JP2007028191A - Electronic camera apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic camera apparatus capable of increasing the degree of freedom in design of an apparatus by reducing and simplifying the structure of an opening/closing part as much as possible, and while maintaining user's easy handling, preventing the functions and performance of the apparatus from being reduced. <P>SOLUTION: The electronic camera apparatus is provided with: a casing 11 of a camera body; a lens optical system 22 for photographing a subject image and obtaining its image data; an image pickup system including a CCD 23; a built-in memory 38 for storing image data obtained by image pickup; a waterproof USB cable 12 having a fiber jacket to which extension-proof processing is applied, led out from the casing 11, including a data communication line for transmitting/receiving image data stored in the built-in memory 38 and a power supply line in its inside, and having a screw type plug part forming a USB connector 42 for a serial interface connected to the data communication line and the power supply line on its top like a projected form; and a screw part 14 formed on the casing 11 and capable of storing and tightly closing the USB connector 42 formed on the plug part by screwing and clamping the plug part formed on the top of the waterproof cable 12. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic camera device that stores captured images in the form of electronic data and outputs them externally.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, electronic devices such as cameras with waterproof properties are generally available on the market. For example, a technology of a battery lid structure having a waterproof structure that has a small number of parts and can be easily assembled has been considered. (For example, Patent Document 1)
In this technology, a rotatable battery lid that opens and closes the battery compartment is provided on the bottom surface of the front cover with this camera, and the battery lid is mounted with a hinge plate and a waterproof packing that are instructed to rotate by a hinge pin. And a battery lid that is instructed to be slidable on the hinge plate. When the battery lid is closed, the battery lid is slid to the hinge pin side to move the locking claw forward. The battery cover is locked in the closed position by locking in the locking hole of the cover, and when opening the battery cover, sliding the battery cover to the half hinge pin side and releasing the above lock, The battery lid has a structure that can be rotated to an open position.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-142841

  However, a camera having a waterproof structure, including the technique of Patent Document 1 described above, is strictly configured with a strong hinge and packing in the battery housing part and the input / output terminal cover part to ensure sufficient waterproofness. ing.

for that reason,
(1) The packing of the battery housing and the lid of the input / output terminal has a complicated structure, and the waterproof structure itself becomes large due to the strong hinge.
(2) It is necessary to tighten the shape of the waterproof lid portion.
(3) The user needs to close the battery housing and the lid of the input / output terminal with care so that the battery can be securely sealed after it is closed.
There was a malfunction.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its object is to make the structure of the opening / closing portion as small and simple as possible to increase the degree of design freedom of the device and facilitate the handling of the user. However, an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic camera device that does not degrade the function, performance, etc. of the device.

  The invention described in claim 1 includes a camera body, an image pickup means for taking a subject image and obtaining the image data, a storage means for storing the image data obtained by the image pickup means, and a fiber outside subjected to stretch processing. A serial interface connector connected to each of the lines at the tip of the data communication line and the power line for transmitting and receiving image data stored in the storage means. A waterproof cable having a protruding screw-type plug and a plug formed at the camera body and screwed at the distal end of the waterproof cable to fasten and seal the connector formed on the plug. And a threaded portion.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, a video circuit for generating a video signal in accordance with a predetermined television system from the image data stored in the storage unit, and the screwing portion are arranged. And a video signal terminal for outputting a video signal generated by the video circuit, which is hermetically sealed together with a connector formed on the plug at the time of fastening and fastening of the plug at the distal end of the waterproof cable. Features.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mounting portion for mounting the camera body, and a connector portion for connecting the connector of the serial interface and supplying power from at least the power line. The cradle is provided separately from the camera body.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, for example, the front end of the waterproof cable that serves as a portable strap for the camera is unified with a serial interface including a power supply line such as USB or IEEE 1394, with a single connection between the power supply and the external device. As a screw-type screw cap structure, the connector is included, and when the camera is carried, etc., it is to be screwed and fastened to the screwed part of the camera body, so the structure of the opening and closing part is made as small as possible and an O-ring or the like is used. A simple waterproof structure increases the degree of design freedom of the device and makes it easy for the user to handle and transfer image data obtained by charging the internal battery and taking pictures, while not degrading the functions and performance of the device. .

  According to the invention described in claim 2, in addition to the effect of the invention described in claim 1 above, the inside of the threaded portion that becomes a waterproof structure is effectively utilized to connect the apparatus to a video input terminal such as a television receiver. Thus, image data obtained by photographing can be directly visually recognized on the screen of the television receiver or the like.

