JPH08255243A - Image output operation controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To prevent the useless writing operation of image data to a memory and to always output desired image data to an external device by controlling all operations of an image sensor, storage means and exposure means so as not to be simultaneously executed. CONSTITUTION: It is discriminated whether a memory 64 is set in an output state at present or not, namely, whether the memory 64 is set in the state of just reading stored image data or not. Then, when the output state is discriminated, the operation for reading the image developed on an electronic development type recording medium 30 and writing it to the memory 64 is inhibited. When a command signal for reading the image data in the memory 64 is not inputted from an external computer and it is discriminated that the memory 64 is not set in the output state, for example, on the other hand, the operation for reading the image data from the memory 64 and outputting them to an interface circuit 65 or a recorder control circuit 66 is inhibited. Then, the operation for reading the image in the electronic development type recording medium 30 and storing it into the memory 64 is executed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus which is provided in, for example, a still video camera and which controls writing and reading operations of image data with respect to a memory.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a silver salt photographic material has been widely used as a material for recording an optical image. The silver salt photographic material has features such as high photosensitivity and resolution and excellent economic efficiency, but not only is the development process complicated,
There is also a drawback that a visible image cannot be obtained at the same time as the shooting. Although a dry developing method has been developed to simplify the developing process, even with this developing method, immediate development, that is, obtaining a visible image at the time of photographing is impossible.

On the other hand, electrophotographic materials, diazo photographic materials, free radical photographic materials and the like are known as non-silver photographic materials. However, none of these photographic materials has the characteristics of silver salt photographic materials and is capable of immediate development. Since electrophotographic materials can be dry-developed and an electrostatic latent image obtained by exposure can be immediately developed with toner or the like, they have been widely used mainly in copying machines.

In the electrophotographic technique, a photographic material, such as a silver salt photographic material, in which the recording medium itself is directly electronically developed and the developed visible image is immediately obtained, has been developed in recent years. Is coming. Such an electronically developed recording medium is referred to as an electro-developing recording medium in this specification.

For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-2280 discloses a recording medium in which an electrostatic information recording medium and a charge holding medium are combined, and the electrostatic information recording medium comprises a photoconductive layer and an inorganic oxide layer. In addition, the charge holding medium has a liquid crystal display element. In this configuration, when the electrostatic information recording medium is exposed while voltage is applied to the electrostatic information recording medium and the charge holding medium, electric charges according to the amount of incident light are generated in the electrostatic information recording medium. Since the strength of the electric field applied to the liquid crystal display element arranged facing the electrostatic information recording medium changes according to the generated charge, an image according to the light amount distribution is displayed or developed on the liquid crystal display element. .

[0006]

The storage of an image developed by the electro-developing recording medium as described above in a memory is such that the image data already stored in this memory is read from the memory and output to an external device. During that time, it is impossible, and the writing operation to the memory is wasted. On the contrary, if the image data is read from the memory during the writing operation to the memory, the image data cannot be read and the desired image data cannot be output to the external device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an image output operation control device capable of preventing unnecessary writing of image data in a memory and always outputting desired image data to an external device. There is.

[0008]

An image output operation control apparatus according to the present invention includes an electro-developing recording medium for electronically developing a formed image and an image developed by the electro-developing recording medium. An image sensor for detecting a part, a means for moving the image sensor in a scanning direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction to read the image, and for storing an image signal corresponding to the image detected by the image sensor Memory, a means for storing the image signal in the memory, a means for reading the image signal from the memory, and a means for controlling so that all of the operations of the image sensor, the storing means and the reading means are not executed at the same time. It is characterized by that.

When the reading means is reading the image signal from the memory, the control means may prohibit the operation of the storing means, the operation of the image sensor, or the operation of the reading means. Good.

The electro-developing recording medium is, for example, an electrostatic information recording medium in which electric charges are generated according to an image, and a charge holding medium capable of holding a visible image while generating a visible image in accordance with the electric charge. May have. The charge holding medium is preferably a liquid crystal display element using a memory type liquid crystal.

