JPH05289151A - Camera system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To avoid mistaking light emission due to notifying photographing timing in the case of photographing with a self-timer for light emission at the time of release, to reduce the cost and to miniaturize a camera system. CONSTITUTION:When the self-timer photographing is carried out, a person to be photographed is notified of the photographing timing by making a flash, that is, a light emission case 20 is made to be emitted in a stored position (a) for the short period of time before the release. Therefore, this notification light emission is not mistaken for the light emission in the flash photographing carried out in the using position (b). Furthermore, even when the self-timer photographing for which the flash light emission is not necessary, is carried out, the person to be photographed can be notified of the photographing timing by carrying out flash light emission for the short period of time the releasing.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a camera system capable of notifying a person to be photographed of a photographing timing by flash emission when photographing with a self-timer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when shooting with a self-timer, a camera that notifies the shooting timing by flashing a dedicated light emitting diode (hereinafter abbreviated as LED) provided in the camera body before release is known. Has been. However, the cost of mounting the LED component and its drive circuit in the camera increases accordingly.

[0003]

Therefore, in order to reduce the cost, during self-timer photographing, the built-in flash is projected outside the camera body in a use state (pop-up state), and the flash is made to blink a plurality of times. , A camera is known that notifies the shooting timing. However, this camera has a problem that the flash light for notification is dazzling to the photographed person, and that the light emission for notification is easily mistaken for release.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and the light emission for notifying the photographing timing at the self-timer photographing is not mistaken for the light emission at the time of release.
Another object is to provide a camera that can be reduced in cost and downsized.

[0005]

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a self-timer photographing means and a self-timer in a camera system having a flash movable between a storage position and a use position. At the time of shooting, the flash is provided with a light emission control means for causing the flash to emit light at a storage position for a short time before release, and the light emission is used as light for notifying the shooting timing.

[0006]

According to the above construction, when the self-timer photographing is performed, the flash is made to emit light for a short time before the release by the light emission control means at the storage position (pop-down state) to notify the photographed person of the photographing timing. be able to. Therefore, this notification light emission is not mistaken for the flash light emission in which the flash at release is emitted at the use position (pop-up state). Also, when performing self-timer shooting that does not require flash emission, it is possible to notify the person to be photographed of the shooting timing by making the flash fire for a short time before releasing.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side view of a camera according to this embodiment. FIG. 1A shows a state where the flash is stored (light emitting case down state), and FIG. 1B shows a state where the flash is used (light emitting case up state). As shown in FIG. 1B, the flash light distribution angle can be changed (zooming) by horizontally moving the flash reflector 15 in the light emitting case 20 in the flash use state.
There are three types of light distribution states of the flash that can be zoomed: a tele state, a middle state, and a wide state.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the overall structure of a mechanism for performing flash pop-up and flash zoom. Less than,
This mechanism will be described. The motor 1 is a drive source of this mechanism. The output of the motor 1 is decelerated by the gear train of the motor gear 2, the reduction gear (A) 3, the reduction gear (B) 5, and the reduction gear (C) 6 to drive the reduction gear (C) 6. The reduction gear (C) 6 is rotatably supported by the shaft 6a.
An overload prevention spring 4 is provided between the reduction gear (A) 3 and the reduction gear (B) 5, and torque transmission between the reduction gear (A) 3 and the reduction gear (B) 5 is performed during abnormal load. It has been cut off. The deceleration gear (C) 6 is provided with a position detecting contact piece 7, which will be described later.
Is in contact with a substrate (not shown), detects a driving state, and controls driving and stopping of the motor 1 accordingly. The position detection contact 7 which is an encoder for calculating the positions of the pop-up / down operation and the zooming operation is commonly used.

The output of the reduction gear (C) 6 is transmitted to the drive lever (A) 9 via the overcharge spring 8.
The drive lever (A) 9 is a shaft 6a coaxial with the reduction gear (C) 6.
It is rotatably supported by. Overcharge spring 8
Connects the reduction gear (C) 6 and the drive lever (A) 9 with an initial charging force. The load more than the initial charging force is applied to the reduction gear (C) 6 side or the drive lever (A).
When the energy is applied from the 9 side, the energy is stored in the overcharge spring 8 to absorb the bidirectional load.

