JPH0779454B2 - Electronic still camera - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an electronic still camera, and more particularly to an improvement of an electronic still camera capable of recording audio.

“Prior Art and Problems Thereof” In recent years, various electronic still cameras that convert an object image into an electric signal and record the electric signal have been developed. As is well known, a conventional electronic still camera forms a subject image on a photoelectric conversion surface of an image pickup device in which a large number of photoelectric conversion elements are arranged, and converts the subject image into an electric signal by the photoelectric conversion element. Electric signals are sequentially recorded on the magnetic disk.

Some of these conventional electronic still cameras can record audio.

A conventional electronic still camera capable of recording audio can record sound only when the sound collecting device (microphone) is provided in the camera body, or even if it is a separate body, it can be integrated with the camera body. It was Therefore, when recording sound at the same time as shooting, the photographer holding the camera body can record that voice because it is close to the microphone, but since the subject is far from the microphone, it cannot record that voice clearly. It was

“Object of the Invention” The present invention has been made in view of the above problems of the electronic still camera, and an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic still camera capable of clearly recording a voice of a subject or a photographer distant from the camera body. To do.

[Summary of the Invention] According to the present invention, which achieves the above-mentioned object, a camera body having recording means for recording a subject image signal converted into an electric signal by an imaging means and a sound signal converted into an electric signal by a sound collecting means, respectively. An electronic still camera including: a sound adapter detachably formed on the camera body, the sound adapter having sound collecting means and transfer means for sending a sound signal converted into an electric signal by the sound collecting means to the camera body; The audio adapter is provided with audio recording means for recording the audio signal converted by the sound collecting means and reading means for reading out the audio signal recorded in the audio recording means and sending it to the camera body via the transfer means. It has a feature in that.

According to the above configuration, recording can be performed with the voice adapter separated from the camera body.

Further, when the voice adapter is attached to the camera body, the power supply for the recording operation is received from the camera body, so that the battery load of the voice adapter is reduced and a small capacity one can be used. As a result, the size and weight of the audio adapter can be reduced.

Furthermore, if the battery of the voice adapter is a rechargeable battery having a capacity capable of recording at least once, it is possible to further reduce the size and weight of the battery, and thus the voice adapter.

"Examples of the Invention" The present invention will be described below based on illustrated examples. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of an electronic still camera to which the present invention has been applied. This electronic still camera comprises two parts, a camera body 10 for recording video and audio, and an audio adapter 20 used as an auxiliary device when recording audio.

The camera body 10 incorporates components necessary for recording, such as a taking lens 11 (see FIG. 2) and an finder unit 12 as an optical system, a driver for driving an image sensor 13 and a magnetic disk 17 as an image processing and recording system. However, parts not necessary for understanding the present invention are not shown.

The audio adapter 20 incorporates components necessary for recording such as a microphone 21 as a sound collecting means and a RAM 22 as an audio recording medium.

The voice adapter 20 is formed so as to be attachable to and detachable from the camera body 10. This attachment and detachment is performed by operating a lock screw 23 provided on the voice adapter 20. Further, when the voice adapter 20 is attached to the camera body 10, the adapter connector 24 of the voice adapter 20 and the body connector 14 of the camera body 10 are connected.

A disc lid 15 for loading a magnetic disc and a release button 16 for starting recording are provided on the upper surface of the camera body 10, and a display panel 17 for displaying photographing information such as the number of photographed tracks is provided on the rear surface. A control switch 18 for starting recording / playback track selection and playback, and a power switch 19 are provided.

On the other hand, on the rear surface of the audio adapter 20, a power switch 25 and a recording switch 26 for starting recording are provided.

The above is the appearance of the electronic still camera to which the present invention is applied. Next, a specific circuit configuration of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

The subject image is formed by the taking lens 11 on the photoelectric conversion surface of the image pickup unit 30, where it is converted into an electric video signal and output to the video signal processing circuit 31. The video signal is subjected to predetermined processing in the video signal processing circuit 31 (processed into a video signal composed of a difference signal and a luminance signal), and is output from the video output terminal 32 and the video terminal of the AV changeover switch 33 via a fixed terminal. Output to the FM modulation circuit 34.

The video signal is FM-modulated by the FM modulation circuit 34 and recorded as an electric signal on the magnetic disk 37 via the head amplifier 35 and the magnetic head 36.

The magnetic disk 37 is driven at a predetermined rotation speed by a servo motor 39 driven by a servo circuit 38.

An FM demodulation circuit 40 for reproduction is connected to the head amplifier 35. The video signal recorded on the magnetic disk 37 is picked up by the magnetic head 36 during reproduction and input to the FM demodulation circuit 40 via the head amplifier 35. And FM demodulation circuit
The video signal demodulated by 40 is the video of the AV selector switch 41
It is sent from the terminal to the video signal processing circuit 31 and output to the video signal output terminal 32. Although an audio signal is also recorded on the magnetic disk 37, the audio signal is output from the Audio terminal of the AV switch 41 to the main body connector 14 during reproduction.

