JPH11223873A - Control method for camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To rapidly detect that a unit to be attached is attached to a main body unit and to reduce power consumption when the required unit is attached. SOLUTION: The main body unit and a film holder, a lens unit and an AE finder attached to the main body unit are attached to the camera. When even either the film holder or the lens unit indispensable for photographing is not attached, unit check for discriminating whether or not they are attached and whether or not photographing can be executed is performed whenever timer interruption is performed. When both the film holder and the lens unit are attached, the unit check is performed once whenever the timer interruption is performed twice.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for controlling a camera, and more particularly to a method for controlling a camera in which each part of a photographing mechanism is unitized.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A lens shutter type single-lens reflex camera is known as a camera having a large screen size using a brownie film. This single-lens reflex camera has an AE including a main unit, a lens unit with a built-in shutter mounted on the main unit, a film holder for storing a film, a waist level finder and a photometric mechanism.
The system camera is composed of a plurality of mounting units such as a finder, and is capable of coping with shooting under various conditions by appropriately combining these mounting units and mounting the main unit.

In the above-mentioned camera, the mounting state of the mounting unit is checked by a control circuit built in the main unit to detect the mounting of the mounting unit, and whether the mounted mounting unit is normally connected or not. It is checked whether the mounted unit is ready for shooting. This confirmation is periodically performed by a timer interrupt at a fixed period other than when the power is turned on.

[0004]

In the above-described camera, if a timer interrupt generation interval, that is, a time interval for executing a mounting state check is set to be long, the mounting unit must be mounted before the camera mounting. A large time lag occurs until the main unit detects that the mounting unit has been mounted, which causes a problem that the photographing cannot be performed immediately. Conversely, if the time interval for checking the mounting state is set short, the above-mentioned problem can be solved, but the signal input between the mounting unit and the control circuit of the main unit for checking the mounting state can be solved. There is a problem that output is performed frequently and power of a power supply, for example, a battery is wasted.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and it has been made possible to efficiently check a mounting state of a mounting unit, to reduce unnecessary power consumption, and to realize that a mounting unit is mounted. It is an object of the present invention to provide a camera control method capable of reducing a time shift at the time of detection.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling a camera, comprising the steps of: The predetermined time interval for checking the mounting state is changed. Further, in the camera control method according to the second aspect, the predetermined time interval is changed so as to be long when the predetermined mounting unit is mounted, and to be short when the predetermined mounting unit is not mounted. Further, in the camera control method according to the third aspect, when a predetermined mounting unit is not mounted, the photographing operation is prohibited.

[0007]

FIG. 2 shows the appearance of a lens shutter type single-lens reflex camera of the present invention. Camera 2
Are a main unit 3, a film holder 4 mounted on the back side of the main unit 3, a lens unit 5 mounted on the front side of the main unit 3, an AE finder 6 mounted on the upper part of the main unit 3, a waist level finder ( The main unit 3 is composed of various mounting units such as
It is a system camera to be mounted on.

The main body unit 3 comprises a box-shaped main body 8 in which a mirror mechanism, a control circuit and the like are incorporated, and a focus adjusting mechanism 9 provided below the main body 8.
As shown in FIG. 3 which is a side view and a cross-sectional view of a main part of the camera 2, openings 1 are provided on the front side and the rear side of
A bellows 13 is provided between the opening 10 on the front side and the lens board 12 constituting the focus adjustment mechanism 9 to block the photographing optical path.
The film holder 4 is attached to the opening 11 formed on the back side of the main body 8 so as to face the opening.

A lens unit 5 is mounted on the front surface of the lens board 12 and is locked by a lock lever 15 provided on the lens board 12. The lens unit 5 includes a photographing lens 16, a shutter device 17 that also serves as a diaphragm incorporated therein, and an EEPROM 1 for a shutter that stores the number of times the shutter device 17 is operated.
8 (see FIG. 5). Since the shutter device 17 is open at the time of non-photographing, the subject light passing through the photographing lens 16 transmits the lens board 12, the bellows 13, and the opening 1
0 and enters the main body 8.

