JP2006339935A - Video camera - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem of recording photography of no planned intention because, in a conventional camera main body, no means has been provided for confirming photography items which are to be photographed or have been photographed. <P>SOLUTION: A video camera includes reading means, processing means and display means, for the photography items or information in regard to a photography plan. Before starting photographing, the above information is read into the camera. At the time of photographing, the above information is processed depending on the photography by a user, and the above information is displayed on a screen. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a video camera, for example, a recording / playback function of a home video camera.

  A common use for home video cameras is to bring the video camera to the scene where the user will shoot, point the camera at the desired subject, and operate the shooting start button and shooting end button at any time to shoot. The start and end are instructed to the camera and shooting is performed. The liquid crystal display integrated with the video camera displays the contents of the image to be taken at the time of shooting, as well as information related to shooting such as image quality, shooting conditions such as shooting mode, and a counter indicating the current recording time. I use it.

  In the invention described in Patent Document 1, the schedule information is input to the video camera using the keyboard device connected to the video camera body, and the time information included in the schedule information is compared with the current time to obtain the closest Schedule information is added to a captured image as a title. Thus, in addition to the main purpose of recording title information superimposed on a photographed image, it is possible to confirm the most recent schedule. Therefore, the user can acquire information on the content of the next shot to be taken from the video camera at an auxiliary level.

  In the invention described in Patent Document 2, schedule information input in advance is stored as a lookup table in an APS film camera, video camera, or digital camera, and the schedule information is searched and selected based on the correspondence with the current time. The recorded schedule information is recorded simultaneously as shooting-related information at the time of shooting. This related information, in a camera with a playback function such as a digital camera, can be displayed superimposed on the display screen during playback, and can be used in the post-processing step of the recording medium regardless of the presence or absence of the playback function, User convenience is improved. The main object of the present invention is to use schedule information during playback or post-processing, but in addition, the user obtains information about the content to be photographed next from the video camera at an auxiliary level. can do.

JP 2000-13724 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-168648

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is that the conventional video camera does not provide the user with a sufficient level of information about the content to be photographed next.

  In general schedule information, the name of the event, the start time, and in addition to a detailed event such as the table of contents of the event (for example, a greeting for the start) or the name of a person can be included. However, when there are many items of shooting contents, it is not sufficient to check the shooting contents in relation to the time information, and the user is simultaneously provided with the shooting contents and whether or not it has been shot. It is useful.

  In addition, there are cases where the same content is repeatedly shot or shooting with a specified shooting time is required. To cope with this, it is necessary to present the remaining number of repetitions and the remaining time to be shot to the user. Become. Furthermore, when it is required to shoot by specifying shooting conditions such as a shooting mode for each shooting content, it is necessary to present shooting conditions corresponding to the shooting conditions in addition to the shooting details. The information related to the photographing cannot be sufficiently presented to the user by the conventional technique. If the user wants to use the above information at the time of shooting in the prior art, an information device other than a video camera, such as a paper-based memo or a personal computer, is separately required.

  Another problem is that schedule information is presented as a result of the user's intentional confirmation operation, and if the user is not aware of the shooting time, the user may forget to take a picture. It was the point that information that assists shooting could not be provided.

  The present invention is provided with reading means for reading information relating to shooting items or shooting schedules into the camera body, processing means for processing the information, and display means for displaying the processed information. The video camera is characterized in that the information is processed according to user's shooting at the time of reading and shooting, and the information is displayed on the screen.

  More specifically, for example, a recording medium interface such as a memory card or communication means for transmitting information related to shooting contents to the video camera before shooting, memory means for temporarily storing information related to shooting contents, This is a video camera comprising a microprocessor for processing information relating to shooting contents, means for displaying information relating to shooting contents, and clock means for holding the current time.

  When the user performs corresponding shooting, the information regarding the shooting is processed by the microprocessor and can be changed. The changed information is displayed to the user by the display means, and the latest information is provided.

  The microprocessor monitors time information associated with the photographing content, compares it with the current time obtained by the clock means, and notifies the user of a predetermined time before the corresponding time. In order to make this notification, a message to that effect is displayed on the display means. The display means is performed by text information, video or audio information.

