JP3397194B2 - Electronic camera - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to electronic cameras, and more particularly to error display in electronic cameras.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the structure of such an electronic camera.

In this camera, the luminous flux transmitted through the lens 1 and introduced into the camera is indicated by an arrow a when the quick return mirror 2 is at the position (down position) shown in the figure.
It is reflected in a direction and guided to a finder optical system (not shown).

On the other hand, when shooting and recording with this camera, the quick return mirror 2 is raised (up) in the direction of arrow a by a mirror drive system (not shown). In this case, the light flux (image) that has passed through the lens 1 passes through the mechanical shutter 3 without passing through the mirror 2 and is located on the image pickup surface of the optical system (hereinafter referred to as “CCD”).
4 and is photoelectrically converted into a video signal.

A video signal from the CCD 4 is processed by an image pickup signal processing circuit 5 for performing gamma correction and the like, and emphasis / FM.
After a predetermined signal processing is performed by a recording signal processing circuit 6 that performs modulation and the like, it is amplified by a head amplifier 7 and recorded on a magnetic disk 11 from a magnetic head 10 for both recording and reproduction. Here, the head amplifier 7 has a recording terminal (not shown),
Only when a recording or reproduction control signal is given to this, recording or reproduction by the magnetic head 10 is performed.

Next, at the time of reproduction, the output signal from the head 10 is amplified by the head amplifier 7 and given to the detection circuit (detection means) 15. The detection circuit 15 determines whether or not the track being reproduced is recorded, and the determination signal is given to the central processing unit (detection means) 9.

In the above structure, the opening / closing of the mechanical shutter 3 is controlled by the shutter drive circuit 8. Further, the magnetic head 10 is adapted to move from one track to 50 tracks of the magnetic disk 11 under the control of the head moving circuit 13. Furthermore,
The magnetic disk 11 is controlled by the servo circuit 14 via the rotation motor 12 so as to rotate at a constant rotation speed (for example, 3600 rpm).

A control signal to each of these circuits 8, 13 and 14 and the above-mentioned recording / reproducing control signal and timing signals necessary for each part of the camera are controlled by a central processing unit (hereinafter referred to as "CP").
U ”) 9.

Further, in the past, when handling this type of camera, a user error caused by a user's operation mistake, a small performance error occurring inside the camera, for example, the quick return mirror 2 did not move up or down, or a rotary motor was used. 2 out-of-user error not related to the user, such as 12 not reaching a certain rotation speed
There are various types, and these errors are displayed on the LCD or the like to inform the user.

[0010]

Now, let us consider the time of adjustment and maintenance. Although the CCD 4 can be mounted and adjusted as a single unit, there is a problem that it is not possible to check it after it is assembled, and it is not clear what kind of image is actually captured or whether it is in focus.

Regarding the error display, it is difficult for the user to deal with small performance errors that have occurred inside the camera. Therefore, the quick return mirror 2 does not move up and down, and the rotary motor 12 is constant. The fact that it does not rotate at the same speed is the same, and displaying all the errors will be annoying as the types of errors increase. Furthermore, since there are more internal errors than errors due to operation mistakes, the internal errors are collectively displayed in a specific display, and when the display appears, ask the service to consult. Takes the form. However, the service side wants to know the small error inside the camera,
If the internal errors are displayed all at once, there is a problem in that the location of the repair cannot be known and it takes time to find the location of the error.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to switch the output form of character information notified by an electronic camera to an operator according to the intended use. To provide a new electronic camera.

[0013]

In order to solve the above problems, the invention according to claim 1 has an image pickup means for capturing a subject image and outputting a video signal, and the video signal is recorded on a recording medium. In an electronic camera having a first operating state in which a video signal recorded on a recording medium is reproduced and a second operating state in which a video signal recorded in a recording medium is reproduced, a first output mode is set in at least one of the first operating state and the second operating state. The switching means for switching between the second output mode and the information notified by the electronic camera to the operator are output in the first output mode having the first output item number in the first output mode, and in the second output mode. And a control means for outputting in a second output form having a second number of output items different from the first number of output items.

The invention described in claim 2 is the same as claim 1
In the electronic camera described in 1), the information includes character information.

[0015]

The invention described in claim 3 is the same as claim 1
In the electronic camera described in (1), the information is information relating to the content of the error that has occurred in the electronic camera, and the control means changes the degree of detail of the information relating to the content of the error between the first output form and the second output form. It is characterized by controlling.

The invention according to claim 4 is the same as claim 1.
In the electronic camera described in [1], the first output mode is a normal mode in which a shooting operation in the first operation state or a reproduction operation in the second operation state is performed, and the second output mode is an adjustment mode. According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the electronic camera according to the fourth aspect, the adjustment mode includes a maintenance mode set when a service is supported.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is an embodiment of the present invention and is an enlarged view of the periphery of a CPU 9. CP
Since an input port of U9 is connected to the power supply via the pull-up resistor 20, that port is always at the high level (hereinafter abbreviated as H), and this state is in the normal operation. Connector 21 for adjustment and maintenance
Is short-circuited to bring the input port of the CPU 9 to a low level (hereinafter abbreviated as L), indicating that adjustment and maintenance are being performed. It should be noted that this determination is given in advance to the control program of the CPU 9.