The image output operation control device includes a light source for illuminating the electro-developing recording medium, and a scanner optical system disposed in the optical path of a light beam generated by illuminating the electro-developing recording medium with the light source. And a scanning mechanism for moving the image sensor along an image forming plane formed by the scanner optical system to detect the image developed by the electro-developing recording medium.

The image sensor may be a line sensor for detecting one horizontal scanning line of the image developed by the electro-developing recording medium.

The reading means may read the image signal from the memory and output it to the image recording device in order to record the image signal in the IC memory card.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an external view of a still video camera to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

When the camera body 11 is viewed from the front, an image pickup optical system 12 provided with a taking lens and the like is provided in the substantially center of the front surface, and a strobe 13 is provided above and to the right of the image pickup optical system 12. A release switch 14 is provided on the side opposite to the strobe 13. The finder 15 is provided at the center of the upper surface of the camera body 11, and the scanner start switch 16 is provided on the side of the finder 15. In order to output the image signal obtained by this camera to an external recording device or the like, or to output the image signal to an external video monitor device, an external output terminal 17 is provided on the lower portion of the side surface of the camera body 11. Has been done.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the still video camera of this embodiment. The system control circuit 20 is a microcomputer and controls the entire still video camera.

The image pickup optical system 12 includes a plurality of lens groups,
A diaphragm 12a is provided. An electro-developing recording medium 30 which will be described later is arranged behind the imaging optical system 12, and a quick return mirror 21 is provided between the imaging optical system 12 and the electro-developing recording medium 30. A shutter 22 is provided between the electro-developing recording medium 30.
Is provided. A focus plate 23 a of the finder optical system 23 is arranged above the quick return mirror 21.

Aperture 12a, quick return mirror 21
And the shutter 22 are respectively the iris drive circuit 2
4, driven by a mirror drive circuit 25 and a shutter drive circuit 26, and these circuits 24, 25, 26 are controlled by an exposure control circuit 27. The exposure control circuit 27 operates according to a command signal output from the system control circuit 20. That is, during exposure control, the photometric sensor 2
According to the control of the exposure control circuit 27 based on the output signal from 8, the aperture of the diaphragm 12a is adjusted by the iris drive circuit 24. The quick return mirror 21 is normally set at the down position (inclined state shown by the solid line) where the subject image is observed, and guides the light that has passed through the imaging optical system 12 to the finder optical system 23. At this time, according to the control of the exposure control circuit 27, the mirror drive circuit 2
It is rotated upward by 5 and set in the up position (horizontal state shown by the broken line). Although the shutter 22 is normally closed, the shutter drive circuit 26 opens it for a predetermined period of time under the control of the exposure control circuit 27 during the photographing operation, whereby the light passing through the imaging optical system 12 is transferred to the electro-developing recording medium 30. The light receiving surface is irradiated.

A voltage is applied to the electro-developing recording medium 30 under the control of the recording-medium driving circuit 41, and the electro-developing recording medium 30 is exposed during the voltage application.
As described later, the image formed by the imaging optical system 12 is developed as a visible image. The recording medium drive circuit 41 operates according to a command signal output from the system control circuit 20.

A scanning mechanism 50 is provided near the electro-developing recording medium 30. For the scanning mechanism 50, for example, L
A light source 42 including an ED (light emitting element) and a scanner optical system 4
3 and a line sensor 44 are respectively supported, and these are moved along the electro-developing recording medium 30 by scanning by the scanning mechanism 50. As the line sensor 44, for example, a 2000-pixel CCD one-dimensional sensor or the like can be used. The light source 42 is movable along the front surface of the shutter 22, that is, the front surface of the electro-developing recording medium 30, and the line sensor 44 is movable along the back surface of the electro-developing recording medium 30. The scanner optical system 43 is provided between the light source 42 and the line sensor 44. In the scanning by the scanning mechanism 50, the light source 42 is located on the side opposite to the line sensor 44 with respect to the electro-developing recording medium 30, and thus the image developed by the electro-developing recording medium 30 is illuminated by the light source 42, An image is formed on the light receiving surface of the line sensor 44 by the action of the scanner optical system 43. That is, the scanner optical system 43 is provided in the middle of the path of the light transmitted through the electro-developing recording medium 30, and the line sensor 44.
Moves on the image forming plane of the image by the scanner optical system 43.