The driving force of the drive lever (A) 9 is transmitted to the drive lever (C) 11 via the drive lever (B) 10. The drive lever (C) 11 is a drive lever (D) 12
It is configured to move integrally with and to be able to rotate about the shaft 12a. That is, the drive lever (A) 9 and the drive levers (C) 11 and (D) 12 are the drive lever (B) 10
It is linked by and can be moved. A drive roller 13 is provided at the tip of the drive lever (D) 12, and a pin 1 is provided at the other end.
2b is attached, and the drive roller 13 is the light emitting case 1
It moves in the space formed by 9, 20. By the movement of the drive roller 13, the light emitting cases 19 and 20 are moved up and down, and the reflector 15 is zoomed.

The flow of the above drive transmission system is shown in FIG. The solid arrow in the figure indicates the flow of the transmission system, and the broken arrow indicates the flow at the time of operation by an external force as described later.

Next, the up / down operation of the light emitting case and the zooming operation of the reflector will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG. 4A shows the light emitting case in the down state. The light emitting cases 19 and 20 are biased in the up direction by the light emitting case up spring 17, and the driving roller 13 keeps the down state by pressing the cam surface 19a provided on the light emitting case 19 with this biasing force. ing. When the motor 1 is driven in the normal direction, as described above, the driving force is transmitted to the reduction gear (C) 6, and the reduction gear (C) 6 rotates in the clockwise direction shown in the drawing. D)
12 rotates counterclockwise. This allows the drive roller 1
3 loses the force to push the light emitting cases 19 and 20 downward, and the light emitting cases 19 and 20 are moved up by the biasing force of the light emitting case up spring 17. Luminous case 19,2
In the case of 0, the light emission case up stopper 18 fixed to the camera body is regulated by the groove 19b provided in the light emission case, so that the up state is completed.

FIG. 4B shows the light emitting case up state. Here, in order to return to the light emitting case down state of FIG. 4A, the motor 1 is rotated in the reverse direction to drive the drive lever (D) 12
By rotating the drive roller 13 in the clockwise direction
The cam surface 19a of 9 may be pressed.

When the motor 1 is further rotated in the forward direction and the drive lever (D) 12 is driven in the counterclockwise direction from the complete state of up shown in FIG. 4 (b), as shown in FIG. 5 (a), the drive roller is moved. 13 starts pushing the back surface 14a of the reflector holder 14.
The state from FIG. 4 (b) to FIG. 5 (a) is the tele state, and the variation in the stop position of the motor 1 is taken into consideration.
The width from (b) to FIG. 5 (a) is given. By providing a free running area in which the drive lever (D) 12 is free between the up-completion state and the zoom start state, which will be described later, variations in the stop position of the drive lever are absorbed and the up / down operation and the zoom operation are performed. You can switch the connection smoothly. The reflective umbrella 1 is in the reflective umbrella holder 14.
5, the light emitting means such as the Xe tube 15a is fixed. In addition, the reflector holder 14 is the reflector holder biasing spring 1.
6 is biased to the tele side.

Further, the motor 1 is rotated in the forward direction, as shown in FIG.
When the drive lever (D) 12 is further driven in the counterclockwise direction, the reflector holder 14 is moved through the middle state of FIG. 5 (b) to the wide state of FIG. 5 (c). The drive roller 13 of the drive lever (D) 12 is the reflector holder 1
When the rear surface 14a of 4 is pressed, the force vector is directed in the direction in which the light emitting case is biased to the up side in order to prevent the light emitting case 19 from being directed downward during zooming. on the other hand,
When the motor 1 is rotated in the reverse direction and the drive lever (D) 12 is rotated in the clockwise direction, the reflector holder 14 is moved to the position shown in FIG.
Moves as shown in FIG. 5 (b) and FIG. 5 (a). The driving of the flash pop-up / down operation and the flash zoom operation described above is controlled by driving the motor 1 by a detection signal from the position detection contact piece 7. In order to stably operate the pop-up / down operation of the light emitting cover 19, the drive lever straddles both sides of the penta part, and the roller part of the drive lever acts as the reflector holder 14 with respect to the zoom urging and the down urging. The cam surface of the light emitting case 19 may be abutted at two points on both sides of the penta part.

