JPH1078597A - Information setting device for camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily set a content of various modes by a single operation mechanism by setting mode information such as exposure and photometry and detailed data of information on various modes by a 1st operation mechanism. SOLUTION: A CPU 37 fetches various signals showing a sequence state in a camera from the various switches of a switch group 35 through an interface circuit (INT) 36 being the center of the control of camera operation. The signal concerning a ball 10 being the 1st operation mechanism is fetched to detect the rotating direction of the ball 10 and detect pressing operation, and then the setting operation of the mode information is performed corresponding to the detected result. A display unit 5 is driven to display an exposure condition and a photometry condition through the INT 38, an electronic flashing device 39 is made to emit light, and a shutter 40 is opened/closed to control exposure time for film, the aperture quantity of a diaphragm 41 is controlled to control subject light quantity reaching the film, then taking up the film is controlled by a feeding motor 42.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a camera information setting device for setting contents of mode information such as a photometry mode, an exposure mode, and a distance measurement mode of a camera.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An increasing number of cameras are provided with a function that allows a photographer to set operation contents such as a photometry mode, an exposure mode, and a distance measurement mode. The operation mode can be roughly classified into an analog method set by a dedicated selection dial and a digital method set by using both a mode selection button and an up / down button.

[0003] In any of the methods, since an accurate exposure must be obtained in accordance with a sudden change in the brightness, position, and the like of the subject, it is necessary that the operation mechanism can change and adjust quickly.

[0004]

However, the conventional camera is provided with an operation mechanism for each mode. Therefore, as the number of operation modes increases, the operation becomes more complicated and the various modes can be changed and adjusted quickly. It becomes difficult and there is a case where a shutter chance is missed.

Therefore, it is desired to develop an information setting device capable of setting the contents of various modes with a single operation mechanism. Here, the present inventor has focused on a mechanism for selecting a position in an arbitrary direction in a plane originally possessed by a trackball, and has developed a method of selecting and instructing a distance measurement position of a subject with the trackball, and has previously filed an application ( JP-A-6-148714. However, this method is insufficient in that it targets only one mode of distance measurement. Furthermore, as an operation mechanism,
There are other things you can use other than trackballs.

[0006] In addition, in the information change adjustment operation, a function of a fixed input or a reset input is also required. Regarding this point, the description in JP-A-6-148714 and JP-A-6-2-2 are disclosed.
Although it is conceivable to use a trackball provided with a mechanism capable of detecting depression of the ball itself, in addition to a mechanism for selecting a position in an arbitrary direction in a plane originally owned by the trackball described in Japanese Patent No. 30892, The problem is how to achieve this in a camera.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve such a conventional problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a camera information setting device capable of easily setting the contents of various modes with a single operation mechanism. It is in.

[0008]

To achieve the above object, a camera information setting device according to the present invention has the following arrangement.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the principle of the first aspect of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the first aspect of the present invention provides a first operation mechanism that can reciprocate in a first direction and a second direction that are different from each other, and a first direction or a second direction based on the operation content of the first operation mechanism. A first direction detecting means and a second direction detecting means for respectively detecting the operation of the first direction detecting means, and a first direction detecting means in order according to a detection output of the first direction detecting means.
A first information setting means for setting information, and a second information setting means for sequentially setting second information in accordance with a detection output of the second direction detecting means.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the camera information setting apparatus according to the first aspect, the first information includes an exposure,
The second information includes mode information such as photometry and distance measurement, and the second information includes detailed data of various types of mode information. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the principle of the third aspect of the present invention. In FIG. 2, the invention according to claim 3 is:
2. The camera information setting device according to claim 1, wherein
A second operation mechanism capable of performing operations in a third direction different from the first direction and the second direction instead of the operation mechanism;
Third direction detecting means for detecting that the operation is in the third direction from the operation content of the operating mechanism, and third direction detecting means after detecting one of the first direction detecting means and the second direction detecting means. When there is a detection output of (1), there is provided information determining means for determining the first information or the second information corresponding to the operation content relating to the detecting operation of one of the detecting means.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the principle of the present invention. In FIG. 4, the invention according to claim 4 is the camera information setting device according to claim 1,
A second operation mechanism capable of performing an operation in a third direction different from the first direction and the second direction instead of the first operation mechanism;
The third direction detecting means for detecting that the operation is in the third direction from the operation content of the second operating mechanism, and when there is a detection output of the third direction detecting means, the operation corresponds to the operation performed before that. And resetting means for holding or invalidating the content detected by the first direction detecting means or the second direction detecting means and returning to the initial state.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the camera information setting apparatus according to the third or fourth aspect,
The operating mechanism consists of a ball set to be rotatable,
The first direction detecting means and the second direction detecting means detect a rotation direction corresponding to the first direction and the second direction applied to the ball, respectively, and the third direction detecting means detects a pressing force applied to the ball. Is detected as the third direction.

