KR100247595B1 - Apparatus for compounding digital still camera - Google Patents

Abstract

The disclosed composite digital still camera is capable of recording an image as well as recording an audio signal according to a user's selection.

The composite digital still camera according to the present invention includes a control unit for outputting a control signal for changing to a video recording mode or an audio recording mode and a control signal for overall operation of the device according to a user's mode change key input, and an input through a CCD. CDS / AGC that automatically amplifies and adjusts the gain so that the output is always constant even when the input level is changed, and ALC adjusts the level of the audio signal that is input through the microphone. A switching unit for switching to an image recording mode or an audio recording mode according to a key input; an analog / digital converter for converting an analog image signal or an audio signal input through the switching unit into a digital signal; and a control of the controller in the image recording mode. White balance, contour correction, and luminance / color difference of video signals output from analog / digital converters After converting, it compresses by JPEG and processes the audio signal output from analog / digital converter in the voice recording mode, and stores the video signal or audio signal output through the DSP unit according to each mode. Memory for reproducing and outputting recorded video signals or audio signals under control, Digital / Analog converter for converting digital audio signals output from the memory to analog audio signals in audio recording mode, and Audio input from digital / analog converter It consists of an amplifying unit for amplifying and outputting the signal.

Therefore, the present invention can switch the digital still camera to the voice recording mode, record the audio signal, and reproduce the recorded contents later, so that the same effects as the recorder can be obtained in addition to the video recording application.

Description

Composite digital still camera

The present invention relates to a composite digital still camera, and more particularly, to a composite digital still camera capable of recording an image as well as recording an audio signal according to a user's selection.

In general, a digital still camera (digital still camera) is a peripheral device for video input used by connecting to a PC, and is a compact and lightweight camera that anyone can easily operate with the recent expansion of the home PC.

Such a digital still camera converts the image information into an electric signal and performs all the signal processing such as processing, recording, and reproduction.

In addition, as in the case of a camera using a conventional film, it is not necessary to perform darkroom work or chemical processing for development, and can immediately check the captured image. Since the recorded image information is electronicized, it is connected to a PC after shooting. Post-processing and remote transmission are possible, and its use is various.

For example, you can make a homepage using images taken with a digital still camera by connecting to the Internet, create various reports by inserting the shot images, and commemorative photos such as graduation or marriage. Can be made or stored on diskette.

These digital still cameras typically offer VGA (640 × 480) or higher resolutions, and have a large memory to record and record dozens of shots at a time.

1 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of a general digital still camera as described above.

As shown, a charge coupled device (CCD) 2 converts an image signal of a subject incident through the lens 1 into an electrical signal.

Various drive pulses for extracting the signal of this CCD 2 are controlled by the control part 6 mentioned later.

In addition, unlike the interlace method used in the conventional camcorder, the CCD 2 uses a progressive scan method.

In other words, in interlaced scanning, a field image is output every 1/60 seconds (the first field represents an odd line and the second field represents an even line). Since the frame signal is output at the interval of 1/30 second, one image is read at a time, so the vertical resolution is excellent compared to the interlaced scanning method.

CDS (Correlated Double Sampling) / AGC (Automatic Gain Control) (3) eliminates the noise of the electrical signal output from CCD (2), and automatically gains the output so that the output is always constant even if the level of the input video signal changes. Amplify and adjust.

The analog / digital converter 4 converts the analog signal input from the CDS / AGC 3 into a digital signal.

The digital signal processing unit (hereinafter, abbreviated as DSP unit) 5 controls the white balance, contour correction, and luminance / color difference according to the control of the controller 6 described later to output the signal output from the analog / digital converter 4. Signal conversion and the like are performed, and are compressed by JPEG (Joint Photographic Coding Experts Group) and output to the memory 7 described later.

JPEG is an international standard for color still image coding, and although loss of data occurs during the compression process, it can be compressed at a high compression rate, and is generally used to compress data in an image area rather than used to compress data in a text area. It is used a lot.

