JPH06169445A - Image pickup device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To preliminarily know the number of frames to be photographed, to make operability satisfactory, and to improve a function by investigating the presence or absence of the recording signal of a mounted recording medium and the kind of the recording signal, and storing the investigated result. CONSTITUTION:At the time of mounting the recording medium, the power source of a control system is turned on, the rotation of a magnetic disk is started, and the presence or absence of the signal of the recording medium and the kind of the recording signal are investigated. Then, a magnetic head in the innermost peripheral track is brought into contact with a the disk, whether or not the signal is recorded in each track is checked, and a scanning to the outermost peripheral side is started. At that time, the magnetic head detects the presence or absence of an RF signal, and the result and the number of the detected track are stored in a storage means 5 in a camera sequence control CPU. Each kind of function is controlled by a control means 6 according to the output of the storage part 5, so that the operability of a camera can be improved. And also, a user can recognize necessary information, for example, the residual number of frames to be photographed of the magnetic disk, the using situation of the track, the position of the magnetic head just after the camera is mounted.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic still camera.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, an electronic still camera which records an image electronically without using a silver salt film has attracted attention. Electronic still cameras have been proposed that use a solid-state image sensor such as a CCD in the photosensitive section and a memory that does not have a movable part such as a semiconductor memory or a magnetic bubble memory in the recording section, but use a small magnetic disk. It is common to rotate at a constant speed and record with a magnetic head.
By analog recording on a small magnetic disk,
The entire recording device can be miniaturized, and it has become possible to realize an electronic still camera that is approximately the same in shape as a conventional still camera using a silver salt film.

Such an electronic still camera is, as compared with a still camera using a silver salt film, 1) development is not required and the image can be immediately reproduced and viewed on a monitor or the like. 2) It is possible to easily remove and replace the disc on the way. 3) The magnetic disk can be erased and reused.

4) It is possible to record signals other than image signals, such as audio signals and various data, and it is possible to use it for various purposes. The silver halide camera can easily realize a function that is impossible or extremely difficult.

[0005]

However, the electronic still camera has the above-mentioned characteristics and, at the same time, has a new problem different from the conventional one. For example, if a magnetic disk that has been used halfway or used only at the end is attached to the camera because it is possible to easily remove and replace the disk on the way, it will be rewritten to the used part. The situation of double recording occurs.

[0006] Further, how many frames can be photographed on the disc mounted by the user (in this case, if the camera is capable of recording both field recording and frame recording, the recording frame depends on which one is selected). The numbers come different), and it is impossible to know in advance. The present invention is
It is an object of the present invention to solve the above problems and to provide an electronic still camera which has better operability and higher functionality than conventional silver halide cameras.

[0007]

In order to solve the above problems, according to the present invention, an optical system for forming a subject image, a solid-state image pickup device provided near the image forming surface of the optical system, and the solid-state image pickup device are provided. A recording medium is attached to an electronic still camera including a signal processing unit that processes an image signal from the image sensor and a recording unit that records the image signal from the signal processing unit and another signal on a removable recording medium. A storage means for examining the presence or absence of a recording signal and the type of the recording signal of the recording medium mounted at a time, and storing the survey result, and a control means for controlling various functions according to the output of the storing means are configured.

[0008]

As described above, according to the present invention, the storage means stores information required by the user, such as the number of remaining photographable frames of the magnetic disk, the track usage status, and the magnetic head position, in the camera. This can be known immediately after mounting the magnetic disk (almost at the same time as the mounting is completed), and the control means controls various functions according to the output of the storage means, so that the operability of the camera is greatly improved.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a diagram simply showing the structure of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 1 is an optical system, 2 is a solid-state image sensor, 3
Is a signal processing means, 4 is a recording means, 5 is a storage means, 6 is a control means, 7 is an automatic address mechanism, and 8 is a display means.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of the electronic still camera of the embodiment of the present invention. Mainly shows blocks of electric circuits, but the blocks indicated by double lines are blocks that convert electric signals into mechanical movements or mechanical movements into electric signals . Each block and the flow of signals will be described.

