JP2007324833A - Camera - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress power consumption in an operation member by avoiding unnecessary state detection in the operation member. <P>SOLUTION: In camera operation member power-saving control, operation member control by an optimum conductive cycle can be performed in accordance with a camera mode (S103, S105 and S107). Therefore, it is possible to avoid unnecessary state detection and to suppress power consumption. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a power saving control method for detecting a state of a camera operation member.

  Conventionally, a camera operation member needs to be energized during key scanning. Here, in order to reduce power consumption, a method of temporarily energizing the operation member at the timing of performing the key scan is used instead of always energizing the operation member during camera activation. As a result, the energization time is reduced and power saving control is possible. Furthermore, when a specific operation member is unused due to a change in the camera mode, the power consumption can be further suppressed by not energizing the operation member at all times.

  Moreover, there exists a rotation operation member which can detect a rotation direction and a rotation angle as a camera operation member. In the rotation operation member, the high and low states of the rotation detection signal are updated when energized. After updating the High and Low states, the rotation detection signal maintains the current state even when the power is turned off. Therefore, the energization timing does not have to be matched with the key scan.

  The rotational operation member as described above realizes different functions depending on the mode of the camera. For example, in the manual focus mode, the focusing member is operated according to the rotation amount of the rotation operation member. In the reproduction mode, the display image is fed according to the rotation amount of the rotation operation member. Further, in a mode in which the operation of the rotation operation member is invalid, such as the PC connection mode, the rotation of the rotation operation member is ignored.

As described above, when the function of the operation member changes according to the camera mode, the rotation speed to be detected also differs. For example, in the manual focus mode, the rotation speed to be detected by the rotation operation member may be up to the operation speed of the focus member. In the reproduction mode, the rotation speed to be detected by the rotation operation member may be up to a speed at which one image can be displayed. In the PC connection mode, the rotation operation member may not detect rotation.
JP 2004-48160 A

  Conventionally, in the operation member that performs energization asynchronously with the key scan such as the above-described rotation operation member and updates the state of the detection signal, the energization cycle is not controlled according to the camera mode. An object of the present invention is to avoid unnecessary state detection in the operation member as described above and suppress power consumption in the operation member.

  In the operation member control means according to the present invention, firstly, an operation mode change means capable of changing the operation mode of the camera, an operation member that updates the current state only when energized, and the operation member is energized periodically. A camera comprising an operation member control means for performing a state update is characterized in that when the operation mode of the camera is changed by the operation mode change means, the cycle of the operation member control means is changed.

  Second, the operation member is a rotation operation member capable of detecting a rotation direction and a rotation angle.

  Thirdly, the energization of the rotation operation member when the operation mode change means is changed to a mode in which the rotation operation member can be operated has a cycle in which a rotation slower than 5 rotations / second can be detected. It is characterized by.

  Fourth, when the operation mode changing unit changes the rotation operation member to a mode operable as focus control, the energization to the rotation operation member is the same as the moving speed of the focus member, or It is characterized in that it has a period in which slow rotation can be detected.

  Fifth, the energization of the rotation operation member when the operation mode change means is changed to a mode in which the rotation operation member can be operated as display image feed is a speed at which display of one display image is completed. It is characterized by having a cycle in which the same or slower rotation can be detected.

  Sixth, when the rotation operation member is changed to an inoperable mode by the operation mode changing means, the energization to the rotation operation member is turned off.

  According to the present invention, the operation member can be controlled with an optimum energization cycle according to the camera mode, so that unnecessary state detection can be avoided and power consumption can be suppressed.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 100 denotes an image processing apparatus.

  Reference numeral 10 denotes a photographing lens, 12 denotes a shutter having a diaphragm function, 14 denotes an image sensor that converts an optical image into an electrical signal, and 16 denotes an A / D converter that converts an analog signal output from the image sensor 14 into a digital signal.

  A timing generation circuit 18 supplies a clock signal and a control signal to the image sensor 14, the A / D converter 16, and the D / A converter 26, and is controlled by the memory control circuit 22 and the system control circuit 50.

  An image processing circuit 20 performs predetermined pixel interpolation processing and color conversion processing on the data from the A / D converter 16 or the data from the memory control circuit 22.

  Further, the image processing circuit 20 performs predetermined calculation processing using the captured image data, and the system control circuit 50 controls the exposure control means 40 and the distance measurement control means 42 based on the obtained calculation result. TTL (through-the-lens) AF (autofocus) processing, AE (automatic exposure) processing, and EF (flash pre-flash) processing.

