JP3692896B2 - Data capturing apparatus and camera equipped with the same - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a data imprinting apparatus for imprinting photographing data such as date and time on a photographed film and a camera equipped with the data imprinting apparatus.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, as this type of data capturing device, for example, a device mounted on a camera described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-150330 is known. In this camera, a data copying device is detachably mounted on the back cover of the camera body from the back side, and a dummy device having the same shape as the data copying device can be mounted instead of the data copying device. ing. As a result, when the camera body is shared and the data capture device is installed, it is a camera with a data capture device, and when the dummy device is installed, as a normal camera without the data capture device, The camera model can be easily changed.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, with the conventional data capture device, when changing data such as date, it is necessary to operate the mode switch and date setting switch provided on the back of the back cover of the camera. For a user who frequently goes to a certain country, it has been forced to perform complicated operations for setting the date each time a trip is made. Further, when a camera with a data copying device is purchased, there is a problem that data other than the data stored in the data copying device cannot be copied. However, it is possible to store a large amount of data in anticipation of this, but there is a problem that the apparatus itself is large and expensive.
[0004]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a data imprinting apparatus and a camera equipped with the data imprinting apparatus that can avoid the complication of date adjustment based on a time difference and the like and can imprint new data.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
A data copying apparatus according to the present invention is a ROM stick which is an external storage device that stores shooting data in a data copying apparatus that is mounted on the back cover of a camera body and copies shooting data onto a film via a copy display panel. The ROM stick has a built-in power supply battery for a data copying device.
[0006]
According to this configuration, various types of external storage devices that store photographing data having different contents are prepared, and by appropriately replacing the external storage device with respect to the copy device main body, the copy device main body is shared, A model for storing different shooting data can be configured.
In addition, the external storage device can be easily replaced, and can be handled easily and inexpensively.
Furthermore, this apparatus can be mounted on a camera that does not have a power supply that can be supplied for printing. In other words, by replacing only the external storage device, it can be mounted on an inexpensive camera having no power source.
[0007]
In this case, it is preferable that the external storage device is configured to be exchangeable from the outside of the back cover.
[0008]
According to this configuration, it is possible to replace the external storage device mounted on the back cover without removing it from the camera body, and the user can easily change or add shooting data by replacing the external storage device. It can be carried out. It should be noted that the external storage device replacement structure can be exchanged from the back side with the back cover closed, or can be exchanged from the inside with the back cover open.
[0009]
In these cases, it is preferable that the imprint display panel is composed of a dot matrix liquid crystal panel.
[0010]
According to this configuration, unlike the segment-type liquid crystal panel, there are few restrictions on the characters that can be displayed, and the character variations of the imprinted data can be significantly increased.
[0015]
In these cases, it is preferable that the photographing data of the external storage device includes region-specific date / time data in a region-specific display form.
[0016]
According to this configuration, only by exchanging the external storage device, it can be changed to the date / time data (model) that takes the time difference into account, and the complicated date / time setting in overseas travel or the like can be avoided.
[0017]
In these cases, it is preferable that the image data of the external storage device includes message data and / or character data accompanying the date / time data.
[0018]
According to this configuration, it is possible to change not only the date / time data but also a character (model) that can decorate these decorated characters and simple messages.
[0019]
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a camera including the above-described data capturing device and a camera body equipped with the data capturing device.
[0020]
According to this configuration, by incorporating the image capturing device main body of the data image capturing device into the camera body, it is possible to easily produce camera models with different types of image capturing data, and for the user to perform the image capturing. The content of the embedded data can be easily changed according to preference.
[0021]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, a camera data capturing device and a camera equipped with the same according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. This data copying device is incorporated in the back cover of the camera body, and copies data (shooting data) such as date and time from the back side onto the film of the camera body. FIG. 1 is an external view of a camera equipped with a data capture device. As shown in FIG. 1, the camera 1 includes a camera body 2 and a data capture device 4 mounted on a back cover 3 of the camera body 2. It consists of The data copying device 4 includes a copying device body 5 and a ROM stick 6 that is an external storage device that is detachably attached to the copying device body 5.
