JPH0933988A - Wireless stroboscopic device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate the operation of a wireless stroboscopic (sub-stroboscopic) device intermittently emitting light by receiving the light intermittently emitted from a main stroboscope by automatically setting the small emitted light quantity of the light intermittently emitted from the sub-stroboscope. SOLUTION: When an object 300 is irradiated with a small quantity of emitted light of the stroboscopic light at a time P1 by the main stroboscope 100, the reflected light thereof is received and the time t1 until the next light is started to be emitted from the main stroboscope 100 is counted by the sub- stroboscope 200. When the object 300 is irradiated with the small quantity of emitted light at a time P2 again by the main stroboscope 100, the small quantity of the light is also emitted from the sub-stroboscope 200 synchronized with it. In such a case the small emitted light quantity of the sub-stroboscope 200 is controlled so as to become the emitted light quantity corresponding to the time t1 .

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wireless strobe device in which light emission is controlled according to a signal from a main strobe among a plurality of strobes.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In controlling the light emission of a plurality of strobe devices including a wireless strobe, the main strobe device and a sub-strobe device that operates as a wireless strobe can be caused to repeatedly emit light intermittently to control the number of times the sub-strobe emits light. It is known that the ratio of the light emission amounts of the two is controlled by the above method (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-343341). In addition, the secondary strobe emits a small flash intermittently in synchronization with the main strobe to make the total flash output of the secondary strobe proportional to the number of intermittent flashes of the main strobe, and the secondary strobe emits a small flash output per intermittent flash. Allows you to manually set 1
There is also known a strobe system that enables fine light control by reducing the small amount of light emitted per turn (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-267682).

[0003]

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-34334
In the strobe system described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 1, the total amount of light emitted from the auxiliary strobe can be changed by changing the number of times of small light emission, but the small amount of light emission for each intermittent light emission is fixed.
Even when it is necessary to reduce the light emission amount at a short distance, the light amount is likely to be exceeded. Further, in the strobe system described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-267682, it is possible to automatically set the light emission amount of small light emission for each intermittent light emission in the main strobe, but it must be manually set in the sub strobe. The operation for setting is troublesome.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems. The small light emission amount of intermittent light emission is variable, and the small light emission amount of intermittent light emission of a secondary strobe (wireless strobe) is
It is intended to simplify the operation by being automatically set by the signal from the main strobe.

[0005]

That is, the invention according to claim 1 is a power supply circuit for a wireless strobe device which is used without being connected to a camera and intermittently emits a small light by an optical signal from a main strobe. , A series circuit of a discharge tube and a switching element inserted in a discharge loop of the main capacitor, a trigger means for exciting the discharge tube, and a control means for controlling ON / OFF of the switching element. A detection means for detecting the light signal from the main strobe, and a light emission control means for controlling the light amount of the small light emission based on the light signal detected by the detection means. To do.

The invention according to a second aspect is characterized in that, in the first aspect, the light emission control means controls based on a time interval of the optical signal from the main strobe detected by the detection means. And According to a third aspect of the present invention, in a wireless strobe device that receives intermittent light emission of a main strobe and emits light in synchronization with this intermittent light emission, the intermittent light emission from the main strobe is received and the intermittent light emission is performed. It is characterized in that the amount of light emission is controlled by detecting information on the amount of light emission of small light emission.

The wireless strobe device according to the first aspect of the invention intermittently emits a small amount of light in response to an optical signal from the main strobe, and the emission amount of the small amount of light emission is controlled based on the optical signal. A wireless strobe device according to a second aspect controls the light emission amount of the small light emission based on a time interval of the optical signal from the main strobe. The wireless strobe device according to a third aspect of the invention receives the intermittent light emission from the main strobe, detects information on the light emission amount of the small light emission from the intermittent light emission, and controls the light emission amount.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 (a) and 1 (b) are diagrams showing the arrangement of main and sub strobes and a light emission waveform thereof, showing a first embodiment of the present invention. Main strobe 100 is subject 3
When a small amount of strobe light is emitted toward time 00 at time p1, the auxiliary strobe (wireless strobe) 20
0 receives the reflected light directly or from the subject 300 or the like.
The light receiving circuit of the auxiliary strobe 200 (not shown) photoelectrically converts the reflected light, and based on this photoelectric conversion signal, the main strobe 10
The time t1 until 0 restarts light emission next is measured. Then, at time p2, the main flash unit 100 is again activated.
Irradiates the subject 300 with a small amount of light emission, and the auxiliary strobe 200 also emits a small amount of light in synchronization with this light emission. In this case, the small amount of light emitted from the auxiliary strobe is the time t measured above.
The sub-strobe is controlled so that the amount of light emission corresponds to 1.
After that, the secondary strobe intermittently repeats small flashes in synchronization with the emission of the main strobe. Then, at time pn, when the main strobe 100 stops emitting light, the sub-strobe intermittently stops emitting light. It should be noted that the transmission of the small amount of light emission from the main strobe 100 is such that after the first light emission is performed at time p1, the main strobe 100 repeatedly emits light in a pulse within a predetermined time, and is transmitted by this pulse emission number. You can Alternatively, the light may be transmitted according to the light emission time of the first light emission at time p1 (time from the start of light emission to the stop of light emission).