  Further, the image processing circuit 20 performs predetermined arithmetic processing using the captured image data, and also performs TTL AWB (auto white balance) processing based on the obtained arithmetic result.

  A memory control circuit 22 controls the A / D converter 16, the timing generation circuit 18, the image processing circuit 20, the image display memory 24, the D / A converter 26, the memory 30, and the compression / decompression circuit 32.

  The data of the A / D converter 16 is written into the image display memory 24 or the memory 30 via the image processing circuit 20 and the memory control circuit 22 or the data of the A / D converter 16 is directly passed through the memory control circuit 22. It is.

  Reference numeral 24 denotes an image display memory, 26 denotes a D / A converter, and 27 denotes a connector that outputs the output of the D / A converter 26 to an external monitor. When the connector is inserted in the external main power connector 27, the system control circuit 50 can know the external output state by the external output connection detecting means 108.

  Reference numeral 28 denotes an image display unit composed of a TFT LCD or the like. Display image data written in the image display memory 24 is displayed on the image display unit 28 via a D / A converter 26.

  If the image data captured using the image display unit 28 is sequentially displayed, the electronic viewfinder function can be realized.

  Further, the image display unit 28 can arbitrarily turn on / off the display according to an instruction from the system control circuit 50. When the display is turned off, the power consumption of the image processing apparatus 100 can be greatly reduced. I can do it.

  Further, the image display unit 28 is coupled to the main body of the image processing apparatus 100 by a rotatable hinge unit, and an electronic finder function, a reproduction display function, and various display functions can be used by setting a free orientation and angle. Is possible.

  Further, it is possible to store the display portion of the image display unit 28 toward the image processing apparatus 100. In this case, the display state of the image display unit 28 is detected by the image display unit open / close detection means 106 by detecting the storage state. Can be stopped.

  Reference numeral 30 denotes a memory for storing captured still images and moving images, and has a sufficient storage capacity to store a predetermined number of still images and a predetermined time of moving images.

  Thereby, even in the case of continuous shooting or panoramic shooting in which a plurality of still images are continuously shot, it is possible to write a large amount of images to the memory 30 at high speed.

  The memory 30 can also be used as a work area for the system control circuit 50. The memory 30 is also used as a write buffer for the recording media 200 and 210.

  Reference numeral 32 denotes a compression / decompression circuit that compresses and decompresses image data by adaptive discrete cosine transform (ADCT) or the like, reads an image stored in the memory 30, performs compression processing or decompression processing, and stores the processed data in the memory 30. Write to.

  Reference numeral 40 denotes an exposure control means for controlling the shutter 12 having a diaphragm function, and has a flash light control function in cooperation with the flash 48.

  Reference numeral 42 denotes a distance measuring control means for controlling the focusing of the photographing lens 10, reference numeral 44 denotes a zoom control means for controlling zooming of the photographing lens 10, and reference numeral 46 denotes a barrier control means for controlling the operation of the protection means 102 as a barrier.

  A flash 48 has an AF auxiliary light projecting function and a flash light control function.

  The exposure control means 40 and the distance measurement control means 42 are controlled using the TTL method, and based on the calculation result obtained by calculating the captured image data by the image processing circuit 20, the system control circuit 50 performs the exposure control means 40 and the distance measurement. Control is performed on the control means 42.

  Reference numeral 50 denotes a system control circuit that controls the entire image processing apparatus 100, and reference numeral 52 denotes a memory that stores constants, variables, programs, and the like for operation of the system control circuit 50.

  Reference numeral 54 denotes a display unit such as a liquid crystal display device or a speaker that displays an operation state or a message using characters, images, sounds, or the like in accordance with execution of a program in the system control circuit 50. One or a plurality of places are provided near the portion where they can be easily seen, and for example, a combination of an LCD, an LED, a sound generation element, and the like is used.

  In addition, the display unit 54 is partially installed in the optical viewfinder 104.

  Among the display contents of the display unit 54, what is displayed on the LCD or the like includes single shot / continuous shooting display, self-timer display, compression rate display, number of recorded pixels, number of recorded pixels, number of remaining images that can be captured, shutter Speed display, Aperture value display, Exposure compensation display, Flash display, Red-eye reduction display, Macro shooting display, Buzzer setting display, Clock battery level display, Battery level display, Error display, Multi-digit number information display and recording There are a display state of the media 200 and 210, a communication I / F operation display, a date / time display, and the like.

  Further, among the display contents of the display unit 54, what is displayed in the optical viewfinder 104 includes in-focus display, camera shake warning display, flash charge display, shutter speed display, aperture value display, exposure correction display, and the like.

