JPH0734083B2 - Camera metering mode setting device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an improvement of a photometric mode setting device for a camera.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, in a single-lens reflex camera or the like, a photometry mode (eg, AVERAGE: average photometry, SPOT: partial photometry, H: highlight, S : Shadow) is available.

By the way, the conventional camera is equipped with a partial metering button, a highlight button, and a shadow button, and is normally set to the average metering mode.When the partial metering button is pressed, it is switched to the partial metering mode until the release, while the highlight It has been proposed that when the button or shadow button is pressed, the partial exposure metering reference exposure level is shifted so that it can be cleared by release completion or operation of the clear lever.

However, since the partial metering mode is cleared each time photographing is performed, even if partial metering is required continuously, it is necessary to press the partial metering button again each time. At this time, memory with the memory lever is also possible,
Since it only memorizes the partial metering value at the time of shooting and not the mode memory, it was necessary to press the partial metering button again each time when changing the object to be metered.

Also, highlight and shadow are not mode switching,
When operating the highlight button or shadow button, the memory is set by shifting the partial exposure reference exposure level, and it is not cleared until the release.Therefore, when changing the metering target, it is necessary to clear and reset the clear lever. It was

Further, in the case of highlight and shadow, it is necessary to double-press the partial metering button and then the highlight button or shadow button each time.

(Object of the Invention) The present invention has been made in view of the above problems of the prior art, and has as its basic object to improve the switching operation of each photometric mode.

(Structure of the Invention) The metering mode setting device for a camera according to the present invention is independent by rotating the four metering modes of an average metering mode, a partial metering mode, a highlight reference mode, and a shadow reference mode. And a switching position for the highlight reference mode and a switching position for the shadow reference mode are set to a position close to the partial photometry mode, and the photometry mode switching operation member. When is switched between the highlight reference mode switching position and the shadow reference mode switching position, the exposure level is set based on the photometric value obtained by partial metering, and the photometric value is displayed only while the AE lock button is being operated. And a photometric control circuit that shifts so as to obtain a photometric value based on highlight or a photometric value based on shadow.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the upper part and the lower part of the camera body 1 are covered with an upper cover 2 and a lower cover 3, respectively.
The front center portion of the camera body 1 is covered with a front cover 5 to which the mount 4 is attached, the side portion of the camera body 1 on the rewinding side (the side of the cartridge chamber) is covered with the side cover 6, and the winding side of the camera body 1 ( The side portion (on the side of the spool chamber) is bulged forward to form a grip portion 7 that also serves as a battery holder.

A metering mode switching dial 9 for switching the metering mode (for example, AVERAGE: average metering, SPOT: partial metering, H: highlight, S: shadow) is provided above the rewinding side of the upper cover 2 of the camera body 1. An exposure information setting up / down lever 10 is provided on the rewinding side of the front cover 5. The mounting structure of the photometric mode switching dial 9 will be described later in detail.

The shooting mode (for example, P mode: program AE) is provided at the inner position of the upper side of the upper cover 2 of the camera body 1 on the winding side.
A shooting mode switching dial 11 for switching shooting, A mode: aperture priority AE shooting, S mode: shutter speed priority AE shooting, M mode: manual shooting) is provided rotatably, and a window in the center of the shooting mode switching dial 11 is provided. The section 11a has the indicators 12a for the photographing modes P to M, and the exposure-related information (for example, shutter speed (250), aperture value (F5.
6)) is arranged so that the display portion of the liquid crystal display device 12 faces the front portion of the upper cover 2 on the winding side, and the exposure information setting up / down lever 13 is provided along the photographing mode switching dial 11. Is provided.

A hoisting lever 14, a film counter 15 and a main switch 16 are provided outside the hoisting side upper part of the upper cover 2 of the camera body 1, and an AE lock button 17 is provided on the hoisting side rear part of the upper cover 2. Is provided.

A release button 18 and a self button 19 are provided in parallel on the upper portion of the grip portion 7.

In FIG. 1, 20 is a daylighting window, 21 is an accessory shoe, 22 is a finder frame, and in FIG.
23 is a self-display window, 24 is a lens attachment / detachment button, and 25 is a hanging fitting.

On the other hand, on the upper surface 2e of the upper part of the upper cover 2 on the rewinding side, along the outer circumference of the photometry mode switching dial 9, AVERAGE (average photometry), SPOT (partial photometry), and H (high photometry) for displaying each photometry mode are displayed. Light) and S (shadow) marks are sequentially engraved.

