JP2003264732A - Digital camera - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a digital camera having a configuration in which a photographing chance is not missed by standby time for photographing preparation. <P>SOLUTION: A portable digital camera is provided with a pre-boot switch 8 enabling the initialization of the camera in a stage that a hand of a person touches it and a control part 9 connected to the pre-boot switch 8 on the input side, connected to at least the drive part 14 of a lens required for photographing on the output side and capable of starting a power source circuit 15, as the configuration of setting an activation form beforehand in the stage that the person touches it when carried. The control part 9 advances for a certain degree and sets system processings before photographing including power supply, system reset cancellation, the setting of a photographing parameter and the initial position return of the lens by signals from the pre-boot switch 8. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a digital camera, and more particularly, to a start-up structure for shooting.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Cameras as photographing devices include those using a silver salt film and digital cameras capable of electronically and magnetically recording and storing photographed images without using this film. In addition to providing a viewfinder for visually recognizing an object to be photographed, a digital camera often has a liquid crystal screen on which a photographed image can be confirmed and a photographing mode can be set.

[0003]

When taking a picture with a digital camera, for example, it is necessary to open a protective cover that serves as a barrier covering the front surface of the taking lens or to activate a liquid crystal screen. At that time, a certain waiting time is required until the start-up circuit is activated and the preparation for shooting is completed, which may cause a missed shooting opportunity.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a digital camera having a structure capable of preventing a shooting opportunity from being missed due to a problem in the above-mentioned conventional digital camera, that is, a waiting time until preparation for shooting. .

Another object of the present invention is to provide a digital camera having a structure capable of identifying a case where a human hand touches it without malfunction and preparing for shooting as a structure for preventing a shooting opportunity from being missed. It is in.

[0006]

The invention according to claim 1 is
A portable digital camera is characterized in that it has a configuration in which a start position is advanced to some extent in advance before a shooting position is set when a person touches it while carrying the camera.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the first aspect of the invention, a configuration in which the starting position is set in advance is
A pre-boot switch that enables initial settings of the camera when touched by human hands, and the above pre-boot switch is connected to the input side, and at least the lens drive unit necessary for shooting is connected to the output side and the power circuit is connected. The control unit includes a control unit capable of starting up, and the control unit performs, to some extent, system processing before photographing including power-on, system reset release, photographing parameter setting, and lens initial position return by a signal from the pre-boot switch. It is characterized by making progress.

In addition to the invention described in claim 2, the invention described in claim 3 is characterized in that the pre-boot switch is composed of an optical switch using infrared rays.

In addition to the invention described in claim 2, the invention described in claim 4 is characterized in that a pressure sensor is used for the pre-boot switch.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the second aspect of the invention, the pre-boot switch has a structure capable of detecting a change in electrostatic capacitance when a human hand touches the pre-boot switch. I am trying.

In addition to the invention described in claim 2, the invention described in claim 6 is characterized in that the pre-boot switch has a configuration capable of identifying the owner of the camera.

[0012]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an external view of a portable digital camera embodying the present invention. A digital camera 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a liquid crystal screen 2 as a display section. On the other hand, the base is rotatably supported and can be opened and closed by being able to tilt up and down with respect to the main body.
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 3 denotes an elastic body mounted on the base of the liquid crystal screen 2, and this elastic body 3 is the liquid crystal screen 2.
Has a function of maintaining the open position and the closed position.

A part of the main body has a rectangular parallelepiped structure that opens and closes as a liquid crystal screen 2. The front side wall surface of the main body on the side where the base of the liquid crystal screen 2 is located is used as a finder for visually recognizing the photographing lens 4 and a photographing target. Each of the transparent windows 5 is provided,
The shutter 6 is provided on the upper surface of the wall surface where these members are provided.
The operating member 7 for opening the protective cover and the protective cover are provided in a state of being gathered on the same surface, and both members can be operated by one hand capable of operating the same surface.