Light from a subject is input through the lens (101), and the light is guided to the viewfinder by the reflecting mirror (106) under normal conditions (before photographing) and is guided to the photometric silicon photodiode (SPD) (105). Gives brightness information. At the time of photographing, the reflecting mirror (106) operates to guide the entire luminous flux to the shutter (111). Here, the shutter (111) may be a mechanical shutter or a shutter using an electro-optical element, but the type is not limited. The light passing through the shutter (111) is converted into a time series electric signal by the CCD image sensor (112). The image sensor also uses a CCD in this embodiment, but a solid-state image sensor such as a MOS may be used, and the type is not limited. The CCD image sensor (112) is operated by a V driver (118) for driving the vertical transfer CCD and an H driver (119) for driving the horizontal transfer CCD. The V driver (118) and the H driver (119) are supplied with signals generated at respective operation timings from the timing generation circuit (120).
The timing generation circuit (120) is a synchronization signal generation circuit (1
From 25), the source signal is input and the timing signals required for each block are created. The synchronization signal generation circuit (125), which is the source of all signals, is equipped with an oscillator that stably oscillates, such as a crystal oscillator. ing. On the other hand, C
The video signal output from the CD image sensor (112) is input to the signal processing circuit (121). The signal processing circuit (121) first separates and shapes the input signal into a luminance signal and a color information signal. Further, each signal is subjected to clamp processing, limiter processing, γ correction, etc., and output to the matrix circuit (126). Matrix circuit (126)
Re-synthesizes the signals into the signal form (luminance signal, color difference signal) required for signal processing in the next block. A recording signal processing circuit (131), which is the next block, is a block for converting the signal into a signal form that can be recorded on the magnetic disk. AGC amplification, pre-emphasis, white / dark clip, and FM modulation are applied to the signal from the previous block. Therefore, the video signal is FM-modulated to become an FM-modulated video signal, and the necessary data and MI
The signals are mixed in the X circuit (132) and input to the recording amplifier (133), and are recorded on the magnetic disk around the magnetic disk (not shown) by the magnetic head in the recording / reproducing mechanism block. The magnetic disk is driven by a servo control motor, and its control and drive circuit block is a disk motor drive circuit (134) and a disk motor servo circuit (135). The rotation state of the magnetic disk is detected by the FG or PG signal and the disk motor servo circuit (135) sends a control signal to the disk motor drive circuit (1) so that the disk rotates at a specified constant speed.
34). With this signal, the motor that rotates the magnetic disk is controlled in a closed loop, and high-accuracy constant speed rotation (3600 for NTSC version)
rpm) can be performed. Signals that serve as a reference for these controls are supplied from a synchronizing signal generating circuit (125) as shown in the figure. Finally write the signal to the magnetic disk,
It is necessary to control the magnetic head (moving in and out of the magnetic disk, moving the track), and the block that fulfills this function is the magnetic head drive circuit (128).
The control source signal is input from the camera sequence control CPU (122) and the multiplexer circuit (127) that control the overall sequence control of the camera. These two blocks will be described later. By the way, the luminance signal of the object obtained by the photometric silicon photodiode (SPD) (105) is measured by the photometric and logarithmic compression circuit (10).
7), the logarithmic compression is performed, the current-voltage conversion is performed, and the luminance signal is input to the next block as a voltage signal. A / D conversion, exposure control calculation CPU (1
The luminance signal input to (08) is immediately A / D converted and handled as digital data. In this block, the exposure is calculated based on each information, and a source signal for driving the exposure control member is generated. Each information is subject brightness information, lens aperture information, and shutter speed information. The subject brightness information is input as described above.
Although the aperture information is not shown, the RO attached to the lens
It is input as digital data by the M, the CPU, or the like. The shutter speed information is input as digital data by the operation setting unit (104). The optimum exposure conditions for the CCD image sensor (112) are calculated from these data, but the exposure modes (manual, aperture priority auto, shutter speed priority auto, program auto) realized by conventional silver halide cameras are used. It is needless to say that the same calculation and control can be performed. When controlling the diaphragm, the diaphragm is controlled through the diaphragm control mechanism (103). Since various schemes have been proposed for this mechanism, an optimal method may be adopted under the constraints of the camera. The control of the shutter time is controlled by the shutter control mechanism (114) via the shutter control charge circuit (115). A mechanism that is often used when a mechanical shutter is installed is a method of controlling the shutter time by the time when the electromagnetic magnet is energized. Furthermore, as a shutter,
With a liquid crystal shutter or a PLZT shutter that applies the electro-optical effect, it is possible to directly control the shutter time with an electric signal. In addition to the shutter control as described above, the shutter control charge circuit (115) also includes a circuit for driving a mechanism for shutter charge when a mechanical shutter is mounted. A
The control by the D / D conversion and the exposure control calculation CPU (108) is performed as described above, but the exposure information relationship is displayed in the finder to convey the calculation result and the control value to the user. This is the viewfinder exposure display (110), and the display is performed by the liquid crystal element, but the drive signal necessary for display, the conversion circuit, and the like are controlled by the in-viewfinder display decoder and the drive circuit (109). The camera sequence control CPU (122) and its associated multiplexer circuit (127) generate signals for controlling the entire sequence of the camera. This block receives a status signal of each block and a signal from the operation setting unit (104), and issues a control command for functioning as a camera. Further, in order to inform the user of the state of the camera, a camera state body display (124) is provided in a part of the body which is easy to see, apart from the display in the viewfinder.
The source signal for this display is also generated by this block. The body display decoder drive circuit (123) controls the drive signals, conversion circuits, and the like necessary for driving the body display liquid crystal display element as in the case of the finder display. The data generation circuit (129) for multiplexing functions as a data back in the silver halide camera.

