KR20060034454A - Apparatus and method for outputting status of digital camera in voice - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for operating a digital camera, and more particularly, to an apparatus and a method for outputting a sound of a battery state, a remaining number of images, and an operation time by checking a voltage level of a battery. The method of outputting the state of the digital camera as a voice includes (a) setting a voice guidance function for outputting the state of the digital camera as an audio and then selecting shooting conditions of the digital camera; (b) operating the digital camera. Detecting a current voltage level of the battery to be compared with a preset reference voltage level; and (c) a state of the battery that matches the current voltage level according to the shooting condition, a remaining number of shots, and an operation remaining according to the shooting conditions. Voice outputting time. According to the present invention, the user can shoot in a more stable environment by checking the voltage level of the battery of the digital camera battery and outputting the voice of the battery status, the number of remaining shots, and the operation time regardless of OSD / LCD OFF. do.

Description

Apparatus and method for outputting status of digital camera in voice}

1 is a perspective view showing the front appearance of a digital camera.

FIG. 2 is a rear view illustrating a rear outline of the digital camera of FIG. 1.

3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an apparatus for outputting a voice of the state of the digital camera according to the present invention together with the overall configuration of the digital camera of FIG.

4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a method of outputting a state of a digital camera as a voice according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a table for outputting a state of a digital camera as voice in FIGS. 3 and 4.

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for operating a digital camera, and more particularly, to an apparatus and a method for outputting a sound of a battery state, a remaining number of images, and an operation time by checking a voltage level of a battery.

 In the conventional digital camera, the level of the battery is continuously checked until the operation is stopped and the operation of the digital camera is notified through the OSD when the LCD monitor is turned on. However, when the user sets OSD OFF or LCD OFF to prevent battery drain, it is inconvenient because it does not know how much battery is left, and it is embarrassing when the digital camera stops because the battery runs out while shooting. Can be. Also, even though the remaining battery status can be seen through the OSD, it is not possible to take a few more shots with the remaining battery and how long the digital camera will operate.

The technical problem to be achieved by the present invention is to check the voltage level of the digital camera battery regardless of the OSD / LCD OFF to output the voice of the battery status, the number of remaining shots and the operating time, the user can shoot in a more stable environment The present invention provides an apparatus and a method for outputting a state of a digital camera in voice.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for outputting a state of a digital camera as a voice, including: a storage unit for storing the remaining number of shots and the remaining time according to the state of the digital camera; A battery level check unit which checks a level of a battery for operating the digital camera; And a signal processor configured to search for the stored remaining shot count and operation remaining time corresponding to the checked battery level, and to output the state of the battery and the remaining remaining shot count and the remaining operation time according to the checked battery level. .                     

In the present invention, the storage unit stores the remaining number of remaining shots and the remaining time according to the flash state, image quality and resolution of the digital camera.

In the present invention, the signal processing unit receives a voice guidance function setting signal from the outside, characterized in that for operating the device.

In the present invention, the signal processor is configured to operate the device when the display unit for taking an image or displaying the captured image is turned off.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of outputting a state of a digital camera as a voice by (a) setting a voice guide function for outputting a state of the digital camera as a voice and then recording conditions of the digital camera. Searching for; (b) detecting a current voltage level of a battery operating the digital camera and comparing the current voltage level with a preset reference voltage level; And (c) audio outputting the state of the battery that matches the current voltage level, the number of remaining shots, and the remaining operation time according to the shooting conditions as a result of the comparison.

In the present invention, before the step (a), the method further comprises the step of storing each remaining number of remaining shots and the remaining time according to the flash state, image quality and resolution of the digital camera in the memory.

In the present invention, the voice guidance function is automatically set when the display unit for capturing an image or displaying the photographed image is turned off.

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

1 is a perspective view showing the front appearance of a typical digital camera.

Referring to FIG. 1, in front of a general digital camera, a microphone (MIC), a self-timer lamp 11, a flash 12, a shutter button 13, a mode dial 14, and a function-selection button 15 are provided. , The photographing-information display section 16, the viewfinder 17a, the function-block button 18, the flash-light amount sensor 19, the lens section 20, and the external interface section 21.

In the self-timer mode, the self-timer lamp 11 operates for a set time from when the shutter button 13 is pressed to when the shutter is operated. The mode dial 14 is used to select and set various modes, for example, a still image shooting mode, a night view shooting mode, a moving picture shooting mode, a playback mode, a computer connection mode, and a system setting mode. The function-selection button 15 is used for the user to select one of the operation modes of the digital camera 1, for example, a still image shooting mode, a night view shooting mode, a moving picture shooting mode, and a playback mode. The shooting-information display section 16 displays information of each function related to shooting. The function-block button 18 is used for the user to select each function displayed on the shooting-information display unit 16.