A pre-boot switch 8 having a larger area than the shutter 6 and operating when touched by a human hand is provided in the vicinity of the surface on which the shutter 6 is arranged. Since the pre-boot switch 8 is premised to operate when touched by a human hand, the remaining surface excluding the positions of the shutter 6 and the operation member 7 can be used as the operation surface.

The pre-boot switch 8 is connected to the input side of the microcomputer which constitutes the control unit 9 shown in FIG. 2, in addition to the pre-boot switch 8, the control unit 9 includes a system activation switch 10, a key matrix 11, and an imaging optical element (CCD) that is a photoelectric conversion element.
12 is connected to the input side, and a liquid crystal screen (LCD) is used on the output side, a display system 12, an aperture drive unit (for convenience, only the aperture mechanism unit is schematically shown) 13, a lens zooming mechanism unit (for convenience). , And the lens is schematically shown as a substitute for the mechanical portion) 14 are respectively connected.

The control unit 9 is a power supply circuit for activating the system until the system activation switch 10 corresponding to the main switch at the time of setting the photographing position is activated when the preboot switch 8 is activated. DC power supply 15
In addition to starting up, release the system reset as a preparation for shooting and parameters necessary for shooting, that is, preparation for capturing data for photometry and distance measurement, and processing to return the initial position of the lens to some extent. It has become.

Preceding processing of the photographing system including these processing is not intended for the entire system but within a range that can be executed in a time until the system start switch 10 is activated. As a result, when the system start-up switch 10 is actuated, various processes started up from this point have progressed to some extent and have been completed, so that when the system start-up switch 10 is operated, preparation for photographing is ready to some extent. It will be. Therefore, the system start-up time can be shortened as compared with the case where the rubbing system is started up from the time when the system start-up switch 10 is activated.

As the configuration of the pre-boot switch 8 used in the control unit 9 having the above configuration, the configurations shown in FIG. 3 and subsequent figures are used. The configuration shown in FIG. 3 is an optical switch that uses infrared rays to detect the touch of a human hand by using an infrared emitting portion (denoted by 8A1 for convenience) and a light receiving portion (denoted by 8A2 for convenience), That is, infrared sensor 8A
(For the sake of convenience, reference numeral 8 indicating a pre-boot switch is shown in parentheses in FIG. 3) is used. In the present embodiment, the control unit 9 can determine the presence or absence of a pulse by the incident state of infrared rays from the pre-boot switch using the infrared sensor 8A, and when an incident state different from the pulse is obtained, The wrong judgment is prevented by judging that an obstacle other than the hand is touching.

The structure shown in FIG. 4 uses a pressure sensor 8B which can detect the touch of a human hand by the gripping force of the human hand. That is, in the present embodiment, a strain sensor using a piezo element is used as the pressure sensor 8B in the control unit 9, and the pressure detection signal from the pressure sensor 8B in the control unit 9 is subjected to digital signal processing in the sensor circuit 8B1. Pre-boot switch 8 when it is determined that it is equivalent to the grip strength when carrying the camera based on
It is designed to prevent the misjudgment by determining that it is the dynamic position.

The configuration shown in FIG. 5 uses an electrode sensor 8C capable of detecting a change in electrostatic capacitance when touched by a human hand.
A change in capacitance between the electrodes 8C1 and 8C2, that is, a change in capacitance between when the electrodes 8C1 and 8C2 are touched and when the electrodes are not touched is detected. In the present embodiment, the electrodes can be used to form a drip-proof structure between the electrodes, and further, in the control unit 9, the sensor circuit 8C3 is used.
The operation state of the pre-boot switch 8 is judged by discriminating the time during which the change of the electrostatic capacitance is continued according to the signal processed in (1). This makes it possible to distinguish between a case where the capacitance is changed and a case where the capacitance is different from the case when being carried, for example, a case where the obstacle is in contact with a nearby obstacle.

