JP2769510B2 - Interval timer shooting device - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an interval timer photographing apparatus capable of photographing at a set time interval.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, this type of interval timer photographing device is incorporated in a data back device having a data imprinting function and can be replaced with a back cover of a camera body. After outputting to the camera body, the camera body recognizes that the camera body has started a shooting operation by inputting a projection signal input from the camera body.

Further, when the interval timer photographing device outputs a release signal to the camera main body and does not input an imprint signal from the camera main body for a predetermined time, the interval photographing is regarded as the end of the film and the interval photographing is stopped.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in recent years, the autofocus of the camera has been advanced, and there is a camera in which the camera does not start a photographing operation even if a release button is pressed unless the camera is in focus, or an autofocus mode of the camera. Therefore, when these cameras or the autofocus mode of the camera and the interval timer photographing device are combined with each other, it is difficult to operate the autofocus mechanism when photographing a subject that is difficult for the camera such as low contrast or when it is very dark. In such a case, even if a release signal is output from the interval timer shooting device to the camera body, the camera body cannot focus and does not output a shooting signal because the camera body cannot focus, and the interval timer shooting device cannot obtain a shooting signal. From the end of the film There was a problem that shooting was stopped.

The present invention has been made in view of such a conventional problem, and is intended to surely prevent a malfunction in which an operation is stopped due to a failure to obtain a projection signal from a camera body before reaching a film end. An object of the present invention is to provide an interval timer photographing device.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve this object, according to the present invention, a film end signal indicating the end of the film is input from the camera body, and a certain time has elapsed since the release signal was output. Even if no image signal is input, the output of the release signal is stopped, the current shooting is stopped, and the release signal is not output until the next interval time.

In other words, if the end of the film is not reached, if no image signal is input after a certain time after the release signal is output, the output of the release signal is stopped and the release signal is not output until the next interval time. On the other hand, if it is the end of the film, the interval timer shooting is stopped.

[Operation] In the present invention having such a configuration, when a signal indicating the end of the film is input from the camera body and a projection signal is not input even after a predetermined time has elapsed since the release signal was output. Is an interval timer shooting device that stops the output of the release signal and does not output the release signal until the next interval time, so if the camera body can not shoot because it is not in focus, stop until the next interval shooting It is possible to reliably prevent the malfunctioning that occurs.

Embodiment FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a circuit configuration of an interval timer photographing apparatus according to the present invention.

In FIG. 1, the right side of the broken line in FIG. 1 is the interval timer photographing apparatus 101 side, and the left side is the camera body 201 side on which the interval timer photographing apparatus 101 is mounted.

The interval timer photographing device 101 and the camera main body 201 are electrically connected via contacts C1, C2, C3, C4.

In the interval timer imaging device 101, 110 is a microcomputer, which is supplied with power by a battery 112,
Clock pulses necessary for arithmetic processing and timing are obtained by the reference oscillation source 114 and the built-in oscillation circuit. Reference numeral 116 denotes an input unit which can set the interval time and the number of repetitions by the input unit 116, and can further instruct start and stop of interval timer shooting.

Reference numeral 118 denotes display means. The display means 118 displays an interval time and the number of repetitions, and also displays during execution of interval timer shooting.

Reference numeral 120 denotes an NPN transistor. The transistor 120 has an emitter grounded, a collector connected to a contact C3, and a base connected to a port O1 of the microcomputer 110 via a resistor 112. The contact C4 is connected to the emitter of the transistor 120 and installed. The transistor 120 can be turned on when the output port O1 of the microcomputer 110 becomes H level while being electrically connected to the camera body 201 via the contacts C1, C2, C3, and C4.

The input port I1 of the microcomputer 110 is connected to the contact C1, the input port I2 is connected to the contact C2, and the power is pulled up by the pull-up resistor 124.

On the other hand, the camera body 201 shows only those parts related to the interval timer photographing apparatus of the present invention, and details are omitted.

In the camera body 201, reference numeral 210 denotes a microcomputer, and reference numeral 212 denotes a release switch that closes in response to pressing of a release button (not shown). One end of the release switch 212 is grounded and connected to the contact C4, and the other end is connected to the input port I11 of the microcomputer 210 and the contact C3. The input port I11 of the microcomputer 210 is pulled up by a pull-up resistor 124.

216 is an NPN transistor whose emitter is grounded,
The collector is connected to the contact C2, and the base is connected to the output port O12 of the microcomputer 210 via the resistor 218.

Then, the interval timer photographing device 101 and the contacts C1,
When connected via C2, C3, C4, the transistor 216 is turned on when the output port O12 of the microcomputer 210 goes high.

The output port O11 of the microcomputer 210 is connected to the contact C1.

Next, with reference to FIG. 1, the operation of the camera body 201 will be described with respect to a portion related to the interval timer photographing apparatus 101 of the present invention.