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a usage state when performing multi-flash photography using the wireless strobe device. It is composed of a secondary strobe 200 that can be used wirelessly and a main strobe 100 that is used by being attached to a camera body 400, and both illuminate a subject 300 with strobe light. When the main strobe 100 starts emitting light, the auxiliary strobe 200 also starts emitting light, and when the main strobe repeats intermittent light emission, the auxiliary strobe 200 also emits intermittent light in synchronization with this intermittent light emission. The main strobe 100 is the camera body 400.
When the main strobe 100 stops the light emission, the sub strobe 200 also stops the light emission. In FIG. 2, the main strobe 100 is the camera body 4
Although the camera main body 400 and the main strobe 100 are connected to each other by a connection cord, the camera main body 400 and the main strobe 100 may be installed at a distance from each other. The built-in strobe device may be used. In addition, in FIG.
Although the number 00 is one, it is not limited to this and a plurality of sub-strobes may be provided.

FIG. 3 shows a circuit block diagram of a strobe device 500 which can be used as both the main strobe 100 and the auxiliary strobe 200. The power supply circuit 1 is connected to a power supply battery BAT, and is a CPU as a one-chip microcomputer.
3 and the like are supplied with a power supply voltage VCC and a strobe voltage VST for strobe light emission, and have a booster circuit inside. The power supply circuit 1 has a main capacitor MC for storing electric energy for strobe light emission.
Is connected to the discharge tube Xe and an IGBT (Insulated Gate Bi) as a switching element.
A series circuit of polar transistors 4 is connected. The gate terminal of the IGBT 4 is connected to the strobe switch terminal STS of the CPU 3 via the control means 2.
Connected to W. Set the STSW signal of this terminal to "H"
By this, the IGBT4 is turned on, while "L"
By this, the IGBT 4 is turned off. A switching element such as a thyristor or a MOS-FET may be used instead of this IGBT. The trigger electrode of the discharge tube Xe is a trigger terminal TR of the CPU 3 via a known trigger means 5.
It is connected to G, and when the TRG signal is output from the CPU 3, the discharge tube Xe is in the excited state. Therefore, when the main capacitor MC is fully charged, the ST from the CPU 3
The IGBT 4 is turned on by the SW signal “H”, and C
When the discharge tube Xe is brought into an excited state by the TRG signal from PU3, a discharge current flows from the main capacitor MC into the discharge tube Xe, and light emission is started. In addition, ST from CPU3
When the IGBT 4 is turned off by the SW signal “L”, the discharge current is cut off and the light emission is stopped.

The CPU 3 uses the fixed contact M of the main / sub selector switch SW1 for switching between using the strobe device 500 as a main strobe and a sub strobe.
It is connected to each contact of ST, SLV, and AUTO1.
When the movable contact of the main / sub changeover switch SW1 is set to MST, the strobe device 500 operates as a main strobe, and when set to SLV, it operates as a sub strobe and is set to AUTO1. In this case, the main / sub flash switching operation is automatically performed. This automatic switching is performed by detecting a Li terminal, which will be described later, to detect whether the camera body 400 is connected to the strobe device 500.

