JP2003333385A - Imaging apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an imaging apparatus for urging a user to continuously keep imaging by using an optical finder even when a period of displaying a battery residual capacity on an LCD is short and a backlight of the LCD is put out. <P>SOLUTION: When the residual capacity of a battery 22 is less, the imaging apparatus automatically projects the optical finder 66 to allow the optical finder 66 take an operating position thereby informing the user about photographing by using the optical finder 66. Thus, even when the backlight of the LCD 38 is put out for power saving, the user makes no mistake of the blackout coming from the worn battery. Thus, the user can continue photographing without missing a shutter chance. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image pickup unit for picking up an image by a solid-state image pickup device and photoelectrically converting it to obtain analog image data, and an analog-digital conversion of the analog image data to create digital image data, and a recording medium. A digital image data recording unit for recording in a housing, a display device for displaying the digital image data, and a battery unit for supplying power to at least the imaging unit, the digital image data recording unit, and the display device in a housing. The present invention relates to an image pickup device housed in the.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an image pickup device, particularly a digital camera, when a still image or the like is photographed using a CCD (Charge Coupled Device), the image data is analog-digital converted and then set in a preset compression format ( For example, JP
It is recorded and saved in a recording medium such as a memory card in a state of being compressed by EG).

By the way, an object to be imaged by a CCD is generally displayed on an LCD (liquid crystal display device) provided on the back side of a digital camera. Shooting is performed by setting the angle of view while looking at the image displayed on the LCD and operating the release button.

Some digital cameras have an optical finder in addition to the LCD. As a prior art, it has been proposed to eliminate the need for a television monitor of a video camera as an image pickup device and obtain an enlarged image by an electronic zoom circuit with an optical finder (for example, see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-133199).

In the digital camera using the LCD and the optical finder as described above, it is common to use the digital camera properly according to the user's preference, but in special photographing, for example, macro photographing, parallax prevention by macro photographing is prevented. Therefore, it has been proposed to prohibit the use of an optical finder (as an example, JP-A-10-3364).
95).

There is also a proposal that the use of an optical finder is detected by detecting the user's pupil and the backlight of the LCD is automatically turned off (for example, see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-165705).

As described above, various proposals have been made regarding the technology relating to the combined use of the LCD and the optical finder.

Here, in an image pickup apparatus such as a digital camera, it is general to drive a battery in consideration of portability. Since the battery is consumed as it is used, the state of consumption is monitored to notify that the so-called battery is low. This notification is LC
Often uses part of D.

[0009]

However, the LCD is
When the remaining battery level is low, the control to turn off the backlight to extend the battery life is also executed. Therefore, there is a problem that the remaining battery level cannot be confirmed by turning off the backlight.

In this case, although the user has the remaining battery power and does not hinder shooting by setting the angle of view roughly by the optical viewfinder, the user may change the battery or charge the battery. It will be judged and the shooting will be stopped.

Due to the cancellation of the photographing, there is a problem that a so-called photo opportunity is missed. In addition, it is not preferable to charge the battery when the remaining battery level remains because the memory effect is likely to occur.

In consideration of the above facts, the present invention takes a short time to display the remaining battery amount on the LCD, and even if the backlight of the LCD is turned off, the user can continue shooting using the optical viewfinder. The purpose is to obtain an imaging device that can encourage what is possible.

[0013]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image pickup section for picking up an image by a solid-state image pickup element and photoelectrically converting the image to obtain analog image data. A digital image data recording unit that creates image data and records it on a recording medium,
A display device for displaying the digital image data, a battery unit for supplying power to at least the imaging unit, the digital image data recording unit and the display device,
Is an image pickup apparatus configured to be housed in a housing, having a function of optically checking a subject at the time of image pickup, and a protruding position protruding from the housing and used for confirming the subject,
And an optical finder that can be moved to a storage position that is stored in the housing and is not used for checking the subject, a remaining amount detecting unit that detects the remaining amount of the battery, and a remaining battery amount detected by the remaining amount detecting unit. Is above the predetermined level, it is held at the storage position, and when it is below the predetermined level, it is moved to the projecting position.

