JPH06303501A - Video camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide the video camera capable of searching the page of an objective item in a short time with less operation regardless of a large number of menu pages. CONSTITUTION:When a menu switch 7 which turns on/off the menu operation and a cancel/preset switch 30 are simultaneously operated, the first page among plural menu pages is displayed on a view finder 19 by a CPU 14. Or when the menu switch 7 and an item switch 29 are simultaneously operated, a preliminarily determined specific page is displayed on the view finder 19. Thus, the page of line objective item is searched in a short time with less operation.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to, for example, a commercial VT.
The present invention relates to a video camera suitable for application to an R-integrated video camera.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a video camera using a so-called analog signal processing system, for example, several tens of volumes and switches are mounted on a printed wiring board, and these volume adjustments are performed to adjust the signal level. , The switch is turned on and off to turn signal processing on and off.

In this case, the positions of the switches and the volume mounted on the printed wiring board are mechanical (for example, miniaturization, weight reduction, operability) and electrical (improvement of image quality) restrictions, and the video camera body Since it is arranged at a plurality of suitable positions in the above, the operator has to find the position of the switch or the volume to be operated, which is complicated. Even after finding the position, there is a case where the direction and direction of the human hand need to be adjusted in a cramped state, and the adjustment time tends to be long.

In order to solve these problems, conventionally, a video camera in which a partial digital signal processing system is adopted in which some switches and some volumes are so-called electronic volume switches has been commercialized. ing.

In the video camera adopting the partial digital signal processing method, operation (adjustment, setting) items are displayed on the viewfinder in the form of a menu. Since the number of pages of the menu of the video camera adopting the conventional partial digital signal processing method is 5 to 6, even if the menu page is turned over to search for a specific operation item (actually, the screen is Change page by page), it didn't take long.

[0006]

By the way, the actual adjustment / operation work of each digitized item in the video camera which partially adopts the digital signal processing system is performed by a few pieces arranged on the operation panel. Since it is only necessary to adjust and operate the volume and switch of, it is said that the operability is dramatically improved compared to the work of directly adjusting and operating the remaining volume and switch directly arranged on each analog type board. I found out.

Therefore, it is necessary to manufacture a so-called all-digital signal processing type video camera (hereinafter, simply referred to as a digital signal processing type video camera) in which all or almost all items are changed to an electronic switch volume. The applicants of the present application considered.

However, in the case of considering a digital signal processing type video camera in which all or almost all items are changed to an electronic switch volume, the number of menu pages becomes 30 pages or more.
It takes a lot of switch operations until the on-site photographer (user) selects a desired operation item from those menu pages, which takes a considerable amount of time,
In some cases, there is a problem that the operator may be frustrated.

The present invention has been made in consideration of such a problem, and even if the number of menu pages is large, it is possible to reach a page having a target item in a short time with a small amount of operation. The purpose is to provide.

[0010]

The present invention is described in, for example, FIG.
In the video camera including the display device 19 for displaying a plurality of menu pages as shown in FIG. 5, a menu operation ON / OFF switch 7 for switching ON / OFF of the menu operation, a specific switch related to the menu operation,
The menu operation on / off switch 7 and the control means 14 connected to the specific switch are provided, and the control means 14
Displays the first page of the plurality of menu pages or a predetermined specific page on the display device 19 when the menu operation on / off switch 7 and the specific switch are simultaneously operated. It is a thing.

Further, according to the present invention, the specific switch for displaying the first page of the plurality of menu pages on the display device 19 cancels the setting made by using the menu and presets the setting. The cancel / preset switch 30 is also used for this purpose.

Further, according to the present invention, the specific switch for displaying a predetermined specific page of the plurality of menu pages on the display device 19 is an item for selecting an item displayed in each menu page. This is the selection switch 29.

[0013]

According to the present invention, when the menu operation on / off switch 7 and the specific switch are simultaneously operated, the first page of the plurality of menu pages or a predetermined specific page is controlled by the control means 14. Since it is displayed on the display device 19, it is possible to reach the page having the target item in a short time and with a small number of operations.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the video camera of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the structure of a video camera according to this embodiment. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 is a CCD image pickup circuit. The CCD image pickup circuit 1 converts light L having image information from a subject into an electric signal, and the electric signal is based on a timing signal from a timing generator 2. To a video signal (the video signal path is shown by a dotted line in the figure) and output. Here, the timing generator 2 is controlled by the CPU 14 through the line 17. For example, C
The PU 14 can also change the shutter speed of the CCD image pickup circuit 1 through the timing generator 2.