Further, the CPU 3 fixed contacts MODE1, MODE2, AUT of the mode changeover switch SW2 for setting a small light emission amount per one time when performing intermittent light emission.
It is connected to O2. Mode switch SW2 is M
When it is set to ODE1, it is in the high light amount mode, and the light emission amount of one small light emission increases. Further, when the mode changeover switch SW2 is set to MODE2, the mode is the small light amount mode, and the light emission amount of one small light emission is small. Further, the mode switch SW2 is set to AUT
When it is set to O2, the function differs between the main strobe and the sub strobe. When operating as a main strobe, the light amount mode is automatically set according to a signal from a mode switch MDSW, which will be described later, from the camera body 400. The camera body 400 has a low subject brightness and film sensitivity due to the operation of a control device (not shown).
When the subject distance is long, the mode switch MDSW is set to the large light amount mode, while when the subject brightness and film sensitivity are high and the subject distance is short, the small light amount mode is set. When the strobe device 500 operates as a sub-strobe, light emission from the main strobe is detected,
Automatically set to high light mode or low light mode. In addition, in the second embodiment, only two kinds of light quantity, a large light quantity mode and a small light quantity mode, are provided, but three or more kinds of light quantity modes may be prepared. In this case, the automatic setting mode 3 It may be possible to support more than one kind of light amount mode.

The above-mentioned Li terminal of the CPU 3 is a terminal for the CPU 3 to recognize whether or not it is connected to the camera body 400. The Li terminal is connected to the connection point of the resistor R3 and the transistor Q3, and the resistor R3. Is the ground terminal G
It is grounded via ND, the emitter of the transistor Q3 is supplied with the power supply voltage Vcc from the power supply circuit 1, and the base is grounded via the L terminal of the camera body 400. When the strobe device 500 is not connected to the camera body 400, it is pulled down by the resistor R3.
"L" is input to the Li terminal, while the camera body 400
When connected to, the transistor Q3 is turned on, so "H" is input to the Li terminal.

The Xi, TTLi and MDi terminals of the CPU 3 are used only when operating as a main strobe.
A flash emission start signal from the camera body 400 is input to the Xi terminal, and a light emission stop signal from the camera body 400 is input to the TTLi terminal. Switch X in the camera body
SW is an electrical or mechanical switch that is turned on at the timing when the strobe emits light, and is a switch TTL.
SW is an electrical or mechanical switch that is turned on at the timing when light emission is stopped. The Xi terminal of the CPU3 is connected to the connection point of the transistor Q1 and the resistor R1, the resistor R1 is grounded through the ground terminal GND, and the emitter of the transistor Q1 is supplied with the power supply voltage Vcc by the power supply circuit 1 and the base thereof. Is grounded via a switch XSW in the camera body 400. Therefore, since the Xi terminal is pulled down by the resistor R1, “L” is normally input, but when the switch X SW is turned on at the timing of light emission start, the transistor Q1 is turned on, so “H” is input. To be done. Similarly, a transistor Q2 and a resistor R2 are connected to the TTLi terminal, and the base of the transistor Q2 is grounded via a switch TTL SW. Therefore, since the TTLi terminal is pulled down by the resistor R2, "L" is normally input, but when the switch TTL SW is turned on at the timing of stopping the light emission, the transistor Q2 is turned on, so "H" is input. To be done.

The mode terminal MDi of the CPU 3 is a terminal for inputting a light emission amount mode identification signal from the camera. Mode switch MD SW in camera body 400
Is an electrical or mechanical switch that is turned on in the small light amount mode. Since the MDi terminal is pulled down by the resistor R4, "L" is input when the mode switch MD SW is off, that is, in the large light quantity mode,
Since the mode switch MD SW is turned on in the small light emission amount mode, the transistor Q4 is turned on, so that "H" is input.

The detection means 6 operates when the strobe device 500 is selected as a sub-strobe, detects the light emission from the main strobe 100, and outputs the MSTSIG signal to C.
Output to PU3. FIG. 4 shows a circuit diagram of the detection means 6. The connection point between the photodiode D1 as a photoelectric conversion element and the resistor R5 is connected to the non-inverting terminal of the comparator COMP1, the inverting terminal is connected to the reference voltage Vref, and the output terminal is connected to the MSTSIG terminal of the CPU3. When the main strobe 100 emits light, reflected light or direct light from the subject is received by the photodiode D1 and photocurrent is generated. This photocurrent is converted into a voltage signal by the resistor R4, compared with the reference voltage Vref by the comparator COMP1, and converted into a digital signal.

Next, the operation of the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the flow charts shown in FIGS. First, FIG. 5 shows the main flow, and the strobe device 5
A power switch (not shown) is turned on, or a power-on reset is performed when a power battery is loaded. When the main flow starts, in step S1, the power supply circuit 1 performs a boosting operation to charge the main capacitor MC. A charging voltage check circuit (not shown) causes a predetermined voltage (for example, 270
V) is detected (step S2), and when the predetermined voltage is reached, the charging operation is stopped (step S2).
3).

