JP2851847B2 - Electronic camera - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an electronic camera capable of recording an audio signal. (Prior Art) In recent years, instead of a silver halide camera, an electronic camera that converts an image into an electric signal and records it together with a sound on a video floppy has been proposed, and has taken an image without performing operations such as development and printing. Many functions that cannot be obtained from silver halide cameras have been realized, such as the ability to immediately reproduce or print out images on a monitor or the like and transmit them to a remote location. is there. In such an electronic camera, at the time of photographing, the image signal taken into the image pickup means and converted into an electric signal by a release switch operation is processed into a recordable form, and then processed to a track on a magnetic disk. And field or frame recording. In addition, the audio signal is fetched for a time corresponding to the selected recording time mode (for example, 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 20 seconds mode), A / D-converted through noise reduction, and is converted to the recording time mode. The data is time-compressed at the specified compression rate, D / A converted, and recorded on a track on the disk. Therefore, at the time of reproduction, the video signal is reproduced from a predetermined track of the magnetic disk device, and the audio signal is once A / D converted and read into the memory, and is read again at a predetermined rate to perform D / A conversion.
The data is converted, decompressed and output in accordance with the compression ratio at the time of recording. By the way, cameras, including silver halide cameras, are usually provided with a self-timer. By using the self-timer, the time until the shutter is actually opened after the release operation is performed is transmitted. The photographer who has performed the release operation can become the subject, and the photographing timing can be varied by the self-timer, thereby expanding the range of photographing, which is one of the essential functions of the camera. FIG. 5 is a timing chart of such a conventional electronic camera. The self-timer is started at time t0, shutter release is performed at time t3 when the timer time ends, video recording is performed until time t4, the head is moved and the track is changed, and then from time t4. The recording of the audio signal is performed during the time t5. The acquisition of the audio signal is started at the time t0 together with the operation of the self-timer, and the signal recorded from the time t4 is a time t 'at which the acquisition of the audio signal for the recording time from the time t0 is completed.
By this time, the signal stored in the memory is recorded. A photometric operation is performed between time t2 and t3 immediately before the photographing, and rotation starts at time t1 before the photographing so that the video floppy also has a steady rotation at the time of photographing. In this way, the audio signal can be recorded together with the video signal. (Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, according to the above-described conventional electronic camera, when the self-timer is used, the recording timing of the video signal and the audio signal is based on the start time of the self-timer.
After the delay time elapses from t0, the image at the time when the shutter release is actually performed (time t3) is captured, but the audio signal is subjected to A / D conversion and time axis compression during the self-timer operation. Since only the audio signal stored in the memory, i.e., the audio before photographing the subject image, i.e., the audio for a predetermined time from time t0 to time t 'can be recorded, especially when the audio recording time is short,
In some cases, it is not possible to record an audio signal at the time of photographing a subject and after photographing, and there is a problem that inconsistency often occurs between the recorded video signal and the audio signal. (Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and is capable of recording an image signal and an audio signal obtained by an image pickup means on a recording medium, and has a function of photographing. A self-timer for delaying the timing for a predetermined time, an audio recording time selecting means for selecting a recording time of the audio signal, a delay means for delaying the start of capturing the audio signal for a predetermined time with respect to the activation of the self-timer, The self-timer time selecting means for selecting a delay time by the self-timer, the voice recording time selected by the voice recording time selecting means, and the delay according to the self-timer delay time selected by the self-timer time selecting means. Delay time control means for variably controlling the delay time of the means. According to the
In addition, audio signals before and after video signal recording or before and after video signal recording and audio signals at various timings can be recorded on a recording medium. (Embodiment) Hereinafter, an embodiment of an electronic camera according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an electronic camera according to the present invention, in which 1 is a lens, 2 is an aperture, 3 is a shutter, 4 is an aperture / shutter control circuit for controlling the aperture and the shutter, and 5 is a lens through the lens. A solid-state imaging device as imaging means for converting a subject image formed on an imaging surface into an electric signal and outputting the signal; 6 a driving circuit for driving the solid-state imaging device 5;
