KR20040043238A - Digital video camera integrated with digital still camera and control method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A digital video camera integrated with a digital still camera and a method for controlling the digital video camera are provided to separate a lens and a charge coupled device (CCD) of the digital still camera from a lens and a CCD of the digital video camera to improve resolution and quality of images. CONSTITUTION: A digital video camera(100) integrated with a digital still camera includes a main body, a camera unit(120), a display, a key input unit(140), a mode detector(150), an A/D converter(160), a still image compressor(170), a flash memory(175), a motion picture compressor(180), a tape(185), and a controller(190). The camera unit includes a housing, a digital still camera(123) and a digital video camera(125). The digital still camera (DSC) has a DSC lens(123a), a DSC CCD(123b), and a DSC driver(123c). The digital video camera(DVC) includes a DVC lens(125a), a DVC CCD(125b), and a DVC driver(125c).

Description

Digital video camera integrated with digital still camera and control method

The present invention relates to a digital video camera integrated digital video camera, and more particularly, to a digital still camera integrated digital video camera and a digital video camera in which the functions of the digital still camera and the digital video camera are integrated.

In general, a digital still camera (hereinafter referred to as a "DSC") converts an image through a lens into a digital signal and records it on a recording medium such as a hard disk or a memory card, and records the recording medium as necessary. The processed image can be read and printed or transferred to a computer for processing. DSC is mainly used for capturing still images for reasons such as the capacity of a recording medium for recording an image.

Meanwhile, a digital video camera (DVC) is an image recording / reproducing apparatus capable of recording and reproducing images and sounds incident through a lens onto a recording medium such as magnetic tape. DVC is a device that records / plays video in general, but can capture still images, but the image quality is lower than that of DSC.

If you want to shoot video, use DVC. If you want to shoot still image, use DSC. However, if the user wants to record both moving pictures and still images as needed, the inconvenience of carrying both DVC and DSC has arisen. Accordingly, a digital video camera integrated with a digital still camera incorporating DVC and DSC has been developed.

1 is a block diagram of one embodiment of a conventional digital still camera integrated digital video camera.

Referring to the drawings, the digital still camera integrated digital video camera includes a DVC lens 10, a DVC CCD 20, a buffer memory 30, an input unit 40, a still image compression unit 50, a flash memory 60, The video compression unit 70, the tape 80 and the control unit 90 is provided.

The DVC CCD 20 converts an image signal of a subject incident through the DVC lens 10 into an electrical signal and outputs the electrical signal.

The buffer memory 30 temporarily stores the output signal of the DVC CCD 20.

The input unit 40 includes a recording key 42, a photo key 44, and a plurality of function keys (not shown) for selecting a still camera mode or a video camera mode.

The still image compression unit 50 compresses and converts the still image transmitted from the buffer memory 30 by using a still image encoding method such as JPEG.

The flash memory 60 is controlled by the control unit 90 and stores the still image coded data compressed and converted by the still image compression unit 50.

The video compression unit 70 compresses and converts a video transmitted from the buffer memory 30 by using a video encoding method such as MPEG.

The tape 80 is controlled by the control unit 90 and stores video encoded data compressed and converted by the video compression unit 70.

The controller 90 stores the image data stored in the buffer memory 30 in the flash memory 60 or the tape 80 according to the selection signal of the recording key 42 and the photo key 44 provided in the input unit 40. Process as much as possible.

The digital still camera-integrated digital video camera having the above-described configuration includes an imaging device for photographing a subject and a photoelectric conversion device for converting an image of the photographed subject into an electrical signal. That is, since the function of the video camera is mainly used, that is, the still image or video captured by the DVC lens 10 is converted into an electrical signal through the DVC CCD 20. In this case, since the DVC CCD 20 is used, no problem occurs in the resolution and the image quality of the video.

In addition, the conventional digital still camera integrated digital video camera captures a subject using one camera, stores the captured image in the buffer memory 30, and then enters the buffer memory 30 when the recording key 42 is input. The stored image data is compressed and stored in the tape 80. On the other hand, when the photo key 44 is input, image data stored in the buffer memory 30 is compressed and stored in the flash memory 60.