Therefore, each mode can be independently switched only by rotating the photometry mode switching dial 9, and the setting mode is not cleared for each shooting.

Also, the H mark and S mark are set close to the SPOT mark, which allows the metering mode switching dial 9 to be set.
The operation to switch to the H mark or S mark after switching to the SPOT mark can be performed quickly.

Further, the AVERAGE mark and the SPOT mark are set to have a wide interval, and the operation feeling of the metering mode switching dial 9 is thereby different, so that an erroneous operation can be prevented.

Incidentally, next to the H mark and the S mark, an AEL mark for indicating that the highlight reference mode and the shadow reference mode are shifted by the operation of the AE lock button 17 is engraved.

Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the photometric mode switching dial 9 is planted in a substrate 50 provided on the upper portion of the camera body 1 and protrudes upward from a hole 2f of the upper cover 2. A collar 52 and a set screw 53 are rotatably attached to the upper portion of the shaft 51 that rotates.

A metering mode changeover switch holder 54, an upper cover 2, a click ball receiver 55, and a metering mode indicator plate 56 are fitted in the middle of the shaft 51 in order from the bottom to the top, and the press nut 5 is attached.
It is locked by 7

The upper surface of the photometric mode indicator plate 56 is provided with a coupling boss 56a which can be engaged with the coupling grooves 9a, ..., 9a formed on the inner peripheral surface of the photometric mode switching dial 9, and the coupling boss 56a and the coupling groove 56a. 9a
By engaging with, the photometric mode indicator dial 56 is linked to the photometric mode switching dial 9.

On the outer peripheral surface of the metering mode indicator plate 56, the AVER of the upper cover 2
A photometric mode index 58 indicating one of the AGE to S marks is engraved.

The click ball receiver 55 is fixed to the upper surface of the hole 2f of the upper cover 2, and the click ball receiver 55 is provided with a click ball 60 biased upward by a spring plate 59. The click grooves 56b, 56b provided on the lower surface of the photometric mode indicator plate 56 are click-engaged. The click grooves 56b, 56b are provided corresponding to the intervals between the AVERAGE to S marks engraved on the upper cover 2.

If the click groove 56b corresponding to the AVERAGE mark is set to have a larger click force than the other click grooves 56b, an erroneous operation due to a difference in operation feeling can be prevented.

An interlocking boss 54a that is engageable with an interlocking groove 56c formed on the lower surface of the photometric mode indicator plate 56 by inserting the elongated hole 55a of the click ball receiver 55 is provided on the upper surface of the photometric mode switching switch holder 54, By engaging the interlocking boss 54a and the interlocking groove 56c, the photometric mode switching dial 9, the photometric mode index plate 56 and the photometric mode switch holder 54 are interlocked.

A three-pronged photometric mode switching movable contact 61 is attached to the lower surface of the photometric mode switching switch holder 54, while a base plate 62 provided on the substrate 50 is fixed to the photometric mode switching fixed contact.
A flexible substrate 63 having 63a (GND), 63b (SH), 63c (SS) (see FIG. 3) is attached, and the movable contact 61 and the fixed contact 63a are rotated by rotating the photometry mode switching dial 9.
The contact position of ~ 63c can be switched.

That is, both switches SH and SS are off at the AVERAGE mark position, and switch SH is on at the SPOT mark position.
When SS is off, H mark position, both switches SH and SS are on, and at S mark position, switch SH is off and switch SS is on.

FIG. 6 shows a control circuit of the camera, and 65 is a control microcomputer for performing sequence control of the camera.

RO and CO compose a power-up clear circuit that momentarily sets the CLR terminal to "L" when a battery is attached to the camera. After that, the control microcomputer 65 is reset and started by the rising of the CLR terminal. All resistors except RO are pull-up resistors.

SP1 and SP2 are photometry elements for average photometry and partial photometry, respectively.

66 is a photometric unit, which has head amplifiers corresponding to the photometric elements SP1 and SP2, respectively. This output is appropriately selected by an A / S (average photometry / partial photometry) signal and transmitted to the A / D converter 67. Here, the photometric value is A / D converted and sent to the control microcomputer 65 as a digital value.

Reference numeral 68 denotes a display unit, which displays a self-operating state as a result of calculation by the control microcomputer 65.

An exposure control unit 69 controls the up / down movement of the reflex mirror, the shutter speed, and the aperture.

Reference numeral 70 denotes a taking lens, which has an open F value (AV0) and a minimum F value (A
Vmax) is transmitted to the control microcomputer 65.

