JPH01114834A - Camera with remote releasing function - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve operability in remote control photographing by activating a photographing means after an elapse of a fixed time after remote release instructions are confirmed. CONSTITUTION:Signals indicating time issues regarding varying shutter release operations re input to a control part 10 from a timer 14. A photodetecting part 20 receives light from a remote controller 32, and transmits the signals to the control part 10 through a buffer 50. Thus, the control part 10 recognizes instructions to release shutters by remote control, sets the timer 14 on 3sec, for instance, and transmits signals instructing the opening and closing of the shutter 44 to a shutter driving part 16, receiving the set-up signals. The remote control photodetecting part 20 and the remote controller 32 enable photographing by remote control.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a camera, and more particularly to a camera having a remote release function.

For example, when photographing with an electronic still camera, if the photographer himself is the subject, the photograph can be taken by shutter release using a self-timer or by remote control. That is, if the self-timer is used, the shutter of the camera will be opened and closed several seconds after the self-timer is set, so the photographer can move to a predetermined location to be the subject during that time. Additionally, by using a remote control, the photographer can control the opening and closing of the shutter at the location where the subject will be photographed.

However, when using the self-timer, the shutter may be opened or closed before the photographer moves to a predetermined location and poses for the subject, or the shutter may be blocked by a passerby, for example, when the shutter is opened or closed. there were. On the other hand, using a remote control can eliminate the above drawbacks when using a self-timer, but in this case, the shutter opens and closes at the same time as the remote control operation, so there is no need for the photographer to operate the remote control. Being photographed. For this reason, when the subject is the photographer performing remote control operations,
There was a drawback that the hands performing the operations were photographed.

OBJECTS It is an object of the present invention to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art and to provide a camera with good operability when photographing is performed by remote control.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, there is provided a photographing means for photographing a subject, and a remote instruction input means for inputting an instruction to start the photographing means from a remote release means.

A camera having a remote release function that allows remote release operation of the photographing means by a remote release instruction inputted to the remote instruction input means controls activation of the photographing means in accordance with the remote release instruction from the remote instruction input means. It has a control means, and when the control means recognizes the remote release instruction, it activates the photographing means after the first time period has elapsed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Next, embodiments of a camera having a remote release function according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an electronic still camera. However, the present invention is not limited to electronic still cameras, but can also be advantageously applied to, for example, silver halide cameras or video cameras.

Referring to FIG. 1, an embodiment of a camera according to the present invention is shown. The imaging unit 49 includes an imaging lens 40 as shown in the figure.
, aperture 42, shutter 44. Imaging device 48, photometry
It has elements necessary for photographing still images, such as a distance measuring gi mechanism, a viewfinder (not shown), and a drive mechanism for these. The shutter 44 has the function of opening and closing the path of the incident light beam and exposing the imaging device 4 for a certain period of time. Further, the shutter 44 is connected to the shutter drive unit 16 via a control line 130.
is connected to the shutter 44 under the control of this drive section 16.
is opened and closed.

If the imaging device 48 is a solid-state imaging device such as COD or MOS, or a solid-state imaging device to which an imaging tube is applied, the imaging cell array 46 of the device 48 is equipped with a color filter. In addition, the solid-state imaging device 4th is a timing generator! In response to the output 140 of No. 4, the color-modulated video signal is output point-by-point (pixel) to the recording/reproducing section 12 via the output 100. The imaging device 48 uses an arrangement of the photosensitive cells of the imaging cell array 4B, that is, an appropriate number of pixels in the photosensitive area, and any color segment arrangement of the color filter may be used. The device 14 has a free-running oscillator that generates a clock signal at a stable frequency, and generates various timing signals based on this clock. The signals generated here are output to the control unit IO and the recording/reproducing unit 12 in addition to the imaging device 48.

The recording/reproducing unit 12 includes a video signal processing circuit that converts the video signal from the imaging device 48 into a video signal having a predetermined format, an amplification circuit that frequency modulates and amplifies the converted video signal, and the like. The recording/reproducing section 12 is a control section l.
It is controlled by the output 10B from O and records the video output on a removable recording medium 30 such as a floppy disk or an IC card.

The control unit 10 is a control device that centrally controls the operation of the entire apparatus, and is advantageously configured by, for example, a microprocessing system. The control section 10 has a remote control light receiving section 20 . A self-timer switch 22 and a release button 24 are connected. When a release instruction is input from any of these, the control section 10 detects this, performs processing according to each release instruction input, and then sends the shutter 44 to the shutter drive section 16 through the control line 128. Outputs a control signal that instructs the opening and closing of the Further, the control unit 10 is connected to the timer 14 via a control line 108, and a signal line 10 is connected from the timer 14 to the timer 14.
8, signals representing times for various shirt release operations are input. Note that instead of the timer 14, the time may be measured by, for example, software of the control unit 10.

