JP2002312078A - Information processing device and method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eliminate erroneous decision due to false detection of battery voltage. SOLUTION: When a primary battery is determined to be used in a step 5 and a zoom is determined to be used in a step 6, a zoom continuing flag indicating whether a state is set to detect the voltage of a battery (the primary battery) or not is set to be an off state indicating a state that does not detect the voltage of the battery, in a step 8.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a program, and more particularly, to an information processing apparatus that detects a voltage value of a battery and executes a predetermined process using the detected voltage value. Methods and programs.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, devices for capturing a still image or a moving image, processing the captured image as digital data, and recording the digital data on a recording medium are becoming widespread. In such a device, internal circuits are driven by electric power supplied from a battery. As the battery, for example, a primary battery typified by an alkaline dry battery or the like, or a secondary battery typified by a lithium ion battery or the like is used.

[0003]

As a device for capturing a still image or a moving image and recording it on a recording medium, for example, there is a device such as a video camera provided with a zoom function. When a function such as zooming is executed, the primary battery and the secondary battery have different voltage drops as shown in FIG.

In FIG. 1, the vertical axis represents voltage, and the horizontal axis represents time. In FIG. 1, the voltage change of the primary battery is indicated by a solid line, and the voltage change of the secondary battery is indicated by a dotted line. When zooming, the voltage drop of the primary battery is large,
The value is smaller than the pre-end threshold. On the other hand, the voltage drop of the secondary battery is small and does not exceed the pre-end threshold during zooming.

In a video camera or the like, a process such as calculating the remaining drive time from the capacity of the battery and providing the information to the user is performed. In order to perform such processing, a video camera or the like constantly monitors the remaining amount of the battery. As a result, as shown in FIG. 1, when the remaining amount of the monitored battery falls below the pre-end threshold, the user is warned that the remaining driving time is short, and when the remaining amount falls below the end threshold, Processing such as stopping driving of the video camera is executed.

Since such a process is performed, when a process such as zooming is performed and a primary battery is used as a power supply, the voltage may temporarily drop below the pre-end threshold. Can be As a result, an erroneous determination may be made as the remaining drive time.

The present invention has been made in view of such a situation. When a process such as zooming is being performed, a predetermined process such as a determination of a remaining driving time is not executed depending on a type of a battery. By doing so, the purpose is to make the error in the predetermined processing.

[0008]

An information processing apparatus according to the present invention comprises a determining means for determining whether or not a mounted battery is a primary battery, and information relating to a voltage obtained by the mounted battery. Input means for inputting the information, execution means for executing a predetermined process using the information on the voltage input by the input means, and when the battery mounted is determined to be a primary battery by the determination means, and And stopping means for stopping the execution of the predetermined processing by the execution means when the processing with a large voltage drop is executed.

The apparatus further includes comparing means for comparing a voltage value indicated by the information on the voltage input by the input means with a predetermined voltage value, and as a result of the comparing means, the voltage value indicated by the information on the voltage is equal to or less than the predetermined voltage value. If it is determined that the processing is stopped, the processing by the stopping means can be prevented from being performed.

According to the information processing method of the present invention, there is provided a determining step for determining whether or not a mounted battery is a primary battery, and an executing step for executing a predetermined process using information on a voltage. When it is determined that the battery installed in the step is a primary battery, and when a process with a large voltage drop is performed, a stop step for stopping the execution of the predetermined process by the process of the execution step; It is characterized by including.

A program according to the present invention includes a determining step of determining whether a mounted battery is a primary battery, an executing step of executing a predetermined process using information on a voltage, and a determining step. When it is determined that the battery installed in the process is a primary battery, and when a process with a large voltage drop is executed, a stop step of stopping the execution of the predetermined process in the execution step is executed by the computer. To run.

In the information processing apparatus and method and the program according to the present invention, it is determined whether or not the attached battery is a primary battery, and a predetermined process is executed using information on a voltage. When it is determined that the attached battery is the primary battery and when a process with a large voltage drop is executed, the execution of the predetermined process is stopped.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a video camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The video camera 1 includes an imaging unit 2 including an imaging lens and a motor for driving the lens. The imaging unit 2 converts the captured image signal as an analog signal into a digital signal and outputs the digital signal to the image processing unit 3.