Now, the position detecting contact piece 7 and the position detecting portion including the substrate will be described. FIG. 6 is an example of the pattern configuration of the substrate of the position detection unit. This pattern is the drive lever D
The position detecting contact piece 7 shown in FIG. 2 is set at a position corresponding to 12, and slides on the pattern of FIG.
The drive state of the motor 1 is detected by monitoring the signals from the patterns P1, P2 and P3 for GND.
FIG. 7 shows signal states from the patterns P1, P2 and P3 corresponding to FIG. Patterns P1, P2 and P3 are switches S10, 11, 12 for detecting a zoom position of a reflector to be described later.
It corresponds to. The state of the switch S4 for detecting the up / down state of the light emitting case is also shown. In these figures, when the motor 1 is normally rotated, the state changes from the down position to the up position and to the wide position direction, and when the motor 1 is rotated in the reverse direction, the state changes to the opposite direction.
Although FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 are examples of the pattern configuration, it is also possible to increase the number of patterns and subdivide the zooming position for fine control. Further, even if the position detecting contact piece 7 does not slide, a pulse is generated according to the movement of the reduction gear (C) 6, and the reflector 15 is generated by the pulse.
The same control can be performed by the method of detecting the zoom position of.

By the way, although the above-mentioned control is performed in the normal operation, the above-mentioned device in which the light emitting portion is moved up and down is also provided with a mechanism for making it safe even if an external force is applied. There is a need. There are the following four possible external forces. First, it blocks up movement by the motor (eg, keeps it in the down position). Second, it blocks down movement by the motor (eg, keeps it in the up position). Thirdly, the object that is down is pulled up to the up position (forced up operation). Fourth, push down what is up to the down position (forced down operation).

A case where an external force is applied will be described below with reference to FIGS. 8 to 10. In the first case, the motor 1 tries to raise the light emitting cases 19 and 20.
As shown in (a), the pin 12 of the drive lever (D) 12
When b hits the cam surface 19c of the light emitting case 19, the up movement is blocked. After being blocked, the motor 1 continues to be driven and the overcharge spring 8 is charged as shown. At this time, the reduction gear (C) 6 rotates, and the position detector monitors the drive from the down position to the up position.
On the other hand, since the light emission case up detection contact piece 21 (switch S4) is not pressed by the lever 19d of the light emission case 19 to be in the ON state, it is detected that it is not in the normal operation. If an external force is applied here, the light emitting case will be in the up state of FIG. 4 (b) due to the charging force of the overcharge spring 8, so it may be left alone, or when it is detected that it is not in normal operation, A sequence may be taken in which the motor 1 is driven in the down position direction and the light emitting case is returned to the down state (state in FIG. 4A).

The second case will be described. The motor 1 tries to bring down the light emitting cases 19 and 20,
As shown in FIG. 8B, the drive roller 13 hits the cam surface 19 a of the light emitting case 19 to prevent the down movement. The motor 1 continues to be driven even after being blocked, and the overcharge spring 8 is charged as shown. At this time, the reduction gear (C) 6 rotates and the position detector monitors the drive from the up position to the down position. On the other hand, since the light emission case-up detection contact piece 21 (switch S4) is not in the OFF state, it is detected that it is not in the normal operation. If an external force is taken in here, the light emitting case will be in the down state of FIG. 4A due to the charging force of the overcharge spring 8, so it may be left alone or when it is detected that it is not in normal operation. May drive the motor 1 in the up position direction to return the light emitting case to the up state (state of FIG. 4B).

The third case will be described. The phenomenon that occurs in this case is the same as in the second case. The position detection unit detects the down position, but FIG.
As described above, since the light emitting cases 19 and 20 are raised and the switch S4 is turned on by the light emitting case up detecting contact piece 21, it is possible to detect that the normal operation is not performed. The subsequent operation is the same as in the second case.

The fourth case will be described. The phenomenon that occurs in this case is the same as in the first case, and the cam surface 19c of the light emitting case 19 presses the pin 12b to charge the overcharge spring 8 and the state shown in FIG. 8A is obtained. At this time, the position detector detects the up position, whereas the light emitting cases 19 and 20 are down, and the light emitting case up detection contact piece 21 turns off the switch S4.
Since it is in the state, it can be detected that the operation is not normal. The subsequent driving sequence is also the same as in the first case.