On the back side of the lens unit 5 and on the front side of the lens board 12, a shutter device 17 and an EEPROM 18 of the lens unit 5 and a control circuit built in the main unit 3 are electrically connected. Contact portions 19 and 20 are provided. The lens board 12 and the main unit 3 are electrically connected by a flexible cord 21.

In the main body 8, an opening 11 on the back of the main body 8 is provided.
A mirror mechanism 2 including a light-shielding plate 22 that closes the opening 11 in a light-tight manner and a mirror 23 that changes the optical path of subject light.
4 are arranged. The light-shielding plate 22 and the mirror 23 are closed with the shaft attachment portion 25 as a rotation center, the opening 11 is closed, and the subject light is reflected upward by the mirror 23 on the main body 8 by the mirror 23, and an arrow X The opening 11 is pivotally moved in the direction to open the opening 11 and is movable. The light shielding plate 22 and the mirror 23 at the time of non-photographing are in the closed position, and shield the inside of the film holder 4 from light.

A focusing glass 26 is fitted on the upper surface of the main body 8, and the subject light reflected by the mirror 23 is imaged on the focusing glass 26. On the upper surface of the main body 8, a foldable waist level finder that makes it easier to see the focus glass 26 from above,
Angle finder that converts the image formed on the camera into an eye level, and an AE with an automatic exposure function as shown in the figure.
The viewfinder 6 and the like are mounted according to the photographing conditions and applications.

The AE finder 6 is a finder optical system equivalent to an angle finder that bends the subject light imaged on the focus glass 26 so as to be viewed as an erect image. A light receiving element 27 (see FIG. 5) for measuring the brightness of the subject light, the light receiving element 27 is driven, and the photometric value of the light receiving element 27, the aperture value set by the lens unit 5, and the film holder 4 are set. The AE finder control circuit 28 (see FIG. 5) and the like which determines the shutter speed based on the current film sensitivity and inputs the shutter speed to the control circuit of the main unit 3.

The finder optical system of the AE finder 6 incorporates a display panel for displaying an aperture value, a shutter speed, a selected winding mode, and the like. The mode and the like can be confirmed. Further, contact portions 29 and 30 for electrically connecting a control circuit of the AE finder 6 to a control circuit in the main body unit 3 are provided on a lower portion of the AE finder 6 and an upper surface of the main body portion 8, respectively. I have.

The waist-level finder and the angle finder do not include a circuit such as the AE finder 6, and do not have a contact portion for electrically connecting to a control circuit in the main unit 3. .

As shown in FIG. 2, a shutter speed adjustment dial 32 for switching between a shutter speed and an AE mode is provided on one side surface of the main body 8, and a camera 2 is provided.
A mode switching dial 33 for turning on / off the power supply and switching the film winding mode, a mirror up switch 34 for forcibly swinging the mirror 23 in the main body 8 to the open position, a release switch 35, and the like are attached. An operation panel 36 is provided. A liquid crystal panel 37 is provided on the upper surface of the main body 8 on the side of the focus glass 26, for displaying the state of the camera such as whether shooting is possible or not, and for displaying a warning or error such as a remaining battery level or abnormal exposure. I have. A backlight 38 (see FIG. 5) is incorporated in the liquid crystal panel 37 so that display contents can be checked even in a dark place.

The focus adjustment mechanism 9 includes a base 40 mounted on the lower surface of the main body 8 and a pair of focusing rails 4 protruding forward from the base 40.
1 and 42, and a slide portion 43 which is movable along the focusing rails 41 and 42 and has the above-mentioned lens board 12 mounted thereon. An operation knob 44 that is operated to move the slide portion 43 along the focusing rails 41 and 42 is rotatably attached to the side of the slide portion 43. This operation knob 4
A pinion gear (not shown) is coaxially mounted on the focusing rail 4.
1, 42 mesh with a rack gear 45 formed on the upper surface. Thus, when the operation knob 44 is rotated, the slide portion 43 moves along the focusing rails 41 and 42, and the focus is adjusted by changing the distance between the main body 8 and the lens unit 5.