Accordingly, since the subject is photographed through one camera, the image data may not be controlled to be stored in the flash memory 60 or the tape 80 using only the recording key 42 or the photo key 44. That is, when only one recording key 42 or photo key 44 is provided, the controller 90 may determine whether to store the captured image data to the flash memory 60 or to a storage medium of the tape 80. Can't. Accordingly, the conventional digital still camera integrated digital video camera has to be provided with a separate key to distinguish between the still camera mode and the video camera mode, resulting in inconvenience in operation.

An object of the present invention is to provide a digital still camera-integrated digital video camera capable of improving the resolution and image quality of an image by separately providing a lens and a CCD of a digital still camera and a digital video camera.

1 is a block diagram of one embodiment of a conventional digital still camera integrated digital video camera,

2 is a perspective view of a digital still camera integrated digital video camera according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

3 is a block diagram of a digital still camera integrated digital video camera according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

4 is a schematic perspective view for explaining a switching switch as an example of the mode detecting unit of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a control method of the digital still camera integrated digital video camera shown in FIG. 3.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

100: digital still camera integrated digital video camera

110: main body 120: camera unit

130: display means 140: key input unit

150: mode detection unit 160: A / D conversion unit

170: Still image compression unit 175: Flash memory

180: video compression unit 185: tape

190: control unit

In order to solve the above technical problem, the digital video camera integrated digital video camera according to the present invention includes an input unit provided with a shooting key, a tape cassette for storing a video, and a flash memory mounting unit for storing a still image. A camera unit having a detachable main body, rotatably mounted on the main body, a digital still camera for capturing the still image, and a digital video camera for capturing the moving image, and a recording mode corresponding to rotation of the camera unit. When the mode detecting unit and the shooting key signal is detected, the output signal of the mode detecting unit is checked to determine whether the shooting mode is a still camera mode or a video camera mode, and if the shooting mode is the still camera mode, the The image data captured by the digital still camera And a control unit for controlling the data to be stored in a flash memory and controlling the image data captured by the digital video camera to be stored in the tape when the photographing mode is the video camera mode.

The digital still camera and the digital video camera are arranged such that the photographing directions are opposite to each other.

The mode detecting unit preferably detects the photographing mode based on the rotation angle of the camera unit.

In addition, the mode detecting unit detects a photographing mode corresponding to the camera unit based on a 180 degree angle when the camera unit is rotated.

On the other hand, in order to solve the above technical problem, a tape cassette for storing a moving image and a flash memory mounting portion for storing a still image according to the present invention, the main body that can be mounted / detachable, an input unit provided with a recording key, and the main body A camera unit having a digital still camera for capturing the still image and a digital video camera for capturing the moving image, a mode detecting unit detecting a photographing mode in response to rotation of the camera unit; In a control method of a digital video camera integrated digital video camera having a control unit for controlling each unit, (a) detecting the shooting mode in response to rotation of the camera unit, and when the shooting key signal is received, Check whether the shooting mode is still camera mode by checking the detection result signal of step a). As a result of the determination of the step (b) and the step (b) of determining whether the image mode is the camera mode, the image data captured by the digital still camera is controlled to be stored in the flash memory when the shooting mode is the still camera mode. And (c) controlling the image data captured by the digital video camera to be stored in the tape when the photographing mode is the video camera mode.

Here, in the step (a), it is preferable to detect the photographing mode based on the rotation angle of the camera unit.

In addition, the step (a) detects a shooting mode corresponding to the camera unit on the basis of a 180 degree angle when the camera unit is rotated.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

2 is a perspective view showing a digital still camera integrated digital video camera according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a digital still camera integrated digital video camera according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

2 and 3, the digital still camera integrated digital video camera 100 includes a main body 110, a camera unit 120, a display unit 130, a key input unit 140, a mode detecting unit 150, An A / D converter 160, a still image compressor 170, a flash memory 175, a video compressor 180, a tape 185, and a controller 190 are provided.

