KR101595261B1 - A digital photographing apparatus a method for controlling the same and a computer-readable storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a digital photographing apparatus, a control method thereof, and a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program for executing the same, which comprises a plurality of display units for displaying at least one of image and information, A first frame surrounding the first display portion of the plurality of display portions, a second frame surrounding the second display portion of the plurality of display portions, a first sensing portion disposed on the first frame, A second sensing unit disposed on the second frame for sensing a touch of a touch object; a second sensing unit for comparing a signal value from the first sensing unit and an OFF reference value, OFF comparison value when the signal value from the first sensing unit is greater than the OFF reference value; and a comparison unit for comparing the signal value from the second sensing unit It provides a digital image pickup apparatus is characterized in that the value of a control unit for power-off (OFF) the second indicator is larger than the reference value OFF. Accordingly, the power consumption can be minimized by automatically turning on / off the display portions of the digital photographing apparatus.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a digital photographing apparatus, a control method thereof, and a computer-readable storage medium,

The present invention relates to a digital photographing apparatus, a control method thereof, and a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program for executing the same, and more particularly to a digital photographing apparatus having a plurality of display units, a computer The present invention relates to a storage medium readable by a computer.

Recently, a number of products equipped with a plurality of liquid crystal display (LCD) liquid crystal displays (LCDs) have been increasingly used in digital cameras and mobile phones in order to expand the user's convenience and functions. Battery capacity was limited, but the use of additional liquid crystal displays has further reduced the available time for consumers. In order to solve the problem of the current consumption increase, a control method of selectively turning on / off the liquid crystal display device depending on the situation has been introduced.

In the case of a mobile phone, for example, when the folder is folded in the front and rear of the folder, only the liquid crystal display on the outside is turned on and the inside is turned off. Alternatively, There is also a way to provide a separate screen to set the ON / OFF time. In a more extensive range of control, a UI (User Interface) is configured according to the user's grip by using a touch sensor, and the recognition result of various combinations is recognized, and the recognition result is fed back to the user. There is also a method of controlling various functions of the terminal.

However, the above-mentioned methods have various inconveniences in view of the purpose of reducing the current consumption of the liquid crystal display device. When the power is turned off in the case of folding in the form of a folder, it is difficult to apply it to a product having a structure other than a folder like a general digital camera, and a method of selectively controlling by a user UI is inconvenient to change the ON / OFF setting from time to time There are a lot.

In the control using the touch sensor, it is possible to configure a UI that not only controls the current consumption but also various functions in accordance with the user's grip. In this case, however, the circuit and the recognition algorithm are complicated, There is a part that is not suitable for reducing the current consumption through frequent LCD ON / OFF control because the result is fed back to the user every time and the operation is confirmed from the user.

The present invention relates to a digital photographing apparatus for reducing current consumption by automatically turning on / off the display units of a digital photographing apparatus having a plurality of display units, a control method thereof, and a computer program for executing the method, And to provide a storage medium capable of storing data.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a display device including a plurality of display units displaying at least one of image and information, a first frame surrounding a first display unit of the plurality of display units, A first sensing unit disposed on the first frame and sensing contact of the touch object; a second sensing unit disposed on the second frame for sensing contact of the touch object; A comparison section for comparing a signal value from the first sensing section with an OFF reference value and comparing the signal value from the second sensing section with the OFF reference value; (OFF) the power of the first display unit if the signal value from the sensing unit is greater than the OFF reference value, and turns off the power of the second display unit when the signal value from the second sensing unit is greater than the OFF reference value Include Provides a digital photographing apparatus, characterized in that the. The first frame and the second frame are integrated and can constitute an outer case of the camera.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the power-off control in the control unit can be performed by the user or at a predetermined time interval by default.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the controller turns on the first display unit when the signal value from the first sensing unit is less than the OFF reference value after the power is turned off, If the signal value from the second sensing unit is smaller than the OFF reference value, the second display unit can be turned on.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a plurality of the display units are liquid crystal display devices (LCDs), each of the liquid crystal display devices has a backlight for illuminating a liquid crystal display device, ON / OFF and the power ON / OFF of the backlight of the second display unit can be controlled.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the digital photographing apparatus may further include a shutter release button disposed on the upper surface and a lens disposed on the front surface.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the digital photographing apparatus further includes a shutter release button disposed on the top surface and a lens disposed on the front surface, wherein the first display unit and the first sensing unit are disposed on the front surface, A second display section and a second sensing section are disposed on the rear surface of the first display section and the first frame is divided into a first area adjacent to the lens and a remaining second area with respect to a vertical bisector of the first display section, The second frame may be divided into a third area adjacent to the shutter release button and the remaining fourth area.

