JPH02219036A - Camera into which character information can be inputted - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily print characters by permitting the input of the intended characters, storing the inputted characters by coding them, reproducing the characters based on the recorded information, recording the corded characters on a recording medium other than a film and generating an identification code inherent to a frame. CONSTITUTION:The characters inputted by a character inputting means 21 are recognized by an encoding means 22 as characters and binarized, and the binarization signals are displayed by an inputted character displaying means 23. When a frame identification code generating means 24 records the characters in the recording medium, the inherent identification code is generated at every frame image of the film in order to correspond the recorded characters with the photographing frame to be printed or reproduced. In synchronizing with a release signal generated by a release means 25, the character information binarized by the encoding means 22 and the frame identification code generated by the frame identification code generating means 24 are both recorded by the recording medium by means of a recording means 26. Thus, a print with the printed characters is easily obtained.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field] The present invention relates to a camera that can input text information.

[Conventional technology]

The information you want to record on the camera includes the date, time, and arbitrary characters. Currently, the requirements for date and time have been met by technology such as data banks, but it cannot be said that inputting arbitrary characters has necessarily met the user's requirements.

The currently used character recording methods include recording handwritten characters on a film surface, and donmatrix LED.
There is something that imprints characters using etc. Furthermore, in JP-A No. 60-26029, characters input into a camera using a device such as a word processor are encoded in the camera, the code is recorded on the film, and the characters are reproduced when printing. is proposed.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

With the conventional technology mentioned above, even if we consider the case where characters are imprinted using, for example, a donmatrix LED, the input is limited to alphabets or numbers at most, and it is also costly. The disadvantage was that it became large.

In addition, although it is possible to input arbitrary characters with devices that input and record handwritten characters on film, the quality of the characters is at least lower than that of printed characters, making it difficult to satisfy the user. There was a drawback.

Furthermore, when characters inputted using a word processor or the like are coded and recorded on a film, there is a drawback that the characters to be recorded are limited by the cost of the recording element and the area to be recorded.

In order to overcome this restriction, it may be possible to use a separate recording element instead of directly recording on the film, but in this case, the correspondence between the frames on which video is recorded and the character data becomes a problem.

[Means to solve problems]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention allows arbitrary characters to be input, the input characters are encoded and stored, and the characters can be reproduced based on the stored information.

Furthermore, by recording the encoded characters on a recording medium separate from the film, there are no restrictions on imprinting on the film, and correspondence with each frame can be ensured by generating a frame-specific identification code. I made it so.

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the outer shape of a camera to which the present invention is applied.

The body l has a release button 2 and a finder 3, and the back cover 4, which is opened and closed when loading a film, has a handwriting input tablet 5 as a character input means according to the present invention, and an input character r.
11! An authentication display section 6, an input character registration button 7, an input character deletion box 8, and an input character recording section 9 are provided. The recording unit 9 consists of a recording means for recording on a recording medium. The recording medium is separated and removed from each of the above-mentioned elements 1 to 9 of the back M4 as described later.

Here, the handwriting input tablet is a device for inputting characters by hand by the viewer.

Further, in the present invention, a device for inputting character information by key operation may be used instead of the handwriting input tablet.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an outline of the present invention.

The character input means 21 corresponds to, for example, the handwriting input tablet 5, the input character registration button 7, and the input character deletion box 8 in FIG. The characters input here are recognized as characters by the encoding means 22 and binarized. The binarized signal is displayed on the input character display means 23. The input character display means 23 corresponds to the input character confirmation display section 6 in FIG. 1, for example.

The frame identification code generating means 24 generates a unique identification code for each frame of the film in order to associate the recorded characters with the shooting frames to be printed or reproduced when characters are recorded on the recording medium. It is. For example, this may be done simply by interlocking with a film counter to generate a signal relating to the number of the photographed frame, or by further generating combination data with a film identification number. For example, the film identification number is
This can also occur by monitoring the opening and closing of the back cover and sequentially assigning serial numbers to the films loaded in the camera. Alternatively, if you go on a trip, you can reset the camera at the time of departure, count the number of films, and use this count value as the film identification number.

The release means 25 generates a release signal based on the release operation. In this embodiment, the release means 25
The character information binarized by the encoding means 22 and the frame identification code generated by the piece identification code generating means 24 are both recorded on the recording medium by the recording means 26 in synchronization with the release signal generated by the recording means 26. become.

FIG. 3 is a circuit block diagram showing a specific embodiment for realizing the above-described device.

