JPH02311830A - Camera capable of transferring signal with information reader - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily perform appropriate photographing by automatically setting a program for executing a camera action necessary for intended photographing corresponding to a code signal from an information reader. CONSTITUTION:The camera is provided with detection means 21 and 22 for detecting the code signal from the information reader 5 which detects a code expressing selected information, a storage means 20 for previously storing plural programs for executing plural camera actions, a selection means 20 for selecting the program for executing the specified camera action corresponding to the detected code signal and a control means 20 for progressing the camera action on the basis of the program. Therefore, the program for executing the camera action necessary for intended photographing corresponding to the code signal, for instance, lens focal distance information, from the information reader 51 is automatically set. Thus, appropriate photographing is easily performed.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (Field of application of the invention).

The present invention relates to a camera having, for example, a plurality of program AE modes, and particularly to a camera capable of exchanging signals with an external information reading device.

(Background of the Invention) Conventionally, in program AE, the shutter speed and aperture value correspond to one EV value on a one-to-one basis. but,
Depending on the purpose of shooting or the subject, it may be desirable to select a specific shutter speed (or aperture value).

For this reason, a camera has been proposed that has a plurality of program diagrams and uses them by switching between them.

However, depending on the purpose of photographing, it may be difficult to determine which line diagram to select. For example, when taking a close-up of a flower, if you are going to use it as a record, it is better to stop down and deepen the depth of field as much as possible, and if you want to express the beauty of the flower. Conversely, it is often desirable to have a shallow depth of field.

To judge this, you need to know what kind of effect the aperture has on the photo. Additionally, the depth of field varies greatly depending on the lens, so it is important to know its effects.

In addition, in the conventional example, since there are various program diagrams,
It is necessary to have display means and input means for switching.
There was a problem in that the display and operation were more complicated than in the case of a single brooderum.

(Objective of the Invention) The object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and to enable even people who have no knowledge of photography to easily take appropriate photographs. The purpose is to provide cameras.

(Features of the Invention) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a detection means for detecting a code signal from an information reading device that detects a code representing selection information, and a detection means for detecting a code signal from an information reading device for detecting a code representing selection information, and a plurality of detection means for detecting a code signal from an information reading device for detecting a code representing selection information, and a storage means that stores a program in advance, a selection means that selects a program for performing a specific camera operation in response to a code signal from the detection means, and a camera operation that is performed based on the selected program. A control means for automatically executing a program corresponding to a code signal from an information reading device, such as a program diagram or lens focal length information, to cause the camera to perform the camera operations necessary for taking an intended photograph. The feature is that the settings are set according to

(Embodiment of the invention) FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.
1 is a code reading device, and 52 is a camera body.

On the code reading device 51 side, 1 is a one-chip microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as MCU) that performs code reading control, and includes a CPU, ROM, RAM, IO, and serial communication interface (hereinafter referred to as SCI).
, consists of a timer. Among the IOs of the MPU 1, the input port P13 is connected to the output of the code detection circuit 3.

Another input capo) - pH and PI3 at switches 9 and 10
These input ports are pulled up to the power supply through resistors 13 and 14. The IO output port P21 of the MCUI is connected to the base of the transistor 6.

The output port P22 of the SCI of MCU1 is the NOR circuit 1.
1, and the other input of the NOR circuit 11 is connected to the 38KHz oscillation circuit 12.
Its output is connected to the base of transistor 7.

Therefore, the output of the SCI is modulated with 38 H2 and output. 6 is a transistor, the collector of which is connected to an infrared light emitting diode (hereinafter abbreviated as 1RED) 4. 5 is a silicon photodiode (hereinafter referred to as 5)
PD) detects the reflected light from a code section (hereinafter referred to as barcode section) 18, which is composed of an optically readable black bar and white space illuminated by the light emitted by the LED 4. 3 is a detection circuit which detects the output of 5PD5 and outputs a low level if it is a space part of the bar code section 18, and outputs a high level if it is a bar part. 7 is a transistor, the collector of which is connected to 1RED8. 15 is MCU 1
, detection circuit 3, 1RED4, and 1RED8. 16 is a sounding body that indicates that reading has been performed accurately.