 According to another aspect of the present invention, when the signal value output from the first sensing unit located in the second area is larger than the signal value output from the first sensing unit located in the first area, the control unit controls the first display unit When the signal value output from the second sensing unit located in the third area is greater than the signal value output from the second sensing unit located in the fourth area, the second display unit is turned off (OFF) )can do.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the controller turns off the first display unit when a signal value is output from the first sensing unit located in the second area, The power of the second display unit can be turned off.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the first sensing unit and the second sensing unit each include a plurality of touch sensors, and the signal value may be the number of signals output from the touch sensor.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the digital photographing apparatus further includes an informing section informing that the control section automatically turns on / off the backlight power of the first display section and the second display section in the live view mode of the digital photographing apparatus can do.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling the digital photographing apparatus.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program for executing the control method.

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, it is possible to selectively and easily turn off the backlight of the front or rear display unit (i.e., the first or second display unit) simply and efficiently without requiring any button operation or menu operation after the first user selection Current consumption due to the display unit backlight can be reduced. Especially, when there are various touch sensor inputs as in the conventional method, it is necessary to confirm each time when the operation is determined according to the pattern. However, if there is touch sensor input over the OFF reference value, the display portion backlight power can be automatically turned on / Simplification of implementation and switching time can be greatly reduced and user convenience can be improved by eliminating cumbersome confirmation procedures.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the present specification and drawings, elements having substantially the same functional configuration are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted. In addition, the following description and accompanying drawings are for understanding the operation according to the present invention, and parts that can be easily implemented by those skilled in the art can be omitted.

Furthermore, the specification and drawings are not intended to limit the present invention, and the scope of the present invention should be determined by the claims. The terms used in the present specification should be construed to mean the meanings and concepts consistent with the technical idea of the present invention in order to best express the present invention.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1A is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a digital photographing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment.

The digital photographing apparatus 100 capable of implementing the present invention includes an optical section 110, an optical driving section 111, an image capturing element 115, an image capturing element control section 116, an operation section 120, a program storage section 130, A buffer 160, a data storage 150, a first display 160, a second display 170, a digital signal processor (DSP) 180, a first sensing unit 181, a second sensing unit 182 ). The digital photographing apparatus may further include a notification unit 185.

The optical unit 110 provides the input optical signal from the subject to the imaging element 115. [ The optical unit 110 may include at least one lens, such as a zoom lens for controlling the angle of view to be narrowed or widened according to the focal length, and a focus lens for focusing the subject. In addition, the optical unit 110 may further include a diaphragm for adjusting the amount of light.

The optical driver 111 controls the position of the lens, opening and closing of the diaphragm, and the like. The focus can be adjusted by moving the position of the lens. In addition, the amount of light can be adjusted by controlling the opening and closing of the diaphragm. The optical driving unit 111 can control the optical unit 110 according to a control signal automatically generated by a video signal input in real time or a control signal manually input by an operation of a user.

The optical signal transmitted through the optical unit 110 arrives at the light receiving surface of the image pickup element 115 and forms an image of the object. The image pickup device 115 may be a charge coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal oxide semiconductor image sensor (CIS) for converting an optical signal into an electric signal. The sensitivity of the image pickup device 115 can be adjusted by the image pickup device control unit 116. The image pickup element control section 116 can control the image pickup element 115 in accordance with a control signal automatically generated by the video signal inputted in real time or a control signal manually inputted by the user's operation.

The operation unit 120 is a place where a control signal from the outside of a user or the like can be input. The operation unit 120 includes a shutter-release button 230 for inputting a shutter-release signal for exposing the image capturing device 115 to light for a predetermined period of time and capturing a photograph, a power button for inputting power to supply power, Various buttons such as Wide-Zoom button and Tele-Zoom button to widen the angle of view or narrow the angle of view, Mode selection such as character input, shooting mode, playback mode, white balance setting function, . The operation unit 120 may have various types of buttons as described above, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The operation unit 120 may be implemented as a keyboard, a touch pad, a touch screen, a remote controller, or the like.