The image processing unit 3 performs various processes such as white balance adjustment on the input image signal.
The processed image signal is output to the display unit 4 and the recording medium 11 as necessary. The display unit 4 includes a liquid crystal or the like, and displays an image corresponding to an image signal from the image processing unit 3. The recording medium 11 records an image signal from the image processing unit 3.

The control of these parts is performed by a microcomputer (hereinafter abbreviated as a microcomputer) 5.
That is, the microcomputer 5 drives the motor of the imaging unit 2, instructs processing by the image processing unit 3, controls the recording of the image signal on the recording medium 11, reads the image signal from the recording medium 11, and causes the display unit 4 to display the image signal. Control in such a case. The microcomputer 5 stores a coefficient used to correct a temperature-dependent change in a voltage value, which will be described later, in a storage unit 6.
Is also connected.

The storage unit 6 stores a ROM (Random Access Memory).
y), EEPROM (electrically erasable and programmable)
ROM). The storage unit 6 may be provided separately from the microcomputer 5 as shown in FIG. 2, or may be included in the microcomputer 5.

The microcomputer 5 is also connected to the microcomputer 7 so that data can be exchanged with each other.
The microcomputer 7 performs a process corresponding to a signal from the operation unit 8 and controls the power control unit 9. For example, the operation unit 8 includes a button (not shown) operated by the user, and when the button is operated, the microcomputer 7 performs a process corresponding to the operated button in the video camera 1. It is executed by controlling each unit.

The battery 12 is detachably connected to the video camera 1 and supplies power to each unit in the video camera 1. The control regarding the supply is performed by the power supply control unit 9 under the instruction of the microcomputer 7.

The recording medium 11 is detachably connected to the video camera 1, and has a tape shape, a disk shape, a stick shape, a card shape and the like. Specifically, video tape, CD-R (Compact Di
sk-Recordable), DVD-RAM (Digital Versatile Disk R)
andom Access Memory), Memory Stick (trademark)
And so on.

FIG. 3 shows the battery 12 and the video camera 1.
3 is a diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of a portion that mainly performs a process related to the battery 12. Battery 12 is battery 1
And a temperature sensor 2 for detecting the temperature of the battery 12 for storing electric power in order to fulfill the function of the battery 2.
2. A microcomputer 2 that processes data from the temperature sensor 22
3. A communication unit 24 that communicates with the video camera 1 according to an instruction from the microcomputer 23 is provided.

In this embodiment, as described above, the case where the temperature sensor 22 is provided on the battery 12 so that the temperature can be detected will be described as an example. 22 may be provided.

The video camera 1 further includes a communication unit 31 for exchanging data with the battery 12. The communication unit 31 exchanges data with the battery 12 (communication unit 24) under the control of the microcomputer 7.

FIG. 4 shows a detailed configuration of the microcomputer 7.
In the microcomputer 7 shown in FIG. 4, an interrupt controller 42 generates an interrupt in response to a request from a timer 41, and an input port 44 and an output port 45 are controlled by a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 43. The communication with the battery 12 is performed.

Similarly to the microcomputer 7, the microcomputer 23 on the battery 12 side has an input port and an output port (not shown) independently, but the communication unit 24 and the communication unit 31 are respectively provided with combining circuits (not shown). By being included, the interface is configured so that bidirectional asynchronous communication can be performed with one communication line.

Although not shown in FIG. 4, the microcomputer 7
Is provided with an input port and an output port for communicating with the microcomputer 5. Similarly, the microcomputer 5 is also provided with an input port and an output port for communicating with the microcomputer 7.

Incidentally, as the above-mentioned battery 12, there are a primary battery and a secondary battery. When the battery 12 is a primary battery or a secondary battery, for example, the magnitude of the voltage drop when a function that uses a relatively large amount of power, such as zooming, is executed. different. That is, the primary battery has a larger voltage drop when a function such as zooming is performed than the secondary battery.

