JP2008228220A - Electronic equipment, electronic equipment system and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent electronic equipment from being carelessly powered on when it is not to be used. <P>SOLUTION: The electronic equipment comprises: a key input section 44 having a plurality of operation mechanisms including a power switch 12, which instructs power-on and power-off of the equipment, and a shutter button 13; and a control section 41, which invalidates power-on with operation of the power switch 12 when the equipment is powered off and while an active state of a predetermined operation mechanism, such as the shutter button 13, other than the power switch 12 is maintained. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic device, an electronic device system, and a program suitable for, for example, a compact digital camera.

Conventionally, as a technology for controlling the power source applicable to various electronic devices such as a digital camera, for example, the pressing time when the power switch is operated is measured from the power-off state, and the power source is matched with the pressing time at the previous power-off time As a device for turning on, a technique is considered in which both disadvantages of the short press type and long press type start control devices are eliminated. (Patent Document 1)
JP 2006-163857 A

  In the device including the technique described in Patent Document 1 and capable of turning on the power of the device by a short press operation of the power switch, for example, when the power switch is carried in a pocket or a bag, There is always a possibility that the power is turned on due to careless operation and the battery whose capacity is limited is wasted.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic device and an electronic device that can reliably prevent inadvertent power-on when not in use. It is to provide a system and a program.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, an operation unit having a plurality of operation mechanisms including a power switch for instructing power on and off of the device and an operation state by a predetermined operation mechanism other than the power switch are maintained. Comprises power control means for invalidating the power-on associated with the operation of the power switch.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the predetermined operation mechanism is an operation switch having a lock structure for locking an operation state.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the power supply control means detects a continuous operation of a predetermined operation mechanism for a predetermined time or more and reverses the lock and unlock of the operation state. It is characterized by setting.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, the lock structure of the operation switch is a pivot structure, and is locked by pivoting to a pivot position to be locked and another pivot position. The setting is canceled.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the above-mentioned fourth aspect, the operation switch applies an elastic torque separated from the rotation position of the lock by an elastic member, other than the rotation position that locks the operation state. It is characterized by that.

  A sixth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the first aspect of the present invention, the power control means executes power-on when an operation state by the predetermined operation mechanism is released.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the power control means executes the power-off when the power is turned on and the operation state by the predetermined operation mechanism is maintained. It is characterized by.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the image processing apparatus further includes photographing means for photographing an image, and the predetermined operation mechanism is a shutter button for instructing photographing with the photographing means. Features.

  According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, an operation part having a plurality of operation mechanisms including a power switch for instructing power on / off of the device and an operation state by a predetermined operation mechanism other than the power switch are maintained. Between the electronic device provided with power control means for invalidating the power-on associated with the operation of the power switch, and the predetermined operation mechanism on the inner surface of the case facing the predetermined operation mechanism in the storage state of the electronic device. It is characterized by comprising a special case in which a convex portion for pressing is projected.

  The invention according to claim 10 is a program executed by a computer incorporated in an electronic device having an operation unit having a plurality of operation mechanisms including a power switch for instructing power on and off of the device, wherein the power While the operation state by a predetermined operation mechanism other than the switch is maintained, the computer is caused to execute a step of invalidating the power-on accompanying the operation of the power switch.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the power from being inadvertently turned on when not in use.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention when the present invention is applied to a digital camera will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 mainly shows the external configuration of the digital camera 10 from the back side. A power switch 12, a shutter button 13, a zoom lever 14, and a speaker unit 15 are disposed on the upper surface of the thin plate-shaped main body casing 11.

  The power switch 12 instructs to turn on / off the power by pressing the power of the apparatus for a short time. The shutter button 13 instructs the shooting timing at the time of still image shooting, the shooting start timing at the time of moving image shooting, and the timing of the end of shooting, and also maintains the locked state when the power is turned off by a rotating operation in the depressed state described later. To do.

  The zoom lever 14 extends from a ring-shaped member provided coaxially with the shutter button 13 to the front of the digital camera 10, and continuously adjusts the focal length of the photographic lens according to a rotation operation around the shutter button 13. In the telephoto or wide-angle direction, after the turning operation, the center automatically returns to the neutral position. The speaker unit 15 amplifies and outputs sound during the playback mode.