This circuit is provided with a signal from the multiplexer circuit (127), a signal such as a track number of a track to be recorded, a signal of a track to be recorded, a signal from a multiplexer circuit (127), a clock circuit, etc. as recording data. As a result, the MIX signal is generated and modulated into a recording signal (DPSK signal) for multiple recording with a video signal on the magnetic disk.
It is output to the circuit (132).

An RF detection circuit (130) is a block having a function of detecting the presence / absence of already recorded data on the magnetic disk mounted on the camera. The presence or absence of recording is detected by detecting a high frequency signal (RF) in each track of the magnetic disk. The detection result is the camera sequence control CPU (122)
Be transmitted to. This camera also has a function of recording an image and reproducing the image recorded on the magnetic disk, and the reproducing circuit (136) fulfills that function. When the camera is set to the reproduction mode by the operation setting unit (104), the mounted magnetic disk rotates and the reproduction output video signal is output to the terminal (138).
It also uses a method to automatically adjust the white balance by detecting the color temperature when the camera shoots.

First, the white balance sensor (10
2) receives the light of a subject at the time of shooting, calculates color temperature information, and transmits it to the white balance control circuit (113). White balance control circuit (113)
Generates a color balance adjustment signal based on the information, and adjusts the signal processing circuit (121) for processing the video signal from the CCD image sensor (112) to an appropriate white balance to process the color signal. The white balance adjustment and the control signal are given so as to perform. If you want to fix the white balance for shooting evening scenes, etc., use the operation setting section (10
In 4), it can be manually set for outdoor and indoor use. The block that supplies power to each of the above blocks is the DC-DC converter (116), which receives power from the battery (117) and converts it into a voltage necessary for supply to each block. . Since the voltage still camera consumes an order of magnitude more power than the conventional silver halide camera, a highly efficient DC-DC converter is required.

Now, FIG. 3 shows the operation setting section (1
It is the figure which showed about one Example of the camera operation mode setting operation switch of 04). The operation will be described. First, when shooting, the main switch (201)
Is turned on, and then field recording or frame recording is set by the recording selection switch (202). Further, in order to set the recording mode, the Record switch (203) may be pressed to start shooting.

Next, when it is desired to erase the recorded track of the mounted magnetic disk and photograph and record on the same track, a mode called track erase mode I may be set. For that, the Record switch (203) and Eras
Set by turning on the e switch (205) at the same time. Then, by pressing the track access up / down buttons (206, 207) and moving the magnetic head to a desired track to perform a shooting operation, the selected track is first erased and a new shooting signal is recorded on the track. It will work.

It is also possible to reproduce the image on the magnetic disk, and the reproduction mode may be set. Play button (2
A reproduction signal can be obtained from the mounted magnetic disk only by pressing 04). At that time, a desired track is selected by using the track access up / down buttons (206) and (207) as described above. If you want to erase the recording while looking at the playback image, set to track erase mode II. Select the playback image to be erased in the playback mode with the track access up / down buttons (206), (207) and press the Play switch (204) and Erase switch (205) at the same time to erase the image on that track. To be done. The general operation in the camera operation mode is as described above, and the operation will be described later.

FIG. 4 is an example of the camera status body display (124) in FIG. For portable devices such as cameras, it is necessary to reduce power consumption as much as possible.
Display using a liquid crystal display element is suitable. In the normal state, that is, when the magnetic disk is attached to the camera, the display is
By the display section (303) with 7 segments in the center,
Displays the number of remaining frames that can be shot. At this time, the display unit (30
"Remains", which means the rest, is also displayed in 2).
As a matter of course, in order to calculate the number of remaining frames, it is necessary to input as a condition whether the field recording or the frame recording is performed. This is done by the recording selection switch (202) of FIG. You can enter. Therefore, either Field / Frame is displayed on the display unit (305) according to the setting of the recording selection switch (202), and the number of remaining shootable frames in the selection is displayed on the display unit (303) by the 7 segment. indicate.