According to the first aspect of the invention, when the remaining amount detecting means detects the remaining amount of the battery, the moving means moves the optical finder to the projecting position or the storing position based on the remaining amount of the battery. That is, when the remaining battery level exceeds a predetermined level, the battery is held in the storage position. Further, when the value is lower than the predetermined level, it is moved to the protruding position.

Thus, when the battery level is low, the user can be encouraged to use the optical viewfinder. For example, even if the driving of a display device that consumes a lot of power is stopped, it may be mistaken for the battery to run out. Disappears.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the movement control means urges the optical finder to the projecting position, and the urging force of the urging means. The lock means for locking the optical finder at the storage position against the above condition and the unlocking means for unlocking the lock means when the remaining battery capacity falls below a predetermined level.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in the movement control means, the optical finder is locked by the lock means, and when the remaining battery power becomes low, the lock state of the lock means is released by the release means. To release. Thereby, the optical finder can be moved to the projecting position by the urging force of the urging means. The urging force of the urging means vigorously projects, that is, pops up, so that the user can easily notice.

[0018]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows a control system in a digital camera 10 according to this embodiment. The digital camera 10 is provided with an image pickup section 18. The imaging unit 18 is provided with a lens 18A, a mechanical shutter, and a diaphragm (not shown), and makes light incident from the lens 18A enter the CCD 18B through the diaphragm when the mechanical shutter is open. It is a composition.

The digital camera 10 has a strobe 1
2 is provided, and if necessary, the flash control unit 14 controls the light to be emitted manually or automatically.

The respective control devices including the image pickup section 18 and the strobe control section 14 of the digital camera 10 are connected by a bus 16 and their operations are controlled by the CPU 20. Each control device is a battery 2
Power is supplied from 2 and it is operable.

The bus 16 has a system memory (RAM or ROM) 24 and a non-volatile memory 2 as control devices.
6, a timer function unit 28, and a calendar / clock function unit 30 are connected to each other.

An I / O port 32 is connected to the bus 16, and an I / O port 32 is operated by an operation / display system 36 attached to a housing 34 (see FIG. 2) of the digital camera 10. Signals are input and output.

As shown in FIG. 2A, a liquid crystal monitor (LCD) 38 is arranged on the back side of the housing 34 of the digital camera 10 (the side opposite to the side on which the image pickup section 18 is arranged). It is set up.

Further, as an operation / display system, on the right side of the LCD 38 on the back side of the housing 34, there are circular up / down / left / right keys 42 applied to frame switching of images displayed on the LCD 38, item selection, and the like. It is arranged. By tilting the axis of the circular up / down / left / right key 42 up / down / left / right, contact points of different switches are switched when tilted, and the switching signal is input to the I / O 32 (see FIG. 1). It has become.

Below the up / down / left / right keys 42, a menu button 44, an execute button 46, and a cancel button 48 are arranged vertically from the top. A release button 50 and a mode setting dial 52 are provided on the upper surface of the housing 34.

When the mode setting dial 52 and the menu button 44 are operated, for example, a setup screen 54 for making various settings is displayed on the LCD 38.

The execute button 46 is operated when the function is selected by the up / down / right / left keys 42 on the setup screen 54, and the cancel button 48 is operated when the function is canceled.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2B, an opening 60 through which the lens 18A of the image pickup section 18 can be exposed is provided on the front surface of the housing 34 of the digital camera 10. A disc-shaped shutter 62 is attached to the opening 60. The shutter 62 can move to a position where the opening 60 is closed and a position where the opening is opened in association with the operation of a power switch 64 (see FIG. 2A) of the digital camera 10 (arrow in FIG. 2B). (See A)).

That is, when the power source is off, the shutter 62 closes the opening 60, so that the lens 18A is closed.
When the power is on and the shutter 62 is retracted from the opening 60, it becomes possible to take a picture.

As shown in FIG. 1, a memory card slot 60 to which a memory card 58 as a recording medium can be attached / detached is connected to the bus 16 via a card I / F 56. The image data taken by the image pickup unit 18 is recorded in the memory card 58 loaded in the memory card slot 60.

The signal input to the image pickup section 18 is sent to the signal processing section 104, subjected to noise reduction processing, gain control, and A / D conversion section 10.
6 is sent.

The image data A / D converted by the A / D conversion unit 106 is sent to the compression / decompression unit 108 and subjected to compression processing (JPEG) in accordance with an instruction from the CPU 20, or is left as it is. In this state, it is sent to the memory card slot 60 via the card I / F 56.