The digital photographing apparatus 100 may further include a program storage unit 130 for storing programs such as an operating system and an application system for driving the digital camera, a buffer storage unit for temporarily storing data or result data required during the operation, (140), and a data storage unit (150) for storing various information necessary for the program, including an image file including a video signal.

In addition, the digital photographing apparatus 100 includes a first display unit 160 and a second display unit 170 for displaying the operation state of the digital photographing apparatus 100 or the image information photographed by the digital photographing apparatus 100. The first display unit 160 and the second display unit 170 can provide visual and / or auditory information to the user. The first display unit 160 and the second display unit 170 may be, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light emitting diode (OLED), or the like in order to provide visual information. At the same time, the first display unit 160 and the second display unit 170 may be touch screens. In this case, the first display unit 160 and the second display unit 170 operate together with the operation unit 120 as a user input interface.

The digital photographing apparatus 100 includes a digital signal processor 180 for processing an input image signal and controlling the components according to an external input signal.

The digital photographing apparatus 100 includes a first sensing unit 181 and a second sensing unit 182 for sensing a touch of a touch object and outputting a sensing signal based on sensing. The specific arrangement of the first sensing unit 181 and the second sensing unit 182 will be described later.

The digital photographing apparatus 100 may further include an informing unit 185 informing that the control unit automatically turns on / off the backlight power of the first display unit and the second display unit in the live view mode of the digital photographing apparatus .

1B is a block diagram showing the structure of a digital signal processing unit 180 of the digital photographing apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1B, a digital signal processor (DSP) 180 includes a comparison determination unit 183 and a control unit 184.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the comparison determination unit 183 compares the signal value from the first sensing unit 181 with the OFF reference value, and compares the signal value from the second sensing unit 182 with the signal value from the second sensing unit 182, OFF reference value. The OFF reference value is set to turn off the power of the display unit (specifically, the backlight of the display unit), and may be stored in the data storage unit 160. [ It should be noted, however, that these settings may be pre-set by the user by default.

The control unit 184 turns off the power of the first display unit 160 when the signal value from the first sensing unit 181 is greater than the OFF reference value as a result of the comparison by the comparison determining unit 183, (OFF) the second display unit 170 if the signal value from the second display unit 240 is greater than the OFF reference value.

The control unit 184 turns on the first display unit if the signal value from the first sensing unit 181 is smaller than the OFF reference value and turns on the signal value from the second sensing unit 182 If it is smaller than the OFF reference value, the second display unit 170 can be turned on.

The power ON / OFF control of these display units is performed by comparing the signal value output from the sensing units and the OFF reference value every predetermined time interval. It should be noted, however, that these settings may be pre-set by the user by default.

Preferably, the plurality of the display units are liquid crystal displays (LCD), each of the liquid crystal display devices has a backlight for illuminating the liquid crystal display device, and the control unit 184 controls the backlight of the first display unit 160 And the power ON / OFF of the backlight (not shown) of the second display unit 170 can be controlled.

2A and 2B are a front perspective view and a rear perspective view, respectively, of a digital photographing apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The digital photographing apparatus 100 may further include a shutter release button 230 provided on an upper surface thereof. The digital photographing apparatus 100 may include a first display unit 160 and a second display unit 170 on the front and rear surfaces of the digital photographing apparatus 100, respectively.

2A and 2B, the first display unit 160 is disposed on the same surface as the surface on which the lens barrel 240 of the digital photographing apparatus 100 is disposed, and the second display unit 170 is disposed on the lens barrel 240 may be disposed on the opposite side of the plane on which they are disposed. The digital photographing apparatus 100 may further include a first frame 210 surrounding the first display unit 160 and a second frame 220 surrounding the second display unit 170. The first frame 210 and the second frame 220 integrally form the outer case surface of the digital photographing apparatus 100.

3A and 3B are a front perspective view and a rear perspective view, respectively, of a digital photographing apparatus 100 according to another embodiment of the present invention.