The on / off control of the light source 42 is performed by the illumination light source drive circuit 45, and the control such as the read operation of the pixel signal generated in the line sensor 44 is performed by the line sensor drive circuit 47.
It is performed by The movement control of the scanning mechanism 50 is performed by the scanner system drive circuit 46. These circuits 45, 4
6, 47 are controlled by the system control circuit 20.

The pixel signal read from the line sensor 44 is amplified by the amplifier 61 and converted into a digital signal by the A / D converter 62. The digital pixel signal is subjected to processing such as shading correction and gamma correction in the image processing circuit 63 under the control of the system control circuit 20, and then temporarily stored in the memory 64 as image data. The memory 64 has a storage capacity for one screen. Also, the memory 64 is E ² P.
A ROM is provided, and a correction value such as shading correction is stored in this E ² PROM.

The pixel signal read from the memory 64 is
It can be input from the image processing circuit 63 to the interface circuit 65, subjected to predetermined processing such as format conversion, and output to an external computer (not shown) or the like via the output terminal 17. The image data output from the image processing circuit 63 is subjected to predetermined processing such as image compression or format conversion in the recording device control circuit 66, and recorded in a recording medium such as an IC memory card in the image recording device 67. It is possible. The interface circuit 65 and the recording device control circuit 66 operate according to a command signal from the system control circuit 20.

A release switch 14 and a scanner start switch 16 are connected to the system control circuit 20, and according to the operation of these switches 14 and 16,
An image capturing operation, an image signal reading operation, and the like are performed. Further, the system control circuit 20 is connected to a display element 68 for displaying various setting states of the still video camera and a strobe drive circuit 69 for controlling light emission of the strobe 13.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the structure of the electro-developing recording medium 30, which is the same as that disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-2280. That is, the electro-developing recording medium 3
Reference numeral 0 includes an electrostatic information recording medium 31 and a charge holding medium 32, and a voltage is applied to the electrostatic information recording medium 31 and the charge holding medium 32 by a power supply 33. Electrostatic information recording medium 31
Is formed by laminating a substrate 34, an electrode layer 35, an inorganic oxide layer 36, and a photoconductive layer 37, and the photoconductive layer 37 is formed by polymerizing a charge generation layer 37a and a charge transport layer 37b. The charge holding medium 32 is configured by enclosing the liquid crystal 40 between the liquid crystal support 38 and the liquid crystal electrode layer 39. The charge transport layer 37b of the electrostatic information recording medium 31 and the liquid crystal support 38 of the charge holding medium 32 face each other with a minute gap.

The power supply 33 is on / off controlled by the recording medium drive circuit 41, and when the power supply 33 is in the on state, the electrode layer 3
5 and the liquid crystal electrode layer 39, that is, the electrostatic information recording medium 3
A voltage is applied to 1 and the charge holding medium 32. When the electrostatic information recording medium 31 is exposed in this voltage applied state, charges are generated on the electrostatic information recording medium 31 according to the image. Since the strength of the electric field acting on the liquid crystal 40 changes according to this charge, the image is displayed on the liquid crystal 40 as a visible image, and the subject image is developed. The charge holding medium 32 is a liquid crystal display element using a memory type liquid crystal, and the developed visible image is held even if the electric field is removed. A liquid crystal display element using a memory type liquid crystal can also erase a developed visible image by heating it to a predetermined temperature using a heating device (not shown), in which case the same recording is repeated. A medium can also be used.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of the operation of reading an image recorded on the electro-developing recording medium 30. This operation is started by operating the scanner start switch 16, for example.