When such a function with a large voltage drop is being performed, the voltage of the battery 12 is detected, and the remaining driving time of the video camera 1 is calculated based on the detected voltage. , There is a possibility that an incorrect calculation is performed. About this,
This will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 5, the horizontal axis represents time, the vertical axis represents voltage, and a graph showing changes in voltage values of the primary battery and the secondary battery during zooming and at times other than zooming. In FIG. 5, the solid line indicates a change in the voltage value of the primary battery, and the dotted line indicates a change in the voltage value of the secondary battery.

As shown in FIG. 5A, the primary battery
The voltage drop when using the zoom is larger than that of the next battery. Therefore, when a primary battery is used as the battery 12 when using the zoom, the user is notified (warned) that the voltage of the battery 12 is low (the remaining driving time of the video camera 1 is short). Therefore, there is a possibility that the voltage of the battery 12 may temporarily drop below the pre-end threshold value (for example, 6.65 volts) set.

As shown in FIG. 5B, when a primary battery is used as the battery 12 when using the zoom, an end threshold value (for example, 6 V) set as a voltage for stopping the driving of the video camera 1 is used. (.50 volts) or less, the voltage of the battery 12 may temporarily drop.

It is not preferable to use the voltage value detected at the time of such a temporary sudden voltage drop as the voltage value for calculating the remaining drive time. Therefore,
In the present embodiment, in order to avoid such an undesirable state, the detection of the voltage value is mainly performed in accordance with the processing of the flowchart shown in FIG.

That is, in step S1, it is determined whether or not the zoom continuation flag is on. The zoom continuation flag is a flag provided to eliminate an erroneous determination caused by a temporary voltage drop due to execution of the zoom function. When this flag is turned on, the zoom function is executed. During this time, the voltage value of the battery 12 is not detected.

If it is determined in step S1 that the zoom continuation flag is ON, the process proceeds to step S2,
It is determined whether the zoom is being used. The determination as to whether or not the zoom is being used is made by determining whether or not a button (not shown) for instructing the zoom of the operation unit 8 has been operated.

If it is determined in step S2 that the zoom function is not being used, the process proceeds to step S3, and the zoom continuation flag is reset to off. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S2 that the zoom function is being used, the process proceeds to step S4, and the zoom flag is kept on.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1 that the zoom continuation flag is not on, step S5
Then, it is determined whether the battery 12 is a primary battery. Whether the battery is a primary battery or not can be determined, for example, by providing a physical projection on the portion of the video camera 1 where the battery 12 is mounted, and 1 when the projection is pressed.
The determination can be made by providing a function that can determine that the battery is a secondary battery (or a secondary battery).

As another method of determining the type of the battery 12, information output by the microcomputer 23 of the battery 12 includes
Information indicating that the battery 12 is used is included, and the video camera 1 determines whether the information is acquired from the battery 12 so that the
It may be possible to determine whether the battery is a secondary battery or a secondary battery.

If it is determined in step S5 that the primary battery is being used, the flow advances to step S6 to determine whether or not the zoom is being used. If it is determined in step S6 that the zoom is being used, the process proceeds to step S6.
Go to 7. The process proceeds to step S7 when the primary battery is used and the zoom function is being executed. Therefore, a state as shown in FIG. 5A may occur, and as described above, an erroneous determination may occur due to a temporary voltage drop.

In order to prevent such a situation, when the primary battery is used and the zoom function is executed,
Although the detection of the voltage value of the battery 12 is not performed, there is a possibility that the state shown in FIG. That is, the primary battery deteriorates as the usage time elapses, and therefore, when the zoom function is executed, the voltage may be temporarily, but lower than the end threshold value.

Even if it is temporary, the voltage drops below the end threshold value. As a result, even if the microcomputer 5 or 7 performs a predetermined process, the minimum necessary voltage is secured. Indicates that an impossible situation may occur. It is inconvenient for the user that a situation occurs in which the microcomputer 5 and the microcomputer 7 cannot execute the predetermined processing due to insufficient voltage. Therefore, it is necessary to avoid such a situation.

