JPH04347976A - Image pickup device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a small image pickup device with a good operability capable of inputting data from outside and outputting data to outside without necessitating the mounting of the input/output terminals separately. CONSTITUTION:In the image pickup device in which a camera main body 3 and a lens part 1 are composed in freely attachably and detachably, the camera main body 3 is provided with second electrical contact group 8a, 8b to perform the communication of the signal with the lens part 1 in contact with a first electrical contact group 4a, 4b provided on the lens part 1 in the state that the lens part 1 is fitted to the camera part 3. The second electrical contact group 8a, 8b are made to be used as the electrical contact group for the communication of the information signal with the outside of the camera main body 3 in the state that the lens part 1 is not fitted.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus that takes in object information and records and reproduces image signals.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been a still video (hereinafter referred to as SV) system as a system for recording and reproducing still images. This SV system records a standard television signal on a 2-inch magnetic disk by FM modulating it. This recording form is analog recording defined by a format, and therefore, in the early days of the SV system, most recording and reproducing circuits were constructed of analog circuits. However, recently, due to the advantage that there is no signal deterioration even after repeated recording and playback,
Many devices have been proposed that use digital circuits in the recording and reproducing process.

Among these, it has been considered to mount an image memory in the camera body and perform the recording and reproducing process via the image memory. Additionally, if you have an image memory, you can install an external input/output terminal on the camera body and input data (not limited to image data) from an external device, such as a personal computer, to play it back on a monitor or use a magnetic It is possible to record on a medium in SV format.

[0004] Furthermore, CHSV (Co
Compatible Highband Still
video) method (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-28097
Considering No. 3), if the image memory is built into the camera body, there is no need to move the magnetic head at high speed during recording, and interpolation processing can be performed during playback, so recording and playback can be performed easily. An integrated CHSV camera becomes possible.

[0005]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the above conventional example, in the case of an SV camera or a CHSV camera equipped with an image memory, inputting data from the outside to the memory or outputting memory data to an external device is difficult. It is necessary to separately provide a data input/output terminal on the camera body and perform data operations from there, which causes the problem that the camera body becomes larger by the terminal, making it difficult to operate. Ta.

[0006] Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to enable input of data from the outside and output of data to the outside; It is an object of the present invention to provide an imaging device that is compact and has good operability without the need for separate input/output terminals.

[0007]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the objects, an imaging device of the present invention is provided with an imaging device in which a camera main body portion and a lens portion are detachably configured. The main body has second electrical contacts for communicating signals with the lens by contacting a first group of electrical contacts provided on the lens when the lens is attached to the camera main body. a group of electrical contacts, and the second group of electrical contacts can be used as a group of electrical contacts for communicating information signals with the outside of the camera body when the lens section is not attached. It is characterized by

Further, in the imaging device according to the present invention, the camera body section includes a control means for controlling the operation of the entire imaging device, and a control means for controlling the operation of the entire imaging device, and converting subject information taken in from the lens section into an electrical signal for processing. a signal processing means, a part of the second electrical contact group is connected to the control means when the lens is attached, and a part of the second electrical contact group is connected to the control means when the lens is not attached. The device is characterized in that it further includes a changeover switch for connecting to the signal processing means.

Further, in the imaging device according to the present invention, the camera body further includes an image memory in the middle of the signal processing means, and when the lens section is not attached, the changeover switch is switched to enable 2
A part of the electrical contacts are connected to the image memory. Further, in the imaging device according to the present invention, the signal communicated between the first electrical contact group and the second electrical contact group is transmitted during normal photographing in which subject information is taken in as light from the lens section. It is characterized in that it is a signal required to control the photographing operation.

[0010] Furthermore, in the imaging device according to the present invention, the information signal is an image signal. Further, in the imaging device according to the present invention, the camera body section has a mounting section for mounting the lens section, and is mounted on the mounting section, and a signal for communicating the information signal with the outside. The invention further includes an adapter for connecting a wire to the second group of electrical contacts.