  In addition, on the back side of the main casing 11, a display unit 16, a playback mode key 17, a shooting mode key 18, a menu (MENU) key 19, a scene program (SP) key 20, a cursor key 21, and a set (SET) key 22. Is provided.

  The display unit 16 occupies most of the back surface of the main body casing 11 including the center and the left side, and is composed of a color TFT liquid crystal display panel with a backlight of less than 3 inches diagonal. The display unit 16 functions as an electronic viewfinder in the shooting mode, and displays on the monitor the image being captured at that time. On the other hand, in the reproduction mode, the display unit 16 displays a list of recorded images and reproduces and displays selected images.

  The playback mode key 17 instructs a power-on operation and a selection of a playback mode after the power is turned off. The shooting mode key 18 instructs a power-on operation from when the power is turned off and a selection of a shooting mode.

  The menu key 19 is operated when the setting menu is selected. The scene program key 20 is operated when selecting scene program shooting prepared in advance in the digital camera 10.

  The cursor key 21 instructs to move the menu cursor in the up / down / left / right directions. A set key 22 arranged in the center of the cursor key 21 instructs selection setting of a menu item or the like being operated at that time.

Next, FIG. 2 shows a conceptual configuration of an electronic circuit of the entire digital camera 10.
In the drawing, in the monitoring state in the photographing mode, the position of a part of the lenses in the photographing lens optical system 32, specifically, the zoom lens and the focus lens is appropriately moved by driving the motor (M) 31. A CCD (Charge Coupled Device) 33, which is a solid-state image sensor, is disposed at an imaging position behind the photographing optical axis of the photographing lens optical system 32 via a mechanical shutter (not shown).

  The CCD 33 is scanned and driven by a timing generator (TG) 34 and a CCD driver 35, and outputs a photoelectric conversion output corresponding to a light image formed at regular intervals for one screen.

  This photoelectric conversion output is automatically gain adjusted in accordance with the ISO sensitivity set for each primary color component of RGB in the state of an analog signal in an AGC / SH (Auto Gain Control / Sample Hold) circuit 36. Are sampled and held and sent to the A / D converter 37.

  The A / D converter 37 converts analog image data into digital data and outputs the digital data to the color process circuit 38.

  The color process circuit 38 performs color process processing including pixel interpolation processing and γ correction processing on digital image data, generates digital value luminance / chrominance image data YUV by matrix conversion, and outputs it to the buffer controller 39. To do.

  The buffer controller 39 once writes the image data YUV output from the color process circuit 38 into the buffer controller 19 once using the composite synchronization signal, the memory write enable signal, and the clock signal from the color process circuit 38. DMA transfer is performed to the DRAM 40 used as a buffer memory.

  The control unit 41 is composed of a CPU, a main memory used as a work memory, a non-volatile memory in which operation programs and data are fixedly stored, and the like, and reads necessary programs from the non-volatile memory. The control operation of the entire digital camera 10 is controlled while temporarily developing and writing necessary programs and data in the main memory.

  Thus, after the DMA transfer of the image data to the DRAM 40 is completed, the control unit 41 reads the image data from the DRAM 40 via the buffer controller 39 and writes it into the VRAM 43 via the display controller 42.

  The display controller 42 periodically reads out the image data from the VRAM 43 and outputs it to the display unit 16.

  The display unit 16 functions as an electronic viewfinder in the shooting mode as described above, and performs display based on the image data from the display controller 42, so that the image captured from the CCD 33 of the imaging system at that time is displayed. Is displayed on the monitor in real time. On the other hand, the display unit 16 displays a selected image or the like in the playback mode.

  In this way, a part of the key input unit 44 is configured at a timing at which still image shooting is desired in a so-called through image display state in which the image of the subject at that time is displayed in real time on the display unit 16 as a monitor image. When the shutter button 13 is operated, a trigger signal is generated from the key input unit 44.