  Reference numeral 56 denotes an electrically erasable / recordable nonvolatile memory, such as an EEPROM.

  A timer 58 is used to measure the data recording speed of the recording medium 200 or 210 and the data rate of the acquired data.

  Reference numerals 60, 62, 64, 66, 68 and 70 are operation means for inputting various operation instructions of the system control circuit 50, and may be a single unit such as a switch, a dial, a touch panel, pointing by eye-gaze detection, a voice recognition device, or the like. Consists of multiple combinations.

  Here, a specific description of these operating means will be given.

  Reference numeral 60 denotes a mode dial switch, which is used to switch and set each function mode such as power-off, automatic shooting mode, shooting mode (including panorama shooting mode and movie shooting mode), playback mode, multi-screen playback / erase mode, and PC connection mode. I can do it.

  Reference numeral 62 denotes a shutter switch SW1, which is turned ON during the operation of a shutter button (not shown), and performs AF (auto focus) processing, AE (auto exposure) processing, AWB (auto white balance) processing, EF (flash pre-flash) processing, and the like. Instruct to start operation.

  Reference numeral 64 denotes a shutter switch SW2, which is turned on when the operation of a shutter button (not shown) is completed, and an exposure process for writing a signal read from the image sensor 12 to the memory 30 via the A / D converter 16 and the memory control circuit 22. Development processing using operations in the image processing circuit 20 and the memory control circuit 22, recording processing for reading image data from the memory 30, compression in the compression / decompression circuit 32, and writing the image data to the recording medium 200 or 210. Instructs the start of a series of processing operations. In the case of moving image shooting, the start / stop of moving image shooting is instructed.

  Reference numeral 66 denotes an image display ON / OFF switch, which can set ON / OFF of the image display unit 28.

  With this function, when photographing using the optical viewfinder 104, it is possible to save power by cutting off the current supply to the image display unit such as a TFT LCD.

  Reference numeral 68 denotes a quick review ON / OFF switch, which sets a quick review function for automatically reproducing image data taken immediately after photographing. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that a function for setting a quick review function when the image display unit 28 is turned off is provided.

  70 is an operation unit composed of various buttons and a rotary operation member such as a jog dial, a menu button, a set button, a macro button, a multi-screen playback page break button, a flash setting button, a single shooting / continuous shooting / self-timer switching button, Menu movement + (plus) button, menu movement-(minus) button, playback image movement + (plus) button, playback image-(minus) button, shooting image quality selection button, exposure compensation button, date / time setting button, etc. .

  80 is a power control means, which is composed of a battery detection circuit, a DC-DC converter, a switch circuit for switching a block to be energized, etc., and detects the presence / absence of a battery, the type of battery, the remaining battery level, and the detection result In addition, the DC-DC converter is controlled based on an instruction from the system control circuit 50, and a necessary voltage is supplied to each part including the recording medium for a necessary period.

  Reference numeral 82 denotes a connector, 84 denotes a connector, and 86 denotes a power source means including a primary battery such as an alkaline battery or a lithium battery, a secondary battery such as a NiCd battery, a NiMH battery, or a Li battery, or an AC adapter.

  90 and 94 are interfaces with a recording medium such as a memory card or a hard disk, 92 and 96 are connectors for connecting to a recording medium such as a memory card or a hard disk, and 98 is a recording medium 200 or 210 attached to the connector 92 or 96. Recording medium attachment / detachment detecting means for detecting whether or not the recording medium is present.

  In this embodiment, it is assumed that there are two interfaces and connectors for attaching the recording medium. Of course, the interface and the connector for attaching the recording medium may have a single or a plurality of systems and any number of systems. Moreover, it is good also as a structure provided with combining the interface and connector of a different standard.

  The interface and the connector may be configured using a PCMCIA card, a CF (Compact Flash (registered trademark)) card, or the like that conforms to a standard. Note that CompactFlash (registered trademark) is a registered trademark.

  Further, when the interfaces 90 and 94 and the connectors 92 and 96 are configured using a PCMCIA card, a CF (Compact Flash (registered trademark)) card, or the like, a LAN card, modem card, USB card, IEEE1394 Management data attached to image data and image data can be transferred to and from peripheral devices such as other computers and printers by connecting various communication cards such as cards, P1284 cards, SCSI cards, and PHS communication cards. I can meet each other.

  Reference numeral 102 denotes protection means that is a barrier that prevents the imaging unit from being soiled or damaged by covering the imaging unit including the lens 10 of the image processing apparatus 100.