[0011]

[Operation] As described above, since the imaging device according to the present invention is configured, during normal photographing operation, a part of the electrical contact group used for signal communication with the lens section is not used for photographing. Sometimes, by using it to communicate signals with the outside,
There is no need to separately provide input/output terminals for this purpose, and it is possible to realize a compact imaging device with good operability.

0012

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figure 1-1, Figure 1-2
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an imaging device according to an embodiment.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a lens unit for forming a subject image on an image sensor (not shown) built into the image pickup unit 10, and 2 a lens unit for limiting the amount of light incident on the image pickup unit 10. An aperture, 3, a camera body; 4a, 4b, contacts provided in the lens unit 1 for transmitting and receiving signals between the lens unit 1 and the camera body 3; 6, a lens unit in the camera body 3; Lens mounts 8a and 8b for mounting 1 are provided on the camera body 3 side, and signal pins (contacts) 10 that contact contacts 4a and 4b, respectively, convert optical information of the subject into electrical signals. An imaging unit 12 is a signal processing unit for converting the output signal from the imaging unit 10 into a video signal, and 14 is a
An A/D converter 16 converts a video signal into a digital signal, an image memory 16 records the digitized video signal, and 18 converts the digital signal output from the image memory 16 into an analog signal. The D/A converter 20 is an output circuit that converts the output signal from the D/A converter 18 into an output video signal.

Reference numeral 22 denotes an SV recording process circuit for converting an analog video signal into a signal for magnetic recording, and 26 a magnetic recording process circuit for recording the signal converted by the SV recording process circuit on a magnetic medium 28. The head 24 is an SV reproduction process circuit for converting a signal read from the magnetic medium 28 into a video signal, and 30 is a system control circuit for controlling the overall operation of the camera.

Reference numeral 32 denotes an external input/output device 35 for supplying a video signal from the outside to the camera body or outputting a video signal from the camera body to a monitor.
36 is a switch for switching the signal from the signal pin 8a to the system control circuit 30 and the image memory 16, and 36 is for connecting the external input/output device 32 to the signal pins 8a and 8b of the camera body. This external input/output adapter has a shape that covers the camera-side lens mount 6. Note that external input/output devices include external monitors, printers, video cameras, tuners, and character generators.
A computer, a measuring instrument, an external recording/reproducing device, etc. can be considered.

Next, the operation of the imaging apparatus configured as described above will be explained. First, in a normal recording operation of subject information taken in from the lens section 1, the imaging section 10
The photoelectrically converted signal is converted into a video signal by the signal processing unit 12, A/D converted by the A/D converter 14,
The image is written into the image memory 16. After some processing is performed on this image memory 16 (for example, noise reduction, etc., or recording twice in the case of CHSV), the D/
It is converted into an analog signal by the A converter 18, and the S
The V recording process circuit 22 converts the signal into a recording signal.

Then, the magnetic medium 2 is recorded by the recording head 26.
8 is magnetically recorded. In addition, in the reproduction operation, the signal extracted from the magnetic medium 28 by the magnetic head 26 is
The SV reproduction process circuit 24 converts it into a video signal, and A
The image data is written into the image memory 16 through the /D converter 14. Then, it is subjected to some processing (for example, pixel interpolation in the case of CHSV) on the image memory 16, converted to an analog signal by the D/A converter 18, and converted to an output video signal by the output circuit 20, and then Output.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1-2, when inputting a signal from the outside or outputting a signal to the outside, remove the lens section 1 from the camera body section 3, and then remove the lens section 1 from the camera body section 3. An external input/output adapter 36 is attached to the lens mount 6 of No. 3, and is capable of inputting and outputting data from signal pin groups 8a and 8b protruding from the lens mount 6. Here, during normal shooting operation of the camera, the signal pins 8a and 8b are both connected to the system control circuit 30 on the camera body 3 side, and are in contact with the contacts 4a and 4b of the lens unit 1. It is used to input lens data such as the aperture F value and focal length of the lens section 1 to the system control circuit 30, and to exchange clock signals for controlling the aperture 2.