This video signal is amplified by the video amplifier 3 and supplied to the A / D converter 4. In this case, a D / A converter (not shown) is mounted on the video amplifier 3, and the gain and frequency characteristics of the video amplifier 3 are calculated by the CPU 1
It can be changed via its D / A converter by means of digital data supplied from 4 through line 16. Further, the phase of the A / D converter 4 and the like can be changed by the digital data supplied from the CPU 14 through the line 16. That is, the video amplifier 3 and the A / D converter 4 are so-called electronic volumes.

In addition to the video amplifier 3 and the A / D converter 4, the line 16 has a menu switch 7 for turning on / off a menu function connected through the I / O interface 38, and a D / A conversion described later. The device 5, the display interface 6 and the EEPROM 18 are connected. The D / A converter 5 and the interface 6 are also made into an electronic volume, and their electrical characteristics can also be changed by supplying predetermined digital data from the CPU 14 through the line 15.

The digital video signal digitized by the A / D converter 4 is supplied to the data processing substrate 8. The data processing board 8 includes a shading circuit 9 and a detector circuit 1 each of which is an LSI (Large Scale Integrated Circuit).
0, a process circuit 11, an encoder 12 and a signal generator 13. These LSIs 9 to 13 are connected to the CPU 14 through the line 15. Therefore, parameter data such as constants and levels of each circuit is
It is set in each LSI from U14 through line 15.

Here, the detector circuit 10 is a circuit for performing white balance processing, auto iris processing, etc., the process circuit 11 is a circuit for performing γ correction processing, contour enhancement processing (detail processing), etc., and the encoder circuit 12 is R. , G, B video signals are converted into NTSC or PAL video signals.

The data processing board 8 includes an A / D converter 4
Such processing is performed on the digital video signal supplied from the digital video signal, and the processed digital video signal is D / A.
It is supplied to the interface 6 through the converter 5.

The interface 6 processes the (analog) video signal supplied from the D / A converter 5 into an analog signal which meets the specifications of the viewfinder 19 and outputs it. The output signal of the interface 6 is V (not shown).
Also supplied to TR. In this case, the interface 6 mixes the character signal output from the character generator 20 with the video signal, specifically, superimposes the character signal on the video signal and supplies it to the viewfinder 19. It is like this.

CPU mounted on the automation board 21
14 also generates display data. The CPU 14 has
In addition to the line 15 and the like, EEPROM 22 and ROM 2
3, work RAM 24 and I / O expander 25
Etc. are connected.

The ROM 23 is an ultraviolet erasable EPROM, and the ROM 23 has a control program and respective setting means (D / A installed in the video amplifier 3 in advance).
Initial setting parameter data for the converter, process circuit 11, etc. is stored. The EEPROM 22 stores new setting parameter data. In the following description, the timing generator 2, the video amplifier 3, A for which the setting parameter data is set by the CPU 14
/ D converter 4, D / A converter 5 and interface 6
Are ICs (integrated circuits), respectively, and are therefore represented as IC2, IC3, IC4, IC5, and IC16, respectively, as necessary.

The I / O expander 25 expands the number of output ports of the CPU 14. The I / O expander 25 includes a user switch (hereinafter referred to as a user switch) for switching between a user hierarchy level and a station engineer hierarchy level. , A user / engineer switch 26 as necessary, a DIP switch for switching services, etc.
27, a page switch 28, an item switch 29, a cancel / preset switch 30, an up switch 31, and a down switch 32 are connected. These switches 26-32
Of these, the switch 26 and the switch 27 cannot be operated from the outside, so they are hereinafter referred to as a menu internal operation switch group 34 as necessary, and the switches 28 to 32 are operated from outside the video camera. Since these are possible switches, they are hereinafter referred to as a menu external operation switch group 33 as necessary.

A serial interface 35 is connected to the CPU 14, and this serial interface 35
It can be connected to an external personal computer or the like (not shown) through the connector terminal 36. History data of this video camera created by using this personal computer can be recorded in the EEPROM 18 of the data processing substrate 8 through the serial interface 35, the CPU 14 and the line 15.