The CPU 31 includes a handwriting input tablet 32, a switch SWl that is turned on at the first stroke of the release button to activate the circuit, a switch SW2 that is activated when the release operation is performed, that is, the second stroke of the release button, and a switch SW3 for registering input characters. , a switch SW4 for deleting input characters, and a switch SW5 that operates in synchronization with the winding operation of one frame of film. Also CPU
31 supplies signals to a display circuit 33 and a memory 34, and the display circuit 33 displays characters input using the handwriting input tablet 32.

Characters entered on the tablet 32 are sent to switches SW3 and S.
It is registered or deleted by operating W4. switch SW3
The characters registered by the operation, that is, the encoded characters, are recorded in the memory 34 as the film winds up after the release switch SW2 is operated. A frame identification code representing a frame photographed by the release, that is, a photographic frame on which characters are to be recorded, is recorded in the memory 34 together with the coded characters as the film is wound.

Here, the handwriting input tablet 32 and the switch SW3
．． SW4 connects the switch S to the character input means 2'1 in FIG.
W2 is connected to the release means 25 in the figure, switch SW5 is connected to the piece identification code generation means 24, and display circuit 33 is connected to the display means 2.
3, and the memory 34 corresponds to a recording medium.

In this embodiment, the memory 34 (recording medium) is attached to the film loaded into the camera. However, it may be attached to a container for storing the film, a so-called cartridge, or it may be an IC memory separate from the film and the cartridge.

FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of the embodiment of FIG. In step S401, handwritten characters input using the handwritten input tablet 32 are recognized. Note that when characters are input by key operation, the characters are recognized according to the position of the operated key. In step 5402, the recognized characters are encoded. Step 5403
Then, the characters inputted on the tablet 32 are displayed on the display circuit 33. Here, if the photographer recognizes that the input character is the desired character, the process proceeds to step 5405λ if it is determined in step 5404 that the deletion switch SW4 is not operated, but if not, step 5405λ is performed. That is, if it is detected that the switch SW4 has been operated, the process returns to step 5401. If the input character is a desired one, the input character is registered in step 5405 by operating the switch SW3.

In step 8406, information on the input characters is stored in a memory area within the CPU.

If it is determined in step 5404 that the input character is not the desired character, the input character is deleted in response to the operation of switch SW4, and the process returns to step 5401.

In step 5405, the characters displayed on the display means 33 are registered i and ★ by operating the switch SW3.
By repeating the operation from 5 to 5401 and from 5401 to 5405 several times, several characters are displayed at the same time, and then in step 5405 switch SW3 is
It is possible to register several displayed characters at once by operating .

In step 5407, the camera waits for release by switch SW2, and step 5407 continues until switch SW2 is turned on. When switch SW2 is turned on, the process advances to step 3408, where a normal photographing operation is performed.

When the photographing operation is completed in step 340B, a winding operation is performed and the film counter (in CPtJ) is counted up in step 5409 by turning on SW5. A unique piece identification code is generated.

In step 5411, the coded character code temporarily stored in step 8406 and the encoded character code in step 5410 are stored.
The piece identification code generated is recorded on the recording medium.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of another embodiment that is an improvement on the embodiment of FIG.

A clock circuit 51 is newly connected to the CPU 31. That is, the date and time clocked by the clock circuit 51 are recorded in the memory 34 like data back in synchronization with the operation of the switch SW2 by the release operation.

In other words, as a result, the characters and the frame identification code of the photographed frame in which the characters are to be recorded, as well as the time at which the frame was photographed, are recorded in the memory 34.

Figure 6 shows an example of piece identification code generation.
In addition to the switches SWI to SW5 described above, the CPU 31 is provided with a switch SW6 that is linked to the opening and closing of the camera back cover when loading film, and a switch SW7 that is used to reset the frame identification code generated by the camera. .

The operation of the apparatus shown in FIG. 7 will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

Step 3701 detects whether the above-mentioned reset switch SW7 is ON, but this operation does not need to be at this position in the flowchart as a series of operations. Basically, switch SW7 is a frame that is automatically generated by the camera. It has a function to reset the identification code, and if this is achieved, there is no problem.

If it is determined here that the reset switch SW7 is ON, that is, if the piece identification code is intentionally reset by the user's operation, then in step 5702, the CPLI
The film number counter in 31 is cleared. The film number counter is used as a counter to record how many films have been loaded into this camera in the past.

As mentioned above, this is used when the user wants to reset the frame identification code before going on a trip and using a relatively large number of films.

In step 5703, it is determined that the back cover of the camera has been opened or closed, that is, the back cover has been opened and then closed again. In other words, in this embodiment, a number is sequentially assigned to each film loaded in the camera as a frame identification code, and the opening/closing of the back cover is monitored as a criterion for this determination.