Next, the set state of the changeover switch SW1 is read (step S4), and it is determined whether or not the main strobe flag which is processed in the subroutine for this reading (see FIG. 6 for details) is 1 (step S4). Step S5). If the main strobe flag is set to 1, the set state of the changeover switch SW2 is read (step S
6. For details, see FIG. 7). Next, it is determined whether the Xi terminal is "H", that is, whether the light emission start signal is output from the camera body 400, and when it is "H", the main strobe
Execute the wireless light emission subroutine (see Fig. 9),
On the other hand, if it is "L", the light emission signal has not been output yet, so the process returns to step S4. Step S
If the main strobe flag is not 1 in 5, the strobe device 500 operates as a sub-strobe, so the set state of the changeover switch SW2 is next read (step S9, see FIG. 8 for details), and the MSTSIG signal is output. Is "H", that is, whether a light emission signal is output from the main strobe 100, and when it is "H", a sub-strobe / wireless light emission subroutine (see FIG. 9).
On the other hand, if it is "L", the light emission signal has not been output yet, so the process returns to step S4.

Next, S in step S4 in the main flow
The W1 reading subroutine will be described with reference to FIG. This subroutine is a flow for determining whether to operate as the main strobe or the sub strobe depending on the state of the main / sub selector switch SW1. First, it is detected by the main / sub selector switch SW1 whether the MST for operating as a main strobe is set (step S21). If the MST is set, the main strobe flag is set and the sub-strobe flag is cleared (step S21). Step S25). If it is not set to MST, it is then detected whether the changeover switch SW1 is set to AUTO1 (step S22). If it is not set, the SLV is set and it operates as a secondary strobe. Therefore, the sub-strobe flag is set and the main strobe flag is cleared (step S2).
3). If it is AUTO1 in step S22, the flash device 500 causes the camera body 400 to
It is determined by detecting the Li terminal whether or not it is connected with (step S24). At this time, if the Li terminal is "H", it is connected to the camera body 400 as described above, so the process proceeds to step S25, and the flag is set to operate as the main strobe, while the Li terminal is "L". In this case, since it is not connected to the camera body 400, the process proceeds to step S23, and the flag is set so as to operate as a secondary strobe.

Next, in the main flow shown in FIG. 5, the subroutine "read main strobe SW2" in step S6.
Will be described with reference to FIG. This subroutine is a flow for detecting the set state of the mode changeover switch SW2 when the strobe device 500 operates as a main strobe, and setting the intermittent light emission in the large light amount mode or the intermittent light emission in the small light emission mode. First, the changeover switch SW2 is AU
It is detected whether or not it is set to TO2 (step S31). If it is not set to AUTO2,
Next, it is detected whether or not the switch SW2 is set to MODE1 (step S34). If it is set to MODE1, it is in the large light amount mode, so that the large light amount flag is set and the small light amount flag is reset ( Step S33). In addition, the mode switch SW2 is MODE
If it is not set to 1, the remaining mode MOD
Since it is set to E2, that is, the small light amount mode, the small light amount flag is set and the large light amount flag is cleared (step S35).

Next, in step S31, the AUTO
If it is set to 2, the emission amount mode identification signal M from the mode switch MDSW from the camera body 400
The light amount mode is automatically set according to Di. Therefore, M
If the Di terminal is detected (step S32) and the level is "L", the mode switch MDSW of the camera body 400
Is set to the high light amount mode, step S3
3, the flag is processed so as to operate in the large light amount mode, and when the flag is "H", the camera body 400 is set in the small light amount mode, so the process proceeds to step S35 and the small light amount mode is set. After processing the flags to work, return to the main flow.

Next, in the main flow shown in FIG. 5, the subroutine "read sub flash SW2" in step S9 is executed.
Will be described with reference to FIG. This subroutine detects the set state of the mode changeover switch SW2 when the strobe device 500 operates as the auxiliary strobe 200,
This is a flow for setting whether to perform intermittent light emission in the large light amount mode or intermittent light emission in the small light emission mode. First, it is detected whether or not the mode switch SW2 is set to AUTO2 (step S41). When AUTO2 is set, it detects the light emission from the main strobe and automatically sets it to the large light amount mode or the small light amount mode.
Here, only the AUTO2 flag is set (step S42), and the process returns to the main flow.