The warning display unit (301) indicates "Warn" indicating a warning.
It is surrounded by "ing" and three items are listed in this embodiment.
sk ”flashes when the write-protect tab of the attached magnetic disk is broken,“ Erase ”flashes when the track erase mode I is set, and“ Battery ”drops the battery voltage below the specified voltage. Blinks when descending, and goes off otherwise.

The setting display of the camera operation mode is displayed on the display unit (3
04) Displayed in the part indicated by "Mode". When the recording mode is set, the display (304) shows “Recor
d ”lights,“ Play ”when set to playback mode
In the state before lighting and the track erasing mode I is set and before the photographing operation, “Record” is lit and “Erase” in the warning display unit (301) blinks to call attention.

The bar graph (308) in the lower stage is 5 because the recordable track of the magnetic disk is 50 tracks.
It is divided into 0 and one element shows one track. That is, the recorded track is the bar graph (308).
The element lights up to inform the user that recording has been completed. The number (309) below the bar graph (308) represents the track number.

When the track erasing mode I is set, if the track on which the magnetic head is stopped is an already-recorded track, the element of the bar graph (308) indicating the track blinks. Further, the two arrows (307) above the bar graph (308) indicate which track the magnetic head has stopped at. In the figure, the position of the head is stopped at a position where it hits tracks 33 and 34. Therefore, by looking at the bar graph (308) and the arrow (307), the user can grasp the usage status of the magnetic disk track and the stop position of the magnetic head at a glance, and also check the remaining number of frames that can be photographed. It is easy to do. As a matter of course, since the arrow (307) has two magnetic heads for frame recording, the arrow (3)
07) is also two. The display (306) of the year, month, day, hour, minute and second immediately below the display section (303) by 7 segments is
Although not shown in FIG. 3, by turning on the switch for checking and correcting the recorded contents of the data record for multiplexing,
Using the 7-segment display unit (303), the contents of the data are sequentially displayed in the order of year, month, day, hour, minute, second. Although there is a distinction between field / frame recording and a track number of a recording track, it is not necessary for the user to input such information, and the camera sequence control CPU (12
2) generates a source signal, and the multiplexing data generation circuit (12
Since it is modulated by the recording signal by 9) and recorded, the display for correction, confirmation, etc. is not shown.

Now, each operation of the electronic still camera (hereinafter referred to as a camera) of this embodiment will be described with reference to a flowchart. 5, 6 and 7 are flow charts showing respective operations at the time of exchanging the magnetic disk. 8, 9, and 1
Similarly, 0 is a flow chart of each operation when the magnetic disk is replaced, but the operation is slightly different. However, since there is no functional difference between the two, either one may be adopted.
It should be decided by other constraints.

First, the operation shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 will be described. To replace the magnetic disk, the open / close knob or lever on the back cover is operated to release the lock, and at the same time, the switch associated therewith is turned off. In response to this, the power supply of the control system related to the magnetic disk replacement is turned off.
N Further, even if the electric input member of the camera is operated, the input signal from the operation member is not received so that the operation which causes the failure does not occur.

Next, the magnetic head is moved to a position where it hits the innermost track and then stopped. As an electrical operation, the memory of the track usage state of the magnetic disk mounted so far is erased, and the accompanying body display of the track usage state is also erased. After these operations, the control system power supply is turned off. The operation up to now is instantaneous, and the back lid opens after this in terms of time. When the back cover opens, the magnetic disk also moves, and the erroneous recording prevention claw attached to the magnetic disk separates from the detection switch on the camera body side, so the erroneous recording prevention switch is turned on.

Further, the presence / absence switch of the magnetic disk is turned off because of the same situation. The user takes out the magnetic disk, inserts a new magnetic disk and closes the back cover, and at the same time, the disk presence / absence switch is turned on by the operation reverse to the above, and the erroneous recording prevention switch is attached to the disk. If is attached, turn it off. The back cover is locked and the interlocked switch is turned on.

As a result, the power supply of the control system is turned on and the rotation of the magnetic disk is started. The magnetic head on the innermost track contacts the disk, and signals are recorded on each track, or scanning is started to the outermost track side. At this time, the magnetic head detects the presence or absence of the RF signal, and stores the result and the detected track number in the memory in the camera sequence control CPU (122). This memory stores information on the track usage state of the magnetic disk.

The magnetic head completes the scanning up to the outermost track of the magnetic disk. Wrong recording prevention switch is ON
If so, the recording operation cannot be performed, so the magnetic head immediately retracts from the magnetic disk, moves to the innermost track, and stops. Along with that, the magnetic disk also stops rotating. The body display showing the track usage status is displayed, and "Disk" in the warning display section blinks.