Reference numeral 71 denotes a DX code (code-like information shown on the film cartridge) reading unit, which inputs ISO (film sensitivity) information from the film and transmits it to the control microcomputer 65.

IP1 to IP13 of the control microcomputer 65 are all input ports.

SH and SS are the above-described photometry mode changeover switches, and the average photometry mode, the partial photometry mode, the highlight reference mode, and the shadow reference mode are selected by this combination. Also, these switches SH and SS serve as inputs to the AND gate, and the output serves as the A / S signal. That is, if even one of the switches SH and SS is turned on, partial photometry is performed, and if both are off, average photometry is performed.

S1 is the metering start switch, S2 is the release switch,
SAEL is an AE lock switch.

SM is a main switch and SSLE is a self-mode setting switch. STU, STD, SAU, and SAD are up / down switches for TV set values and AV set values, respectively.

SMD0 and SMD1 are shooting mode selection switches, and depending on the combination, P mode (program AE shooting), A mode (aperture priority AE shooting), S mode (shutter speed priority AE)
One of shooting mode) and M mode (manual shooting) is selected.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing the operation of the control circuit of FIG.

First, when a power supply is attached to the control microcomputer 65 (start S), the input port and the RAM are initialized (step 1).

Next, if the main switch SM is off (step 2), the display is turned off (step 3), the AE lock flag (described later) is reset (step 6), and the process returns to step 2 again to return to the main switch SM. Is determined. That is, while the main switch SM is off, the display is completely turned off and all the switches other than the main switch SM are not accepted.

When the main switch SM is turned on, the process proceeds to step 4 to determine the photometric start switch S1 and the AE lock switch SAEL. If both are off at this time, the display is set to a standby display (not shown) (step 5), the AE lock flag is reset (step 6), and the process returns to step 2. That is, simply turning on the main switch SM causes the display to be in a standby state.

Here, the metering start switch S1 or AE lock switch
When at least one of the SAELs is turned on, the process proceeds to step 7 and photometry is started.

Then, read the DX code (step 8), and use this to SV
(ISO information) Enter as a value. At this time, if there is no DX code, the film sensitivity ISO100 is set as the SV value.

Next, the photometry mode switches SMD0 and SMD1 are judged to determine the photographing mode (step 9), and the photographing lens 70 is opened F
The value AV0 and the minimum F value AVmax are read (step 10). Then, the up / down switches STU, STD, SAU, SAD are judged and the set value is changed according to the photographing mode or the presence / absence / type of the photographing lens 70 (step 11).

Next, the AE lock flag is determined (step 12), and if the AE lock flag is not set, the photometric value (BV0) is read (step 13). And photometric value BV0 and open F value AV0
To obtain the BV (luminance) value, and then add the SV value to EV
Calculate the value (brightness value of the copy). Check here whether AE lock
The AE lock flag determines AE from the standby state.
This is because when the lock switch SAEL is activated, it is necessary to read the photometric value once.

In step 14, the AE lock switch SAEL is judged, and if it is off, the AE lock flag is reset (step 1
5) If it is on, set the AE lock flag (step 16). If the AE is locked, the metering mode changeover switch SS is further judged (step 17), and if it is on, the metering mode changeover switch SH is judged (step 18).

One of partial or average photometric standard, highlight standard, and shadow standard is selected by the combination of the photometric mode changeover switches SS and SH. At this time, if the highlight standard is selected, the EV value is subtracted by 2.3EV (step 19), resulting in overexposure, and if the shadow standard is selected, the EV value is EV.
2.7EV is added to the value (step 20), resulting in an exposure from under.

Next, using this EV value and the set value depending on the shooting mode,
TV value (shutter speed) and AV value (aperture value) for exposure control
Is requested (step 21) and displayed (step 2)
2).

Then, the release switch S2 is determined (step 23), and if it is off, the process returns to step 2 and the above routine is executed again. If the release switch S2 is on, the self switch is judged (step 24), and the self switch SSLF
If is off, exposure control is performed (step 26), and after the exposure is completed, the process returns to step 2 and the above-mentioned routine is executed again.

If both the release switch S2 and the self switch SSLF are on, the process proceeds to step 25 and the self routine is executed. What is self-routine?
It is a routine to be performed for a second, more specifically, the above-mentioned steps 8, 9, 10, 13, 14 (however, determined by the AE lock flag),
Includes 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22.

In the self routine, the main switch SM is determined, and if the main switch SM is turned off during the self routine, the process returns to step 2 and the self is released.