First, when a release button (not shown) of the camera body 201 is depressed, the release switch 212 is closed, and an L level is input to the input port I11 of the microcomputer 210. Upon receiving the L level input to the input port I11, the microcomputer 210 determines whether or not shooting is possible,
If photographing is possible, a photographing operation such as control of a mirror-up aperture is started, and the output port O12 is set to the H level for a predetermined time.

In addition, the camera body 201 has a film winding mechanism (not shown).
When the microcomputer 210 detects that the film cannot be wound by a predetermined amount, the output port O11 of the microcomputer 210 is set to the H level.

On the other hand, when the interval timer photographing device 101 is electrically connected to the camera body 210 via the contacts C1, C2, C3, and C4, the microcomputer 110 outputs the H level to the input port I1 when the contact C1 is at the H level. Enter

That is, when the camera body 201 detects the end of the film, the H level is input to the input port I1 and the H level input is received at the input port I1, whereby the microcomputer 11
0 indicates that the end of the film is detected.

In addition, when the camera body 101 starts photographing in a state where the camera body 201 is electrically connected to the camera body 201 through the contacts C1, C2, C3, and C4, and the output port O12 of the microcomputer 210 becomes H level, the transistor 216 Is turned on, so that the input port I2 of the computer 110 on the side of the interval timer photographing apparatus 101 becomes L level. Input port like this
When I2 becomes L level, the microcomputer 110 can detect that the camera body 201 has started the photographing operation.
Further, since this signal is used for starting the imprinting of the data imprinting apparatus, it also has a function as an imprinting signal. Therefore, it is referred to as an imprint signal.

On the other hand, when the output port O1 of the microcomputer 110 becomes H level while the camera body 201 and the interval timer photographing device 101 are electrically connected via the contacts C1, C2, C3, C4, the transistor 120 is turned on. Then, the input port I11 of the microcomputer 210 becomes L level.
Accordingly, this is the same as closing the release switch 212 of the camera body 201, that is, depressing the release button (not shown). Therefore, the microcomputer 110 determines that the state where the output port O1 is at the H level is the output state of the release signal.

Based on the above description of the operation, referring to the flowcharts of FIGS.
The processing operation of the microcomputer 110 provided in 1 will be described.

When the battery 112 is loaded and power is supplied, the program is started by power-on, the initial reset is performed in step S1, and the input means 11 is performed in the next step S2.
The interval timer time T and the number of repetitions N set by 6 are read, and a signal for displaying the interval time T and the number of repetitions N on the display means 118 is output to the display means 118 in step S3.

Subsequently, in step S4, the value of the number of repetitions N read in step S2 is input to the subtraction circuit n. Next, step S5
It is determined whether or not the shooting start operation of the interval timer has been performed by the input means 116, and when the shooting start operation has not been performed, the processing from step S2 to S5 is repeated.

If it is determined in step S5 that the input means 116 has performed the start operation of the interval timer shooting, the process proceeds to step S6, and a signal for displaying a display indicating that the interval timer shooting is being executed is output to the display means 118.

Next, in step S7, the output port O1 is set to the H level to output a release signal, and in step S8, time measurement is started by the first time measurement means. The time measured by the first time measuring means is defined as to.

Incidentally, the time measurement by the first time measuring means is used for stopping the output of the release signal when the imprint signal is not input within a predetermined time after the release signal is output, in this embodiment, within 10 seconds. .

Next, in step S9, time measurement is started by the second time measurement means. The time measured by the second time measuring means is t.
Note that the timing by the second timing means is used for timing the interval time T.

Next, in step S10, the value of the number of subtractions n is reduced by one, and in step S11, it is determined whether or not the input means 116 has performed a stop operation for executing the interval timer shooting.

When the stop operation has not been performed, the process proceeds to step S12, and it is checked whether or not the time counted by the first timer is less than 10 seconds. When the time is less than 10 seconds, the process proceeds to step S13. In step S13, it is checked whether or not the time measured by the second time measuring means t is less than the interval time T. If the time is less than the interval time T, the process proceeds to step S14 in FIG. 2 (B).

In step S14 of FIG. 2B, the input port I
It is determined whether or not the imprint signal has been input based on the level state 2 and when the input of the imprint signal has been determined, the process proceeds to step S15 to stop outputting the release signal.

Next, in step S16, it is determined whether or not the number of subtractions n is equal to or less than zero, and if it is greater than zero, the process proceeds to step S17.

In step S17, it is determined whether or not the stop operation of the execution of the interval timer shooting has been performed by the input unit 116, and if the stop operation has not been performed, the process proceeds to step S1.
Proceed to 8. In step S18, it is determined whether or not the end of the film is attained from the level state of the input port I1, and if it is not the end of the film, the process proceeds to step S19.

In step S19, the timer time t by the second timer means is compared with the interval time T, and when the timer time t is equal to or longer than the interval time T, the process returns to step S6 in FIG. 2A.

If the time t measured by the second timing means is less than the interval time T in step S19, step S1
Return to 7.

If it is determined in step S18 that the end of the film is detected from the level state of the input port I1, the flow advances to step S20 in FIG. 2A.

