JPH03136478A - Camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To economize power until a prescribed set state is discriminated by providing an unoperating mode canceling means to allow practical transition from an unoperating mode to a photographing standby mode. CONSTITUTION:A timer.AF(automatic focus) monitoring ON/OFF control means 2a is built in a system control means 2 and at first, a camera is set to the photographing unoperating mode. In this unoperating mode, a main power source is turned to an OFF state and only a power source in one part for AF or for measuring a timer, etc., is turned to an operating state. Then, the unoperating state is practically maintained. When it is discriminated that an object appears in a prescribed area in a prescribed set state such as standby photographing, for example, or that the set time is passed in a photographing standby set processing by the timer to inhibit photographing in the set time of the timer, the camera is set to the photographing standby state. Thus, energy consumption is suppressed and further, standby photographing is enabled with a speed response.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a camera, and more particularly to a camera having a shooting standby mode.

[Prior Art] During standby photography using a conventional camera, a standby state for photography is always maintained during standby, and therefore a considerable amount of power is wasted during that time. Also, in the case of normal shooting, if you leave the power switch on during a period when shooting is not necessary, the camera will always be in shooting standby mode.
Not only is power was wasted, but if you press the release button by mistake, a photo will be taken. Furthermore, when the power switch is turned off, there may be a lack of immediate response to the start of shooting.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] As described above, in conventional cameras that always maintain a standby state during standby shooting, power consumption during standby is wasted. Therefore, it is conceivable to turn on the power when the subject reaches the photographing position and set the state to start photographing. However, for example, in the case of an electronic still camera that uses a floppy disk, it is difficult to start up and stabilize the spindle rotation.
．． 2 to 0.5 sec, 10 seconds to reset the imaging system circuit
It takes around 0 m5ec. Further, in both electronic still cameras and silver halide film cameras, it takes 1 to 3 seconds to charge the flash when photographing. Therefore,
By the time the shutter is released, the subject may have already moved out of the photographic field of view.

On the other hand, even during normal shooting, if the camera is always on standby mode as described above, there is a high chance that the shooting release will be released by mistake.Especially in the case of electronic still cameras, shooting one screen erases the shot screen and rewrites it. In some cases, you may get lost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, it is an object of the present invention to enable a transition from a substantially inactive mode that consumes very little power to a shooting standby mode, which not only saves power but also improves the immediate response of shooting. It is an object of the present invention to provide a camera that can improve the image quality and prevent +b4 erasure.

[Means and effects for solving the problems] The camera of the present invention is a camera that has a shooting standby mode as an operation mode in which a shooting operation can be performed in response to a shooting trigger signal, and the camera consumes very little power. The present invention is characterized in that it includes an inoperative mode canceling means that allows transition from a slight substantial inactive mode to the photographing standby mode.

[Example] The present invention will be described below with reference to an illustrated example in which the present invention is applied to an electronic still camera.Prior to the explanation, the concept of the present invention will be explained with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

The camera of the present invention has a predetermined setting state, for example, in standby shooting, the subject appears within a predetermined area, or in a shooting standby setting process using a timer that prohibits shooting within the timer setting time, the set time is set. When it is determined that the time has elapsed, the camera is set to a shooting standby state.

First, the camera is set to a non-photographing mode.

In this inactive mode, the main power is turned off and the AF
Only a part of the power supply for measuring (automatic focusing) or a timer etc. is kept in an active state, and is substantially maintained in an inactive state. Then, in step 5100, it is determined whether the predetermined setting state has been discriminated.

In response to the above-mentioned discrimination output, the process moves to step 5101, and the photographing standby operation mode (photographing operation mode) is activated by the ON10FF control means, which is a means for canceling the inoperable mode and controls the main power switch.
to move to. In this standby mode, the camera immediately responds to the photo opportunity by starting up the imaging system circuit, starting up the spindle motor of the floppy drive device, or performing appropriately selected shooting*preparation operations such as charging the strobe for flash photography. You can now take pictures. Therefore, in standby photography, it is possible to save power during the time until the subject appears, and in photography with a standby setting using a timer, it is possible to save power during the set time, and at the same time, it is possible to prevent erroneous photography.

FIG. 2 is a block configuration diagram of a control device for an electronic still camera showing an embodiment of the present invention, and the camera of this embodiment is capable of standby shooting standby mode processing and shooting standby mode processing using a timer. It is.

The above control device includes a photographing control means 1, a system control means 2, a timer means 3, a timer setting/cancellation input means 4, a main power supply 0N10FF input means 5, a main power supply section 6, and a power switch which is a main power switch. It is composed of a control means 7, a timer power supply section 8, and an operation switch/display means.

