JPH08298610A - Memory card with video signal processing function - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To obtain an inexpensive and compact memory card excellent in portability and to improve operability from an external control equipment by using a recording medium allowed to be directly loaded on the external control equipment. CONSTITUTION: In a memory card 2 with a video signal processing function which can be directly loaded also no a camera block part 1 or another external control equipment, an image pickup signal outputted from a CCD is stored in a buffer memory 17. Then the image pickup signal is operated by a DSP 15 and converted into a picture signal necessary for recording, the picture signal is restored in the memory 17 and the data of the picture signal are stored in a common memory 18. In the case of transferring video information stored in the memory 18 to an external control equipment, data are bidirectionally transferred between the memory card and the control equipment through a memory controller 16, an IF switching SW 10 and a card IN IF connector 9.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic still camera device comprising a camera block section capable of electronically picking up a subject image and a recording section having a video signal processing function for processing and recording a video signal of an image pickup signal. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, commercialization of so-called electronic still cameras, in which a subject image is picked up by a solid-state image pickup device and an image pickup signal is recorded as video information in a storage medium, has been advanced. In recent years,
A small electronic still camera has been commercialized by utilizing a memory card having a built-in semiconductor memory as a storage medium and digitizing internal signal processing.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an electronic still camera using a conventional memory card as a storage medium. The control will be described based on FIG. 7. Light flux from a subject not shown is in the lens 3
An image is formed on the solid-state image sensor CCD 5 through the diaphragm 4. The video signal output from the CCD 5 according to the subject image is
The correlated double sampling CDS 6 and AGC 11 are subjected to analog processing, and quantized through the A / D converter 12. The quantized CCD output image signal is temporarily stored in the buffer memory 17 by the direct memory access controller DMAC28. The stored image pickup signal of the CCD output is digitally calculated by the DSP 15, and R, G, B of a general-purpose image file format necessary for recording are stored.
Signal or compressed image signal converted into buffer memory 17
Stored again in. General-purpose image file format R,
The data of the G and B signals or the compressed image signal is supplied to the card slot 30 through the card interface circuit 29 and recorded in the memory card 31. Memory card 3
1 is directly attached to the external control device 20 and passes necessary information.

The operation of the electronic still camera using a memory card as a storage medium has been described above, but on the other hand,
In order to make the electronic still camera smaller and cheaper, a non-detachable built-in memory type electronic still camera has been commercialized.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of the built-in memory type electronic still camera, and the control of the built-in memory type electronic still camera will be described with reference to this figure. A light flux from a subject (not shown) passes through the lens 3 and the diaphragm 4 and forms an image on the solid-state image sensor CCD 5. The image pickup signal output from the CCD 5 corresponding to the subject image is subjected to analog processing of the correlated double sampling CDS 6 and AGC 11, and is quantized through the A / D converter 12. The quantized CCD output image signal is temporarily stored in the buffer memory 17 by the memory controller 16. The stored image signal of CCD output is DSP
It is digitally operated by 15, and converted into R, G, B signals of a general-purpose image file format necessary for recording, or compressed image signals, and stored again in the buffer memory 17. Data of the general-purpose image file format R, G, B signals or compressed signals is stored in the common memory 18 through the memory controller 16.

When the image information on the common memory 18 is transferred to the external control device 20, it is transferred to the external control device 20 through the connection cable 33 through the memory controller 16 and the communication interface 32.

The electronic still camera using the memory card shown in FIG. 7 as a storage medium has a size larger than that of the storage medium, and in view of downsizing, the built-in memory type electronic still shown in FIG. The camera was more advantageous. However, in the case of the built-in memory type electronic still camera,
There is a drawback in that it has to be connected to an external control device by wire and that it is poor in versatility due to restrictions on the communication protocol.

A memory card as a storage medium that can be attached to and detached from a typical personal computer or the like as an external control device is a hard disk of a personal computer or the like, a LAN card, or a SCSI.
Slots are common to various interface cards such as cards, and they are in a state where they can be used in common. Since the interface card can be used for various functions, the physical shape of the card tends to be gradually increased. In TYPE3, the thickness is also 10.5 mm, which is large enough to store the video signal processing means in addition to the storage medium.

[0009]

As described above, if the storage medium itself of the electronic still camera is designed to have general versatility, the miniaturization of the camera is restricted, and the miniaturization should be prioritized. Then, in response to the problem that the versatility with respect to the external control device is restricted, the electronic still camera has the versatility in transferring the data to and from the external control device while achieving downsizing and cost reduction of the entire camera. To provide a device.