The remote control light receiving section 20 is a light receiving device that receives light emitted from the remote control device 32 when a shirt release operation is performed by remote control, and is disposed in front of the camera in this embodiment. That is, when the light receiving section 20 receives the light from the remote control device 32, it outputs a signal indicating that the light has been received to the control section 10 via the buffer 50 and the signal line 12B. When the control unit 10 receives the signal from the remote control light receiving unit 20, it determines that the command is to release the shirt by remote control, sets the timer 14 to, for example, 3 seconds, and after 3 seconds, sends a signal from the timer 14 through the signal line 108. When received, a control signal instructing opening and closing of the shutter 44 is outputted to the shutter drive section 18 through the control line 128.

The remote control device 32 is provided with a release operation button (not shown) that the photographer can easily operate with, for example, his or her thumb. The remote control device 32 is a wireless type remote control device having a light emitting section that generates light of a specific frequency in response to pressing of this operation button. Further, the remote control device 32 is preferably a rectangular parallelepiped shape that can be stored in the camera, and is operated by a relatively small battery such as a dry battery or a mercury battery. In this way, it is possible to take pictures by remote control using the remote control light receiving section 20 and the remote control device 32, and even if the operator wants to be the subject, for example, the shirt release will be performed 3 seconds after the operator operates the remote control device 32. You can pose during this time. Note that remote control can also be performed using ultrasonic waves instead of light such as infrared rays.

The self-timer switch 22 is a switch used when the operator becomes the subject, similar to remote control operation. This switch 22 is a switch that outputs a control signal when pressed to the control unit 10 using a mechanical contact. When the control unit 1O recognizes the control signal from the switch 22, it sets the timer 14 to, for example, 10 seconds, and when it receives the signal from the timer 14 after 10 seconds, it outputs a control signal to open and close the shutter 44 to the shutter drive unit 16. do.

As is well known, the release button 24 is a button used by a photographer when holding a camera and performing normal photography. When the control section 10 detects an input from the release button 24, it immediately outputs a control signal instructing the shutter drive section 1B to open and close the shutter 44. Since the release button 24 is a button that is frequently used in normal photographing operations, it is disposed at a position where it is easiest for the photographer to operate when holding the camera. On the other hand, the self-timer switch 22 is often used less frequently than the release button 24, and is often attached to a tripod or the like when taking pictures. easy to distinguish.

For example, it is placed in front of the camera.

The control unit 10 also includes a light emitting diode drive unit 26 that drives a light emitting diode 52 disposed in front of the camera.
When a remote release operation is performed using the remote control light receiving section 20 and the remote control device 32 or a release operation is performed using the self-timer switch 22, the six light emitting diodes 52 to which the 6 light emitting diodes 52 are connected flash on and off under the control of the control section 10 until the shutter 44 is opened or closed. This allows the operator to confirm that the shirt release is in the operating mode. The control unit 1O outputs a control signal to the light emitting diode drive unit 26 to cause the light emitting diode 52 to blink at, for example, IHz or 4Hz, depending on the state at that time. The drive unit 28 is a drive circuit that drives the light emitting diode 52 in response to the output 120 from the control unit 10. The light emitting diode 52 is a red light emitting diode, for example, which consumes little current and whose blinking can be seen from a distance. A diode is used.

FIG. 2 shows an operation flow when the shirt release operation of the camera shown in FIG. 1 is performed, and the operation will be explained using this figure.

When the instruction to release the shirt is input, the control unit 10 (
70), determine whether the release operation is in self-timer mode by operating the self-timer switch 22 (
72) If it is determined that the self-timer mode is selected, the control unit 10 outputs a control signal to the timer 14 via the control line 10B, and sets the timer 14 to 7 seconds (72).
．． The control unit 10 outputs a control signal to the light emitting diode drive unit 2B so that the developed photodiode 52, which is measuring 7 seconds by the timer 14, blinks at IHz (7B). The timer 14 counts up, and it is determined whether or not it has reached 0 seconds (78), and if it has not reached 0 seconds, the IHz flashing of the light emitting diode 52 is repeated. The control unit 10 outputs a control signal to the timer 14 to set the timer 14 to 3 seconds (80), and this time the control unit 10 outputs a control signal to the timer 14 so that the light emitting diode 52 blinks at 4 Hz.
outputs a control signal to the drive unit 26 (82), judges whether the timer 14 has reached 0 again (84), and if it has not reached 0, repeats blinking of the light emitting diode 52, the timer 14 When becomes O, the control unit 10 outputs the control line 128
A control signal instructing the shutter drive unit 1B to open and close the shutter 44 is outputted through the shutter drive unit 1B. Upon receiving this control signal, the shutter drive section 1B drives the shutter 44 through the control line 130.
The shutter 44 is opened and closed by outputting a control signal to the shutter 44.