Further, each of the circuits described above is generally controlled by a camera body system controller (hereinafter referred to as “body controller”) 42. The main body controller 42 is a microcomputer that operates according to a predetermined control program and
It also controls the changeover of the changeover switches 31 and 41.

A release switch 16 and a control switch 18 are input to the main body controller 42 as operation switches. The main body controller 42 uses these switches 16,
When the 18 is turned on / off, it controls the predetermined shooting and playback operations.

Reference numeral 43 denotes a battery, which supplies power to each of the above circuits via the power switch 19 and is also connected to the battery terminal 14d of the main body connector 14 via the power switch 19.

Next, the main circuit configuration of the voice adapter 20 will be described. The voice is converted into an electric signal by the microphone 21, the voice signal is amplified by the microphone amplifier 51, the noise is reduced by the noise reduction circuit 52, and the high frequency component is removed through the low pass filter 53. Then, it is sent from the Rec terminal of the recording / reproduction changeover switch circuit 54 to the A / D converter 55 via the fixed terminal, where it is converted into a digital signal and output to the data bus 56. This data bus 56
Is connected to the RAM 22, the D / A converter 57, and a voice 67 as a reading means, and a voice 67 as a voice adapter system controller (hereinafter referred to as “adapter controller”).

The RAM 22 stores the audio signal converted into the digital signal by the A / D converter 55. On the other hand, the D / A converter 57 is
The digital audio signal read at high speed from is converted into an analog signal again. The audio signal converted into an analog signal is sent from the fixed terminal of the recording / reproducing switch circuit 58 to the low-pass filter 59 via the Rec terminal, and is output to the audio terminal 24b of the adapter connector 24 through the pre-emphasis circuit 60.

The audio terminal 24b is connected to the audio terminal 14b of the main body connector 14, and the audio terminal 14b is connected to the FM modulation circuit 34 via the Audio terminal and the fixed terminal of the AV switch 33.
That is, the audio signal output from the audio adapter 20 via the audio terminal 24b is the FM modulation circuit in the camera body 10.
The signal is FM-modulated by 34 and is recorded on the magnetic disk 37 as an FM-modulated signal via the head amplifier 35 and the magnetic head 36.

The D / A converter 57 is connected to the low-pass filter 61 via the PB terminal which is the other switching terminal of the recording / reproducing switch 58. The audio signal sent from the D / A converter 57 to the low pass filter 61 via the recording / reproducing switch 58 is output to the audio output terminal 64 through the noise reduction circuit 62 and the line amplifier 63. By connecting a sound reproducing device to the sound output terminal 64, the sound can be heard.

In addition, the A / D converter 55 uses the PB terminal, which is the other switching terminal of the pre-record re-selection switch 54, for the low-pass filter.
Connected to 66. The low-pass filter 66 is connected to the de-emphasis circuit 65,
Is connected to the audio reproduction terminal 24a of the adapter connector 24.

The audio reproduction terminal 24a is connected to the Audio terminal of the AV switch 41 via the audio reproduction terminal 14a of the main body connector 14. The fixed terminal of the AV switch 41 is the FM demodulation circuit 40
Connected to. That is, the audio signal recorded on the magnetic disk 37 is input to the de-emphasis circuit 65 of the audio adapter 20 via the magnetic head 36, the head amplifier 35, the FM demodulation circuit 40, the AV switch 41, and the audio reproduction terminals 24a and 14a. To be done.

Then, the audio signal demodulated by the de-emphasis circuit 65 passes through the low-pass filter 66 and passes through the recording / reproducing switch 54.
It is output from the PB terminal to the A / D converter 55, converted into a digital signal, and stored in the RAM 22 via the data bus 56.

The adapter controller 67 is a microcomputer that comprehensively controls each circuit of the audio adapter 20, such as writing / reading control of the RAM 22 and switching control of the recording / reproducing changeover switches 54 and 58. The adapter controller 67 and the main body controller 42 are the interface bus 68 and the bus connector 24.
c, 14c, and the interface bus 44.

The recording switch 26 is input to the adapter controller 67 as switches. When the recording switch 26 is turned on, the adapter controller 67 starts the recording operation.

Reference numeral 69 denotes a battery, which supplies power to each of the above components via the power switch 25 and the battery changeover switch 70. The battery switch 70 is a switch that switches between the battery 69 and the battery 43 of the camera body 10. In this battery changeover switch 70, fixed terminals are connected to each of the above parts,
A pair of switching terminals are connected to the power switch 25 and the battery terminal 24d of the adapter connector 24, respectively. The battery terminal 14d of the camera body 10 connected to the battery terminal 24d is connected to the battery 43 via the power switch 19.

