JP4231597B2 - Electronic camera - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an electronic camera, and more particularly to an electronic camera capable of mounting a plurality of recording media.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In an electronic camera, an image is recorded using a recording medium (hereinafter simply referred to as “recording medium”) such as a smart media or a compact flash. In this case, the image recorded on the recording medium is basically copied to another large-capacity storage medium (for example, a magnetic disk device, a magneto-optical disk device, an optical disk device, etc.). Then, all unnecessary copied image data and management data in the recording medium are erased to secure a storage area. Then, the recording medium in which the storage area is secured is mounted on the electronic camera again and used for recording a new captured image.
[0003]
In addition, the electronic camera is configured so as to be able to format the recording medium, and the formatting process has a data writing area so that data can be written when an unformatted disc is used. For example, even when the reliability of writing or reading on a formatted disk is lowered, the recording medium may be formatted in order to secure the data area again.
[0004]
As described above, when all data is erased or formatted with respect to the recording medium, the entire contents of the recording medium are erased, so that all the image files recorded on the recording medium cannot be used. Therefore, in order to prevent the user from erasing or formatting all data by mistake when normally erasing or formatting all data, for example, safety measures such as a plurality of operations are taken.
[0005]
However, in an electronic camera in which a plurality of recording media can be mounted and used, when all data is erased or formatted, if an incorrect recording medium is selected, the recording is performed on an unintended recording medium. Special attention must be paid to the possibility.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As described above, in order to secure the storage capacity of the recording medium, there is a total erasure or formatting process, but an electronic camera that can be used with a plurality of recording media performs these processes on an unintended recording medium. There is a possibility that.
[0007]
An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic camera that can prevent unintentional erasure or formatting of an unintended recording medium in an electronic camera that can be used with a plurality of recording media.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention has taken the following measures.
[0009]
The electronic camera according to the present invention includes a recording medium mounting unit capable of mounting a plurality of recording media, a display unit for displaying image information, operation and operation information, and the plurality of recording media mounted on the recording medium mounting unit. a recording medium designating means for designating a recording medium pressurizing et 1, one mode of operation of the first mode of operation, including at least a playback mode for displaying the image recorded on the specified printing media on the display means At least an erasing mode for erasing all images recorded on the recording medium designated by the recording medium designating means when the reproduction mode is selected by the first selecting means. including a second selection means capable of selecting one operation mode of the second operation mode, before the erase mode is selected by said second selection means, serial by the recording medium specifying means To allow the switching of the specified media, the after the erasure mode is selected by the second selection means, characterized in that a control means for prohibiting the switching of the specified recording medium by the recording medium specifying means And Since the image information in the recording medium is erased after confirming whether or not the image recorded on the recording medium can be erased always via the playback mode, a recording medium other than the target recording medium It is possible to prevent the image information recorded in the image from being erased. In addition, since the designation of the recording medium cannot be switched in the erasing mode, similarly, it is possible to prevent erasing image information recorded on a recording medium other than the target recording medium by mistake. The electronic camera may further include a restoring unit that restores the image information when the image information in the recording medium is erased in the erasing mode. With this configuration, even when an image in the recording medium is erased by mistake, the erased image can be restored.
[0010]
Another electronic camera according to the present invention includes a recording medium mounting unit that can mount a plurality of recording media, a display unit that displays image information, operation and operation information, and the recording medium mounting unit that is mounted on the recording medium mounting unit. a recording medium specifying means for specifying a plurality of recording media or al 1 of the recording medium, of the first mode of operation, including at least a playback mode for displaying the image recorded on the specified printing media on the display means First selection means for selecting one operation mode and at least a format mode for formatting the recording medium designated by the recording medium designation means when the reproduction mode is selected by the first selection means. a second selection means capable of selecting one operation mode of the two modes of operation, before the format mode by the second selection means is selected, the recording medium finger To allow switching of the designation of the recording medium by means, after the format mode is selected in the second selection means, further comprising a control means for prohibiting the switching of the specified recording medium by the recording medium specifying means Features. With this configuration, it is possible to prevent a recording medium other than the target recording medium from being mistakenly formatted for the same reason as described above.
