JP2010287988A - Photographing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem: a conventional camera has the possibility that a GPS antenna may have unstable reception characteristics caused by the influence of the movement of a metallic reflection plate for reflecting strobe light provided in its vicinity. <P>SOLUTION: An antenna 27 is formed on a protective cover 34 installed so as to oppose an information display surface 31a of a display device 6 provided on the upper surface of a camera body 2 as a casing. That means, the antenna 27 is disposed on the protective cover 34 for protecting the display device 6 of the upper surface of the camera body 2 which has an advantage in receiving a positioning signal from a GPS satellite and can ensure a relatively large reception area. With this configuration, even if the metallic reflection plate for reflecting strobe light frontward by allowing a built-in strobe of a pentagonal portion 9 to protrude from the camera body 2 moves, the antenna 27 can receive a positioning signal from the GPS satellite without being influenced by the movement of the metallic reflection plate of the built-in strobe. In this way, the possibility that the reception characteristic of the antenna 27 becomes unstable can be prevented. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging device including an antenna that receives a positioning signal from a satellite.

  Conventionally, as this type of photographing apparatus, for example, there is a camera disclosed in Patent Document 1. This camera is provided with a GPS antenna in the penta portion for receiving radio waves from GPS satellites. The camera receives radio waves from GPS satellites with this GPS antenna, and detects the position where the camera is present based on the received positioning signal.

JP 2003-315890 A

  However, in a camera with a built-in strobe in the penta part like the above conventional camera, when using the built-in strobe, if the built-in strobe is projected from the camera body by a pop-up mechanism, the strobe light is reflected forward. The metal reflector also moves as the built-in strobe protrudes. For this reason, the GPS antenna provided in the penta part in the vicinity of the built-in strobe may be unstable in reception characteristics due to the influence of the movement of the metal reflector in the vicinity.

The present invention has been made to solve such problems,
An antenna that receives a positioning signal from a satellite, a position detection unit that detects a shooting position based on a positioning signal received by the antenna, a position information recording unit that records information of a shooting position detected by the position detection unit, In a photographing apparatus provided with display means provided on an upper surface of a housing and displaying predetermined information,
The antenna is formed on a protective cover that is provided to face the information display surface of the display means and protects the display means.

  According to this configuration, the antenna is arranged on the protective cover that protects the display means on the upper surface of the housing, which is advantageous for receiving a positioning signal from a satellite and can secure a relatively wide reception area. For this reason, even if the metal reflector that reflects the strobe light moves by projecting the built-in strobe from the housing, the antenna is not affected by the movement of the built-in strobe metal reflector, and the positioning signal from the satellite Can be received. Therefore, there is no possibility that the reception characteristic of the antenna becomes unstable.

  Further, the present invention is characterized in that the antenna is formed at a position that does not block the information display surface of the display means in the protective cover.

  According to this configuration, since the antenna is formed at a position that does not block the information display surface of the display unit in the protective cover, the visibility of the display unit is not deteriorated.

  Further, the present invention is characterized in that the protective cover is made of a transparent resin and the antenna is made of a metal.

  According to this configuration, the information display surface of the display means is visually recognized without being blocked by the metal antenna through the protective cover formed of a transparent resin, so that the antenna can be connected without deteriorating the visibility of the display means. Can be arranged.

  Further, the present invention is characterized in that the protective cover is made of glass and the antenna is made of a transparent electrode film.

  According to this configuration, since the information display surface of the display means is visually recognized through the protective cover formed of glass or the antenna formed of the transparent electrode film, the antenna can be used without deteriorating the visibility of the display means. Can be arranged.

  Also, the present invention provides a ground plane region provided on the inner side surface of the protective cover facing the information display surface of the display means, and an antenna pattern region provided on the outer side surface of the protective cover. It is comprised from these.

  According to this configuration, the antenna pattern area is provided on the outer side surface of the protective cover, and the ground plane area is provided on the inner side surface of the protective cover so as to face the information display surface of the display means. Sensitivity can be improved. For this reason, it is possible to receive a positioning signal from a satellite even if the positioning signal from the satellite is weak or in a situation where there is a lot of noise.

  According to the present invention, as described above, the antenna can receive the positioning signal from the satellite without being affected by the movement of the metal reflector of the built-in strobe, and there is no possibility that the reception characteristic becomes unstable. .

It is a top view which shows the external appearance of the digital still camera by one Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the electric circuit structure of the digital still camera shown in FIG. (A) is a top view of the display apparatus of the digital still camera shown in FIG. 1, (b) is sectional drawing which showed the outline of the structure. It is the reverse view which looked at the protective cover of the display apparatus shown to Fig.3 (a) from the lower surface side. (A) is sectional drawing which showed the 1st modification of the antenna in the digital still camera by one Embodiment of this invention, (b) is sectional drawing which showed the 2nd modification.