Of course, since the shutter cannot be photographed, the release is locked, but the electric input can be made by the input member of another camera, the track usage state of the magnetic disk is displayed, and the disk exchange is completed. Since the recording is possible when the erroneous recording prevention switch is OFF, whether there is a recordable track in either frame or field recording according to the recording selection switch (202) or the camera sequence control CPU (122) Searches for information in memory.

When the field recording is set, the tracks are searched in ascending order of the track number without the RF signal, and when the frame recording is set, there are no continuous RF signals of the two tracks and the track numbers are set. Is to search for a track in ascending order and check for the existence of the corresponding track. If there is no corresponding track,
Since it is not possible to take a picture, the same procedure as when the erroneous recording prevention switch is turned on is performed, and the disc exchange is completed.

When the corresponding track is found, it is checked again whether the magnetic head moves to the track and there is no RF signal, that is, whether or not the RF signal is recorded. If it is recorded for some reason (control system error, etc.), the magnetic head moves to the innermost track and scans the outermost track again for the presence or absence of the RF signal of each track as described above. I do.

The subsequent operation is also performed as described above, and the presence or absence of the RF signal of the corresponding track is checked again. Here, when the RF signal is detected again, since the probability that the camera side is out of order is very high, an abnormality warning operation, for example, blinking the display of the entire body display is performed to warn the user,
At the same time, the magnetic head retracts from the magnetic disk and the disk rotation stops.

By checking the presence or absence of the RF signal of the corresponding track,
If there is no RF signal, it can be photographed and recorded.
The magnetic head retreats from the magnetic disk and waits at the place where it hits the track. The rotation of the disc stops. The camera sequence control CPU (122) calculates from the information in the memory how many more frames can be recorded in the recording format corresponding to the recording selection switch, and the remaining number of frames that can be photographed and the bar graph ( The track usage state of the magnetic disk by 308), the stop position of the magnetic head, the mode display, etc. are displayed.

At this time, the operation mode of the camera is automatically set to the recording mode in which the photographing operation can be performed.
Then, electric input by the input member of the camera becomes possible, the control system power supply, which has been necessary for driving up to now, is turned off, and the disc replacement is completed. Similarly, FIGS. 8, 9, and 10 are flowcharts showing the respective operations accompanying the exchange of the disk.
The magnetic head scans each track of the magnetic disk and RF
The operation of detecting the presence or absence of a signal and confirming it is different from that in FIGS. First, when the disk is taken out, the magnetic head moves to the outermost track and stops, and at the same time as mounting a new magnetic disk, whether or not a signal is recorded for each track from the outermost track side to the innermost track, or the RF signal is detected. The presence / absence of the track is detected, and the result and the number of the detected track are stored in the memory in the camera sequence control CPU (122). This memory content is tentatively called memory [I].

When the innermost track is completed, the scanning is started again from the innermost track to the outermost track side, and the result is the same as the camera sequence control CPU (12
2) Store in the memory inside. This content is called memory [II]. When the scanning is completed, the magnetic head retreats to the outermost track and stands by, and the rotation of the magnetic disk is stopped.

In the camera sequence control CPU (122), the memories [I] and [II] are sequentially compared for the presence or absence of the RF signal of the same track number. If they do not match, there is a very high probability that the camera side is out of order as described in FIG.
Performs an abnormal warning operation to warn the user. If they match, the contents of memory [I] and memory [II] are the same, so either one (here, memory [II]) should be erased and the remaining memory contents should be used as control data for camera operation. Becomes

According to the recording selection switch (202), a recordable track is searched, the magnetic head is moved to the corresponding track, and the track is made to stand by. Calculate the remaining number of frames that can be shot,
Other operations such as displaying are the same as those in FIGS.

In the following explanation of the operation, the magnetic disk is shown in FIGS.
It is installed according to the operation flow of 7. FIG. 11 shows track access up / down buttons (206) and (207) when the operation mode of the camera is set to the recording mode.
6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the camera when is pressed.

The disk is mounted by the operation shown in FIGS. 5 to 7 or 8 to 10, and the mode is set to the recording mode. When either the track access up or down button (206) or (207) is pressed (here, it is assumed that the up button (206) is pressed), the camera sequence control CPU (122) receives the information, and at that time The recording selection switch (20
Whether or not there is a track that can be recorded in the recording format specified in 2) is checked by a memory that stores the presence or absence of RF signals on each track.

If there is no recordable track,
The magnetic head does not move and continues to stop as it is. If there is a recordable track, the magnetic head moves to that track and stops. If you continue to press the access button, the camera sequence control CPU
In step (122), a recordable track having a larger number is searched.