  In response to the trigger signal, the control unit 41 cancels the DMA transfer of the luminance and color difference signals for one screen currently captured from the CCD 33 to the DRAM 40, and is not shown at a shutter speed according to appropriate exposure conditions. The mechanical shutter and the CCD 33 are driven to obtain luminance and color difference signals for one screen and transfer them to the DRAM 40. Thereafter, this path is stopped, and the recording and storage state is entered.

  In this recording and storage state, the control unit 41 outputs the image data YUV for one frame written in the DRAM 40 to 8 pixels × 8 pixels for each of Y, U, and V components via the buffer controller 39. The data is read in units called basic blocks and written into the image processing unit 45. The image processing unit 45 converts the image data into a predetermined image format, for example, ADCT (Adaptive Discrete Cosine Transform) according to JPEG (Joint Photographic Coding Experts Group), Huffman coding that is an entropy coding method, or the like. The data is compressed by the data compression process.

  The encoded image data is read out from the image processing unit 45 as a data file for one image, and written into a memory card 46 that is a recording medium that is detachably attached to the digital camera 10.

  Then, along with the compression processing of the luminance and color difference signals for one frame and the completion of the writing of all the compressed data to the memory card 46, the control unit 41 activates the path from the CCD 33 to the DRAM 40 again.

  The control unit 41 is further connected to the key input unit 44, the audio processing unit 47, the flash drive unit 48, and the USB interface (I / F) 49.

  The key input unit 44 operates the above-described power switch 12, shutter button 13, zoom lever 14, playback mode key 17, shooting mode key 18, menu key 19, scene program key 20, cursor key 21, set key 22, and the like. An input signal that accompanies these operations is directly transmitted to the control unit 41.

  The sound processing unit 47 includes a sound source circuit such as a PCM sound source, and when recording sound, the sound processing unit 47 digitizes the sound signal input from the microphone unit 50 disposed on the front surface of the digital camera 10, and has a predetermined data file format. For example, data is compressed in accordance with MP3 (Moving Picture Coding Experts Group-1 audio layer 3) standard, and an audio data file is created and sent to the memory card 46.

  On the other hand, the audio processing unit 47 uncompresses and converts the audio data file read from the memory card 46 at the time of audio reproduction into an analog signal, and drives the speaker unit 15 provided on the upper surface of the digital camera 10 to generate a loud sound. Let it sound.

  The flash drive unit 48 charges a large-capacitance capacitor for driving a flash (not shown) at the time of still image shooting, and then uses the flash light emitting unit 51 formed of a xenon discharge tube or the like based on the control from the control unit 41 as shooting timing. Synchronously drive the flash.

  The USB interface 49 performs transmission / reception with various external devices such as a personal computer and a printer connected to the USB terminal 52 in accordance with the USB (Universal Serial Bus) standard.

  However, when shooting of a moving image instead of a still image is selected in the shooting mode, the above-described still image data is acquired and data is processed by the image processing unit 26 when the first shutter button 13 is operated. A series of operations of compressing and storing in the memory card 46 is started as a continuous execution at an appropriate frame rate, for example, 30 [frame / second], and the shutter key is operated for the second time, or the memory When the remaining free space of the card 46 becomes a predetermined amount or less, the series of still image data files are collectively set as a motion JPEG data file (AVI file).

  Further, in the playback mode, the control unit 41 selectively reads out the image data stored in the memory card 46, and the image data is compressed by a procedure completely opposite to the procedure in which the image processing unit 45 compresses the data in the shooting mode. The decompressed image data is held in the DRAM 40 via the buffer controller 39, and then the content held in the DRAM 40 is stored in the VRAM 43 via the display controller 42. The image data is periodically read out from the VRAM 43. A video signal is generated and reproduced and displayed on the display unit 16.

  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 file is executed continuously in time at a predetermined frame rate, and the last still image is When the data reproduction is finished, the data is reproduced and displayed using only the still image data positioned at the head until the next reproduction instruction is given.