Further, the display data from the CPU 14 is I
By being supplied to the character generator 20 through the / O expander 25, a character signal representing a character, a figure, etc. is supplied from the character generator 20 to the interface 6.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described.

When the video camera of the example of FIG. 1 is turned on, the initial setting parameter data stored in the ROM 23 under the control of the CPU 14 is transmitted through the line (actually serial bus) 15 to the shading circuit 9 and the like. Each LS
I9 to 13 and set, and line 16,
It is sent to IC2-6 via 17 and set.

On the other hand, the CPU 14 also creates display data. Therefore, when the menu switch 7 is turned on, the display data is sent to the character generator 20. Then, the character signal from the character generator 20 is mixed with the video signal from the D / A converter 5 at the interface 6, so that the viewfinder 19 displays an image in which the menu character is superimposed. Is displayed. When the menu switch 7 is turned on and the power is turned on, the first page (also referred to as page 1) of the menu is automatically displayed by so-called power-on reset processing. It has become.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, the user presses the page switch 28 constituting the menu external operation switch group 33 while observing the viewfinder 19 (the operation of the page switch 28 is represented by an arrow P). You can make it the page you want. That is, each time the page switch 28 is pressed, the page is changed, and when the last page (page 37 in this embodiment) is reached, the page returns to the first page (page 1). When the menu switch 7 is turned off while the power is on,
The number of pages is stored in the RAM 24, and when the menu switch 7 is turned on again, the menu content of that page is displayed. On the other hand, when the power is turned off when displaying an arbitrary page, the first page of the menu is displayed by the power-on reset process when the power is turned on again.

As shown in FIG. 3, when a desired page whose major item is A (in the example of FIG. 3, it is displayed as “page A” for convenience) is displayed on the viewfinder 19, the item switch 29 is displayed. Each time you press, the item (item
A cursor (indicated by an arrow) M displayed in front of (A1 etc.) 40 moves one item at a time in the direction of the dotted arrow. When the item switch 29 is pressed while the cursor M is at the "item A5" position, the cursor M returns to the top item (in this case, item A1). Therefore, the desired item 40 can be selected by the item switch 29. The selected item 40 can be found at the position indicated by the cursor M.

ON / OFF setting of the selected item 40 and setting (adjustment) of the selected item 40
Parameter data (hereinafter, simply referred to as setting data) can be changed by operating the up switch 31 and the down switch 32. Each setting data is displayed as a number such as “ON”, “OFF” or “10” in the setting field 41 to the right of the colon “:” on the screen of the viewfinder 19 shown in FIG.

In this case, by pressing the up switch 31, it becomes "ON" and the numerical setting data value such as "10" can be gradually increased. By pressing the down switch 32, it becomes “OFF” and the numerical setting data can be gradually reduced.

Cancel / preset switch 3
By pressing 0, it is possible to restore (cancel) the data before the setting and the initial setting data stored in the ROM 23,
So-called factory shipment data can be returned. Specifically, when the switch 30 is pressed once on the screen where the menu shown in FIG. 3 or the like is displayed, the word "CANCEL" appears on the screen, and when the switch 30 is pressed again, "C" is displayed on the screen.
ANCEL (cancel)? The screen for confirmation of cancellation appears, and if you press it again, the cancellation is executed and the previous setting data before the current setting is restored. In this state, if you press it again, the preset confirmation screen "PRESET?" Will appear on the screen, and press it again (this is the fifth time from the beginning) to start presetting. There is. The reason why the multiple pressing operation is performed is to prevent the setting data from being changed by an erroneous operation.

Actually, when these switches 29 to 32 are operated, the CPU 14 causes the IC 2 corresponding to this operation to operate.
6 to 6 and LSIs 9 to 13 are changed, the corresponding setting parameters data of ICs 2 to 6 and LSIs 9 to 13 are updated via lines 15 to 17, and the new setting data is stored in the RAM 24 and EEP.
It is stored in the ROM 22. By sending the display data associated with these data to the character generator 20, the display on the viewfinder 19 is also changed to the corresponding display.

The video camera shown in FIG. 1 has 37 menu pages in total. These pages are CPU1
Based on the control of No. 4, it is possible to limit according to the hierarchical level of the operator who uses the menu. That is, the number of menu pages that can be used can be limited according to the hierarchical level of the operator. Then, an operator at a relatively higher hierarchy level (eg, station engineer hierarchy level) can limit the menu pages that can be used by an operator at a relatively lower hierarchy level (eg, user hierarchy level). Has become.