Is a video signal processing circuit for converting a signal output from the solid-state imaging device 5 into a form suitable for recording operation, 8 is a microphone for taking in an audio signal from outside, and 9 is a time signal for the audio signal absorbed by the microphone 8. An audio signal processing circuit for compressing the axis and making it recordable on the video floppy, an audio signal memory 10 for storing the audio signal information in the time axis compression stage, and an image signal memory 11 operated by a system control circuit to be described later. A switching circuit for selectively switching between the output of the signal processing circuit 7 and the output of the audio signal processing circuit 9 and supplying the output to a recording amplifier described later; 12, a recording amplifier; 13, a magnetic head; D, video floppy; Is a switch for selecting a voice recording time. According to the unified standard of this type of electronic camera, there are three modes of 320, 640, and 1280 in the time axis compression ratio when recording audio signals, and the actual recording time is 5 seconds and 10 seconds, respectively. , 20 seconds recording is possible. 15 is a motor for rotating the video floppy, 16 is a motor servo circuit for rotating the motor 15, 17 is a system control circuit for controlling the operation of the entire camera,
Reference numeral 18 denotes a mode selection switch for selecting an audio recording mode for recording an audio signal together with image information on the video floppy D and a non-audio recording mode for recording only an image without recording the audio signal, and 19 a shutter release switch. Reference numeral 20 denotes a self-timer circuit for operating the shutter 3 and sending an image after a predetermined time has elapsed since the shutter release switch 19 was operated. Reference numeral 21 denotes a switch for ON / OFF-controlling the operation of the self-timer circuit 20. , 22 is a timer time setting switch for setting the operation time of the self-timer,
L is an operation display light emitting diode for displaying the operation of the self-timer circuit 20, 23 is a sound generating circuit for allowing the user to recognize the operation of the self-timer circuit 20 by sound, 24
Is a small speaker or buzzer as a sounding body, 25 is a photometric sensor, 26 is a photometric circuit that performs photometry based on the output of the photometric sensor 25, and 27 is an automatic focus control circuit that controls the lens 1 to perform focus adjustment And 28, a control signal generation circuit for controlling the start timing of taking in the audio signal, and 29, a delay circuit for delaying the output of the control signal generation circuit by a time T as described later. Reference numeral 30 denotes a sound-prohibiting circuit arranged between the sounding circuit 23 and the sounding body 24, which opens and closes a signal path based on a command from the system control circuit 17, and controls the supply of the output of the sounding circuit 23 to the sounding body 24. The mode selection switch 18 is turned on.
Thus, when the mode for recording the audio signal together with the image signal is selected, the signal path between the sounding circuit 23 and the sounding body 24 is cut off to put the sounding body 24 into a non-operating state. According to the unified standard of this kind of electronic camera, the recording of the audio signal requires a time axis compression ratio of 320 times, 640 times, 1280 times.
There are three modes that are doubled, and the actual recording time is 5 seconds, 10 seconds, and 20 seconds, respectively. The electronic camera of the present invention is configured as described above,
Next, the operation will be described. 2 and 3 are timing charts for explaining an operation sequence for explaining the operation of the above-mentioned electronic camera, and show a recording sequence of only an image signal and a recording sequence of an image and an audio signal, respectively. The description will be made step by step with reference to FIG. When recording only the video signal, the mode selection switch 18 is turned off in FIG. 1 to select the video only mode, and the self-timer ON / OFF switch 21 is turned on to put the self-timer circuit 20 in the standby state. I do.
At this time, the operation time of the self-timer is set by the operation time setting switch 22. In FIG. 2, after the focus is adjusted by the focus control circuit 27, the shutter release switch 19 is operated at time t0, whereby the self-timer circuit 20 is operated by the system control circuit 17.
Starts operation. At the same time, the light emitting diode L starts blinking and the sounding circuit 23 is activated to drive the sounding body 24, and the fact that the self-timer is operating is indicated by light and sound. When the switch 18 is OFF, the audio signal processing circuit 9 does not operate, and no audio is taken in. The system control circuit 17 detects that the operation time of the self-timer circuit 20 has elapsed and the time t4 has come, and the system control circuit 17 sends the stop / shutter control circuit 4 and the drive circuit 6 of the solid-state image pickup device 5 to each other. The control signal is output to each of the above, and the diaphragm 2, the shutter 3, and the solid-state imaging device 5 are respectively operated. Further, at time t3 preceding time t4 when the self-timer operation ends, the photometric circuit 26 is driven to perform photometry from the light incident on the photometric sensor 25, and the optimal aperture value and shutter speed are set. In addition, the video floppy rotation motor 15 having the slowest rise starts rotation by applying a control signal from the system control circuit 17 to the motor servo circuit 16 at the preceding time t2, and the operation of the self-timer ends. At a time t at which the image capturing operation is started, the rotating state is stable. At time t4, the operation of the self-timer ends, a shutter release is performed, and an image is captured and recorded in the solid-state imaging device 5. The video signal output from the solid-state imaging device 5 is signal-processed in a predetermined form by a video signal processing circuit 7 and FM-modulated. The video signal is transmitted via a switching circuit 11, a recording amplifier 12, and a magnetic head 13 to a video floppy disk. Is recorded as a video signal in one track.
