JPH02100578A - Electronic camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To surely grasp timing at which a picture is photographed even at the time of a single shot owing to the repeat of a high speed operation or a continuous shot by providing an indicator drive circuit to indicate every prescribed time capable of discriminating that the repeat is indicated on an indicator in synchronism with a video synchronizing signal actually. CONSTITUTION:A recording part 3 modulates a video signal into a signal form suitable for the recording of a still video floppy 8, and outputs it to a still video floppy recording magnetic head 10. The magnetic head 10 is sought by a heat access controller 4, and a track position for the video floppy 8 is controlled. Besides, a drive to drive and rotate the still video floppy 8 is provided with a rotation detector 9 to output a rotary pulse PG at every one revolution of the floppy 8, and besides, said drive is driven by a rotation control part 11 to control rotation in synchronism with the rotary pulse PG outputted from the rotation detector 9 and a vertical synchronizing signal given from photographing system. Accordingly, the rotation control part 11 and the rotary pulse PG outputted from the rotation detector 9 are in synchronized relation.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an electronic camera system, and more particularly to an electronic camera in which the shutter timing of the camera can be reliably grasped during photographing.

[Prior Art] A camera-integrated video tape recorder has already been developed in which a video tape recorder for playing back recorded images shot and recorded by the same camera is detachably connected to a video camera that uses video tape as a recording medium. It is well known.

In this type of video tape recorder, the camera is separated from the video tape recorder so that only the camera can be carried to take pictures, and when the camera is connected to the video tape recorder, reproduced images can be obtained.

On the other hand, still video camera systems (hereinafter referred to as electronic camera systems) have recently appeared that use still video floppies, which have the same structure as floppy disks, as recording media. The camera has a structure that is electrically and mechanically removable, and images taken while carrying the camera body are recorded on the still video floppy built in the camera, and the camera is connected to an image playback processor to record the still video floppy. Recorded images can be reproduced and viewed on display or as hard copies for viewing. In such electronic camera systems, in order to improve the portability of the camera body, the camera body incorporates the minimum number of functional units necessary for recording, including the photographing function unit and magnetic recording/playback unit. In order to reduce the size and weight of the camera, the functional units necessary for reproduction, a large capacity power supply unit, etc. are all placed in the image reproduction processor, which does not require portability.

To explain in more detail, the camera body has an optical system, an imaging system, and a recording system, and the image captured by the optical system is formed on a solid-state image sensor, which is converted into an electrical signal. Magnetically records on a still video floppy (magnetic recording medium). On a still video floppy disk, for example, 50 magnetic tracks can be formed concentrically, and image signals are recorded using the tracks, which change in order for each photograph.

Then, the camera is connected to an image reproduction processor to reproduce recorded images on a still video floppy, and the images are displayed on a monitor device, or the images are obtained as a hard copy by video blinking and viewed.

On the other hand, such electronic cameras use an electronic shutter that has a shutter function on the imaging cable itself, so unlike cameras using conventional silver halide film, there is no shutter operation noise on the camera side. Therefore, it is not possible to know at what timing the photograph was taken when the shutter was operated.

Therefore, for example, an LED (light emitting element) is installed in the viewfinder of the camera, or a sounding element is installed in the camera body, and when the shutter is operated, this LED
The camera is configured to light up D, drive a sounding body, and generate sound to notify the photographer.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Unlike cameras that use silver halide film, such electronic cameras capture and record images electronically, so they cannot shoot continuously at 20 frames or more per second. It is possible.

Therefore, in the case of continuous shooting like this, you will be able to tell the break in the display even if you simply turn on the display or drive the sounding element.In particular, this display should be displayed at the timing when the shutter button is first pressed, Since the light remains on for a relatively long period of time, it has the disadvantage that the timing for each photograph cannot be determined. Also, since this makes it impossible to distinguish between continuous shooting and single shooting (a mode in which one frame is taken each time the shutter button is pressed), some models have been made to blink the LED at predetermined intervals when in continuous shooting mode. . However, this is also unrelated to the shutter timing, so it is impossible to know the timing at which the image was taken.