3A and 3B, the first frame 210 is divided into a first region 210b adjacent to the lens and a second region 210b adjacent to the lens, with reference to a vertical bisector of the first display unit 160 The second frame 220 is divided into a third area 220b adjacent to the shutter release button 230 and a second area 220b adjacent to the shutter release button 230, And the remaining fourth region 220a.

 According to another embodiment of the present invention, the control unit 184 may be configured such that the signal value output from the first sensing unit located in the second region 210a is outputted from the first sensing unit located in the first region 210b The signal level output from the second sensing unit located in the third region 220b is lower than the signal value output from the second region 220b located in the fourth region 220a, And may turn off the power of the second display unit 170 if the signal value is greater than the signal value output from the sensing unit.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, when the signal value is outputted from the first sensing unit located in the second region 210a, the controller 184 turns off the first display unit 160, When the signal value is output from the second sensing unit located in the third region 220b, the second display unit can be turned off.

Preferably, the first sensing unit 181 and the second sensing unit 182 may include a plurality of touch sensors, respectively. The signal value may be the number of signals output from the touch sensor.

4A is a diagram showing a general phage shape when the user uses only the second display portion. Referring to FIG. 4A, it can be seen that the left and lower edges of the first display portion are covered by the hand. The touch sensor may be installed only in two places that are frequently blocked. However, since the position to be covered may vary depending on the user, it may be desirable to additionally provide a touch sensor on the upper side and the right side in some cases. It is possible to automatically turn off the backlight of the first display portion by the same method of two or four touch sensors.

FIG. 4B is a diagram showing a general phage shape when the user photographs using only the first display portion. Referring to FIG. 4B, it can be seen that two or more of the corners of the second display portion are covered. In this case, it is preferable to automatically turn off the backlight of the second display portion.

5 is a flowchart for explaining a control method of the digital photographing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The digital photographing apparatus of Fig. 5 refers to the digital photographing apparatus 100 of Figs. 2A and 2B. In this case, the first sensing unit 181 and the second sensing unit 182 may include a plurality of touch sensors, and the signal values output from the first sensing unit 181 and the second sensing unit 182 may be And may be the number of signals output from the touch sensors. For convenience of explanation, the first sensing unit 181 on the front side and the second sensing unit 182 on the rear side can be installed on the outer case surface of the digital photographing apparatus. The arrangement and the number of the sensors are not limited thereto. At this time, the OFF reference value is set to 2.

Referring to FIG. 5, the digital photographing apparatus 100 provides a user interface to enable the user to turn on / off the display unit automatic power ON / OFF (S510). Preferably, the display unit auto ON / OFF mode can be configured to be selected when the menu key is pressed in live view or playback mode.

Once the display unit is set to the automatic ON / OFF mode, the user is separately input from the front / rear touch sensors without any additional user confirmation (S520). That is, the input of the touch sensor located on the four sides of the case (i.e., the first frame) near the front display unit (i.e., the first display unit) Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > input. ≪ / RTI >

In step S520, it is preferable that the input from the touch sensor is accepted as an input only to a signal that is maintained for a minimum input duration (for example, 300 ms).

When the display unit On / Off command is executed, it is determined whether the input received from each of the front and rear touch sensors is equal to or greater than two (OFF reference value) (S530).

If it is determined in step S520 that two or more of the four inputs are received at the same time in each of the inputs received from the front and rear sensors (when the user grasps two or more corners on each display), the corresponding display (S540). Here, it is preferable that only the display unit backlight is turned off.

When one or less inputs are input (when the input of the touch sensor is kept at one place or less), the display unit is kept turned on (S560).

Also, after a predetermined time (for example, 500 ms) after the display unit On / Off command is performed, the process returns to step S520 to detect that the shape of the grip is changed by receiving the input of the touch sensor. If one touch sensor input is reduced to one or less in a state where one display unit is turned off, it is preferable to turn on the display unit again.

FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram illustrating a display unit backlight ON / OFF command when two or more inputs are received when four touch sensors are placed around the display unit. The circuit diagram of FIG. 6 is only an embodiment according to the present invention, but the present invention is not limited thereto. A, B, C, and D are four sensor inputs. When two or more of the four signals are logically high, the resulting value is finally set to high by the AND and OR combination and can be used as a display backlight OFF command signal. have.