The lens board 12 is mounted on a frame 47 mounted on the slide 43. The frame portion 47 is slidable and rotatable in a left-right direction orthogonal to the sliding direction of the slide portion 43. The lens board 12 is attached to the frame unit 47 so as to be rotatable in a vertical direction perpendicular to the rotation direction of the frame unit 47. Thus, the camera 2 can perform tilt shooting without using any special device.

As shown in FIG. 3, the film holder 4
Inside, a film loading chamber 50 in which a brownie-sized photo film 49 is loaded, and an aperture 51 for defining an exposure range of the photo film 49 are provided.
Various sizes of masks are attached to the aperture 51, and the photographing size can be changed as appropriate. In front of the aperture 51, the main unit 3
When removing the film holder 4 from the
Light-shielding lid 5 that shields light between opening 11 and aperture 51
2 is inserted. The light-shielding lid 52 is removed from the film holder 4 at the time of photographing.

Further, the film holder 4 is rotatable with respect to the main body 8, and by rotating the film holder 4 without changing the position of the camera 2, the vertical position and the horizontal position of the photographing screen can be changed. Can be switched. The display range of the focus glass 26 is also switched between vertical and horizontal in conjunction with the rotation of the film holder 4.

Further, the first frame of the photo film 49 is set in the aperture in the film holder 4, and the photo film 49 is wound up by one frame for each photographing.
Further, a wind-up mechanism 53 for winding up the entire photo film 49 after photographing all frames is incorporated. Contact portions 71 and 72 are provided on the rear side of the main unit 3 and the front side of the film holder 4 so that the control circuit in the main unit 3 and the control circuit in the film holder 4 can be electrically connected. Is provided.

As shown in FIG. 4, on the upper surface of the film holder 4, a liquid crystal panel 54 for displaying various information of the loaded photographic film 49 and information of the camera 2 itself,
A total shot button 55 for displaying the total number of shots of each unit on the liquid crystal panel 54, and a backlight 56 for illuminating the liquid crystal panel 54 from behind (see FIG. 5).
And an operation panel 58 provided with a backlight button 57 and the like for activating the operation.

The liquid crystal panel 54 has a mask size 60 (for example, 6 cm × 8 cm) representing the size of the mask attached to the aperture 51 of the film holder 4, and the type (120 type or 220 type) of the loaded photographic film 49. ), A film sensitivity 62 indicating the sensitivity of the photographic film 49, a number display 63 indicating the number of shots, and a camera monitor 64 indicating the state of the camera 2. Note that the information displayed on the liquid crystal panel 54 is not limited to the information described above, and each unit is displayed at a portion where the film sensitivity 62 is displayed by a total shot button 55 provided on the operation panel 58 or a display changeover switch (not shown). The total number of shots, date, time, remaining battery level, etc. are displayed.

The camera monitor 64 has a mark 66 representing the main unit 3 and a mark 67 representing the film holder 4.
And a mark 68 representing the lens unit 5 and a mark 69 representing the AE finder 6. These marks 6
In Nos. 6 to 69, only the mark 67 is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 54 when the film holder 4 is not attached to the main unit 3 and is a single unit.

The main unit 3, the lens unit 5, and the liquid crystal unit 6 are attached to the film holder 4, and the respective contact portions 19, 20, 29, 30, 71,
When the units are electrically connected by 72, other marks 66, 68, and 69 are displayed on the liquid crystal panel 54 together with the mark 67 representing the film holder 4. Thereby, when the mark is not displayed on the liquid crystal unit 54 even though the unit is attached to the main unit 3, it can be understood that a contact failure has occurred in the contact portion. Of course, when another finder is attached to the AE finder 6, the mark 69 representing the AE finder 6 is attached.
Is not displayed.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the circuit configuration of each unit of the camera 2. The liquid crystal panel 37, the backlight 38, the mirror mechanism 2
4. In addition to the operation panel 36, a mirror driving circuit 76 including a motor 75 for driving the mirror mechanism 24, the mirror mechanism 24
, A mirror position detection circuit 77 for detecting the positions of the light shielding plate 22 and the mirror 23 and the operation of the light shielding plate 22 and the mirror 23, and a mirror mechanism 24.
An EEPROM 78 for storing the number of times of operation, a shutter drive circuit 79 for controlling and driving the shutter device 17 incorporated in the lens unit 5, the position and operation of the shutter blades of the shutter device 17, the open aperture value of the lens unit 5 and the like are detected. A shutter position detecting circuit 80 for performing exposure, and an exposure monitor circuit 81 for measuring whether the exposure is over or under by measuring the subject light exposed to the photographic film 49.
Is provided.