  According to the invention described in claim 3, in addition to the effect of the invention described in claim 1, the camera body is placed on the cradle by connecting the cradle to the AC power source in advance, and the connector portion thereof Charging and the like can be performed simply by connecting the collector at the tip of the waterproof cable.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment when the present invention is applied to a digital camera will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows an external configuration mainly of the entire surface and the right side of a digital camera 10 according to the present invention. In the figure, the digital camera 10 is provided with a waterproofing treatment including a mounting base portion from the center of the right side surface of the main body casing 11 whose upper portion is raised so that the vertical cross section has a trapezoidal shape. A USB cable 12 having an outer skin formed by an aramid fiber, such as Kevlar (registered trademark), and subjected to a stretch-proofing process is led out, and a screw-type screw cap 13 is attached to the tip thereof.

  The screw cap 13 is screwed and fastened to a screwing portion 14 (not shown here) provided on the lead-out portion of the USB cable 12, and the USB cable 12 subjected to stretch-proofing processing as described above. Functions as a portable strap for the digital camera 10.

  The screw cap 13 has a USB connector (not shown) at the tip thereof. In this figure, the screw cap 13 is screwed and fastened to the screwing portion 14 of the main body casing 11, and the USB connector is located inside the screw cap 13. Thus, the rubber O-ring and the corresponding surface portion of the screwing portion that are mounted on the front end surface of the screw cap 13 are kept in a watertight structure by the fastening. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the terminals constituting the USB connector from being accidentally short-circuited by water droplets or the like.

  In addition, on the front surface of the main casing 11, a photographic lens 15 is disposed on the left end side of the raised part, and a shutter key 16 and a strobe light emitting unit 17 are provided on a slope portion on the upper end side facing obliquely upward. Arranged.

  Although not shown here, various operation keys excluding the shutter key 16 and a display unit are arranged on the back side of the main body casing 11.

  Here, the various keys are, for example, a tele key and a wide key for operating when the focal length of the photographing lens 15 is changed to the telephoto side or the wide angle side, a mode key for switching the operation mode, and an item selection in the up / down / left / right directions. The key is composed of a ring key formed integrally, a set key for setting an item selected at the center of the ring key, a menu key, and the like.

  The display unit is composed of, for example, a large color liquid crystal panel with a backlight, and displays a through image on the monitor as an electronic viewfinder in the shooting mode, while playing back and displaying the selected image and the like in the playback mode.

Next, the functional configuration of the electronic circuit in the digital camera 10 will be described with reference to FIG.
In the monitoring (through image display) state in the photographing mode that is the basic mode, photographing by the lens optical system 22 constituting the photographing lens 15 in which the focus position and the aperture position are moved by driving the motor (M) 21. The CCD 23, which is an image sensor arranged behind the optical axis, is scanned and driven by a timing generator (TG) 24 and a CCD driver 25, and outputs a photoelectric conversion output corresponding to a light image formed at fixed intervals for one screen. To do.

  The photoelectric conversion output is appropriately gain-adjusted for each primary color component of RGB in the state of an analog value signal, then sampled and held by a sample hold circuit (S / H) 26, and digital data by an A / D converter 27 The color process circuit 28 performs color process processing including pixel interpolation processing and γ correction processing in the color process circuit 28 to generate a digital luminance signal Y and color difference signals Cb and Cr (YUV signals), and DMA (Direct Memory). Access) controller 29.

  The DMA controller 29 once uses the luminance signal Y and the color difference signals Cb and Cr output from the color process circuit 28 by using the composite synchronization signal, memory write enable signal, and clock signal from the color process circuit 28 once. And the DMA transfer to the DRAM 31 used as a buffer memory via the DRAM interface (I / F) 30.

  The control unit 32 is composed of a CPU, a ROM in which an operation program executed by the CPU is fixedly stored, a RAM used as a work memory, and the like, and controls the entire digital camera 10. After DMA transfer of the luminance and chrominance signals to the DRAM 21 is completed, the luminance and chrominance signals (YUV signals) are read from the DRAM 31 via the DRAM interface 30 and written to the VRAM 34 via the display control unit 33.

  The display control unit 33 periodically reads the luminance and color difference signals from the VRAM 34, generates a video signal based on these data, and outputs the video signal to the display unit 35.

  The display unit 35 is composed of a color liquid crystal panel with a backlight as described above, and is disposed on the back side of the main body casing 11. The display unit 35 functions as a monitor display unit (electronic finder) in an image capturing mode. By performing the display based on the video signal from the display control unit 33, an image based on the image information taken in by the CCD 23 as the image pickup element at that time is displayed in real time (through image display).

  In this way, when the through image that can be captured at that time is displayed in real time on the display unit 35, the shutter key 16 that constitutes a part of the key input unit 36 is operated at the timing at which still image shooting is desired. Then, a trigger signal is generated.