When the self-routine is executed for 10 seconds, the process proceeds to step 26 and the exposure control is performed as in the case of not being self.

In the present embodiment, the photometry mode switching member allows the modes of average photometry, partial photometry, highlight reference, and shadow reference to be independently switched, so that it is not necessary to re-install even when taking many shots. Therefore, it is not necessary to perform a switching operation for each shooting, and the operability is improved.

In addition, highlight reference mode and shadow reference mode
Since it is set to the approach position of the partial metering mode, the switching operation can be performed quickly, and the average metering mode and the partial metering mode (highlight reference mode, shadow reference mode) have a wide interval, or the switching force is different. Since it is possible to make the operation feeling different, it is possible to prevent an erroneous operation, and the operability is improved also from these points.

Furthermore, after switching to the highlight reference mode or the shadow reference mode, the level is shifted by the control circuit by the operation of the AE lock button, so it is possible to switch to the highlight reference mode or the shadow reference mode. Even if the user forgets to return to the average metering mode or the partial metering mode, since the partial metering reference exposure level is set, the risk of a shooting error is reduced.

In addition, in each mode, the AE lock or the shift of highlight or shadow is performed only while the AE lock button is being operated, so that the switching operation can be easily performed even when the object of photometry is changed many times. By operating the AE lock button, AE lock is possible for both average and partial metering.

(Effect of the Invention) As described in detail above, according to the present invention, each of the photometry modes of the average photometry mode, the partial photometry mode, the highlight reference mode, and the shadow reference mode can be independently switched by the photometry mode switching operation member. Since it is possible to do so, it is not necessary to reset the number of times even when shooting is performed many times, and there is no need to perform a switching operation for each shooting, and the operability of the camera is improved.

Further, since the switching position of the highlight reference mode and the switching position of the shadow reference mode are set at positions close to the partial photometry mode, the switching operation can be performed quickly. Further, since the photometric mode switching operation member is provided so as to be independently switchable by rotating the four photometric modes, the operation is simple and the current photometric mode can be visually recognized at a glance. . Furthermore, it is possible to set different intervals between the average metering mode and the partial metering mode, or between the highlight reference mode and the shadow reference mode, or to change the switching force so as to make the operation feeling different. Because it is possible, you can prevent erroneous operation,
From these points as well, the operability is improved.

Furthermore, after switching to the highlight reference mode or the shadow reference mode, by operating the AE lock button, the photometric control circuit shifts the photometric value to the highlight reference photometric value or the shadow reference photometric value, respectively. Since it is configured to, even if you forget to return to the average photometry mode or partial photometry mode while switching to the highlight reference mode or shadow reference mode, it is set to the exposure level based on the photometry value by partial photometry Therefore, there is less risk of shooting mistakes.

Also, for each metering mode, AE only during operation of the AE lock button.
Since the photometric value is shifted to the lock or the highlight standard or the shadow standard, there is an advantage that the switching operation can be easily performed even when the photometric target is changed many times. By operating the AE lock button, AE lock is possible in both average metering and partial metering.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a camera equipped with a photometric mode setting device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a plan view of fixed contacts, and FIG. 4 is a photometric mode setting device. FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view, FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the apparatus of FIG. 4, FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a control circuit, and FIG. 7 is a flow chart of the circuit of FIG. 1 …… Camera body, 9 …… Metering mode switching dial, 17
…… AE lock button, 65 …… Control microcomputer, AVERAGE…
... Average metering mode, SPOT ... Partial metering mode, H ... Highlight standard mode, S ... Shadow standard mode.

Front page continuation (72) Inventor Masatake Niwa 2-30 Azuchi-cho, Higashi-ku, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture Osaka International Building Minolta Camera Co., Ltd. (56) Reference JP-A-58-215637 (JP, A) JP-A-SHO 59-143134 (JP, A) JP 59-34524 (JP, A) JP 59-193433 (JP, A)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. The highlight reference mode is provided so as to be independently switchable by rotating operation to four photometry modes of an average metering mode, a partial metering mode, a highlight reference mode and a shadow reference mode. The switching position between the shadow reference mode and the switching position of the shadow reference mode are the photometry mode switching operation member set to a position close to the partial photometry mode, and the photometry mode switching operation member is the highlight reference mode switching position and the shadow reference mode. If the mode is switched to the reference mode switching position, the exposure level is set based on the photometric value obtained by partial photometry, and the above photometric value is set only during operation of the AE lock button. A metering mode setting device for a camera, comprising: a metering control circuit that shifts to a value.