JPH05210958A - Recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a recorder displaying high visibility for a photographer without enlarging the display part displaying a recordable remaining amount and increasing a mounting space according to the former. CONSTITUTION:This device is provided with a detecting part detecting the kind of a recording medium 11, a system control circuit 13 switching a first display displaying the recordable remaining amount of the recording medium 11 by the output of the detecting part and a second display displaying the proportion of the recordable remaining amount to the recordable total capacity of the recording medium 11 and a display device 14.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording apparatus, and more particularly to a method for displaying a recordable remaining amount of a recording medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the present specification, an electronic camera will be described as an example of a recording apparatus having such a function.

For the electronic camera, an electronic still camera has been proposed which records an image signal as an analog signal on a 2-inch floppy disk as a recording medium.

With the electronic still camera, the number of images that can be photographed and recorded is about 50 per disc.

Therefore, the method of displaying the number of shots is displayed as an integer value.

[0006]

Recently, there has been considered a digital camera in which a signal output from an image pickup device is stored as a digital signal in a memory card or a hard disk which is a semiconductor recording medium.

A compression IC for compressing and storing digital image data has been realized.

Therefore, considering that the image data is compressed and stored in a hard disk, etc.,
It is possible to record more than 00 sheets.

Further, when a high compression IC is realized and the degree of integration of semiconductors is increased, and it becomes possible to record, for example, 1000 or 10000 or more sheets, when displaying by a conventional display method 3, 4, A 5-digit display segment must be secured, which leads to an increase in the size of the display panel. Or, if it is attempted to display the size of the display panel as it is, the display characters become small and difficult to see.

Further, there arises a problem that it is difficult for the photographer to perceive the number of sheets of several hundreds.

Depending on the compression processing method, there is also a compression mode in which the amount of data required to record one image after compression varies depending on the captured image.

When an image is recorded in such a compression mode, the remaining recordable number is displayed as an approximate guide.

Therefore, in such a case, even if the number of recordable images is displayed as 5, it may happen that only 3 images are actually taken, and it is inconvenient for the photographer to grasp the actual remaining amount of image that can be taken. Dots occur.

Under such a background, the present invention provides a display which is highly visible and easily recognized by a photographer without causing an increase in the size of a display unit for displaying the recordable remaining amount and an accompanying increase in mounting space. It is an object of the present invention to provide a recording device that enables it.

[0015]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present application has, as one invention thereof, an object of such an object, in a recording apparatus for recording information on a recording medium, a detecting means for detecting the type of the recording medium, and an output of the detecting means. Display means for switching between a first display for displaying the absolute amount of the remaining recordable capacity of the recording medium and a second display for displaying the ratio of the remaining recordable capacity to the total recordable capacity of the recording medium. Is to have.

[0016]

According to the invention, in the recording apparatus for recording information on the recording medium, the detecting means for detecting the type of the recording medium and the absolute amount of the remaining recordable amount of the recording medium are displayed by the output of the detecting means. Since the display means for switching between the first display and the second display for displaying the ratio of the remaining recordable capacity to the total recordable capacity of the recording medium is provided, even if the storable capacity is increased. A display with high visibility is provided without increasing the size of the display panel.

[0017]

EXAMPLE A first example according to the present invention will be described below.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an electronic camera to which this embodiment is applied.

In FIG. 1, 1 is a photographing optical system, 2 is an exposure control unit such as a diaphragm, 3 is an image pickup device such as CCD, 4 is a sample hold (S / H) circuit, and 5 is an analog signal converted into a digital signal. A / D conversion circuit for performing the operation, 6 is a pulse signal generator for generating a timing signal for driving the solid-state imaging device 3, a sample hold pulse, and an A / D conversion pulse, 7 is an internal memory, and 8 is A memory controller for controlling reading and writing of the memory 7 and refresh operation of the DRAM.

Reference numeral 9 is a process circuit for forming a luminance signal and a color difference signal from an image pickup signal, 10 is a data compression circuit for compressing the data amount of the luminance signal and the color difference signal, and 11 is a detachable unit for recording and storing image data. Possible recording medium such as hard disk device or memory card, 12 is recording medium 1
An interface (I / F) circuit with 1, a system control circuit 13 for controlling the system such as a photographing sequence, and 14 informs the photographer of the state of the camera (for example, the recordable number of sheets, the remaining amount of battery, etc.) An external display device such as an LCD, 15 is a recording trigger switch (shooting switch), 16 is a switch for switching the recording mode, and if the switch 17 is ON, it is a variable length mode (compression mode) and is OFF. If so, the image data is recorded on the recording medium 11 in the fixed length mode (non-compression mode).

The shooting sequence control (particularly, display control) of the recording apparatus having the above-mentioned structure will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

When a main power source (not shown) is turned on in FIG. 2, the remaining storable capacity and the maximum storable capacity of the recording medium 11 are read out and temporarily stored. Then the flow starts.

First, in step S101, the switch 16 is turned off.
It is determined whether or not N has been done.

If the switch 16 is turned on, the process proceeds to step S102, and in step S102, a flag that the recording mode is the variable length mode (compression mode) is set.