(Operation) Next, the operation of the camera information setting device of the present invention configured as described above will be described. According to the first aspect of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, a first operation mechanism that can reciprocate in a first direction and a second direction that are different from each other is provided, and a first operation mechanism that detects an operation in the first direction is provided. The first information can be set according to the output of the direction detecting means, and the second information can be set according to the output of the second direction detecting means for detecting an operation in the second direction.
Information can be set.

It is preferable that the first information is mode information such as exposure, photometry, and distance measurement, and the second information is detailed data of each type of mode information. it can. Therefore, various functions of the camera can be selected and changed by a single operation mechanism. Here, it is understood that the first operation mechanism is configured using a ball, a joystick, or the like from the purpose.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 2, a reciprocating operation can be performed in a mutually different first direction and a second direction, and a third direction different from the first direction and the second direction. A second operation mechanism capable of operating in the first direction is provided, the first information can be set according to the output of the first direction detecting means for detecting an operation in the first direction, and a second operation mechanism for detecting an operation in the second direction is provided. In addition to being able to set the second information in accordance with the output of the direction detecting means, if the third direction detecting means detects an operation in the third direction in the course of the operation, the information determining means makes the first direction detecting means and the second direction detectable. The first information or the second information corresponding to the operation content related to the detection operation of either one of the direction detecting means and the detecting means can be determined.

Specifically, the second operating mechanism is, for example, the first operating mechanism.
When the operation is performed in the direction and then in the third direction, the content of the first information selected by the operation in the first direction immediately before is determined, so that the second operation mechanism is operated in the second direction next. The content of the determined first information is changed.

Thus, in the first aspect of the present invention, the first information and the second information arranged one-dimensionally are targeted, but in the third aspect of the invention, the matrix is further two-dimensionally called a matrix. Selection and change of the first information and the second information arranged in a shape can be executed without any trouble. According to the invention described in claim 4, as shown in FIG. 3, the reciprocating operation can be performed in the first direction and the second direction, which are different from each other.
A second operation mechanism capable of operation in a third direction different from the direction is provided, and first information can be set according to an output of a first direction detection unit that detects an operation in the first direction, and a second direction can be set in the second direction. In addition to being able to set the second information in accordance with the output of the second direction detecting means for detecting the operation, the third information can be set during the operation process.
When the direction detecting means detects the operation in the third direction, the reset means sets the first corresponding to the operation performed before that.
The detection contents of the direction detecting means or the second direction detecting means are held or invalidated, and the state returns to the initial state.

Thus, re-operation from the initial position is enabled. It is to be noted that the second operation mechanism is constituted by a rotatably set ball, and two different rotation directions applied to the ball are set to the first operation mechanism.
If the presence / absence of the pressing force applied to the ball is made to correspond to the third direction in correspondence with the direction and the second direction, an information setting device excellent in operability can be provided.

