JP4380750B2 - On-screen display method and apparatus implementing the same - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an on-screen display method for a video camera or an electronic still camera, and an apparatus that implements the method.

As a result of the digitalization of the circuits of video cameras and electronic still cameras, the miniaturization of devices is rapidly progressing. Accordingly, video cameras and electronic still cameras have been widely put into practical use in which the operation content is selected from a menu in order to reduce the number of operation buttons and facilitate the operation. Many menus for video cameras and electronic still cameras are displayed on the LCD panel or viewfinder of the main body.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 05-191682 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 09-08320 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 07-006177 JP 05-161085 A

However, LCD panels and viewfinders of video cameras and electronic still cameras have a problem that display contents such as menus are difficult to read because the display screen is small and the resolution is not good. If the display characters are enlarged to make the display contents of the LCD panel or viewfinder of a video camera or electronic still camera easier to read, the number of characters that can be displayed on one screen is reduced to 1/2, 1/3, etc. It is necessary to display the contents that can be displayed on the screen in two screens, making it difficult to grasp the contents of the entire screen. In addition, in order to search for a menu item to be selected, it is necessary to make page breaks for many pages, and there is a problem that the operation becomes complicated.

On the other hand, when the on-screen display of the output of the video camera is displayed on an external large display screen such as a monitor TV, the characters can be sufficiently read without enlarging the characters on the menu screen. Even in such a case, if the enlarged display of the characters on the menu screen is performed, the number of characters that can be displayed on one screen is reduced, making it difficult to grasp the state of the entire screen.

The on-screen display device according to the present invention includes menu display means and menu display means for displaying a menu of various items for controlling the devices of the video camera and electronic still camera on the on-screen of the video camera and electronic still camera by a menu key. On-screen display of a video camera or an electronic still camera comprises menu item selection means for selecting a specific item of the menu displayed by the menu, and enlarged display means for enlarging and displaying only the specific item selected by the menu item selection means. Thus, the selected portion is enlarged and displayed so as to realize a device that is easy to read even on a small display screen, and when connected to a display device having an external large display screen such as a monitor TV, Detect this and perform control not to enlarge the characters on the menu screen. It is obtained by way.

As is clear from the above description, the on-screen display method of the present invention and the apparatus implementing the same are small in size so that the selected portion is enlarged and displayed in the on-screen display of a video camera or an electronic still camera. In addition to providing easy-to-read display even on the display screen, when connected to a display device having a large external display screen such as a monitor TV, this is detected and the characters on the menu screen are enlarged. The control is performed so that there is no control. For this reason, in order to facilitate operation by reducing the number of operation buttons on recent video cameras and electronic still cameras, the operation panel is selected from a menu, and the LCD panel and viewfinder are compact. Even if the screen is small and the resolution is not good, display contents such as menus can be easily read and set, and when displaying on an external large display device, enlargement display is not performed. You can also.

1 and 2 are views showing an example of a screen display state for explaining the on-screen display device and display method of the present invention. 1 and 2, the contents of the menu displayed on the screens in FIGS. 1 and 2 are examples of menus used in the video camera. First, the function of each item of the menu displayed on the screen of FIGS. 1 and 2 will be described. Each item of the menu is composed of a main item for designating each function and a sub-item for setting the main item. The function of each main item will be briefly described below.

Digital zoom: An item for setting whether or not to perform a digital zoom function for digitally processing image data to exceed the optical zoom magnification of the camera and enlarging the screen. If you use digital zoom to enlarge the screen beyond the optical zoom magnification, the image quality of the recording screen will deteriorate in proportion to the magnification, so you can use this item to set whether to use the digital zoom function. Is called. When this item is set to ON, the digital zoom function works.
Wide TV: Sets whether the shooting screen size is a normal TV screen or a horizontally wide TV screen. When this item is set to ON, the size of the shooting screen is a wide TV screen.

Camera shake correction: Sets whether or not to use the camera shake correction function provided in the camera. When this item is set to ON, the camera shake correction function is activated.
N. S. Light: Set whether to turn on the infrared light when shooting at night. Provided that the infrared filter is removed. When this item is set to ON, the infrared light is turned on during night photography when the infrared filter is removed.
Wind noise reduction: Since the recording microphone may record wind noise and generate noise, it is set whether to activate the function to reduce wind noise. When this item is set to ON, the function of reducing wind noise is activated.