The main body unit 3 incorporates a main body MPU 82 which is a control circuit for controlling the above circuits and the circuits provided in the lens unit 5 and the AE finder 6. The main body MPU 82 includes a CPU, a ROM in which program data for various processes are written, a working memory and a RAM for storing data necessary for the processes, and a communication device for communicating with the film holder 4 and the AE finder 6. The interface circuit and the like are combined into one.

The film holder 4 includes, in addition to the liquid crystal panel 54, the backlight 56, the operation panel 58, and the winding mechanism 53, a winding driving circuit 85 including a motor 84 for driving the winding mechanism 53, and a winding mechanism 53. A hoist detection circuit 86 for detecting the rotation of a gear or the like, a holder EEPROM 87 for storing the number of times the hoist mechanism 53 is operated,
Holder MPU8 which is a control circuit for controlling these circuits
8 are incorporated.

The main unit 3 and the main unit 3
Each unit of each mounting unit mounted on the unit is driven using a battery built in the main unit 8 as a power supply.

The main body MPU 82 executes a connection check process when the power is turned on by the mode changeover switch 33 and when a periodic timer interrupt occurs. In the connection check processing, a unit check for checking the mounting state of each mounting unit and a shutter speed adjustment dial 3
A switch check for discriminating the shutter speed selected by 2 and the winding mode selected by the mode switching dial 33 is performed. The unit check includes a holder check, a shutter check, and a finder check. Detection of a mounted unit mounted on the main body unit 3 and communication with the mounted unit are performed, and the film holder 4, the lens unit 5, and the AE finder 6 are checked. For example, identification of the presence / absence of the attachment and whether or not the photographing is possible are performed.

The result of the unit check is used for judging whether or not the camera 2 is in a state capable of photographing, in addition to the display on the camera monitor 64 described above. The result of the switch check is used for controlling the camera 2, and information on the shutter speed and the winding mode is transmitted to the AE finder 6.

In the camera 2, the connection check processing is executed when the power is turned on by the mode changeover switch 33 and every time a periodic timer interrupt occurs, as described above. In order to check the mounting state, the execution interval is changed depending on whether or not each mounting unit is mounted. Specifically, the last time (N
When it is determined by the unit check in the connection check process executed in the (n) th time that all of the predetermined mounting units are mounted, a unit check is performed in the connection check process executed in the next (N + 1) th time. Instead, it is executed again in the next (N + 2) th connection check processing. If it is determined that at least one predetermined mounting unit is not mounted, a unit check is performed each time the connection check processing is performed. The switch check is performed every time the connection check process is performed.

That is, when all of the predetermined mounting units are mounted, one unit check is performed every time two timer interrupts occur, and no predetermined mounting unit is mounted. In this case, every time a timer interrupt occurs, a unit check is performed each time.

Thus, when at least one of the predetermined mounting units is not mounted, the interval between unit checks is shortened so that the mounting of the mounting unit can be detected quickly, and the predetermined mounting unit can be detected. In the case where all are mounted, the interval between unit checks is lengthened to reduce the frequency, thereby reducing power consumption.

In this example, the predetermined mounting unit is a film holder 4 and a lens unit 5 which are indispensable for photographing. Various viewfinders including the AE finder 6 are mounted with a finder other than the AE finder 6. There is also a reason that it is not possible to detect whether or not the camera is mounted when the camera is mounted, but this is excluded because shooting can be performed without the viewfinder. Of course, it is also possible to provide a circuit and a contact portion that can detect that this is mounted on various types of viewfinders, and to include the viewfinder in a predetermined mounting unit.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described. When the camera is used for photographing, the power of the camera 2 is turned on by operating the mode changeover switch 33 of the main unit 3. When the power is turned on, the main body MPU 82
The connection check processing shown in FIG. 1 is executed.