On the camera body 52 side, 20 is an MCU that controls the camera, and like MCU 1, it includes a CPU, ROM, and RAM.
, IO, and SCI.

21 is an SPD configured to receive the infrared light emitted by 1RED8, and is connected to the detection circuit 22, and the detection circuit 22 outputs the output port 22- only when there is a signal modulated at Hz at 38. 1 outputs a lower level signal. The output port 22-1 is connected to the input port P51 of the SCI of the MCU 20. 25 is an SPD for measuring the subject brightness, which is connected to an A/D converter 26, and the A/D converter 26 converts the subject brightness into a digital value and outputs it to P4, which is the input port of the MCU 20. Output to. The input port P4 consists of 8 bits. 24 is an LCD for display;
23 is a driver for driving the LCD, and M
It is connected to the IO output port P3 of the CU20. M
The IO input port P61 of the CU 20 is connected to a switch 27 and pulled up to the power supply by a resistor 28.

29 is a power battery on the camera 52 side, and the MPU 20. L
CD driver 23, A/D converter 26. Detection circuit 2
It supplies power to 2.

The SCI of the MCUI is designed to output an asynchronous signal with a character length of 8 bits, a stop bit of 2 bits, and a start bit of 1 bit, and the SCI of the MC020 is designed to be input.

FIG. 2 is an external view of the code reading device 51, camera body 52, and barcode list 53, and the same members as in FIG. 1 are given the same numbers.

The code reading device 51 is provided with two switches 9 and 1O, and furthermore, one of the devices has jRED4 and 5PD5 built in as a code reading section, and the other one has a built-in 1RED8 for data transmission. ing.

The camera 52 is provided with a switch 27 for photometry and a 5PD 21 for data reception.

The barcode list 53 includes barcode sections 18a and 18b corresponding to aperture information and sample photos i corresponding to each barcode section 18a and 18b.
9a and 19b are printed, and the barcode part 18
The barcode is read by tracing the barcode with the code reader.

Next, the format of the barcode section 18 will be described.

The barcode in the barcode section 18 includes a thin line (this is called a narrow bar), a thick line (this is called a wide bar),
Narrow spacing between bars (this is called narrow space)
, is composed of a wide interval between bars (this is called a wide space), and "0" corresponds to a narrow bar and a narrow space, and "1" corresponds to a wide bar and a wide space. The ratio of the width of the narrow space to the narrow bar is 1:1, and the ratio of the width of the narrow bar to the wide bar is 1:3. The barcode section 18 (18a, 18b) is shown in FIG.

As shown in Figure 3, the barcode always begins with a combination of two narrow bars and a narrow space (called a start bar) and ends with a narrow space sandwiched between a wide bar and a narrow bar (called an end bar). It shall be. Data is written between the start bar and the end bar, but this is written using 5 bars and their corresponding 5 digit spaces as one unit, each representing a single digit number. shall be taken as a thing. "O" and "1"
Figure 4 shows the relationship between the arrangement order and the numbers it represents.

For example, in the barcode section 18a shown in FIG. 3, the start bar is t sell, and the narrow bar is "O".

The wide bar is rlJ, roolloJ is displayed as a bar, and the space is similarly rt oo.

"l" is displayed. Therefore, from FIG. 4, the barcode section 18a in FIG. 3 is a (decimal) barcode indicating "01", and similarly, the barcode section 18b in FIG.
It can be seen that the barcode indicates "04".

Next, the barcode reading operation will be explained according to the flowchart shown in FIG.

As described above, when the output of the detection circuit 3, that is, the input to the input terminal P13 of the MCU1 is at a high level, the barcode section 18 is in a bar state, and when it is at a low level, it is in a space state.

To, TI, T2, n, DI, in RAM in MCU1
Six registers of D2 are prepared.

First, wait until the first bar is found in step +00, measure the time of the first narrow bar in steps lot~103, measure the narrow space in steps 104 to 106, and measure the time of the next narrow bar in steps 107 to 109. , the time T for using the maximum value multiplied by 1.5 to determine whether it is narrow or wide.
Used for O.

When the measurement of time TO by the start bar is completed, the data register is cleared in step 121 and reading of data is started.