By the way, the basic operation is the same regardless of whether the reflector holder 14 is in the tele position or in the wide position, only the amount of force charged to the overcharge spring 8 changes, and when the external force is removed, the original Return to position. When the forced down operation is performed at the tele position, the state shown in FIG. 8A is obtained, and when the forced down operation is performed at the wide position, the state shown in FIG. 9A is obtained.
It becomes the state of. In this way, during the forced down operation, the drive lever (D) 12 is pushed down by the light emitting case cam surface 19c to rotate and retract. This is because the size of the light emitting cases 19 and 20 can be reduced by retracting the drive lever (D) 12. If the drive lever (D) 12 is not retracted,
The drive roller 13 does not fit inside the light emitting cases 19 and 20 as shown in FIG. 9B.

As described above, the overcharge spring 8 absorbs force in all operations by external force. This is indicated by the dotted arrow in FIG.
When the external force disappears, the charging unit drives the flash unit to the position where there was no external force. By the way, the overcharge spring 8 does not work only during external force operation, but also overcharges during normal operation. For example,
When driving to the down position or the wide position, the motor 1 is driven so as to overshoot and the overcharge amount is charged in the overcharge spring 8. FIG. 10A shows a down overcharge state, and FIG. 10B shows a wide end overcharge state. By operating in this way, it is possible to absorb variations in the stop position of the motor 1 and to reliably move the motor 1 to the down position and the wide end.

In the example shown in FIGS. 1 to 10, the reflector 15
The flash light distribution is changed by driving the, but the means for changing the flash light distribution is not limited to this.
For example, as shown in FIG. 11, the light emitting panel 22 or FIG.
A configuration in which the Xe tube 15a is driven as in 2 is also conceivable. Also in this case, the driving method is basically the same as that described above, and instead of the reflector holder 14, the light emitting panel 22 in FIG. 11 and the Xe tube 15a in FIG. 12 are used.
May be driven by the drive roller 13.

In the present embodiment, the flash is turned off during self-timer photographing so that the person to be photographed can be notified of the release timing.
A configuration therefor is shown in FIG. FIG. 13 shows a light emitting case 2.
0 indicates a down state, a light emitting panel 22 is provided in front of the reflector holder 14, and a slit-shaped translucent member 24 is provided in a portion of the front cover 23 that covers the camera body, facing the light emitting panel 22. ing. In this configuration, when the light emitting case 20 is in the down state and the self-timer is used for photographing, the light is emitted intermittently through the semi-transparent member 24 for a short time.
It is possible to notify the person to be photographed of the timing at which the shot is ejected and the shutter is released. In this way, since the light emission for the release timing notification is performed with the flash light emission unit down, the person to be photographed does not mistake the notification light emission for the light emission at the time of release.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram of an electric circuit of the camera. The part surrounded by the broken line is the electric circuit of the lens part.
A microcomputer (hereinafter, referred to as a control microcomputer) 101 controls the entire camera, and various circuits described below are connected via a bus to exchange data. The flash circuit 102 is a circuit that controls charging and light emission of the flash. The drive circuit 103 drives the flash motor M1 which is a drive source for the up / down operation of the light emitting case and the light distribution angle zoom operation, the drive circuit 104 drives the lens drive motor M2 for autofocus, and the drive circuit 105. Is a film winding motor M3
To drive. The photometric circuit 106 measures the brightness of the subject,
The exposure control circuit 107 controls a shutter, a diaphragm, and the like.

The eyepiece detection circuit 108 is a circuit for detecting that the photographer has looked into the viewfinder of the camera. Here, the eyepiece detection is represented by S0, which is similar to the operation of a switch. OF if not done
Let it be F. Further, the distance measuring circuit 109 is a circuit that detects the distance between the camera and the subject for the autofocus operation, and the display circuit 110 is a circuit that displays a shutter speed, a film counter, and the like. Lens microcomputer 11
Reference numeral 1 controls the zoom operation of the lens while communicating data such as focal length information and switch information with the control microcomputer 101. The drive circuit 112 is the lens microcomputer 111.
The zoom motor M4 is driven under the control of the lens microcomputer 111. The lens microcomputer 111 has
Operation switches S5 and S for zooming the lens
6 is connected. When the switch S5 is turned on, the lens is driven from tele to wide, and when the switch S6 is turned on, the lens is driven from the wide to tele by the motor M4.