  According to the present invention, a video camera with improved usability can be provided.

  Embodiments will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a video camera according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is an image pickup means for inputting video (including audio), 2 is a codec means for performing conversion and reverse conversion of video data, 3 is a display means for video, 4 is a storage means for recording video data, and 5 is this apparatus. Is an interface means for connecting to an external system, 6 is a system control means, 7 is an operation panel for accepting user operations, 8 is photographing instruction data to be described later, and 9 is a bus for connecting each processing means of the apparatus to the system control means. Means.

  The user operates the video camera through the operation panel 7 to record and play back video. In this apparatus, the storage 4 is used as a means for recording and reproducing shooting instruction data in addition to recording and reproducing video data. At the time of shooting, the user can display shooting instruction data 8 on the display device 3 by operating the operation panel 7. When shooting is performed according to the shooting instruction data, the portion of the shooting instruction data 8 corresponding to the shooting is updated and stored. By viewing the displayed shooting instruction data 8, the user can know the contents of the remaining shooting instructions at any time.

A specific operation of this apparatus will be described.
The imaging unit 1 generates video data of the subject and sends it to the codec unit 2 and the display device 3. The display device 3 is generally called a viewfinder or a liquid crystal panel, and confirms an image that the user is currently shooting. The display device 3 is also used as means for reproducing the captured video later. The codec means 2 is a video data compression / decoding device. The video data output from the image pickup means 1 cannot be used because it is enormous in order to be stored in the storage means 4. The data is compressed and encoded by the codec means 2 and then recorded and reproduced in the storage means 4. The codec means compresses at the time of shooting and performs decoding at the time of reproduction. This switching is performed under the control of the system control means 6. At the time of reproduction, the video decoded by the codec means is sent to the display device 3 and displayed.

  The system control means 6 comprises a CPU 21, bus means 9, work memory 23, ROM 24, and nonvolatile memory 22. The ROM 24 stores the CPU 21 program and fixed data. The CPU 21 reads the program and data from the ROM 24 connected to the bus 9 and develops it in the work memory 23 to operate. Other subsystems (each processing means) of this apparatus are connected to the system control means 6 via the bus 9 and controlled. For example, a user operation is input as a button operation on the operation panel 7 and is read by the CPU 21 via the bus 9.

  FIG. 2 is a configuration example of the imaging unit 1. 31 is an optical system including a lens, 32 is a CCD sensor, 33 is a video signal processing circuit, 34 is an output terminal for video data, 35 is a communication terminal, and 36 is a CPU (microcomputer). The CPU 36 is separate from the CPU 21 in the system controller and is a CPU dedicated to the control of the imaging means 1. The CPU 36 controls the optical system 31, the CCD sensor 32, and the video signal processing circuit 33, and outputs video data from the terminal 34. The CPU 36 communicates with the system control means 6 through the communication terminal 35 and performs operations in accordance with instructions from the system controller 6.

  The storage means 4 is a device that stores video data and shooting instruction data. Using a hard disk drive, a memory card drive, or a rewritable DVD drive, video data and shooting instruction data are stored in a file format conforming to a predetermined file system. The video data and the shooting instruction data are stored in predetermined different directories, respectively. Video data is stored in a data format that conforms to the DVD Video Recording Standard of the DVD Forum.

  FIG. 4 shows the file structure of the shooting instruction data recorded in the storage means 4. Reference numeral 41 denotes a directory, 42 denotes a data management information file, and 43 denotes a photographing instruction file (denoted as 43-1 and 43-N to indicate one or a plurality of files).

  The directory 41 is a directory having a predetermined name, and the shooting instruction data is recorded below it. Recording is performed according to a predetermined file system. FAT or UDF (Univrsal File System) is used as the file system. A data management information file, which will be described in detail later, is a file for recording management information of one or a plurality of shooting instruction files, and there is only one in the directory 41. The shooting instruction file is a file that records information for instructing the user about shooting contents, and is a set of individual shooting instruction items (shooting items).