  Reference numeral 104 denotes an optical viewfinder, which can take an image using only the optical viewfinder without using the electronic viewfinder function of the image display unit 28. In the optical viewfinder 104, some functions of the display unit 54, for example, a focus display, a camera shake warning display, a flash charge display, a shutter speed display, an aperture value display, an exposure correction display, and the like are installed.

  Reference numeral 106 denotes image display unit open / close detection means, which can detect whether or not the image display unit 28 is in a storage state in which the display portion of the image display unit 28 is stored in the image processing apparatus 100.

  Here, if the storage state is detected, the display operation of the image display unit 28 can be stopped and unnecessary power consumption can be prohibited.

  Reference numeral 108 denotes an external output connector connection detecting means, which can detect whether an external monitor is connected to the external output connector 27. Here, if it is detected that the connection state is established, an external monitor can be used as a display device instead of the image display unit 28.

  A communication unit 110 has various communication functions such as RS232C, USB, IEEE1394, P1284, SCSI, modem, LAN, and wireless communication.

  Reference numeral 112 denotes a connector for connecting the image processing apparatus 100 to another device by the communication unit 110 or an antenna in the case of wireless communication.

  Reference numeral 114 denotes a microphone, which is an audio data acquisition unit. Reference numeral 116 denotes an A / D converter that performs A / D conversion so that the audio data obtained by the microphone 114 can be acquired by the system control 50.

  Reference numeral 118 denotes a speaker, which is a sound data reproducing means. Reference numeral 120 denotes a D / A converter that D / A converts digital audio data output from the system control 50 to be reproduced by the speaker 118.

  Reference numeral 200 denotes a recording medium such as a memory card or a hard disk.

  The recording medium 200 includes a recording unit 202 composed of a semiconductor memory, a magnetic disk, or the like, an interface 204 with the image processing apparatus 100, and a connector 206 for connecting to the image processing apparatus 100.

  Further, when the recording medium 200 is a PCMCIA standard PC-Card, a compact flash (registered trademark), or the like, an information storage circuit in which performance is recorded may be incorporated.

  Reference numeral 210 denotes a recording medium such as a memory card or a hard disk.

  The recording medium 210 includes a recording unit 212 composed of a semiconductor memory, a magnetic disk, and the like, an interface 214 with the image processing apparatus 100, and a connector 216 that connects to the image processing apparatus 100.

  In addition, when the recording medium 210 is a PCMCIA standard PC-Card, a compact flash (registered trademark) or the like, an information storage circuit in which performance is described may be incorporated.

  The operation of the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 2 shows the specifications of the jog dial of this embodiment. The jog dial is a rotation operation member capable of detecting the rotation direction and the rotation angle. When the jog dial is rotated, a signal is input to the rotary encoder according to the rotation. Therefore, the repetition of the High state and Low state input to the Rotary encoder can be detected as rotation. In order to detect the rotation of the jog dial, it is necessary to energize the jog dial, detect a signal from the rotary encoder, and obtain a rotation detection signal. The rotation detection signal maintains the current state even after the power is turned off after the state is updated. Therefore, the energization timing does not have to be matched with the key scan.

  In FIG. 2, since the jog dial is always energized, the signal from the rotary encoder is always reflected in the rotation detection signal. Therefore, the rotation detection accuracy of the jog dial can be increased by the method of FIG. However, the energization time for the jog dial is long and the power consumption is high. The required rotation detection accuracy differs depending on the camera mode. In the present invention, a method for suppressing power consumption in consideration of appropriate rotation detection accuracy will be described.

  FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of energization control to the jog dial of this embodiment.

  When the camera is activated, initial setting for activation in each mode is performed (S101).

  After the initial setting is completed, it is determined whether or not the camera mode has been switched (S102). When the camera is activated or the camera mode is switched, the process proceeds to S103. If the camera mode is not changed, the process returns to S102, and the determination is repeated until the camera mode is switched.

  In S103, it is determined whether the camera mode is the PC mode. When it is in the PC mode, the process proceeds to S104, and the energization method to the jog dial is changed to the energization OFF mode. The energization OFF mode is a mode in which energization to the jog dial is always turned off as shown in FIG. In the PC mode of this embodiment, the jog dial rotation operation is invalid. Therefore, in the energization OFF mode, power consumption is reduced by always turning off energization, and rotation detection is not performed.