[0019]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 4 is an external view of a camera according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG.
At the front of the camera 1 (on the back side of the paper in the figure), a lens 2
A finder 6 is provided on the rear surface (the front side of the paper in the figure) of the camera 1 so that the subject image passing through the lens 2 can be visually recognized by the finder 6.

A display 5 is provided on the upper side of the illustrated example in which the camera 1 is laid sideways, on the right side when viewed from behind. The display 5 may be provided in the viewfinder 6,
The display 5 allows the user to visually recognize the settings of various modes such as exposure, photometry, and distance measurement.

A shutter button 3 is disposed on the upper side of the camera 1 at a position protruding toward the back of the paper in the figure on the right side when viewed from behind. Note that another shutter button 4 is provided on the side of the same protruding portion. This is used when the camera 1 is held in a vertical position. As is well known, when the shutter buttons 3 and 4 are operated,
Power is supplied to the internal circuit by the first stage pressing of half-press,
Exposure is performed on the loaded film by the second stage pressing of full pressing.

A ball 10, which is an operation mechanism of the present invention, is provided on the rear surface (front side of the paper in the figure) of the camera 1.
As shown in FIG. 5, the ball 10 is disposed at a position where the right thumb 7 naturally touches when the camera 1 is held. Although a specific structure around the ball 10 will be described later (FIG. 7), as shown in FIG.
And a rotation operation in the horizontal direction (left-right direction in the figure), and a pressing operation from the paper surface to the paper back surface indicated by the mark x can be performed.

FIG. 6 is an electrical configuration diagram of the camera according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
In FIG. 6, a central processing unit (hereinafter referred to as “CPU”)
Reference numeral 37 denotes a center of the camera operation control, which inputs and controls information through interface circuits (hereinafter, referred to as "INT") 36 and 38. Specifically, the sensitivity of the loaded film is captured from the sensitivity detection circuit 33 via the INT 36, and the subject images to the photometry sensor 30 and the distance measurement sensor 32 via the optical system 31 including the lens 2 are obtained therefrom. A signal relating to the in-focus state of the subject is received from the distance-measuring sensor 32, and the focus motor 34 is driven to realize the in-focus state.

Further, the switch group 3 is connected via the INT 36.
5, various signals indicating the sequence state in the camera 1 are fetched. Then, a signal to be described later (FIG. 7) relating to the ball 10 is fetched, a rotation direction of the ball 10 is detected, a pressing operation is detected, and a mode information setting operation and the like are performed correspondingly.

Further, the display 5 is driven via the INT 38 to display exposure conditions, distance measurement conditions, and the like, the electronic flash device 39 is made to emit light, and the shutter 40 is opened and closed to control the exposure time to the film. The amount of the subject reaching the film is controlled by controlling the opening amount of the diaphragm 41, and the feeding motor 42 is controlled.
To control film winding and rewinding.
Next, FIG. 7 is a detailed view of the operation mechanism. In FIG. 7, the ball 10 is rotatably mounted on an annular opening of a bottomed cylindrical elastic packing 11. The elastic packing 11 moves downward when the ball 10 is pressed, moves upward when the pressing is stopped, and returns the ball 10 to its original position.

A switch 12 is provided below the bottom of the elastic packing 11. The switch 12 is an elastic packing 11
Closes when pressed against the bottom of The opening / closing operation signal of the switch 12 is taken into the CPU 37. CPU37
The pressure detecting means detects the presence or absence of a pressure in the third direction from the opening / closing operation signal, forms a pressure signal, and determines the setting information and resets the setting information according to the formed pressing signal.

A rotation detecting roller 13 is provided around the side of the ball 10. Although only one rotation detecting roller 13 is shown for convenience of drawing, in practice, two rotation detecting rollers 13 are arranged at an interval of substantially 90 °, and are provided in contact with the side peripheral surfaces of the ball 10 respectively. That is, when the ball 10 is rotated, the two rotation detecting rollers 1 are rotated.
Rotation detection is performed with one or both of the three rotating. The rotation detection outputs of the two rotation detection rollers 13 are converted into electric signals, and are taken into the CPU 37.

