within T1, and the time until the shutter switch 8b is turned on is within T2. An image capture command is issued from the system controller 12 to the image sensor 14 and the image signal processing circuit 15 only when the time until the shutter switch 8b is turned off is within T3. By doing this,
Inadvertent, and therefore unnecessary, image captures are eliminated. Note that the conditions for capturing an image are not limited to those described above, and any condition may be set so as to prevent careless capture of an image.

As described above, the liquid crystal display device 5 includes:
In addition to displaying an image based on an image signal that has been cut by the photographing lens system 3 and converted into an electric signal by the image pickup device 14, that is, it functions as a viewfinder that displays an image captured by the photographing lens system 3, and has a mode. Various mode information at the time of setting can be displayed and an image recorded in the storage module 10 can be reproduced as a viewer.

Mode setting information by operating the mode setting switches 6, 6, 6 is input to the system controller 12, and a predetermined mode is set by the system controller 12 based on the setting information. At the same time as the setting of the predetermined mode, a command for displaying the mode information is output from the system controller 12 to the image signal processing circuit (for display) 16, and based on this, the predetermined mode information, for example,
In addition to the camera mode / viewer mode, the editing mode, the set photographing pixels, and the like are displayed, and the number of photographed images and the remaining battery level are displayed at appropriate times.

When used as a viewer, a reproduction command is issued to the image signal processing circuit 16 and the image compression / expansion circuit 17, and the compressed image information recorded in the storage module 10 is transmitted by the image compression / expansion circuit 17. After being expanded, it is output to the image signal processing circuit 16 and an image is displayed on the liquid crystal display device 5 based on the image signal.

FIGS. 10 and 11 show a modification 1A of the first embodiment.

Digital camera 1A according to this modification
Only differs from the digital camera 1 according to the first embodiment in the arrangement position of the shutter switches 8a and 8b.
Other configurations are the same as those of the digital camera 1 according to the first embodiment. Therefore, the same portions as those in the digital camera 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals as those described in the description of the first embodiment, and the detailed description is omitted.

Digital camera 1A according to this modification
, A shutter switch 8 is provided on the upper surface 2c of the housing 2.
a and 8b are arranged at intervals in the left-right direction (see FIG. 11). Needless to say, these shutter switches 8a and 8b are constituted by touch sensors.

Therefore, in the digital camera 1A, photographing, that is, issuance of an image capture command is performed by sequentially touching the two shutter switches 8a, 8a. That is, if the finger 19 of the other hand is slid in the direction shown by the arrow in FIG. 11 along the upper surface 2c of the housing 2 so as to sequentially touch the shutter switches 8a and 8b, the shutter switches 8a and 8b are sequentially turned ON. , OFF, thereby taking a picture.

Even in the digital camera 1A, the housing 2 is not positioned in the direction to which the force caused by the movement of the finger 19 at the time of photographing is applied, so that so-called camera shake does not occur.

FIG. 12 to FIG. 18 show a second embodiment in which the image recording apparatus of the present invention is applied to a digital camera. Since the digital camera 1B according to the second embodiment has almost the same configuration as the digital camera 1 according to the first embodiment, the same parts are similar to those of the digital camera 1B according to the first embodiment. The same reference numerals are given to the same reference numerals, and the detailed description is omitted.

The photographing lens system 3 is provided on the front surface 2Ba of the housing 2B.
And the front end of the optical viewfinder 4 is exposed with the front end facing forward (see FIG. 12). Optical finder 4
, That is, the eyepiece is exposed on the back surface 1Bb of the housing 2B (see FIG. 13).

A liquid crystal display device 5 is provided on the back surface 2Bb of the housing 2B.
And mode setting switches 6, 6, 6 (see FIG. 13).

The bottom surface 2Be of the housing 2B has a slot 9a,
The insertion opening of 9b is open, and the storage module 10 is removably accommodated in the slot 9a, and the battery 11 is removably accommodated in the slot 9b (see FIG. 15).

A shutter switch 8 and a shutter switch enable / disable switch (hereinafter, referred to as a "switch") 20 are arranged on the upper surface 2Bc of the housing 2B (see FIG. 14). The shutter switch 8 is composed of a touch sensor, and the changeover switch 20 is a push button type switch, which is turned on when the pressing is continued and turned off when the pressing is stopped. In addition,
Of course, the changeover switch 20 may be constituted by a touch sensor.

The relationship between the shutter switch 8 and the changeover switch 20 is as follows.
That is, when the changeover switch 20 is ON and the time from when the shutter switch 8 is turned ON to OFF is equal to or less than a predetermined time, the above-described image capture command is issued from the system controller 12. That is, when photographing, as shown in FIGS. 16 and 17,
While holding the digital camera 1B with one hand 18 and pressing the changeover switch 20 with its finger 18a, and keeping the changeover switch 20 pressed, the finger 19 of the other hand is moved to the upper surface 2Bc of the housing 2B. Is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 17 to touch the shutter switch 8. As a result, the changeover switch 20 is turned on, and the shutter switch 8 is turned on for a certain time. The ON state of each switch 8, 20 is shown in FIG.
8, the changeover switch 20 is turned on.
In the state, the shutter switch 8 is turned on, and
FF, shutter switch 8 is turned ON, then OF
The above-described image capture command is issued when the time until F is less than or equal to T1 (see FIG. 18). Therefore, the image is captured only when the photographer operates the changeover switch 20 and the shutter switch 8 in consideration of the image capturing, that is, the image capturing, and the photographer unconsciously touches the shutter switch 8. No image is captured.