In step S20 of FIG. 2A, a signal for stopping the display during the execution of the interval timer shooting is output to the display means 118, and in step S21, the signal is output by the first timekeeping means and the second timekeeping means. The timing is stopped, and the process returns to step S2.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S17 that the input means 116 has performed the operation of stopping the execution of the interval timer shooting, the process proceeds to step S20 in FIG. 2A.

When it is determined in step S16 that the number of subtractions n is equal to or less than zero, the process proceeds to step S22, in which it is determined that the interval timer shooting has been completed, and the process proceeds to step S20 in FIG. 2A.

Further, when it is determined in step S14 that the imprint signal has not been input based on the level state of the input port I2, the process returns to step S11 in FIG. 2A.

Further, in step S13 of FIG. 2A, when it is determined that the time t measured by the second timer is equal to or longer than the interval time T, the process returns to step S9.

If it is determined in step S12 that the time counted by the first time measuring means is 10 seconds or more, FIG. 2 (B)
Go to step S15.

Further, in step S11 of FIG. 2A, when it is determined that the input means 116 has performed the stop operation of the execution of the interval timer shooting, the process proceeds to step S23.
The output port O1 is set to the L level to stop outputting the release signal, and the process proceeds to step S20.

As is clear from the above description of the operation of the flowchart, according to the present invention, if the imprint signal is not input within 10 seconds after the release signal is output, the output of the release signal is stopped. Shooting is not interrupted.

In the above-described embodiment, the end of the film is determined.
If the camera body 201 is not damaged even if the shutter release signal is output for about 10 seconds, the processing in step S18 may be omitted. However, it is needless to say that it is preferable to stop the interval timer shooting after determining that the end of the film is reached.

Next, referring to the timing charts of FIGS.
The operation of the embodiment shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 shows the case where the number of repetitions N = 3 and the interval time T
5 is a timing chart in a case where the shooting is completed within a period of time and an imprint signal is input within 10 seconds after the release signal is output.

In FIG. 3, by starting the operation at time T1, a release signal is output, and the number of subtractions becomes n = 2. At time T2, an imprint signal is input, and the output of the release signal is stopped.
At time T3, the release signal is output again, and n = 1, at time T4, the imprint signal is input, the output of the release signal is stopped, and at time T5, the release signal is output again, and n = 0, and at time T6 To input the imprint signal to end a series of operations.

FIG. 4 is a timing chart in the case where the number of repetitions is set to N = 3, the interval time T is set to a time longer than 10 seconds, and no imprint signal is input within 10 seconds after the release signal is output. It is.

That is, by starting the operation at time T7, a release signal is output and n = 2, and the output of the release signal is stopped at time T8 ten seconds later. Subsequently, the release signal is output again at time T9, and n = 1, and the output of the release signal is stopped at time T10 ten seconds later. Further, at time T11, the release signal is output again, and n = 0, and at time T12, 10 seconds later, the output of the release signal is stopped, and a series of processing ends.

FIG. 5 is a timing chart when the number of repetitions N is set to 3, the interval time T is set to a time shorter than 10 seconds, and no imprint signal is input within 10 seconds after the release signal is output.

That is, the operation is started at time T13, and n = 2 by the output of the release signal. At time T14, n = 1, and at time T13
The output of the release signal is stopped at a time T15 after 10 seconds from the start. Subsequently, at time T16, the release signal is output again and n
= 0, n = −1 at time T17, and 10 from time T16.
The output of the release signal is stopped at time T18 after a lapse of a second, and a series of processing ends.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, a signal indicating the end of the film is input from the camera body, and the interval timer shooting is stopped when the end of the film is detected. If a signal is not input within a predetermined period of time, for example, within 10 seconds, and shooting is not performed by the camera body, it is not the end of the film, and shooting is not performed because the camera is not focused. As a result, the output of the release signal is temporarily stopped and the release signal is not output until the next interval time, and the malfunction that the subsequent interval timer shooting is stopped because the camera body is not in focus is reliably prevented. be able to.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a circuit block diagram showing an embodiment of the circuit configuration of the present invention; FIGS. 2A and 2B are flowcharts showing the processing operation of FIG. 1; FIGS. 2 is a timing chart showing the operation of the embodiment of FIG. 101: interval timer photographing device 110: microcomputer 116: input means 118: display means 201: camera body

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] An image pickup apparatus is connected to a camera body and outputs a release signal for starting photographing to the camera body at predetermined time intervals, and indicates a photographing start output from the camera body in response to the release signal. In an interval timer photographing apparatus for inputting a photographing start signal and a film end signal indicating the end of the film, the operation ends when the film end signal is inputted after the operation of the interval timer photographing apparatus is started, and the interval ends. If there is no input of the film end signal after the start of the operation of the timer photographing device and there is no input of the photographing start signal within a predetermined time after the output of the release signal, the output of the release signal is changed until the predetermined time elapses. An interval timer photographing device characterized by stopping.