JPH02294605A - Camera with power-zoom function, lens interchangeable camera, and interchangeable lens with power zoom function - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent normal photographying from being disabled and to miniaturize a camera and to reduce the weight by inhibiting power-zoom driving from being performed when driving which consumes a large current is carried out. CONSTITUTION:A microcomputer 10 is equipped internally with a large-current- consumption driving detection part 10a which detects whether or not a large current is consumed on a camera side and a lens-side operation control part 10b which allows and inhibit the power-zoom driving according to the detection result. Then when the driving which consumes a large current, e.g. AF driving or film feed driving except the power-zoom driving is performed, the power- zoom driving is not performed. Therefore, a small-sized battery can be used efficiently. Consequently, normal photographying is prevented from being disabled and the size and weight are reduced.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Field of Application of the Invention) The present invention relates to a camera with a power zoom function that uses a single battery as a power source to perform various drives, an interchangeable lens with a power zoom function, and a camera to which the lens is attached. It is something.

(Background of the Invention) In recent years, camera systems (a combination of an interchangeable lens with a power zoom function and a camera to which the lens is attached) have become increasingly electronic, and automatic exposure, film winding and rewinding,
F drive, aperture drive. Power zoom drive, and in single-lens reflex camera systems, mirror up. It is configured to automatically perform various controls using a number of motors such as shirt charge. Therefore, a large battery is used as a power source to drive these devices, and as a result, the camera system becomes large and heavy, making portability difficult. Furthermore, if miniaturization of the system is given priority and a small battery is used, a problem arises in that, in the worst case, normal photographing may not be possible.

(Object of the Invention) The object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and prevent the inability to perform normal imaging.
To provide a camera with a power zoom function, an interchangeable lens camera, and an interchangeable lens with a power zoom function, which can achieve miniaturization and weight reduction.

(Features of the Invention) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a detection means for detecting whether a drive that consumes a large current other than a power zoom drive is being performed, and a detection means that consumes a large current by the detection means. If it is detected that the drive is being performed,
An operation control means for prohibiting the power zoom drive is provided, so that the power zoom drive is not performed when a drive that consumes a large current other than the power zoom drive, such as an AF drive or a film feeding drive, is being performed. It is characterized by the efficient use of small batteries. (Embodiments of the Invention) Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on illustrated embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing the main structure of an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a camera body, and 50 is an interchangeable lens detachably attached to the camera body 1. , these are camera mounts 1. a and a lens mount 51a.

In the camera body 1, 3 is a mirror, 4 is a pentaprism, 5 is an eyepiece, and 6 is a photometric light receiving element. 7
1 is a photometric calculation circuit connected to a film sensitivity information input circuit 8, a shutter control circuit 9, and a microcomputer 10. Inside the microcomputer 10, there is a large current consumption drive detection unit 10a that detects whether a large current is being consumed on the camera side, and a lens side operation that issues a command to permit or prohibit power zoom drive. It includes a control section 10b and the like. 3゛4 is Force Le Brain Shutter, 3a
is the mirror rotation axis, 3b is the operation bin, and the mirror driving force M1
It is facing 1. Reference numeral 12 denotes a mirror drive motor, which is connected to a motor drive circuit 13. Reference numeral 14 denotes a film winding and rewinding motor, which is connected to a motor drive circuit 15. 16 is a distance measurement sensor, and distance measurement calculation circuit 1
7 is connected. 18 is the battery that operates the entire camera system, 19 is the main power switch, and 20 is D.
A C/DC converter connects the battery 18 to the microcomputer 10. 21 is a photometering and distance measuring switch, and 22 is a release switch. Generally, the switches 21 and 22 are two-stage stroke switches, and the first stroke of the release button releases the switch 21 and 22.
is turned on, and the switch 22 is turned on at the second stroke.

Reference numerals 23a to 23e represent a group of contact pins on the side of the camera body l, which are arranged near the mount 1a. Reference numerals 528 to 52e represent contact bin groups on the side of the interchangeable lens body 50, which are opposed to the contact bin groups 23a to 23e on the camera side.