FIGS. 4A to 4D show specific display examples of four menu pages that can be used at the user hierarchy level (and the station engineer hierarchy level and the service engineer hierarchy level).

FIG. 4A is a page for mainly setting details related to the process circuit 11, and FIG.
Is a page on which mainly the settings relating to skin tone details that can be set in the process circuit 11 are made similarly. Figure 4C
Is mainly the viewfinder 19 screen ("VF DI
Page for setting whether to display status messages such as shutter speed ("SHUTTER") displayed on the top line and / or the bottom line ("ON") ("ON") ("OFF") If it is turned off, the status message is not displayed on the screen of the viewfinder 19. That is, when the cameraman who is the user determines that it is troublesome to create an image, it can be turned off at the user hierarchy level. FIG. 4D is a page for setting the shutter speed. In FIG. 4D, CLS is a so-called clear scan, EVS is a shutter (EXTEND VARIABLE S) that changes the vertical axis resolution.
HUTTER) is meant.

Next, the operation of the main part of the present invention will be described with reference to the charts of FIGS. 5 and 6. In addition, in the charts of FIGS. 5 and 6, the ◯ symbol represents a process, the ⊚ symbol represents a subroutine process, and the symbol in which a right-pointing triangle is drawn in the ◯ symbol represents an if (if: conditional branch) statement. ing.

In the switch data processing module of FIG. 5, first, various switch data are read in (step S1).

Next, in step S2, whether or not the data of the menu switch 7 has changed, in other words,
It is confirmed whether the menu switch 7 has been operated,
When a change is confirmed, it is confirmed whether the change is a menu-on (ON) change or a menu-off (OFF) change.

When the change is to the menu off,
It is confirmed whether or not the item switch 29 is pressed at the same time as the menu switch 7 (step S3). If the item switch 29 is not pressed, the page currently displayed in the viewfinder 19 is a specific address of the RAM 24 ( Stored at address Q) (step S4),
After that, the menu screen is erased from the viewfinder 19 and the process proceeds to step S13 (step S5). If the item switch 29 is pressed simultaneously with the menu switch 7, the page currently being displayed is stored in another specific address (referred to as address R) of the RAM 24 (step S6), and the page currently being displayed is further stored. Is also stored in the address Q (step S4), and then the process proceeds to the menu screen erasing process of step S5.

In step S2, when the menu switch 7 is turned on, the process proceeds to step S7, and whether the item switch 29 is pressed at the same time as the menu switch 7 or whether the menu switch 7 is canceled / cancelled at the same time. It is confirmed whether the pre-reset switch 30 is pressed.

If the item switch 29 is pressed at the same time as the menu switch 7, the RAM 2 is selected in step S6.
The page stored in the memory address R of No. 4 is read out, and the process for displaying the page on the viewfinder 19 is started (step S8). After this, step S9
In, the menu screen of the page is displayed on the viewfinder 19, and then the processing based on the menu processing module of step S10 is performed. When the menu screen is nested (specifically, for example, the menu screen of the n-th page is hierarchized and has a plurality of screens), in step S9, the initial screen is displayed first. It

FIG. 6 is a chart showing the configuration of the menu processing module in step S10.
1, it is confirmed whether or not the item switch 29, the cancel / preset switch 30, the up switch 31, or the down switch 32 is pressed, and the process (described above) when any one of them is pressed is step S1.
02-S105.

After the menu processing module in step S10 is completed, the process proceeds to step S13.

In step S7, the cancel / preset switch 30 is simultaneously pressed with the menu switch 7.
If is pressed, the process for unconditionally displaying the first page (page 1) on the viewfinder 19 is started (step S11). Thereafter, in step S9, the menu screen of the first page is displayed on the viewfinder 19
After that, the process proceeds to step S13 via the process of step S10.

In step S7, the item switch 29
If neither the cancel / preset switch 30 has been pressed, the process for displaying the menu screen page stored when the menu switch 7 was previously turned off and stored in the address Q of the RAM 24 is started (step S1).
2). Then, in step S9, the menu screen of the previous page is displayed on the viewfinder 19, and then the process proceeds to step S13 via the process of step S10.