[0011]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. A schematic configuration of an electronic camera 10 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
[0012]
The image of the subject that has passed through the lens unit 11 is converted into an electrical signal by the image sensor 12. The electric signal converted by the image pickup device 12 is converted into an analog image signal by the image pickup circuit 13 and then converted into a digital image signal by the A / D converter 14. Then, the digital image signal is subjected to predetermined processing, for example, in a removable memory 20 (for example, a compact flash memory 20a, a smart media 20b, etc.) that is an external memory mounted in a card slot (not shown). Recording is performed via the interface (I / F) 21. In addition, the electronic camera has a high-speed built-in memory 25 (for example, a random access memory (RAM) or the like), and serves as a working memory for image compression / decompression or as a high-speed buffer as a temporary image storage means used.
[0013]
Further, the electronic camera is equipped with a normal image display LCD 30 (liquid crystal display device), and this image display LCD 30 confirms the image recorded in the removable memory 20 and displays an image to be taken. The image to be displayed is once taken into an image display memory (VRAM) (not shown), and the image display LCD 30 is controlled by the LCD control circuit 31 to display the image. Further, the video signal controlled by the normal LCD control circuit 31 is also output to a video output terminal (not shown), and an image can be output to a video display device (not shown) connected to the video output terminal. ing.
[0014]
The external interface (I / F) 40 transmits and receives data to and from an external device (not shown), and is connected to the external device via an external input / output terminal 41.
[0015]
The syscon 50 controls the entire devices of the electronic camera, and includes an image processing circuit 51 and a compression / decompression circuit 52. The image processing circuit 51 performs predetermined image processing of the captured image. The compression / decompression circuit 52 is for compressing the digital image signal and expanding (decompressing) the compressed image signal.
[0016]
Further, the syscon 50 receives an input from, for example, a release (not shown) of the operation unit 53 and performs imaging. Further, the syscon 50 performs control so that the strobe 55 is turned on when the amount of light at the time of imaging the subject is insufficient.
[0017]
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the mode selection dial of the operation unit 53. As shown in FIG. 2, in this case, six modes can be selected. For example,
(1) Shooting in M (manual mode).
(2) Shooting in A (aperture priority mode).
(3) Shooting in M (program mode).
(4) Reproduction of captured images (hereinafter referred to as “reproduction mode”).
(5) Print reservation for stored images.
(6) Connection with external equipment.
Are prepared, and can be operated in various modes. The details of each of the above modes are not in conflict with the essence of the present invention except for the reproduction mode (4), and the description thereof will be omitted.
[0018]
When an image recorded in the removable memory 20 is to be erased (hereinafter simply referred to as “erase”), or when the removable memory 20 is to be formatted (hereinafter simply referred to as “format”), the playback mode After selecting and entering the playback mode, erasing or formatting can be performed. This operation will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a flowchart for erasing or formatting according to the present invention. FIGS. 4A and 4B are diagrams showing examples of menu display after the playback mode is selected, and FIG. 4B is a part including the erase and format display of FIG. It is the figure which took out. In the following description, “erasing” means erasing all images (all erasures) instead of selectively erasing the images recorded in the removable memory 20 every one frame or every several frames. means. However, in the case of this all erasure, the protected image is not erased.
[0019]
First, the playback mode is selected with the mode selection dial shown in FIG. 2 (step 1). Then, when a recording medium to be erased or formatted is selected (designated) from the removable memory 20 (also referred to as “recording medium”) (step 2), an image (for example, first in the selected recording medium) is selected. The captured image) is displayed. In accordance with this display image, it is confirmed whether or not the selected recording medium can be erased or formatted (step 3). Note that if it is not possible to determine whether or not the display medium is a recording medium that can be erased or formatted, other images can be referred to. Here, if erasure or formatting of the recording medium is not preferable, whether or not to erase or format another recording medium is selected (step 5), and if another recording medium is selected, Returning to step 2, if the other recording medium is not erased or formatted, the processing is terminated.
[0020]
If it is determined in step 4 that erasure or formatting is allowed, a menu button (not shown) of the operation unit 53 is operated to display the menu screen shown in FIG. 4A (step 6). Then, erase or format is selected (step 7). FIG. 4A shows a menu screen when the smart card 20b is selected. When the compact flash 20a is selected, “SM” in the recording medium display changes to “CF”. In step 7, as shown in FIG. 4B, when erasing is selected, erasing is executed and image data in the recording medium is erased (step 8). However, as described above, in the case of erasure, protected image data is not erased. Therefore, if all images are to be erased, formatting described later is executed or protection (protection) is performed. After canceling, the deletion may be executed. In step 7, as shown in FIG. 4B, when the format is selected, the formatting is executed and the recording medium is formatted (step 9).
[0021]
In the above flow chart, when a recording medium to be erased or formatted is selected, when the image is confirmed in the playback mode, any recording medium can be selected because it is not accidentally erased or formatted. However, after displaying the menu, there is no means to confirm the image, so changing the recording medium to be erased or formatted after that will erase the recording medium other than the target recording medium. Alternatively, it may be formatted, which is very undesirable. Therefore, in the present invention, the selection (designation) of the recording medium cannot be switched (changed) until the erasure or formatting in step 9 is completed after it is determined that the erasure or formatting can be performed in step 4. . In this way, there is no possibility of erasing or formatting a recording medium other than the target recording medium by mistake.
[0022]
In the case of erasing or formatting, all data including image data cannot be restored in the case of formatting, but in the case of erasing, basically only the index of the image in the FAT (file allocation table) is erased, Since the image data itself is not erased, it is possible to restore the image data. Therefore, it is preferable to record the index of the image data that has been completely erased in a part of the empty area. In this way, when image data is mistakenly erased, it can be restored until new image data is overwritten in the storage area of the erased image data. In addition, the format may be such that the image data can be restored only once after accidentally erasing it. In this case, the index is erased or invalidated at the same time as new data is written.
[0023]
The present invention is not limited to the embodiment of the invention described above, and it is needless to say that various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.
[0024]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.
[0025]
In the electronic camera of the present invention, the image information in the recording medium is erased after confirming whether or not the image recorded on the recording medium can be erased, always via the playback mode. It is possible to prevent image information recorded on a recording medium other than the recording medium to be erased. In addition, since the designation of the recording medium cannot be switched in the erasing mode, similarly, it is possible to prevent erasing image information recorded on a recording medium other than the target recording medium by mistake. In this electronic camera, the erased image can be restored, so that even if the image in the recording medium is erased by mistake, the erased image can be restored.
[0026]
In addition, the other electronic camera of the present invention is configured to format the image information in the recording medium after confirming whether the image recorded on the recording medium may be formatted via the playback mode. For the same reason as described above, it is possible to prevent the recording medium other than the target recording medium from being mistakenly formatted.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an electronic camera 10 according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a mode selection dial of the operation unit 53. FIG.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart for erasing or formatting according to the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a menu display example after selection of a playback mode.
[Explanation of symbols]
11 ... Lens part,
12: Image sensor,
13: Imaging circuit,
14 ... A / D converter,
20 ... removable memory,
20a ... Compact flash memory,
20b ... SmartMedia,
21 ... Interface (I / F),
25. Built-in memory,
30: Image display LCD (liquid crystal display device),
31 ... LCD control circuit,
40 ... External interface (I / F),
50 ... Syscon,
51. Image processing circuit,
52. Compression / decompression circuit,
53 ... operation unit,
55 ... Strobe.

Claims (3)

A recording medium mounting means capable of mounting a plurality of recording media;
Display means for displaying image information and operation and operation information;
A recording medium designating means for designating a recording medium of the recording medium mounting unit or the plurality of recording medium loaded in the al 1,
First selection means for selecting one operation mode among the first mode of operation, including at least a playback mode for displaying the image recorded in the specified printing media on the display means,
One of the second operation modes including at least an erasing mode for erasing all images recorded on the recording medium designated by the recording medium designating means when the reproduction mode is selected by the first selecting means. A second selection means capable of selecting an operation mode;
Wherein before said erasing mode is selected by the second selection means, said possible switching of the specified recording medium designating means by a recording medium and then, after the erasure mode is selected by said second selection means , an electronic camera, characterized in that a control means for prohibiting the switching of the specified recording medium by the recording medium specifying means.   2. The electronic camera according to claim 1, further comprising a restoring means for restoring the image information when the image information in the recording medium is erased in the erasing mode. A recording medium mounting means capable of mounting a plurality of recording media;
Display means for displaying image information and operation and operation information;
A recording medium designating means for designating a recording medium of the recording medium mounting unit or the plurality of recording medium loaded in the al 1,
First selection means for selecting one operation mode among the first mode of operation, including at least a playback mode for displaying the image recorded in the specified printing media on the display means,
When the reproduction mode is selected by the first selection means, one of the second operation modes including at least a format mode for formatting the recording medium designated by the recording medium designation means can be selected. A second selection means;
Before the format mode is selected by the second selection means, it is possible to switch the designation of the recording medium by the recording medium designation means, and after the format mode is selected by the second selection means, An electronic camera comprising: control means for prohibiting switching of recording medium designation by the recording medium designation means.

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