On the interchangeable lens 50 side, Gl, G2, G3
is an optical lens for photography. 53 is a lens drive motor used for focus adjustment, and is connected to a lens drive circuit 54. As the lens drive motor 53 rotates, the number of pulses is input to the counter 62 via the ratchet 60. 61 is an aperture drive circuit, which is connected to the microcomputer 55 and connected to a known pulse motor 56;
The motor 56 drives the diaphragm. A zoom drive motor 57 is used during zooming and is connected to a zoom drive circuit 58. 59a to 59e are encoders for transmitting the focal length of the lens to the microcomputer 55. 63 is a power zoom switch, 6
4 G':. This is a switch for switching between AF priority and power zoom priority.

Next, the operation of the system having the above configuration will be explained.

First, by turning on the main power switch 19 of the camera body 1 and exciting the DC/DC converter 20,
The converter 20 provides a constant voltage for operation of the microcomputer 10. Next, when the photometric and distance measuring switch 21 is pressed, the amount of light detected by the photometric light receiving element 6 is transmitted to the photometric calculation circuit 7, and the exposure amount is stored in a known manner. In addition, since the photometering and distance measurement switch 2l also serves as a trigger switch for automatic distance measurement, when the photometering and distance measurement switch 2l is pressed, the microcomputer 1
0, the distance measurement sensor 16 is activated, the distance measurement calculation circuit 17 performs distance measurement calculation using a known method, the amount of lens extension is determined, and the distance measurement calculation circuit 17 performs distance measurement calculation using a known method, and the amount of lens extension is determined. The rotation direction of the lens drive motor 53 is instructed to the lens drive circuit 54, and the photographing optical lens Gl is moved. At this time, the contents of the counter 62 are changed by the ratchet 60 in response to the movement of the optical lens G1, and the amount of movement of the lens can be detected by the microcomputer 55 reading the number of pulses. Optical system lens Gl according to the amount of movement instructed from the side.
is moved, and the optical system lens G1 is stopped at the in-focus position. Generally, distance measurement is performed again, and when it is determined that the camera is in focus, an in-focus display is performed on the camera body 1 side or a focus sound is emitted.

Next, the subsequent operations will be explained with reference to the timing chart shown in FIG. 2, but the operations up to now are performed before point O in FIG. 2. In FIG. 2, the horizontal axis shows time and the vertical axis shows each item.

When the release switch 22 is pressed down at point O in FIG. 2, the microcomputer 10 energizes the motor drive circuit 13 to rotate the mirror drive motor 12, which rotates the mirror drive motor 11 and pushes up the operating bin 3b. (Point a in Figure 2) to raise and hold the mirror (Point d). At point b, which is delayed by a certain period of time from point a, the camera microcomputer 10 and the lens microcomputer 55 connect the contact bin groups 23a and 23b.
, 52a, 52b, known serial communication is performed, and an aperture setting value corresponding to the amount of photometry is instructed to the lens side.
The aperture setting value instructed by the camera body 1 is used as a signal for controlling the pulse motor 56 by the aperture drive circuit 6l. At this time, there is a certain time difference between the mirror raising operation point (point a) and the aperture drive operation point (point b) because a large current flows through the mirror drive motor 12 immediately after power is turned on. I try to avoid driving the aperture and make effective use of the limited power supply.

Further, points b to C are the time for stopping down the aperture, point C is the completion of stopping down, and points e to f are the shutter seconds controlled by the result of the photometry calculation circuit 7 when the shutter is opened.

After the shutter operation is completed, points f to g are mirror down, hxi
The dot indicates the time to return the aperture to open, and the mirror drive motor 12.
also serves as a mechanical charge for the four-force brane shutter 34, and operates up to point j. The completion of the aperture drive (point i) is communicated to the microcomputer 10 on the camera body 1 side via the microcomputer 55, which issues an operation command to the motor drive circuit 15, and the film is wound by the film winding/rewinding motor 14. . This winding is completed at point k, and the camera sequence returns to its original state and moves on to photometering and distance measurement.

In this embodiment, even if the power zoom switch 63 is pressed, the power zoom is driven based on the information from the camera body 1 to the interchangeable lens 50 (through well-known serial communication) regarding the time from point 0 to point k. I try not to.

The operation of the interchangeable lens 50 will be described below.

FIG. 3 shows a microcomputer 55 on the side of the interchangeable lens 50.
This is the main flowchart.

The microcomputer 55 performs step 1 when the power is turned on.
The operation starts from step 01 and proceeds to step 102, where the inside of the microcomputer and its peripheral circuits are brought to an initial state.