First, the photographing system control means 1 performs image recording and reproduction.
Drive 1. Further, the AF/zoom drive circuit 24 receives the output of the distance measurement sensor 15 and
Performs AF (automatic focus) and zoom operations for the subject.

Furthermore, the imaging light flux from the ticking lens 13 forms an image on the imaging plane of the imaging element 14, and the imaging signal is input to the imaging process circuit 23. Note that the synchronization signal generation circuit 22 is used to drive the image pickup device 14, and the white balance circuit 25 adjusts the white balance of the image pickup process circuit 23. The video output of the imaging process circuit 23 is then sent to a magnetic recording/reproducing drive device 2 that records and reproduces the video onto a floppy disk via a recording/reproducing circuit 26.
7 and is recorded. In addition, the drive device 2
7 is output as a reproduction output by the demodulation circuit 29 via the recording and reproduction circuit 26. The servo control circuit 28 controls the speed of the spindle of the drive motor of the toy live device 27. Further, the erasure of the captured image data is also performed by the drive device 27 via the recording/reproducing circuit 26.

The system control means 2 controls each control element of the photographing control means 1, and furthermore, the timer AF monitoring 0N1 is a means for canceling the above-mentioned inoperable mode.
Built-in 0FF control means 2a.

Main power? fi, 6 is the distance sensor 15 and the above 0N10F
A small amount of control power is supplied to the F control means 2a, and further power for driving the photographing control means 1 and the system control means 2 is supplied via the power control means 7.

Further, the timer means 3 driven by the timer-dedicated power supply 8 is set to 0N10F by the timer setting/cancellation input means 4.
Setting and cancellation are performed via the F control means 2a.

The distance measurement sensor 15 is of a three-point distance measurement type and is composed of three sets of infrared light emitting diodes and a position detection device. In addition, the third
The figure shows n1 for the subject distance measured by the distance measuring sensor 15.
This shows the distance range, and the distance measurement direction is the center direction M of the angle of view and the left and right directions thereof.

Let it be R. The target position of the subject in in-focus trigger type standby shooting is indicated by H1, and the standby area, which is an area that permits transition to the shooting standby mode in standby shooting, is indicated by S. Note that the target position H
The setting of the standby area S is not limited to the combination of the angle of view (direction) and distance as in this example, but may be performed using only the angle of view (direction) or only the distance, or the angle of view (direction) Naturally, it can be expanded two-dimensionally (that is, in the vertical direction). And the above 0
The N10FF control means 2a is the lung 1 distance sensor 15.
The power control means 7 is turned on in response to the output of the timer means 3 or the output of the timer means 3.

The operation switch/display means 8 includes human-powered switches such as a photographing release signal or a trigger signal for starting standby photographing which are manually input to the system control means 2, and a display device such as a photographing track.

The standby processing for photographing in the electronic still camera of this embodiment configured as described above will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. First, when a signal to start standby photography is input from the operation switch 9, the camera control device is first set to a photography inoperative mode. In this non-operating mode, the power control means 7 is turned off and only a small amount of control power is consumed. Then, a processing routine is called. In step 5110, distance measurement of the subject is performed by the DJ distance sensor 15. Distance measurement is then repeated until the subject appears within the standby area S shown in FIG. standby area,
For example, if a subject appears at point P in area S in FIG.
AF monitoring ON10 is input to the FF control means 2a, and the power control means 7 is turned on. Then, the main power is supplied to the photographing control means 1 and the system control means 2 to enter a photographing standby state (step 5111), and the control means 1 enters a waiting state for photographing release. Further, the distance nj is continued, and it is determined whether the subject has reached the target position H or not. If the state has not yet been reached, the process moves to step 5112. If it is detected that the subject has reached the target position H, the process jumps to step 8113, where photography is performed, and the process returns to step 5112. Note that the number of images taken is counted after the photograph is taken, and when a predetermined number of images are taken, a message indicating that the photographing has been completed is displayed and the routine is ended.

In the distance measurement in step 5112, it is determined whether or not the subject exists within the area S. If the subject exists, the process returns to step 5111 and the standby state is maintained. but,
If it does not exist in area S, that state is detected and 0N10
The signal is input to the FF control means 2a. Then, the power control means 7 is turned off, the standby operation is interrupted, and the photographing non-operation mode is entered. Next, if there is an instruction to cancel the standby mode for standby shooting, this routine ends, and if there is no instruction to cancel the standby mode, the process returns to step 5110.
distance measurement is performed.

As described above, in standby photography according to this embodiment, the inactive mode with low power consumption is maintained for a relatively long time until the subject appears within the angle of view. As soon as a subject appears, the camera is set to a standby operating mode in which it is possible to release the camera. Therefore, it is possible to suppress power consumption as much as possible and to perform standby photography with good responsiveness.