In the CPU 37, the rotation direction detecting means calculates the rotation detection contents of the two rotation detection rollers 13 as a vector, and determines whether the rotation direction is "vertical direction" or "horizontal direction (lateral direction)". Is detected, and the contents of the mode change adjustment operation are determined based on the detection. One of the “vertical direction” and the “lateral direction” corresponds to the first direction, and the other corresponds to the second direction.

The elastic packing 11 has such an elasticity that it does not deform under the force of rotating the ball 10. That is, the switch 12 is not operated at the time of the change adjustment operation of various modes. In the above configuration, the correspondence with the invention described in claims 1 to 5 is as follows.

The ball 10 corresponds to the first operating mechanism and the second operating mechanism. The rotation detecting roller 13 and the entire CPU 37 correspond to the first direction detecting means and the second direction detecting means. Elastic packing 11 is used as the third direction detecting means.
And the switch 12 and the entire CPU 37 correspond to each other. The ball 10, the rotation detecting roller 13, and the entire CPU 37 correspond to the first information setting unit and the second information setting unit. The ball 10, the elastic packing 11, the switch 12, and the entire CPU 37 correspond to the information determination means and the reset means.

The operation of the embodiment according to the first to fifth aspects of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of selecting an exposure-related mode.
The mode selection operation is performed, for example, as shown in FIG.
This is done by rotating the ball 10 with the right thumb 7 in the left-right direction.

As shown in FIG. 8B, for example, the display 5 has three segments 21 and 22 indicated by triangles in the horizontal direction.
23 are provided, and three segments 24, 25, and 26 are provided corresponding to these three segments in the vertical direction in the figure.

The segments 21, 22, and 23 marked with a triangle are for mode selection, and as shown in FIG.
By rotating 0 in the left-right direction, one of the three segments 21, 22, and 23 is turned on and off in order.
It is turned off and the contents of the selection can be visually recognized.
In the illustrated example, the segment 21 lights up and becomes a mark, indicating that the mode indicated by the segment 21 has been selected. In the present embodiment, the display state in FIG. 8B is the initial display state.

Segment 24 corresponding to segment 21
Displays four exposure modes of P, S, A, and M. Note that P indicates program priority, S indicates shutter priority, A indicates aperture priority, and M indicates a manual exposure mode. In the illustrated example, the segment 24 indicates the manual exposure mode M. Segment 2 corresponding to segment 22
5 displays the automatically calculated shutter time in the P, S, and A auto exposure modes described above, and displays the manually selected shutter time in the manual mode M. In the illustrated example, 1/2000 is displayed, but 1
/ 2000, 1/1000,..., 1/2, 1/1 etc. can be displayed.

Segment 26 corresponding to segment 23
Displays the automatically calculated aperture value in the P, S, and A auto exposure modes described above, and displays the manually selected aperture value in the manual mode M. In the illustrated example, F
Although 5.6 is displayed, F1.4, F2,.
F22, F32, etc. can be displayed. Next, FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of mode selection confirmation. As shown in FIG. 9A, the operation of confirming the mode selection is performed by moving the ball 10 with the right thumb 7
This is performed by pressing with. FIG. 9B shows a state in which the ball 10 is rotated left and right by the right thumb 7 to turn on the segment 22 in FIG. 8 to select a shutter time, and the ball 10 is pressed by the right thumb 7. Since the shutter time has been selected and confirmed, only the segment 25 is lit and displayed, and the segments 24 and 26 are turned off.

Next, FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of changing the contents of the selection mode. To change the contents of the selection mode,
As shown in FIG. 10A, the ball 10 is rotated by the right thumb 7 in the vertical direction. When the ball 10 is rotated in the vertical direction with the right thumb 7 in the state of FIG. 9, the value of the display of the shutter time by the segment 25 changes sequentially according to the amount of rotation.