Next, the detailed configuration of the shutter button 13 will be mainly described.
FIG. 3 illustrates the structure of the main parts of the shutter button 13 and the zoom lever 14. As shown in FIG. 3A, the zoom lever 14 is pivotably mounted on a zoom case 61 that is embedded and fixed in the upper end surface of the digital camera 10 and is mounted so as to automatically return to the neutral position when not operated. . The zoom lever 14 is configured such that the lever portion protrudes from one end of the outer peripheral surface of the bottomed cylindrical ring member.

  Further, the shutter button 13 is mounted on the zoom lever 14 through a shutter spring 62. As shown in FIG. 3 (B), the shutter button 13 is integrally formed with a shaft portion 13a below the center of the lower surface thereof, and has an umbrella-like structure as a whole.

  Accordingly, a pair of locking portions 13a1 and 13a1 are formed at a substantially central position of the shaft portion 13a of the shutter button 13 in a 180 ° arrangement, and the zoom lever 14 is formed so that the locking portions 13a1 and 13a1 can pass therethrough. A hole 141 having a corresponding shape is formed at the center of the lower bottom of the.

  A pair of circular holes 142, 142 are formed through the center of the lower bottom of the zoom lever 14 so as to sandwich the hole 141.

  The shutter spring 62 is a coil spring that functions as a compression spring and a torsion spring, and fixes one end to the lower bottom of the zoom lever 14 and the other end to the back surface of the shutter button 13.

  FIG. 4 shows a state of the shutter spring 62 which is fixed by inserting one end located in the lower side into a hole provided in the lower bottom portion of the zoom lever 14. The other end located on the upper side of the shutter spring 62 is fixed by being inserted into a hole provided on the back side of the shutter button 13 (not shown).

  FIG. 5 shows an enlarged view of the structure of the shutter button 13. Hemispherical protrusions HB and HB are formed on the upper end side of the pair of locking portions 13a1 and 13a1 formed to protrude from the shaft portion 13a of the shutter button 13 and at the position facing the operation surface of the shutter button 13, respectively. . The protrusions HB and HB have a size and an arrangement relationship corresponding to the circular holes 142 and 142 formed on the lower bottom surface of the zoom lever 14.

  That is, when the shutter button 13 is not operated by the user and no external force is applied, the pair of locking portions 13a1, which are formed to protrude from the shaft portion 13a by the elasticity of the shutter spring 62 as a torsion spring. 13a1 is maintained at an angle that allows the zoom lever 14 to pass through the hole 141 as it is.

  Therefore, when the user presses the shutter button 13 directly in the shooting mode, for example, by pressing the right index finger, the pair of locking portions 13a1 and 13a1 penetrates the hole 141, and it is detected that the shooting instruction operation has been performed. Is done.

  FIG. 6A shows an arrangement configuration of the shutter button 13, the zoom lever 14, the zoom case 61, the shutter spring 62, and the like at this time, and the shutter button 13 shows a state in which the user can freely stroke by a pressing operation of the user. .

  Although not shown, a mechanism for detecting an operation of the shutter button 13, for example, a two-step operation stroke, is provided on the side of the shutter button 13 that is in contact with the lower end of the shaft portion 13a. It is assumed that this is the same as a typical digital camera, and illustration and description thereof are omitted here.

  FIG. 7A shows the positional relationship between the shaft portion 13a of the shutter button 13 and the hole 141 of the zoom lever 14 when viewed from the lower surface side. That is, the locking portions 13a1 and 13a1 of the shaft portion 13a are inserted through the hole 141 of the zoom lever 14, and the stroke can be freely performed within a predetermined range by pressing the shutter button 13. .

  Accordingly, when the shutter button 13 is pressed, the operation surface of the shutter button 13 is moved approximately 90 ° around the stroke axis with the pair of locking portions 13a1 and 13a1 of the shaft portion 13a passing over the hole 141 of the zoom lever 14. Let us consider a case where an operation of rotating is performed. Since both ends of the shutter spring 62 are fixed to the shutter button 13 and the zoom lever 14 and function as a torsion spring, naturally, the rotation operation generates elasticity corresponding to the rotation operation. Acts as a resisting force.