  Next, an embodiment for carrying out the present invention when the photographing apparatus according to the present invention is applied to a digital still camera will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an appearance of a digital still camera 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  The digital still camera 1 includes a camera body 2 having a top cover 2a and a photographing lens 3 that is detachably provided on the front surface of the camera body 2. On the left side when viewed from the front of the camera body 2, a grip portion 4 is provided that is gripped by the photographer during photographing. A release button 5 that is a shutter button for shooting is provided on the upper surface of the grip portion 4, and the digital still camera 1 is currently set on the upper surface of the camera body 2 on the front side of the release button 5. A display device 6 for displaying shooting information and the like is provided. Further, a shooting mode dial 8 for setting a shooting mode is provided on the upper surface of the camera body 2 on the side opposite to the grip portion 4, and a strobe device (not shown) is provided in the penta portion 9 at the center of the upper surface of the camera body 2. Built in.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electric circuit configuration of the digital still camera 1 shown in FIG.

  The digital still camera 1 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11. The CPU 11 performs various control processes for each circuit in the digital still camera 1 in accordance with a control program stored in the nonvolatile memory 10.

  The subject light guided into the camera by the photographing lens 3 enters the light receiving surface of the image sensor 12. The image sensor 12 is composed of a CCD (Charge Coupled Device), a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor), or the like, and accumulates subject light incident on the light receiving surface as an electric charge to capture a subject image. When a subject image is picked up by the image pickup device 12, the CPU 11 activates the focus adjustment device 13 to activate an auto focus (AF) function. For example, the focus adjustment device 13 moves the position of the photographic lens 3 so that the contrast of the subject image projected onto the light receiving surface of the image sensor 12 is the highest, and automatically adjusts the focal point. Based on the defocus amount obtained by the autofocus sensor, the position of the photographing lens 3 is moved, and focus adjustment is performed by a phase difference method that automatically adjusts the focus. The subject image formed on the light receiving surface of the image sensor 12 is converted into an analog image signal, and this image signal is sent to an A / D (Analog / Digital) conversion circuit 15 according to the timing generated by a TG (Timing Generator) 14. Entered. The A / D conversion circuit 15 converts the analog imaging signal output from the imaging element 12 into a digital signal.

  The digital imaging signal converted by the A / D conversion circuit 15 is temporarily stored in the image memory 17 by the image processing circuit 16 in the image processing block 18. The image processing circuit 16 reads the image pickup signal stored in the image memory 17, performs image processing such as white balance processing and gamma correction on the read digital image pickup signal to generate developed image data, and the compression circuit 19. Output to. The compression circuit 19 performs compression processing for compressing the developed image data input from the image processing circuit 16 at a predetermined ratio, and is used when generating compressed image data such as JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group). The compressed image data is temporarily stored in the image memory 17. The compressed image data stored in the image memory 17 is stored in a card-like recording medium 22 including a nonvolatile memory that is attached to and detached from a card slot (not shown). Further, it is output to the display circuit 20 and displayed as an image on an image display device 23 made of TFT (Thin Film Transistor) liquid crystal provided on the back of the digital still camera 1. The image display device 23 also displays various setting menu screens. Further, when the compressed image data is stored in the recording medium 22, the image processing block 18 sends a photographing end signal to the CPU 11.

  A display device 6 composed of an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) is connected to the CPU 11. The display device 6 is provided on the upper surface of the camera body 2 which is a casing, and constitutes display means for displaying predetermined information. As the predetermined information, for example, the display device 6 is provided at the rear portion of the grip unit 4. Shooting information such as the shutter speed and aperture value of the digital still camera 1 set by the command dial 7 is displayed. When the CPU 11 inputs a shooting end signal from the image processing block 18, the CPU 11 sends a signal to the display device 6 that reduces the number of frames that can be shot to be displayed on the display device 6 and increases the number of shot frames by one. Update the display contents.

  In addition, a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiving device 25 is connected to the CPU 11 via a cable 24. The GPS receiver 25 is supplied with power from the digital still camera 1 through a cable 24. An antenna 27 for receiving a positioning signal from a GPS satellite is connected to the GPS receiver 25 via a coaxial cable 26. The GPS receiver 25 detects the latitude, longitude, and altitude of the shooting position based on the positioning signal received by the antenna 27 and outputs the detected position to the CPU 11 via the cable 24. The GPS receiver 25 constitutes position detecting means for detecting the photographing position based on the positioning signal received by the antenna 27.