In the case of the digital camera 1B, two switches 8 and 20 are operated at the time of photographing.
Since the pressed state of the changeover switch 20 is continued, the digital camera 1B does not move when the changeover switch 20 is pressed, and the shutter switch 8 is only touched by stroking.
No force is exerted to move the digital camera 1B, so that there is no so-called camera shake during photographing.

As is apparent from the above description, the image recording apparatus according to the present invention employs a touch sensor as a means for designating the timing of issuing an image capture command by simply touching it. Therefore, unlike the shutter button in a conventional image recording apparatus such as a camera, camera shake does not occur at the time of shutter release, and therefore, it is possible to record a clear image without camera shake even if the size and weight are reduced. .

In each of the above embodiments,
Although the present invention is applied to a digital camera that records an image as an electric signal, in particular, a digital signal, the present invention is not limited to an image recording apparatus to which the present invention can be applied. Instead, the present invention can be widely applied to other types of image recording apparatuses, for example, so-called silver halide cameras using a silver halide film as a recording medium for recording images.

The shape and structure of each part shown in each of the above-described embodiments are merely examples of the specific embodiments to be carried out when carrying out the present invention. The scope should not be construed as limiting.

[0046]

As is apparent from the above description, the image recording apparatus of the present invention is an optical system for optically cutting an image from the outside, and takes in the image cut by the optical system and records it as image information. A recording medium, comprising: an operation unit for outputting an image capture command for capturing an image cut by the optical system into the recording medium, wherein the operation unit is a touch sensor that detects contact of a foreign object. And

Therefore, in the image recording apparatus of the present invention,
An image capture command can be issued by simply touching the touch sensor with a different kind of object, for example, a finger, so there is no need to apply force to move the camera like pressing a conventional shutter button (switch). Therefore, it is possible to prevent the movement of the camera at the time of capturing an image, that is, camera shake.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, two touch sensors are provided as the operating means, and an image capture command is output when the two touch sensors are sequentially contacted by different kinds of objects. Thus, it is possible to prevent erroneous operation of the two touch sensors or unintended contact, thereby preventing erroneous image capture.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, an image capture command is output when the two touch sensors are contacted by a different kind of object for a predetermined time within a predetermined time. Therefore, erroneous image capture is more reliably prevented.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an erroneous operation preventing means for displaying an image capturing enabled state and an image capturing disabled state, and the erroneous operation preventing means is provided with an image capturing enabled state. Sometimes, the image capture command is output by the touch sensor being touched by a different kind of object, so that it is possible to reliably prevent the capture of an erroneous image due to unintended contact with the touch sensor. it can.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image pickup device for converting an image cut by the optical system into an electric signal, and an electric recording medium for recording the image signal converted into the electric signal. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the size and weight and to prevent camera shake at the time of capturing an image while being small and lightweight.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the image recording apparatus of the present invention, together with FIGS.
1 shows a digital camera according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a front view.

FIG. 2 is a rear view.

FIG. 3 is a right side view.

FIG. 4 is a top view.

FIG. 5 is a bottom view.

FIG. 6 shows a use state together with FIG. 7, and FIG. 6 is a front view.

FIG. 7 is a right side view.

FIG. 8 is a block circuit diagram.

FIG. 9 is a time chart.

FIG. 10 shows a modification together with FIG. 11, and this figure is a front view.

FIG. 11 is a top view.

FIG. 12 shows a second embodiment of the image recording apparatus of the present invention together with FIGS. 13 to 18 and is a front view.

FIG. 13 is a rear view.

FIG. 14 is a top view.

FIG. 15 is a bottom view.

16 shows a use state together with FIG. 17, and FIG. 16 is a front view.

FIG. 17 is a top view.

FIG. 18 is a time chart.

19 shows an example of a conventional image recording apparatus together with FIG. 20 and FIG. 21, and FIG. 19 is a front view.

FIG. 20 is a top view.

FIG. 21 is a front view showing a use state.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Digital camera (image recording device), 3 ... Photo-taking lens system (optical system), 8a ... Touch sensor (operation means)
8b: Touch sensor (operation means), 10: Storage module (recording medium), 14: Image sensor, 19: Finger (heterogeneous object), 1A: Digital camera (image recording device), 1B: Digital camera (image recording device) , 20
… Shutter switch enable / disable switch (error operation prevention means)

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Tsutomu Nishi 7-35 Kita-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo F-term within Sony Corporation (reference) 2H020 FB00 2H054 AA01 5C022 AA13 AB17 AB55 AC31 AC42 AC52 AC69 AC74

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An optical system that optically cuts an image from outside, a recording medium that captures an image cut by the optical system, and records the image as image information, and an image that captures an image cut by the optical system into the recording medium. An image recording apparatus comprising: an operation unit for outputting a capture command; wherein the operation unit is a touch sensor that detects contact of a different kind of object. 2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: two touch sensors as the operation means, wherein an image capture command is output when the two touch sensors are sequentially contacted by different kinds of objects. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1. 3. The image recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein an image capture command is output when the two touch sensors are contacted by a different kind of object for a predetermined time within a predetermined time. apparatus. 4. An erroneous operation prevention means for displaying an image capture enabled state and an image capture disabled state, wherein the touch sensor is contacted by a foreign object when the erroneous operation prevention means is in an image capture enabled state. 2. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an image capture command is output by the operation. 5. An image pickup device for converting an image cut by the optical system into an electric signal, and an electric recording medium for recording the image signal converted into the electric signal. 2. The image recording device according to 1.