In step 5704, it is determined whether or not the film has been fed in a blank manner. In other words, if you only count the opening and closing of the back cover, you are not monitoring the number of films actually used, so by checking the empty feed operation here, you can accurately record the number of films loaded. .

If step 5704 is affirmed, step 5705
The film number counter is counted up, and this value increases each time a film is loaded.

That value is then stored in memory within CPU 31 in step 5706 and used as a unique identification number for the film being processed.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3 on the left, this information is treated as a frame identification code together with the frame number determined by the film counter.

FIG. 8 shows a flowchart of an apparatus for reading and confirming characters recorded in the memory 34. In other words, the characters entered on the tablet 32 originally exist as something that should be printed on the printout, but considering the use as a memo when taking pictures, the recorded character contents may be read out and displayed. It is possible.

Step 5801 first shows an act in which the operator selects how to read out the character information recorded in the memory 34, that is, a search method. Here, as search keywords, search by frame number of photographed frame, search based on recorded time, and other searches are shown as examples.

In step 5802, it is determined whether the selected search keyword is based on the piece number. Step 58
In step 03, it is determined whether the search is based on a time element. As a result, in steps 3804 to 8808, searches and recorded information are displayed based on the respective search keywords.

For example, in a search based on a piece number, the operator first inputs the piece number he wants to confirm, and then the character information recorded in the area of the input piece number is searched, and the recording time is also searched at the same time. Here, first, the date and time of photographing, and then the recorded characters are sequentially read out from the memory 34 and displayed.

Next, in the case of a search based on a time element, for example, the operator first inputs the photographing date and time of the frame he or she wishes to confirm. Then, a search is performed based on this, and in this case, the frame number and input character are read out from the memory 34 in this order and displayed.

If the search is neither by frame number nor by time element, the operator inputs a search start for either search. Then, each piece of information input into the memory 34 is displayed in the order in which it was registered.

FIG. 9 shows a conceptual diagram of a printing system that prints character information recorded in a memory (recording medium) on a print as described above.

The character information input on the camera body l is recorded in a memory 91 (recording medium) that is removable from the back cover, and is brought to the laboratory 93 together with the photographed film 92. lab 93
Then, the film is developed by the developing machine 94, and after the development, a film 95 is obtained. Here, the printing system is 2.
There are two possible routes, so both routes are shown.

One is that after development, the film 95 and the memory 9I are applied to a special printer 96a, and the printer 96a performs print exposure and printing to obtain a printed pudding 97a.

The other one is that the printer 96b has a film 95 after development.
A general print 97b is first created by applying a chisel, and by transmitting the recorded contents of the memory 91 to a printing means 98, a print 97a with printing is obtained.

In this way, a print on which characters are printed by the printing means 98 can be obtained.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the printer 96a described above. A means 101 for setting a negative in order to obtain a print from the developed negative 95, an exposing means 102 for creating a print from the negative, a means 103 for reading character information recorded in a memory, and a means 103 for reading character information recorded in the memory. Means 1 for printing on a print based on
04, resulting in print 105 (print 97a in FIG. 9).

FIG. 11 shows a flowchart for printing and printing using the apparatus shown in FIG. 10.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, it is easy to print characters on a print, which is very convenient.

Furthermore, when input characters are coded and recorded using a recording medium separate from the film, it is possible to ensure correspondence between photographed frames and coded character information.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the external shape of a camera according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an outline of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a specific embodiment for realizing the above device. Fig. 4 is a flowchart of the embodiment of Fig. 3, and Fig. 5 is a flowchart of the embodiment of Fig. 3.
FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a specific example of generating a piece identification code; FIG. 7 is a flowchart of the block diagram in FIG. 6; FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a device for reading and confirming characters recorded in the memory 34, FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram of the printing system, FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the blink 96a, and FIG. 11 is a 1θ diagram. 3 is a flowchart for printing and printing with the device of FIG. (Explanation of symbols of main parts)

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) Character input means; Display means for displaying the input characters; Encoding means for encoding the input characters; Code signal for generating an identification code unique to the photographic frame that is the subject of character input A camera capable of inputting character information, comprising: a generating means; and a recording means for recording the coded character information and identification code on a recording medium that is separated and removed from the character input means. . (2) A character input means; a display means for displaying the input characters; a means for encoding the input characters; a code signal means for generating an identification code unique to the shooting frame to which the characters are input; ; a clock means for measuring date, time, etc.; and a record in which the coded character information, the identification code, and the time information generated from the clock means are separated and removed from the character input means. A camera capable of inputting character information, characterized by having a recording means for recording on a medium.