If AUTO2 is not set, the AUTO2 flag is reset (step S4).
4) Then, it is detected whether the mode switch SW2 is set to MODE1 (step S45). When the changeover switch SW2 is set to MODE1, the auxiliary strobe 200 is operated in the large light quantity mode regardless of the light quantity mode of the camera body 400 and the main strobe 100.
In order to operate, the large light amount flag is set and the small light amount flag is reset (step S46). If the mode selector switch SW2 is not set to MODE1, it means that it is set to the remaining MODE2. Therefore, in order to operate in the small light amount mode, the small light amount flag is set and the large light amount flag is reset. (Step S
46), and returns to the main flow.

Next, in the main flow shown in FIG. 5, the subroutine "main strobe wireless light emission" in step S8.
Will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 9 and the light emission waveform diagram shown in FIG. This sub-routine is a flow for controlling the light emission when the strobe device 500 operates as the main strobe 100.
In step 7, when "H" indicating the light emission start signal is detected at the Xi terminal, it is executed. First, in step S51, the CPU 3 sets the STSW terminal to "H" to turn on the IGBT 4 via the control means 2 and sets the TRG terminal to "H" to cause the trigger means 5 to operate.
The discharge tube Xe is excited via this, and the discharge tube Xe starts the first light emission. TRG terminal is short time (eg 1
It is only necessary to be “H” for 0 μsec), so after returning to “H”, it is returned to “L” after a short time. Next, the large light amount flag processed during the "SW2 read" subroutine shown in FIG. 7 or 8 is detected. When the large light amount flag is set (that is, the large light amount flag = 1), it is in the large light amount mode, and the timers T1 and T4 start the time counting operation in step S53. Here timer T1
12 corresponds to the time T1 from the start of the first light emission to the start of the next second light emission in FIG. 12, and the time measured by the timer T4 is the stop of the light emission from the start of the first light emission. It corresponds to the time T4 until it is done. The timer time T1 is used for transmitting to the auxiliary strobe that it is in the high light amount mode, and the timer time T4 is a time for ensuring a light emission time in which the small light emission is in the high light amount mode.

The timers T1 and T4 are started, and then the CPU 3 detects whether or not the TTLi terminal is "H" in order to detect whether the light emission stop signal is output from the camera body 400 (step S54). . If the light emission stop signal has been output, the process proceeds to step S73 and STSW
By setting the terminal to "L", the IGBT 4 is turned off and the light emission of the discharge tube Xe is stopped. If the light emission stop signal is not output, it is detected whether or not the timer T4 has timed out, that is, the light emission stop time of the first light emission has been reached (step S55). Returning to S54, the first light emission is continued. When the stop time of the first light emission comes, the STSW terminal is set to “L” to turn off the IGBT 4 to stop the light emission of the discharge tube Xe (step S56), and the camera body 400 is connected to the TTLi terminal.
It is detected whether a light emission stop signal has been output from (step S
57) If the light emission stop signal is not output, it is judged whether the start time of the second light emission has come by detecting whether the timer T1 has timed out (step S5).
8).

When the timer T1 times out, the STSW terminal is set to "H" to start the second light emission.
BT4 is turned on to start the time counting operation of the timers T3 and T5 (step S59). Here, the time measured by the timer T3 corresponds to the time T3 from the start of the second light emission to the start of the third light emission in FIG. 12, and the time measured by the timer T5 is the time after the second light emission is started. It is the time until the light emission stops. The off time of intermittent light emission is several tens of μs.
Since the time is about c to several hundreds of microseconds and the IGBT 4 as the switching element is turned on before the excitation of the discharge tube Xe is cooled, it is not necessary to retrigger the trigger means 5. After that, if the TTLi terminal does not become "H", that is, if the light emission stop signal is not transmitted from the camera body 400, T5, T6, T7 ... Tn at the time interval of T3.
After that, the IGBT 4 is repeatedly turned on and off, the light emission in the large light amount mode is repeated, and when the TTLi terminal becomes “H”, the IGBT 4 is turned off and the light emission is ended (indicated by a broken line in the flowchart). Then, in step S62, if the TTLi terminal does not become "H" even if the timer of the final small light emission time Tn expires,
The IGBT 4 is turned off to end the intermittent light emission in the large light amount mode (steps S62 and S73). In the present embodiment, the small light emission time T5 T6 T7 ... is different, but the light emission time may be changed so that the light amount becomes constant despite the voltage drop of the main capacitor MC. In the case of a distance, in order to prevent overexposure, the light emission time may be set so that the initial light emission amount is reduced. further,
Of course, these times may be constant.