In the connection check process, first, a check counter for controlling execution of unit check is incremented by "1". The check counter is set to "0" in an initial state when the power is turned on, and thus is set to "1" by this increment. Next, the main unit MPU
In step 82, it is checked whether or not there is a mounted unit that is not connected (mounted) among the predetermined mounted units. In the initial state, the data indicating whether or not a mounting unit is mounted is cleared in the main body MPU 82, which indicates that no mounting unit is mounted. Accordingly, the main body MPU 82 determines that “unconnected unit is present” and executes a unit check.

In the unit check, the main unit MPU 82
First, a shutter check is performed via the shutter position detection circuit 80. Attempts are made to detect signals indicating the open / closed state of the shutter device 17 and the open aperture value via the contact portion 20, and when these signals are detected, the lens unit 5 is appropriately mounted on the main unit 3 and connected. And identify However, if these signals are not available,
It is determined that the lens unit 5 is not mounted, or that the connection is not normally performed even if the lens unit 5 is mounted, and that the lens unit 5 is not mounted.

When the main body MPU 82 determines that the lens unit 5 is connected, it determines whether or not the lens unit 5 is in a photographable state based on a signal obtained from the shutter position detection circuit 80. Identify.

After the shutter check is completed, the main body MPU 82
Performs a holder check. In this holder check, the main body MPU 82
Attempt to communicate with The main body MPU 82 first sends out a communication request signal. When the communication request signal is input, the holder MPU 88 returns a communication response signal based on the state of each part of the film holder 4.
Holder MPU 88 within a certain time for a communication request signal
When a predetermined communication response signal is returned from, the film holder 4 is identified as being normally mounted and connected, and based on the communication response signal, whether or not the film holder 4 is in a photographable state is determined. Identify. On the other hand, if the communication response signal does not return within a predetermined time, the main body MPU 82 determines that the film holder 4 is not connected.

Subsequently, the main body MPU 82 attempts to communicate with the AE finder control circuit 28 via the contact section 30.
If a signal of, for example, a shutter speed output from the AE finder control circuit 28 is obtained from the contact section 30 by this communication, it is determined that the AE finder 6 is mounted and correctly connected. , AE finder 6 is not mounted or connected, or it is determined that another finder is mounted.

When the unit check is completed as described above, each identification result obtained by this check is stored in the main body MPU 82. Thereafter, the main body MPU 82
Performs a switch check, identifies the shutter speed and the winding mode selected on the operation panel 36, and stores the identification result. When the AE finder 6 is attached, information on the shutter speed and the winding mode is transmitted to the AE finder 6 so that the information is displayed in the AE finder 6.

Thereafter, the main body MPU 82 resets the check counter to “0” and ends the connection check processing. When a predetermined time elapses after the connection check, a timer interrupt is generated.
Performs the connection check again.

At this time, since the check counter is "0" in the connection check processing executed earlier, the check counter is set to "1" in the current connection check processing.
It has been. Next, whether or not a predetermined mounting unit is not connected is checked. This check is performed based on the result of the previous unit check.

For example, if at least one of the film holder 4 and the lens unit 5 is not mounted on the main body unit 3 at the time of the previous unit check, it is determined that there is an unconnected unit. The process is continued so that the unit check, the switch check, and the like are performed in the same procedure as described above.

Then, any one of the predetermined mounting units
For example, if the lens unit 5 is not attached and the state in which the lens unit 5 is not attached continues, it is determined that “there is an unconnected unit” every time a timer interrupt process is performed and the connection check process is executed. A unit check is performed each time.

As described above, when there is an unconnected unit, the main unit MPU 82 performs a unit check every time a timer interrupt occurs. In the unit check of the connection check processing performed first after the mounting, it is identified that they are mounted. As a result, it is quickly detected that the mounting unit has changed from the unmounted state to the mounted state.