As described above, all of them have the drawback that, apart from normal single shooting, which has plenty of time, it is not possible to grasp the timing of shooting when repeating jli shooting rapidly or when performing continuous shooting. Moreover, since it is possible to change the number of frames per second for continuous shooting, it is important for practical purposes to be able to accurately grasp the timing of shooting at any speed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an electronic camera that can reliably grasp the timing of photographing even when performing quick shooting or single shooting operations that are repeated quickly.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, the present invention has added the following means. That is, there is a display for displaying the timing at which the photographing operation is performed, and a display for displaying at predetermined time intervals on which it is possible to identify that the display is repeatedly displayed in substantially synchronization with the video synchronization signal. The display device includes a device driving circuit, and further includes means for defining the duration of each display on the display device in accordance with the time interval at which the display is repeated.

[Function] By adding the above-mentioned means, the following effects are obtained. That is, a display is provided for displaying the timing at which the photographing operation is performed, and the display drive circuit is able to identify on this display that repeated displays are made substantially in synchronization with the video synchronization signal. A display drive output is generated to perform display at predetermined time intervals. Further, by means of a regulating means for regulating the display repetition time, the duration of each display on the display device is defined in accordance with the time interval at which the display is repeated. Therefore, the number of frames per second can be changed for quick shooting, but the display duration changes accordingly.
The display can be controlled so that the breaks can be seen no matter how fast the repeating single shooting or continuous shooting speed is. Therefore, it is possible to provide an electronic camera in which the timing of photographing can be reliably grasped even when performing a quick photographing operation or a single photographing operation that is repeated rapidly.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes an optical system such as a lens, which forms an image of an object to be photographed on an imaging section 2 and has an exposure control mechanism and the like built therein. The imaging section 2 has an imaging device such as a solid-state imaging device, and converts an image formed through the optical system 1 into a video signal and outputs the video signal to the recording section 3. The recording section 3 modulates this video signal into a signal form suitable for recording on the still video floppy 8 and outputs it to the still video floppy recording magnetic head 10. magnetic head IO
is shifted by the head access controller 4 to control the track position with respect to the still video floppy 8. In addition, the drive that rotates the still video floppy disk 8 is provided with a rotation detector 9 that outputs a rotation pulse PG every time the floppy disk 8 rotates. It is driven by a rotation control section 11 that performs rotation control in synchronization with the rotation pulse PG to be output and a vertical synchronization signal (or a readout synchronization signal of the imaging section) given from the imaging system. Therefore, the rotation control section 11 and the rotation pulse PC output from the rotation detector 9 are in a synchronous relationship.

Reference numeral 5 denotes an exposure control section which, upon receiving an exposure control start signal from the microcomputer 7 that controls the recording timing, generates a shutter signal until the detection output from the lpJ photosensor 16 reaches the set exposure. While the signal is present, the exposure control mechanism is controlled so that the optical system 1 passes the object image. 6 generates a recording start signal I? by the shutter signal and rotation pulse PG. EC and C0NT It, C0
This is a control signal generation circuit that generates various recording timing signals such as the NTL signal and the recording display signal RECLED, and its details will be explained with reference to FIG.

Reference numeral 12 denotes a power-on switch, and when this switch 12 is turned on, power is supplied to each part from the battery power of the camera, and the camera becomes operational. Reference numeral 13 denotes a power-on reset circuit that operates at the initial stage of power supply and generates a reset signal, and this reset signal causes the control signal generation circuit 6 and the microcomputer 7 to be reset at the initial stage. 14 is a continuous shooting/single shooting switch for setting the mode of "continuous shooting" and "single shooting";
When the high-speed continuous shooting mode is set, the setting signal S1 is set.
When the setting signal 82 is set to ``L'' and the setting signal 82 is set to ``H'', and when the ``low speed continuous shooting'' mode is set, the setting signal S1 is set to ``H''.
2 is set to "L", and when the "single shot" mode is set, both the setting signal Sl and the setting signal S2 are set to "H". Reference numeral 15 denotes a trigger switch which is a switch for the shirt button. When this switch 15 is pressed, the trigger signal manual section 71 of the microcomputer 7 detects this and sends a trigger signal to the continuous shooting/single shooting control section 73 of the microcomputer 7. As a result, when the continuous shooting/single shooting control unit 73 is set to the "continuous shooting" mode, while the trigger switch 15 is pressed, every time one image is recorded on the still video floppy 8, that is, one field is recorded. An exposure start signal is output in advance, and in the "single shot" mode, the exposure start signal is output only once.