The switch S1 is a switch that is turned on when the release button of the camera is half-pressed, and the switch S2 is a switch that is turned on when the release button is pressed all the way down. The switch S3 is a switch which is turned on when the grip of the camera is gripped. The switch S4 is a switch for detecting whether the light emitting case is in the up state or the down state. The switch S8 is a flash mode selection switch for selecting a flash operation mode. The switch S9 is an exposure mode switch for selecting the exposure mode of the camera. The switches S10, 11, 12 correspond to the position detecting contact piece 7 in FIG. 2 and are used for detecting the zoom position of the reflector 15.

FIG. 15, FIG. 16 and FIG. 17 are flow charts showing an example of the program of the control microcomputer 101 in FIG. The operation of the program will be described according to the flowchart. From the standby state, it is checked at # 10 whether or not the switch S1 which is operated by pressing the release button halfway is ON. If S1 is ON, # 200
Proceed to and start preparation operation for release. If S1 is OFF, it is checked at # 15 whether the grip switch S3 is ON. S3 is ON
If so, the switch S0 is checked at # 20 to detect whether or not the viewfinder is in contact with the eye. If the viewfinder eyepiece and S0 is ON, proceed to # 200 start.

Next, in # 205 following # 200, the distance measuring circuit 109 detects the distance to the subject. # 21
At 0, the lens driving motor M2 for autofocusing is driven by the driving circuit 104 according to the distance to focus. Next, in # 215 and # 220, the zoom operation of the photographing lens is detected, and the zoom lens is driven. This is performed by driving the zoom motor M4 by the drive circuit 112. That is, if the switch S5 is ON in # 215, the zoom motor M4 is operated in # 235.
Start driving in the direction in which the angle of view becomes wider. #
If the switch S5 is OFF in 215, the switch S6 is checked in # 220, and if it is ON, the zoom motor M4 is driven to move in the telephoto direction in # 230. If the switches S5 and S6 are both OFF, # 225
Stops driving the zoom motor M4. Next, # 240
Then, the process proceeds to step s and based on the subject brightness data from the photometric circuit 106, an exposure calculation is performed to determine the proper exposure.

Details of the exposure calculation will be described with reference to FIG.
First, in # 700, subject brightness data is fetched from the photometric circuit 106. Next, the flash mode is checked from # 710. Here, as the flash mode, when the exposure mode is the program mode (hereinafter, referred to as P mode), an automatic (AUTO) mode in which light is automatically emitted and an OFF mode in which light emission is prohibited can be selected, and when the exposure mode is a mode other than the P mode. Can select the forced ON mode in which the flash always flashes and the OFF mode in which the flash is prohibited.

First, in # 710, it is checked whether the flash ON flag is 1. The flash ON flag, as described later, forces the flash mode to be ON.
This is the flag that is set when in mode. When the flash ON flag is not 1, the flash A is output in # 720.
Check the UTO flag. Similarly, the flash AUTO flag is a flag that is set when the flash mode is AUTO. In the case of AUTO, it is checked in # 730 whether the subject brightness is brighter than a predetermined value. If it is dark, or if the flash is forcibly turned on in # 710, the flash light emission exposure calculation is performed in # 750, and then in # 7.
The flash emission flag is set at 60, and the process returns at # 770. When the flash AUTO flag is not 1 or when the brightness is higher than the predetermined brightness in the AUTO mode, the natural light exposure calculation is performed in # 740, and the process returns in # 770.

Returning to FIG. 16, description will be made. As a result of the exposure calculation in # 240, it is determined in # 245 whether or not the flash photographing is performed. If the flash photographing is performed, the light emitting case is raised in # 250. The process of # 250 will be described with reference to FIG. In # 500, S10 = L (low) and S11 = H
Check if (high). According to FIG. 7, when the light emitting case is not in the up state, S10, 11 = L, H, so at this time, the flash motor M1 is normally rotated in # 505 to drive the light emitting case in the up direction. And #
At 510, wait until S10, 11 = L, H is not satisfied. S
If 10, 11 = L, H are not satisfied, the process proceeds to # 515, the flash motor M1 is stopped, and the process returns at # 520. If # 10 is not S10, 11 = L, H, the light emitting case is already in the up state, so the process branches to # 515, the flash motor M1 is stopped, and the process returns at # 520.