FIG. 2 shows a flow chart when performing a video operation.

First, the photographing mode of block 22 will be described.

The shooting mode is S. C. There are three types of CH mode, S mode is a mode in which only one image can be taken by pressing the shutter button, and C mode and CH mode are modes in which continuous shooting can be performed while the shutter button is pressed. The difference between the C mode and the CH mode is that the C mode can shoot four frames per second using a mechanical shutter, whereas the CH mode can shoot 20 frames per second because the electronic shutter of the CCD 4 is used. Further, in the C mode, the quick return mirror 2 goes up and down, whereas in the CH mode, the quick return mirror 2 remains up.

Since the quick return mirror 2 must be in the up state as a condition for performing the video operation, the CH mode must be selected in the shooting mode selection of the block 22. If the mode is other than the CH mode, the photographing operation 23 other than the CH mode is performed.

If the shooting mode selection is the CH mode, then the presence or absence of the disk in block 24 is checked. If the disk is loaded, the CH mode shooting in block 25 is performed and the disk is not loaded. If so, block 26 inspects the input port (service support port) of CPU 9, and if H, valve operation at block 27, L
Then, the video operation of block 28 is performed.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for displaying an error.

First, when an error occurs, the service-corresponding port is checked in block 26, and if it is H, block 2
Error display corresponding to 9 users, block 3 if L
Displays a 0 service response error. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a user correspondence display, and FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a service correspondence error display.

In the user correspondence display of FIG. 5, no error inside the camera is touched at all, and it is collectively represented by "EE", and it is recommended to consult the service.

In the service corresponding error display of FIG. 6, all the errors that have occurred inside the camera are displayed.

Further, by providing the camera with a self-diagnosis function,
It is also possible to take out the measured value of the diagnostic result, the error code, etc. as a video output. The self-diagnosis function is
This is the function of the CPU to check each part. For example, the CPU checks the voltage value and the level of the port by checking the continuity, checking whether the sensor is working normally, or checking whether the magnetic head is operating correctly. (H or L) is used for inspection. Since the result obtained in this way can be known in great detail, it can be output as video data as character information and can be viewed on a monitor or the like, which is even easier to understand.

[0029]

As described above, claim 1 and claim 2 are provided.
According to the invention described in (1), there is provided a first operation state in which the image signal is captured in the subject image and the image signal is output, and the image signal is recorded in the recording medium, and the image signal recorded in the recording medium is reproduced. In an electronic camera having two operating states,
In at least one of the first operating state and the second operating state, switching means for switching between the first output mode and the second output mode, and information notified by the electronic camera to the operator are displayed in the first output mode. First with a number of output items of 1
And a control means for outputting in the second output mode, the second output mode having a second number of output items different from the first number of output items in the second output mode.
Therefore, the operator can appropriately switch the output form of information in a certain operation state of the electronic camera.

According to the third aspect of the invention, the information is information regarding the content of the error that has occurred in the electronic camera, and the control means is the first regarding the information regarding the content of the error.
Since the output form and the second output form are controlled so as to output with different degrees of detail, it is possible to output error information with different details according to the output mode and application.

According to the invention described in claims 4 and 5, the first output mode is a normal mode in which the photographing operation in the first operating state or the reproducing operation in the second operating state is performed, and the second output mode is used. By setting the mode to the adjustment mode including the maintenance mode that is set when the service is supported, the workability during maintenance and service can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart when operating a video.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for displaying an error.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of an electronic camera.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a user correspondence error display.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a service corresponding error display.

[Explanation of symbols]

9: CPU 20: Pull-up resistor 21: Connector

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) Reference JP-A-62-272779 (JP, A) JP-A-62-272769 (JP, A) JP-A-62-97475 (JP, A) JP-A-2- 60394 (JP, A) JP-A-64-50676 (JP, A) Fukukaihei 2-39231 (JP, U) Fukukaihei 1-133139 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H04N 5/225 G03B 17/18 H04N 17/00

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A first operation state for recording an image signal on a recording medium and an image pickup unit for capturing an image of a subject and outputting the image signal, and reproducing the image signal recorded on the recording medium. In an electronic camera having two operating states, switching means for switching between a first output mode and a second output mode in at least one of the first operating state and the second operating state; and the electronic camera being an operator. The information to be notified to the first output mode is output in the first output mode having the first number of output items, and in the second output mode, the first output mode is output.
A second number of output items different from the number of output items of
An electronic camera having a control means for outputting in an output form. 2. The electronic camera according to claim 1, wherein the information includes character information. 3. The information is information relating to the content of an error that has occurred in the electronic camera, and the control means is a degree of detail of the information relating to the content of the error in the first output form and the second output form. The electronic camera according to claim 1, wherein the electronic camera is controlled so as to change. 4. The first output mode is a normal mode for performing a shooting operation in the first operation state or a reproduction operation in the second operation state, and the second output mode is an adjustment mode. The electronic camera according to claim 1. 5. The electronic camera according to claim 4, wherein the adjustment mode includes a maintenance mode set when a service is supported.