The image data recorded in the memory card 58 is read out based on a reproduction display instruction from the CPU 20, stored in the frame memory 110, and the LCD control unit 1
It is displayed on the LCD 12 under the control of 12. At this time, on the LCD 112, characters, character data, and the like are superimposed and displayed together with the image display based on the image data controlled by the OSD (on-screen display unit 114).

An external I / F 116 is connected to the bus 16 and can be directly connected to an external control device (hereinafter referred to as PC 120) such as a personal computer through a connector 118. The image data recorded in the memory card 58 can be transmitted.

Here, the digital camera 1 of the present embodiment
LCD 11 is a monitor for confirming an image.
In addition to 2, an optical finder 66 is provided.

The optical finder 66 is provided so as to be able to project from the upper surface of the housing 34, and the state of FIG. 2A is the storage position (the non-use position of the optical finder 66).
The state of (B) is the protruding position (the position where the optical finder 66 is used).

FIG. 3 shows a structure for projecting and retracting the optical finder 66.

A rectangular opening 34A is formed on the upper surface of the housing 34.
Is formed, and a space portion 68 having a size larger than the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the opening 34A is formed inside thereof. The optical finder 66 is housed in the space 68.

The thick portion of the opening 34A serves as a guide surface when the optical finder 66 appears and disappears. The thick surface of the opening 34A and the side surface of the optical finder 66 are
A concave portion and a convex portion that are fitted to each other are formed. In addition,
In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the convex portion 34C is provided on the housing 34 side and the concave portion 66C is provided on the optical finder 66 side, but they may be reversed.

The optical finder 66 is composed of a rectangular block portion 66A and a flange 66B formed on the lower surface side of the block portion 66A.

The vertical and horizontal dimensions of the block portion 66A in plan view substantially match the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the opening portion 34A with a predetermined dimensional tolerance, and the block portion 66 in the stored state.
The upper surface of A is flat with the upper surface of the housing 34.

On the other hand, the flange 66B has the opening 34
Wider than A, the opening 3 of the optical viewfinder 66
It has a role as a retainer from 4A.

A compression coil spring 70 is arranged between the bottom surface of the space 68 and the flange 66B. Therefore, the optical finder 66 is urged by the compression coil spring 70 in the direction of protruding from the opening 34A.

A lateral groove 68A is formed on the side surface of the space 68.
Is formed, and the stopper portion 72 is accommodated therein.
The stopper portion 72 is composed of a solenoid 74 and a stopper piece 76 attached to the tip of a telescopic rod 74A of the solenoid 74. The stopper piece 76 is
Compression coil spring 78 attached to telescopic rod 74A
When the solenoid 74 is not energized, it is located on the upper surface of the flange 66B and prevents the flange 66B from moving. Therefore, the movement of the optical finder 66 in the protruding direction by the urging force of the compression coil spring 70 is
It is blocked by the stopper piece 76 and held in the stored state.

In this state, when the solenoid 74 is energized, the telescopic rod 74A is pulled in against the urging force of the compression coil spring 78, and the stopper piece 76 is flanged 66B.
Retreat from the top of the. As a result, the optical finder 66
Is a structure that can be popped up from the upper surface of the housing 34 by the urging force of the compression coil spring 70 to be in the projecting position (use position).

Further, as shown in FIG. 2A, a slide operating portion 76A is connected to the stopper piece 76, and this slide operating portion 76A extends from a slit hole 34B provided on the back side of the housing 34. It is projected and can be retracted from the upper portion of the flange 66B by the sliding operation of the user.

As shown in FIG. 3, the upper surface of the stopper piece 76 has an inclined shape, and when the optical finder 66 is pushed in from the projecting position while the solenoid 74 is not energized, it is retracted by the pressing force (expandable rod 74A). It is possible to set it as the storage position.

The solenoid 74 is connected to the pop-up controller 8 of the pop-up controller 82 via the driver 80.
4 is connected. Current value data is input from the battery 22 (see FIG. 1) to the remaining amount detecting unit 86 of the popup controller 82.
The battery level is detected.