FIG. 10B shows a shutter time of 1/50.
This shows a state where 0 is displayed. If you want to take a picture as it is, just press the shutter button 3. When the exposure is completed, FIG.
As shown in (b), the display 5 displays all the conditions again. Of course, the segment 25 indicates 1/500. If it is desired to check other segments after the state shown in FIG. 10B, the ball 10 may be pressed again. The display on the display 5 is segment 2
The display returns to the initial display state as shown in FIG. That is, the operation of the reset means is performed.

To select, for example, the aperture priority mode other than the manual mode, the segment 21 is turned on by rotating the ball 10 in the left-right direction as shown in the display example of FIG. Is pressed, the selection is made so that "A" is displayed on the segment 24 by the rotation operation of the ball 10 in the vertical direction. Then ball 10
Is pressed to set the initial display state, the segment 23 is turned on by rotating the ball 10 in the left-right direction, the finalizing operation is performed, and the ball 10 is rotated in the vertical direction, and the desired aperture is formed on the segment 26. Display the value.

At this time, since the shutter time is automatically set, the segment 22 cannot be turned on and is automatically skipped. As mentioned above,
The rotation of the ball 10 in the left-right direction changes the mode selection segment (21, 22, 23) to be changed, the rotation in the up-down direction changes the details of the selected mode, and the pressing determines or resets. They are used for different purposes.
Needless to say, these can all be performed only with the same right thumb 7.

Although the exposure-related mode has been described above as an example, other examples include a distance measurement / photometry-related mode and a date mode. In the distance measurement / photometry related mode, for example, the distance measurement mode (A
F: Auto focus, MF: Manual focus)
Is set to the AF mode (C: continuous, S: single) for the set of the segments 22 and 25, and the segments 23 and 26
In the photometry mode (AMP: Auto multi pattern, C
/ W: center weight, SPOT: center photometry).

In the date mode (year, month, day),
Similarly, the pair of segments 21 and 24 includes “year” (1, 2,
.., 99, 00) and “month” (1, 2,..., 11, 12) in the set of segments 22 and 25, and segment 2
"Day" (1, 2, ..., 30, 31) in the set of 3 and 26
Should be assigned respectively. By the way, the above description has a case where there are three steps of mode selection, confirmation, and change of detailed contents. However, the CPU 37 determines which of the segments 21 to 23 is selected by rotating the ball 10 in the left-right direction. Since it is possible to know, in the display example of FIG. 8B, the confirmation operation is not necessarily required.

That is, the display example of FIG. 10B can be obtained by rotating the ball 10 in the left-right direction to selectively light the segment 22, for example, and then immediately rotating the ball 10 in the vertical direction. In the combination of zooming and focusing, segments 21 to 21 are displayed on the display 5.
By providing only one segment without providing 26, a zooming value can be displayed by rotating the ball 10 in the left-right direction, and a focusing value can be displayed by rotating the ball 10 in the vertical direction.

Therefore, it can be understood that, instead of the ball 10, an operation mechanism such as a joystick that can simply move in the left-right direction and the up-down direction can be used. That is, the first aspect of the present invention described in claim 1 and claim 2
The operation mechanism also includes an operation mechanism that can simply move in the left-right direction and the up-down direction, such as a joystick.

FIG. 8 shows that the finalizing operation is effective.
The display example of (b) is a case where there are a plurality of sets of the segments 21 to 23 and the segments 24 to 26. Specifically, as segments 21 to 23 and 24 to 26, (21
a, 22a, 23a) (24a, 25a, 26a),
(21b, 22b, 23b) (24b, 25b, 26
b), (21c, 22c, 23c) (24c, 25c,
26c), (21a, 22a, 23a) (2
4a, 25a, 26a), and assigns an exposure-related mode to the set (21b, 22b, 23b), (24b, 25b,
26b), the distance measurement / photometry mode is assigned to
This can be easily understood by considering the case where the date mode is assigned to the set of c, 22c, 23c) (24c, 25c, 26c).