The controller 6 controls the overall operations of the digital still camera, such as the operations of the CCD 2, the CDS / AGC 3, the analog / digital converter 4, and the DSP unit 5 described above.

The memory 7 stores and reproduces image information of one frame output through the DSP 5 under the control of the controller 6.

This memory 7 usually uses a flash memory that is a nonvolatile memory.

The key input unit 8 applies an operation such as a shutter or an auto focus control function according to a user's operation to the control unit 6.

When recording the image captured by the conventional digital still camera configured as described above in the memory 7, the size of the data was reduced and stored in the memory 7 by compressing the captured image by JPEG (Joint Photographic Coding Experts Group). .

However, since the conventional digital still camera as described above cannot record an audio signal only by recording and reproducing an image, it is not possible to switch the image recording mode to the audio recording mode according to the user's choice. there was.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a composite digital still camera capable of recording an image as well as recording an audio signal by switching to an image recording mode and an audio recording mode according to a user's selection.

1 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of a general digital still camera,

2 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of a composite digital still camera according to the present invention.

<Explanation of symbols for main parts of drawing>

10 lens 20 CCD

30: CDS / AGC 40: switching unit

50: analog-to-digital converter 60: DSP unit

70: memory 80: control unit

90: key input unit 100: ALC

110: filter unit 120: digital to analog converter

130: amplification unit

The composite digital still camera according to the present invention for achieving the above object is a control unit for outputting a control signal for the overall operation of the device and a control signal for changing to the image recording mode or the audio recording mode according to the user's mode change key input And CDS / AGC which removes noise of video signal input through CCD and automatically amplifies and adjusts gain so that output is always constant even if input level is changed, and adjusts the level of audio signal input through microphone. ALC, a switching unit for switching to an image recording mode or an audio recording mode in response to a mode change key input, an analog / digital converter for converting an analog video signal or an audio signal inputted through the switching unit into a digital signal, and video recording. White balance of video signal output from analog / digital converter under control of controller in mode After performing lance, contour correction and luminance / color difference signal conversion, compressing by JPEG and processing audio signal output from analog / digital converter in voice recording mode, and image output through DSP unit according to each mode A memory for storing a signal or audio signal and reproducing and outputting a recorded video signal or audio signal under control of a controller; a digital / analog converter for converting a digital audio signal output from the memory into an analog audio signal in the audio recording mode; , An amplifying unit configured to amplify and output the audio signal inputted from the digital / analog converter.

Hereinafter, a composite digital still camera of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

2 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of a composite digital still camera according to the present invention.

As shown, the CCD 20 converts an image signal of an object incident through the lens 10 into an electrical signal.

Various drive pulses for extracting the signal of this CCD 20 are controlled by the control part 80 mentioned later.

The CDS / AGC 30 removes the noise of the electrical signal input through the CCD 20 and automatically amplifies and adjusts the gain so that the output is always constant even if the level of the input image signal changes.

The switching unit 40 switches to change to the image capturing mode or the audio recording mode by the control signal of the controller 80 to be described later in response to the mode selection key input by the user.

The analog / digital converter 50 converts an analog video signal or an audio signal input through the switching unit 40 into a digital signal.

The DSP unit 60 performs the white balance, contour correction, and luminance / color difference signal conversion of the signal output from the analog-to-digital converter 50 under the control of the controller 80, which will be described later, in the image photographing mode. Is compressed and output to the memory 70 to be described later. In the voice recording mode, the input audio signal is output to the memory 70.

The memory 70 stores and reproduces image information of one frame output through the DSP unit 60 in the image capturing mode under the control of the controller 80, which will be described later. The audio signal output through the 60) is stored and reproduced.

This memory 70 normally uses a flash memory.

The controller 80 controls the overall operations of the digital still camera such as the CCD 20, the CDS / AGC 30, the analog / digital converter 50, the DSP unit 60, and the memory 70.

In addition, the controller 80 outputs a control signal for changing to the image capturing mode or the audio recording mode to the switching unit 40 according to the user's mode change key input.