After the connection check processing in which it is detected that both the film holder 4 and the lens unit 5 are mounted, the next connection check processing is performed by the main body MPU 8.
When the processing is executed by step 2, since it is determined that there is no unconnected unit during this processing, a determination processing for checking the check counter is performed. In this case, since the check counter that has been set to “0” in the previous connection check processing is set to “1” in the current connection check processing, only the switch check is executed and the processing ends.

After the connection check process is completed, a timer interrupt is generated again, and when the next connection check process is executed, it is determined that there is no unconnected unit. , A unit check and a switch check are performed. Thereafter, the check counter is reset to “0”, and the process is terminated. Similarly, every time the connection check process is executed, the check counter is alternately changed to “1” and “2” at the start of the process.
Since it is determined that "there is no unconnected unit", the unit check is performed only when the check counter is "2".

Thus, when both the film holder 4 and the lens unit 5 which are indispensable for photographing are mounted, the unit check interval is twice as long as the case where there is an unconnected unit. As a result, the power consumption of a battery incorporated as a power source is reduced. Of course, the unit check is not executed at all, so the film holder 4, lens unit 5,
It can be recognized that the AE finder 6 has been removed or that these states have changed.

The main unit 82 performs the connection check as described above, and the obtained check result is used for determining whether or not the photographing operation is possible and for displaying on the camera monitor 64.
For example, it is confirmed that both the film holder 4 and the lens unit 5 are mounted, and if these and each part of the main body unit 3 are in a state where photographing is possible, photographing is permitted and the release switch 35 is operated. When done, camera 2
Each part is operated to take a picture. In addition, when either one of the film holder 4 and the lens unit 5 is not mounted, or when neither the film holder 4 nor the lens unit 5 is in a state where the photographing can be performed, the photographing is prohibited. No photographing is performed even if 35 is operated.

In the above embodiment, when either one of the film holder and the lens unit is not mounted, a unit check is performed every time a timer interrupt process occurs, and when both are mounted, On the other hand, the time interval is changed so as to be twice as long as the time interval in the case where the camera is not mounted, but the change in the time interval is not limited to this. Further, the time interval at which the unit check is performed may be changed between when both the film holder and the lens unit are not mounted and when either one of the mounting units is mounted. Further, even when the film holder and the lens unit mounted on the main unit are not in a state where photographing is possible, it may be determined that there is an unmounted unit.

In the above embodiment, a lens shutter type single-lens reflex camera has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be applied to a camera in which a shutter is incorporated in a camera body and a photographing lens is replaceable. Can be used.

[0054]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When checking the mounting state of the mounting unit mounted on the main unit, the time interval to check according to the presence or absence of each mounting unit obtained by checking the mounting state of the mounting unit is changed. Therefore, it is possible to efficiently check the mounting state, for example, if the time interval is changed so as to be longer when the predetermined mounting unit is mounted and shorter when the predetermined mounting unit is not mounted. In addition, it is possible to reduce wasteful consumption of electric power of the mounting unit and to reduce a time lag when detecting that the mounting unit is mounted.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a connection check process for confirming a mounting state of a mounting unit.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the camera.

FIG. 3 is a side view and a sectional view of a main part of the camera.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing display contents of a liquid crystal panel of a film holder.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an electrical configuration of the camera.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Camera 3 Main unit 4 Film holder 5 Lens unit 6 AE finder 17 Shutter device 24 Mirror mechanism 49 Photo film 53 Film winding mechanism 54 Liquid crystal panel 82 Main unit MPU 88 Holder MPU

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Tokuji Sato 3-13-45 Izumi, Asaka-shi, Saitama Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A camera control method, comprising: a main body unit having a unitized photographing mechanism; A camera control method, wherein the predetermined time interval is changed in accordance with the presence or absence of each mounting unit obtained by checking the mounting state of the mounting unit. 2. The camera according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined time interval is changed so as to be long when the predetermined mounting unit is mounted, and to be short when the predetermined mounting unit is not mounted. Control method. 3. The camera control method according to claim 1, wherein the photographing operation is prohibited when the predetermined mounting unit is not mounted.