The detected battery remaining amount is compared with the comparison unit 88.
It will be sent to. Further, the threshold value of the remaining amount is input from the threshold value memory 90 to the comparison unit 88, and is compared with the detected remaining amount.

The comparison result of the comparison unit 88 is sent to the pop-up control unit 84, and the energization / de-energization of the solenoid 74 is controlled based on the comparison result. In the present embodiment, when the detected remaining amount is greater than or equal to the threshold value, the solenoid 7
No. 4 is not energized, and when it is below the threshold value, it is controlled to energize the solenoid 74.

The comparison result of the comparison unit 88 is the LCD.
The light is also sent to the backlight control unit 92. The LCD backlight control unit 92 maintains the current state when the detected remaining amount is equal to or more than the threshold value, and when the detected remaining amount is less than the threshold value, the OSD 114 (see FIG. 1) has a small remaining amount and turns off the backlight. An instruction signal to turn off the backlight of the LCD 38 (see FIG. 1) is sent in synchronization with the pop-up control of the optical finder 66 by the pop-up control unit 84 of the LCD.

The operation of this embodiment will be described below.

Before taking a picture with the digital camera 10,
Operate the mode setting dial 52 to set up screen 5
4 is displayed on the LCD 38.

On the setup screen, items such as the recording mode, the number of pixels, the sharpness, and the beep sound are selected as necessary, and the photographing conditions are set.

In the photographing mode, the image pickup unit 1 is displayed on the LCD 38.
The preview taken in 8 is displayed, and when the predetermined angle of view is determined, the release button 50 is operated and the shooting is executed.

In this case, the data picked up by the image pickup section 18 is sent to the signal processing section 104, subjected to noise reduction processing, gain control processing and the like, and then A / D converted to generate digital image data. To do.

Thereafter, the compression / expansion unit 108 compresses the digital image data and records it in the memory card 58.

In the reproduction mode, when the index mode is selected, the thumbnail image is read from the digital image data recorded in the memory card 58, and the LCD is displayed.
As the index image, the captured image is displayed in a matrix. Further, when the 1-image reproduction mode is selected, the compressed image data is read out and decompressed by the compression / decompression unit 108, and the frame memory 11 is read.
After being expanded to 0, it is displayed on the LCD 38.

In the present embodiment, during the normal photographing, the remaining amount of the battery 22 is always detected to judge whether the photographing is possible or not. Further, since the display of the LCD 38 requires a large amount of electric power, when the remaining amount of the battery 22 becomes smaller than a predetermined value, the control of stopping the display of the LCD 38 (turning off the backlight) is executed.
However, conventionally, the turning off of the backlight of the LCD 38 may be judged by the user as a dead battery. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the stored optical finder 66 is popped up so as to be synchronized with the turning off of the backlight so as to notify that the photographing is still possible.

A series of operation controls including the optical viewfinder pop-up control will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In step 200, the remaining amount is detected based on the current value data of the battery 22, and then in step 2
As a result of comparison with the threshold value in the comparison unit 88 in 02, it is determined whether or not the remaining battery level is OK.

If an affirmative decision is made in this step 202,
In step 204, the solenoid 74 is de-energized and the process proceeds to step 206. As a result, the stopper piece 76 is positioned on the movement locus of the flange 66B of the optical finder 66.

In this state, since normal photographing is possible, the user determines the angle of view while looking at the display on the LCD 38. When the angle of view is set, the user releases the release button 5
Operate 0 to shoot. At this time, an affirmative determination is made in step 206, and the process proceeds to step 208 to execute the photographing process. This photographing process is performed by the memory card 58 as described above.
To recording digital image data.

While the angle of view is being determined, step 2
Since a negative determination is made in 06 and the process returns to step 200, the battery 22 is always checked.

When the photographing process in step 208 is completed, the process proceeds to step 210, it is determined whether the power switch 64 is turned off, and if the determination is negative, the process returns to step 200.

If a negative determination is made in step 200,
It is determined that the remaining amount of the battery 22 is very small, and the process proceeds to step 212. In this state, shooting is not possible, but shooting is possible if power supply to the backlight of the LCD 38, which consumes a lot of power, is stopped.
In step 212, it is determined whether or not the LCD 38 is used, and if the determination is negative, it is determined that the optical finder 66 is already used, and step 206
Move to.

