JPH066337Y2 - Flash off device for automatic flash cameras - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Industrial field of application) The present invention has a built-in strobe, and automatically sets the strobe emission mode and non-emission mode only based on the photometric information of the subject without the emission inhibition switch. The present invention relates to a light emission prohibition device for an automatic light emission camera to be set.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, in a camera with a built-in flash of a so-called automatic flash system that automatically sets a flash firing mode and a non-flash firing mode based on a photometric output of a subject, the flash firing of the strobe at a manufacturing line or inspection is performed. When it is desired to prohibit the light emission, strobe light is forcibly prohibited by illuminating the light receiving element for photometry of the camera or by providing a light emission prohibition switch to turn on the light.

(Problems to be solved by the invention) However, in a camera having a built-in strobe of such a conventional automatic light emission system, it is not necessary to prohibit the stroboscopic light emission in normal shooting, The photometric light receiving element is exposed to light or a light emission prohibition switch is provided only for the production line and inspection, and there is a problem that the cost is increased by the provision of the light emission inhibition switch. At times, there was the annoyance of having to intentionally illuminate the camera so that it would not emit light.

(Means for Solving Problems) The present invention has been made in view of the above problems of the related art, and can be easily performed without providing a light emission prohibition switch or irradiating light to turn off the light emission. It is an object of the present invention to provide a light emission prohibition device for an automatic light emission camera in which a light emission prohibition state is intentionally created so as to eliminate the inconvenience of a production line and inspection.

For this purpose, the present invention has a built-in strobe,
In an automatic light emission camera that automatically sets the flash emission mode and non-emission mode only based on the photometric information of the subject, a plurality of switches provided on the camera, for example, a DX code detection switch, a blank feed switch and a film detection switch A detection means for detecting the switch state of the switch; a switch state of the plurality of switches detected by the detection means is a predetermined combination state, that is, a switch state of the specific switch that never occurs during normal shooting. A light emission prohibition means for determining a combination and prohibiting strobe light emission;
Is provided.

(Operation) In the light emission inhibiting device for an automatic light emission camera of the present invention having such a configuration, the camera body has a high ISO sensitivity which is not used in a normal photographing operation, for example, ISO32.
By loading a dummy film cartridge with a DX code of 00 or more, a combination of specific switch states created by a plurality of existing switches that does not occur in normal shooting operation is created. It is not necessary to separately provide a light emission prohibition switch or to illuminate the light receiving element for photometry because the combination is determined and the light emission prohibition mode is set, and it is possible to easily and easily prohibit strobe light emission at the manufacturing line and inspection. You can

Also, since the flash off mode is set only in a specific combination of multiple switch states that do not occur in normal shooting operation, there is no inconvenience in normal shooting operation, and strobe light emission is possible under the shooting conditions that automatically flash during normal shooting. If not, the specific switch states for prohibiting the strobe light emission are determined, so it is easy to determine which switch is the faulty product by examining these switches.

(Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

First, the configuration will be described. 1 is a power source using a battery, 2 is a control circuit including a CPU for controlling a camera sequence, 3
Is a drive circuit for receiving a signal from the control circuit 2 and performing strobe control and film winding / rewinding drive. 4 is a film winding / rewinding motor. 5 is a strobe controlled by the control circuit 2 and the driver circuit 3. It is a strobe circuit that activates light emission.

For the control circuit 2, a CX section switch 6, a barrier switch BSW, a half-press switch S1, a release switch S2, a self switch S3, an intermediate rewind switch MU.
Each of S, the film detection switch FSW, and the idle feed switch PWS is input-connected.

Explaining the functions of these switches, first, when the film section is loaded on the camera body, the DX section switch 6 is contacted by the switch section with the bar code encoded on the surface of the section by the film ISO sensitivity, so that the DX section switch 6 is set to 3 The bit bar code signal is detected and input to the control circuit 2.

The barrier switch BSW is a switch that is turned off when the barrier provided for dustproof and protection of the taking lens is closed and turned on when the barrier is opened.

