KR20090048876A - Apparatus of processing digital image - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a digital image processing apparatus that can reduce power consumption by allowing the operation sequence of each component to be operated by different power levels within the rated range. The present invention, the power supply for supplying power of two or more voltage levels; An operation unit operating by receiving power from the power supply unit; The operation mode of the operation unit is divided into two or more sequences to operate the digital image processing apparatus having a control unit for controlling the operation unit to be operated by a power source of a different voltage level within the rated range.

Description

Digital image processing device {Apparatus of processing digital image}

The present invention relates to a digital image processing apparatus, and more particularly, to a digital image processing apparatus in which each component included therein can be operated by a rated voltage within a rated range.

Typically, the digital image processing apparatus includes all devices that process images such as a digital camera, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a phone camera, a PC camera, or use an image recognition sensor.

The digital image processing apparatus may display and display an image of an image file received through an imaging device or stored in a storage medium on a display device such as a liquid crystal display (LCD).

The digital image processing apparatus can load various loads such as a display device such as an LCD, a charge-coupled device (CCD), a strobe, a digital signal processor (DSP), a microcomputer, a memory, a motor, and the like. It may include. In addition, each power supply voltage is not the same, so various levels of power supply voltages are required.

Therefore, the digital image processing apparatus consumes a lot of power and requires a lot of power.

Meanwhile, each component included in the digital image processing apparatus is provided with a respective rated voltage, and the rated voltage has a maximum and minimum rated range for guaranteeing stable operation of the component.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a digital image processing apparatus that can reduce power consumption by allowing an operation sequence of each component to be operated by different power levels within a rated range.

The present invention, the power supply for supplying power of two or more voltage levels; An operation unit operating by receiving power from the power supply unit; The operation mode of the operation unit is divided into two or more sequences to operate the digital image processing apparatus having a control unit for controlling the operation unit to be operated by a power source of a different voltage level within the rated range.

The operation mode may include a first sequence in which a first voltage of a rated voltage is applied to the operating part, and a second sequence in which a second voltage lower than a rated voltage is applied to the operating part.

The power supply unit generates a feedback voltage by generating a power supply module including output voltages including the first voltage and the second voltage, and the output voltage, and feeds back the feedback voltage to the power supply module. It may be provided with a level adjusting unit for output voltage to be the first voltage or the second voltage.

The level adjuster may include a resistor configured to divide the output voltage to generate the feedback voltage, and a switch configured to control a connection of a resistor provided in the resistor by a control signal input from the controller.

The resistor unit may include a first resistor and a second resistor connected in series between the output terminal and the ground terminal of the output voltage, and a third resistor connected in parallel with the second resistor to be opened by the switching unit. Can be.

According to the digital image processing apparatus according to the present invention, since the operation sequence of each component is operated by different power levels within the rated range, power consumption can be reduced.

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

FIG. 1 is a rear view of a digital camera 100 which is an embodiment of a digital image processing apparatus according to the present invention.

Referring to the drawings, on the back of the digital camera 100, the direction button 21, the menu-OK button 22, the wide angle (Zoom) button (W), the telephoto (Zoom) ) Button T, the display panel 25 and the like.

The direction button 21 may include four buttons, an up button 21a, a down button 21b, a left button 21c, and a right button 21d. The direction button 21 and the menu-OK button 22 are keys for executing various menus relating to the operation of the digital image processing apparatus such as a digital camera.

The wide-angle zoom button W or the tele-zoom button T has a wider angle of view or a narrower angle of view depending on its input. In particular, it may be used to change the size of the selected exposure area. In this case, when the wide-zoom button W is input, the size of the selected exposure area is reduced, and when the tele-zoom button T is input, the size of the selected exposure area may be increased.

As the display panel 25, an image display device such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) may be used.

Meanwhile, a shutter release button 26, a flash (not shown), a power switch (not shown), and a lens unit (not shown) may be provided on the front or top surface of the digital camera 100. In addition, the front and rear of the digital camera 100 may be provided with an objective lens and an eyepiece of the viewfinder 27.

The shutter release button 26 is opened and closed to expose the film or an image pickup device such as a charge coupled device (CCD) for a predetermined time. In addition, the shutter release button records an image on the image pickup device by properly exposing a subject in association with an aperture (not shown).