When the affirmative judgment is made in step 212, it is judged that the angle of view is determined while observing the display on the LCD 38, and the process proceeds to step 214, the OSD 114 is controlled and the LCD 38 displays the remaining battery level. Since there are few, a message to turn off the backlight is displayed for a predetermined time,
In step 216, the solenoid 74 is energized.
In the next step 218, the backlight of the LCD 38 is turned off.

As described above, in the present embodiment, when the battery 22 becomes low, the optical finder 66 is automatically projected and brought into the use position, so that the user can use the optical finder 66. Then, it is possible to notify that the image is taken. Therefore, the LCD 38
Even if you turn off the backlight to save power, you can not mistake this light for running out of battery. As a result, it is possible to continue shooting without missing a photo opportunity.

In the present embodiment, the battery 22
Although the optical finder 66 is made to completely project to the use position when the remaining amount becomes small, it may be made to slightly project from the upper surface of the housing 34, as shown in FIG. A slit-shaped shallow groove 66D is formed on the side surface slightly protruding, and the user can hold it at the use position by the stopper 94 by hooking a nail or the like on the shallow groove 66D and pulling it up.

With the above structure, the compression coil spring 7
It is possible to improve the assembling property without requiring the length or the spring force required to cause the optical finder 66 to project 0 to the use position.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7, a so-called retractable structure may be adopted in which the optical finder 66 is moved to the storage position and the projecting position by the rotation operation.

[0072]

As described above, according to the present invention, the display of the remaining battery amount on the LCD is short, and even if the backlight of the LCD is turned off, the user can continue shooting with the optical viewfinder. It has the excellent effect of being able to promote what is possible.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a control block diagram of a digital camera according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2A is a perspective view of the external appearance of the digital camera as seen from the back side, and FIG. 2B is a perspective view as seen from the front side.

FIG. 3 is a pop-up structure diagram of an optical finder and a control block diagram for executing the movement thereof.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a slide guide portion of the optical finder.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for battery dead notification and optical viewfinder pop-up control.

6A and 6B show a modified example of the pop-up structure, FIG. 6A is a perspective view in a pop-up (protruding) state, FIG. 6B is a perspective view in a use position state, and FIG. 6C is a cross-sectional view showing an internal structure.

FIG. 7 shows a modified example of the pop-up structure, (A) is a side view when stored, and (B) is a side view when projected.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Digital camera (imaging device) 16 bus 18 Imaging unit 18B CCD (imaging unit) 20 CPU 22 Battery 38 LCD (display device) 60 openings 62 shutter 64 power switch 66 Optical viewfinder 66A block section 66B flange 66C recess 66D shallow groove 68 Space 70 Compression coil spring (biasing means) 72 Stopper (locking means) 74 Solenoid (release means) 76 Stopper piece 78 Compression coil spring 80 driver 82 Pop-up controller 84 Pop-up control unit (movement control means) 86 Remaining amount detecting section (remaining amount detecting means) 88 Comparison Department 90 threshold memory 92 LCD backlight control unit

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) // H04N 101: 00 H04N 101: 00 F term (reference) 2H018 BE04 2H100 AA33 BB09 CC07 DD02 2H101 BB02 5C022 AA13 AB67 AC01 AC02 AC16 AC69 AC73

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An image pickup unit for picking up an image with a solid-state image pickup device and photoelectrically converting it to obtain analog image data, and digital image data for analog-digital converting the analog image data to create digital image data and recording it on a recording medium. A recording unit, a display device for displaying the digital image data, and a battery unit for supplying power to at least the imaging unit, the digital image data recording unit, and the display device are housed in a housing. An imaging device having a function of optically confirming a subject at the time of image capturing, and a protruding position protruding from the casing and used for confirming the subject, and stored in the casing for confirming the subject. An optical finder that can be moved to a storage position that is not used, a remaining amount detecting unit that detects the remaining amount of the battery, and the remaining amount detection And a movement control means for holding the battery in the storage position when the detected battery remaining amount exceeds a predetermined level and moving the battery to the projecting position when the detected battery remaining amount falls below the predetermined level. 2. The movement control means includes urging means for urging the optical finder to a projecting position, and locking means for locking the optical finder at a storage position against the urging force of the urging means. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a release unit that releases the lock unit when the remaining battery level falls below a predetermined level.