FIG. 2 is a rear view illustrating a rear outline of the digital camera of FIG. 1.

2, behind the conventional digital camera 1, a speaker SP, a power button 31, a monitor button 32, an auto-focus lamp 33, a viewfinder 17b, a flash standby Lamp 34, display panel (LCD) 35, exposure compensation / deletion button 36, enter / playback button 37, menu / OK button 38, wide angle-zoom button 39w, telephoto-zoom button 39t, up-move button 40up, right-move button 40ri, down-move button 40lo, and left-move button 40le, playback mode There is a (Playback) button 42.

The monitor button 32 is used by the user to control the operation of the display panel (LCD) 35. For example, when the user presses the monitor button 32 first, the image of the subject and the shooting information thereof are displayed on the display panel 35, and when the user presses the second time, only the image of the subject is displayed on the display panel 35. When pressed for the third time, power applied to the display panel 35 is cut off.

The auto-focus lamp 33 operates when the auto focusing operation is completed.

The flash standby lamp 34 operates when the flash (12 in FIG. 1) is in standby for operation.

The exposure compensation / deletion button 36 is used as a delete button in the process of adjusting the amount of light or manually setting each mode when the digital camera is manually operated.

The enter / playback button 37 is used for inputting data from the user or for a function such as stopping or playing in the playback mode.

The menu / OK button 38 is used to display and select the menu of the mode selected in the mode dial 14.

The up-movement button 40up, the right-movement button 40ri, the down-movement button 40lo, and the left-movement button 40le are also used in the process of setting each mode by the user.

The playback mode button 44 is used to check and manipulate the last photographed image, video or audio information.

3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an apparatus for outputting a voice of the state of the digital camera according to the present invention together with the overall configuration of the digital camera of FIG. Referring to Figure 3, the overall configuration of the digital camera and the device for outputting the state of the digital camera according to the present invention as a voice will be described.

The optical system OPS optically processes light from a subject.

When the user presses the wide angle-zoom button (39w in FIG. 2) or the telephoto-zoom button (39t in FIG. 2) included in the user input unit INP, a corresponding signal is output to the microcontroller 512. ) Is entered. Accordingly, as the microcontroller 512 controls the lens driver 510, the zoom motor MZ is driven to move the lens. That is, when the wide angle-zoom button (39w in FIG. 2) is pressed, the focal length of the lens is shortened to widen the angle of view, and when the telephoto-zoom button 39t is pressed, The focal length becomes longer and the angle of view becomes narrower.

According to such a characteristic, the microcontroller 512 may obtain an angle of view θ with respect to the position of the zoom lens from the design data of the optical system OPS. Here, since the position of the focus lens is adjusted while the position of the zoom lens is set, the angle of view θ is hardly influenced by the position of the focus lens. The compensation lens compensates for the overall refractive index and is not driven separately.

Reference numeral MA denotes a motor for driving an aperture (not shown). Here, the rotation angle of the aperture driving motor MA varies depending on the case of the designated exposure mode and the case of not. The designated exposure mode refers to a mode for setting the exposure amount of the digital camera to the average brightness of the designated detection area when the desired area of the target area matches the designated detection area displayed on the display panel 35 of the digital camera. Say.

A photoelectric conversion unit (OEC) of a charge coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) converts light from an optical system (OPS) into an electrical analog signal. Here, the digital signal processor 507 controls the timing circuit 502 to control the operations of the photoelectric converter OEC and the analog-digital converter 501. The CDS-ADC (Correlation Double Sampler and Analog-to-Digital Converter) element 501 as an analog-to-digital converter processes the analog signal from the photoelectric converter (OEC), removes the high frequency noise, and adjusts the amplitude. After that, it is converted into a digital signal. The digital signal processor 507 processes the digital signal from the CDS-ADC element 501 to generate a digital image signal classified into luminance and chroma signals.

The light emitting portion LAMP driven by the microcontroller 512 includes a self-timer lamp 11, an auto-focus lamp (33 in FIG. 2) and a flash standby lamp (34 in FIG. 2). The user input unit INP includes a shutter button (13 in FIG. 1), a mode dial (14 in FIG. 1), a function-selection button (15 in FIG. 1), a function-block button (18 in FIG. 1), a monitor button ( 32 in FIG. 2, OK / Delete button (36 in FIG. 2), Enter / Playback button (37 in FIG. 2), Menu button (38 in FIG. 2), Wide-Zoom button (39w in FIG. 2), Tele- Zoom button (39t in FIG. 2), up-move button (40up in FIG. 2), right-move button (40ri in FIG. 2), down-move button (40lo in FIG. 2), and left-move button (FIG. 2) 40le).