In this case, the switching circuit 11 is controlled by the system control circuit 17 so that the input of the recording amplifier 12 is connected to the output of the video signal processing circuit 7 during the period from time t4 to time t5 when the recording of the video signal is performed. Then, after the recording of the video ends at time t5, the motor 15 is stopped, and the recording sequence ends. Next, a case where an audio signal is recorded together with an image signal will be described with reference to a timing chart of FIG. In FIG. 1, when the mode selection switch 18 is turned on, an audio recording mode is performed in which an image is recorded and an audio signal is recorded. And the audio recording time selection switch
Select the audio recording time with 14 (5 seconds, 10 seconds, or 20 seconds). When the self-timer is used, the self-timer ON / OFF switch 21 is turned on to put the self-timer circuit 20 in a standby state, as in the image recording mode shown in FIG. At the same time, self-timer operation time setting switch
22 sets the operation time of the self-timer. In the above-described state, after performing focus adjustment and the like, at time t0
By operating the shutter release switch 19, the self-timer circuit 20 starts operating by the system control circuit 17. At the same time, the light emitting diode L starts blinking and the sound generating circuit 23 is activated. When the mode switching switch 18 is turned on, the sound generating prohibition circuit 30 opens the signal path between the sound generating circuit 23 and the sounding body 24. Therefore, the sounding body 24 does not operate and is not sounded. Therefore, the operation of the self-timer is displayed only by the light emitting diode. Therefore, when the voice is taken in, the dial tone of the sounding body 24 enters the microphone 8,
Recording as noise can be prevented beforehand. Also, with the start of the self-timer operation (time t0),
Control signal generation circuit 28 by system control circuit 17
Is activated, its output becomes ENABLE, and a start signal is issued to the audio signal processing circuit 9. However, the start signal is delayed by the time T by the delay circuit 29, and is actually at the time t1 after the lapse of the time T from the time t0. Then, a signal for starting the capturing of the audio is supplied to the audio signal processing circuit 9, and the operation of capturing the audio signal from the microphone 8 is started. The system control circuit 17 detects that the time t4 has elapsed since the operation delay time of the self-timer circuit 20 has passed in the same manner as in the image-only recording sequence shown in FIG.
Control signals are output to the aperture, the shutter control circuit 4 and the drive circuit 6 of the solid-state imaging device 5 respectively.
The shutter 3 and the solid-state imaging device 5 are operated.
At a time t3 preceding the time t4 at which the self-timer operation ends, the photometric circuit 26 is driven to perform photometry from the light incident on the photometric sensor 25, and the optimal aperture value and shutter speed are set. In addition, the video floppy rotation motor 15 having the slowest rise starts rotation by applying a control signal from the system control circuit 17 to the motor servo circuit 16 at the preceding time t2, and the operation of the self-timer ends. When the image capture operation starts
At t4, it is configured to be in a stable rotation state. At time t4, the operation of the self-timer ends, shutter release is performed, and the solid-state imaging device 5 captures and records an image. The video signal output from the solid-state imaging device 5 is processed in a predetermined form by a video signal processing circuit 7 and FM-modulated.
The video signal is recorded as a video signal on one track of the video flip-flop 14 via the recording amplifier 12 and the magnetic head 13. In this case, during the period from time t4 to time t5 when the recording of the video signal is performed, the switching circuit 11 controls the system control circuit so that the input of the recording amplifier 12 is connected to the output of the video signal processing circuit 7.
Controlled by 17. On the other hand, recording of the audio signal will be described. The audio signal that has been started to be captured by the audio signal processing circuit 9 at time t1 is converted into a digital signal by a built-in A / D converter (not shown) and stored in the memory 10. Is done. The data in the memory 10 is read out at a predetermined rate, converted into an analog signal by a D / A converter built in the audio signal processing circuit 9, and then compressed on a video floppy through the country amplifier 12. Then, it is FM-modulated and recorded. Therefore, the compression / expansion of the time axis can be performed by changing the rate at which data is read from the memory 10 (three modes with a time axis compression ratio of 320, 640, and 1280 can be selected). As is apparent from FIG. 3, the time after the elapse of the time T from the start of the operation of the self-timer circuit 20 at the time t0.
At t1, at the start of the operation of the self-timer circuit 20, the signal for starting the capture of the voice generated by the output of the control signal generation circuit 28 becoming ENABLE is output via the delay circuit 29 to the voice signal. The audio signal processing is started by being supplied to the processing circuit 9, the signal input from the microphone 8 is taken into the audio signal processing circuit 9, and the audio signal of the recording time corresponding to the pre-selected time axis compression ratio is generated. A / D conversion is performed and stored in the memory 10 (audio signal processing 1). During the operation of the self-timer as described above, while the audio signal is being captured, the sound generation prohibition circuit 30 is activated and the sounding body 24 is inactive, so that the microphone 8 picks up a tone. Thus, it is possible to prevent the inconvenience resulting from mixing in the audio signal and becoming noise. At time t4 when the operation of the self-timer ends, the video signal is recorded on a predetermined track on the video floppy D, but the audio signal remains after the time t5 at which the video signal processing and recording at the time t4 ends. The acquisition and processing of the audio signal are continued until the audio signal for the set recording time is stored in the memory 10, and at the time t6 when the acquisition of the audio signal is completed, the recording amplifier 12 is switched by the switching circuit 11 to the audio signal processing circuit. 9 and read out the audio signal data stored from the memory 10 at a rate corresponding to the set time axis compression ratio and perform predetermined signal processing (audio signal processing 2). The video signal is recorded on the next track where the video signal is recorded. The polarization of this track changes at time t5 when the recording of the video signal ends.