The half-press switch S1 is a switch interlocked with the release button, and the first-step pressing operation of the release button (half-press operation)
To turn on. The release switch S2 is also a switch that is interlocked with the release button, and is turned on by pressing the release button in the second step (deep pressing operation).

The self-switch S3 is a switch linked to a self-button that activates a self-timer, and is turned on when the self-button is pressed. The midway rewind switch MUS is a switch that interlocks with the rewind button and is turned on by pressing the rewind button.

The film detection switch SW is a switch that is turned on when the film is normally loaded, and the film is placed behind the film photographing opening and is in a position where the film can be fed.

Furthermore, the idle feed switch PWS is a switch that is turned on when the display on the film counter (frame counter) is from "S" to "1".

Here, the setting of the strobe emission mode and the non-emission mode by the control circuit 2 is automatically performed based on the photometric output of the subject obtained at a predetermined timing according to the camera sequence by the start of the photographing operation. , When the strobe emission mode is set based on the photometric output, the strobe trigger signal TRS to the drive circuit 3 is output from the control circuit CPU at the shutter release timing accompanying the exposure control, and the strobe trigger signal TRS is amplified by the drive circuit 3. TR to the flash circuit 5
It is given as an i signal and strobe light is emitted.

In addition to the automatic setting of the strobe emission mode and the non-emission mode based on the photometric output of the subject, the control circuit 2 also obtains the D obtained from the DX intercept switch 6 in this embodiment.
Detecting means for detecting the states of the three switch outputs of the X code signal, the switch signal from the film detection switch FSW, and the switch signal from the idle feed switch PWS,
When it is determined that the DX slice switch 6, the film detection switch FSW, and the idle feed switch PWS detected by the detection means are a combination of predetermined specific switch states, strobe light emission is prohibited. A light emission prohibition unit that creates a latched state in the non-light emission mode is provided.

Further, in the control circuit 2, the combination of the specific switch states for prohibiting the stroboscopic light emission of the three switch states described above is almost likely to be used in normal shooting as will be described later with respect to the camera body. By loading a film patrone as a dummy used in a high-sensitivity film with a small number of pixels, for example, a high-sensitivity film of ISO 3200 or higher, a specific combination of switch states for prohibiting strobe emission is created.

Next, the operation of the embodiment of FIG. 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

The flowchart of FIG. 2 starts when the barrier switch BSW is turned on by opening the buyer and when the half-press switch S1 is turned on when the release button is pressed in the first step (half-press operation).

When the flow chart of FIG. 2 starts, first in step 10, the power hold process is performed. In this power hold process, initial processes such as power hold setting, initial setting, and flag setting are performed, and AF power in step 12 is executed. Proceed to ON processing. In the AF power-on processing of step 12, processing such as power-on of the AF circuit (not shown) and quick charging is performed.

Subsequently, the process proceeds to the power control switch state process shown in step 14. In this power control switch state process, the switch state of each power control switch of the half-push switch S1, the self switch S3 and the midway rewind switch MUS is set. Read it, confirm which power control switch started it, and latch the started switch.

Next, in step 18 of the DX code processing, the DX code signal output from the DX section switch 6 is read and data processing is performed to detect the sensitivity of the loaded film.

When the DX code processing in step 18 is completed, the switch 2
If the battery check state is 0, and the battery voltage of the power source 1 is equal to or lower than the specified voltage in this battery check, the process returns to the power hold process of step 10.

If the power supply voltage of the power supply is normal in step 20, the process proceeds to step 24 and lens reset processing is performed. The lens reset process in step 24 checks whether or not the lens is in the reset state, and when the lens is not in the reset state, sets the lens in the reset state.

In the MUS processing of the next step 28, the switch output of the midway rewind switch MUS is read and turned on,
If the off state is judged and the midway rewind switch MUS is off, the process proceeds to the AF process of step 30 to perform the automatic focus detection process.

When the processing from steps 10 to 30 is completed in this way, the strobe light emission mode and non-light emission mode setting processing according to the present invention is performed in the routine of the following steps 32, 34, 36, 38 and 40.