The digital video signal from the digital signal processor 507 is temporarily stored in the DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) 504. The EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) 505 stores algorithms and setting data necessary for the operation of the digital signal processor 507. In particular, the EEPROM 505 stores the voltage level of the battery (not shown) according to the present invention, the remaining shot count according to the camera state (resolution, image quality, flash, etc.) and the remaining camera operation time. Referring to FIG. 6 as an example, when the resolution is 1024 × 768, the image quality is set to high quality, and the flash is in full light state, and the current voltage of the battery is 2.8V, the state of the battery is 'Half' state, and the shooting remaining The number of copies is eight, and the remaining time of the digital camera is 10 minutes.

The memory card of the user is attached to or detached from the memory card interface 506.

The digital image signal from the digital signal processor 507 is input to the LCD driver 514, whereby the image is displayed on the color LCD panel 35, that is, the display unit.

On the other hand, the digital video signal from the digital signal processor 507 can be transmitted by serial communication via a universal serial bus (USB) connection 21a or an RS232C interface 508 and its connection 21b, and a video filter ( 509 and the video output unit 21c can be transmitted as a video signal.

The audio processor 513 outputs the audio signal from the microphone MIC to the digital signal processor 507 or the speaker SP, and outputs the audio signal from the digital signal processor 507 to the speaker SP. On the other hand, the flash 12 is driven through the microcontroller 512 and the flash controller 511 in accordance with the signal from the flash-light sensor 19.

 When the voice guidance function setting signal is selected by the user, the state of the digital camera may be output as voice. In addition, when the OSD is turned off or the LCD panel 35, that is, the display is turned off, the voice guidance function is automatically set to output the state of the digital camera as a voice.

When the operation of the digital camera starts, the battery level check unit 515 periodically checks the voltage level of the battery and outputs the same to the DSP 507.

When the voice guidance function for outputting the state of the digital camera as a voice is set, the DSP 507 determines the voltage level of the current battery received from the battery level checker 515 and the voltage at which the operation of the digital camera is stopped (eg, For example, the lock voltage (2.0V) in FIG. 6 is compared. As a result of the determination of the DSP 507, the state of the digital camera can be output by voice only when the voltage level of the current battery is greater than the lock voltage. Otherwise, the operation of the digital camera is stopped. When the DSP 507 determines that the current battery voltage level is greater than the lock voltage, the DSP 507 checks the current state of the digital camera and compares the current battery voltage level with information stored in the EEPROM 505. do. Referring to FIG. 6 as an example, when the resolution of the digital camera is 1024 × 768, the image quality is high, and the flash is set to general emission, and the current battery voltage level is 2.6V, the state of the battery is half, and the photographing is performed. The number of remaining shots is eight, and the remaining time of digital camera operation is nine minutes.

The DSP 507 outputs the information to the voice controller 516 to output the state of the battery, the number of remaining shots, and remaining time information of the digital camera as audio.

The voice controller 516 outputs the information received from the DSP 507 through the speaker SP. Referring to the above example, under the control of the voice controller 516, the speaker SP outputs a voice of "Half, 8 shots, 9 minutes". "

As time passes, the voltage level of the battery decreases, and the DSP 507 continuously receives the voltage level of the battery from the battery level checker 515 so that the battery status, the number of remaining shots, and the remaining time information of the digital camera are displayed. The voice control unit 526 is controlled to output audio as voice.

Next, a method of outputting the state of the digital camera according to the present invention with reference to FIG. 4 and the corresponding drawings will be described.

Prior to this, as described above, the EEPROM 505 stores the number of remaining shots and the remaining time of camera operation according to the battery state (voltage level), the camera state (resolution, image quality, flash, etc.).

The DSP 507 determines whether to receive voice guidance (step 400). When the voice guidance function setting signal is selected by the user, the state of the digital camera can be output by voice. When the OSD is OFF or the LCD panel 35 is OFF, the voice guidance function is automatically set to voice the state of the digital camera. You can print it out.