That is, the continuous shooting/single shooting control section 73 is for controlling the exposure start timing according to the mode.

Reference numeral 72 in the microcomputer 7 is an exposure start command section, which provides an exposure control start signal to the exposure control section 5 upon receiving an exposure start command from the continuous shooting/single shooting control section 73. The head access control section 74 of the microcomputer 7 receives the recording start signal 1? from the control signal generation circuit 6. EC
The reset circuit 75 of the microcomputer 7 generates a command to move the magnetic head 10 in the driver of the still video floppy disk to a predetermined track and gives it to the head controller 4. This is for resetting the circuit. Reference numeral 17 denotes a display for displaying the photographing timing, and is configured using, for example, an LED (a display element such as a light emitting diode; this may also be a sound generator such as a buzzer or a cD display element). Is it signal 1? The light emission is controlled by ECLED, and it is placed in the viewfinder of the camera.

Note that the photometric sensor IB measures the amount of light from the direction area to be photographed by a
It generates a detection output corresponding to the amount of light.

Next, the circuit and operation of the control signal generation circuit 6, which is an important component of this device, will be explained. This circuit consists of a shooting interval control system, a recording signal generation system, and a recording display signal generation control system.
As shown in FIG. 2, the photographing interval control system consists of four toggle-type flip-flops 61 to 64 connected in series so that L" and H" appear alternately in the front and rear stages. By applying the rotation pulse PC to the flip-flop 61 of the flip-flop 01
.about.64 is configured to perform an inversion operation at the timing of the falling edge of the rotation pulse PC. In this circuit, the output of the first-stage flip-flop 61 is the signal ■, and the output of the next-stage flip-flop 62 is the signal ■.
In addition, the output of the third stage flip-flop 63 is output as the signal C0NTH, and the output of the third stage flip-flop 63 is sent to the final stage flip-flop 6.
The output of No. 4 is configured to be used as a signal C0NTL.

This circuit determines the snapshot interval and also controls the signal RECLI.
The length of ED (LED light emission time length) is determined.

The recording signal generation system has the following configuration.

Reference numeral 65 denotes a negative logic inverter, which detects the falling edge of the shutter signal output from the exposure control section 5. The output of this inverter 65 at the time of falling of this shutter signal drives the D flip-flop 66, and the output of the positive side output terminal Q of the D flip-flop 66 becomes "H" (used as signal ■).
is applied to the D input terminal of the next stage D flip-flop 67,
The output of the positive output terminal Q of the D flip-flop 67 is set as REC, which is passed through the OR gate 68 and used as a reset signal for the D flip-flop 66. The D flip-flop 67 is configured to be driven by the rotation pulse PG as a clock signal. As a result, when the shutter signal is received, the falling edge of the shutter signal causes the signal ■ to become "H".
After that, when the rotation pulse PG is generated, the RPC is set to "H".
", and this "H" resets the D flip-flop 66 and makes the output of the D flip-flop 6G "L". Then, the D flip-flop 67 is reset by the PC generated thereafter, and REC is set to "H". Therefore, with this circuit, the recording start signal RIEC can be generated for the next PG period (-frame period) from the PC that first appears after receiving the shutter signal.

The recording display signal generation control system includes AND gates 80, 82, positive logic inverter 81, OR gates 83, .
1? - Consists of an S flip-flop 69. And A.N.
The D gate 80 is open when the setting signal S2 is "H", that is, when the continuous shooting/single shooting switch 14 is set to high-speed continuous shooting or single shooting, and the AND gate 82 is open. Since the setting signal S2 is input via the inverter 81, when the setting signal s2 is "L", that is,
When the continuous shooting/single shooting switch 14 is set to low speed shooting, the gate is opened. That is, when one of the gates 80 and 82 is open (on), the other is closed (off).
So, when the other is open, the one is closed. AN
The signals ■ and ■ are input to the D gate 8o, the signals ■ and C0NT I+ are input to the AND gate 82,
When each input becomes "H", a signal is outputted via the OR gate 83 and given to the R-S flip-flop 69 as a reset input. Since the recording start signal RFC is given as a set input to the R-S flip-flop 69, the R-S flip-flop 69 receives the AND gate 8o or 8 after the recording start signal RPC is input.
Until the output from 2 is received, “ from the positive side output terminal Q.
A signal of "H" is output. This signal is used as RECLED.