  Thus, the shutter button 13 is rotated by approximately 90 ° as described above while resisting the elasticity of the shutter spring 62 as a torsion spring, and the pressing operation of the shutter button 13 is released in the rotated state, thereby locking the shutter button 13. The protrusions HB and HB formed on the upper surfaces of the portions 13a1 and 13a1 are engaged with the circular holes 142 and 142, respectively. In this case, the shutter spring 62 also functions as a compression spring, and acts as a force that continues to lock the protrusions HB and HB in the circular holes 142 and 142, exceeding the force as a torsion spring for releasing the lock. As a result, the operation state of the shutter button 13 can be locked.

  FIG. 6B shows an arrangement configuration of the shutter button 13, the zoom lever 14, the zoom case 61, the shutter spring 62, and the like when the shutter button 13 is in a locked state. It can be seen that the directions of the stop portions 13a1 and 13a1 are not changed, whereas the zoom lever 14 and the zoom case 61 are rotated by 90 °.

  FIG. 7B shows a positional relationship between the shaft portion 13a of the shutter button 13 and the hole 141 of the zoom lever 14 when viewed from the lower surface side. In FIG. 5B, the protrusions HB and HB formed on the locking portions 13a1 and 13a1 of the shaft portion 13a are circular holes on the bottom surface of the zoom lever 14 due to elasticity as a compression spring of a shutter spring 62 (not shown). The shutter button 13 is locked in the operating state by being locked to the 142, 142 from the back side.

  In order to release the shutter button 13 from being locked, the shutter button 13 is simply pressed lightly in the stroke direction without rotating the shutter button 13. As a result, the protrusions HB and HB are unlocked from the circular holes 142 and 142, and the shutter button 13 is automatically rotated by 90 ° by the elasticity of the shutter spring 62 as a torsion spring to return to the original rotation angle. To do.

  Therefore, by releasing the pressing operation of the shutter button 13 from this state, the locking portions 13a1 and 13a1 can pass through the hole 141, and as a result, the shutter button 13 can be unlocked.

Next, the operation of the digital camera 10 having the shutter button 13 locking mechanism as described above will be described.
FIG. 8 shows the basic processing contents executed by the control unit 41 with respect to any of the operations of the power switch 12, the playback mode key 17, and the shooting mode key 18 for turning on the power. In the figure, by repeatedly determining whether or not a key operation for turning on the power has been performed (step A01), it waits for any of them to be operated.

  If an instruction to turn on the power is given by any of the key operations described above, this is determined in step A01, and the shutter button 13 is turned on depending on whether the shutter button 13 is turned on at that time. It is determined whether or not the lock state shown in FIG. 6 (B) or FIG. 7 (B) is established (step A02).

  If it is determined that the shutter button 13 is turned on, the shutter button 13 is operated simultaneously with the operation of turning on the power, and the shutter button 13 is kept locked as described above. The digital camera 10 is put in a pocket, a bag or the like, and it is determined that an operation to turn on the power by mistake is made. The key operation is invalidated and the process returns to step A01 again.

  If it is determined in step A02 that the shutter button 13 is not turned on and remains off, the operation to turn on the power is assumed to be a regular operation based on the user's intention. It is assumed that various operation modes corresponding to the keys are activated (step A03), and the operation in that mode is subsequently performed.

  As described above, since it is determined whether the power-on operation is proper or not according to the operation state of the shutter button 13 which is a key switch other than the power switch 12, the power is inadvertently turned off when not in use. It is possible to reliably prevent the charging.

  In the present embodiment, as a predetermined operation mechanism other than the power switch 12, for example, a lock mechanism that locks the operation state of the shutter button 13 is used, so that the immediate power is turned on by releasing the lock state. It can be operated, and necessary operations such as photographing operations can be performed quickly.

  In this case, in particular, since the shutter button 13 is used as a predetermined operation mechanism and a lock mechanism is used, even if the size of the camera itself is reduced with this type of digital camera, a certain size is required to maintain operability. Since it is an operation mechanism that is surely ensured and surely required no matter how the operation is automated, it is easy to realize.