When the voice guidance function is set, the state of the digital camera is searched (step 402). Since the state of the digital camera, that is, the shooting condition can be set by the user at any time, the state of the camera can be changed after the voice guidance function is set, and the previous state can be continued. Here, the state of the camera, that is, the shooting conditions include resolution, flash, image quality, and the like. The resolution is a size to be photographed, which is represented by 2592 × 1944, 1024 × 768, etc., and the higher the resolution, the fewer the number of shots that can be taken. The flash is selected for shooting brightness, selects FULL flashes in dark rooms or nights, selects flashes commonly used in bright rooms or daylight, and artificially turn off the flashes. The brighter the flash, the more voltage is consumed. The image quality, which indicates the compression ratio of the captured image, also decreases the number of shots that can be taken as the image quality increases. In the present invention, for example, it is assumed that the resolution is set to 1024x768, the image quality is high, and the flash is OFF (non-emission) in the state of the camera.

After retrieving the state of the camera, the DSP 507 receives the current level of the battery from the battery level checker 515, and the voltage level of the current battery and the voltage at which the operation of the digital camera is stopped (for example, FIG. 6). Lock voltage, 2.0V) (steps 404 and 406).

As a result of the comparison, if the voltage level of the current battery is greater than the lock voltage level, it is determined whether the voice guidance level is present (step 408). Since it is impossible to output the audio state of the camera, the number of remaining shots, and the operating time of the camera for all voltage levels, it is executed only when the audio output is possible. For example, referring to FIG. 5, 2.7 V, 2.5 V, not shown. There is no audio output at 2.1V.

If the voltage level of the current battery is greater than the lock voltage level and the voice guidance level, the remaining number and time remaining corresponding to the voltage level of the current battery are searched for according to the state of the camera, and are output as voice (steps 410 and 412). .

The DSP 507 checks the current state of the digital camera and compares the voltage level of the current battery with the information stored in the EEPROM 505. As an example of the above, when the digital camera has a resolution of 1024 × 768, a high image quality, a flash is set to non-emission, and the current battery voltage level is 2.6V, the battery is in a half state and the remaining image is taken. The number of sheets is 11, the remaining time of the digital camera is 10 minutes. The DSP 507 outputs the information to the voice controller 516 to output the state of the battery, the number of remaining shots, and the remaining time information of the digital camera as audio. The voice controller 516 outputs the information received from the DSP 507 through the speaker SP. Referring to the above example, under the control of the voice controller 516, the speaker SP is “Half, 11shots, 10 minutes. Outputs the voice.

As time passes, the voltage level of the battery decreases, and the DSP 507 continuously receives the voltage level of the battery and repeats the above operation.

So far I looked at the center of the preferred embodiment for the present invention. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention can be implemented in a modified form without departing from the essential features of the present invention. Therefore, the disclosed embodiments should be considered in descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation. The scope of the present invention is shown in the claims rather than the foregoing description, and all differences within the scope will be construed as being included in the present invention.

As described above, according to the present invention, the user can shoot in a more stable environment by checking the voltage level of the digital camera battery and outputting the voice of the battery state, the remaining number of shots, and the operation time regardless of the OSD / LCD OFF. Create an effect.

Claims (7)

A storage unit which stores the number of remaining shots and the remaining time according to the state of the digital camera; A battery level check unit which checks a level of a battery for operating the digital camera; And A state of the digital camera including a signal processor configured to retrieve the stored remaining shot count and operation remaining time corresponding to the checked battery level, and to output the state of the battery and the remaining remaining shot count and operation remaining time according to the checked battery level. A device that outputs a voice. The method of claim 1, wherein the storage unit And outputs the remaining number of remaining shots and the remaining time according to the flash state, the image quality, and the resolution of the digital camera. The method of claim 1, wherein the signal processing unit A device for outputting a state of a digital camera as voice by receiving a voice guidance function setting signal from an external device and operating the device. The method of claim 1, wherein the signal processing unit And a display unit for capturing an image or operating the apparatus when the display unit for displaying the captured image is turned off. (a) setting a voice guidance function for outputting the state of the digital camera as a voice and retrieving shooting conditions of the digital camera; (b) detecting a current voltage level of a battery operating the digital camera and comparing the current voltage level with a preset reference voltage level; And (c) a method of outputting a state of the digital camera as a voice by voice outputting a state of the battery corresponding to a current voltage level, a remaining number of shots, and a remaining time according to the shooting condition as a result of the comparison; . The method of claim 5, And storing the remaining number of remaining shots and the remaining time of operation according to the flash state, image quality, and resolution of the digital camera in the memory before step (a). How to print. And a voice guide function is automatically set when the display unit for capturing an image or displaying the captured image is turned off.

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