Next, in step S103, the following calculation is performed to obtain the variable X.

X = a / b × 100 a: variable indicating the remaining storable capacity of the recording medium 11 b: variable indicating the maximum storable capacity of the recording medium 11, that is, in step S103, the remaining storable capacity of the recording medium 11 This means that the ratio (percentage) to the maximum storable capacity is calculated.

Next, in step S104, the "%" segment is displayed on the display device 14.

On the other hand, if the switch 16 is not turned on in step S101, the process proceeds to step S105.

In step S105, the variable length mode flag is cleared in order to store that the recording mode is the fixed length mode (non-compression mode).

Next, in step S106, the following calculation is performed to obtain the variable X.

X = (ba) / cc: Data capacity required for recording per image (fixed length data) The variables a and b are the same as the variables used in step S103. That is, in step S106, the recording medium 1
This means that the remaining number of recordable images of 1 is being sought.

Next, in step S107, the "%" segment on the display device 14 is erased so that "%" is not displayed.

In step S108, the numerical value X obtained in step S103 or step S106 is displayed on the display device 14.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the display. Figure 3
3A shows the variable length mode, and FIG. 3B shows the fixed length mode.

Next, in step S109, it is determined whether or not the photographing switch 15 has been pressed.

If not pressed, the process returns to step S101, and if pressed, the process proceeds to step S110.

In step S110, a photographing / recording operation is performed. That is, the exposure control unit 2 is controlled to expose the image pickup device 3, and the image pickup device 3 converts the optical information into an electric signal.

The digital signal is converted into a digital signal by the A / D conversion circuit 5 and temporarily stored in the memory 7 by the memory control circuit 8.

In step S111, the flag of the recording mode which has already been set in the previous step is checked, and if it is the variable length mode, the process proceeds to step S112, the video signal is read from the memory 7 and a predetermined process is performed by the process circuit 9. Then, the compression processing is performed by the compression circuit 10.

The compression method is not directly related to the present invention, but it will be briefly described as an example. Image data is divided into a luminance signal and a color difference signal, and the respective data are displayed on the screen by DCT (Discrete Fourier Transform) or the like. Each region is decomposed into frequency components and this is encoded.

Then, the encoded data is transferred to the recording medium 11 and recorded.

The data amount after the final compression in this way is temporarily stored as a variable Y.

On the other hand, if the recording mode flag is the fixed length mode in step S111, the process proceeds to step S113.
The digitally converted video signal from the image sensor 3 is recorded on the recording medium 11 as it is. Alternatively, the video signal may be recorded on the recording medium 11 after being separated into a luminance signal and a color difference signal.

In any case, the required data amount per image is a fixed length data amount. Let that number be Y. The fixed-length data amount is already stored in the device. In step S114, the variable a-Y is calculated. That is, the remaining storable remaining amount of the recording medium 11 after photographing is calculated. The variable a used in step S103 or step 106 is updated as the latest variable.

With the above, one photographing sequence is completed,
The process returns to step S101 in preparation for the next shooting.

The second embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

The structure of the electronic camera of the second embodiment is the same as that of FIG. 1, but the function of the switch 16 is the recording medium 11.
The only difference is that it is a switch for determining the type of. When the switch 16 is ON, the hard disk device is attached to the main body, and when it is not ON, the memory card is attached to the main body.

The shooting sequence control (particularly, display control) of the electronic camera of the second embodiment having the above-mentioned structure will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

When a main power source (not shown) is turned on in FIG. 4, the remaining storable capacity and the maximum storable capacity of the recording medium 11 are read and temporarily stored. Then the flow starts.

First, in step S201, the switch 16 is turned off.
N (whether the recording medium 11 is a hard disk device) is determined.

If the switch 16 is turned on, the process proceeds to step S202 and proceeds to step S202 to perform the following calculation to obtain the variable X.

X = a / b × 100 a: variable indicating the remaining storable capacity of the recording medium 11 b: variable indicating the maximum storable capacity of the recording medium 11, that is, in step S202, the remaining storable capacity of the recording medium 11 This means that the ratio (percentage) to the maximum storable capacity is calculated.

Next, in step S203, the "%" segment is displayed on the display device 14.

On the other hand, if the switch 16 is not turned on in step S201 (the recording medium 11 is a memory card), the process proceeds to step S204.

In step S204, the variable X is obtained by performing the following calculation.

X = (ba) / cc: Data capacity required for recording per image (fixed length data) The variables a and b are the same as the variables used in step S202. That is, in step S204, the recording medium 11
That is, the remaining number of shootable images is required.

Next, in step S205, the "%" segment on the display device 14 is erased so that "%" is not displayed.

In step S206, the variable X obtained in step S202 or step S204 is displayed on the display device 14.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the display. Figure 3
FIG. 3A shows a case where the recording medium 11 is a hard disk device.
(B) is when the recording medium 11 is a memory card.

Next, in step S207, it is determined whether the photographing switch 15 has been pressed.

If it is not pressed, the process returns to step S201, and if it is pressed, the process proceeds to step S208.