Next, FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of distance measurement position selection. As shown in FIG. 11A, the ball 10
As shown by the arrow, the right thumb 10 is rotated in the vertical and horizontal directions. Therefore, FIGS.
As shown in the figure, a central frame segment 30, a left frame segment 31, an upper frame segment 32, and a rectangular screen of the display unit 5 provided outside the camera 1 or in the viewfinder 6.
If five distance measurement positions of the right frame segment 33 and the lower frame segment 34 are set, the five distance measurement positions can be set by rotating the ball 10. The distance measurement sensor 32 can detect the focus state of the subject corresponding to these five distance measurement positions.

FIG. 11B shows a state where the left frame segment 31 is selected. The selected “left frame segment 3
"1" is displayed dark, and the other "non-selected frame segment 3"
0, 32 to 34 ", the photographer may select a photographing angle at which the subject to be focused on the left frame segment 31 is placed. To change the area you want to measure to another position,
As shown in FIG. 1A, the ball 10 is rotated in the vertical direction or the horizontal direction so that the desired frame segment is displayed dark.

For example, when the ball 10 is rotated left and right by a predetermined amount, the center frame segment 30 is displayed dark once, and then the right frame segment 33 is displayed dark as shown in FIG. It can be seen that has moved. Here, after any one of the frame segments 31 to 34, which is the periphery and is the limit in that direction, is selected, even if the ball 10 is further rotated left, up, right, or down, the display changes further. I will not do it.

By the way, considering various photographing situations,
When selecting another ranging position from the state shown in FIG. 11B or 11C, when there is not enough time to continue operating the ball 10 for many rotations, or selecting any ranging position. It is assumed that it is no longer clear whether or not it is running. Then, the operation shown in FIG. 12 becomes effective. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example in which the distance measurement position is set to the initial position. FIG. 12 (a)
As shown in FIG.
Is turned on, the selection regions of the left frame segment 31 and the right frame segment 33 shown in the display examples of FIGS. 11B and 11C are reset, and the initial position of the center frame segment 34 as shown in FIG. To return to.

Thereafter, when the distance measuring position is changed again, the ball 10 may be rotated as shown in FIG. It can be easily understood that the reset function to the initial state as described above will be useful in a camera having more distance measurement positions than in a case where five distance measurement positions are provided as shown in the figure.

Next, FIG. 13 is a flowchart of the information setting operation performed by the CPU 37. This procedure is started when the battery is connected and the power switch is turned on by pressing the shutter button 3 to the first stage, and is repeatedly executed while power is supplied by a power timer or the like.

This procedure relates to the operation relating to the selection change of the exposure condition described with reference to FIGS. 8 to 10, and the distance measurement position selection processing relating to FIGS. 11 and 12 can be similarly performed. Therefore, the description is omitted.
In FIG. 13, in S1, the previously set conditions are read from the storage circuit (MEM) 43.

In step S 2, the luminance signal of the subject is taken from the photometric sensor 30 and the film sensitivity signal is taken in from the sensitivity detection circuit 33. In S3, both signals are calculated in accordance with the various conditions read out in S1, to calculate an appropriate exposure condition, determine a shutter time and an aperture value, and display the results on the display 5.

In S4, the outputs of the two rotation detecting rollers 13 are fetched, and the rotation direction detecting means (see FIG. 7) executes a vector calculation to detect whether the ball 10 is rotated in the left-right direction. If it is rotated, the amount of rotation is also calculated. As a result of the determination, if it is rotated left and right, the determination is affirmative (YES), and the process proceeds to S5. If it is not rotated left and right, the determination is negative (NO) and the process proceeds to S6.