When the external input/output adapter 36 is connected, data from the external input/output device 32 can be written to the image memory 16 by directly connecting the signal pin 8a to the image memory 16 using the switch 35. ,
Alternatively, the data in the image memory 16 can be transferred to the external input/output device 32.
It becomes possible to send it to Also, signal pin 8b
is the external input/output device 32 and the system control circuit 3.
It is used as a control line for exchanging clock signals with 0.

[0020] Here, since the number of signal pins 8a and 8b is small, the data transmitted and received between the external input/output device 32 and the camera main body 3 is transmitted and received as serial data. Make it. In this way, for example, computer graphics data or measuring instrument data can be viewed on a monitor or written onto the magnetic medium 28. Alternatively, the signals from the magnetic medium 28 can be sent to, for example, a personal computer for external image processing or data analysis.

As explained above, the single-lens reflex type
SV camera equipped with image memory and capable of recording and playback.
Alternatively, in a CHSV camera, a part of the signal pin for controlling the lens aperture, etc. is used as an input/output terminal to an external input/output device, and the data in the image memory is transmitted as serial data. There is no need to provide a separate terminal, and the size of the camera can be reduced. It goes without saying that the present invention can also be applied to devices in which external input/output terminals are provided separately.

Furthermore, the present invention can be applied to modifications or variations of the above embodiments without departing from the spirit thereof. For example, in one embodiment, an imaging device incorporating a magnetic recording and reproducing device for still images has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and may be applied to a moving image imaging device. , as long as it has a built-in image memory, it is not necessarily necessary to have a built-in magnetic recording/reproducing device. Conversely, if the signal form from the external input/output device is a form that can be recorded as is on a magnetic recording device for still images or moving images, it is sufficient to have only a magnetic recording/reproducing device and an image memory. It doesn't have to be built-in. Further, in one embodiment, an example is shown in which bidirectional communication is performed between the camera and the lens or external input/output device, but unidirectional communication may be performed.

[0023]

As explained above, in the imaging device of the present invention, the electrical contacts used for signal communication with the lens section during normal photographing operations are used to communicate signals with the outside when not photographing. By using it for communication, there is no need to separately provide input/output terminals for this purpose, and it is possible to realize an imaging device that is compact and easy to operate.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

[Figure 1-1],

FIG. 1-2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a still image magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus according to an embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Lens section 2 Aperture 3 Camera body 4a Contact 4b Contact 6 Lens mount 8a Signal pin 8b Signal pin 26 Magnetic head 28 Magnetic media 36 External input/output adapter

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An imaging device in which a camera body and a lens are configured to be detachable, the camera body comprising:
a second group of electrical contacts for communicating signals with the lens section by contacting the first group of electrical contacts provided on the lens section when the lens section is attached to the camera body section; The second electrical contact group can be used as an electrical contact group for communicating information signals with the outside of the camera body when the lens is not attached. Imaging device. 2. The camera body section includes a control means for controlling the overall operation of the imaging device, a signal processing means for converting subject information taken in from the lens section into an electrical signal and processing it, and a signal processing section for processing the subject information taken in from the lens section. In the attached state, the second
further comprising a changeover switch for connecting a part of the second electrical contact group to the control means, and for connecting a part of the second electrical contact group to the signal processing means when the lens is not attached. The imaging device according to claim 1, characterized in that: 3. The camera main body further includes an image memory in the middle of the signal processing means, and when the lens unit is not attached, by switching the changeover switch, a part of the second electrical contact group is removed. 3. The imaging device according to claim 2, wherein: is connected to the image memory. 4. A signal communicated between the first electrical contact group and the second electrical contact group controls the photographing operation during normal photographing in which subject information is taken in the form of light from the lens section. The imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the signal is a signal required for performing the imaging. 5. The imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the information signal is an image signal. 6. The camera body has a mounting part for mounting the lens part, and is mounted to the mounting part, and a signal line for communicating the information signal with the outside is connected to the second The imaging device according to claim 1, further comprising an adapter for connecting to the electrical contact group of the imaging device.