Next, a case where the large light amount flag = 0 in step S52, that is, the small light amount mode is set will be described. Step S6 in this case
3 to S72 are the same as the above-described large light amount mode except for the setting time of the timer T which is different from the case of the large light amount mode, and therefore detailed description will be omitted. The time of the timer T2 is the time from the start of the first light emission to the start of the second light emission as shown in FIG.
By distinguishing 1 and T2, it is possible to determine whether the auxiliary strobe is in the large light amount mode or the small light amount mode. Further, the timers T8 T9 T10 are timers for determining the light emission time of the small light emission, and the light emission time for setting the small light amount mode is set.

Next, the operation when the strobe device 500 is used as the auxiliary strobe 200 will be described with reference to FIGS. In step S10 of FIG. 5, when the main strobe 100 starts the first light emission, the strobe light is received by the photodiode D1 and the comparator COMP.
1 outputs "H". When this "H" is input to the MSTIG terminal, in step S80, the AU is executed by the subroutine "read sub flash SW2" shown in FIG.
Detects whether the TO2 flag is set. AUTO2
If the flag is set, the main strobe 100
Starts the timing operation to detect the signal indicating the light amount mode transmitted from the device, sets the STSW terminal to “H” to turn on the IGBT 4, and waits for a sufficient time to end the small light emission in the first light emission. (Step S81). In this state, since the discharge tube Xe is not excited by the trigger means 5, it does not emit light. After the waiting time has elapsed, the MSTIG terminal is detected as to whether or not the main strobe 100 has started the second light emission (step S8).
2) When the second light emission is started (MSTIG =
"H") is a short time TR
The G terminal is set to "H" to excite the discharge tube Xe and start light emission. Next, the time measurement result is compared with the predetermined time T1 (step S84), and when the time measurement time is approximately equal to T1, it is judged to be the large light quantity mode, the large light quantity flag is set, and the small light quantity flag is cleared (step S84). S86). On the other hand, if the measured time and T1 are different, it is determined that the mode is the small light amount mode, the small light amount flag is set and the large light amount flag is reset (step S85), and the process proceeds to step S107.

If the AUTO2 flag is 0, the light amount mode is set manually, so that step S8 is performed.
The main strobe 10 does not perform the timing operation performed in 1 to S84.
Light is emitted in synchronization with the second light emission of 0. Step S101
, The STSW terminal is set to “H” in order to turn on the IGBT 4, and T1, T
After waiting for a time shorter than 2 (step S101), the MSTSIG terminal is detected. When the main strobe 100 starts the second light emission, the photodiode D1 receives the strobe light and the MSTSIG terminal becomes "H".
When this signal is detected, the TRG terminal is set to "H" for a short time to excite the discharge tube Xe, so that light emission is started (step S103). Next, steps S43 and S4 in FIG.
It is detected whether or not the large light amount flag set / reset by 6 is 1 (step S104), and if it is set, it means the large light amount mode. Therefore, the process proceeds to step S87, and the large light amount flag is 0. Is in the small light amount mode, the process proceeds to step S107.

When the large light amount flag is set in step S86 or when it is detected that the large light amount flag is set in step S104, the timer T3T4 is started (step S87). This timer T4 is the same as the light emission time of the first small light emission of the main strobe, but when the light emission amount of the first small light emission of the auxiliary strobe is different from the light emission amount of the first small light emission of the main strobe, the time of T4 is set. May be changed. When the timer T4 times out, S is set to stop the emission of the discharge tube Xe.
The TSW terminal is set to "L" to turn off the IGBT. next,
It is detected whether the timer T3 has expired (step S9).
0) If it is over, it is determined that the intermittent flash of the main strobe 100 has stopped, and the process returns to the main flow.
On the other hand, if it is not over, it is detected by the input signal of the MSTSIG terminal whether or not the next light emission from the main strobe 100 is started (step S91), and if the light emission of the main strobe is started, the IGBT is turned on, The STSW terminal is set to "H" to restart the light emission, and the timer T3 T
5 is started, and thereafter, the light emission is stopped every time the small light emission time T4 T5 T6 ... Tn elapses at the time interval of the timer T3, and the intermittent light emission is performed in the large light amount mode. Then, if the intermittent flash of the main strobe 100 is stopped while the intermittent flash is repeated, the timer T3 expires and the sub-strobe 2
The intermittent light emission of 00 also stops, and the intermittent light emission of the auxiliary strobe 200 also stops even when the final small light emission time timer Tn expires. The time set for the timer T3 may be set to be slightly longer than the time set for the main strobe 100 in consideration of variations.