If there is a recordable track, the magnetic head is moved there. While the track access up button (206) is being pressed, the above operation is repeated continuously at a speed recognizable by the user until there is no recordable track. Similarly, when the down button (207) is pressed, this time, the search is performed in the direction of the smaller number and the magnetic head is moved.

When the magnetic head moves, it goes without saying that the arrow (307) indicating the stop position of the magnetic head of the body display shown in FIG. 4 also displays the position corresponding to the movement. Next, FIGS. 12 and 13 show the camera operation including the operation when the operation mode of the camera is set to the track erasing mode I and further when the track access up / down buttons (206) / (207) are pressed. Is a flow chart. When the magnetic disk is attached to the camera, the operation mode of the camera is automatically set to the recording mode. In this state, the Record switch (203) and Erase switch (205) are turned on at the same time to switch to the track erase mode I. The warning display part (30
"Erase" in 1) blinks to indicate that the mode has been set.

In order to select the track to be erased, the track access up / down buttons (206, 207) are operated to stop the magnetic head at the desired track position. The camera sequence control CPU (122) investigates whether or not the track on which the magnetic head is stopped is recorded, based on the information in the memory. If the track is not recorded, the erasing operation is not necessary. Therefore, when the camera is released for shooting, the magnetic disk rotates and the magnetic head comes into contact with the magnetic disk, and the CCD image sensor exposed under predetermined conditions ( The image information from (112) is recorded.

In the case of a recorded track, the element corresponding to the corresponding track of the body-displayed bar graph (308) blinks in order to give the user a strong impression of the number of the track to be erased. When the camera is released in this state, the magnetic disk rotates and the magnetic head comes into contact with the magnetic disk to first erase the recorded signal and then record the signal obtained by photographing.

When the recording operation is performed, the unrecorded tracks are already recorded. Therefore, this information is transmitted to the camera sequence control CPU (122), and the track use memory in the CPU is used. Of the contents of, that is, R of the track number corresponding to the recorded track
Change the F signal from "absent" to "present". Immediately after the end of the recording operation, the track erasing mode I is released, the recording mode is automatically set, the magnetic head is retracted from the magnetic disk, and the rotation of the magnetic disk is stopped.

During this time, the camera sequence control CPU
Reference numeral (122) is a track-usable memory in the CPU, and searches for the smallest track number of tracks that can be recorded in the recording mode (field recording or frame recording) according to the recording selection switch (202). If there is no corresponding track, the magnetic head is moved to the innermost track and stopped.

The body display indicates that the number of remaining photographed frames is 0, and the recording mode is kept on standby. When there is a corresponding track, the magnetic head moves to the corresponding track position and stops, and then stands by in the recording mode. The above is the operation of the camera when the track erasing mode I is set. Now, FIG. 14, FIG. 15, and FIG. 16 are views showing the reproduction mode and the flow of the operation of the camera when the track deletion mode II is set from the reproduction mode.

The following is a description with reference to the drawings. First, when the magnetic disk is completely loaded, the camera is set to the recording mode as the standard state. Therefore, in order for the camera to perform the reproducing operation, the operation setting unit (104)
Press the lay switch (204) to set the playback state.

When the camera is in the reproduction state, the body display indicates the number of remaining photographable frames (302) (303).
Disappears and "play" on the mode setting display (304) lights up. The bar graph (308) and the arrow (307) indicating the stop position of the head continue to be displayed in the same manner as described above, and in this case, depending on which track position the magnetic head is, the track position and number being reproduced are displayed by the user. Can know.

When the play switch (204) is turned on, the camera sequence control CPU (122) searches the recorded track closest to the track where the magnetic head is currently stopped by the track-used memory. If there is no corresponding track, it means that the mounted magnetic disk is not recorded at all, the reproduction mode is canceled, the recording mode is automatically set, and the standby state is set.

When there is the corresponding track, the rotation of the magnetic disk starts, the magnetic head moves to the position of the corresponding track, stops, and contacts the magnetic disk. Therefore, the playback signal is output and the monitor (1)
38), you can see the playback image. The user can move the magnetic head by pressing the track access up / down buttons (206) and (207) in order to search for a desired screen. If the up button (206) is pressed, the camera sequence control CPU (122) has a recorded track whose track number is larger than the track currently being reproduced by the magnetic head in the track-used memory. Or do a search.

If there is no recorded track, the magnetic head does not move and the reproduction is continued at the same position.
If there is a recorded track, the magnetic head moves to the corresponding track position, stops, and reproduces the track.
If the up button (206) is further pressed, the above operation is repeated.