Further, when the shutter button 13 is brought into the locked state, the rotation operation from the pressed state is performed, and when the shutter button 13 is not securely locked, the shutter spring 62 tries to return to the original rotation position. A rotational torque was applied.
Thereby, the effort for releasing the locked state is simple, and the operation can be shifted to the operation of releasing the immediate locked state and turning on the power.

  Although the above embodiment has been described as having a mechanical configuration in which the predetermined operation mechanism is in the locked state, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the control unit of the device is fixed with respect to the predetermined operation mechanism. It is also possible to constantly monitor the operation for more than the predetermined time, and to reversely set the locked state and the unlocked state when there is a continuous operation for a certain time or longer.

  By doing this, it is possible to control the locking and unlocking of a predetermined operating mechanism on the device control software without requiring a special locking mechanism, so that proper operation is not limited by the size of the operating mechanism. The mechanism can be selected to improve usability.

  In the embodiment described above, the power is turned on according to both the lock operation of the shutter button 13 and the operation of the power switch 12. However, for example, when the lock operation of the shutter button 13 is released, the power switch 12. When the operation state by a predetermined operation mechanism is set or released, such as when the power is automatically turned on without the operation of, or when the shutter button 13 is locked, the power is automatically turned off. In addition, the control of the power supply may be automated accordingly, and by doing so, it is possible to simplify the necessary effort and to make the device more convenient to use.

(Second Embodiment)
Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the present invention when the present invention is applied to a digital camera will be described with reference to the drawings.

  It should be noted that the external configuration of the digital camera 10 according to the present embodiment is basically the same as that shown in FIG. 1 and the conceptual configuration of the electronic circuit is basically the same as that shown in FIG. The same reference numerals are used for the same parts, and their illustration and description are omitted.

  In the present embodiment, the shutter button 13 that constitutes a part of the key input unit 44 does not have the lock mechanism as described with reference to FIGS. It is assumed that only the user's pressing operation can be detected by the two-stage operation stroke.

  FIG. 9 shows a case where the digital camera 10 is housed in a first semi-hard case 71 dedicated to the digital camera 10. As shown in FIG. 9A, the semi-hard case 71 is an upper lid type case. After the digital camera 10 is dropped from the bottom side and stored, the upper lid 72 integrated with the semi-hard case 71 is closed to completely digitalize the case. The position of the camera 10 can be fixed and stored.

  In this case, a hemispherical projection 73 is fixedly provided in advance on the inner surface of the upper lid 72 at a position where it abuts on the shutter button 13, and the digital camera 10 is accommodated in the position shown in FIG. In the state where the upper lid 72 is closed as indicated by the arrow A1, the projection 73 maintains the state in which the shutter button 13 is pressed.

  FIG. 10 shows a case where the digital camera 10 is housed in a second semi-hard case 81 dedicated to the digital camera 10 instead of the configuration of FIG. As shown in FIG. 10 (A), the semi-hard case 81 is a horizontal lid type case. After the digital camera 10 is slid and stored from the left end side, the horizontal lid 82 integrated with the semi-hard case 81 is closed. The position of the digital camera 10 can be completely fixed and stored.

  In this case, in the figure, for the sake of explanation, a part of the semi-hard case 81 is open, but a semispherical protrusion 83 is fixed in advance on the inner surface of the semi-hard case 81 at a position where it abuts against the shutter button 13. In the state where the digital camera 10 is housed and the horizontal lid 82 is closed as shown by an arrow A2 in FIG. 10B, the projection 83 is in a state where the shutter button 13 is pressed. Will be maintained.

FIG. 11 shows a case where the digital camera 10 is housed in a third semi-hardware case 91 dedicated to the digital camera 10 instead of the configuration shown in FIGS.
Here, in place of the shutter button 13 in FIGS. 9 and 10, the power-on operation by operating the power switch 12 is detected by detecting a case where the zoom lever 14 is operated to the “T (Tele: telephoto)” side. Shall be invalidated.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the third semi-hard case 91 is a horizontal lid type case. After the digital camera 10 is slid and stored from the left end side, the horizontal lid 92 integrated with the semi-hard case 91 is closed. The position of the digital camera 10 can be completely fixed and stored.