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the format of the data management information file of the first embodiment.
The data content 50 of the data management information file is composed of a fixed-length data management information header and a variable-length shooting instruction file list.

  The fixed-length data management information header includes a file identifier indicating that this file is a data management information file, the version number of the format, the number of shooting instruction files included in this file, and the currently specified shooting instruction file. Describe the number (current file number).

  The shooting file list describes a file name of each shooting instruction file and an instruction title that is a display title (character string). Each instruction file is managed by a file number starting from 1. The actual file name recognized by the file system is stored in the instruction file i (i is a number from 1 to the number N of instruction files) shown in FIG. 5, and the character displayed on the display device 3 is stored in the corresponding instruction title i. A column (representing, for example, the contents of a shooting instruction such as “birthday XX year YY day”) is stored.

  The current file number is a number from 0 to N, which is the currently set shooting instruction file number. The current file number 0 indicates that there is no selected instruction file.

  FIG. 9A is a diagram showing an example of the format of the shooting instruction file of the first embodiment. The data content 90 of the data management information file is composed of a fixed length instruction file header and a variable length instruction list.

  The fixed-length instruction file header describes a file identifier indicating that this file is a shooting instruction file, a version number of the format, and the number of shooting instruction items (items) included in this file. With the file identifier, it is possible to realize an operation corresponding to shooting instruction files of a plurality of formats.

  The example of the format instruction list in FIG. 9A is a set of individual shooting instruction items (items). The shooting instruction item is composed of an item name, a completion flag (“complete” in the drawing), a schedule parameter (“plan”), a remaining amount parameter (“remaining”), and a unit parameter (“unit”). Each shooting instruction item is managed and designated by a number.

  The scheduled parameter is the scheduled number of shooting times or the number of shots in the shooting instruction, and the remaining amount parameter is the number of remaining shooting times or the number of shots of the corresponding shooting. Calculate by subtracting the number of shots. This calculation is executed by the CPU 21 according to a program developed in the work memory 23. The unit parameter specifies the unit of the schedule parameter and the remaining amount parameter. FIG. 9B shows the correspondence between the internal data and the display unit. Internal data is used for internal processing by the CPU 21, and a display unit is used when displaying on the display device 3.

  The completion parameter indicates whether or not actual shooting has been completed for the schedule for each shooting instruction item. FIG. 9C shows the correspondence between internal data and display units. In the completed item, 1 is stored as internal data, and 0 is stored otherwise. Internal data is used for internal processing by the CPU 21, and an identifiable mark is used when displaying on the display device 3.

  FIG. 6 shows a display screen of the display device 3 when an instruction file is selected or confirmed. Reference numeral 60 denotes the external shape of the display device 3, 61 denotes the display contents of the instruction title list, and 62 denotes a mark indicating the instruction title currently set (corresponding to the current file number). If there are too many instruction titles to display all on one screen, scroll display is performed. In these displays, the background is displayed as transparent so as not to disturb the shooting.

  FIG. 7 shows a display screen of the display device 3 when a shooting instruction item corresponding to the currently set instruction title is selected or confirmed. Reference numeral 60 denotes the outer shape of the display device 3, reference numeral 72 denotes display contents of the instruction list, and reference numeral 73 denotes a mark indicating the instruction item currently set. 74 to 77 are columns for displaying completion parameters, schedule parameters, remaining amount parameters, and unit parameters, respectively. Even in this screen display, the background is displayed as transparent so as not to disturb the shooting.

  In FIG. 7, since the shooting corresponding to the item name 1 is completed, a mark indicating completion is displayed in the completion parameter column. The mm (i) and nn (i) (i is a numerical value from 1 to 3 in FIG. 7) described in each column of the scheduled parameter 75 and the remaining amount parameter 76 are actually numbers.

  FIG. 8 shows a display screen of the display device 3 when selection of the instruction file and the shooting instruction item is completed. 81 is an item name indicating a shooting instruction item, 82 is a schedule parameter, 83 is a remaining amount parameter, and 84 is a unit parameter. By displaying these data with a transparent background, it is possible to perform shooting while confirming the shooting instruction content.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the operation panel 7. 100 is an operation button, 101 is a navigation button, 101 is a navigation button, 102 is a menu button, 104, 105, 106, 107 are cursor buttons, 103 is a set button, 108 is a cancel button, 109 is Rec button. The arrangement, shape, and display characters or symbols inside the buttons are merely examples, and can be changed in consideration of user convenience. In this example, the outer shape is formed in one place, but may be divided into a plurality of places on the camera body.