The main body 110 is provided with a moving deck (midi) in which a tape cassette for recording a moving picture is mounted / removed. In addition, the main body 110 is provided with a flash memory mounting portion (not shown) that can be mounted / mounted flash memory for storing still images.

The camera unit 120 includes a housing 121 rotatably installed in the main body 110, a digital still camera 123 for capturing still images, and a digital video camera 125 for capturing a video.

The digital still camera 123 includes a DSC lens 123a, a DSC CCD 123b, and a DSC driver 123c.

The DSC lens 123a is for capturing a still image, and includes a focus lens (not shown) that receives an image of a subject and a zoom lens (not shown) that performs a zooming function for enlarging / reducing the subject. Include.

The DSC CCD 123b converts an image signal of a subject incident through the DSC lens 123a into an electrical signal and outputs the electrical signal. In general, the DSC CCD 123b scans data in a progressive scan method.

The DSC driver 123c drives the DSC CCD 123b under the control of the controller 190 to be described later. When the image capturing mode is a still camera mode for capturing still images, the controller 190 controls the DSC driver 123c to drive the DSC CCD 123b.

The digital video camera 125 includes a DVC lens 125a, a DVC CCD 125b, and a DVC driver 125c.

The DVC CCD 125b converts a moving image or a still image incident through the DVC lens 125a into a battery signal. In general, the DVC CCD 125b scans data in an interlace scan method.

The DVC driver 125c drives the DVC CCD 125b under the control of the controller 190 to be described later. When the image capturing mode is a video camera mode for capturing a moving image, the controller 190 controls the DVC driver 125c to drive the DVC CCD 125b.

The digital still camera 123 and the digital video camera 125 are arranged so that the direction in which the subject is photographed is opposite to each other. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, when the DSC lens 123a of the digital still camera 123 is installed to be exposed at one end of the housing 121 to face the shooting direction A, the DVC lens 125a of the digital video camera 125 is installed. ) Is installed at the other end of the opposite side of the housing 121. That is, the digital still camera 123 and the digital video camera 125 are arranged to maintain an angle of 180 degrees with respect to the rotation axis X. Therefore, the digital still camera 123 and the digital video camera 125 are disposed to maintain an angle of 180 degrees with respect to the rotation axis X, and the position of the cameras 123 and 125 when the housing 121 is rotated 180 degrees. Are interchanged.

The display means 130 is controlled by the controller 190 and is provided in the main body 110 and the viewfinder 131 and the LCD provided in the main body to display an image photographed through the DSC lens 123a or the DVC lens 125a. The panel 133 is provided.

The key input unit 140 is provided with a shooting key 142 which is an operation button for inputting a still image shooting command and a moving picture shooting command.

The mode detecting unit 150 detects the photographing mode in response to the rotation of the camera unit 120. The mode detecting unit 150 detects a shooting mode corresponding to the digital still camera 123 and the digital video camera 125 according to the rotation angle of the camera unit 120 with respect to the main body 110. The mode detecting unit 150 detects a photographing mode corresponding to the camera unit 120 based on a 180 degree angle when the camera unit 120 rotates.

The mode detecting unit 150 may be implemented as a switch for turning one of the digital still camera 123 and the digital video camera 125 on and the other one off.

4 is a schematic perspective view for explaining a switching switch as an example of the mode detection unit of FIG. 3.

As shown in the figure, the changeover switch is connected to any one of the first and second connection patterns 151 and 153 provided on the main body 110 and the first and second connection patterns 151 and 153. It includes a connection terminal 155 provided in). Each of the main body 110 and the housing 121 is rotatably coupled to face the holes h1 and h2. Accordingly, the connection terminal 155 is in contact with the first connection pattern 151 or the second connection pattern 153 according to the rotation angle of the housing 121 with respect to the main body 110. The first connection pattern 151 may be connected to the digital still camera 123, and the second connection pattern 153 may be connected to the digital video camera 125.