Next, when the small light amount flag is set in step S85 or when it is detected that the small light amount flag is set in step S104,
The timer T3 T8 is started (step S87), and intermittent light emission for repeatedly emitting small light emission in the small light amount mode is performed in steps S107 to S115. The flow in the small light amount mode is the same as the intermittent light emission (steps S87 to S95) in the large light amount mode and the setting time of the timers T9 T10 ... .

As described above, the main strobe and the sub strobe are
It is possible to switch between the high light intensity mode and the low light intensity mode.
Like the light emission curve shown in 4, the total light emission amount increases according to the number of times of light emission. The total amount of light emission is determined by a predetermined number of times of light emission or the number of times of light emission until the light emission stop signal is output from the camera body 400.

As described above, in the second embodiment, when AUTO2 is set by the mode changeover switch SW2 of the auxiliary strobe 200, the automatic light amount setting mode is set, and the first strobe light from the main strobe is started. Second
By measuring the time until the start of light emission, the light amount mode of the auxiliary strobe 200 is automatically set.

The information on the light amount mode transmitted from the main strobe 100 is not limited to the light emission time interval as in the second embodiment. This first modification will be described with reference to FIGS. 15 and 16. In the first modified example, the light amount mode information is repeatedly emitted in a small amount within a predetermined time T12 from the start of emission of the main strobe, and the light amount mode is transmitted to the sub-strobe according to the number of times this small emission is emitted. . Although the detailed flowchart for realizing this method is omitted, the CPU 3 of the auxiliary strobe 200 is
When the first rising signal of the TSIG terminal is recognized, the timer T12 is started and thereafter the number of rising signals of MTSSIG is counted. The counting operation is ended at the timing when a predetermined time T12 has elapsed from the start of the timer, and the light amount mode of the main strobe 100 is recognized based on the count value. The secondary strobe 200 has a predetermined time T12.
In the same light amount mode as the main strobe 100 or C
In the light intensity mode that is softly determined by PU, MST
A small light emission is intermittently performed every time the signal from the SIG terminal rises.

Next, a second modification of the light quantity mode transmission method will be described with reference to FIGS. In the second modification, the information on the light amount mode is transmitted by the duration of the first light emission, that is, the time T13 from the light emission start to the light emission stop. For this, the secondary strobe 2
When the CPU 3 of 00 recognizes the first rising signal of the MSTSIG terminal, it starts the timer and sets the MSTSI.
The time until the G signal falls is measured. If the timed time is T13, it is determined that the main strobe is in the high light intensity mode, while if the timed time is T14, it is determined that the main strobe is in the low light intensity mode. The sub-strobe 200 is in the same light amount mode as the main strobe or the light amount mode determined by the CPU 3 in software when the signal of the MSTSIG terminal due to the second light emission of the main strobe 100 rises.
A small light emission is intermittently performed every time the signal from the MSTSIG terminal rises.

In the above-described first and second embodiments, in transmitting the light amount mode, the first strobe light of the main strobe is used for promptly transmitting information, but the present invention is not limited to this. If a plurality of light emission after one light emission is used, it is possible to send a larger amount of information.

According to the above embodiment of the present invention, the following constitution can be obtained. (1) In a wireless strobe device that is used without being connected to a camera and emits a small amount of light intermittently by an optical signal from the main strobe, the main capacitor charged by the power supply circuit and the discharge loop of this main capacitor A series circuit of an inserted discharge tube and a switching element, trigger means for exciting the discharge tube, control means for controlling ON / OFF of the switching element, and detection means for detecting the optical signal from the main strobe. And a light emission control unit that controls the light amount of the small light emission or the total light emission amount with respect to the number of small light emission based on the optical signal detected by the detection unit.

(2) The wireless strobe device according to (1), wherein the light emission control means controls based on a time interval of the optical signal from the main strobe detected by the detection means. (3) The wireless strobe device according to (1), wherein the light emission control means controls based on the number of pulses of the optical signal from the main strobe detected by the detection means within a predetermined time. (4) The wireless strobe device according to (1), wherein the light emission control means controls based on the length of time of the optical signal from the main strobe detected by the detection means. (5) The wireless strobe device according to (1), wherein the light emission control means detects information regarding the light amount of the small light emission when the first strobe light of the main strobe is emitted. (6) The wireless strobe device according to (1), wherein the light emission control means emits light in synchronization with light emission of the main strobe. (7) The wireless strobe device according to (6), wherein the light emission control means is prohibited from emitting light during the first light emission of the main strobe. (8) The wireless strobe device has means for manually or automatically setting the light amount of the small light emission, and when it is manually set, it is manually set regardless of the optical signal from the main strobe. The wireless strobe device according to (1) above, which has a high light intensity.