Note that if the distance measuring sensor 15 is constructed of a so-called passive type sensor that does not use an infrared light emitting diode, the power consumption in the non-operating mode can be further reduced.

Next, in the fifth step, a standby setting process using a timer that prohibits shooting within a set time during normal shooting in the camera of this embodiment is performed.
This will be explained using the flowchart shown in the figure. The time T until the start of shooting standby is determined by the timer setting/cancellation input means 4.
When s is set and standby setting is instructed by the timer, the timer means 3 starts measuring time and the camera is set to 0N1.
The photographing non-operation mode is set in which the control power sources of the 0FF control means 2a and the timer means 3 are activated.

Then, the processing routine shown in FIG. 5 is called.

Until the timer means 3 reaches the above-mentioned time Ts,
This routine is exited as is, and this routine is called again. Then, when the set time Ts is reached, it is determined whether the setting of the main electric power unit 1TIN10FF manual power means 5 is in the ON state.

If it is in the on state, the power control means 7 is turned on by the 0N10FF control means 2a, the main power is supplied, and the photographing standby state is established. If the above settings are off, the routine exits directly.

As described above, according to the standby setting process using the timer, by appropriately setting the set time Ts, photographing is prohibited at least until the time Ts has elapsed, preventing erroneous photographing. Previously recorded data will not be erased. Furthermore, the power saving state can be maintained during the timer setting time Ts.

Next, a modification of the standby setting process using the timer of the electronic still camera of the above-described embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 6-7. In the electronic still camera of this modification, during the timer-set shooting non-operation mode, shooting and erasing are prohibited, but playback is permitted. That is, in the shooting non-operation mode state, the recording/erasing prohibition flag F is set to 1,
Only recording/erasing is prohibited, or playback is allowed.

Further, in the operation mode, the flag F is reset to O, and recording, reproduction, and erasing are enabled.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the control device of the above modification. As shown in this diagram, the system control means 2
' is a flag and ON1 which is a means for canceling the inoperable mode.
It has a built-in 0FF control means 2a', and the rest of the configuration is the same as that of the above embodiment. Note that the AF monitoring means for standby photography is omitted.

FIG. 7 shows a flowchart of standby setting processing using a timer in this modification. When the time Ts until the start of photographing standby is set and the standby setting processing routine is called, the timer means 3 starts measuring time and the setting by the main power supply 0N10FF input means 5 is checked. If it is off, the check is repeated until it becomes on. When the on state is confirmed, the process moves to the next determination step, and if the time measured by the timer means 3 has not yet reached the above-mentioned time Ts, the flag F is set to 1 and the routine returns. If the elapsed time has reached the time Ts, the flag F is reset to 0, and control is returned to the recording/reproducing process from the above routine.

In this recording/reproducing process, the flag F is referred to and predetermined recording, reproduction, or erasing is performed.

Therefore, in the standby setting process by the camera of this modification, in the inactive mode within the timer setting time, recording and erasing are disabled, and even if you press the shooting release button by mistake, no recording will be performed and recorded data that has already been shot will be erased. Never. Further, since playback operation is possible even in the above-described non-operation mode, an extremely easy-to-use electronic camera can be realized.

Although the embodiments of the present invention described above are applied to electronic still cameras, the same gist can also be applied to conventional silver halide film type cameras.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, the camera of the present invention is equipped with an inoperative mode canceling means that allows the camera to shift from a substantially inactive mode to a shooting standby mode,
According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a camera that has remarkable effects such as saving power until a predetermined setting state is determined, and further preventing photographing due to an erroneous operation.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic flowchart of a camera's photography standby setting processing routine showing the concept of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an electronic still camera showing an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the above-mentioned FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the standby processing routine of the electronic still camera shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. A flowchart of a photographing standby processing routine using a still camera timer; FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an electronic still camera showing a modification of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2; FIG. 7 is a flowchart of the electronic still camera shown in FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a standby setting processing routine using a timer. 2a・・・・・・Timer/AF monitoring 0N10FF
Control means (inoperative mode release means) 2a'...
...Flag and 0N10FF control means (inoperative mode release means)

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) A camera that has a shooting standby mode as an operating mode in which shooting can be performed in response to a shooting trigger signal, and the camera shifts from a substantially inactive mode in which power consumption is extremely small to the shooting standby mode. What is claimed is: 1. A camera characterized in that it is equipped with a means for canceling an inoperative mode. (2) The inoperable mode release means is configured to respond to a discrimination means for discriminating whether or not the subject is within a predetermined area. camera. (3) The camera according to claim 1, wherein the inoperative mode release means is configured to respond to an output of a timer means.