Another aspect of the present invention provides a computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a computer program for executing the control method.

Meanwhile, the present invention can be realized by storing computer-readable codes in a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium includes any kind of storage device in which data that can be read by a computer system is stored.

The computer readable code is configured to perform the steps of implementing the digital imaging device control method according to the present invention when read and executed by the digital signal processing unit 180 from the computer readable storage medium. The computer readable code may be implemented in a variety of programming languages. And functional and program segments for implementing the present invention can be easily programmed by those skilled in the art to which the present invention belongs.

Examples of computer-readable storage media include ROM, RAM, CD-ROM, magnetic tape, floppy disk, optical data storage, and the like, as well as implementations in the form of carrier waves (e.g., transmission over the Internet). In addition, the computer-readable storage medium may be distributed over a networked computer system so that computer readable code in a distributed manner may be stored and executed.

The present invention has been described above with reference to preferred embodiments. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention may be embodied in various other forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. Therefore, the above-described embodiments should be considered in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. The scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and the inventions claimed by the claims and the inventions equivalent to the claimed invention are to be construed as being included in the present invention.

Fig. 1A is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a digital photographing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment.

1B is a block diagram showing the structure of a digital signal processing unit 180 of the digital photographing apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2A is a front perspective view of a digital photographing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2B is a rear perspective view of a digital photographing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3A is a front perspective view of a digital photographing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

3B is a rear perspective view of a digital photographing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

4A is a diagram showing a general phage shape when the user uses only the second display portion.

4B is a diagram showing a general phage shape when the user uses only the first display portion.

5 is a flowchart for explaining a control method of the digital photographing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram illustrating a display unit backlight ON / OFF command when two or more inputs are received when four touch sensors are placed around the display unit.

Claims (9)

A plurality of display units for displaying at least one of an image and information; A first frame surrounding the first display portion of the plurality of display portions; A second frame surrounding the second display portion of the plurality of display portions; A first sensing unit disposed on the first frame for sensing contact of a touch object; A second sensing unit disposed on the second frame for sensing contact of the touch object; A comparison determination unit for comparing a signal value from the first sensing unit with an OFF reference value and comparing the signal value from the second sensing unit and the OFF reference value; And As a result of comparison, if the signal value from the first sensing unit is greater than the OFF reference value, the first display unit is turned off. If the signal value from the second sensing unit is greater than the OFF reference value, (OFF) the digital still camera. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the power off (OFF) control in the control unit occurs at a time interval set as a default. 3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control unit, after power OFF, And turning on the first display unit when the signal value from the first sensing unit is smaller than the OFF reference value, And turning on the second display unit when the signal value from the second sensing unit is smaller than the OFF reference value. 4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, Wherein the plurality of the display portions are liquid crystal display devices (LCDs), each of the liquid crystal display devices has a backlight for illuminating a liquid crystal display device, Wherein the control unit controls power ON / OFF of the backlight of the first display unit and power ON / OFF of the backlight of the second display unit. The method according to claim 1, The digital photographing apparatus may further include a shutter release button disposed on the top surface and a lens disposed on the front surface, A first display portion and a first sensing portion are disposed on the front surface, a second display portion and a second sensing portion are disposed on a rear surface corresponding to the front surface, Dividing the first frame into a first region adjacent to the lens and a remaining second region with reference to a vertical bisector of the first display portion, And divides the second frame into a third area adjacent to the shutter release button and the remaining fourth area based on the vertical bisector of the second display part. 6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the control unit When the signal value output from the first sensing unit located in the second area is greater than the signal value output from the first sensing unit located in the first area, the first display unit is turned off, And turns off the power of the second display unit if the signal value output from the second sensing unit located in the third area is greater than the signal value output from the second sensing unit located in the fourth area. Shooting device. 6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the control unit When a signal value is output from the first sensing unit located in the second area, the first display unit is turned off, And turns off the power of the second display unit when a signal value is output from the second sensing unit located in the third area. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the first sensing unit and the second sensing unit each include a plurality of touch sensors, Wherein the signal value is the number of signals output from the touch sensor. The digital still camera according to claim 3, Further comprising an informing unit informing that the control unit automatically turns on / off the backlight power of the first display unit and the second display unit in the live view mode of the digital photographing apparatus.

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