  In response to the trigger signal, the control unit 32 cancels the DMA transfer of the luminance and color difference signals for one screen currently taken in from the CCD 23 to the DRAM 21, and again the aperture value and shutter speed according to appropriate exposure conditions. Then, the CCD 23 is driven to scan to obtain luminance and color difference signals for one screen and transfer them to the DRAM 31. Thereafter, this path is stopped and the state is changed to the storage and storage state.

  In this storage and storage state, the control unit 32 outputs the luminance and color difference signals for one frame written in the DRAM 31 through the DRAM interface 30 for each of Y, Cb, and Cr components of 8 pixels × 8 pixels horizontally. Are read in units called basic blocks of the data and written in a Joint Photographic Coding Experts Group (JPEG) circuit 37. The JPEG circuit 37 is an ADCT (Adaptive Discrete Cosine Transform), which is an entropy coding system. Data compression is performed by processing such as conversion.

  Then, the obtained code data is read out from the JPEG circuit 37 as a data file of one image and written into a built-in memory 38 fixedly provided in the main body casing 11 as a storage medium of the digital camera 10.

  The built-in memory 38 is constituted by a flash memory that is a non-volatile memory, and is fixedly mounted on a flexible board or the like in the main body casing 11 like other circuits.

  Then, with the completion of the luminance and color difference signal compression processing for one frame and the writing of all the compressed data in the built-in memory 38, the control unit 32 activates the path from the CCD 23 to the DRAM 31 again.

  The control unit 32 is connected to a key input unit 36, a strobe drive unit 39, a power supply control unit 40, and a USB interface (I / F) 41.

  The key input unit 36 includes the shutter key 16 and other keys described above, and signals associated with the key operations are directly sent to the control unit 32.

  The strobe drive unit 39 charges a large-capacitance capacitor for strobe (not shown) at the time of still image shooting, and then drives the strobe light emitting unit 17 to flash based on the control from the control unit 32.

  The power supply control unit 40 is a power supply for operating the digital camera 10, for example, charging control of a built-in rechargeable battery (not shown) such as a lithium ion battery, and supplying power generated by the built-in rechargeable battery to the other circuits. The power line in the USB cable 12 is connected.

  The USB interface 41 performs communication control when image data and the like are transmitted / received to / from an external information device, for example, a personal computer, which is wiredly connected via the USB cable 12 provided with the USB connector 42 at the tip.

  In addition to the normal shooting mode, a moving image can be shot by operating the operation mode key of the key input unit 36. At the time of shooting this moving image, after the shutter key 16 of the key input unit 36 is operated for the first time, the above-described storage of the still image data in the built-in memory 38 is executed continuously in time. When the second operation of the key 16 is performed or a predetermined time limit, for example, 30 seconds elapses, a series of still image data stored in the built-in memory 38 is converted into a motion JPEG movie data file (AVI file). ) Set the memory again.

  In the playback mode, the control unit 32 selectively reads out the image data stored in the built-in memory 38, and the JPEG circuit 37 compresses the image data that has been compressed by a procedure completely opposite to the procedure of data compression in the shooting mode. The decompressed image data is held in the DRAM 31 via the DRAM interface 30, and then the content held in the DRAM 31 is stored in the VRAM 34 via the display control unit 33. The image data is read out to generate a video signal and output to the display unit 35.

  At this time, the display control unit 33 generates and outputs the video signal from the video output terminal 43 simultaneously. The video output terminal 43 is formed, for example, at the bottom of the screwed portion 14 in which the screw cap 13 formed with the USB connector 42 at the tip of the USB cable 12 is screwed and fastened, and the screw cap 13 is screwed. When attached to the joint portion 14, it is kept in a watertight state as with the USB connector 42.

  If the selected image data is not a still image but a moving image, playback of the individual still image data constituting the selected moving image data file is executed continuously in time, and all still images are When the reproduction of the image data is finished, only the still image data positioned at the head of the moving image data is reproduced and displayed until the next reproduction instruction is given.

  Also in this case, the display control unit 33 performs the display on the display unit 35 and simultaneously outputs the generated video signal from the video output terminal 43.

  In the above-described configuration, when the digital camera 10 is carried and a single image is taken or reproduced, the screw cap 13 at the tip of the USB cable 12 is screwed 14 as shown in FIG. The USB cable 12 subjected to stretch-proofing can be used as a mobile phone strap of the digital camera 10 by being screwed and fastened.