In step 101, the memory 64 is now
It is determined whether or not it is in the output state, that is, whether or not the image data stored in the memory 64 is being read. This is determined, for example, based on a command signal input to the system control circuit 20 via the interface circuit 65 from an external computer. When it is determined that the output state is currently set, step 102 and subsequent steps are not executed, that is, the operation of reading the image developed on the electro-developing recording medium 30 and writing the image in the memory 64 is prohibited.

From the external computer, for example, the memory 64
When it is determined that the memory 64 is not in the output state because the command signal for reading the image data of is not input,
Step 102 is executed. That is, the operation of reading the image data from the memory 64 and outputting it to the interface circuit 65 or the recording device control circuit 66 is prohibited. Then, in steps 103 to 126, the operation of reading the image of the electro-developing recording medium 30 and storing it in the memory 64 is executed.

When it is confirmed in step 103 that the scanner drive command signal is output, step 104
At 22, the shutter 22 is opened, and at step 105, the light source 42 is turned on. Then, in step 106, the scanner drive signal is output, the scan drive motor provided in the scanner drive circuit 46 rotates in the normal direction, and the scanning mechanism 50 starts to move upward from the position below the electro-developing recording medium 30. In step 107, the line sensor drive power supply is turned on.

In step 108, the line sensor 44
When it is confirmed that is set to the reading start position,
In step 109, the output of the scanner drive signal is stopped and the scan drive motor is stopped. This stop operation is controlled by, for example, counting pulse signals for rotationally driving the scan drive motor.

In step 110, the exposure of the line sensor 44 is started and the charge is stored. Step 1
In 11, when it is confirmed that the exposure of the line sensor 44 is completed, for example, by detecting the passage of a certain time, the reading operation of the line sensor 44 is started in step 112, and one horizontal scanning line segment is started. The pixel signal is output and the storage in the memory 64 is started. Further, in step 113, a scanner system drive signal for rotating the scan drive motor in the forward direction is output, and the scanning mechanism 50 starts to further rise.

When it is confirmed in step 114 that the reading operation of the line sensor 44 is completed while the scanning mechanism 50 is moving, the reading operation is stopped in step 115 and the storage in the memory 64 is completed.
The end of the read operation is controlled by counting the pulse signal for driving the line sensor 44 output from the line sensor drive circuit 47, for example. If it is not confirmed in step 114 that the reading operation is completed, step 115 is skipped and step 116 is executed.
Is executed and it is determined whether or not the line sensor 44 is set at the position of the next horizontal scanning line, that is, at the next reading position. If the line sensor 44 is not located at the position of the next horizontal scan line, steps 114-116 are performed again.

In step 116, the line sensor 44
When it is confirmed that is set to the position of the next horizontal scanning line, the output of the scanner system drive signal is stopped in step 117, and the scan drive motor is stopped. This stop operation is controlled by, for example, counting pulse signals for rotationally driving the scan drive motor.
Next, in step 118, similarly to step 114, it is confirmed that the reading operation of the line sensor 44 is completed, and in step 119, the reading operation and the storing operation in the memory 64 are stopped. That is, even when the loop of steps 114 to 116 is exited without executing step 115, the reading operation of the line sensor 44 is ended in step 119.

In step 120, it is judged whether or not the read operation for all the horizontal scanning lines is completed. The number of all horizontal scanning lines is 2000, for example, and step 11
This is done by providing a counter that counts up at 5 and determining the value of this counter. If all horizontal scan lines have not been read out, step 110
Returning to step 110, the steps 110 to 119 described above are executed again.

As described above, the line sensor 44 scans the image forming surface by the scanner optical system 43 while the scanning mechanism 50 repeatedly stops for a predetermined period of time and moves for a predetermined amount. The image signal developed by is read out and stored in the memory 64.