In step S208, a photographing / recording operation is performed. That is, the exposure control unit 2 is controlled to expose the image pickup device 3, and the image pickup device 3 converts the optical information into an electric signal.

The digital signal is converted into a digital signal by the A / D conversion circuit 5, and is temporarily stored in the memory 7 by the memory control circuit 8.

In step S209, the digitally converted video signal from the image pickup device 3 is recorded on the recording medium 11 as it is. Alternatively, the video signal may be separated into a luminance signal and a color difference signal and then recorded on the recording medium 11, and further compressed by the compression circuit 10 (the amount of image data after compression is always constant regardless of the captured image). It may be recorded on the recording medium 11 after being compressed.

In step S210, the data amount (Y) required for one image is subtracted from the remaining storable capacity (a) of the recording medium 11 described above, that is, the variable a.
-Calculate Y. That is, the remaining storable capacity of the recording medium 11 after photographing is calculated, and the variable a used in step S103 or step 106 is updated as the latest variable.

With the above, one photographing sequence is completed,
The process returns to step S201 in preparation for the next shooting.

In the first embodiment, when the recording mode is the fixed length mode, the image data is not compressed and the non-compression mode is set. When the recording mode is the variable length mode, the image data is compressed. The fixed length mode does not necessarily have to be the non-compression mode.

For example, the compression mode is divided into two modes, one is a fixed-length compression mode in which the final image data amount is a predetermined amount, and the other is a variable-length compression mode in which the final data amount is not constant. Good. In the variable length mode, both the percentage display and the number display may be displayed regardless of the remaining recordable amount. Further, both the percentage display and the number display may be displayed when the remaining recordable amount of the recording medium becomes equal to or less than a predetermined amount regardless of the recording mode.

In addition, in the second embodiment, the recording medium 11
The recordable remaining amount is displayed as a percentage when the hard disk device is used as the recording medium 11 and as the number of sheets is displayed when a memory card is used. However, it may be displayed as a percentage depending on the type of memory card (total storable capacity). You may switch. Further, the discrimination switch 16 (in the second embodiment) for discriminating the type of the recording medium 11 is turned on and off.
The system control circuit 13 may automatically determine the control. Even when the percentage display is performed, the display may be switched to the number display when the remaining storable capacity becomes equal to or less than a predetermined amount. Alternatively, both the percentage display and the absolute amount display may be displayed. In this case, the display unit may be blinked for the purpose of warning, and further, a warning may be displayed or a sound may be generated in the viewfinder of the camera.

[0070]

As described above, according to the recording apparatus of the present invention, the detection means for detecting the type of the recording medium,
A first display that displays the absolute amount of the remaining recordable capacity of the recording medium by the output of the detection means, and a second display that displays the ratio of the remaining recordable capacity to the total recordable capacity of the recording medium. Since it has a display means for switching the display medium, whether the recording medium has a relatively small capacity or a relatively large capacity, without causing an increase in the size of the display panel, Moreover, it is possible to provide a recording device that enables a display with high visibility.

Further, according to the recording apparatus of the present invention, the data amount conversion means for converting the data amount of the input information,
A first mode in which a display unit for displaying the remaining recordable amount of the recording medium is displayed, and the data amount conversion unit keeps the data amount of the converted information constant regardless of the input information. And a second mode in which the data amount of the converted information can be changed according to the input information, and in the first mode, the display unit displays the absolute remaining recordable amount of the recording medium. However, in the second mode, by displaying the ratio of the remaining recordable capacity to the total recordable capacity of the recording medium on the display means, an optimal display method is performed according to the data format recorded on the recording medium. It is possible to provide a recording device that can correctly grasp the recordable capacity of a recording medium and that enables display with high visibility.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an electronic camera according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a shooting sequence that is the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a display example of the display device according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a shooting sequence that is a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 7 memory 8 memory control circuit 10 compression circuit 11 recording medium 13 system control circuit 14 display device

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A recording apparatus for recording information on a recording medium, comprising: a detection unit for detecting a type of the recording medium; and an output of the detection unit for displaying an absolute amount of a recordable remaining amount of the recording medium. And a display unit for switching between a second display for displaying the ratio of the remaining recordable capacity to the total recordable capacity of the recording medium and a second display. 2. A recording device for recording information on a recording medium, comprising: a data amount conversion means for converting a data amount of input information; and a display means for displaying a recordable remaining amount of the recording medium. A first mode in which the data amount conversion means makes the data amount of the converted information constant regardless of the input information;
A second mode in which the data amount of the converted information can be changed by the input information, and in the first mode, the display unit displays the absolute amount of the recordable remaining amount of the recording medium, In the second mode, the display device displays the ratio of the remaining recordable capacity to the total recordable capacity of the recording medium on the display means. 3. A recording device for recording information on a recording medium, comprising: an encoding means for encoding information into a fixed length or a variable length; and the recording in a mode in which the encoding means performs fixed length encoding. Display means for displaying the remaining recordable capacity of the medium, and for displaying the ratio of the remaining recordable capacity to the total recordable capacity of the recording medium in the mode in which the encoding means performs variable length encoding. A recording device characterized by the above.