  The latitude, longitude, and altitude information of the shooting position output to the CPU 11 is transmitted to the image processing block 18, and images in Exif (Exchangeable image file format) format of the images shot by the image sensor 12. Recorded in the header area of the file. Each image file in which the shooting position is recorded in the header area is further recorded on the recording medium 22 by the image processing circuit 16. The CPU 11, the image processing circuit 16, and the recording medium 22 constitute position information recording means for recording information on the photographing position detected by the GPS receiver 25. An operation member 28 is connected to the CPU 11. The operation member 28 is a power switch of the digital still camera 1, a release button 5, a command dial 7, a photographing mode dial 8, or the like.

  FIG. 3A is a plan view of the display device 6 of the digital still camera 1, and FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view showing an outline of the configuration.

  The display device 6 includes an LCD 31, and the LCD 31 is connected to the wiring substrate 33 via wiring members 32, 32 made of anisotropic conductive rubber or the like. The wiring board 33 gives a display signal to the LCD 31 in accordance with the control of the CPU 11 to display the shutter speed “250”, the aperture value “5.6”, the number of shootable frames “127”, etc. on the information display surface 31 a of the LCD 31. . Further, a protective cover 34 for protecting the surface of the LCD 31 is provided above the LCD 31. The protective cover 34 is formed of a transparent resin such as acrylic, and the periphery of the upper surface is fixed to the inner peripheral edge of the upper surface cover 2 a and is provided to face the information display surface 31 a of the LCD 31.

  The shaded area shown in FIG. 4A is an antenna pattern formation area 27A where the antenna 27 is formed. The antenna 27 is a position that is hidden by the upper surface cover 2a on the back surface of the protective cover 34 that protects the display device 6 and does not obstruct the information display surface 31a of the LCD 31 in the protective cover 34, as shown in FIG. The patterned metal is adhered to the surface.

  4 is a rear view of the protective cover 34 of the display device 6 shown in FIG. 3A as viewed from the lower surface side, and shows an example of an antenna pattern of the antenna 27. FIG.

  The shape and the like of the antenna pattern are determined so as to efficiently capture the positioning signal frequency from the GPS satellite. However, the antenna 27 according to the present embodiment has an antenna pattern forming region 27A around the lower surface side of the protective cover 34. It is comprised by the inner side 1st antenna part 27a and the outer side 2nd antenna part 27b. The first antenna unit 27a is connected to the ground, and when the antenna 27 receives a positioning signal from a GPS satellite, a potential difference is generated between the first antenna unit 27a and the second antenna unit 27b. This potential difference is output to the GPS receiver 25 via the coaxial cable 26, and the shooting position is detected by the GPS receiver 25. The ground connection may be the second antenna portion 27b instead of the first antenna portion 27a.

  According to the digital still camera 1 according to this embodiment, as described above, the antenna 27 is advantageous for receiving a positioning signal from a GPS satellite, and can secure a relatively wide reception area. It arrange | positions at the protective cover 34 which protects the display apparatus 6 of this. For this reason, even if the metal reflector that reflects the strobe light forward by moving the built-in strobe of the penta 9 from the camera body 2 moves, the antenna 27 affects the movement of the metal reflector of the built-in strobe. The positioning signal from the GPS satellite can be received without being transmitted. Therefore, there is no possibility that the reception characteristic of the antenna 27 becomes unstable.

  Further, according to the digital still camera 1 according to the present embodiment, since the antenna 27 is formed at a position that does not block the information display surface 31a of the display device 6 in the protective cover 34, the visibility of the display device 6 is deteriorated. There is no. Further, according to the digital still camera 1 according to the present embodiment, the information display surface 31a of the display device 6 is visually recognized without being blocked by the metal antenna 27 through the protective cover 34 formed of a transparent resin. The antenna 27 can be disposed without deteriorating the visibility of the display device 6.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the antenna 27 is disposed on the protective cover 34 so as to be hidden by the upper surface cover 2a has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the antenna 27 may be configured as shown in FIG. In the figure, the same parts as those in FIG. 3B are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 6A is a cross-sectional view showing an antenna 27 according to a first modification in the case where the upper surface cover 2a is made of metal. When the upper surface cover 2a is made of metal and the antenna 27 is disposed on the lower surface of the upper surface cover 2a, the antenna 27 becomes difficult to receive a positioning signal from a GPS satellite. Therefore, in this configuration, the antenna 27 is disposed on the lower surface of the protective cover 34 inside the upper surface cover 2a that does not overlap the upper surface cover 2a. At that time, the upper surface of the protective cover 34 positioned on the upper surface of the antenna 27 is covered with the coating 36 so that the antenna 27 cannot be seen from the outside. According to this configuration, even if the upper surface cover 2a is made of metal, the same operation and effect as in the above embodiment can be obtained, and there is no possibility that the reception characteristics of the antenna 27 become unstable.

