JPH0361917A - Camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To suppress increases in the number of operating switches and manufacturing costs and to improve operability by providing an area switching means which detects that both zooming instructing switches and a release button are operated and switches a found range by a range-finding means. CONSTITUTION:By detecting that both the zooming instructing switches 2 and 3 and the release button 1 are operated, or both those switches and a self- photographing switch 101 are operated, the area switching means which switches range finding area by the range-finding means 104 is provided. The zooming instructing switches 2 and 3, and the release button 1 or the self-photographing switch 101 provided on easily operable positions are used as switches for switching found range. Thereby, the found range can be switched without increasing the number of operating switches or the manufacturing costs, and the operability is improved.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Application of the Invention) The present invention relates to an improvement in a camera having an electric zooming mechanism and a distance measuring means for obtaining distance measurement information of a plurality of points within a photographic screen.

(Background of the invention) In recent years, cameras have become automated and multi-functional due to the introduction of electronic components, microcomputers, etc., and even beginners without specialized knowledge of photography can now take photographs without making mistakes. It is now possible. However, as a matter of course, the more functions the device has, the more buttons it has to operate, which tends to make it more difficult for beginners to use.

Incidentally, a camera in which the ranging mode (hereinafter referred to as AP mode) can be switched by pressing a corresponding switch has been proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-10137 and the like. The reason for switching the AF mode is that distance measurement with a narrow field of view and distance measurement with a wide field of view each have their advantages and disadvantages. In other words, when measuring distance with a narrow field of view, it has the advantage of focusing on a specific target subject, but if the target subject moves out of this narrow field of view, the background will be in focus. There is a drawback. On the other hand, when distance measurement is performed with a wide field of view, that is, when determining the subject distance from distance information from multiple points within the shooting screen, the possibility that the target subject will be out of the field of view is low, but only a specific subject It becomes difficult to measure the distance accurately. For these reasons, cameras that can switch AF modes have been proposed.

However, the above conventional example requires a dedicated switch for switching the AF mode, and is not desirable in terms of switch arrangement and operability, and has the problem of being difficult to use. For example, when using a compact camera where the photographer is often a beginner without specialized knowledge, the fact that special switch operations are required is not desirable in itself. Moreover, providing a new dedicated switch becomes a disadvantageous constraint in cameras that are required to be compact and space-saving, and furthermore, it becomes a problem that cannot be ignored from the viewpoint of manufacturing costs.

Therefore, if you create a configuration that allows you to switch the AF mode in combination with the release button or other switches,
Although the increase in the number of operation switches and the increase in manufacturing costs can be overcome, problems remain from the viewpoint of operability as already mentioned above.

On the other hand, in cameras equipped with a motorized zooming mechanism,
The switch that performs the zooming operation is usually located in an area that is easy for the photographer to operate, but this switch is only used to drive the lens group, lens barrel, etc. in response to being pressed. It was difficult to use it in combination with other switches.

(Object of the Invention) An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and to switch the distance measurement area without increasing the number of operation switches or increasing the manufacturing cost, and without deteriorating the operability. The aim is to provide a camera that can

(Features of the Invention) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention detects that both the zooming instruction switch and the release button are operated, or when both the zooming instruction switch and the self-photographing switch are operated. By detecting this, an area switching means is provided to switch the distance measuring area of the distance measuring means, and thereby both the zooming instruction switch and the release button or self-photographing switch, which are provided in an easy-to-operate position, are provided. It is characterized in that it is used as a switch for switching range measurement areas.

(Example of the invention) An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.

Normally, the electric zooming operation button is pressed alone, and in response to this operation, the entire lens and lens barrel are moved via an electric drive source such as a motor and a mechanism interlocked therewith.

For example, in order to move the lens barrel section 21 to the long focal point side (hereinafter referred to as the telephoto direction), the telephoto (position E) switch 2
When only the OR gate 11 is pressed, all the input terminals of the OR gate 11 become "L" level, and the driver circuit 12 and the inverter 1
4, transistor 16.19 is turned on. This causes the motor 20 to rotate and the lens barrel section 21 to move in the telephoto direction. When the lens barrel section 21 reaches the most telephoto side (telephoto end), the telephoto end detection switch 2
4 is turned on, the output of the OR gate 11 becomes "H" via the inverter 8, and the power supply to the motor 20 is stopped. Conversely, when only the wide (WIDE) switch 3 is pressed in order to move the lens barrel section 21 to the short focus side (hereinafter referred to as the wide direction), all the input terminals of the OR gate 10 become "L" level. Transistors 17 and 18 are turned on via driver circuit 13 and inverter 15. As a result, the motor 20 rotates in the opposite direction to when the teleswitch 2 is pressed, and the lens barrel section 21 moves in the wide direction. When the lens barrel section 21 reaches the widest side (wide end), the wide end detection switch 25 is turned on, and the OR gate 10 is turned on via the inverter 9.
The output of the motor 2o becomes "H" level, and the power supply to the motor 2o is stopped.