  In this case, the USB connector 42 provided on the distal end side of the screw cap 13 and the video output terminal 43 provided in the screwing portion 14 are both watertight by screwing and fastening between the screwing portion 14 and the screw cap 13. Since the state is maintained, it can be reliably prevented by intrusion of raindrops and the like from the outside.

  Further, as described above, the digital camera 10 has both a rechargeable battery as an operating power source and a memory (built-in memory 38) for storing image data, and does not require an opening / closing lid for attaching / detaching them. Various parts including the shutter key 16 constituting the key input unit 36, the strobe light emitting unit 17, the photographing lens 15, and the display unit 35, etc. The opening portion can be eliminated as much as possible.

  The screw cap 13 at the tip of the USB cable 12 is unscrewed from the screwed portion 14 of the main body casing 11, and the USB connector 42 provided on the screw cap 13 is connected to another external device such as a personal computer. The built-in rechargeable battery can be charged and the image data stored in the built-in memory 38 can be read out.

  FIG. 3 shows a state in which the USB connector 42 provided on the screw cap 13 is to be connected to a USB terminal (not shown) of a notebook type personal computer (PC) 50.

  In the figure, it can be seen that a small-diameter screw portion 13b for screwing with the screwing portion 14 is formed on the further tip side of the screw cap 13, and further, a USB connector 42 is formed on the tip thereof.

  In the step portion where the screw cap 13 has a small diameter at the screw portion 13b, an O-ring 13c made of, for example, silicon rubber is embedded in a surface portion that comes into contact with the opening plane of the screwing portion 14, and the O-ring 13c When the screw cap 13 is screwed and fastened to the screwing portion 14, entry of raindrops or the like into the screwing portion 14 is surely prevented.

  Here, the USB connector 42 is connected to the USB terminal of the personal computer 50, so that the built-in rechargeable battery of the digital camera 10 is automatically charged using the USB power line. Therefore, the image data stored in the built-in memory 38 can be arbitrarily moved or copied by the personal computer 50, and the pixel data is written from the personal computer 50 to the built-in memory 38 of the digital camera 10. Can also be included.

  In this case, if the digital camera 10 is compatible with the USB mass storage class, other various data files including, for example, music files that cannot be recognized by the digital camera 10 itself regardless of image data. Even data can be arbitrarily stored.

  Further, the USB connector 42 of the screw cap 13 is not connected to the personal computer 50 after unscrewing with the screwing portion 14 each time, but connected to the personal computer 50 via the cradle dedicated to the digital camera 10. It is good also as what to do.

  FIG. 4A illustrates the appearance of the cradle 60 dedicated to the digital camera 10 as a single unit. 61 and a USB terminal 62 for inserting the USB connector 42 are provided.

  In addition, on the front surface of the cradle 60, a charging (CHARGE) lamp 63 for informing the charging state, a photo (PHOTO) key 64 for instructing display of image data stored in the placed digital camera 10, and a display unit 35 The USB key 65 for instructing USB connection with the personal computer 50 is key-connected regardless of the power supply state.

  In addition, although not shown, a connection terminal with an AC power supply ab printer and a USB terminal for connection with the personal computer 50 are provided on the rear surface of the cradle 60.

  When the terminals on the back of the cradle 60 are connected to the AC power adapter and the personal computer 50, the back side of the digital camera 10 provided with the display unit 35 is the front side as shown in FIG. If the USB connector 42 at the tip of the screw cap 13 is inserted into the USB terminal 62 and connected, the digital camera 10 automatically uses the power line in the USB cable 12. The built-in rechargeable battery is charged, and the charging lamp 63 is lit red, for example.

  Here, when the photo key 64 of the cradle 60 is operated, the power of the digital camera 10 is forcibly turned on via the USB cable 12, the playback mode is set, and the image data stored in the built-in memory 38 is set. A so-called “slide show” function that is sequentially displayed and output on the display unit 35 at time intervals is executed.

  4B, when the USB key 65 of the cradle 60 is operated, the power of the digital camera 10 is forcibly turned on via the USB cable 12, the playback mode is set, and the digital camera 10 is personalized. It is recognized as an external drive of the computer, and image data stored in the built-in memory 38 can be arbitrarily read from the personal computer side.

  As described above, the video output terminal 43 is provided in the screwing portion 14 of the digital camera 10. The video output terminal 43 is composed of, for example, a 4-pole mini jack. One end of a video cable in which a 4-pole mini plug and three pin plugs are formed at both ends, the 4-pole mini plug side is connected to the video output terminal. By connecting the three pin plugs at the other end to the line input terminal of the television receiver, for example, the image data stored in the built-in memory 38 can be easily reproduced and output by the television receiver. .