  Moreover, although the said embodiment demonstrated the structure which forms the protective cover 34 with transparent resin, such as an acryl, and forms the antenna 27 with a metal, this invention is not limited to this. For example, the protective cover 34 may be formed of glass and the antenna 27 may be formed of a transparent electrode film such as an ITO film.

  In this configuration, the information display surface 31a of the display device 6 is visually recognized through the protective cover 34 formed of glass or the antenna 27 formed of a transparent electrode film, so that the visibility of the display device 6 is deteriorated. The antenna 27 can be arranged without any problem. For this reason, even in this configuration, the same operations and effects as in the above-described embodiment can be obtained, and there is no possibility that the reception characteristics of the antenna 27 become unstable.

  Further, when the protective cover 34 is formed of glass, the antenna 27 may be configured as shown in FIG. FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view showing an antenna 27 according to a second modification. In the figure, the same parts as those in FIG. 3B are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

  The antenna 27 is disposed on both the outer surface and the inner surface of the protective cover 34, and a ground plane region 37 made of an ITO film provided on the inner surface of the protective cover 34 facing the information display surface 31a of the display device 6, The antenna pattern area 38 is made of an ITO film provided on the outer surface of the protective cover 34. The upper surface of the antenna pattern region 38 is covered with a protective film or a seal 39.

  According to this configuration, the antenna pattern region 38 is provided on the outer surface of the protective cover 34, and the ground plane region 37 is provided on the inner surface of the protective cover 34 so as to face the information display surface 31 a of the display device 6 with a large area. As a result, the receiving sensitivity of the antenna 27 can be improved. For this reason, even if the positioning signal from the GPS satellite is weak or in a situation where there is a lot of noise, the positioning signal from the GPS satellite can be received.

  Further, a large antenna such as a general patch antenna as a GPS antenna cannot be built in the digital still camera 1, but according to the above-described embodiment and each modification, the antenna 27 is built in the display device 6. Can do. Since the antenna 27 is disposed on the display device 6 provided on the upper surface of the camera body 2 without deteriorating the visibility of the display device 6, a space for incorporating the antenna in the camera body 2 is not required. As a result, the space efficiency in the camera body 2 is improved. Furthermore, since the antenna 27 is provided in the display device 6 on the upper surface of the camera body 2, the antenna 27 can be directed to the sky when the digital still camera 1 is used, and a positioning signal from a GPS satellite can be received under the best conditions. Can do.

  Further, according to the above-described embodiment and each modification, the LCD 31 and the wiring board 33 are separated from the protective cover 34 by several millimeters, so that when the camera body 2 is made of metal, the distance from the metal part of the camera body 2 And the influence on the reception performance of the antenna 27 can be reduced.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the photographing apparatus according to the present invention is applied to a digital still camera has been described. However, the present invention can also be applied to a photographing apparatus such as a digital video camera that captures moving images. Even when the present invention is applied to such a photographing apparatus, the same effects as those of the above-described embodiments can be obtained.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Digital still camera 6 ... Display apparatus 11 ... CPU
25 ... GPS receiver 26 ... coaxial cable 27 ... antenna 34 ... protection cover 36 ... painted portion 37 ... ground plane area 38 ... antenna pattern area

Claims (5)

An antenna for receiving positioning signals from satellites;
Position detecting means for detecting a photographing position based on a positioning signal received by the antenna;
Position information recording means for recording information of the photographing position detected by the position detection means;
In a photographing apparatus provided with display means provided on an upper surface of a housing and displaying predetermined information,
The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the antenna is formed on a protective cover that is provided opposite to an information display surface of the display means and protects the display means. The imaging device according to claim 1,
The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the antenna is formed at a position that does not block an information display surface of the display means in the protective cover. The imaging device according to claim 2,
The photographing apparatus, wherein the protective cover is made of a transparent resin, and the antenna is made of metal. The imaging device according to claim 1,
The photographing apparatus, wherein the protective cover is made of glass and the antenna is made of a transparent electrode film. In the imaging device according to claim 4,
The antenna includes a ground plane region provided on an inner surface of the protective cover facing an information display surface of the display means, and an antenna pattern region provided on an outer surface of the protective cover. An imaging device.

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