68 is an OR gate, which outputs the power-on reset signal or recording start signal 1? When receiving EC, it is applied as a reset signal to the D flip-flop 6G and flip-flops 61 to 64 to reset them.

The photographing interval control system in the control signal generating circuit 6 has four toggle-type flip-flops 61 to G4 connected in series so that L"H" appears alternately in the previous stage and the latter stage. By applying the rotation pulse PG to the flip-flop 61, the flip-flops 61 to G4 are inverted at the timing of the falling edge of the rotation pulse PG.

The output of the flip-flop 61 in the first stage is the signal ■, the output of the flip-flop 62 in the next stage is the signal ■, and the output of the flip-flop 63 in the third stage is the signal C0NT I+.
The output of is used as the signal C0NTL. As a result, each flip-flop sequentially divides the output of the previous stage, and the rotation pulse PC is divided into 1/2 and 1/4.

Set it to 1/8, l/lfi.

The recording display signal generation control system is controlled by REC, RECI and ED.
When the continuous shooting/single shooting changeover switch 14 is set to high-speed continuous shooting or single shooting, this is a signal (signal ■) divided by 172 of the rotation pulse PC output from the shooting interval control system.
The 1/4 frequency division signal (signal ■) of the rotation pulse PG is both “H”
When the continuous shooting/single shooting changeover switch 14 is set to low-speed shooting, the 172 frequency division signal (signal ■) of the rotation pulse PC output by the shooting interval control system is the 9 rotation pulse PC signal. The process is controlled so that it ends when both 1/8 frequency divided signals (CONT 11) become H''.

In other words, when the shutter signal is generated in low-speed continuous shooting mode, C
0NT L (1/6 frequency division of PC), and C0NT 11 (1/8 frequency division of PG) in high-speed continuous shooting/single shooting mode. If the continuous shooting/single shooting control unit 73 is set, in low-speed continuous shooting mode, recording will start from the time when the first rotational pulse PG is generated from the fall of the shutter signal, and from this point on, the PG will be 1/1 Both the 2 frequency division output (■) and the 178 frequency division output (CONT H) of the PC are “H”
, that is, for 5 fields, REC
During high-speed continuous shooting/single shooting mode, recording starts from the moment when the first rotational pulse PC is generated from the falling edge of the shutter signal, and from this point on, the PC l/
At the time when both the 2 frequency division output (■) and the 1/4 frequency division output (■) of PG become H', that is, over 3 fields,
RECLED will be generated.

The shooting cycle of these RECLEDs is 1/1 of PG in the former case.
The timing at which C0NT L, which is the 16 frequency divider output, becomes “H” (for PG8G8 pulses, in the latter case, PG178
RPC! , When the display 17 is made to emit light by ED, the display 17 always goes out before starting the next photographing, so that each photographing timing can be reliably distinguished and recognized.

Figure 4 shows the timing chart for each of the above modes.
It is shown in Figure 5.

Next, the operation of the microcomputer 7 will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