The same operation is performed by pressing the down button (207), but this time, the magnetic head moves to a recorded track whose track number is smaller than the track currently being reproduced by the magnetic head and reproduces. Will be done. In addition, whether recording is performed by field recording or frame recording at the time of recording, it is identified at the time of reproduction by the field / frame identification signal in the multiplexed data of the reproduction signal, and automatic switching reproduction is performed.

The movement of the magnetic head is also controlled according to the identification signal so as to move a predetermined amount during frame reproduction.
In order to know whether the user is playing field or frame during playback, the body display (305) Field / Frame
You can see which one is lit. Next, if the user is looking at the reproduction surface and there is an image to be erased, the track erasing mode II can be set to erase the recording.

To do this, the track access up / down buttons (206) and (207) are used to reproduce the image of the track to be erased, and the Play switch (204) and Era
When the se switch (205) is turned on at the same time, the recording on that track is erased. At the same time when the switch is turned on, the image reproduced on the monitor or the like disappears, and the screen becomes dark for a few seconds to indicate that the erasing operation has been performed.

While the playback screen is dark, the camera sequence control CPU (122) erases the recorded tracks and makes them recordable, so that the corresponding track in the memory storing the track use status information is recorded. Change the RF signal from "Yes" to "No". Further, the memory is also used to search for a recorded track on the side having a larger track number than the track where the magnetic head is currently stopped.

If there is no recorded track,
In the future, we will search for the smaller track number. If there is a recorded track on either side, the magnetic head is moved to the track position, the screen is darkened for a few seconds as described above, and then the reproduction screen of the track is displayed. When there is no recorded track, or when the user presses the Record switch (203) to switch from the playback mode to the recording mode, the magnetic head retracts from the magnetic disk,
The rotation of the disc stops. Camera sequence control CP
U (122) searches for a track that can be recorded in the recording mode specified by the recording selection switch (202) from the memory in the track use state and has a track number as small as possible.

If there is no corresponding track, the magnetic head moves to the innermost track position, stops, and waits. When there is a corresponding track, the magnetic head moves to the corresponding track position, stops, and stands by. The camera operation mode is set to the recording mode in any case. The operation of the camera when various operations are performed in each operation mode has been described above using flow charts. By grasping the track usage state of the mounted magnetic disk and controlling the operation of the camera based on the information, it is very efficient and the operability is significantly improved.

In this embodiment, the presence / absence of the RF signal is investigated as the information on the track usage state of the magnetic disk.
Since it is possible to write not only video signals but also audio signals, digital data signals, etc. on the magnetic disk, not only the presence or absence of RF signals but also the types of recording signals are investigated, and the information is stored. It is also possible for the user to easily recognize what kind of signal is written on this magnetic disk through the body display.

In this embodiment, the reproducing circuit (13
This can be realized by operating 6) when the magnetic disk is mounted. The magnetic head scans each track and operates the reproduction circuit (136) at the time of investigating the track usage state, and reproduces the signal for the recorded track.
Detecting what kind of signal is recorded, classifying and classifying the coded information into the camera sequence control CPU
It is stored in the memory in (122).

Based on this stored information, the track use state is displayed on the body display section. The display color of each element of the bar graph (308) may be changed in accordance with the type of the recorded signal in order to prevent the display pattern from becoming complicated and to display the information as multiplexed as possible.

For example, the display of the element of the bar graph (308) corresponding to the track where audio is recorded is red, the display of the element of the bar graph (308) corresponding to the track where digital data is recorded is green,
It may be easier to recognize if the display of the element of the bar graph (308) corresponding to the track on which the video signal is recorded is changed to blue or the like.

Further, in this embodiment, a recording selection switch (202) for designating field recording or frame recording
According to the above, once the recording format is decided, it will be recorded in the specified recording format unless the switch is changed.
When the loaded magnetic disk is recorded every other track, or recorded only in the middle, when recording by frame recording, a track in the middle of the disk cannot be recorded and may drop out.

In such a case, in order to use the magnetic disk efficiently, it is necessary to switch the recording selection switch (302) each time while observing the bar graph (308) in the track use state and take a picture. It is troublesome. If you want to use the disc efficiently regardless of the recording format, select the recording selection switch (202).
In addition, enable auto select recording,
If the switch is set to this position, the frame recording will be the main recording, but if there is a recorded track in the middle and one track cannot be recorded in the frame recording and the recording is lost, the field recording is performed. Field switching is performed automatically, field recording is performed, and when there is no track omission in frame recording, the operation to return to frame recording again is performed by investigating and storing the track usage information in advance. Can be easily realized.