In steps 123 and 124, the time on the bar is read, and the time T
If it is larger than O, it is judged as rlJ, and the data is doubled and
1" is added. Otherwise, only double the time, read the time in the space in steps 128 and 129, and do the same with the time T.
If it is larger than O, it is determined to be "1" and the same operation is performed.

Each time a pair of bar and space is read, register n is incremented, and the bar and space reading is repeated.

In steps 150 and 151, a timer overflow is detected. If there is an overflow, it is determined that barcode reading has been completed. If there is an overflow in step 150, it is determined that it is an error and the operation from step 100 is performed again.

If an overflow occurs in step 151, the number of bars is first checked in step 152 to determine whether the end was normal, and then the end bar is checked in steps 153 and 154. If NG (not a normal end), an error occurs. It is determined that this is the case and the operation from ■ is performed again.

If the above checks are OK, steps 155 and 1
If the part equivalent to the data of the end bar is removed at 56, this is a binary representation of the data indicated by the barcode, and if this is converted according to FIG. 4, the barcode data can be obtained. At this time, if the corresponding data is not in the table as shown in FIG. 4, it is determined that it is an error, and the operation from ① is performed again to read the data again.If the data is successfully read, the sounding element 16 is driven. and display an indication to that effect.

In the above configuration, the operation when it is desired to express flowers beautifully will be explained.

Photo 19a in FIG. 3 is an example of a case in which flowers are to be expressed beautifully, and photo 19b is an example of a case in which flowers are desired to be recorded. For the former, the beauty of the flower is expressed by selecting the aperture of F4 and shallowing the depth of field to blur the background, and for the latter, selecting the aperture of F1a and deepening the depth of field. The background can be discerned to some extent, and the photo shows the situation in which it was taken.

In this case, since the main purpose is to express flowers, the photograph 19a is selected, that is, the barcode section 18a corresponding to the photograph 19a is read. To read data, the user traces the barcode section 18a while pressing the switch 9.

When switch 9 is pressed, MCU1 sets output terminal P21 to high level and turns on transistor 6, so 1RED
4 lights up. At the same time, MCU1 performs the reading operation (described above) of the barcode section 18a. Here, since "01" is expressed in decimal notation in the barcode section 18a, that value is read.

Next, when switch 10 is pressed, MCUl changes 01" to BC
Binary r o o converted to D code.

5CI of data 0001J (output boat P22)
Output from

This output, whose waveform is shown in FIG. 6(a), is modulated to 38K) 12 by the NDR circuit 11, turns on the transistor 7 with the waveform shown in FIG. 6(b), and lights up the 1RED8. The infrared light emitted from the 1RED 8 is detected by the 5PD 21 disposed in the camera 52, demodulated by the detection circuit 22, and is transmitted as shown in FIG.
) and is input to the scr of the MCU 20. Therefore, MCU20 is rooooooooolJ (
In other words, the hexadecimal data "01" indicating F4 was received (see FIG. 7).

The MCU20 stores this data “01” in part M1 of the built-in RAM.
“Remember.

Here, when the switch 27 is pressed, the MCU 20 measures the brightness of the subject from the output of the A/D converter 26, and performs calculations to determine the shutter speed (TV value) and aperture value (AV value). It is assumed that the EV value of the output of the A/D converter 26 can be read as is at the input port P4.

If the value of Ml mentioned above is "06" or more (data of Ml is undefined), the MCU 20 performs the normal control shown in FIG. 8 (1), and if the value of Ml is other than that, the control shown in FIG. 8 ( The control shown in 2) is performed.

Since the value of Ml is now "01", the MCU 20 performs the control shown in FIG. 8(2). In other words, when the EV value is "8" or less, the aperture priority AE with aperture F2 is used, and when the EV value is between "8" and "9", the shutter speed priority AE is used with a shutter speed of 1760 seconds, and when the EV value is between "9" and "15". The aperture is F2.
When the EV value is "15" or more, it becomes shutter speed priority AE with a shutter speed of 1/4000 seconds. This program diagram is shown in FIG. Therefore,
In the brightness range of EF9 to EV15 (most of the daytime photography is within this brightness range), photography is performed with an aperture of F2.8, and the background as described above (example in Photo 19a) is You can take stunning photos.