  Each time the navigation button 101 is pressed, the shooting mode and the playback mode are switched. In the shooting mode, the menu button 102 is pressed to display the camera operation menu. Each menu item included in the operation menu is selected by operating the cursor buttons 104 to 107 and the set button 103. The operation menu includes menu items of “instruction title list” and “instruction list list”. When “instruction title list” is selected, the menu items are shown in FIG. 6, and when “instruction list list” is selected, it is shown in FIG. The screen contents are displayed. In order to invalidate the changes made before the set button 103 is pressed, the cancel button 108 is pressed.

  By pressing the Rec button 109 in a state where the instruction file and the shooting instruction item shown in FIG. 8 have been selected, shooting corresponding to the shooting instruction item is executed.

FIG. 11 is a part of a follow chart of processing at the time of starting a program executed by the CPU 21.
In this flowchart, only the process related to the shooting instruction is shown. The process connection terminals (including start and end) are shown as circles, and the process is shown as a square.

  After the start of the process 701, it is checked in process step 702 whether the predetermined directory 41 exists. If it exists, it is checked in step 703 whether the predetermined data management information file 42 exists. If this exists, the file is opened at 704 and the data management information header is read. Further, it is checked whether the number N of instruction files read in 705 is greater than zero. If N> 0, the data management information is read in 706 and temporarily stored in the work memory 23. Further, an instruction file corresponding to the instruction file number designated by the data management information is read in 707 and temporarily stored in the work memory 23. The data relating to the shooting instruction temporarily stored in the work memory 23 is processed by the CPU 21 and sent to the display device 3 via the bus 9 for display on the screen, and when shooting according to the shooting instruction is instructed, It is updated on the memory 23.

  When the conditions are not satisfied in the processing steps 702, 703, and 705, the processing portion shown in this flowchart is ended (the end terminal 708 is reached).

FIG. 12 is a part of a follow chart of the photographing process of the program executed by the CPU 21.
In this flowchart, only the process related to the shooting instruction is shown.

  The processing start at 721 is reached when a command is sent from the operation panel 7. In processing step 722, it is determined that the command is related to a shooting instruction. If the command is not related to the shooting instruction, the command exits from the end terminal 731 and proceeds to the next processing. If it is a command related to a shooting instruction, (1) the instruction title list is displayed, (2) the instruction list is displayed, and (3) another process is executed in cases other than the above. In the case of (1), the processing steps 723, 724, and 725 are processed, and if the command is a command for setting the command title file, the current command title file is changed. In the case of (2) above, the processing steps 726, 727, and 728 are processed, and if the command is a command for setting the shooting instruction item, the current shooting instruction item is changed. In the case of (3) above, processing steps 729 and 730 are processed, and if the command is a command to display an instruction title list or a command to display an instruction list, the corresponding list or list is displayed on the screen.

  Processing at the end of shooting (when shooting is stopped by pressing the Rec button) is divided into two depending on whether or not a shooting instruction item is set.

  When the shooting instruction item is set, processing for updating the remaining amount parameter of the shooting instruction item on the work memory is performed in addition to the normal video data recording process. When it is determined that the shooting is completed as compared with the scheduled parameter, the completion parameter is also updated. After these processes, playlist data included in the video data management information is automatically generated. A playlist is data defined by the DVD Forum DVD Video Recording standard. If the corresponding shooting instruction item has already created a corresponding playlist, processing for adding the video shot this time to the playlist is performed. By automatically generating playlist data in this way, playback can be performed in the order of shooting item files, unlike the shooting order, when playing a playlist. This has the effect of reducing the user burden of image post-processing.