  If it is determined at S103 that the PC mode is not selected, it is then determined at S105 whether the playback mode is selected. When it is in the reproduction mode, the process proceeds to S106, and the method for energizing the jog dial is changed to the energization mode for reproduction. As shown in FIG. 5, the energization mode for reproduction is a mode in which the jog dial is periodically energized in accordance with the speed at which one display image is displayed. In the playback mode of this embodiment, the display image is fed according to the rotation of the jog dial. In this case, it is meaningless to detect rotation faster than the speed at which one display image is displayed. Therefore, power consumption is suppressed while maintaining the minimum detection accuracy by the energization mode for reproduction.

  If it is determined in S105 that the mode is not the playback mode, it is next determined in S107 whether the mode is the manual focus shooting (MF) mode. If it is in the MF mode, the process proceeds to S108, and the method for energizing the jog dial is changed to the MF energization mode. The MF energization mode is a mode in which the jog dial is periodically energized according to the moving speed of the focusing member, as shown in FIG. In the MF mode of this embodiment, the focusing member is moved according to the rotation of the jog dial. In this case, it is meaningless to detect rotation faster than the moving speed of the focusing member. Therefore, the MF energization mode reduces power consumption while maintaining the minimum detection accuracy.

  If it is determined in S107 that the mode is not the MF mode, the process proceeds to S109, and the method for energizing the jog dial is changed to the normal energization mode. As shown in FIG. 7, the normal energization mode is a mode in which the jog dial is energized at a cycle of about 1/5 second. It is known that the jog dial of this embodiment has an appropriate detection accuracy if it can detect up to 5 rotations / second in consideration of rotation by the user's hand. Therefore, the normal energization mode suppresses power consumption while maintaining the minimum detection accuracy.

  The embodiment of the present invention has been described above with reference to FIGS.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the operation member can be controlled with the optimum energization cycle according to the camera mode, so that unnecessary state detection can be avoided and power consumption can be suppressed. It becomes possible.

It is a block diagram of a configuration of an embodiment of the present invention. It is a jog dial operation | movement specification figure in a present Example. It is a flowchart of the electricity supply mode switching routine in this implementation. It is a figure of the jog dial energization method at the time of PC mode of a present Example. It is a figure of the jog dial energization method at the time of the reproduction | regeneration mode of a present Example. It is a figure of the jog dial energization method at the time of MF mode of a present Example. It is a figure of the jog dial electricity supply method in the normal mode of a present Example.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Shooting lens 12 Shutter 14 Image pick-up element 16 A / D converter 18 Timing generation circuit 20 Image processing circuit 22 Memory control circuit 24 Image display memory 26 D / A converter 28 Image display part 30 Memory 32 Image compression / decompression circuit 40 Exposure Control means 42 Distance control means 44 Zoom control means 46 Barrier control means 48 Flash 50 System control circuit 52 System memory 54 Display section 56 Non-volatile memory 60 Mode dial switch 62 Shutter switch SW1
64 Shutter switch SW2
66 Image display ON / OFF switch 68 Quick review ON / OFF switch 70 Operation unit 80 Power supply control means 82 Connector 84 Connector 86 Power supply means 90 Interface 92 Connector 94 Interface 96 Connector 98 Recording medium attachment / detachment detection means 100 Image processing apparatus 102 Protection means 104 Optical finder 110 Communication means 112 Connector (or antenna)
200 Recording Medium 202 Recording Unit 204 Interface 206 Connector 210 Recording Medium 212 Recording Unit 214 Interface 216 Connector

Claims (6)

  In a camera comprising: an operation mode changing unit capable of changing an operation mode of a camera; an operation member that updates a current state only when energized; and an operation member control unit that periodically energizes the operation member to update the state. When the operation mode of the camera is changed by the operation mode changing means, the cycle of the operation member control means is changed.   The camera according to claim 1, wherein the operation member is a rotation operation member capable of detecting a rotation direction and a rotation angle.   When the rotation operation member is changed to a mode in which the rotation operation member can be operated by the operation mode change means, the energization of the rotation operation member has a cycle in which a rotation slower than 5 rotations / second can be detected. The camera according to claim 2.   When the rotation operation member is changed to a mode in which the rotation operation member can be operated as focus control by the operation mode changing means, the energization to the rotation operation member is detected to be the same as or slower than the moving speed of the focus member. The camera according to claim 2, wherein the period is possible.   When the operation mode changing unit changes the rotation operation member to a mode in which the rotation operation member can be operated as display image feed, the energization to the rotation operation member is the same as the speed at which one display image is displayed, or The camera according to claim 2, wherein the period is such that a slower rotation can be detected.   3. The camera according to claim 2, wherein when the rotation operation member is changed to a mode incapable of being operated by the operation mode changing means, the energization to the rotation operation member is turned off.

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