Referring again to FIG. 5, in the state as shown in FIG. 5B, that is, in the state where the voltage is equal to or less than the end threshold value during zooming, the voltage before the zoom function is executed is also changed as shown in FIG. It can be seen that this is lower than the state in which the value does not fall below the end threshold value during zooming as shown in A). By taking advantage of this, when the voltage value before zooming is equal to or less than a predetermined value, even if the primary battery is used and the zoom is being used, the detection of the voltage value and the detection of the voltage value are performed. To perform the process using the voltage value (ie,
The zoom continuation flag is turned off).

Returning to the description of the processing in the flowchart of FIG. 6, in step S7, it is determined whether or not the voltage value of the primary battery before zooming is greater than a value obtained by adding an arbitrary value to the battery end threshold. . The arbitrary value is a value equal to or slightly larger than a voltage drop width caused by executing the zoom function in a situation where the primary battery is used. By comparing the value obtained by adding the arbitrary value set in this way to the battery end threshold value with the voltage value of the primary battery before zooming, as a result, by executing the zoom function, the battery 12
It is possible to determine whether or not a situation occurs in which the voltage value becomes smaller than the end threshold value.

If it is determined in step S7 that the voltage value of the primary battery (battery 12) before the execution of the zoom function is equal to or greater than a value obtained by adding an arbitrary value to the battery end threshold value, the process proceeds to step S4. If it is determined that is, the process proceeds to step S8. When proceeding to step S4,
Even when the zoom function is executed and a temporary voltage drop occurs, it is confirmed that the voltage does not fall below the end threshold value. Is turned on.

On the other hand, when the process proceeds to step S8, the zoom function is executed, and if a temporary voltage drop occurs, the voltage value of the battery 12 may fall below the end threshold value. Could shut down. In order to prevent such a situation, step S8
In the above, even when the primary battery is used and the zoom function is being executed, the zoom continuation flag is turned on, and the battery 1
2 is detected.

In step S5, when it is determined that the primary battery is not used (when it is determined that the secondary battery is used), or when it is determined that the zoom is not used in step S6. The process proceeds to step S8. In such a case, it is necessary to pay special attention to the voltage drop.
The zoom continuation flag is set to off, that is, the battery 1
The second voltage value is set to be detected.

Then, in step S9, it is determined whether or not the detected voltage value of the battery 12 is equal to or less than a voltage value (that is, an end threshold value) set as a limit of use of the primary battery or the secondary battery. Is determined. Battery 1
When it is determined that the voltage value of the battery 2 is equal to or less than the end threshold value, for example, a message that prompts the user to recognize that the battery 12 needs to be replaced,
Processing such as stopping driving of the video camera 1 is performed.
When it is determined that the voltage value of the battery 12 is equal to or more than the end threshold, the process returns to step S1, and the subsequent processes are repeated.

As described above, the pre-end threshold, the end threshold,
The value such as an arbitrary value in step S7 is stored in the storage unit 6, and the microcomputer 5 performs the above-described processing using the information stored in the storage unit 6.

As described above, when a voltage drop occurs temporarily by executing the zoom function or the like, the voltage value of the battery 12 is not detected so that the temporary voltage It is possible to prevent an erroneous determination due to the descent (for example, an erroneous determination when the remaining drive time is calculated).

Further, by providing the processing as in step S7 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 6, the voltage of the battery 12 becomes lower than the minimum voltage required for driving the video camera 1, and As a result, it is possible to prevent inconvenience such as shutdown from occurring.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the video camera 1 is used has been described as an example. However, it is needless to say that the present invention can be applied to other devices using a battery. . Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case of the zoom function has been described as an example. However, in a case where a function that consumes more power than other functions, such as charging a flash, is executed, or the like. Also, the effects described above can be obtained by applying the present invention.

Since the zoom function and the flash function consume more power than other functions, there is a possibility that a large voltage drop will occur if they are executed simultaneously.
As a result, an inconvenient state may occur. Therefore, a mechanism that does not simultaneously execute functions that consume a large amount of power, such as a zoom function and a flash function, may be provided.