The process for setting the flash firing mode and non-flash firing mode is
First, in step 32, it is checked whether the idle feed switch PWS is on or off. Jump feed switch PWS in step 32
If is turned on, that is, if the film counter display is in the frame position from "S" to before "1", it is necessary to feed the film counter display to "1" as a camera. In this case, since it is not necessary to make the strobe emit light, the process proceeds to the non-emission mode latch process in step 38.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step 32 that the idling switch PWS is off, that is, when the film counter display is "1" or more, it can be estimated that the shooting operation is normal. Therefore, the DX code is determined in step 34. Go to processing.

In step 34, it is checked whether all 3 bits of the DX code signal are L level. This is the DX code called the L level for all 3 bits of the DX code signal.
It is a high-sensitivity film of O3200 or higher, and therefore, in Step 34, it is a film that is unlikely to be used in a normal shooting of ISO3200 or higher from a DX code, or is frequently used in a normal shooting of ISO3200 or lower. It will be determined whether or not the film is in.

If it is determined in step 34 that all the 3 bits of the DX code signal are not at the L level and a film of less than ISO3200 is loaded, the strobe emission mode and the non-emission mode are automatically set based on the photometric output of the subject. Then, the process proceeds to SB light emission determination processing in step 40.

On the other hand, if all the 3 bits of the DX code signal are set to the L level in step 34 and it is determined that the film is a high-sensitivity film of ISO 3200 or higher, there is little possibility that the film will be used for normal shooting, so immediately step The SB light emission determination processing for setting the mode based on the subject photometric output of 40 is not performed, and the ON / OFF check of the film detection switch FSW in step 36 is performed.

In step 36, if the film is normally loaded and is in the position for feeding, the film detection switch FS
Since W is on, the ISO determined in step 34
Similar to the case of the film less than 3200, the process proceeds to the SB light emission determination process of step 40.

However, although the film cartridge of ISO 3200 or above is read in step 34, the film detection switch SW is off in step 36, that is, the film is not normally loaded and is fed. If it is not in the position, a specific mode for forcibly prohibiting strobe light emission is set, and the process proceeds to the non-light emission mode latch process shown in step 38.

That is, the idling operation in which the idling switch PWS is turned off has been completed, and the ISO 32 is used very rarely.
It is not possible in the normal shooting operation that the film detection switch FSW is turned off in the state where the 00 or more films are discriminated from the DX code, and even if there is any, it is a film loading error. The strobe non-flashing mode for inhibiting the stroboscopic light emission is latched as shown in step 38, and the SB flashing discrimination processing of step 40 based on the photometric output of the subject is not performed but the sequence proceeds to step 42 and subsequent steps.

FIG. 3 shows step 32 in the flow chart of FIG.
Setting conditions of automatic flash emission and strobe non-emission mode based on the respective DX code signals detected by the jump feed switch PWS, the film detection switch FSW and the DX section switch 6 in the setting process of the strobe emission mode and the non-emission mode 2 is an operation table showing

As is clear from the operation table of FIG. 3, in the light emission prohibition device of the present invention, when it is desired to forcibly prohibit the stroboscopic light emission at the manufacturing line, inspection, etc., the ISO3200
By loading the film cartridge used for the above high-sensitivity film as a dummy film in the camera body, the film detection switch FSW is always turned off regardless of the ON / OFF state of the idle feed switch PWS. Since the DX code signal detected by the DX section switch 6 for the film cartridge is at the L level for all 3 bits, the strobe non-emission mode is always latched, and the shutter release operation after step 42 in FIG. 2 is performed. However, the flash built into the camera is not activated.

More specifically, in the ON state of the jump feed switch PWS in FIG. 3, the film counter is located at the frame position before "S" to "1", and thus the film jump feed is required. In this case, the strobe light emission mode is set to the non-strobe light emission mode because the strobe light emission is not necessary. On the other hand, when the idling is completed, the idling switch PWS is turned off, and thereafter, each time the release button is operated, the film is fed by one frame. In this case as well, the film detection switch F
Since the SW is in the off state, the non-emission mode maintains the latched state thereafter.