The configuration shown in FIG. 6 uses a fingerprint identification sensor 8D which is an image sensor capable of discriminating the owner of the camera when touched by a human hand.
In this embodiment, the fingerprint identification sensor 8 in the control unit 9 is used.
The pre-boot switch 8 when the image data from D is identified as the owner by discriminating the result of digital signal processing in the image processing circuit 8D1.
Is determined to be the operation time of. As a result, it is possible to prevent unauthorized use that occurs when a person other than the owner of the camera carries it.

The preboot switch 8 having the above configuration
By using, it is possible to achieve maintenance-free, which is free from wear and spark phenomenon of the contact unlike the switch having the mechanical contact.

Since the present embodiment is configured as described above, when the human hand touches the pre-boot switch 8 for carrying, if it is determined that the touched object is the human hand, the control unit 9 Before the system start-up switch 10 is actuated in 1, the preparatory processing for executing the photographing system, in other words, the photographing preparation is performed. In this case,
In addition to turning on the power, preparations for data acquisition for photometry and distance measurement are performed, and the lens is returned to the initial position (home position).
When is activated, the imaging position is set according to the preparation performed in the preceding process.

[0024]

According to the inventions of claims 1 and 2,
The pre-boot switch that enables the initial setting of the camera when it is touched by the human hand allows the control unit to advance the system processing before shooting the camera to the point where the human hand touches to carry the camera. Can be made. This eliminates the need to set up the camera again, so that the waiting time until the camera is ready for shooting can be shortened and the chance of shooting can be avoided.

According to the inventions of claims 3 to 6, since the pre-boot switch which operates by being touched by a human hand does not have a mechanical structure, it becomes possible to make it maintenance-free, and the human hand touches it. It is possible to prevent a situation in which the case is erroneously determined. Particularly, in the invention according to claim 3, since the infrared ray is used to distinguish the human hand from other obstacles by infrared ray detection, malfunction of the pre-boot switch can be prevented. And 5
According to the invention described in the above, erroneous discrimination with other obstacles can be prevented by storing in advance a change in grip force or capacitance when a human hand touches the object. It is possible to accurately distinguish from other obstacles by the discrimination.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view of a digital camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram for explaining a configuration of a control unit used in the digital camera shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a pre-boot switch used in the digital camera shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing another example of a pre-boot switch used in the digital camera shown in FIG.

5 is a diagram showing another example of the pre-boot switch used in the digital camera shown in FIG.

6 is a diagram showing still another example of the pre-boot switch used in the digital camera shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Digital camera 2 Liquid crystal screen 4 Photographing lens 5 Transparent window for viewfinder 6 Shutter 7 Operation member for opening protective lid 8 Preboot switch 8A Optical infrared sensor 8B which is an example of preboot switch Another example of preboot switch Pressure sensor 8C Electrostatic switch which is another example of pre-boot switch 8D Fingerprint identification sensor which uses an image sensor which is still another example of pre-boot switch 15 DC power source forming a power circuit

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A portable digital camera, which has a configuration in which a start position is advanced to some extent in advance before setting a shooting position when a person touches it while carrying the camera. A digital camera characterized by. 2. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein the pre-boot switch and the pre-boot switch are input to enable initial setting of the camera when a human hand touches the pre-boot switch. And a control unit that is connected to at least the lens drive unit necessary for shooting and is connected to the output side to control the start-up of the power supply circuit, and the control unit controls the power supply by the signal from the pre-boot switch. A digital camera characterized by advancing to some extent the system processing before shooting, including closing, system reset release, shooting parameter setting, and lens initial position return. 3. The digital camera according to claim 2, wherein the pre-boot switch is an optical switch using infrared rays. 4. The digital camera according to claim 2, wherein a pressure sensor is used as the pre-boot switch. 5. The digital camera according to claim 2, wherein the pre-boot switch has a configuration capable of detecting a change in electrostatic capacitance when a human hand touches it. 6. The digital camera according to claim 2, wherein the pre-boot switch has a configuration capable of identifying the owner of the camera.