JPH11239312A - Control system in direct print digital camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a control system in a direct print digital camera by which an accidental fault such as destruction of data is prevented in the case of printing out a photographed picture through direct connection between a digital camera and a printer. SOLUTION: The direct print digital camera is configured by connecting a digital camera 10 that photographs an object with an image pickup element directly to a printer 11 that prints out an image so as to directly print out the photographed image. The direct print digital camera is provided with a connection means that allows connection between the digital camera 10 and the printer 11 after a connector cover that covers a connector is open by releasing the lock with a connector switching control lock device 5 only in the case that a power supply for the digital camera 10 is switched off based on a sensed result by a power ON/OFF sensor 6.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a control system for a direct print type digital camera in which a digital camera and a printer are directly connected, and an image photographed by the digital camera can be directly printed by the printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a digital camera (DC), in order to easily print out an image photographed by a digital camera as a photograph at first, if the image is recorded in a built-in memory of the camera, a predetermined cable is used. If the image is recorded on a PC card, etc.
Images taken once on a personal computer are taken in via a slot, etc., and the printing conditions (print format, paper setting, print direction, etc.) of a printer such as an ink jet printer on the personal computer.
After setting, the method of printing out photographic images was the mainstream, but recently, digital cameras and small printers such as photographs and videos without waiting for photographs and without using a personal computer, A direct printing method that can be directly connected by a single connector or a connector connection via a cable or the like has become mainstream because of the simplicity of printing out on the spot.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional example, in a method in which a recorded image of a digital camera is taken into a personal computer, a photographed image is directly transmitted through a personal computer only for setting printing conditions of a printer. On the spot, the printer operator asks about paper size, image quality, etc.
Because it is inconvenient because you can not print out in the mode you want to set, recently it has been improved so that you can directly connect the digital camera and the printer, set the printing conditions on the spot, and print out as desired. The connection between the digital camera and the printer was simple with cables and connectors that could be made while the digital camera was powered on, and was a form of union in which there was always the danger of destroying data or damaging the body. In order to prevent such a risk of data destruction and the like, there is a problem that the digital camera or the printer must be connected carefully after confirming that the power is off.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to control the permission of opening / closing a connector cover by turning on / off the power of a digital camera, so that the digital camera is erroneously connected to a printer while the power of the digital camera is on. It is an object of the present invention to provide a control system in a direct print type digital camera which can automatically prevent an accidental situation such as breakage of a digital camera.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a digital camera for photographing a subject using an image sensor, and a printer for printing and recording an image. Are connected directly to each other, and in a control system of a direct print type digital camera capable of directly printing an image photographed by the digital camera by the printer, when the digital camera is connected to the printer, the power of the digital camera is turned off.
And a control system for a direct print type digital camera having connection means for permitting connection by opening a connector cover covering a connector for connecting to the printer only when the connection is made.

According to this configuration, when the digital camera and the printer are directly connected, they can be connected only when the power of the digital camera is off.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in a control system for a direct print type digital camera according to the first aspect, the connecting means includes the digital camera. Turn off the digital camera when the connector cover is open.
The present invention relates to a control system for a direct print type digital camera, which is characterized by prohibiting N.

According to this configuration, when the digital camera is directly connected to the printer, the power can never be turned on if the connector cover of the digital camera is left open.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a control system for a direct print type digital camera according to the first aspect, wherein the connecting means includes the digital camera. Prohibit turning on the power while the connector cover of
A control system for a direct print type digital camera, which emits an alarm sound.

According to this configuration, when the digital camera is directly connected to the printer, during the connection procedure with the printer, or when the connector cover of the camera is kept open, etc. Power ON
Can be prohibited and the user can be warned with an alarm sound.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the control system for a direct print digital camera according to the first aspect of the present invention, the connecting means is provided. Indicates that permission or prohibition of opening the connector cover of the digital camera is locked when the power is turned on and does not open.
A control system for a direct print type digital camera is characterized in that the lock is released by using a lock mechanism that can be freely opened and closed when the FF is set.

According to this configuration, when the digital camera and the printer are directly connected, the connector cover can be safely opened and closed by accurately interlocking with the power ON / OFF of the digital camera.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the digital camera and the printer are connected by a single connector or a connector using a cable in the middle. Claim 1
4. The control system for a direct print digital camera according to any one of 1. to 4.

According to this configuration, when the digital camera and the printer are directly connected, a simple and effective connection mechanism that completely prevents dangers such as data destruction by using simple connection parts such as connectors and cables is provided. Can be configured.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 6 are diagrams according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of connection means of a control system in a direct print digital camera according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an external view of the digital camera and the printer shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a detailed external view of the digital camera shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the connection between the digital camera and the printer shown in FIG. FIG.
3 is a flowchart of a connector cover opening / closing permission operation of the connection unit shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the power-on permission operation of the connection means shown in FIG.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a ROM storing a program constituting a software portion of the connection means.
Reference numeral 2 denotes a CPU that calls a program from the ROM 1 as connection means, controls operations such as opening and closing of a connector cover and power ON / OFF, and performs display processing. Reference numeral 3 denotes a display device such as an LCD for displaying a part of the program, setting conditions, operation status, and the like under the control of the CPU 2, and 4 denotes a RAM that stores a program loaded from the ROM 1, an operation result by data input from the operation mechanism, and the like. .