On the other hand, in a normal shooting operation, when a high-sensitivity film of ISO 3200 or higher is actually loaded correctly, the film detection switch FSW is turned on, and the strobe non-light emission mode is set at the time of idling. Strobe will be automatically fired for each frame. Further, when a film having an ISO less than 3200 is loaded in the normal photographing operation, the strobe non-light emission mode is similarly set at the time of idling, and the strobe automatic light emission mode is set at the time of one frame feeding after the end of idling.

Referring again to FIG. 2, when the series of strobe light emission modes or non-light emission mode settings shown in the operation table of FIG. 3 are completed and the process proceeds to step 42, the release button is pressed in the second stage. Will be in a standby state. When the release button S2 is pressed down, the release switch S2 is turned on to proceed to the lens / exposure control processing of step 44, and the lens is extended to the in-focus position, and the strobe light emission or non-light emission mode is set. The shutter release operation is performed with the exposure control including the setting. When the shutter release operation is completed, the lens is returned to the reset position, and the film winding process of step 46 is performed.

In the film winding process of step 46, in addition to the film winding operation (stopping one frame winding), the film winding operation for idling (stopping the idling four frames) and the film rewinding mode latch at the end of the film are performed. After that, the process proceeds to step 48 to determine whether or not the film rewind mode is set. If the film rewind mode is not set, step 50 proceeds to the power control switch state processing to end the series of operations. When the film rewinding mode is determined in step 48, the fill rewinding process is performed in step 52, and after the film rewinding operation is completed, the power control switch state process in step 50 is performed and the example process is similarly ended.

(Effect of the Invention) As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to specify a plurality of existing switches provided in the camera, that is, a DX code detection switch, an idle feed switch and a film detection switch without providing the light emission prohibition switch. When determining the combination of switch states, it is possible to set the non-flash mode to prohibit the flash firing, so it can be used for normal shooting operations on the camera body during camera manufacturing lines and inspections. No, for example, by loading a dummy film cartridge used for high-sensitivity film of ISO 3200 or higher, the non-emission mode is automatically set by the camera sequence, and the built-in flash is used even if shutter release is performed for inspection. The automatic light emission of the automatic light emitting camera is prohibited easily and not. You can

In addition, since no light emission prohibition switch is provided, cost reduction is achieved, and since there is no need to irradiate light on the light receiving element for photometry to prohibit light emission, work efficiency at the manufacturing line and inspection is improved. As a result, the cost can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing the operation of FIG. 1, and FIG.
6 is an operation table showing the setting states of strobe emission and non-emission modes according to the embodiment of the figure. 1: Power supply 2: Control circuit (CPU) 3: Driver circuit 4: Motor 5: Strobe circuit 6: DX interception switch BSW: Buyer switch S1: Half push switch S2: Self switch S3: Release switch MUS: Halfway rewind switch FSW : Film detection switch PWS: Jump feed switch

Claims (2)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. An automatic light emitting camera having a built-in strobe and automatically setting a strobe light emission mode and a non-light emission mode only on the basis of photometric information of a subject, and detects switch states of a plurality of switches provided in the camera. Detecting means; and a light emission prohibiting means for prohibiting strobe light emission by discriminating a predetermined specific combination of switch states of the plurality of switches detected by the detecting means; and the strobe light emission prohibiting means, An automatic light emission prohibition device for an automatic light emission camera, which discriminates a combination of a plurality of switch states that does not normally occur in a shooting operation in which a film is loaded, and prohibits stroboscopic light emission. 2. The stroboscopic light emission prohibiting means is arranged such that at least the film idling switch is turned on, the DX code detection switch produces a code detection output other than the film normally used, and the film detection switch is turned off. The device for prohibiting light emission of an automatic light emission camera according to claim 1, wherein stroboscopic light emission is prohibited when judged.