AE shift: The shooting conditions of the normal camera are automatically set to the best conditions. However, for example, when it is desired to change the exposure value manually, this item is turned ON and the setting value is changed.
Photo: It may be used in the state of an electronic camera that captures still images from a video camera, but this item is turned on to set various shootings and recordings.
Exit from menu: When this item is selected, the menu screen is exited. ON and OFF are sub-items for setting the above main items.

The on-screen display method of the present invention and the operation of the apparatus implementing the same will be described with reference to FIG. 3 using the menu screens of FIG. 1 and FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a control circuit configuration of a video camera to which the on-screen display method of the present invention and an apparatus implementing the method are applied. In FIG. 3, KEY is a key input device for performing various settings and the like for the video camera using menus. The key input device KEY is “MENU” for switching the display on the menu screen and screen display, “UP” and “DOWN” for selecting the menu, and “OK” for switching the main / sub menu screen. Have keys etc. The CPU is a microprocessor that controls the operation of the video camera. MO is a memory of the microprocessor CPU.

The DIC is an on-screen display IC that generates a display signal to the display device.
The DSP is a display device of a video camera, and an LCD panel or the like is used. The operation when the present invention is applied to the control circuit of a video camera having the configuration shown in FIG. 3 will be described below. In the video camera control circuit of FIG. 3, the microprocessor CPU always controls the operation of the video camera by performing the operation shown in the flowchart of FIG. That is, the entire video camera is controlled by repeatedly performing the input processing operation of the key input device KEY, the control of the on-screen display IC with respect to the DIC, and other processing in a time-sharing manner.

The operation of the key input device KEY is performed as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 5, and the information is read into the memory MO. In the input process of the key input device KEY, when the “MENU” key is pressed, the display of the menu screen is switched ON and OFF, and the information is read into the memory MO. Switching between the menu screen and the screen display is performed based on the ON / OFF information of the menu screen display.

When the display of the menu screen is turned on, for example, a menu screen as shown in FIG. 1A is displayed on the display screen of the video recorder. When the video is being recorded, this menu screen is displayed in a state in which a portion other than a character portion and a net portion are omitted on the screen display screen. The state of this menu represents the state of various settings of the current video recorder. In the menu screen of FIG. 1 (a), the digital zoom item is selected, and the character of this item is displayed as a double-size character, and the sub-item ON is also displayed as a double-size character next to it. Has been. This indicates a state in which the digital zoom item of the video recorder is currently set to ON and the digital zoom function works. In the menu display of the main item, the ON / OFF state of the sub item that is the setting content of the selected main item is displayed by double-width characters next to the main item.

In such a state, when changing the size of the shooting screen, the “DOWN” key is pressed to move the main item selection to the wide TV as shown in FIG. As a result, the characters of the digital zoom item of the main item are returned to the normal display, the characters of the wide TV are displayed by double-width characters, and the sub-item ON is displayed by the double-width characters next to it. This indicates that the current video recorder screen is set to wide TV. When the “OK” key is pressed in order to change the size of the shooting screen to a normal TV screen, as shown in FIG. 2A, the selection of the main item and the sub item of the menu is switched and displayed. The normal character size OFF is also displayed below the double-width character ON of the item. In such a state, when the “DOWN” key is pressed and the selection of the sub item is shifted from ON to OFF as shown in FIG. Changes to normal character size.

This indicates that the size of the shooting screen has been changed from a horizontally wide TV screen to a normal TV screen. As described above, when the “OK” key is pressed, when the menu screen display is ON at this time and the menu is being displayed on the display device DSP, the selection of the main item and the sub item of the menu is switched to display this information. It is read into the memory MO. However, if the menu screen display is OFF and the screen display is being performed when the “OK” key is pressed, the menu screen is not displayed and the screen display is continued.

When the “UP” key is pressed, the menu screen display is ON at this time, and when the menu is being displayed on the display device DSP, it is checked whether the main item or the sub item of the menu is selected. This information is read into the memory MO by setting the line of the selected item one level up, but when the “UP” key is pressed, the menu screen is turned off and the screen is displayed. Continues the screen display. When the "DOWN" key is pressed, if the menu screen display is ON at this time and the menu is being displayed on the display device DSP, it is checked whether the menu main item or sub-item is selected. This item is read down into the memory MO, but when the "DOWN" key is pressed, the menu screen is turned off and the screen is displayed. Continue to display the screen.

If the key input device KEY is not pressed during the input process of the key input device KEY, the input processing operation of the key input device KEY is not performed and the screen display is continued. The operation of the control process of the on-screen IC is performed as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6, and the information is read into the memory MO. In the control process of the on-screen IC in the flowchart of FIG. 6, when the menu screen display is set to ON at this time and the menu is being displayed on the display device DSP, the items to be displayed in the menu screen are determined. Do. If the main / sub item line of the item to be displayed matches the currently selected item, the item is enlarged. When the row of the main / sub item of the item to be displayed does not match the currently selected item, the item is displayed without being enlarged.

Among the on-screen ICs that are generally used at present, there are many ICs that do not have a function of enlarging and displaying only a part of a selected line and that enlarging and displaying all the lines. The operation of the control process for the on-screen IC having such a function is performed as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 7, and the information is read into the memory MO. In the control process of the on-screen IC in the flowchart of FIG. 7, if the display of the menu screen is ON at this time and the menu is being displayed on the display device DSP, the line of the item to be displayed in the menu screen is determined. Do. If the line of the main / sub item of the item to be displayed matches the line of the currently selected item, the line is enlarged. When the main / sub item line of the item to be displayed does not match the line of the currently selected item, the line is displayed without being enlarged.

By enlarging a specific item or a specific line on the menu screen as described above, the number of characters that can be displayed on one display screen is increased while all characters on the display screen are enlarged. I can do it. In this case, by enlarging and displaying the selected specific item or specific line, it is possible not only to make the selected item stand out, but also to make it easier to read the necessary characters by enlarging the display. An effect occurs. The enlargement display ratio is usually about double, but the enlargement display ratio is arbitrarily set depending on the relationship between the display screen and the normal display character size, thereby determining the enlargement ratio that is most easily viewable. I can do it.

If an LCD or the like is used for the display screen and the display area is small, by doubling only the vertical direction of the displayed characters, the necessary characters or lines can be displayed without reducing the number of characters that can be displayed in the horizontal direction. It is also possible to perform an enlarged display. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of the control circuit configuration of a video camera to which the on-screen display method of the present invention and the apparatus implementing the method are applied. The video camera control circuit of FIG. 8 is a video camera control circuit having a configuration that allows an external display device such as a monitor TV or the like to have an on-screen display.

In the video camera control circuit of FIG. 8, the input device KEY and the memory MO having the same configuration and the same functions as those of the video camera control circuit of FIG. 3 are not necessary for the description of the operation of FIG. It is omitted. In FIG. 8, a CPU is a microprocessor that controls the operation of the video camera. The DIC is an on-screen display IC that generates a display signal to the display device. The DSP is a display device of a video camera, and an LCD panel or the like is used. VF is a viewfinder of a video camera, and MN is an external display device, which is a display device having a large external display screen such as a monitor TV. PJ is a pin jack for connecting an external display device, and SWJ is a pin jack connection switch that operates when the pin jack is connected. SWP is a panel open / close switch that operates when a panel that covers a pin jack or the like of a video camera is opened.

The output of the DIC of the on-screen display IC is connected to the external display device MN via the display device DSP of the video camera, the viewfinder VF, and the pin jack PJ. Outputs of the pin jack connection switch SWJ and the panel opening / closing switch SWP are connected to the microprocessor CPU. The operation when the present invention is applied to the control circuit of a video camera having the configuration shown in FIG. 8 will be described below. In the video camera control circuit of FIG. 8, the microprocessor CPU always operates as shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 4 to 7 in the same manner as the video camera control circuit of FIG. Control of the operation is performed. In other words, the entire video camera is controlled by repeatedly performing the input processing operation of the key input device KEY, the control of the on-screen display IC on the DIC, and other processing in a time-sharing manner.

The operation of the key input device KEY is performed as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 9 in addition to the operation in the control circuit of the video camera shown in FIG. 3 as shown in the flowchart of FIG. To be read. In the input process of the key input device KEY in the flowchart of FIG. 9, the state of pin jack connection is detected, and the resulting information is read into the memory MO. The operation of the control process of the on-screen IC is performed as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 9, and the information is read into the memory MO. In the control process of the on-screen IC, if the external display device MN is connected to the pin jack based on the detected information of the pin jack connection status, the enlarged display of the selected item is not performed. Display the menu. When the external display device MN is not connected to the pin jack PJ, an enlarged display of the selected item of the menu is performed in the same manner as described for the device of FIG.

There are many video cameras that display on the panel when the panel is opened and display on the viewfinder when the panel is closed. In the video camera of such a system, since the display size of the panel is larger, there is no need to enlarge the display on the panel, and it may be necessary to enlarge only the viewfinder. Therefore, it is possible to determine whether or not to enlarge the selected item of the menu by detecting the open / closed state of the panel. The input processing operation of the key input device KEY in this case is shown in the flowchart of FIG. In the flowchart of FIG. 10, instead of detecting the pin jack connection state, information of the panel open / close switch SWP for detecting the open / close state of the panel is read into the memory MO.

The operation of the control process of the on-screen IC is performed as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 10, and the information is read into the memory MO. In the on-screen IC control process, the panel open / close switch SWP detects the panel open / close state, and if the panel is opened according to the information of the result, the menu is displayed without performing the enlarged display of the selected item. indicate. When the panel is closed, the selected item of the menu is enlarged and displayed as described in the case of the apparatus of FIG. Thus, by detecting whether the display is performed on the panel or the viewfinder and determining whether or not to perform the enlarged display of the menu, it is possible to display a menu that is more convenient to use.

It is the figure which showed an example of the display state of the screen for demonstrating the on-screen display method of this invention. It is the figure which showed an example of the display state of the screen for demonstrating the on-screen display method of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the control circuit structure of the on-screen display method and video camera of this invention. It is a flowchart for demonstrating control of the operation | movement of a video camera. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the operation | movement of the input process of the key input device KEY. It is a flowchart for demonstrating operation | movement of the control process of on-screen IC. It is a flowchart for demonstrating operation | movement of the control process of on-screen IC. It is explanatory drawing which shows the other example of the control circuit structure of the video camera to which the on-screen display method of this invention and the apparatus which implemented this are applied. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the operation | movement of the control processing of on-screen IC used for the control circuit of the video camera of FIG. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the operation | movement of the control processing of on-screen IC used for the control circuit of the video camera of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

KEY ... Key input device, MENU ... Key for switching the display on the menu screen and screen display,
UP: Key for selecting a menu, DOWN: Key for selecting a menu,
OK: Key for switching the main / sub menu screen, MO: Microprocessor CPU memory,
DIC ... On-screen display IC, DSP ... Video camera display device, VF ... Video camera viewfinder, MN ... External display device,
PJ: Pin jack for connecting an external display device, SWJ: Pin jack connection switch that operates when the pin jack is connected,
SWP ... Panel open / close switch

Claims (5)

Main item display means for displaying a main item menu composed of a plurality of main items for specifying each function for controlling the device on the screen;
Sub-item display means for displaying sub-items related to the setting of each main item,
Main item selection means for selecting a specific main item of the main item menu displayed by the main item display means,
Item selection switching means for switching between main item and sub-item selection,
When a specific main item is selected by the main item selection means, only the specific main item is enlarged and displayed among the plurality of main items and a sub-item indicating the setting state of the specific main item is expanded. An enlarged display means for displaying;
Display device detecting means for detecting whether or not another display device having a display screen larger than the screen is connected;
An on-screen display device provided with a discriminating means for discriminating whether or not to use the enlarged display means based on the detection result of the display device detecting means. The on-screen display device according to claim 1,
An on-screen display device in which an opening / closing panel is connected as another display device having a display screen larger than the screen, and the enlarged display means operates and displays an enlarged image only when the panel is closed. The on-screen display device according to claim 1.
An on-screen display device in which a specific main item selected by the item selection means is enlarged in the vertical direction. The on-screen display device according to claim 1.
An on-screen display device in which a specific main item selected by the item selection means is enlarged twice. A method for on-screen display of menus for controlling devices on a screen,
First, display the main menu items that display functions on the screen,
Next, select a specific main menu item from the main menu items above,
Then, display a sub-item that displays the setting status of the selected specific main menu item,
A specific main menu item selected from the main menu items and the set sub menu item are enlarged and displayed.
Next, it is detected whether or not another display device having a display screen larger than the screen is connected,
An on-screen display method for determining whether or not to use an enlarged display means based on a detection result.

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