The series of processes described above can be executed by hardware, but can also be executed by software. When a series of processing is executed by software, it is possible to execute various functions by installing a computer in which the programs constituting the software are embedded in dedicated hardware, or by installing various programs For example, it is installed from a recording medium to a general-purpose personal computer or the like. Hereinafter, the recording medium will be described.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of a general-purpose personal computer. Personal computer
The CPU (Central Processing Unit) 101 has a ROM (Read
Various processes are executed in accordance with a program stored in the OnlyMemory 102. RAM (Random Access Memor
y) 103 stores data and programs necessary for the CPU 101 to execute various types of processing. The input / output interface 105 is connected to an input unit 106 including a keyboard and a mouse.
6 is output to the CPU 101. The output unit 107 including a display and a speaker is also connected to the input / output interface 105.

The input / output interface 105 further includes a storage unit 108 such as a hard disk,
Further, a communication unit 109 for exchanging data with another device via a network such as the Internet is also connected. The drive 110 includes a magnetic disk 121, an optical disk 122, a magneto-optical disk 123, a semiconductor memory 12
4 is used when reading data from or writing data to a recording medium such as a recording medium.

As shown in FIG. 7, the recording medium is a magnetic disk 121 (including a floppy disk) on which the program is recorded and an optical disk 122, which are distributed to provide the program to the user, separately from the personal computer. (CD-ROM (CompactDisk-Read Only Memory),
Not only is it composed of a package medium including a DVD (including a digital versatile disk), a magneto-optical disk 123 (including an MD (Mini-Disk)), or a semiconductor memory 124, but also in a state in which it is built in a computer in advance. It is provided with a hard disk including a ROM 102 storing a program and a storage unit 108 provided to a user.

In the present specification, the steps of describing a program provided by a medium are not limited to time-series processing, but may be performed in parallel according to the described order. Alternatively, it also includes individually executed processing.

In this specification, the system is
It represents the entire device composed of a plurality of devices.

[0056]

According to the information processing apparatus, method, and program of the present invention, it is determined whether or not a mounted battery is a primary battery, and a predetermined process is performed using information on a voltage. When it is determined that the attached battery is a primary battery and when a process with a large voltage drop is executed, the execution of the predetermined process is stopped. Can be appropriately performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a voltage drop.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of a video camera to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a detailed configuration of a battery 12;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a detailed configuration of a microcomputer 7;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a voltage drop.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a process related to detection of a voltage value.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a medium.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 video camera, 2 imaging unit, 3 image processing unit,
4 display unit, 5 microcomputer, 6 storage unit, 7 microcomputer, 8 operation unit, 9 power supply control unit, 11 recording medium, 12 battery, 21 battery cell,
22 temperature sensor, 23 microcomputer, 24 communication section, 31 communication section, 41 timer, 42 interrupt controller, 43 CPU, 44 input port, 45 output port

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing from the front page (72) Hiroshi Abe Inventor F-term (reference) in Sony Corporation 6-7-35 Kita-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 5B011 DA06 EA10 GG04 JA06 5C022 AB40 AB66 AC16 AC18 AC69 AC73 5G003 BA01 DA02 DA14 EA06 FA07 GC05 5H030 AA04 AS18 BB27

Claims (4)

[Claims] A determination unit configured to determine whether a mounted battery is a primary battery; an input unit configured to input information regarding a voltage obtained by the mounted battery; An execution unit that executes a predetermined process using the input information about the voltage; and a process in which the determination unit determines that the mounted battery is a primary battery, and that has a large voltage drop. An information processing apparatus, comprising: a stop unit that, when executed, stops execution of the predetermined process by the execution unit. 2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a comparing unit configured to compare a voltage value indicated by the information on the voltage input by the input unit with a predetermined voltage value. When it is determined that the voltage is equal to or less than the predetermined voltage value,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing by the stop unit is not performed. A determining step of determining whether or not the attached battery is a primary battery; an executing step of performing a predetermined process using information regarding a voltage; 1 battery installed
And a stop step of stopping the execution of the predetermined process by the execution step when it is determined that the battery is the next battery and when a process with a large voltage drop is executed. Method. A determining step of determining whether or not the mounted battery is a primary battery; an executing step of performing a predetermined process using information on a voltage; 1 battery installed
A step of causing the computer to execute a stop step of stopping the execution of the predetermined processing in the execution step when it is determined that the battery is the next battery and when processing with a large voltage drop is executed.