As an embodiment of a digital image processing apparatus to which the present invention can be applied, a digital camera, a control apparatus, and a control method thereof are disclosed in US Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0130650 (name: automatic using a secondary function of the camera). Method of automatically focusing using a quadratic function in camera.

Matters relating to the digital camera, the control apparatus, and the control method disclosed in the above-mentioned US application will be included in the present specification, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

2 is a block diagram of a control device 200 of a digital image processing apparatus, which is a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The control device 200 of the digital image processing apparatus may be mounted in the digital camera 100 of FIG. 1.

Referring to the drawing, an optical system OPS including a lens unit and a filter unit optically processes light from a subject. The lens unit of the optical system OPS includes a zoom lens, a focus lens, and a compensation lens. When the user presses the wide-angle zoom button W or the tele-zoom button T included in the user input unit INP, a signal corresponding thereto is input to the microcontroller 212.

Accordingly, as the microcontroller 212 controls the lens driver 210, the zoom motor M _Z is driven to move the zoom lens. That is, when the wide-zoom button W is pressed, the focal length of the zoom lens is shortened to widen the angle of view, and when the tele-zoom button T is pressed, the focal length of the zoom lens becomes long and the angle of view is narrowed.

On the other hand, in the auto focusing mode, the main controller embedded in the digital signal processor 207 controls the lens driver 210 through the microcontroller 212, whereby the focus motor M _F is driven. do. That is, the focus lens is moved to a position where the sharpest picture is obtained by driving the focus motor M _F.

The compensation lens compensates for the overall refractive index and is not driven separately. Reference numeral M _A denotes a motor for driving an aperture (not shown).

In the filter section of the optical system OPS, an optical low pass filter removes optical noise of high frequency components. Infra-Red cut filter cuts the infrared component of the incident light.

The photoelectric conversion unit OEC may include an imaging device such as a charge coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS). The photoelectric conversion unit OEC converts light from the optical system OPS into an electrical analog signal.

The analog-to-digital converter may include a CDS-ADC (Correlation Double Sampler and Analog-to-Digital Converter) device 201. The analog-to-digital converter processes the analog signal from the photoelectric converter (OEC), removes the high frequency noise, adjusts the amplitude, and converts the analog signal into a digital signal. Here, the digital signal processor 207 controls the timing circuit 202 to control the operation of the photoelectric converter OEC and the analog-to-digital converter 201.

The real time clock 203 provides time information to the digital signal processor 207. The digital signal processor 207 processes digital signals from the CDS-ADC element 201 to generate digital image signals classified into luminance (Y value) and chromaticity (R, G, B) signals.

The light emitting unit LAMP driven by the microcontroller 212 under the control of the main controller embedded in the digital signal processor 207 includes a self-timer lamp, an auto-focus lamp, a mode indicating lamp, and a flash standby lamp. This may be included. The user input unit INP may include a direction button 21, a wide-angle zoom button W, a telephoto-zoom button T, and the like.

The digital image signal from the digital signal processor 207 is temporarily stored in the DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) 204. The EEPROM (Electrically Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory) 205 stores algorithms and setting data such as a boot program and a key input program required for the operation of the digital signal processor 207. In the memory card interface 206, a user's memory card may be attached or detached.

The digital image signal from the digital signal processor 207 is input to the display panel driver 214, whereby the image is displayed on the display panel 215.

On the other hand, the digital image signal from the digital signal processor 207 can be transmitted by serial communication via a universal serial bus (USB) connection portion 31a or an RS232C interface 208 and the connection portion 31b thereof, and a video filter ( 209 and through the video output unit 31c. Here, the digital signal processor 207 may incorporate a microcontroller therein.

The audio processor 213 outputs the audio signal from the microphone MIC to the digital signal processor 207 or the speaker SP, and outputs the audio signal from the digital signal processor 207 to the speaker SP.

The power supply unit 220 is a component for supplying power. The power supply unit 220 may generate a voltage required for each of the operation units from a battery or an AC input, and supply power to each operation unit. In the illustrated embodiment, a power source having the same rated voltage as 3.3V, 1.8V, 2.5V, etc. may be generated and supplied from the power supply unit 220.

In this case, the power supply unit 220 may supply a voltage within a predetermined rated range for each rated voltage.

Photoelectric conversion unit OEC, digital signal processor 207, microcontroller 212, flash 13, memories 204, 205, 206, and drive motors M _A , M _F , M _Z , and the like. Driving the actuator can consume a lot of power. Each of the operating parts may be operated by receiving power of a rated voltage.