The battery changeover switch 70 is changed over to the main body battery 43 when the voice adapter 20 is connected to the camera main body 10 and is changed over to the built-in battery 69 when it is removed. This switching mechanism
It has a known mechanical structure.

Next, an operation and an operation relating to recording of the electronic still camera having the above-mentioned configuration will be described. First, a recording operation in a conventional state in which the voice adapter 20 is attached to the camera body 10 will be described.

First, the power switches 19 and 25 of the camera body 10 and the audio adapter 20 are turned on. Here, when the recording switch 26 of the audio adapter 20 is turned on, the adapter controller 67 is activated to switch the recording selector switches 54 and 58 to the Rec terminal, and at the same time, a recording start signal is sent to the main body controller 42 via the interface buses 68 and 44. send. Upon receiving the recording start signal, the main body controller 42 switches the AV switch 33 to the Audio terminal to prepare for recording.

The adapter controller 67 activates the recording circuit, and the RAM22
To start the memory of the audio signal. The sound picked up by the microphone 21 is the microphone amplifier 51 and the noise reduction circuit.
The data is temporarily stored in the RAM 22 via the 52, the low pass filter 53, the recording / reproducing switch 54, the A / D converter 55, and the data bus 56.

When the recording switch 26 is turned off or when a predetermined recording time elapses, the memory operation to the RAM 22 ends.

After that, the audio signal stored in the RAM 22 is transferred to the data bus 56.
The data is read out at high speed via and output to the D / A converter 57. Then, from the D / A converter 57 to the recording / playback switch 5
8, the low-pass filter 59, the pre-emphasis circuit 60 and the recording terminals 24b, 14b to send to the camera body 10.

The audio signal sent from the audio adapter 20 is the FM modulation circuit 3
4, recorded on the magnetic disk 37 via the AV changeover switch 33, the head amplifier 35 and the magnetic head 36.

To play the sound recorded on the magnetic disk 37,
The audio adapter 20 is attached to the camera body 10. When the control switch 18 is set to voice reproduction in this state, the voice reproduction operation starts. First, the main body controller 42 switches the AV selector switch 41 to the Audio terminal, sends an audio reproduction signal to the adapter controller 67, and at the same time the magnetic disk 37
, The tracking of the magnetic head 36 is started, and the reading of the audio signal is started.

The audio signal read by the magnetic head 36 is output to the head amplifier 3
5, sent to the audio adapter 20 via the FM demodulation circuit 40 and the AV switch 41.

On the other hand, in the voice adapter 20, the adapter controller 67
First, the recording / reproducing switch 54, 58 is switched to the PB terminal to prepare for audio reproduction. Audio playback terminal 24a from the camera body 10
The audio signal input to is temporarily stored in the RAM 22 via the de-emphasis circuit 65, the low-pass filter 66, the recording / reproducing switch 54, the A / D converter 55, and the data bus 56.

When the memory is completed, the audio signal stored in the RAM 22 is slowly read this time and is output to the D / A converter 57. Then, from the D / A converter 57 to the recording / playback switch 5
It is sent to the low-pass filter 61 via 8 and further to the audio output terminal via the noise reduction circuit 62 and the line amplifier 63.
Sent to 64. If a sound reproducing device is connected to the sound output terminal 64, sound can be reproduced.

The above is the recording operation when the audio adapter 20 is attached to the camera body 10. Next, the recording operation when the audio adapter 20 is separated from the camera body 10, which is a feature of the present invention, will be described.

The system controllers 67 and 42 know through the interface buses 68 and 44 whether or not the audio adapter 20 is detached from the camera body 10.

The voice adapter 20 can be moved to any place apart from the camera body. When the recording switch 26 is turned on here, the adapter controller 67 causes the recording / playback switch 5
4. Switch the recording / playback switch 58 to the Rec terminal.
When the recording switch 26 is turned on in this state, the audio signal picked up by the microphone 21 is transferred to the microphone amplifier 51, the noise reduction circuit 52, the low-pass filter 53, the recording / reproducing switch 54, the A /
It is stored in the RAM 22 as a digital audio signal via the D converter 55 and the data bus 56.

The recordable time of one time matches the recordable time of the camera body 10. Although the number of recordings depends on the memory capacity of the RAM 22, the memory capacity may be at least one recording.

In addition, the voice signal stored in the RAM22 is finally
When the audio adapter 20 is attached to the camera body 10, it is recorded on the magnetic disk 37. When the voice adapter 20 in which voice is stored in the RAM 22 is attached to the camera body 10, the adapter controller 67 sends a signal to the body controller 42 that there is a memory. Main unit controller 42 that received this signal
Starts recording preparation.