  In this case, a triangular plate-like protrusion 93 is fixedly disposed in advance on the inner surface of the semi-hard case 91 at a position slightly a little to the right of the front of the shutter button 13 that is in contact with the zoom lever 14. In the state where the digital camera 10 is slid and stored as indicated by the arrow A3, the zoom lever 14 is maintained in the state of being rotated to the “T” side.

FIG. 12 shows a partial perspective view of the semi-hard case 101 when the digital camera 10 is housed in the fourth semi-hard case 101 dedicated to the digital camera 10 instead of the configuration of FIGS. 9 to 11 described above. ing.
Here, instead of the shutter button 13 in FIGS. 9 and 10 and the zoom lever 14 in FIG. 11, the display unit 16 can also input a touch panel function to input coordinates of an arbitrary pressing position. The power-on operation by the operation of the power switch 12 is invalidated by detecting a case where a predetermined two points on the touch panel, for example, the upper left corner and the lower left corner are pressed.

  As shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B, the fourth semi-hard case 101 is a horizontal lid type case, and is integrated with the semi-hard case 101 after the digital camera 10 is slid from the left end side and stored. By closing the horizontal lid 102, the position of the digital camera 10 can be completely fixed and stored.

  In this case, on the inner surface of the semi-hard case 101, the hemispherical protrusions 103 and 104 are fixedly disposed in advance at the predetermined positions of the display unit 16, and the digital camera 10 is slid and stored. The protrusions 103 and 104 are maintained in a state where a predetermined position on the touch panel is pressed.

  9 to FIG. 12, the control unit 41 controls the operation of any one of the power switch 12, the playback mode key 17, and the shooting mode key 18 in the same manner as the contents shown in FIG. When an instruction to turn on the power by key operation is given, a dedicated semi-hard case 71 (depending on whether or not the shutter button 13 (or a predetermined position on the touch panel of the zoom lever 14 or the display unit 16) is turned on at that time point) 81, 91, 101).

  If it is determined that it is housed in the case, it is determined that an operation to turn on the power by mistake is performed, and the key operation is invalidated.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that it is not housed in the case, the operation to turn on the power is assumed to be a regular operation based on the user's intention, and various operation modes corresponding to the operated key are activated. Thereafter, the operation in that mode is assumed to be performed.

  As described above, when the shutter button 13, the zoom lever 14, or the display unit 16, which is a key switch other than the power switch 12, has a touch panel, the power-on operation is normal according to the operation state on the touch panel. Since it is determined whether or not there is, it is possible to reliably prevent the power from being turned on carelessly when not in use.

  In addition, by storing the digital camera 10 in a dedicated semi-hard case, the digital camera 10 side does not require a special locking mechanism as described in the first embodiment, and the control software for the digital camera 10 side. Since the above control is possible, it is possible to improve the usability by selecting an appropriate operation mechanism without being limited by the size of the operation mechanism.

  The first and second embodiments have been described for the case where the present invention is applied to a digital camera. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and is used by being carried around. If operation is necessary, it is of course applicable to various electronic devices such as electronic dictionaries, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), handheld personal computers, and portable music players. is there.

  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 in the implementation stage. In addition, the functions executed in the above-described embodiments may be combined as appropriate as possible. The above-described embodiment includes various stages, and various inventions can be extracted by an appropriate combination according to a plurality of disclosed structural requirements. For example, even if several constituent requirements are deleted from all the constituent requirements shown in the embodiment, if the effect can be obtained, a configuration from which the constituent requirements are deleted can be extracted as an invention.