When the page switch 28 is pressed in step S13, a setting process for advancing the menu page by one page is started (step S14). After this, 1
The menu screen advanced to the page is the viewfinder 19
Is displayed (step S15), and through the processing of step S16 (the same processing as step S10 shown in FIG. 6),
The process returns to the line of the point T, and then returns to step S1 again. It should be noted that the process returns to step S1 even if the page switch 28 is not pressed in step S13.

The operation of the page switch 28 is valid only when the menu switch 7 is on, and an interlock is applied which is disabled when the menu switch 7 is off. For example, menu switch 7 and page switch 2
8 is the same toggle switch for switching three contacts, of which the menu switch 7 is off at one end contact position, is on at the center contact position, is the page update position at the other end contact position, and is the center contact Switching from the position to the contact position at the other end may be performed by a momentary operation. By doing so, the page update becomes effective only when the menu switch 7 is turned on.

Thus, according to the above-described embodiment, (1)
When the menu switch 7 is turned on while pressing the cancel / reset switch 30, the first page (first page) of the menu page is displayed, and the operation based on the menu can be started from the first page.
That is, for example, in FIG. 2, it is assumed that the currently operated menu page is the nth page. When the menu switch 7 is turned off and the menu switch 7 is turned on again in this state, page n is displayed. At this time, if the menu switch 7 is turned on while pressing the cancel / preset switch 30, the first page is displayed without displaying the n page. This function can be used, for example, when the page when the menu switch 7 is turned off is in the latter half of the page in the center or when it is desired to operate from the menu of the first page.
It is possible to obtain an effect that a page having a target item can be reached in a short time with a small number of operations.

Further, according to the above-described embodiment, (2) when the menu switch 7 is turned on while pressing the item switch 29, a preset page is displayed and the operation based on the menu is started from that page. can do. That is, for example, in FIG. 2, it is assumed that the currently operated page is n pages. When the menu switch 7 is turned off while pressing the item switch 29 in this state, the information of page n is stored in the address R of the RAM 24. After this operation, it is assumed that normal menu operation is performed. Then, at a certain time, when it is urgently desired to set page n, the menu switch 7 is turned on while pressing the item switch 29. Then, instead of the page where the menu was turned off last time, the n-th page, which is a predetermined specific page, is displayed. This function has an effect that it is possible to reach a page having a target item with a small number of operations and thus in a short time by presetting a page with a high operation frequency to a specific page in advance. .

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but may be applied to not only a video camera but also a personal computer or a video game machine, for example, and various configurations can be adopted without departing from the gist of the present invention. Of course.

[0054]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When the menu operation on / off switch and a specific switch are simultaneously operated, the control means displays the first page of the plurality of menu pages or a predetermined specific page on the display device. It is possible to reach the page having the item of in a short time and with a small number of operations. Therefore, even when an emergency is required, such as when the user wants to make an emergency adjustment at a shooting site, it is possible to immediately start the adjustment work, and an annoying effect of avoiding annoyance can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of a video camera according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram provided for explaining a method of changing a menu page and an operation of a main part of one embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram provided for explaining a method of operating a switch related to a menu switch.

FIG. 4 is a diagram used for explaining an example of a menu page.

FIG. 5 is a chart provided for explaining an operation of a main part of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a chart provided for explaining a detailed operation of the menu processing module in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 CCD image pickup circuit 7 Menu switch 8 Data processing board 14 CPU 19 Viewfinder 21 Automation board 28 Page switch 29 Item switch 30 Cancel / select switch 31 Up switch 32 Down switch

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A video camera equipped with a display device for displaying a plurality of menu pages, a menu operation on / off switch for switching on / off of menu operation, a specific switch related to the menu operation, and the menu operation. An on / off switch and control means connected to the specific switch are provided, and the control means controls the plurality of menu pages when the menu operation on / off switch and the specific switch are simultaneously operated. A video camera, wherein the first page or a predetermined specific page is displayed on the display device. 2. The specific switch for displaying the first page of the plurality of menu pages on the display device is also used for canceling the setting set by using the menu and presetting the setting. 2. The video camera according to claim 1, wherein the video camera is a cancel / preset switch used as a switch. 3. The specific switch for displaying a predetermined specific page of the plurality of menu pages on the display device is an item selection switch for selecting an item displayed in each menu page. The video camera according to claim 1, wherein: