JPH04353836A - Camera provided with information reproducing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a camera having an information reproducing device capable of surely reproducing film information with a simple constitution. CONSTITUTION:This camera has such a constitution that a film is fed by a feeding means (b) and information recorded on the film is reproduced by a reproducing means (c) prior to the starting of an exposing action by an exposing means (e) when a signal instructing photographing action stating is outputted by a signal generating means (d). Immediately after the information is reproduced by the reproducing means (c), it is made use of the exposing action by the exposing means (e).

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a camera having an information reproducing device for reproducing and utilizing information recorded on a film when the film is fed by a feeding means.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art A camera is well known that has a recording area for recording information in a part of the film, records information in this recording area, and has an information reproducing device that reproduces the information as the film is fed. (e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 4,878,075
Publication No.).

US Pat. No. 4,878,075 discloses a camera device having a so-called prewinding mechanism. The film loaded in this camera is provided with an exposed display area in a portion corresponding to each frame, and information indicating that the film has been exposed is written in this display area at the time of exposure. If you want to take pictures again with this film after rewinding the film, you can play back the information in the display area in prewind mode, search for the area where the information indicating that the exposure has been completed is written, and select one frame from this area. It is designed to rewind the film and search for unexposed frames.

[0004] In addition, a configuration has been considered in which information indicating ISO information, frame numbers, etc., for example, is recorded in advance on a part of the film, and this information is reproduced as the film is fed and used as shooting information. It will be done.

[0005] At this time, in cameras having an automatic feeding mechanism, the film is fed immediately after the exposure operation is completed, and the information recorded on the film is also played back at this point. A memory element is required to store this information until the start of the photographing sequence.

[0006]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, conventional cameras having information reproducing devices have had the following problems.

[0007] First, the power must be turned on and off between information reproduction and the start of the next photographing sequence, and batteries must also be replaced during this period.
This requires a memory element, such as a magnetic element, whose stored contents are not erased even when the battery is replaced, which is disadvantageous in terms of cost and space.

[0008] Secondly, there is a possibility that the stored contents in the storage element may be erased or changed due to external electrical or electromagnetic noise. Moreover, there is no means for checking such abnormalities in stored contents before photographing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a camera having an information reproducing device that can reliably reproduce film information although it has a simple configuration.

0010

[Means for Solving the Problems] To explain with reference to FIG. 1 which is a diagram corresponding to claims, the invention of claim 1 provides a feeding means b for feeding a film a, and a feeding means b for feeding a film a, and a feeding means b for feeding a film a, The present invention is applied to a camera equipped with a reproduction means c for reproduction. The above-mentioned purpose is to provide a signal generating means d that generates a signal instructing the start of the photographing operation, and a signal generating means d
When a signal is emitted by the exposure means e that performs an exposure operation based on a signal from the exposure means e and the signal generation means d, the film a is fed by the feeding means b and the film a is played back before the start of the exposure operation. control means f for reproducing information by means c;
This is achieved by providing Further, the invention according to claim 2 provides the camera according to claim 1, wherein the control means f
However, when the exposure operation is completed, the film is fed by the feeding means c, leaving at least the amount necessary for information reproduction. Furthermore, the invention of claim 3 provides a feeding means b for automatically feeding the film a in one direction upon completion of the exposure operation.
and a reproducing means c for reproducing information recorded on the film. And the above purpose is
a storage means g for storing information reproduced by the reproduction means c; and when the exposure operation is completed, the film a is fed in one direction by the feeding means b and the information is reproduced by the reproduction means c; control means f for storing information in the storage means g; and checking means h for checking whether an abnormality has occurred in the information stored in the storage means g; means g
When an abnormality in the information is detected, the film is fed in the other direction by the amount necessary for information reproduction by the feeding means b, and then the film is fed in one direction by the feeding means b again. This is achieved by causing the reproduction means c to reproduce the information.

[0011]

[Effect]

- Claim 1 - The signal generating means d generates a signal instructing the start of a photographing operation, and the exposing means e performs an exposure operation based on the signal from the signal generating means d. When the signal generating means d issues a signal, the control means f causes the feeding means b to feed the film a and the reproducing means c to reproduce the information before the exposure means e starts the exposure operation. The information reproduced by the reproduction means c is used for the subsequent exposure operation by the exposure means e. -Claim 3- The storage means g stores the information reproduced by the reproduction means c, and the checking means h checks whether an abnormality has occurred in the information stored in this storage means g. The control means f is
When the exposure operation is completed, the film is fed in one direction by the feeding means b, and the information is reproduced by the reproducing means c, which is stored in the storage means g. Furthermore, when an abnormality in the information in the storage means g is detected by the checking means h, the control means f causes the feeding means b to feed the film a in the other direction by an amount necessary for information reproduction, and then again. The film is fed in one direction by the feeding means b, and the information is reproduced by the reproducing means c.

0012

【Example】

-First Embodiment- A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4. The camera of this embodiment includes a film 20 as shown in FIG.
is loaded. This film 20 includes a plurality of video recording areas 20a in which video information is recorded by photographing, and a magnetic recording area 20b extending along the longitudinal direction below the video recording areas 20a. In the magnetic recording area 20b, for example, information regarding the ISO sensitivity of the film 20 (ISO information) is recorded in advance at a position corresponding to each video recording area 20a.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the circuit configuration of a first embodiment of a camera having an information reproducing device according to the present invention. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a control circuit incorporating a microcomputer and other peripheral circuits for controlling the entire camera, and includes a memory, a judgment circuit, an arithmetic circuit, a timer, and the like. 2 is a focus detection device equipped with a photoelectric conversion element, etc.; 3
is a photometry device equipped with a TTL photometry element and the like. Reference numeral 4 denotes an exposure control circuit, which includes a shutter mechanism section and an aperture mechanism section (not shown).

5 is an information reproducing circuit, and 6 is a magnetic head drive circuit. The magnetic head drive circuit 6 moves the magnetic head 7 to the film 20 with the film 20 loaded in the camera.
is brought into contact (touched) with the magnetic recording area 20b. The information reproducing circuit 5 reads the magnetic recording area 20b when the magnetic head 7 comes into contact with the magnetic recording area 20b.
Play back the information recorded on the .

Reference numeral 8 denotes a motor drive circuit, which rotates the film feed motor 9 in the forward or reverse direction in accordance with commands from the control circuit 1 to feed the film 20 loaded into the camera. (winding or rewinding).

[0016] S1 and S2 are half-press and full-press switches that are linked to the release button on the camera body. Switch S1 is turned on with the first stroke of the release button, and switch S2 is turned on with the second stroke of the release button. do. S3 is a winding completion detection switch that is turned on when winding of one frame of film 20, that is, one video recording area 20a, is completed.

In the correspondence between the claims and the embodiments, the motor drive circuit 8 and the film feeding motor 9 are used as feeding means, and the information reproducing circuit 5, magnetic head driving device 6 and magnetic head 7 are used as reproducing means. , the full-press switch S2 constitutes a signal generation means, the exposure control circuit 4 constitutes an exposure means, and the control circuit 1 constitutes a control means.

Next, referring to the flowchart of FIG.
The operation of the camera of this embodiment will be explained. When the power switch of the camera (not shown) is turned on, the program shown in FIG. 4 starts. First, in step S101, it is waited for the half-press switch S1 to be turned on, and when it is turned on, the program moves to step S102. In step S102, the focus detection device 2 and the photometry device 3
Distance measurement and photometry operations are performed. In step S103, the on/off state of the fully pressed switch S2 is determined. If it is in the on state, the program moves to step S104; otherwise, it returns to step S101. The above operation is well known.

In step S104, the magnetic head driving device 6 brings the magnetic head 7 into contact with the magnetic recording area 20b of the film 20. Next, in step S105,
The film feeding motor 9 is commanded via the motor drive circuit 8 to wind up the film 20 for one frame, that is, one video recording area 20a, and in step S106, as the film 20 is wound up, the magnetic head 7 and the information The information recorded on the magnetic recording area 20b is reproduced via the reproduction circuit 5. The reproduced information is temporarily stored in the memory within the control circuit 1.

In step S107, wait until the winding completion detection switch S3 is turned on, and then in step S108
Then, the magnetic head 7 is evacuated from the magnetic recording area 20b via the magnetic head drive device 6 (head detach). In step S109, the exposure control circuit 4 executes an exposure operation. After this, the program returns to step S101, and the program is executed until the power switch of the camera is turned off.

In this embodiment, the film 20 is not wound after the release operation is completed, but the film 20 is wound before the exposure operation to reproduce the information recorded in the magnetic recording area 20b. The most recently reproduced information can be used immediately for the exposure operation. Therefore,
There is no need for a special memory element whose memory contents are not erased by battery replacement as in the past, and a general memory such as a RAM is sufficient, which is advantageous in terms of cost and space. Furthermore, there is less risk of abnormalities occurring in the stored contents due to external electrical noise, etc., and reliable reproduction and utilization of information can be achieved.

-Modification of the first embodiment- In the first embodiment described above, one frame of film 20 is wound up before the exposure operation, so the exposure operation starts from the second stroke press (full press) of the release button. There will be a slight time lag before it starts. Magnetic recording area 20b of film 20
In order to reproduce the information recorded on the camera, it is not necessary to wind one frame of film 20; just a portion of it is sufficient. Therefore, if the film 20 is wound before and after the exposure operation, the time lag can be reduced. Leads to shortening.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of this modification of the first embodiment. Note that the configuration of the camera itself is the same as that of the first embodiment described above, so a description thereof will be omitted.

When the power switch of the camera (not shown) is turned on, the program shown in FIG. 5 starts. First, in step S201, it is waited for the half-press switch S1 to turn on, and in step S202, the focus detection device 2
The photometry device 3 performs distance measurement and photometry operations. In step S203, the on/off state of the fully pressed switch S2 is determined, and if it is in the on state, the program moves to step S204, and if not, it returns to step S201.

In step S204, the magnetic head driving device 6 brings the magnetic head 7 into contact with the magnetic recording area 20b of the film 20. Next, in step S205,
The film feeding motor 9 is instructed to wind the film 20 by the amount necessary for information reproduction through the motor drive circuit 8, and in step S206, as the film 20 is wound, a command is sent to the film 20 through the magnetic head 7 and the information reproduction circuit 5. Magnetic recording area 20
Reproduce the information recorded on b. The amount of winding of the film 20 required for information reproduction varies depending on the position and number of times of information recorded in the magnetic recording area 20b, but the amount of winding of the film 20 required for reproducing the information changes depending on the position and number of times of information recorded in the magnetic recording area 20b, but the amount of winding of the film 20 is adjusted to at least one frame of the film 20 by feeding the film in step S210, which will be described later. It is not, but a part of it. The information reproduced by the magnetic head 7 is transmitted to the control circuit 1
temporarily stored in memory.

In step S207, wait until the winding completion detection switch S3 is turned on, and then in step S208
Then, the magnetic head 7 is evacuated from the magnetic recording area 20b via the magnetic head drive device 6 (head detach). In step S209, the exposure control circuit 4 executes an exposure operation, and in step S210, the film 20 is rolled up, leaving the amount of film 20 to be wound up in step S205.
Winding is carried out. After this, the program proceeds to step S20.
1, and the program is executed until the camera's power switch is turned off.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, the amount of film 20 necessary for information reproduction is left and is wound up after the exposure operation is completed, and the remainder is wound up before the exposure operation, which is different from the first embodiment described above. Similar effects can be obtained, and the time lag between pressing the release button and starting the exposure operation is short.

-Second Embodiment- A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. In this embodiment, the information 30 recorded in the magnetic recording area 20b of the film 20 includes a start bit 30a indicating the start of information, an information section 30b in which ISO information etc. are recorded, and an information section as shown in FIG. A parity bit 30c is used to check the information recorded in the parity bit 30b. Further, the other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment described above, and the explanation thereof will be omitted.

Next, referring to the flowchart of FIG.
The operation of the camera of this embodiment will be explained. When the power switch of the camera (not shown) is turned on, the program shown in FIG. 6 starts. First, in step S301, it is awaited that the half-press switch S1 is turned on, and in step S302, the focus detection device 2 and the photometry device 3 perform distance measurement and photometry operations. In step S303, the on/off state of the fully pressed switch S2 is determined, and if it is in the on state, the program moves to step S304, and if not, it returns to step S301.

In step S304, the information stored in the memory of the control circuit 1 is checked, and if there is no abnormality in the information, the program moves to step S305.
If there is an abnormality, the process moves to step S320. The information is checked using the parity bit 30c. The checking method is well known, such as setting the value of the parity bit 30c in advance so that all the data will be an even or odd number, and checking the data by adding all the data in the same way. can be mentioned.

In step S305, the exposure control circuit 4 executes an exposure operation. Next, in step S306, the magnetic head drive device 6 brings the magnetic head 7 into contact with the magnetic recording area 20b of the film 20. Step S
In step S307, the motor drive circuit 8 instructs the film feeding motor 9 to wind up the film 20 for one frame, that is, for one video recording area 20a, and in step S308, the magnetic head is 7. Reproducing the information recorded on the magnetic recording area 20b via the information reproducing circuit 5. Information reproduced by the magnetic head 7 is stored in a memory within the control circuit 1.

In step S309, wait until the winding completion detection switch S3 is turned on, and then in step S310
Then, the magnetic head 7 is evacuated from the magnetic recording area 20b via the magnetic head drive device 6 (head detach). After this, the program returns to step S301 and is executed until the power switch of the camera is turned off.

On the other hand, in step S320, one frame, that is, one video recording area 2 is recorded via the motor drive circuit 8.
The film feeding motor 9 rewinds the film 20 for 0a.
In step S321, the magnetic head driving device 6 moves the magnetic head 7 to the magnetic recording area 2 of the film 20.
0b. In step S322, the motor drive circuit 8 instructs the film feeding motor 9 to wind up one frame of the film 20, and in step S323, as the film 20 is wound up, the magnetic head 7 and the information reproducing circuit 5 are The information recorded on the magnetic recording area 20b is reproduced. Information reproduced by the magnetic head 7 is stored in a memory within the control circuit 1.

In step S324, the program waits for the winding completion detection switch S3 to turn on, and then returns to step S304 again.

Therefore, in this embodiment, after the exposure operation is completed, the film 20 is completely wound up, the information is reproduced and stored in the memory of the control circuit 1, and the information is stored in the memory before the start of the next exposure operation. Because certain information is checked, for example, even if the information is erased due to battery replacement, or changes occur due to external electrical noise, this abnormality can be detected before the exposure operation. can. Moreover, if an abnormality in the information is detected, the film 20 is wound again and the information is reproduced.
It is possible to reliably reproduce and use information. As with the first embodiment, there is no need to use a special memory element whose memory contents will not be erased due to battery replacement, etc., and a general memory such as RAM is sufficient, reducing cost and space. It is also advantageous.

Note that in correspondence between the claims and the embodiments, the control circuit 1 constitutes both storage means and checking means.

Note that the details of the camera having the information reproducing device of the present invention are not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible. As an example, in the second embodiment, the information is checked immediately before the start of the exposure operation, but this may be done immediately after the information is reproduced. Further, the configuration of the information recording area is also arbitrary, and may be not only the magnetic recording area 20b provided in a part of the film 20 as in the embodiment, but also an optical information recording area synchronized with the film axis of the cartridge. . Furthermore, the camera having the information reproducing device of the present invention has a so-called pre-winding system in which, when the film is loaded into the camera, the entire amount is once wound onto a spool, and then the exposed film is sequentially stored in a cartridge. It is also applicable to cameras.

[0038]

Effects of the Invention As described in detail above, according to the present invention, information is reproduced or checked prior to the start of the exposure operation, so that the stored contents can be changed by replacing batteries or the like as in the conventional method. There is no need for a special storage element that prevents data from being erased, and a general memory such as a RAM is sufficient, making it possible to realize a simple and inexpensive information reproducing device. Furthermore, there is less risk of damage to the stored contents due to external electrical noise, etc., and reliable reproduction and utilization of information can be achieved.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a claim correspondence diagram of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the circuit configuration of a first embodiment of a camera having an information reproducing device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a film having an information recording area.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of a modification of the first embodiment of the camera having the information reproducing device according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of a second embodiment of a camera having an information reproducing device according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a data format of information in a second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

S1 Half-press switch S2 Full-press switch S3 Film winding completion detection switch 1 Control circuit 4 Exposure control circuit 5 Information reproducing circuit 6 Magnetic head drive circuit 7 Magnetic head 8 Motor drive circuit 9 Film feeding motor 20 Film 20b Magnetic recording area

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A camera comprising a feeding means for feeding film and a reproducing means for reproducing information recorded on the film, comprising a signal generating means for generating a signal instructing the start of a photographing operation, and a signal generating means for generating the signal. an exposure means that performs an exposure operation based on a signal from the generation means; and when the signal generation means generates a signal, the film is fed by the feeding means and the film is fed by the reproduction means before starting the exposure operation; 1. A camera having an information reproducing device, characterized in that the camera includes a control means for reproducing information. 2. The camera according to claim 1, wherein when the exposure operation is completed, the control means causes the feeding means to feed the film, leaving at least an amount necessary for information reproduction. A camera with an information reproducing device. 3. A camera comprising a feeding means for automatically feeding the film in one direction upon completion of an exposure operation, and a reproducing means for reproducing information recorded on the film, wherein the information recorded on the film is reproduced by the reproducing means. a storage means for storing information; a control means for causing the feeding means to feed the film in one direction and causing the reproduction means to reproduce the information and store it in the storage means when the exposure operation is completed; and checking means for checking whether an abnormality has occurred in the information stored in the storage means, and the control means is configured to control the feeding means by the feeding means when an abnormality in the information in the storage means is detected by the checking means. An information reproducing apparatus characterized in that the film is fed in the other direction by an amount necessary for information reproduction, and then the film is fed in one direction again by the feeding means, and the information is reproduced by the reproducing means. camera with.