[0010]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention incorporates an image pickup signal processing circuit, a recording / reproducing signal processing circuit, and an external control device communication control circuit in a memory card as a general-purpose storage medium. It is realized as an electronic still camera device including a memory card unit having a video signal processing function, an imaging unit that uses a connector of the memory card in common, and a camera block unit in which a power supply unit is incorporated.

That is, the image pickup means for optically picking up a subject image and the power source means for driving the image pickup device are provided, and the external device connection means for supplying the image pickup signal and the power source obtained from the image pickup means. A video process processing means for converting the image pickup signal obtained from the camera block portion into digital data through the camera block portion configured and the external device connecting means, and performing a process processing, and a video signal obtained by the process processing. A recording signal processing means for converting into a signal form necessary for recording as video information, a non-detachably built-in recording means for recording and holding a plurality of pieces of video information, and other than the camera block section. In order to perform data transmission / reception between the external control device and the recording device, the external device connection device has a connector commonly used for connection with the external device connection device, and To provide an electronic still camera apparatus consists capable to carry out transmission and reception of data directly mounted to the control device configuration and the video signal processing function memory card.

Further, it has a display means for displaying video information and an operating means for instructing reproduction, and is for reproducing the video information.
Provided is a memory card reproducing device with a video signal processing function, which has a power supply means for display and is configured to reproduce and display the video information in the memory card with the memory card having the video signal processing function mounted. To do.

[0013]

According to the structure of the present invention, a compact and portable electronic still camera can be realized, and the video information recorded by the electronic still camera is stored in a memory card with a video signal processing function and directly controlled by an external device. It can be delivered in a video format that is versatile for the device.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an electronic still camera device, which includes a camera block unit (1) including a power supply and an image pickup unit, and a memory card (2) having a video signal processing function for processing the image pickup signal and storing it as a video signal. In the figure, a light flux from an object (not shown) passes through the lens (3) and the diaphragm (4) and forms an image on the solid-state image sensor CCD (5). The image pickup signal output from the CCD (5) corresponding to the subject image is subjected to correlated double sampling CDS (6) processing, and AGC (11)
After being input to the processing circuit and obtaining an image pickup signal of a specified level, the image is output from the camera block section through the card IF connector (22). The output CDS output signal passes through the card IF connector (9) and I / F switching SW (10) to
It is input to the / D converter (12) and quantized. The quantized CCD output image pickup signal is temporarily stored in the buffer memory (17) by the memory controller (16). The stored image pickup signal is digitally operated by the DSP (15), converted into R, G, B signals of a general-purpose image file format handled by an external control device, or a compressed image signal, and stored again in the buffer memory (17). It Data of the general-purpose image file format R, G, B signals or compressed signals is stored in the common memory (18) through the memory controller (16) to complete the recording operation.

Here, the CPU (14) built in the memory card (2) having the video signal processing function detects the attachment of the camera block section by the camera block connection detection SW (23), and the data selector (multiplexer). The IF switching SW (10) configured by is switched to control the camera block. When the camera block is mounted on the SW (23), the mechanical member of the camera block (1) pushes the SW (23) to turn it on, and the memory card (2) is mounted on the external control device. In this case, SW (23)
It has a mechanical structure that remains off. CPU
(14) is a CC for controlling the drive of the CCD (5)
The D drive control signal is supplied to the CCD drive circuit (13) of the camera block section through the IF switching SW (10) and the card IF (9), and the DSP is based on the image pickup signal.
The control signal for driving and controlling the aperture stop (4) is output to the aperture drive circuit (21) based on the data subjected to the photometric calculation processing in (15). The output of the battery (8) mounted on the camera block unit (1) is stabilized by a stabilized power supply circuit DC / DC (7) to supply a single power source or a plurality of power sources to the camera block unit (1) and a memory card. Supply to part (2).

FIG. 2 is a block diagram when the memory card with a video signal processing function transmits and receives video data to and from an external control device. The memory card (2) with a video signal processing function is attached to the external control device (20) together with the main body, and data is exchanged bidirectionally. CPU
(14) detects the mounting of the external control device (20) by the camera block connection detection SW (23), and sets the IF switching SW to the general-purpose memory card I / F to interface with the external control device. Be consistent.

FIG. 3 shows a file management format described in the common memory, which is usually described in the DOS FAT file system. The image data (184) is
Described in the R, G, B point sequential format such as TIFF which is a general-purpose image file format, or
It is described in a general-purpose compression format such as JPEG compression.