  As described above, the main body casing 11 of the digital camera 10 has a built-in rechargeable battery and a memory for storing image data so that it cannot be attached and detached, and is not limited to the USB shown in the above embodiment, but also IEEE 1394, etc. A structure in which a waterproof cable 12 that also serves as a mobile phone strap of the digital camera 10 is formed by a screw-type screw cap 13 by using a serial interface including a power line to unify the connection of power supply and data communication with an external device. The connector 13a is included and screwed and fastened to the screwing portion 14 of the digital camera 10 when carrying the camera, etc., so that the structure for the waterproof structure can be reduced by minimizing and simplifying the structure of the opening / closing portion. User's handling, including charging of the battery inside and sending and receiving image data obtained by shooting While facilitating the function of the apparatus, there is no lowering of the performance and the like.

  In addition, since the video output terminal 43 is provided by effectively utilizing the inside of the screwed portion 14 that becomes a waterproof structure by screwing and fastening the screw cap 13, the apparatus can be used as a line input terminal such as a television receiver. By connecting to, image data obtained by photographing can be directly visually recognized on the screen of the television receiver or the like.

  Further, the digital camera 10 is provided with a dedicated cradle 60, and the cradle 60 is previously connected to an AC power source and a personal computer with a USB cable so that the digital camera 10 is placed on the cradle 60 and screwed. By connecting the USB connector 42 of the cap 13 to the USB terminal 62 collector on the cradle 60 side, charging and data communication between personal computers can be performed.

  In the above embodiment, the video output terminal 43 provided in the screwing portion 14 of the digital camera 10 has been described as being configured by, for example, a 4-pole mini jack, but the present invention is not limited to this. Other general-purpose terminals or dedicated terminals may be used.

  In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

  Further, the above embodiments include inventions at various stages, and various inventions can be extracted by appropriately combining a plurality of disclosed constituent elements. For example, even if some constituent elements are deleted from all the constituent elements shown in the embodiment, at least one of the problems described in the column of the problem to be solved by the invention can be solved, and described in the column of the effect of the invention. In a case where at least one of the obtained effects can be obtained, a configuration in which this configuration requirement is deleted can be extracted as an invention.

1 is a perspective view illustrating an external configuration of a digital camera according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of an electronic circuit in the digital camera according to the embodiment. FIG. The perspective view which shows the connection of the digital camera which concerns on the embodiment, and a personal computer. The perspective view which shows the installation of the digital camera which concerns on the embodiment, and its cradle, and a connection state.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Digital camera, 11 ... Main body casing, 12 ... USB cable, 13 ... Screw cap, 13b ... Screw part, 13c ... O-ring, 14 ... Screwing part, 15 ... Shooting lens, 16 ... Shutter key, 17 ... Strobe light emission , 21 ... motor (M), 22 ... lens optical system, 23 ... CCD, 24 ... timing generator (TG), 25 ... CCD driver, 26 ... sample hold circuit (S / H), 27 ... A / D conversion 28 ... color process circuit, 29 ... DMA controller, 30 ... DRAM interface (I / F), 31 ... DRAM, 32 ... control unit, 33 ... display control unit, 34 ... VRAM, 35 ... display unit, 36 ... key Input unit 37... JPEG circuit 38. Built-in memory 39. Strobe drive unit 40. Power supply control unit 41. USB interface (I / F 42 ... USB connector, 43 ... video output terminal, 50 ... personal computer (PC), 60 ... cradle, 61 ... mounting unit, 62 ... USB terminal, 63 ... charge (CHARGE) lamp, 64 ... photo (PHOTO) key 65 ... USB key.

Claims (3)

The camera body,
Imaging means for capturing a subject image and obtaining the image data;
Storage means for storing image data obtained by the imaging means;
It has a fiber jacket that has been stretch-stretched, and is provided with a data communication line and a power line for transmitting and receiving image data that is derived from the camera body and stored in the storage means. A waterproof cable having a screw-type stopper projecting from a connected serial interface connector;
An electronic camera comprising: a screwed portion that is formed in the camera body and that houses and seals the connector formed in the plug portion by screwing and fastening the plug portion at the tip of the waterproof cable. apparatus. A video circuit for generating a video signal in accordance with a predetermined television system from the image data stored in the storage means;
A video signal terminal for outputting a video signal generated by the video circuit, which is disposed in the screwing portion and is sealed together with a connector formed on the plug portion at the time of screwing and fastening of the waterproof cable tip; The electronic camera device according to claim 1, further comprising:   A cradle having a mounting unit for mounting the camera body and a connector unit for connecting a connector of the serial interface and supplying power from at least the power line is provided separately from the camera body. Item 2. The electronic camera device according to Item 1.

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