In S5, since the image has been rotated left and right, a process of turning on one of the segments 21 to 23 on the display 5 is performed. This is processing corresponding to the display example of FIG. In S6, the pressing detection means (see FIG. 7)
The presence or absence of pressure is detected from the output signal of No. 2 to determine whether or not the ball 10 is being pressed. If the result of the determination is that pressure has been applied, the determination is affirmative (YES), and the process proceeds to S7. If no pressure has been applied, the determination is negative (NO).
Then, the process proceeds to S11.

At S7, S out of segments 21 to 23
The other segments are turned off except for one segment selected in step 5. This is processing corresponding to the display example of FIG.

In S8, the outputs of the two rotation detecting rollers 13 are fetched, and the rotation direction detecting means (see FIG. 7) executes a vector operation to detect whether the ball 10 is rotated in the vertical direction. If it is rotated, the amount of rotation is also calculated. In S9, a process of changing the value of the segment that has been turned on because it has been rotated in the vertical direction is performed. FIG.
This is processing corresponding to the display example of 0 (b).

In S10, the pressure detecting means (see FIG. 7) detects the presence or absence of the pressure from the output signal of the switch 12, and determines whether the ball 10 has been pressed. If the result of determination is that pressure has been applied, the determination is affirmative (YES) and S1
The process proceeds to 1 and if no pressure is applied, the determination is negative (NO) and the process proceeds to S12. In S11, the display 5 is displayed based on the conditions selected or changed as described above.
The latest display is performed, and further stored in the storage circuit (MEM) 43 as new data.

It should be noted that, even if it is determined in S4 or S6 that the respective operations have not been performed, the operation of newly storing the data again is performed. In S12, it is determined whether or not the shutter button 3 has been pressed deeply to the second stage and an exposure start command has been issued. If the result of the determination is that the button has been pressed, the determination is affirmative (YES) and the process proceeds to S13. If it is not pressed, the determination is negative (NO), the exposure operation is unnecessary, and the process returns to the previous step S2, and the above processing is repeatedly executed. S
In S13, the pressure is not applied in S10, and S1 is pressed.
The latest data is stored in the storage circuit (MEM) 43 in case an exposure command is issued in 2.

In S14, a predetermined exposure sequence is executed. Specifically, first, the aperture 41 is controlled to a predetermined value determined in S3, the shutter 40 is opened for a predetermined time according to the value determined in S3, and then the feed motor 42 is driven to wind up the film by one frame. is there. Then, the process returns to step S2 to prepare for the next exposure.

[0060]

As described above, according to the first and second aspects of the present invention, the first information (mode information such as exposure, photometry, and distance measurement) and the second information (various types of information) are provided by the first operation mechanism. The detailed information of each mode information can be set, so that various functions of the camera can be selected by a single operation mechanism, and the details of the selected function can be changed and set.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the selected first information or second information can be determined by operating in the third direction during the operation in the first direction or the second direction. Not only when the arrangement of the second information is one-dimensional,
Even when arranged two-dimensionally in a matrix,
That is, selection and change of more functions than the invention described in claim 1 can be executed by a single operation mechanism.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, the first information or the second information selected in the operation process in the first direction or the second direction.
Since the information can be reset to the initial one by the operation in the third direction, the re-operation from the initial position can be easily executed by the operation by the single operation mechanism. According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the third or fourth aspect of the present invention, the second operating mechanism comprises a rotatably set ball, and two different rotations applied to the ball are different from each other. Since the directions correspond to the first direction and the second direction, and the presence or absence of the pressing force applied to the ball corresponds to the third direction, it is possible to provide a camera information setting device with excellent operability.

In short, according to the present invention, since various information provided in the camera can be selected and changed with a single operation mechanism, the photographer always keeps a specific finger operating the operation mechanism at the same position. You can concentrate on shooting until you miss a photo opportunity.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a principle block diagram of the invention according to claim 1;

FIG. 2 is a principle block diagram of the invention according to claim 3;

FIG. 3 is a principle block diagram of the invention according to claim 4;

FIG. 4 is an external view of a camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view near the operation mechanism.