After that, the adapter controller 67 reads the voice signal stored in the RAM 22 at high speed and sends it to the D / A converter 57. D / A
The audio signal converted into the analog signal in the converter 57 is sent to the camera body 10 via the recording / reproducing switch 58, the low-pass filter 59, the pre-emphasis circuit 60 and the recording terminal 24b.

The audio signal sent from the audio adapter 20 is
At, the data is recorded on the magnetic disk 37 via the FM modulation circuit 34, the head amplifier 35, and the magnetic head 36. This completes the recording operation.

When the voice adapter 20 is attached or detached, the battery changeover switch 70 is switched to the body battery 43 when the voice adapter 20 is attached to the camera body 10 and to the built-in battery 69 when the voice adapter 20 is removed. This prevents the internal battery 69 of the voice adapter 20 from being consumed.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described.

Since this embodiment is basically the same as the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, only different components will be described. According to the second embodiment, the built-in battery 69 of the audio adapter 20 is
Can be made smaller and lighter. In this example,
Instead of the battery 69, a small rechargeable battery 71 that can be charged is installed. Further, a charging circuit 72 is connected between the rechargeable battery 71 and the battery terminal 24d of the adapter connector 24. The rechargeable battery 71 may have a capacity capable of recording at least once.

Next, the operation of the above circuit will be described. Voice adapter
When 20 is connected to the camera body 10, the body battery 43 is connected to the audio adapter 20 via the power switch 19 and the battery terminals 24d and 14d. Battery switch
70 is switched to the battery terminal 24d, and the rechargeable battery 71 is disconnected.

Here, when the power switch 19 is turned on, the charging circuit 72 receives power from the main body battery 43 and is activated to start charging the rechargeable battery 71. As a result, the rechargeable battery 71 is charged with electric power. Further, the electric power of the main body battery 43 is supplied to each circuit of the audio adapter 20.

When the audio adapter 20 is detached from the camera body 10, the battery changeover switch 70 is switched to the connection with the rechargeable battery 71, and the power of the rechargeable battery 71 is supplied to each circuit. The recording operation is performed by the power of the rechargeable battery 71.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the voice can be recorded in the state where the voice adapter 20 is separated from the camera body 10. Therefore, when photographing a distant subject, the voice can be recorded on the subject side simultaneously with the photographing.

Furthermore, according to the second embodiment, since the battery mounted on the voice adapter 20 can be small, it is possible to reduce the size and weight of the voice adapter 20.

"Effects of the Invention" As is apparent from the above description, according to the electronic still camera of the present invention, the camera body and the voice adapter are detachable,
Moreover, since the voice can be temporarily recorded in the voice adapter with the voice adapter separated from the camera body, it is possible to record the voice on the subject side away from the camera body and the photographer or another place at the time of shooting. become,
It's very convenient.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of an embodiment of an electronic still camera of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a main circuit of the embodiment of the electronic still camera, and FIG. 3 is another embodiment. 2 is a block diagram showing a main circuit of FIG. 10 …… Camera body, 20 …… Voice adapter, 22 …… RAM, 3
1 ... Video signal processing circuit, 33 ... AV selector switch, 34 ...
… FM modulator, 36 …… magnetic head, 37 …… magnetic disk, 34 …… FM demodulator, 41 …… AV selector switch, 42 ……
Camera system controller, 54, 58 ... Recording / playback switch, 55 ... A / D converter, 56 ... Data bus, 5
7 …… D / A converter, 61 …… Low pass filter, 65 ……
De-emphasis circuit, 67 ... Voice adapter system controller, 70 ... Battery changeover switch, 71 ... Rechargeable battery, 72 ... Charging circuit.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A recording means for recording a subject image signal converted into an electric signal by an image pickup means and an audio signal converted into an electric signal by an external sound collecting means on a recording medium by the same recording head. A camera body; an audio adapter detachably formed on the camera body, the sound adapter having sound collecting means and transfer means for transferring a sound signal converted into an electric signal by the sound collecting means to the camera body; An electronic still camera provided with the audio adapter, wherein the audio adapter temporarily records the audio signal converted by the sound collecting means, and the audio signal recorded in the audio recording means is read out, An electronic still camera, comprising: a reading unit that transfers the data to the camera body via a transfer unit. 2. The camera body and the audio adapter each have a battery for supplying power to at least the recording means or the sound collecting means, the transfer means, and the reading means, and the audio adapter further comprises: And a battery selector switch for supplying the electric power from the battery of the camera main body when the battery is attached to the camera main body and supplying the electric power from the battery of the audio adapter when the battery is detached from the camera main body. An electronic still camera. 3. The battery of claim 2, wherein the battery of the audio adapter is a rechargeable battery, the audio adapter includes a battery charging circuit, and the charging circuit is provided when the audio adapter is attached to the camera body. An electronic still camera, wherein the rechargeable battery is charged by receiving power from a battery of a camera body.