JPH0234825A - Camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the convenience in use of a camera by positioning a display part on the top face of the camera, and arranging an up-and-down button close to the display part. CONSTITUTION:The display part 7 which displays data on a diaphragm value and shutter speed by an LCD or an LED composed of dot matrix, based on output data from a microprocessor MP, is provided on the top face of the member located on the upper part of the camera. In addition, the up-and-down operation member for inputting information in order to raise and lower the diaphragm value and the numerical value of the shutter speed is arranged in the microprocessor MP, close to the display part 7. Therefore, the diaphragm value and shutter speed can be easily changed while looking at the display.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to an electrically controlled camera, and particularly to a camera in which shutter control and aperture control are performed by a microprocessor.

(Prior art) In recent years, with the introduction of electronics, cameras have been able to automate exposure, focus adjustment, etc. using microprocessors, and with the availability of interchangeable lenses and various accessories, a variety of types of cameras can be used. It has made it possible to make full use of a variety of photographic techniques, expanding the scope of camera use and the number of users. In such cases, the term system camera, which includes the camera and its accessories, is becoming established.

Cameras, especially eye reflex cameras, are the core of these systems. The camera body and lens are constructed as separate units, and the camera unit includes a dark box, film storage, film winding, release, shutter speed settings, A control section including an operation section for setting film sensitivity, etc., and a part of the viewfinder are constructed as one unit, and control according to the camera shooting mode is performed by a microprocessor.

These camera units include interchangeable lenses, flash units, motor drive devices, and various release devices.

By attaching various accessories such as various finders, it is possible to take pictures for even more diverse purposes.

(Problem to be solved by this invention) A system camera controlled by such a microprocessor is
While it is possible to take pictures in various shooting modes depending on the purpose, for example, when shooting with aperture priority, it is necessary to look at the display in the viewfinder to check the shutter speed for the selected aperture. However, if you wanted to change the selected combination of aperture value and shutter speed, you had to reset the settings using the aperture setting ring on the interchangeable lens and check the display in the viewfinder again. Additionally, when setting the aperture value and shutter speed manually, it was necessary to check two places: the aperture setting ring and the shutter speed setting dial, in order to check the status.
Furthermore, there are many things that need to be controlled, not just data such as shutter speed and aperture value, but also the distance to the subject, whether automatic exposure is used, whether shutter priority or aperture priority is used, whether flash is required, etc., and these shooting conditions If you try to check the data that determines this, there is too much to display in the viewfinder, and if you display it on each component such as the shutter and lens, it will be difficult to check at a glance.

(Means for Solving the Problems) This invention solves the above-mentioned inconveniences of conventional cameras controlled by microprocessors by centrally displaying various types of data in the most easily viewable place, making it easy to use. I'm trying to get a camera.

That is, the camera of the present invention is a camera that performs shutter control and aperture control using a microprocessor,
A display unit is provided on the upper surface of the member located at the upper part of the camera for displaying data on the aperture value and shutter speed using an LCD or a dot matrix LED based on output data from the microprocessor;
An up/down operation member for manually inputting information to the microprocessor to increase or decrease numerical values of the aperture value or shutter speed is disposed close to the display section.

(Example) Examples will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 1 corresponds to a conventional single-lens reflex camera unit, and the main unit BU includes a mirror 1.
The control unit CU is composed of a dark box including a dark box, a film storage section 2, and a film winding section 3 driven by a motor. Connected only electrically.

An example of the configuration of such a control unit CU is shown in FIG. 2.

MP is the core information processing part of the control unit,
Preferably, it is configured as a single chip microprocessor. The microprocessor-MP includes a central processing unit CPU, a read-only memory ROM in which a predetermined control program is written, a random access memory RAM for temporarily storing photographic information input from the outside, and a random access memory RAM for temporarily storing photographic information input from the outside. It consists of a programmable timer PT that can be generated, an analog switch AS for switching multiple analog inputs such as the output A from the 711'l optical circuit AP, and inputting it through the A-D converter ADC, an input/output buffer circuit, etc. An input/output circuit I10 that controls information, an oscillation circuit CK that generates and supplies clock signals in the microprocessor MP, and a data bus D that connects them.
Consists of B, etc. The liquid crystal display panel L provided on the finder cover uses the output data of the microprocessor MP.
A driver DC+) for driving a CD is incorporated into MP.

The input/output control circuit CIO is configured as an engineering C and consists of a register, a decoder, etc., an output control circuit RD that stores the output information of the microprocessor MP in the register, decodes it, and outputs it to the driver D, a shutter control of the main unit,
A driver D that controls various magnet Mg drives such as aperture control and mirror drive, and a motor M for film drive and mirror box charging, an aperture signal detection section FS, a film feed signal detection section FA, and a main unit. Various inherent performances (for example, minimum aperture value, upper and lower limits of shutter speed, program AE, aperture priority AE, shutter priority AE, motor drive frame speed, etc.)
The waveform shaping circuit WS of the signal from the information generating unit AI, the electric g
Battery check circuit BC1 for checking the voltage; switch SW for confirming the operation and detecting the status of the above-mentioned waveform shaping circuit WS, battery check circuit BC, and other units;
An input control circuit EC encodes various information such as the flash information input section EF, reduces the number of inputs, and inputs it to the microprocessor MP. When the camera is in operation, the main body side battery B1 is supplied to the control unit CU. The power supply control circuit PC1 is comprised of a constant voltage circuit VR for supplying a constant voltage to a photometric circuit AP, a battery check circuit BC, a sliding resistor, etc. And input control circuit E
The output of C is input/output circuit I10 of microprocessor MP.
It is input to the microprocessor MP through the input/output circuit I10 or input to the output control circuit RD through the input/output circuit I10.
The output of the microprocessor MP is input directly from the PU.