1 is a perspective view showing an external configuration mainly on a back side of a digital camera according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of an electronic circuit of the digital camera according to the embodiment. FIG. The perspective view which shows the structure of the shutter button and zoom lever which concern on the embodiment. The perspective view which shows the arrangement configuration of the zoom lever and shutter spring which concern on the embodiment. The perspective view which shows the structure of the shutter button single-piece | unit which concerns on the same embodiment. The figure explaining the lock structure of the shutter button which concerns on the same embodiment. The perspective view which illustrates the latching state of the latching | locking part of the axial part of the shutter button which concerns on the same embodiment, and the circular hole of a zoom lever. The flowchart which shows the processing content of the power activation with respect to the power switch operation which concerns on the embodiment. The perspective view which saw through a part which shows the example of a structure of the digital camera which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention, and a 1st semi-hardware case for exclusive use. The perspective view which shows a part transparent and shows the example of a structure of the 2nd semi-hard case for exclusive use with the digital camera which concerns on the embodiment. The top view which shows a part transparent and shows the example of a structure of the digital camera which concerns on the same embodiment, and a 3rd semi-hardware case for exclusive use. The figure which sees through a part which shows the structural example of the digital camera which concerns on the embodiment, and a 4th semi-hardware case for exclusive use.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Digital camera, 11 ... Main body casing, 12 ... Power switch, 13 ... Shutter button, 13a ..., 13a1 ... Locking part, ..., 14 ... Zoom lever, 141 ... Hole, 142 ... Circular hole, 15 ... Speaker part, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 16 ... Display part, 17 ... Playback mode key, 18 ... Shooting mode key, 19 ... Menu (MENU) key, 20 ... Scene program (SP) key, 21 ... Cursor key, 22 ... Set (SET) key, 31 ... Motor (M), 32 ... photographic lens optical system, 33 ... CCD, 34 ... timing generator (TG), 35 ... CCD driver, 36 ... AGC / SH circuit, 37 ... A / D converter, 38 ... color process circuit, 39 ... Buffer controller, 40 ... DRAM, 41 ... Control unit, 42 ... Display controller, 43 ... VRAM, 44 ... Key input unit, 45 ... Image processing , 46 ... Memory card, 47 ... Audio processing part, 48 ... Flash drive part, 49 ... USB interface (I / F), 50 ... Microphone part, 51 ... Flash light emitting part, 52 ... USB terminal, 61 ... Zoom case, 62 ... shutter spring, 71 ... first semi-hard case, 72 ... upper lid, 73 ... projection, 81 ... second semi-hard case, 82 ... side lid, 83 ... projection, 91 ... third semi-hard case, 92 ... upper lid, 93: Protrusion, 101: Fourth semi-hard case, 102: Side cover, 103, 104: Protrusion, HB: Protrusion

Claims (10)

An operation unit having a plurality of operation mechanisms including a power switch for instructing power on and off of the device;
An electronic apparatus comprising: power control means for invalidating power-on associated with operation of the power switch while an operation state by a predetermined operation mechanism other than the power switch is maintained.   2. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined operation mechanism is an operation switch having a lock structure for locking an operation state.   2. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the power control means detects a continuous operation of a predetermined operation mechanism for a predetermined time or more, and reversely sets the lock and unlock of the operation state.   The lock structure of the operation switch is a rotation structure, and the lock is released by setting to a rotation position to be locked and a rotation position other than the lock position. Electronics.   5. The electronic apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the operation switch applies an elastic torque separated from the rotation position of the lock by an elastic member other than the rotation position for locking the operation state.   2. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the power supply control unit executes power-on when an operation state by the predetermined operation mechanism is released.   2. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the power control means executes power-off when the power is turned on and an operation state by the predetermined operation mechanism is maintained. It further comprises a photographing means for photographing an image,
2. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined operation mechanism is a shutter button for instructing photographing with the photographing means. An operation unit having a plurality of operation mechanisms including a power switch for instructing power on / off of the device, and operation of the power switch while an operation state by a predetermined operation mechanism other than the power switch is maintained. An electronic device equipped with a power control means for invalidating the power-on associated with
An electronic device system comprising: a dedicated case in which a convex portion that presses and operates the predetermined operation mechanism is formed on an inner surface of the case facing the predetermined operation mechanism in a state in which the electronic device is stored. A program executed by a computer built in an electronic device having an operation unit having a plurality of operation mechanisms including a power switch that instructs power on and off of the device,
A program for causing a computer to execute a step of invalidating power-on associated with operation of the power switch while an operation state by a predetermined operation mechanism other than the power switch is maintained.

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