Next, the process proceeds to step 103, where it is determined whether AF driving is in progress. Here, if the AF drive is in progress, the process advances to step 104, and if the AF drive is not in progress, the process advances to step 106.

In step 104, the value of the counter 62 is read to determine the amount of AF drive, and the value is compared with the specified AF drive amount sent from the camera body 1. If the specified amount of drive has been reached, the process proceeds to step 105. , here the drive of the AP is stopped and the process proceeds to step 106. Further, if the specified drive amount has not been reached, the process proceeds to step 106.

In step 106, the state of the power zoom switch 63 is determined, and the switch is turned on to either the a side or the C side.
If it is OFF, the process proceeds to step 107, and if it is OFF, the process proceeds to step 114.

In step 114, it is determined whether or not the zoom is being driven. If not, the process returns to step 103 and the operations described above are repeated again. If the zoom is being driven, the power zoom switch 63 is OFF, so the process proceeds to step 115, where the zoom drive is stopped and step 1
Return to 03.

In step 106, the power zoom switch 63 is turned on.
If so, the process proceeds to step 107, and it is determined whether or not zoom driving is in progress. If zooming is in progress, the process proceeds to step 116, where the focal length is detected by the encoder 59 that detects the focal length of the lens, and the process proceeds to step 117.

In step 117, if the focal length is at the end in the direction in which the zoom is being driven, the zoom cannot be driven any further, so the process proceeds to step 118, where the zoom drive is stopped and the process returns to step 103. Also, if it is not at the end of the direction in which the zoom is being driven, continue to drive the zoom and step 1.
Return to 03.

If the zoom drive is not in progress in step 107, the process advances to step 108 to start zoom drive.

In step 108, it is determined by looking at the zoom permission flag in the microcomputer 55 whether zoom driving is permitted. If zoom driving is permitted, the process proceeds to step 109; if not, zoom driving is not performed. Then, the process returns to step 103.

In step 109, it is determined whether or not the AF is being driven, and the AF
If the driving is not in progress, the process advances to step 112, and if the AF driving is in progress, the process advances to step 110.

In step 110, the state of the changeover switch 64 is detected to determine whether it is the AF {f destination mode or the zoom priority mode. If it is the ΔF priority mode, the AP continues to be driven without zooming. Return to step 103. Also,
If it is the zoom priority mode, proceed to step 111 and AF
The drive is stopped and the process proceeds to step 112.

In step 112, it is detected whether the power zoom switch 63 is turned on to the a side or the C side, and if it is on the a side, it is determined that the driving direction is the telephoto side,
If it is on the C side, it is determined that the direction is infinite, and step 11
Proceed to step 3.

In step 113, zooming is started in the drive direction detected in step 112, and the process returns to step 103 to repeat the operations described so far.

Next, the operation when starting AF driving will be explained.

When an AF drive command and an AF drive amount are sent from the microcomputer 10 of the camera body 1 to the microcomputer 55 on the interchangeable lens 50 side by communication, the microcomputer 55 starts AF drive using a known interrupt operation.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of interrupt processing of the AF drive command.

Step 120''' When an interrupt from the cAF drive command occurs, the process proceeds to step 121, where it is determined whether the zoom is being driven or not. If the zoom is not being driven, step 12
The process proceeds to step 4, and if zooming is in progress, the process proceeds to step 122.

In step 122, the state of the power zoom switch 63 is detected, and if it is the zoom priority mode, the AF cannot be driven, so the process proceeds to step 126, and a message is sent that the zoom is being driven in the zoom priority mode and the AF cannot be driven. This is transmitted to the microcomputer l○ of the camera body 1, and the process advances to step 127 to end the interruption. Further, if it is the AF priority mode in step 122, the process proceeds to step 123, where the zoom drive is stopped, and the process proceeds to step 124.

In step 124, the driving direction sent from the camera body l side is determined, and the process proceeds to step 125, where AF driving is started, and the process proceeds to step 127, where the interrupt processing ends.

Next, operations for permitting and prohibiting zoom drive will be explained.

Regarding prohibition and permission of zoom drive, while the camera body 1 is performing operations from point O to point K shown in FIG. If this is detected by the large current consumption drive detection unit 10a, the operation control unit 10b sends a zoom drive prohibition command to the microcomputer 55 on the interchangeable lens 50 side by communication when the point is 0 in FIG. Sends zoom drive permission when the point is a point. The microcomputer 55 on the interchangeable lens 50 side processes these communications in the form of a known interruption.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the microcomputer 55 on the interchangeable lens 50 side when receiving a communication prohibiting zoom driving.