[0022]
The data copying device 4 is accommodated between a pressure plate (not shown) located on the film side of the back cover 3 and the outer shell case 7, and will be described later from a plurality of openings formed in the outer shell case 7. The monitor display panel 14 and the date / time adjustment button 8 are exposed, and the ROM stick 6 is exposed (details will be described later). Although not shown in the drawing, the imprint display panel 13 faces the film from the opening formed in the pressure plate inside the back cover 3.
[0023]
As shown in FIG. 2, the copying apparatus main body 4 is configured by sandwiching a circuit board 12 inside a case body 11 composed of a front protection plate 11a and a back protection plate 11b. The front protection plate 11a is provided with a copy display panel 13 so as to protrude, and similarly, the back protection plate 11b is provided with a monitor display panel 14 so as to protrude. A ROM stick 6 that is electrically connected to the circuit board 12 is detachably attached to the cutout portion of the back protection plate 11b.
[0024]
On the surface of the circuit board 12, a lamp 15 serving as an imaging light source, a crystal oscillator 16 for timing, a control IC 17 and the like are mounted so as to be protected by the front protection plate 11a. In addition, the imprint signal terminal 19 connected to the camera body 2 and the switch terminals (three sets) 20 that are in contact with the date and time setting button 8 are disposed at the notch 18 of the back protection plate 11b. Has been. The imprint signal terminal 19 is supplied with electric power from the camera body 2, and a push button of the release (see FIG. 1) 9 of the camera body 2 is input as a imprint trigger signal, and is synchronized with the push button of the release 9. The imprint data is imprinted on the film.
[0025]
The imprint display panel 13 constitutes a mask for imprinting the date, time, etc. on the facing film. The imprint display panel 13 displays the date, time, etc. in a transparent portion, and the irradiation light of the lamp 15 (the imprinted light). ) Is transparent, and the data is copied onto the film. The imprint display panel 13 is integrally formed by an imprint LCD 13a composed of a dot matrix liquid crystal panel and an LCD holder 13b that holds the imprint LCD 13a, and is provided so as to protrude from the surface of the front protection plate 11a. ing.
[0026]
Similarly, the monitor display panel 14 is integrally formed of a monitor LCD 14a formed of a dot matrix liquid crystal panel and an LCD holder 14b that holds the monitor LCD 14a, and is provided so as to protrude from the surface of the back protection plate 11b. It has been. The monitor display panel 14 is positioned above and below the date and time adjustment button 8 and is exposed on the back side of the back cover 3. Note that the monitor display panel 14 may be omitted in order to reduce the cost of the data copying device 4.
[0027]
The ROM stick 6 is detachably mounted in a mounting opening 10 formed on the back surface of the back cover 3 (see FIG. 1), and is connected to the circuit board 12 and a connector while being mounted in the mounting opening 10. Yes. In this case, a plurality of types of ROM sticks 6 are prepared based on the stored imprint data (photographing data) and the like (details will be described later).
[0028]
Here, the control system will be briefly described with reference to FIG. The IC 17 which is the main body of the control system includes a control circuit 31 for controlling each part in the copying apparatus body 5, an interface circuit 32 for interfacing with peripheral circuits such as the ROM stick 6 according to instructions from the control circuit 31, and a monitor An LCD driver 33 that drives the LCD 14a and the image-capturing LCD 13a, a lamp drive circuit 34 that drives the lamp 15 in response to a command from the control circuit 31, a power supply circuit 35 that distributes power from the battery to each part, and a crystal oscillator 16 And an oscillation / frequency dividing circuit 36 that generates a basic clock and its frequency-divided signal and distributes them to each part, and a decoder 37 that decodes the imprinted data from the control circuit 31 for the LCD.
[0029]
Although not shown, the control circuit 31 includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like, as well as a time counter, and is connected to each other via an internal bus. The ROM stores a control program processed by the CPU, control data for setting various modes, character data for LCD display, and the like. The RAM is used as a work area for taking in the above-mentioned imprinted data and the like and processing them for display in addition to various register groups used for various mode setting flags and the like.