Returning to FIG. 16, after raising the light emitting case in # 250, it is checked in # 255 whether or not the charging of the flash has been completed. # 2 if not completed
The zoom motor M4 is stopped at 70 and the flash motor M1 is stopped at # 275, and charging is started at # 280. If the charging is completed, the charging is stopped in # 260 and # 26
In step 5, the flash zoom control is performed.

Next, the zoom control of the flash of # 265 will be described with reference to FIG. In # 600, it is checked whether or not the lens is attached to the camera. If the lens is not attached, the process branches to # 670 and the zoom control of the flash is not performed. If the lens is not attached, the flash may be set at a specific zoom position. Also, # 600 is not necessary for a camera whose lens cannot be replaced. If the lens is attached, it is checked in # 605 if charging is in progress, and in # 610 if flash photography is in progress. The flash zoom control is not performed if the battery is being charged or if the flash is not used. If the flash is not being charged and charging is being performed, the flash zoom control is performed. Here, the focal length of the lens is 80 mm
In the above case, the zoom position of the flash is set to Tele in FIG.
When it is less than mm, it is controlled to be wide.

First, in # 615, the focal length of the lens is 80.
Check if it is over 80 mm, and if it is over 80 mm,
In # 620, it is checked whether S10 is L or not. From FIG. 7, if S10 is L in the up position, the flash is in the tele position, so the process branches to # 670 and the flash motor M1 is stopped and the process returns in # 675. When S10 is H, the routine proceeds to # 625, where the motor M1 is driven in reverse,
Return at 630.

When the focal length of the lens is less than 80 mm in # 615, the process branches to # 635 and it is checked whether it is 40 mm or more. If it is 40 mm or more, proceed to # 640 and S
It is checked whether 11 is L, and if it is L, it is checked at S645 whether S12 is L or not. S11 ・ 12 =
If it is L / L, the flash is already in the middle position, so branch to # 670 and stop the motor M1 to # 675.
Return with. If S11 = H in # 640, since the flash is on the wider side than the middle, the motor M1 is reversely rotated in # 655 to start driving the flash from the wide side to the middle, and the process returns in # 630. # 64
If S12 = H in 5, the flash is on the tele side from the middle position, so the motor M1 is normally rotated at # 650.
Start driving the flash from the tele side to the middle,
Return at 630. When the focal length of the lens is less than 40 mm in # 635, the process branches to # 660 and S11
・ 12 = H ・ Check if H. If it is H · H, the flash is already in the wide position, so the motor M1 is stopped at # 670 and the process returns at # 675. S11
If 12 = H · H, the flash is on the telephoto side of the wide position. Therefore, the motor M1 is normally rotated in # 665 to start driving in the wide direction, and the process returns in # 630.

Returning to FIG. If it is not flash photography in # 245, the process branches to # 285 to check whether the switch S1 is ON, and if it is OFF, the NOFL flag is checked in # 290. The NOFL flag is a flag that is set when non-flash (steady light) imaging is performed. Therefore, the NOFL flag is 1 here.
Is the timing when the switch S1 is turned off after non-flash photography, and at this time, N is returned in # 295.
The OFL flag is cleared, and the light emitting case is brought down in # 300. That is, if the switch S1 is turned off when the non-flash condition is continuously maintained even after the non-flash photographing, the flash goes down.

Next, the flashdown of # 300 will be described with reference to FIG. In # 550, S10 = L, S1
It is checked whether 1 = H and S12 = L. From FIG. 7, when the light emitting case is not in the down state, S10, 11, 1
Since 2 = L, H, and L are not satisfied, at this time, the flash motor M1 is reversed in # 555 to drive the light emitting case in the down direction. Then, in # 560, S10, 11, 12 =
Wait until L, H, L. S10, 11, 12 = L,
When it becomes H or L, the routine proceeds to # 565, the motor M4 is stopped, and the routine returns at # 570. # 10 for S10,1
If 1, 12 = L, H, L, the light emitting case is already in the down state, so the process branches to # 565, the motor M1 is stopped, and the process returns at # 570.