The key input unit 90 applies a shutter or an auto focus control operation key and a mode change key signal according to a user's operation to the controller 80.

The ALC (Auto Level Control) 100 constantly adjusts the level of the voice signal input through the microphone (Mic) in the voice recording mode.

The filter unit 110 shapes and outputs a voice signal input through the ALC 100.

The digital-to-analog converter 120 converts the digital voice signal output from the memory 70 into an analog voice signal under the control of the controller 80.

The amplifier 130 amplifies and outputs the audio signal input from the digital-to-analog converter 120.

Next, the operation of the composite digital still camera according to the present invention configured as described above will be described in detail.

When the user operates the key input unit 90 by selecting a desired mode among the image capture mode or the audio recording mode to use the digital still camera, the controller 80 outputs a control signal according to the key operation to the switching unit 40. To start the image recording mode or the audio recording mode.

First, when the image capture mode is selected to capture an image, the control unit 80 outputs a control signal to the switching unit 40 to switch to the image capture mode.

The image signal of the subject incident through the lens 10 is converted into an electrical signal by the CCD 20, and the image signal input through the above-described CCD 20 is removed with noise through the CDS / AGC 30. At the same time, even if the level of the input video signal is fluctuated, the gain is adjusted and outputted so that the output is always constant.

The analog video signal output through the CDS / AGC 30 is converted into a digital signal through the analog / digital converter 50.

The video signal output from the analog-to-digital converter 50 is compressed by JPEG after the white balance, contour correction, and luminance / color difference signal conversion are performed by the DSP unit 60 under the control of the controller 80. )

As such, the video signal stored in the memory 70 is output to a PC connected to a digital still camera after shooting, and the user can create a variety of reports by editing the captured video, and commemorative photos such as graduation or marriage to make an electronic album or Can be stored on diskette.

On the other hand, when the voice recording mode is selected to record the voice signal, the control unit 80 outputs a control signal to the switching unit 40 to switch to the voice recording mode.

In order to record a voice signal desired by a user, a voice signal input through a microphone (Mic) provided in the digital still camera is uniformly adjusted through the ALC 100, and is output through the filter unit 110. .

The analog audio signal output through the filter unit 110 is converted into a digital signal through the analog / digital converter 50, and the audio signal output from the analog / digital converter 50 is stored in the memory through the DSP unit 60. Stored at 70.

As such, the voice signal stored in the memory 70 is output to the digital / analog converter 120 and converted into an analog voice signal according to a user's key operation after voice recording is completed, and the analog signal converted into an analog signal is amplified by the amplifier 130. It is amplified and output through the digital still camera itself or through a speaker connected externally.

As described above, according to the composite digital still camera of the present invention, the digital still camera can be switched to the voice recording mode according to a user's selection to record a voice signal, and the recorded contents can be reproduced and used later. The same effect can be obtained.

Claims (1)

A control unit for outputting a control signal for changing to an image capturing mode or an audio recording mode according to a user's mode change key input and a control signal for overall operation of the device; CDS / AGC which removes noise of the video signal input through the CCD and automatically amplifies and adjusts the gain so that the output is always constant even if the input level is changed; ALC for constantly adjusting the level of the audio signal input through the microphone; A switching unit for switching to an image capturing mode or an audio recording mode according to the mode change key input; An analog / digital converter for converting an analog video signal or an audio signal input through the switching unit into a digital signal; In the image recording mode, under the control of the control unit, white balance, contour correction, and luminance / color difference signal conversion of the image signal output from the analog / digital conversion are performed and then compressed by JPEG. In the audio recording mode, the analog / A DSP unit for processing an audio signal output from the digital converter; A memory for storing the video signal or the audio signal output through the DSP unit according to each mode, and reproducing and outputting the recorded video signal or the audio signal under the control of the controller; A digital / analog converter for converting a digital voice signal output from the memory into an analog voice signal in a voice recording mode; And an amplifier configured to amplify and output the voice signal inputted to the digital / analog converter.

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