(9) In a strobe device controlled by an optical signal from a main strobe, a light receiving means for receiving the optical signal from the main strobe and outputting a photoelectric conversion signal, and based on the photoelectric conversion signal, A strobe device comprising: a detection unit that detects information regarding the amount of emitted light; and a control unit that controls the amount of emitted light based on the detection unit. (10) The strobe device according to (9), wherein the control unit repeatedly performs small light emission by using the information on the light emission amount detected by the detection unit. (11) In a strobe device that receives intermittent light emission of a main strobe and emits light in synchronization with this intermittent light emission, the intermittent light emission from the main strobe is received, and information regarding the amount of small light emission is detected from this intermittent light emission. Then, a strobe device that controls the light emission amount. (12) In a main strobe device that can be used in combination with a sub-strobe that emits light in synchronization with the light emission of the main strobe, a light amount setting means for manually or automatically setting the light emission amount,
A main strobe device comprising: a signal transmission unit that controls light emission for transmitting light emission amount information to the sub-strobe based on the light emission amount set by the light amount setting unit. (13) The main strobe device according to (12) above, which has a switching means for switching the main strobe device to the sub-strobe device.

[0040]

As described above, according to the present invention, by providing a plurality of light amount modes, it is possible to reduce the error from the proper light emission amount. Further, when a plurality of strobes are wirelessly controlled, a sub-strobe can be automatically set, which simplifies the user operation.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1A is a diagram showing a strobe arrangement according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a diagram showing a time chart of a signal and a light emission waveform of a strobe device.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a usage state of a wireless strobe according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a circuit block diagram of a flash device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram showing a detection means 6 in the circuit diagram of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a CPU3 according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a chart of a main flow showing the operation of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation of a subroutine “read SW1” in the main flow.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an operation of a subroutine “read main strobe SW2” in the main flow.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an operation of a subroutine “read sub flash SW2” in the main flow.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an operation of a subroutine “main strobe / wireless light emission” in the main flow.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an operation of a subroutine “substrobe / wireless light emission” in the main flow.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an operation of a subroutine “substrobe / wireless light emission” in the main flow.

FIG. 12 is a time chart showing waveforms of signals and light emission in the large light amount mode.

FIG. 13 is a time chart showing signals and light emission waveforms in the small light amount mode.

FIG. 14 is a graph showing the total amount of light emission in the large light amount mode and the small light amount mode.

FIG. 15 is a time chart showing waveforms of signals and light emission in the large light amount mode in Modification 1 of the second embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a time chart showing signals and light emission waveforms in the small light amount mode in Modification 1 of the second embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a time chart showing signals and light emission waveforms in the large light amount mode in Modification 2 of the second embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a time chart showing a signal and a waveform of light emission in the small light amount mode in the second modification of the second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 power supply circuit 2 control means 3 CPU (one-chip microcomputer) 4 IGBT 5 trigger means 100 main strobe 200 auxiliary strobe (wireless strobe) 400 camera body 500 strobe device SW1 main / sub selector switch SW2 mode selector switch

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. In a wireless strobe device which is used without being connected to a camera and intermittently emits a small amount of light by an optical signal from a main strobe, a main capacitor charged by a power supply circuit and a discharge loop of this main capacitor. A series circuit of a discharge tube and a switching element inserted therein, trigger means for exciting the discharge tube, control means for controlling ON / OFF of the switching element, and detection for detecting the optical signal from the main strobe. And a light emission control means for controlling the light amount of the small light emission based on the optical signal detected by the detection means. 2. The wireless strobe device according to claim 1, wherein the light emission control means performs control based on a time interval of the optical signal from the main strobe detected by the detection means. 3. A wireless strobe device which receives intermittent light emission of a main strobe and emits light in synchronism with the intermittent light emission, wherein the intermittent strobe light from the main strobe is received and a small amount of light is emitted from the intermittent light emission. Wireless strobe device that detects the information about the light emission and controls the light emission amount.