  On the other hand, if the shooting instruction item is not set, the shooting instruction item assignment process can be executed after the normal video data recording process. This process is started by a command from the user's operation panel. The remaining parameter of the shooting instruction item on the work memory and other parameter processing and automatic playlist generation processing are performed in the same manner as when the shooting instruction item is set.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing another example of the format of the shooting instruction file. The difference from the previous example is that data relating to the recording start time and a parameter indicating whether an alarm is displayed corresponding to that time are included. When a shooting instruction title of this format is set, an operation is performed so that an alarm is displayed on the screen when the corresponding time is reached for the shooting instruction item that enables alarm display. This prevents the user from forgetting to take the corresponding shooting item.

  These shooting instruction items are schedule information used in personal computers, PDA (Personal Digital Assistance) devices, mobile phones, or data similar to ToDo items, and can be easily converted. Even if an error occurs in the conversion of some data such as scheduled parameters, the contents of the shooting instruction item can be easily corrected by operating the camera body.

  Interface means are used to capture shooting instruction items from an external system such as a personal computer, PDA device, or mobile phone. The interface means can be easily realized by mounting a memory card host and a USB interface.

  Another example is one in which a mobile device such as a mobile phone or a PDA has a camera. In this case, a schedule or the like can be edited on the mobile device itself.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the description has been made assuming that the shooting instruction data 8 is recorded on the storage 4, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the shooting instruction data 8 may be stored in the memory of the video camera body. Comparing the former case (recording the shooting instruction data 8 in the storage 4) and the latter case (recording the shooting instruction data 8 in the video camera main body), in the former case, which video camera is simply carried by the storage 4 However, in the latter case, it is not necessary to record the shooting instruction data 8 in the storage 4, so that the capacity of the storage 4 can be saved.

  According to the above-described embodiment, since information related to the photographing content can be confirmed on the display means of the camera, the user can finally complete the intended photographing by confirming the content to be photographed in advance. In addition, since the shooting contents can be examined in advance, the data area of the recording medium can be used effectively. In addition, since it is possible to check the content that has been taken and the content that has not yet been taken, it is possible to prevent forgetting to remove it.

  Further, since the clock means notifies the camera when the predetermined time comes, it is possible to prevent a failure to forget the timing of shooting.

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a video camera that is a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of an imaging unit 1. The figure which shows another example of a format of a photography instruction file The figure which shows the file structure of the imaging | photography instruction | indication data recorded on the storage means 4 Figure showing format of data management information file Display screen of the display device 3 when selecting or confirming the instruction file Display screen of display device 3 when selecting or confirming shooting instruction item Display screen of display device 3 when selection of instruction file and shooting instruction item is completed The figure which shows an example of a format of a photography instruction file The figure which shows an example of a structure of the operation panel 7 Part of the follow-up chart of the process at startup of the program executed by CPU21 Part of follow-up chart for shooting process of program executed by CPU21

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Imaging means, 3 ... Display apparatus, 4 ... Storage, 5 ... Interface, 6 ... System control means, 7 ... Operation panel

Claims (7)

Provided with reading means for reading information related to shooting items or shooting schedules into the camera body, processing means for processing the information, and display means for displaying the processed information, and reading the information into the camera before starting shooting. A video camera that processes the information according to user's shooting and displays the information on the screen. 2. A guide for photographing time is obtained from the information captured by the reading means, the remaining recording capacity and the remaining battery capacity are confirmed, and a warning is displayed when a problem is expected in photographing. Video camera. 2. The video camera according to claim 1, wherein the reading means creates the information on a PC for each shooting purpose and transmits the information to the camera via a memory card, a DVD disk, or a communication interface with the PC. . The video camera according to claim 1, wherein the information includes a scheduled shooting start time on the shooting day, and an alarm is displayed a predetermined time before the scheduled time. 2. The video camera according to claim 1, wherein a play list for designating a playback order is automatically generated after selecting a displayed shooting item and performing corresponding shooting. 2. The video camera according to claim 1, wherein after shooting, each shooting scene is associated with the shooting item, and a playlist for each shooting item is automatically generated. 3. The video camera according to claim 2, wherein a warning is displayed when the remaining recording capacity or the remaining battery capacity is insufficient to perform the required shooting time.

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