When the connection terminal 155 is in a position where it contacts the first connection pattern 151, the digital still camera 123 is turned on and the digital video camera 125 is turned off. The first and second connection patterns 151 and 153 are provided to be in contact with the connection terminal 155 at an angle of about 180 degrees. Accordingly, any one of the digital still camera 123 and the digital video camera 125 can be driven at all rotation angles with respect to the housing 121, that is, the main body 110 of the camera unit 20.

The A / D converter 160 converts the analog video signal output from the DSC CCD 123b into a digital video signal and converts the analog video signal output from the DVC CCD 125b into a digital video signal. And a second conversion unit 163 for converting to.

The still image compressor 170 is controlled by the controller 190 and compresses and converts a still image output from the first converter 161 into a flash memory 175 by using a still image coding scheme such as JPEG. do.

The flash memory 175 stores still image coded data compressed and converted by the still image compression unit 170.

The video compression unit 180 is controlled by the controller 190, compresses and converts the video output from the second converter 163 using a video encoding method such as MPEG, and converts the converted video data into the tape 185. Store in

The tape 185 stores video encoded data compressed and converted by the video compression unit 180.

When a signal corresponding to the photographing key 142 provided in the key input unit 140 is received, the controller 190 checks an output signal of the mode detecting unit 150 to determine whether the photographing mode is a still camera mode or a video camera mode. To judge. When the photographing mode is determined by the output signal of the mode detecting unit 150, the controller 190 drives the camera unit 120 corresponding to the determined photographing mode.

For example, when a high signal is input from the mode detecting unit 150 in correspondence with the digital still camera 123 and a low signal is input in response to the digital video camera 125, the controller 190 is configured to control the camera unit 120. Determine the shooting mode as the still camera mode. In this state, when the photographing key 142 signal is received through the key input unit 140, the controller 190 controls to compress and store the still image captured by the digital still camera 123 in the flash memory 175. .

In detail, when the photographing key 142 signal is received through the key input unit 140 in the still camera mode, the controller 190 controls the DSC driver 123c to drive the DSC CCD 123b. The video signal converted into the electrical signal by the DSC CCD 123b is converted into a digital video signal by the first converter 161. The digital video signal converted by the first converter 161 is compressed by the still picture compressor 170 to be stored in the flash memory 175. The image data compressed by the still image compression unit 170 is stored in the flash memory 175 and displayed through the viewfinder 131 or the LCD panel 133.

Meanwhile, when the shooting mode is the video camera mode, when the shooting key 142 signal is received through the key input unit 140, the controller 190 compresses a still image captured by the digital still camera 123 and compresses the tape ( 185).

In more detail, when the photographing key 142 signal is received through the key input unit 140 in the video camera mode, the controller 190 controls the DVC driver 125c to drive the DVC CCD 125b. In addition, the controller 190 controls the second converter 163 to convert the analog video signal converted into an electrical signal in the DVC CCD 125b into a digital video signal. The digital video signal converted by the second converter 163 is compressed by the moving picture compression unit 180 in a form that can be stored on the tape 185. The moving image data compressed by the moving image compression unit 180 is stored on the tape 185 and displayed through the viewfinder 131 or the LCD panel 133. The moving picture data recorded on the tape 185 may be transmitted to an external device through the communication port.

Hereinafter, a control method of a digital still camera integrated digital video camera according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 5.

First, when the power of the digital still camera integrated digital video camera 125 is turned on, the mode detecting unit 150 detects the photographing mode in response to the rotation of the camera unit 120 (S200). That is, the switching switch turns on the photographing target camera among the digital still camera 123 and the digital video camera 125, and turns off the other.

When the photographing key 142 signal is received through the key input unit 140 in the above state (S210), the controller 190 checks the output signal of the mode detecting unit 150 to determine whether the photographing mode is the DSC mode or the DVC mode. Determine (S220).