[0065]

As described above, according to the present invention, the information required by the user, such as the number of remaining photographable frames of the magnetic disk, the usage status of the track, the position of the magnetic head, etc., is stored in the camera. Immediately after putting on (almost at the same time when the wearing is completed), you can know, and the operability of the camera is greatly improved.

In addition, the operation control is quick, and the operation is simple, so that the reliability and reliability can be improved, and the efficient sequence control is possible.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram simply showing a configuration of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing a configuration of an electronic still camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing camera operation mode setting operation switches and the like.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a camera state body display.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of each operation when replacing a magnetic disk.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart of each operation when replacing a magnetic disk.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart of each operation when replacing a magnetic disk.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart of each operation when a magnetic disk is replaced.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart of each operation at the time of exchanging a magnetic disk.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart of each operation at the time of exchanging a magnetic disk.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of a camera operation when a recording mode is set.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of the camera operation when the track erasing mode I is set.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart of a camera operation when the track erasing mode I is set.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart of a camera operation when a reproduction mode and a track erasing mode II are set.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart of a camera operation when a reproduction mode and a track erasing mode II are set.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart of the camera operation when the reproduction mode and the track erasing mode II are set.

[Explanation of symbols for main parts]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Optical system 2 Solid-state image sensor 3 Signal processing means 4 Recording means 5 Storage means 6 Control means 7 Automatic address mechanism 8 Display means

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] March 11, 1993

[Procedure Amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be amended] Claims

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[Claims]

[Procedure 3]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] 0005

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[0005]

However, the electronic still camera has the above-mentioned characteristics and, at the same time, has a new problem different from the conventional one. Loaded in the camera
The recording condition (presence or absence of image signal) of the recorded recording medium
If you operate the electrical input member of the camera while
There was a risk that the operation would cause trouble. The present invention
The purpose of is to capture images with good operability without fear as described above.
The purpose is to provide a device.

[Procedure amendment 4]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0006

[Correction method] Delete

[Procedure Amendment 5]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0007

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[0007]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention comprises an optical system (1) for forming a subject image,
A solid-state imaging element provided in the vicinity of the image plane of the optical system (2)
When, with the solid signal processing means (3) for processing the image signal from the image pickup device, the image signal on a removable recording medium serial
An image pickup device having a recording means (4) for recording.
The image signal on the recording medium recorded by a step
There is a search method (6) that searches for the presence of
Instruction to instruct the imaging device to perform various operations by the operation
Means and the search means when the search means operates.
And an invalidating means (6) for invalidating the instruction to be made.

[Procedure correction 6]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0008

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

According to the present invention, an image signal is recorded on the recording medium.
External operation is possible while searching for whether or not it is recorded
Even if you operate the instructing means of a camera that is capable of
Disable the display so that the camera may
There is no movement.

[Procedure Amendment 7]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0009

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a diagram simply showing the structure of the present invention . In FIG. 1, 1 is an optical system, 2 is a solid-state image sensor, and 3 is
Is a signal processing means, 4 is a recording means, 5 is a storage means, 6 is a control means, 7 is an automatic address mechanism, and 8 is a display means.

[Procedure Amendment 8]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0061

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

According to the present invention, the image signal is recorded on the recording medium.
When searching for recorded data, the camera
Even if a work member is operated, the instruction given by the operation is invalidated.
Therefore, the camera does not operate in a
Thus, it is possible to obtain an image pickup device with good operability.

[Procedure Amendment 9]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] Figure 1

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

FIG. 1 is a diagram simply showing a configuration of the present invention .

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An optical system for forming a subject image, a solid-state image sensor provided near an image-forming surface of the optical system, signal processing means for processing an image signal from the solid-state image sensor, and the signal processing. In an electronic still camera having a recording means for recording the image signal from the means and other signals on a removable recording medium, the presence or absence of the recording signal of the recording medium mounted when the recording medium is mounted and the type of the recording signal. An electronic still camera, comprising: a storage unit that surveys the result and stores the survey result; and a control unit that controls various functions according to the output of the storage unit. 2. The electronic still camera according to claim 1, wherein the control means includes an automatic address mechanism for addressing the recording means to a recordable area of a mounted recording medium. 3. The electronic still camera according to claim 1, wherein the control means includes display means for calculating and displaying the number of remaining frames that can be photographed. 4. The electronic still camera according to claim 1, wherein the control means includes a display means for displaying a recording state of a recording medium. 5. The electronic still camera according to claim 1, wherein the storage means changes the stored contents in response to the operation of the electronic still camera.