From time t6 to time t6, the operation is performed by operating a head moving mechanism (not shown) based on a command from the system control circuit 17 to move the head 13. Then, at the time t7 when the recording of the audio signal ends, the motor 15 is stopped,
The sequence of the continuous recording of the video signal and the audio signal ends. As described above, video signal recording is performed by the self-timer circuit.
It is performed when the timer operation time by 20 elapses, and the audio signal starts capturing the audio signal for the selected audio recording time from the time delayed by a predetermined time after the start of the self-timer operation, and starts recording the video signal. After that, the audio signal can be recorded by changing the track. Therefore, by appropriately selecting the audio recording time and the operation time of the self-timer, the audio signal can be captured at any timing. For example, assuming that the delay time of the delay circuit 29 is 5 seconds, if the operation time of the self-timer is set to 10 seconds and the sound recording time mode is set to 10 seconds, recording for 5 seconds before and after shooting (time t4) is performed. Can be. If you set the mode to 20 seconds, 5 seconds before shooting,
In the case of a mode of 15 seconds after shooting and 5 seconds, a sound of 5 seconds before shooting can be recorded. In terms of sound quality, the shorter the recording time, that is, the smaller the time axis compression ratio, the better the sound quality.
It can be appropriately selected as needed. In addition, more applications are possible by changing the self-timer time. In addition, if the delay time of the delay circuit 29 is made variable in addition to the above-described configuration, more voice capturing patterns can be obtained. FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment of the present invention, in which the delay time of the delay circuit 29 in the above-mentioned first embodiment is made variable, so that the distribution of the audio recording time before and after shooting can be freely set. It is something that can be done. In the figure, the difference from the configuration of FIG.
Instead of 29, a variable delay circuit 31 capable of varying the delay time is used, and a delay time setting switch 32 for setting the delay time in the variable delay circuit 31 is provided. Thus, when the self-timer is used, the user can freely set the audio recording time before and after the photographing, so that the audio signal recording timing can be further varied compared to the embodiment of FIG. It can be set and its application range can be expanded. For example, the operation setting time of the self-timer, the audio recording time, and the delay time of the audio capturing start time are appropriately selected, such as recording of sound before and after shooting, recording of a predetermined time immediately before shooting, recording of a predetermined time immediately after shooting, and the like. By combining these, an extremely large number of variations can be realized. The operation of each block is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, and a description thereof will be omitted. (Effects of the Invention) As described above, according to the electronic camera of the present invention, when the self-timer operation is started, the delay means for delaying the start timing of capturing the audio signal by the predetermined time is provided, so that the audio signal before and after the photographing is provided Can be recorded, and an audio signal can be recorded in a timely manner without causing inconsistency with a captured image. Further, by making the delay time of the delay means variable, it is possible to further realize a wide variety of recordings of the audio signal with respect to the captured image, and its practical effect is extremely large.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of an electronic camera according to the present invention, FIGS. 2 and 3 are timing charts for explaining the operation in the configuration of FIG. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a timing chart for explaining the operation of a conventional electronic camera. 5 solid-state imaging device 7 video signal processing circuit 8 microphone 9 audio signal processing circuit 10 memory 11 switching circuit 12 recording amplifier 13 magnetic head 14 magnetic sheet 15 motor 16 motor servo circuit 17 system Control circuit 18 ... Sound recording mode selection switch 19 ... Shutter release switch 20 ... Self-timer circuit 21 ... Self-timer ON / OFF switch 22 ... LED 23 ... Sound generation circuit 28 ... Start / stop signal generation circuit 29 ... Delay circuit 30 ... Sound generation Prohibition circuit 31 ... Variable delay circuit 32 ... Delay time setting switch

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] An electronic camera including an image signal obtained by an imaging unit and a self-timer capable of recording an audio signal on a recording medium and delaying a shooting timing by a predetermined time, wherein a recording time of the audio signal is selected. Voice recording time selecting means; delay means for delaying the start of capturing of the audio signal by a predetermined time with respect to activation of the self-timer; self-timer time selecting means for selecting a delay time by the self-timer; Delay time control means for variably controlling the delay time of the delay means according to the audio recording time selected by the selection means and the delay time of the self-timer selected by the self-timer time selection means. Electronic camera featuring.