The microcomputer executes the operations according to this flowchart upon resetting. First, it is checked whether the shirt button has been operated, that is, whether the trigger switch 15 has been pressed (Sl). And if pressed (L″
If so, an exposure start command is generated (S2). Next, it is checked whether the recording start signal REC has been generated (whether it is "H" or not) (S3), and if the recording start signal RFC has been generated, then whether the recording start signal REC has ended or not is checked (S3). mosquito(
(S4). This results in
The period of the recording start signal REC is detected. The recording unit 3 that converts the video signal from the imaging unit 2 into a recording signal in a magnetically recordable format receives this recording start signal 1? During the "H" period of EC, a recording signal is sent to the recording head IO. Next, head access is performed to move the recording head IO to the next recording track of the still video floppy 8, which is a magnetic recording medium (S5). Thereby, the head controller 4 moves the recording head 10 to the next recording track position. Next, the microcomputer 7 checks the setting mode of the continuous shooting/single shooting changeover switch 14 (S6). Then, when continuous shooting is being performed (setting signals St and S2 are L and H or H and L), the process moves to S8, and when single shooting is being performed (setting signal 81°S2 is H and H), the process moves to S7. In S7, it is checked whether the trigger switch 15 has been released, and if it has been released, it returns to Sl, and if it has not been released, it waits until it is released. In S8, the continuous shooting speed is checked. Then, the setting signals Sl and S2 are H and L (low-speed continuous shooting mode)
When , C0NT + should be monitored (5LO)) Wait for this to become "H" and return to Sl. In addition, the setting signal S
l, C when 82 is L and H (high-speed continuous shooting mode)
0NT 11 (S9), wait until it becomes H'' and return to SL.

This starts exposure control when the shirt button is pressed.
REC is generated in synchronization with PG, and during its "H" period, the video signal is recorded, and in the former case, the timing of the PC's 1/8 frequency division output is determined depending on the high speed/low speed mode during quick shooting. In the latter case, control is performed to start the next photographing at the timing of the PC's 1/16 frequency division output. At the time of photographing, the control signal generating circuit 6 generates a signal of 1? according to the timing relationship described above. Since the ECLED is generated to light up the display 17 and turn it off, each photographing timing can be reliably distinguished and recognized.

Furthermore, in single-shot mode, we believe that it is impossible for the photographer to repeatedly operate the shutter button at a speed higher than that of high-speed snapshots.
The control signal generation circuit 6 generates RECLED at the timing of high-speed continuous shooting.

In this way, the present device is provided with a display for displaying the timing at which the photographing operation is performed, and the display is displayed for a period shorter than the repetition period of photographing in substantially synchronization with the video synchronization signal.
Since the display is controlled by the control means that performs the display, this is displayed on the display at the time of shooting, and this display always disappears before starting the next shooting, so even if the shooting side repeats the shooting at high speed, the display will not be displayed. Display is performed according to the speed, making it possible to reliably distinguish and recognize the timing of each shot.

[Effects of the Invention] As described in detail above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an electronic camera that can reliably grasp the timing of photographing even during single shooting by high-speed repetition or during rapid shooting.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram showing a configuration example of a control signal generation circuit used in the present invention, FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the microcomputer of this device, and FIGS. 4 and 5 are control signals shown in FIG. 2. 4 is a timing chart showing the operation of each part of the signal generating circuit, FIG. 4 is a timing chart in a low-speed shooting mode, and FIG. 5 is a timing chart in a high-speed shooting mode. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Optical system, 3... Recording part, 5... Exposure control part, 6... Control signal generation circuit, 7... Microcomputer, 8... Still video floppy (magnetic recording medium) , 9... Rotation detector, IO... Recording magnetic head,
PG... Rotation pulse, 11... Rotation control section, 16.
...Photometering sensor, 12...Power on switch, 13
...Power-on reset circuit, 14...Continuous shooting/single shooting changeover switch, 15...Tori is switch, 17...
・Display device, 61-64...Flip-flop, 65・
...Inverter, 6G, C7...D flip-flop, C8,83...OR gate, 69...R-S
Flip-flop, 71... trigger signal input section, 73
... Continuous shooting/single shooting control section, 72... Exposure start command section,
73...Continuous shooting/single shooting control unit, 74...Head access control unit, 80.82...AND gate, I? E.C.
... Recording start signal, RrECLED... Recording display signal. Applicant's agent Patent attorney Atsushi Tsuboi 2 Schiff diagram

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A display for displaying the timing of the shooting operation, and a display at predetermined time intervals that makes it possible to identify that the display is repeated in substantially synchronization with the video synchronization signal. An electronic camera comprising: a display drive circuit; (2) The electronic camera according to claim 1, further comprising means for defining the duration of each display on the display according to the time interval at which the display is repeated.