In step 72, if it is not the self-timer mode, the remote control device 32 operates the shirt release.
That is, it is determined whether or not a delay release operation has been performed (80). If a delay release operation has been performed, the process proceeds to step 80 and the timer 14 is set to 3 seconds. Then, as in the case of the self-timer mode described above, the light emitting diode is blinked at 4 Hz (82), and when the timer 14 reaches 0 seconds after 3 seconds have elapsed (84), the shutter 4 is activated.
4 is opened and closed (92).

In step 90, if it is determined that the day delay release has not been operated, the control unit 10 recognizes that the normal release button 24 has been pressed and immediately instructs the shutter drive unit 16 to open and close the shutter 44. Outputs a control signal.

As described above, according to this embodiment, even when the shirt release is performed remotely using the remote control device 32,
The shutter 44 of the camera is not opened or closed immediately, and the shirt release is performed 3 seconds after the operation input. Therefore, even when the photographer is the subject, the remote control device 3
2, after performing the shirt taller release operation, it is only necessary to pause for 3 seconds. This prevents the operator's hands performing remote control from being photographed as in the conventional remote shirt taller release. . Furthermore, since the time required to release the shirt is shorter than with self-timer shooting, it is possible to expand the range of shooting possibilities.

Note that the camera according to the present invention has a function of not opening and closing the shutter 44 at the same time as the remote operation, but opening and closing the shutter 44 after a certain period of time has elapsed. In other words, the timer set until the shirt is released or the light emitting diode 5 used in this embodiment.
All changes such as the blinking period of 2 are included in the scope of the present invention. Further, the timer set time may be set arbitrarily by the photographer.

Further, although the remote control device 32 uses a wireless light emitting device in this embodiment, it may also be a wired one.
In this embodiment, the light-emitting diode 52 is used to notify the photographer of activation of the self-timer or day-time release, but the present invention does not necessarily require the use of the light-emitting diode 52, and the activation of the self-timer or day-ray release is notified to the photographer using other light sources or audible signals. may be notified.

In this embodiment, the video output from the solid-state imaging device 48 is stored in the storage medium 30 by opening and closing the shutter 44, but a mechanical shutter like the shutter 44 is not necessarily required. In the case of an electronic still camera as in the example, the optimum exposure is detected by the control unit 10 without using the shutter 44, and the image output from the solid-state imaging device 48 is stored only when the shutter release operation is performed. It may also be stored on the medium 30.

As described above, according to the present invention, the remote release means issues an instruction to start the photographing means, and when the control means recognizes this activation instruction, the photographing means is activated after a predetermined period of time has elapsed. Therefore, even when the photographer is the subject, for example, he or she can take enough time to take a pose after operating the remote release means.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an electronic still camera, and FIG. 2 is a flow diagram showing the release operation of the camera shown in FIG. Reimei 10, control unit 14, timer If (shutter drive unit 20, remote control light receiving unit 22, self-timer switch 24, release button 213, light emission) Diode drive unit 32, ... remote control device 44...shutter 52, ... light emitting diode Fig. 2

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A photographing means for photographing a subject; and a remote instruction input means for inputting an instruction to start the photographing means from a remote release means, the instruction being input to the remote instruction input means. In a camera having a remote release function that allows remote release operation of the photographing means by a remote release instruction, the camera includes a control means for controlling activation of the photographing means in accordance with the remote release instruction from the remote instruction input means. A camera having a remote release function, characterized in that, upon recognizing the remote release instruction, the control means activates the photographing means after a first time period has elapsed. 2. The camera according to claim 1 further includes a release means into which an instruction to immediately start the photographing means is input, and the control means receives a release instruction from the release means. A camera having a remote release function, characterized in that upon recognition, the camera immediately activates the photographing means. 3. The camera according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a self-timer switch means into which an instruction to start the photographing means after a second time has elapsed; A camera having a remote release function, wherein the control means activates the photographing means after a second time period has elapsed when recognizing the instruction from the self-timer switch means. 4. The camera according to claim 3, further comprising a notice display means for displaying a notice of activation of the photographing means, and the control means is configured to control the first time and the second time. A camera having a remote release function, characterized in that a notice of activation of the photographing means is displayed on the notice display means during at least one of the elapsed periods of time. 5. A camera having a remote release function according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the first time is shorter than the second time.