After the processes of # 280, # 265, # 300 and the like, the process proceeds to # 305 and thereafter in FIG. # 305 and #
At 310, it is checked whether either switch S1 or S0 is ON, and if either is ON, #
Branch to 330. If both are OFF, the process proceeds to # 315, the NOFL flag is cleared, the lens zoom motor M4 is stopped at # 320, the flash motor M1 is stopped at # 325, and the process returns to the standby.

Steps # 330 to # 365 are routines for determining whether or not photographing is permitted. If either S1 or S0 is ON, proceed to # 330 to check if the result of the exposure calculation is flash shooting. If it is flash shooting, check whether the flash firing case is up by switch S4 in # 332. To do. If it is up, it is checked in # 335 whether the zoom position of the flash matches the zoom position of the lens. If it matches, it is checked in # 340 whether the self-shooting mode is set. If not in the self-shooting mode, # 350 checks whether the charging is completed. If the self-shooting mode is set at # 340, the process branches to # 345 to check whether the exposure mode is the P mode. # 35 if not in P mode
Branch to 0. If it is the P mode, the process branches to # 360.
That is, even in flash photography, in the self mode and in the P mode, photography start is permitted even if the battery is not charged.

In # 355, it is checked whether or not the self-photographing mode is set. If it is in the self-mode, the focus determination of # 360 is skipped. Finally, in # 365, it is checked whether the switch S2 is turned on. If it is turned on, the process proceeds to the release routine. If any of the conditions for shooting are not satisfied in # 330 to # 365, start (# 200)
Returning to, while the switch S1 or S0 is ON, it waits until the shooting conditions are satisfied. During this period, the autofocus motor M2, the lens zoom motor M4, and the flash mechanical drive motor M1 are simultaneously driven as needed.

FIG. 22 shows a release routine. First,
In # 400, check if self-shooting. If it is self-shooting, go to # 405, and if the flash is up, turn it down. This is because the flash is emitted through the semi-transparent slit described with reference to FIG. 13 to notify the subject of the photographing timing of self-release. Next, in # 410, charging of the flash is started, and in # 41.
Check that charging is complete at 5. In # 420, the self-timer time (8.5 seconds in this case) elapses, and after that, light is emitted three times at intervals of 0.5 seconds from # 425 to # 450. This light emission is performed with a guide number smaller than the light emission during actual shooting. During this time, in order to prevent the charging voltage from decreasing due to the notification light emission, the charging is continuously performed during the notification light emission, and after the notification light emission ends, the charging is stopped at # 455. If not self-shooting, steps # 405 to # 455 are skipped.

Next, in # 460, it is checked whether or not the flash photographing is performed. If the flash photographing is performed, the flash is turned on again in # 470. If it is not flash photography, the NOFL flag is set in # 465. And
The mirror is raised at # 475, the exposure is performed at # 480, the film is wound up at # 485, the photographing operation is completed, and the process returns to the start again to prepare for the next photographing.

Returning to FIG. 15, the case where both switches S1 and S3 are OFF in # 10 and # 15 will be described.
If the exposure mode is the P mode in # 25, the flash is down in # 30. That is, the switch S0 or S1 is turned on, the automatic light emission determination is made in # 240, and the # 2
If the flash goes up at 50, then both switches S1 and S0 are turned off, and switch S
When 3 is OFF, that is, when the grip cannot be gripped, the flash goes down. Next, the flash mode selection switch S8 is checked. Same switch S8
If is ON, the current flash mode is OF in # 40.
If it is F, it is checked if it is P mode in # 45 if it is OFF. # 6 for P mode
At 0, the flash AUTO flag is set and the OFF flag is cleared. The flash is now set to automatic flash mode. The flash goes down with # 65.

If the mode is not P mode in # 45, # 5
Set the flash ON flag at 0. Now that the flash is set to forced flash mode, # 5
Increase the flash with 5. If the current flash mode is AUTO or ON in # 40, #
At 75, the flash AUTO / ON flag is cleared.
This turns off the flash mode and turns off the flash at # 80. After the flash mode is set as described above, the process returns to standby after waiting for the switch S8 to be turned off at # 70.