When the external control device (20) reads / writes the data in the memory card (2) having the video signal processing function, the external control device (20) firstly makes the memory card (2) having the video signal processing function. The attribute information such as the type, capacity, reading speed, writing speed, etc. of the common memory (18) described in the attribute memory (19) therein is read out, and communication control according to the common memory (18) is performed. Next, the directory information (18
3) and FAT (182) information, the area in which the desired image information is described is determined, and read / write control is performed.
By the above operation, the data of the memory card (2) with the video signal processing function can be exchanged with the external control device (20).

FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing that the memory card with the video signal processing function is ready for photographing. The lens (3) is arranged in the camera block section (1) and serves as a grip shared with the battery box. The camera block section (1) and the memory card (2) having a video signal processing function are connected to the card IF connector (22). ) And (9), the camera is ready for shooting.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram when the memory card with the video signal processing function functions as a memory card which is a general-purpose storage medium of an external control device. The camera block unit (1) shown in FIG. 4 is removed from the memory card.
In this state, the physical shape is configured to be the same as the shape of the general-purpose card mounted on the external control device, and two functions of the video signal processing function and the memory card function are incorporated inside.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a reproducing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. By mounting the memory card (2) having a video signal processing function on the reproducing device (24), it becomes possible to reproduce and display the image data stored in the common memory (18). A reproduction instruction is given by the operation means (27) for giving a reproduction instruction to the card IF connector (2
2, 9), IF switching SW (10), CPU (1
It is transmitted to 4). The CPU requests the DSP (15) to reproduce the image data in the common memory, and the DSP converts the image data into R, G, B signals to be displayed on the LCD display unit (25). Converted digital R,
The G and B signals are transmitted to the LCD drive circuit (26) through the card IF connectors (9, 22) together with the control signals necessary for LCD drive, and then displayed and reproduced on the LCD display section (25).

Although not shown here, after performing conversion processing into an NTSC video signal as DSP processing, an analog video signal is converted through a D / A converter,
It is also possible to supply it to a reproducing device.

[0023]

As described above, according to the configuration of the present invention, a compact and inexpensive electronic still camera device as a whole can be realized, and a storage medium can be directly attached to an external control device. It is possible to provide an electronic still camera device that is easy to operate.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block configuration diagram of an electronic still camera device that is an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block configuration diagram of a memory card with a video signal processing function according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a memory management diagram used in the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic external view of an electronic still camera device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a schematic external view of a memory card with a video signal processing function according to an embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a block configuration diagram of a playback device that is another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a block configuration diagram of a conventional memory card-mounted electronic still camera.

FIG. 8 is a block configuration diagram of another conventional electronic still camera with a built-in memory.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Camera Block Section 2 Memory Card with Video Signal Processing Function 3 Photographic Lens 4 Aperture Mechanism 5 CCD 6 CDS 9, 22 Card IF Connector 11 IF Changeover Switch 11 AGC 12 A / D Converter 15 DSP 16 Memory Controller 17 Buffer Memory 18 Common memory 19 Attribute memory 23 Attachment detection switch 24 Playback device 25 LCD display section 26 LCD drive circuit

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A video process processing means for processing an image pickup signal obtained from an external device, a recording signal processing means for converting the obtained video signal into a signal form necessary for recording, and a plurality of pieces of video information. Is a memory card with a video signal processing function, which has a non-detachably built-in recording means for recording and holding data, and which can be commonly connected to perform data transmission / reception with a plurality of types of the external devices. A memory card with a video signal processing function, characterized by having a connection means. 2. When the memory card is connected to the external device, an external device detection means for determining the mounting of the external device and its type, and the external device connection means according to the detected type of the external device. 2. The memory card with video signal processing function according to claim 1, further comprising external device connection switching means for switching and selecting. 3. The external device is an electronic camera section comprising at least image pickup means for picking up a subject image, power supply means, and external equipment connection means for supplying the obtained image pickup signal and power. A memory card with a video signal processing function according to claim 1 or 2. 4. The memory card with a video signal processing function according to claim 1, wherein the external device is an information processing device including a personal computer. 5. The video information in the memory card, wherein the external device has at least a display means for displaying video information, an operating means for instructing reproduction, and a power supply means for reproducing and displaying video information. 3. A memory card with a video signal processing function according to claim 1, wherein the memory card is a reproducing device capable of reproducing and displaying.