On the other hand, if you want a photo that clearly shows the situation in which it was taken, you can trace the barcode section 18b with the reading section, and the same control as shown in FIG. 9 (2) will be performed.

According to this embodiment, a code is created that corresponds one-to-one with an example photo and represents aperture data suitable for that photo, and the code is read to control the camera's program diagram. Even if you don't have any knowledge of how aperture and shutter speed affect photographs, you can reflect those effects in your photographs by simply selecting a photograph that takes advantage of those effects. In addition, since the only component on the camera body 52 side required to perform these operations is the infrared light input section, there is no need to increase any display/operation components on the camera side, and in particular, the effects of the aperture and shutter speed can be adjusted. This also has the effect of simplifying the operability when there is no need to consider it.

Furthermore, these photographs and codes can be reproduced in large quantities by printing or the like, which has the effect that they can be produced at a correspondingly lower cost.

Furthermore, these photos can also be used as teaching materials to show what kind of expressions can be achieved using this camera system.

(Correspondence between the invention and the embodiments) In this embodiment, 5PD21. The detection circuit 22 corresponds to the detection means of the present invention, the ROM in the MCU 20 that holds data as shown in FIG. 7 corresponds to the storage means, and the MCU 20 corresponds to the control means. Further, the code reading device 52 corresponds to an information reading device.

(Modification) In this embodiment, from the code reading device 51 to the camera body 52,
Data is transferred with infrared rays, but each boat P
22 and F51 may be directly connected by wire. In this case, the operability of reading will be impaired due to the wire, but the power source etc. can be shared, and costs can be reduced. Furthermore, although the aperture value is changed based on the data in the barcode section 18, the shutter speed may also be changed.
In addition to aperture information and shutter speed information, the information in the barcode section 18 may include information used for control performed prior to a photographing operation (exposure operation), such as lens focal length information.

Further, in this embodiment, a barcode was used to represent the aperture information corresponding to the example image, but the present invention is not limited to this, and it is possible to have a one-to-one correspondence with the photograph, and the electric signal Any type of card may be used as long as it is easy to convert into 8.For example, it may be a magnetic card that is widely used these days, in which coded data is written and a photograph is printed on the surface of the card.

In addition, although I showed a photograph (or printed matter) as an example,
It may be of any type as long as it can be visually recognized by the photographer. For example, an image of an example photograph is stored as an image on a videotape, data similar to that of the above embodiment modulated at a specific frequency is stored in the audio section, and the code reading device 5
1 from an SPD to a microphone, and the detection circuit 3 is compatible with that, the reading device 5 can be used at the part of the image that you want to photograph while watching the videotape on the video deck.
1, similar photography can be performed.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained above, according to the present invention, there is provided a detection means for detecting a code signal from an information reading device that detects a code representing selection information, and a plurality of detection means for detecting a code signal from an information reading device for detecting a code representing selection information, and a plurality of a storage means that stores a program in advance, a selection means that selects a program for performing a specific camera operation in response to a code signal from the detection means, and a camera operation that is performed based on the selected program. A control means for automatically executing a program corresponding to a code signal from an information reading device, such as a program diagram or lens focal length information, to cause the camera to perform the camera operations necessary for taking an intended photograph. Since I set it to
Even a person who has no knowledge of photography can easily take appropriate photographs.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a barcode list, a perspective view of a code reading device, and a front view of a camera, and Fig. 3 is an example photograph and a part of the barcode. Figure 4 is the MCU shown in Figure 1.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the code reading device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. Timing chart, Figure 7 is shown in Figure 1 M
A diagram showing the correspondence between codes held in the CU 20 and program control, FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of control of the program diagram performed by the MCU 20 shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 9 shows the program diagram. It is a diagram. 20...MCU, 21...SPD, 2
2...Detection circuit, 51...Code reading device, 52...Camera body, 53...
Barcode list.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A detection means for detecting a code signal from an information reading device that detects a code representing selection information, a storage means for storing in advance a plurality of programs for performing a plurality of camera operations, and a detection means for detecting a code signal from an information reading device that detects a code representing selection information; Signals can be exchanged with an information reading device that is equipped with a selection means that selects a program for performing a specific camera operation in response to a code signal, and a control means that advances the camera operation based on the selected program. A camera.