When a communication prohibiting zoom driving is received in step 130, the process proceeds to step 131, where an internal zoom prohibition flag is set.

Next, the process proceeds to step 132, and if zooming is not in progress, the process proceeds to step 134 to end the interrupt processing. If zooming is in progress, the process proceeds to step 133 to stop zooming, and then proceeds to step 134 to end the interrupt process.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the microconbuque 55 on the interchangeable lens 50 side when receiving communication for zoom drive permission.

When the zoom drive permission communication is received in step 140, the process proceeds to step 141, resets the internal zoom prohibition flag, and proceeds to step 142, and ends the interrupt processing.

Here, when the zoom prohibition flag is reset, zoom driving is started as described above when the power zoom switch 63 is ON.

According to this embodiment, when an interchangeable lens with a power zoom function is attached to a camera that uses a small battery to improve portability, the power zoom drive requires a large amount of power. However, the power zoom drive is prohibited when the camera consumes a large amount of current, such as when releasing, charging the shutter, or feeding film. The camera system can be downsized without compromising portability.

Furthermore, this has the effect of making it an energy-saving type (because it allows photographing without power zooming) and increasing the number of shots. Furthermore, since power zoom driving is prohibited during the image capture, it also has the effect of preventing blurry photos.

(Correspondence between the invention and the embodiments) In this embodiment, the large current consumption drive detection section 10a in the microcomputer 10 serves as the detection means according to claims 1 and 2 of the present invention, and the lens side operation control section 10b also operates. Each corresponds to a control means.

(Modified Example) In this embodiment, a camera system including an interchangeable lens with a power zoom function and a camera has been described, but the present invention can be similarly applied to a camera incorporating a lens with a power zoom function. In addition, as explained above, the camera is equipped with a means to determine whether the drive is consuming large current, such as AF drive, aperture drive, film feeding drive, etc., and to prohibit power zoom drive accordingly. Equipped with one battery on the side that is used as a common power source,
Similar effects can be obtained even with an interchangeable lens having each of the above means on the interchangeable lens side.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained above, according to the present invention, there is provided a detection means for detecting whether a drive that consumes a large current other than a power zoom drive is being performed, and a detection means that consumes a large current by the detection means. If it is detected that the drive is being performed,
An operation control means for prohibiting power zoom drive is provided, and when a drive that consumes a large amount of current other than power zoom drive, such as AF drive, aperture drive, or film feeding drive, is being performed, power zoom is disabled. Since the camera is not driven and a small battery is used efficiently, it is possible to prevent the camera from being unable to take pictures properly.
It is possible to achieve smaller size and lighter weight.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of main parts related to the present invention,
FIG. 2 is a timing chart thereof, and FIGS. 3 to 6 are flow charts showing operations on the interchangeable lens side. 1... Camera body, 1o... Microcomputer, 10a... Large current consumption drive detection section, 1ob... Lens side operation control section, 50...
...Interchangeable lens, 57...Zoom drive motor, 58...Zoom drive circuit.

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) In a camera with a power zoom function that is equipped with one battery that serves as a power source for various drives, a detection means for detecting whether or not a drive that consumes a large current other than the power zoom drive is being performed; A camera with a power zoom function, further comprising operation control means for prohibiting the power zoom drive when the detection means detects that a drive that consumes a large amount of current is being performed. (2) In a lens-interchangeable camera equipped with a single battery that serves as a power source for various drives including power zoom drive, and which is equipped with an interchangeable lens with a power zoom function, large amounts of current are consumed for operations other than power zoom drive. A detection means for detecting whether or not driving is being performed, and when the detection means detects that driving that consumes a large amount of current is being performed, prohibiting power zoom driving on the interchangeable lens side. What is claimed is: 1. A camera with interchangeable lenses, characterized in that it is provided with operation control means for controlling the operation of the camera. (3) A power zoom means that is driven by a battery on the camera side as a power source to vary the focal length of the photographic lens, and a detection means that detects whether a drive that consumes a large amount of current other than power zoom drive is being performed. an interchangeable lens with a power zoom function, comprising: operation control means for prohibiting power zoom driving by the power zoom means when the detection means detects that driving that consumes a large amount of current is being performed; .