In addition, the actuators may be operated by an operation mode including two or more sequences as shown in FIG. 4. In this case, a task requiring a large power source may be performed only in some sequences of all the operation modes, and may be operated by a relatively low power source in another sequence.

Accordingly, in the embodiment according to the present invention, the operation units may be operated by an operation mode including two or more sequences, and different voltages may be applied in each sequence. In this case, the power of the rated voltage may be supplied in the sequence of high power consumption, and the power of the voltage lower than the rated voltage within the rated range may be supplied in the sequence of low power consumption.

Therefore, it is possible to provide a digital image processing apparatus capable of saving power while operating a stable operation unit.

To this end, the digital image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, the power supply unit 220; Operating part; And a control unit.

The power supply unit 220 may supply power of two or more voltage levels. The operation unit is operated by receiving power from the power supply unit 220. The control unit may be operated by dividing the operation mode of the operation unit into two or more sequences, and in each sequence, the operation unit is operated by a power source having a different voltage level within the rated range.

4 shows the operation modes (A, B) of the digital signal processor 207 corresponding to the embodiments of the operating unit and the cores of the digital signal processor included therein.

The operation modes A and B may have a first sequence S2 and a second sequence S1, respectively. In the first sequence S2, a first voltage, which is a rated voltage, may be applied to the operation unit. A second voltage lower than the rated voltage may be applied to the operation unit in the second sequence S1. At this time, the second voltage is preferably the lowest level voltage within the rated range.

That is, by applying the rated voltage to the corresponding operating part for the sequence that requires the most power in each operating part, and applying the voltage lower than the rated voltage within the rated range to the other sequence, the operating part operates normally but consumes power. Can reduce the cost.

Therefore, the digital image processing apparatus according to the present embodiment can reduce power consumption while operating normally in all sections of the operation mode.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the first operation mode A may correspond to the case where the operation unit is the digital signal processor 207, and the second operation mode B may be the core inside the digital signal processor. This may be the case.

The digital signal processor 207 may have a rated voltage of 3.3V and a rated range of 3.0V to 3.6V. In this case, the digital signal processor 207 is operated by 3.0 V power supply in the second sequence S1 of the first operation mode A, and the digital signal processor 207 is rated voltage in the first sequence S2. Can be operated by a 3.3 V supply.

The core of the digital signal processor can be rated at 1.8V and range from 1.5V to 2.1V. In this case, the core of the digital signal processor is operated by a 1.5 V power supply in the second sequence S1 of the second operation mode B, and the core of the digital signal processor is 1.8 V in the first sequence S2. Can be operated by the power source.

In this case, the first sequence S2 may be an interval for receiving an image from an external source, forming an image file, and compressing and storing the image file.

3 illustrates an embodiment of the power supply 220. The power supply unit 220 may include a power module 221 and a level adjuster 222. The power supply module 221 may generate output voltages including the first voltage and the second voltage. The level adjuster 222 may convert the output voltage to generate a feedback voltage, and feed the feedback voltage back to the power supply module so that the output voltage becomes a first level or a second level.

In this case, the first voltage may be a first level, and may be a rated voltage of each operation unit. Further, it is preferable that the second voltage is at the second level, and the second voltage is the lowest level voltage within the rated range.

That is, in the live view state, the operation unit may be operated at the second voltage, and when the maximum power is consumed, such as an image capture operation, the operation unit may be operated at the first voltage of the rated voltage. In addition, as shown in FIG. 4, in the camera operation sequence, the capture section (S1 of FIG. 4) may be a very short time compared to the entire section.

The power module 221 may generate an output voltage of direct current from a battery or an AC input power source. The power supply module 221 may generate various levels of voltages for supplying power to two or more operation units. In addition, the power supply module 221 may generate a first voltage corresponding to the rated voltage of each operation unit and a second voltage lower than the rated voltage within the rated range.

The power supply module 221 may be a general power conversion module that receives a direct current or alternating current and generates a DC voltage of a predetermined level. The power supply module 221 may include an output terminal Vout and a feedback terminal FB. The output terminal Vout is a terminal for outputting an output voltage, and the feedback terminal FB is a terminal for inputting a feedback voltage converted from the output voltage.