5 is a connector cover of the digital camera,
This is a connector opening / closing control lock mechanism that controls opening / closing by transmitting a control signal and operating a locking hook component with a solenoid or the like (these components constitute a hardware portion of the connection means). Reference numeral 6 denotes a camera power supply O in response to a connector cover opening / closing signal from the connector opening / closing control lock mechanism 5.
This is a power ON / OFF detection device that performs N / OFF permission. An alarm sound output device 7 warns the user with a buzzer sound or the like. Such a connection means composed of a software part and a hardware part is usually provided in a digital camera.

FIG. 2 shows a digital camera 10 and a printer 11.
FIG. The printer 11 used here is mainly a thermal ink jet or bubble jet printer, and a sublimation type thermal transfer printer, a light fixing thermal printer, or the like can also be used.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view showing the open / close state of the connector cover 12 of the digital camera 10, and FIG. 3A shows a state in which the connector cover 12 is closed.
FIG. 3B shows a half-open state, and FIG. 3C shows a connector pin (or plug) 13 when the connector cover 12 is completely opened.
However, FIG. 4 shows a state where it can be connected to the connector 14 (jack or socket in this case) on the printer 11 side.

Next, the operation will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. Referring to FIG. 5 below, first, it is confirmed that the camera 10 is not in operation while operating (S1). If not working, then turn off the power
It is confirmed from the power ON / OFF detection device 6 that it is set to F (S2). After confirming that the power is turned off, permission to open / close the connector cover 12 is issued, and the connector cover 12 is unlocked by the connector opening / closing control lock mechanism 5 to be freely opened / closed (S3).

Also, in the judgment of S1, the user is working or in S2
If the power is on in the determination of (3), an alarm sound is output by the alarm sound output device 7 to warn the user to urge the user to take a safety measure (S4).

Next, the operation when the power is turned on will be described with reference to FIG. When turning on the power of the digital camera 10, first, it is checked whether the digital camera 10 is connected to the printer 11 (S10).

Subsequently, whether the connector cover 12 is closed or not is confirmed from the state signal of the connector opening / closing control lock mechanism 5 (S11). If it is not connected to the printer 11 and the connector cover 12 is closed, the digital camera 1
0 is permitted to be turned on (S12).

If it is determined in steps S10 and S11 that the printer is being connected or the connector cover 12 is open, an alarm sound is output from the alarm sound output device 7 to warn the user (S13).

As described above, according to the present embodiment, by controlling the connector cover 12 to be opened only when the power is off, the digital camera 1
0 can be prevented from being connected while the power supply is ON.

Note that up to this point, as shown in FIGS.
Although the configuration in which the digital camera 10 and the ink-jet printer 11 are united integrally by the number of connectors has been described as an example,
The present invention can also be applied to a system in which the cables are connected to each other at separate positions via respective connectors at both ends thereof.

The digital camera 10 according to the present embodiment
Can be connected to a personal computer as well.

[0028]

As described above, according to the present invention, when a digital camera and a printer are directly connected and used, the connector cover can be opened and connected only when the power is off. Because it was configured as
Digital camera and printer are powered off by digital camera
It is possible to prevent the connection of the digital camera from being erroneously connected and to prevent the destruction of the data of the digital camera, the destruction of the main body of the digital camera, the destruction of the printer, and the like caused by the energization.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of connection means of a control system in a direct print digital camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an external view of the digital camera shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a detailed view of the digital camera shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a connection between the digital camera and the printer shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a connector cover opening / closing permission operation of the connection unit shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a power-on permission operation of the connection unit shown in FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ROM 2 CPU 3 Display device 4 RAM 5 Connector opening / closing control lock mechanism 6 Power ON / OFF detection device 7 Alarm sound output device 10 Digital camera 11 Printer 12 Connector cover 13 Connector pin 14 Printer side connector

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A direct print type digital camera capable of directly connecting a digital camera for photographing a subject using an image sensor and a printer for printing and recording an image, and for directly printing an image photographed by the digital camera by the printer. In a control system for a camera, when connecting a digital camera to a printer, it is necessary to open a connector cover covering a connector for connecting to the printer only when the power of the digital camera is turned off, and then connect the digital camera. A control system for a direct print type digital camera, comprising a connection means for permitting. 2. The control system according to claim 1, wherein said connection means prohibits turning on the power of the digital camera when a connector cover of the digital camera is open. A control system for a direct print digital camera. 3. The control system according to claim 1, wherein said connecting means prohibits turning on the power while the connector cover of said digital camera is open, and emits an alarm sound. A control system for a direct print digital camera. 4. The control system for a direct print type digital camera according to claim 1, wherein said connection means turns on / off a power supply to permit or prohibit opening of a connector cover of said digital camera. A control system in a direct print type digital camera, characterized in that the control system is performed using a lock mechanism which is unlocked when open and not opened when unlocked, and is freely opened and closed when OFF. 5. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein the connection unit connects the digital camera and the printer by a single connector or a connector using a cable in the middle.
5. The control system for a direct print digital camera according to any one of items 1 to 4.