If the switch S8 is OFF at # 35, the exposure mode setting switch S9 is checked at # 85. If the switch S9 is ON, the exposure mode is changed in # 90. Here, the exposure mode includes a program mode (P mode) for automatically setting a combination of shutter speed and aperture, an aperture priority mode (A mode), and a manual mode (M mode) for setting a desired shutter speed and aperture. , Shutter speed priority mode (S
Mode) is prepared. If the current P mode is selected, the mode is changed to the A mode, the A mode is changed to the M mode, the M mode is changed to the S mode, and the S mode is changed to the P mode. Then, in # 95, it is checked whether the result of the mode change is the P mode, and if so, # 97
Clear the flash ON flag with, and bring down the flash with # 105. If it is not P mode, A at # 98
Check if it is in mode, and if it is A mode, similarly #
The flash ON flag is cleared at 97, and flash down is performed at # 105.

Thus, when the exposure mode is set to a P mode from a mode other than the P mode, it remains OFF if the flash mode before the setting is OFF, and AUT if it is ON.
It will be changed to O. Further, when the P mode is set to a mode other than the P mode, the flash mode is turned off regardless of the flash mode before the setting. When the exposure mode is changed between modes other than the P mode, the flash mode is saved and the up / down operation is not performed.
Then, the process returns to the standby after waiting for the switch S9 to be turned off in # 110.

[0049]

As described above, according to the present invention, when a self-timer is used for photographing, a subject is photographed by illuminating the flash for a short time before the release with the flash housed in the body (pop-down state). Announce the shooting timing. In the case of shooting with the flash, the flash is in the pop-down state before the flash is fired to perform the notice flash, so the release to be fired in the pop-up state is not mistaken for the notice flash. Also, when self-timer shooting is performed with natural light without using a flash, light emission for self-notification can be performed. Furthermore, LED
Since the parts and the driving circuit therefor are not required, the cost can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a camera according to an embodiment of the present invention,
(A) shows a state in which the flash is in the storage position, and (b) shows a state in which the flash is in the use position.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an overall configuration of a mechanism for performing flash pop-up and flash zoom.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a flow of a drive transmission system.

4A and 4B are diagrams illustrating an up / down operation of a light emitting case, FIG. 4A shows a down state, and FIG. 4B shows an up state.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the zooming operation of the reflector;
(A) shows the tele position, (b) shows the middle position, and (c) shows the wide position.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a pattern configuration of a substrate of a position detection unit.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a signal state from a position detection unit.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an operation of the safety mechanism when an external force is applied to the light emitting case.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an operation of the safety mechanism when an external force is applied to the light emitting case.

10A and 10B are diagrams showing the operation of the safety mechanism when an external force is applied to the light emitting case, where FIG. 10A shows a down overcharge state and FIG. 10B shows a wide end overcharge state.

FIG. 11 is a side view of a camera according to another embodiment, FIG.
Shows the flash in the storage position, and (b) shows the flash in the use position.

FIG. 12 is a side view of a camera according to still another embodiment,
(A) shows the state where the flash is in the storage position, and (b) shows the state where the flash is in the use position.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of essential parts of the camera when the flash is in the storage position.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram of an electric circuit of the camera.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing an example of a program of a control microcomputer.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing an example of a program of a control microcomputer.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing an example of a program of a control microcomputer.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart of exposure calculation processing.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart of flash-up processing.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart of flash zoom control processing.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart of flash down processing.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart of release processing.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Motor 7 Position detection contact piece 9,10,11,12 Drive lever 13 Drive roller 15 Reflector 19,20 Light emitting case 19a Cam surface 101 Microcomputer

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued Front Page (72) Inventor Jun Ishihara 2-3-13 Azuchi-cho, Chuo-ku, Osaka, Osaka International Building Minolta Camera Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Hiroshi Ueda 2-chome, Azuchi-cho, Chuo-ku, Osaka No. 13 Osaka International Building Minolta Camera Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Kotomi Murakami 2-33 Azuchicho, Chuo-ku, Osaka City Osaka International Building Minolta Camera Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A camera system having a flash capable of moving between a storage position and a use position, a means for performing self-timer photographing, and a means for performing self-timer photographing,
A camera system, comprising: a light emission control means for causing the flash to emit light at a storage position for a short time before release, and the light emission is used as notification light for photographing timing.