Now, if the aforementioned tele switch 2 and wide switch 3 are pressed at the same time, strictly speaking, it is impossible for them to be pressed at exactly the same time, so in response to the switch that was pressed first, the lens The lens barrel section 21 starts moving. However, “as soon as both switches are turned on,
The outputs of the OR gates 10 and 11 both become "H" level through the inverter 5.6, and the transistors 16 to 1
Since all of the motors 9 are turned off, the power supply to the motor 2o is immediately cut off. In this state, when the switch 1 (SWI), which is turned on by the first stroke of the release button, is turned on, the input terminal SWI of the sequence control circuit 26 is inputted with the "L" level, and the output terminal of the OR gate 7 is at the "L" level. When this is detected by the sequence control circuit 26 and the distance measuring device 27, the AF mode is switched to the narrow field distance measuring mode, and the distance measuring operation is carried out in this mode.

On the other hand, if switch 1 is pressed first, the output terminals of OR gates 10 and 11 will both go to "H" level via inverter 4, so in this state, teleswitch 2 or wide switch 3 Even if only one of them is pressed, the motor 20 is not energized. Unless both the teleswitch 2 and the wide switch 3 are pressed, the output terminal of the OR gate 7 is "H" when the switch 1 is pressed. level, the AF mode becomes the wide-field ranging mode, and the sequence control circuit 26 and the ranging device 27 perform ranging operations according to this mode. In this state, if both tele switch 2 and wide switch 3 are pressed (or gate 7
output terminal becomes “L” level), and as mentioned above, A
P mode is a narrow field ranging mode.

Incidentally, similarly to the above-described switch 1, the AP mode may be switched by using a switch for self-photography setting (hereinafter referred to as a self-shooting switch). A description of this operation will be omitted since it is the same as the operation using the switch 1 described above, except that the photograph is taken by self.

Here, the above can be summarized as shown in FIG. 2.

That is, switch 1, tele switch 2, wide switch 3
When all of the buttons are pressed, and when the self switch, tele switch 2, and wide switch 3 are all pressed, the AP mode becomes narrow-field ranging mode, and when switch 1 or self switch is pressed alone, In the state where
AF mode becomes wide-field ranging mode. Of course, it is good if the AF mode can be switched, so the wide-field ranging mode and the narrow-field ranging mode may be reversed, but normally when only switch 1 or the self-switch is pressed,
It seems more appropriate to widen the rangefinding field of view.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the configuration was made by combining logic elements, but as shown in FIG. Of course it's a good thing. In addition, 103 in Figure 3
104 is a zooming device, 104 is a distance measuring device, 105 is a photometering device, 106 is a film feeding device, 107 is a strobe circuit, 108 is a lens control device, 109 is a shutter control device, and 110 is turned on by the second stroke of the release button. It's a switch.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the program, and the operation will be explained below according to this flowchart.

First, at #30 in FIG. 4(a), a timer for measuring a predetermined time is started. This is necessary to keep the CPU 102 in an operating state for a predetermined period of time, and to put it in a standby state after the elapse of a predetermined period of time to reduce power consumption, but it may be omitted if unnecessary.

Next, in #31, the state of switch 1, which is turned on by the first stroke of the release button, is checked. If switch 1 is on, proceed to #32 and check the status of tele switch 2 and wide switch 3, which are zooming operation buttons.1 If both tele switch 2 and wide switch 3 are on, proceed to #3.
Proceed to step 3 and measure the distance in a narrow field of view. On the other hand, if both the tele switch 2 and the wide switch 3 are not on, the process proceeds from #32 to #34, and distance measurement is performed in a wide field of view. In either case, when the distance measurement operation is completed, it passes through N2 and #3.
Proceed to step 5 and check whether the timer started in #30 has finished counting. Then, if the predetermined time has not elapsed, the process returns to Nl. If the predetermined time has passed, #36
Proceed to , stop the timer counting operation, and exit.

On the other hand, if switch 1 is not turned on in #31 above, #
37, it is determined whether only teleswitch 2 is pressed. If only teleswitch 2 is pressed, the subroutine TLFLOW is executed and the process proceeds to #38; otherwise, the process proceeds to #38 without doing anything. #3
In step 8, it is determined whether only wide switch 3 is pressed, and if only wide switch 3 is pressed,
After executing the subroutine WDFLOW and passing through N2, #
Otherwise, do nothing and proceed to #35 via N2. After proceeding to #35, the same operation as described above is performed.

Next, the subroutine TLFL performed in #39 mentioned above.
OW will be explained using FIG. 4(b).

When entering this subroutine, first the position of the lens barrel is checked. If it is at the telephoto end, the zooming motor cannot be driven any further in the telephoto direction, so the process proceeds to step #46, where the power supply to the zooming motor is stopped, and this subroutine ends. If it is not the tele end, the process proceeds to #42, where the motor is energized in the tele direction, and then the process proceeds to #43, where the state of the tele switch 2 is checked.