The power supply module 221 may be controlled to feed back an output voltage so that a constant level of output voltage is output. In this case, the output voltage may be fed back by adjusting its level to match the internal circuit of the power supply module 221. Also, by adjusting the voltage fed back through the feedback terminal FB, the level of the output voltage can be changed.

The level adjustment for feeding back the output voltage may be adjusted by voltage division by a plurality of connected resistors. To this end, the level adjusting unit 222 may include resistors R1, R2, and R3 and a switching unit Q1.

The resistor units R1, R2, and R3 may divide the output voltage to generate a feedback voltage. The switching unit Q1 may control the connection of the resistors provided in the resistor units R1, R2, and R3 by a control signal input from the controller.

The resistor units R1, R2, and R3 may include a first resistor R1, a second resistor R2, and a third resistor R3. The first resistor R1 and the second resistor R2 may be connected in series between the output terminal Vout of the output voltage and the ground terminal. The third resistor R3 may be connected in parallel with the second resistor R2 to be openable by the switching unit Q1. The switching unit Q1 may include a switching element such as a transistor or an FET.

Accordingly, as the switch of the switching unit Q1 is opened and closed by the input of the control signal, the third resistor R3 is connected in parallel with or disconnected from the second resistor R2.

That is, when the switch of the switching unit Q1 is opened, the third resistor R3 is not connected, and the voltage divided by the output voltage by the first resistor R1 and the second resistor R2 becomes the feedback voltage. It is input to the feedback terminal FB.

When the switch of the switching unit Q1 is closed, the third resistor R3 is connected in parallel with the second resistor R2, and the output voltage is connected to the first resistor R1, the second resistor R2, and the third resistor ( The voltage divided by the parallel connection of R3) becomes a feedback voltage and is input to the feedback terminal FB.

At this time, since the resistance value formed by connecting the second resistor R2 and the third resistor R3 in parallel becomes smaller than the resistance value of the second resistor R2, the feedback voltage is switched when the switch of the switching unit Q1 is closed. It becomes smaller than when the switch of the negative Q1 is opened.

In this case, the first voltage or the second voltage may be output from the output terminal Vout according to the connection state of the switch of the switching unit Q1.

On the other hand, power supply ICs for digital image processing apparatuses such as the digital camera 100 are rapidly becoming highly integrated. Accordingly, the power supply unit 220 may include a programmable power integrated circuit (IC) capable of easily changing the power supply voltage by setting the voltage in a resistor setting.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to one embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings, it is merely an example, and those skilled in the art may realize various modifications and equivalent other embodiments therefrom. I can understand. Accordingly, the true scope of protection of the invention should be defined only by the appended claims.

1 is a diagram illustrating a rear surface of a digital camera as an embodiment of a digital image processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a control device included in the digital image processing apparatus of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a view schematically illustrating a power supply unit included in the control device of FIG. 2.

4 is a view schematically illustrating an operation mode including two or more sequences of operating parts included in the control device of FIG. 2.

Claims (8)

A power supply for supplying power of two or more voltage levels; An operation unit operating by receiving power from the power supply unit; And an operation mode in which the operation mode of the operation unit is divided into two or more sequences, and each control unit controls the operation unit to be operated by a power source having a different voltage level within a rated range. The method of claim 1, And the operation mode comprises a first sequence in which a first voltage of rated voltage is applied to the operating part and a second sequence in which a second voltage lower than rated voltage is applied to the operating part. The method of claim 2, The power supply unit generates a feedback voltage by generating a power supply module including output voltages including the first voltage and the second voltage, and the output voltage, and feeds back the feedback voltage to the power supply module. And a level adjusting unit for output voltage to be the first voltage or the second voltage. The method of claim 3, The level adjusting unit includes a resistor unit for dividing the output voltage to generate the feedback voltage, and a switching unit controlling a connection of a resistor provided in the resistor unit by a control signal input from the controller. Device. The method of claim 4, wherein The resistor unit includes a first resistor and a second resistor connected in series between the output terminal and the ground terminal of the output voltage, and a third resistor connected in parallel with the second resistor to be openable by the switching unit. Digital image processing device. The method of claim 2, And the second voltage is a voltage at the lowest level within the rated range. The method of claim 1, And the operation unit is any one of a photoelectric conversion unit, a digital signal processor, a microcontroller, a flash, a memory, and a driving motor. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, And a power supply unit comprising a programmable power IC.

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