As a result of the determination in step S220, when it is determined that the shooting mode is the DSC mode which is the still camera mode, the controller 190 controls to compress and store the still image captured by the digital still camera 123 in the flash memory 175. (S230). That is, when the photographing key 142 signal is received through the key input unit 140 in the DSC mode, the controller 190 controls the DSC driver 123c to drive the DSC CCD 123b. In addition, the controller 190 controls the first converter 161 to convert the analog video signal converted from the DSC CCD 123b into an electrical signal into a digital video signal. The digital video signal converted by the first converter 161 is compressed by the still picture compression unit 170 into still picture coded data such as JPEG and stored in the flash memory 175.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S220 that the shooting mode is the video camera mode DVC mode (S240), the controller 190 compresses the video captured by the digital video camera 125 and stored in the tape 185 To control (S250). That is, when the photographing key 142 signal is received through the key input unit 140 in the DVC mode, the controller 190 controls the DVC driver 125c to drive the DVC CCD 125b. The controller 190 controls the first converter 161 to convert the analog video signal converted from the DVC CCD 125b into an electrical signal into a digital video signal. The digital video signal converted by the first converter 161 is compressed by the still picture compression unit 170 into video encoded data such as MPEG and stored in the tape 185.

As described above, since only one shooting mode can be selected and photographed according to the rotational state of the camera, an image according to each mode can be selectively stored in a memory or a tape by using one shooting key 142. Can be.

Although the present invention has been described in detail through the representative embodiments, those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains can make various modifications without departing from the scope of the present invention. Will understand. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, but should be defined by the claims below and equivalents thereof.

As described so far, according to the digital still camera integrated digital video camera and a control method thereof according to the present invention, by providing a lens and a CCD capable of exclusively capturing still images and moving images, both the still and moving images have a resolution and image quality. Can improve.

In addition, since a separate lens and CCD as described above, it is possible to select and photograph only one shooting mode according to the rotational state of the camera. Therefore, it is possible to input a shooting command using a single shooting button instead of a separate shooting button, thereby minimizing the product and improving convenience of operation.

Claims (7)

An input unit provided with a shooting key; A main body of which a tape cassette for storing a moving image and a flash memory mounting portion for storing a still image are mounted / removable; A camera unit rotatably installed on the main body, the camera unit including a digital still camera for capturing the still image and a digital video camera for capturing the video; A mode detecting unit detecting a shooting mode in response to the rotation of the camera unit; And When the photographing key signal is received, the output signal of the mode detecting unit is checked to determine whether the photographing mode is a still camera mode or a video camera mode, and when the photographing mode is the still camera mode, the photographing is performed through the digital still camera. And a controller configured to control the image data to be stored in the flash memory, and to control the image data captured by the digital video camera to be stored in the tape when the photographing mode is the video camera mode. Still camera all-in-one digital video camera. The method of claim 1, The digital still camera and the digital video camera are digital still camera integrated digital video camera, characterized in that arranged in the opposite direction to shoot. The method of claim 1, And the mode detecting unit detects the shooting mode on the basis of the rotation angle of the camera unit. The method of claim 3, And the mode detecting unit detects a shooting mode corresponding to the camera unit based on an angle of 180 degrees when the camera unit is rotated. A tape cassette for storing a moving picture and a flash memory mounting part for storing a still image, a main body that can be mounted / removable, an input unit provided with a shooting key, and a digital still for rotatably mounted on the main body. A digital still camera-integrated digital video camera having a camera unit having a camera and a digital video camera for capturing the video, a mode detecting unit detecting a shooting mode in response to rotation of the camera unit, and a control unit for controlling each unit. In the control method of, (A) detecting the photographing mode in response to the rotation of the camera unit; (B) determining whether the photographing mode is a still camera mode or a video camera mode by checking the detection result signal of the step (a) when the photographing key signal is received; And As a result of the determination of step (b), when the shooting mode is the still camera mode, the image data captured by the digital still camera is controlled to be stored in the flash memory, and when the shooting mode is the video camera mode, And (c) controlling the image data captured by the digital video camera to be stored in the tape. The method of claim 5, In the step (a), the control method of the digital still camera integrated digital video camera, characterized in that for detecting the shooting mode based on the rotation angle of the camera unit. The method of claim 6, The step (a) is a control method of a digital still camera integrated digital video camera, characterized in that for detecting the shooting mode corresponding to the camera unit on the basis of the 180 degree angle when the camera unit rotates.