FIG. 6 is an electrical configuration diagram of the camera according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a detailed view of an operation mechanism.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of exposure-related mode selection;
(A) is an explanatory view of a change operation, (b) is a view showing a display example.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are diagrams illustrating an example of mode selection confirmation, in which FIG. 9A is a diagram illustrating a determination operation, and FIG. 9B is a diagram illustrating a display example.

FIGS. 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating an example of changing the content of a selection mode, wherein FIG. 10A is a diagram illustrating a change operation, and FIG. 10B is a diagram illustrating a display example.

FIGS. 11A and 11B are diagrams illustrating an example of distance measurement position selection, in which FIG. 11A is a diagram illustrating a distance measurement position change operation, and FIGS. 11B and 11C are diagrams illustrating display examples.

12A and 12B are diagrams illustrating an example in which a ranging position is set to an initial position, where FIG. 12A is a diagram illustrating a reset operation, and FIG. 12B is a diagram illustrating a display example.

FIG. 13 is an operation flowchart according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Description of Signs] Operating mechanism First direction detecting means Second direction detecting means First information setting means Second information setting means Operating mechanism Second direction detecting means Information determining means Reset means 1 Camera 2 Lens 3, 4 Shutter button 5 Display Instrument 7 Right thumb 10 Ball 11 Elastic packing 12 Switch 13 Rotation detecting roller 30 Photometric sensor 31 Optical system 32 Distance measuring sensor 33 Sensitivity detecting circuit 34 Focus motor 35 Switch group 36, 38 Interface circuit (INT) 37 Central processing unit (CPU) 39 electronic flash device 40 shutter 41 aperture 42 feed motor 43 storage circuit (MEM)

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A first operation mechanism that can reciprocate in a first direction and a second direction that are different from each other, and an operation in the first direction or the second direction based on an operation content of the first operation mechanism. First to detect each
Direction detecting means and second direction detecting means, first information setting means for sequentially setting first information in accordance with the detection output of the first direction detecting means, and second information in order in accordance with the detection output of the second direction detecting means An information setting device for a camera, comprising: second information setting means for setting. 2. The information setting device for a camera according to claim 1, wherein the first information includes mode information such as exposure, photometry, and distance measurement, and the second information includes information on each of the various mode information. An information setting device for a camera, comprising detailed data. 3. The camera information setting device according to claim 1, wherein an operation in a third direction different from the first direction and the second direction is also possible instead of the first operation mechanism. An operating mechanism, a third direction detecting unit that detects that the operation is in the third direction from an operation content of the second operating mechanism, and one of the first direction detecting unit and the second direction detecting unit When there is a detection output of the third direction detecting means after the one detecting operation, the information determining means for determining the first information or the second information corresponding to the operation content related to the detecting operation of the one detecting means is provided. An information setting device for a camera, comprising: 4. The information setting device for a camera according to claim 1, wherein an operation in a third direction different from the first direction and the second direction is also possible instead of the first operation mechanism. An operating mechanism, a third direction detecting means for detecting that the operation is in the third direction from an operation content of the second operating mechanism, and before the detection output of the third direction detecting means, Resetting means for holding or invalidating the detection content of the first direction detecting means or the second direction detecting means corresponding to the operation performed in step (b) and returning to an initial state. Setting device. 5. The information setting device for a camera according to claim 3, wherein the second operation mechanism comprises a ball that is set to be rotatable, and wherein the first direction detection means and the second direction detection are provided. Means for detecting a rotation direction corresponding to the first direction and the second direction applied to the ball, respectively, and the third direction detection means determines presence or absence of a pressing force applied to the ball. An information setting device for a camera, wherein the information is detected as three directions.