In the figure, B2 is a memory backup battery L for retaining the memory contents of the microprocessor MP when it is inactive.
CD is a liquid crystal display panel that displays data such as aperture value and shutter speed, Q is an oscillator for the oscillation circuit CK, and KB is for inputting information such as film sensitivity shutter speed, aperture, shooting mode, release, etc. , sometimes configured as a push-button keyboard. Further, F is a sliding resistance for inputting lens aperture information.

Regarding the operation of a camera with such a control circuit,
Since it is similar to a normal microprocessor built-in camera, detailed explanation will be omitted.

As mentioned above, in this embodiment, one main body unit B
U has a film winding section 3 driven by a motor Mt, a main battery B1 is housed in a main unit BU, and a control unit C
U is microprocessor MP and input/output control circuit CI○
The connector 5 is connected to the main unit BU.
connected only electrically. Therefore, if necessary, the control unit CU can be connected to the main unit BU as shown in Figure 3.
It is also possible to remotely control the camera by removing it from the camera and connecting it with an extension cord 6. 7 is an Albada finder, which I attached to prevent being unable to see the subject after setting the camera.

Furthermore, it is extremely easy to perform wireless control by attaching attachments for wireless transmission and reception to a portion of this connector.

In addition, the lens can be moved using a motor or spring, the output of the photoelectric focusing detection device can be displayed on the control unit, and focusing can be performed remotely.If necessary, the control unit CU can be controlled by the microprocessor MP section. Various design changes are possible, such as incorporating the input/output control circuit CI○ into the main unit BU.

Furthermore, as described above, it is possible to freely select various control units with different configurations and combine them with the main unit as necessary. Examples of various control units are shown in the fourth section.
This is shown in Figures 6 to 6. That is, FIGS. 4(a) to 4(d) are a front view, a bottom view, a rear view, and a bottom view of a control unit having a matrix display section in a warship section, and 7
8.9 is a matrix display section that displays various information such as aperture value, shutter speed, and ASA value using LEDs arranged in a matrix. These are up and down buttons, and the switching button 10 is used to select whether to move the shutter speed or the comparison value. 11 is a release button, 12 is a main switch, 13 is a self-timer, 14 is an automatic exposure lock button, and 15 is a diopter adjustment button.

Fig. 5 is an example of the embodiment shown in Fig. 4 with further improved functions, in which operating sections that are not usually used, such as for setting ASA, setting multiple exposure, setting exposure mode, and setting metering mode, are integrated into one board. 16 and folded as shown in FIG. 5(d).

FIG. 6 shows an example in which up and down buttons are provided for each aperture set, shutter speed, and film sensitivity ASA, respectively, and a matrix display section 7 is provided on the roof of the pentaprism.

(Effects of the Invention) The camera of this invention has the display section located on the top surface of the camera as described above, and the up/down buttons are arranged close to it, so the camera can be held in place when changing the aperture value or shutter speed. This provides a remarkable effect in that the aperture value and shutter speed can be easily changed while viewing the display without covering the display section with the hand.

Furthermore, by changing the combination of the main unit and control unit, the range of the system camera can be expanded. Conditions can be easily checked at any time.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the camera of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the control circuit, FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing the connection state using an extension cord, and FIG. 5 and 6 show embodiments having different display sections and operation sections, and the symbols in the figures are BU: Main unit CU: Control unit MP Two microprocessors PT: Programmable timer AS: Analog switch ADC: A-D converter Ilo: Input/output circuit DC: LCD driver CK: Oscillator circuit CI○: Input/output control IC RD: Output control circuit EC: Input control circuit D: Driver PC: Power supply control circuit WS: Waveform shaping circuit BC: Battery check circuit R: Constant voltage circuit 8P: Side light circuit LCD: Liquid crystal display board KB: Keyboard Q: Vibrator B1: Main battery B2: Memory backup battery EF: Strobe information input section Mg: Magnet Mt: Motor Fs : Aperture signal detection section FA: Film feeding signal detection section A: Main unit performance information generation section SW: Switch Fo = Open calibration value information generation section 5: Connector 6: Extension cord 7: Matrix display section.

Claims (1)

[Claims] In a camera that uses a microprocessor to control the shutter and aperture, the aperture value and shutter speed are controlled based on the output data from the microprocessor.
A display unit that displays data using LEDs configured with a D or dot matrix is provided on the top surface of a member located above the camera, and information for increasing or decreasing the numerical values of the aperture value and shutter speed is input to the microprocessor. A camera characterized in that an up/down operation member is arranged close to the display section.