If the teleswitch 2 is pressed, the process proceeds to #44, but if it is not pressed, the process proceeds to #46 and ends. In #44, the state of switch 1 is checked. If switch 1 is off, the process proceeds to #45, but if it is on, the process proceeds to #46 and ends. In #45, the state of the wide switch 3 is checked. If the wide switch 3 is not pressed, the process returns to N3, but if it is pressed, the process proceeds to #46 and ends.

In this way, electricity is applied only when tele switch 2 is pressed and the lens barrel is not at the telephoto end, and when tele switch 2 is released or switch 1 or wide switch 3 is pressed. The power supply is stopped at the moment when the lens barrel reaches the telephoto end.

Regarding the subroutine WDFLOW carried out in #40, as shown in FIG. 4(c), the subroutine T
Almost the same as LFLOW (the only difference is that teleswitch 2 replaces wide switch 3), electricity is applied only when wide switch 3 is pressed and the lens barrel is not at the wide end, and wide The energization is stopped when switch 3 is released, when switch 1 or teleswitch 2 is pressed, or when it is detected in #47 that the lens barrel has reached the wide end.

As can be seen from the above, if the release button is suddenly pressed to take a picture while tele switch 2 or wide switch 3 is pressed and zooming operation is in progress, and switch 1 is turned on, the zoom operation will be stopped immediately. Since the shutter release is now possible, this means that the camera has been improved to be more resistant to photo opportunities. Also, while zooming does not work while both tele switch 2 and wide switch 3 are pressed, zooming can be done little by little by repeatedly releasing one of tele switch 2 and wide switch 3 and pressing it again. Since the lens barrel can be moved, operability is also improved.

On the other hand, in the embodiments described so far, when both the tele switch 2 and the wide switch 3 are pressed, the switch 1
or when the self-switch 101 is turned on, A
The configuration was configured to switch the P mode, but for example, the fifth
Modifications as shown in the figure are also possible. That is, when both teleswitch 2 and switch 1 are pressed, the sequence control circuit 26
The input terminal AFMODE becomes "L", and in this state, the distance measurement device 27 is used to perform distance measurement in a narrow field of view. When the narrow-field distance measurement is completed, the display control unit 28 uses the (21) from the oscillator 29 to flash the distance measurement completion lamp to notify the photographer that it is not the wide-field AP mode. If 2 is not pressed, the input terminal AFMODE of the sequence control circuit 26 becomes "H", and wide-field distance measurement is performed in this state.

In this way, when zooming is performed and the lens barrel section 21 is moved in the telephoto direction to take a close-up photograph of a subject, the mode is automatically switched to the narrow-field distance measurement mode, which further improves operability.

According to this embodiment, since the teleswitch and wide switch for moving the lens barrel are also used as the AP mode changeover switch, the AF mode can be changed at low cost without adding a new dedicated switch for AF mode changeover. It becomes possible to select and switch. In addition, since the zooming operation button is usually located in an easy-to-operate position, there is no need to operate a special switch to change the AP mode, improving operability. This also has the effect of reducing implementation constraints. Furthermore, it is possible to improve the operability of normal zooming operations.

(Correspondence between invention and embodiment) In this embodiment, teleswitch 2. wide switch 3
is the zooming instruction switch of the present invention, or gate 7,
The sequence control circuit 26 or the CPU 102 respectively correspond to area switching means.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained above, according to the present invention, by detecting that both the zooming instruction switch and the release button have been operated, or by detecting that both the zooming instruction switch and the self-photographing switch have been operated. By detecting this, an area switching means is provided to switch the range measurement area of the distance measurement means, and thereby both the zooming instruction switch and the release button or self-photographing switch, which are located at easy-to-operate positions, are provided. Since it is used as a switch for switching the distance measurement area, it is possible to prevent an increase in the number of operation switches and manufacturing costs, and it is also possible to switch the distance measurement area without deteriorating the operability. Become.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the relationship between switch states and AF modes, FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. The figure is a flowchart showing the operation, and FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention. 1... Switch, 2... Tele switch, 3... Wide switch, 7... OR gate, 26... Sequence control circuit, 101
...Switch for self-shooting settings.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A zooming instruction switch for instructing zooming in a telephoto or wide-angle direction, a zooming means for driving a lens barrel in the direction instructed by the zooming instruction switch, and a distance measuring means having a plurality of distance measuring areas. A camera comprising: an area switching means for switching the distance measurement area of the distance measurement means by detecting that both the zooming instruction switch and the release button have been operated. . (2) A zooming instruction switch for instructing zooming in a telephoto or wide-angle direction, a zooming means for driving a lens barrel in the direction instructed by the zooming instruction switch, and a distance measuring means having a plurality of distance measuring areas. The camera is characterized by being provided with an area switching unit that switches the distance measurement area of the distance measurement unit by detecting that both the zooming instruction switch and the self-photographing switch are operated. Camera to do.