[0030]
The clock counter is a group of registers each responsible for year, month, day, hour, minute, second, etc., an increment / decrement circuit for each up / down count, a decoder circuit for generating their set / reset signals, etc. As a whole, it is in charge of the so-called clock function. With the above configuration, the CPU processes various data in the RAM and the count value of the time counter according to the control program and control data in the ROM, and creates data for copying and monitoring. The entire insertion device 4 is controlled.
[0031]
Specifically, for example, the imprint data is read from the ROM stick 6 through the interface circuit 32, the display data to be displayed on the imprint display panel 13 and the monitor display panel 14 is created, and the decoder 37 and the LCD driver are displayed. The image is output to the monitor LCD 14a and the image capturing LCD 13a via
[0032]
By the way, various ROM sticks 6 are prepared, for example, which store imprint data considering time differences as overseas specifications. Specifically, a plurality of types such as an American specification and a European specification are prepared, and an American specification ROM stick 6 is exchanged and attached when traveling to the United States. As a result, the date and time in American standard time are displayed on the imprint display panel 13 and the monitor display panel 14 in a display form that follows the display habit. That is, by exchanging the ROM stick 6, the domestic specification data copying device 4 can be changed to the overseas specification data copying device 4 in consideration of the time difference and the display form by one touch.
[0033]
It is also possible to prepare a ROM stick 6 that stores characters and messages that are displayed simultaneously with the date and time display. Specifically, it is possible to attach a heart mark before and after the date and time display, or to imprint characters indicating weather conditions such as “swell” and “cloudy” after the date and time display. Thereby, it becomes possible to change to the data copying device 4 that performs copying uniquely.
[0034]
Furthermore, it is also possible to prepare a ROM stick 6 with a built-in dedicated battery. By incorporating a coin-type battery or the like in the ROM stick 6, the data capture device 4 can be mounted on the camera 1 without a power source.
[0035]
In this way, by preparing various ROM sticks 6 having different copy data, it is possible to easily change the model of the data copy device 4 while sharing the copy device main body 5. In addition, since the ROM stick 6 can be easily attached and detached from the back side of the back cover 3, not only when the camera 1 is manufactured, but also the user can easily change the imprint data.
[0036]
The ROM stick 6 may be configured to be replaceable with the back cover 3 opened on the camera body 2. In such a case, it is not necessary to take measures against light leakage from the mounting opening 10 into the camera body 2.
[0037]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the camera data copying device and the camera of the present invention, various types of external storage devices that store shooting data having different contents are prepared, and the copying device main body is shared by appropriately replacing them. In this state, you can easily change the model. This also makes it possible to easily produce camera models with different types of captured data, and allows the user to easily change the various types of captured data according to their preferences. Therefore, only by exchanging the external storage device, the complicated date setting based on the time difference can be avoided, and new data can be copied.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a camera equipped with a data capturing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a structural diagram of a data copying apparatus according to an embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an IC circuit of the data copying apparatus according to the embodiment.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Camera 2 Camera body 3 Back cover 4 Data copying device 5 Copying device body 6 ROM stick 10 Mounting opening 13 Image display panel 14 Monitor display panel

Claims (6)

In the data copying device that is mounted on the back cover of the camera body and that captures the shooting data onto the film via the display panel,
The ROM stick, which is an external storage device that stores the shooting data, can be replaced,
The ROM stick has a built-in power battery for the data copying apparatus.   The data copying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the external storage device is configured to be exchangeable from outside the back cover.   3. The data imprinting device according to claim 1, wherein the imprint display panel comprises a dot matrix liquid crystal panel.   4. The data imprinting device according to claim 1, wherein the photographing data of the external storage device includes region-specific date / time data in a region-specific display form.   5. The data copying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the photographing data of the external storage device includes message data and / or character data accompanying date and time data. A data copying device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
And a camera body on which the data copying device is mounted.

Images