When the reading of all the horizontal scanning lines is completed in this way, the process proceeds from step 120 to step 121, the drive power source of the line sensor 44 is switched to the off state, and the light source 42 is turned off in step 122. Further, in step 123, the shutter 22 is closed, and in step 124, a scanner system drive signal for reversing the scan drive motor is output, and the scanning mechanism 5 is output.
0 begins to fall.

When it is confirmed in step 125 that the line sensor 44 has returned to the initial position during the lowering operation of the scanning mechanism 50, the output of the scanner drive signal is stopped in step 126, and the scan drive motor is stopped. To be done. Then, in step 127, step 10
The prohibition of the read operation of the memory 64 executed in 2 is released. This enables the operation of reading the image data from the memory 64 and outputting the image data to the interface circuit 65 or the recording device control circuit 66, and this program ends. The operation of detecting the initial position in step 127 is performed based on a signal output when a part of the scanning mechanism 50 crosses a photo interrupter (not shown), for example.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the storage operation in the memory 64 is prohibited while the image on the electro-developing recording medium 30 is being read from the memory 64 and being output to the external device. The write operation to 64 is not wasted. Further, in the present embodiment, since the image data is prohibited from being read from the memory 64 during the writing operation to the memory 64, meaningless data is prevented from being output to the external device and is always stored in the memory 64. The desired image data can be output to an external device.

The electro-developing recording medium 30 is not limited to the one having the above-mentioned structure, and may have another structure as long as it can develop an image electronically.

The line sensor 44 may be arranged so as to detect the light reflected by the electro-developing recording medium 30.

[0042]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent unnecessary writing of image data into the memory and to always output desired image data to an external device.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view of a still video camera to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of the still video camera shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of an electro-developing recording medium.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an operation of reading an image recorded on an electro-developing recording medium.

[Explanation of symbols]

 12 image pickup optical system 30 electro-developing recording medium 42 light source 43 scanner optical system 44 line sensor 50 scanning mechanism 64 memory

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. An electro-developing recording medium for electronically developing a formed image, an image sensor for detecting a part of the image developed by the electro-developing recording medium, and for reading the image. A means for moving the image sensor in a scanning direction substantially perpendicular to its longitudinal direction, a memory for storing an image signal corresponding to an image detected by the image sensor, and the image signal stored in the memory. An image output operation control device comprising: a means, a means for reading the image signal from the memory, and a means for controlling such that all the operations of the image sensor, the storage means and the reading means are not executed at the same time. . 2. The image output operation control device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit prohibits the operation of the storage unit when the reading unit is reading the image signal from the memory. 3. The image output operation control device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit prohibits the operation of the image sensor when the reading unit is reading the image signal from the memory. 4. The image output operation control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control means prohibits the operation of the reading means when the storage means stores the image signal in a memory. . 5. The electro-developing recording medium comprises an electrostatic information recording medium on which electric charges are generated according to an image, and a visible image is generated according to the electric charges, and a charge holding medium capable of holding the visible image. The image output operation control device according to claim 1, further comprising a medium. 6. The liquid crystal display device using the memory type liquid crystal as the charge holding medium.
The image output operation control device described in 1. 7. A light source for illuminating the electro-developing recording medium, a scanner optical system disposed in an optical path of a light beam generated by illuminating the electro-developing recording medium with the light source, A scanning mechanism for moving the image sensor along an image plane formed by the scanner optical system to detect an image developed by the electro-developing recording medium. The image output operation control device according to claim 1. 8. The image output operation control device according to claim 1, wherein the image sensor is a line sensor that detects one horizontal scanning line of an image developed by the electro-developing recording medium. 9. The image output according to claim 1, wherein the reading means reads the image signal from a memory and outputs the image signal to an image recording device in order to record the image signal in an IC memory card. Motion control device.