JP3718685B2 - Electronic still camera - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an electronic still camera, and more particularly to an electronic still camera that transmits captured images to an external device.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In an electronic still camera, a captured image is stored in a flash memory, a memory card, or the like, and the stored image is reproduced and displayed on a display device provided in the camera. In general, an electronic still camera is not provided with a printing device, and an image is stored by transmitting the image to an external printing device and printing it.
[0003]
Such an electronic still camera has a connector for mounting a cable for connecting the camera and the printing apparatus, and includes an operation member such as a dial for switching between photographing, reproduction and printing operation modes. . The user switches the operation mode by manual operation, performs shooting and reproduction by the camera alone, and when printing, attaches a cable to the connector and connects the printing apparatus, and switches to the print mode by manual operation.
[0004]
In recent years, an image is transmitted from an electronic still camera to a personal computer, and various processes such as printing, display, storage, and composition of the image are performed on the personal computer. When transmitting an image to a personal computer, the user needs to switch to a mode in which an image is transmitted manually by attaching a cable to the connector.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in order to transmit an image to an external device such as a printing device or a personal computer, it is troublesome for the user to perform both the operation of attaching the cable and the operation of switching the operation mode. In addition, after printing or the like is finished and the cable is disconnected from the connector, it is necessary to return to the photographing mode or the reproduction mode again by manual operation. This is also a troublesome operation for the user, and if the user forgets to return to the mode, there is a risk of missing a photo opportunity in the next shooting.
[0006]
An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic still camera with good operability that facilitates transmission of an image to an external apparatus such as a printing apparatus.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, a first mode for capturing and storing an image, a second mode for displaying the stored image, and a cable that allows the stored image to be attached and detached. In an electronic still camera that operates in a third mode for printing by transmitting to an external printing apparatus and switching between the first mode and the second mode by manual operation, a mounting means for mounting a cable, a cable The first mode and the second mode by manual operation when the determination unit determines that the cable is mounted on the mounting unit and the determination unit determines whether the cable is mounted on the mounting unit. Regardless of the selection, setting means for setting to the third mode is provided.
[0008]
In this electronic still camera, the user switches between the first mode and the second mode by manual operation to perform image shooting or playback display. When the cable is attached to the attachment means, the first and first modes are used. Regardless of which mode is set to 2, the third mode is forcibly set by the setting means. If the user gives an instruction to start printing in this mode, the image is printed by an external printing device. After the printing is finished, if the cable is removed from the mounting means, the first or first set before the cable is installed. Return to mode 2.
[0011]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of an electronic still camera to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an external appearance of an electronic still camera 1 (hereinafter also simply referred to as a camera) according to the present embodiment as viewed obliquely from the rear and upward. The camera 1 has a photographing lens 21 on the front surface of the body, a finder 22 on the back surface, a color liquid crystal display (LCD) 23, a power switch SM, two switches S1 and S2, a release button 24 and a dial 25 on the top surface, and a card inserted on the side surface. A connector 27 for attaching a cable 31 for connecting to an external image printing printer 30 is provided on the other side surface.
[0012]
The camera 1 forms an image of light from a subject on a light receiving surface of a charge coupled device (CCD) by a photographing lens 21 and electronically shoots with the CCD. The captured image is stored in a memory card inserted from the card insertion slot 26. The release button 24 is provided with a switch S3 (not shown), and the switch S3 is turned on when the release button 24 is pushed.
[0013]
The camera 1 captures an image and stores it in the memory card, a playback mode in which the image stored in the memory card is reproduced and displayed on the LCD 23, and the image stored in the memory card is transmitted to the printer 30. Thus, the printer 30 has three operation modes: a print mode for printing an image on a sheet. Among these, the photographing mode and the reproduction mode are switched by the user's manual operation by the switches S1 and S2. The start of shooting in the shooting mode, the change of the display image in the playback mode, and the start of printing in the printing mode are instructed by turning on the switch S3.
[0014]
For shooting, select one of the following macro modes suitable for shooting subjects at short distances, human modes suitable for normal shooting such as portrait shooting, and sports modes suitable for shooting fast-moving subjects. These can be switched by the dial 25.
[0015]
The printer 30 is not always connected to the camera 1, but is connected when the user attaches the cable 31 to the connector 27 during printing. The connector 27 is provided with a switch S4 (not shown) that is turned on when the cable 31 is attached and turned off when the cable 31 is not attached. By switching ON / OFF of this switch S4, the print mode and other shooting modes and playback modes are switched.
[0016]
A schematic configuration of the camera 1 is shown in FIG. The configuration of the camera 1 is roughly divided into an imaging unit 11, a display unit 12, a storage unit 13, an operation unit 14, a connection unit 15, and a control unit 10. The photographing unit 11 drives the photographing lens 21, a CCD for converting the photographing lens transmission light into an electric signal, an amplifier for amplifying the output signal of the CCD, an A / D converter for converting the amplified analog signal into a digital signal, and the CCD The display unit 12 includes an LCD 23 that displays a reproduced image and an LCD driver that drives the LCD 23.
[0017]
The storage unit 13 includes a memory card and a card driver that inputs and outputs to the memory card. The operation unit 14 includes a switch S1, a switch S2, and a switch S3 provided on the release button 24. The connection unit 15 includes a connector 27 for mounting the cable 31 and a switch S4 provided on the connector 27.
[0018]
The control unit 10 is composed of a microcomputer and performs image processing and control of the above-described units. Specifically, in the shooting mode, the signal from the shooting unit 11 is processed to generate an image signal, and the image signal is stored in the storage unit 13. In the reproduction mode, the image signal is read from the storage unit 13. The image signal is output to the display unit 12 to display the image. In the print mode, the image signal read from the storage unit 13 is transmitted from the connection unit 15 to the printer 30 via the cable 31.
[0019]
The control unit 10 determines an operation mode among the shooting mode, the reproduction mode, and the printing mode according to signals from the switches S1 and S2 of the operation unit 14 and the switch S4 of the connection unit 15. The relationship between the switches S1, S2 and S4 and the operation mode is shown in FIG. When the switch S4 is OFF, that is, when the cable 31 is not attached to the connector 27, the settings of the switches S1 and S2 are valid.
[0020]
In this case, when both the switches S1 and S2 are OFF, the stop mode is set. At this time, the control unit 10 does not operate each unit of the camera 1. When the switch S1 is ON, the photographing mode is set regardless of whether the switch S2 is ON or OFF. When the switch S1 is OFF and the switch S2 is ON, the playback mode is set.
[0021]
When the switch S4 is ON, that is, when the cable 31 is attached to the connector 27 and the printer 30 is connected to the camera 1, the printing mode is set regardless of whether the switches S1 and S2 are ON or OFF. If the switch S4 returns from ON to OFF, the settings of the switches S1 and S2 become valid again.
[0022]
The flow of control processing performed by the control unit 10 is shown in FIG. First, the states of the switches S1 to S4 are detected (step # 5), and it is determined whether or not the switch S4 is ON (# 10). If the switch S4 is ON, it waits for the switch S3 to be ON (# 15), and when the switch S3 is ON, all images are read out from the storage unit 13 and output to the connection unit 15 (# 20). ). The output image is received by the printer 30 via the cable 31 and printed on paper. The process then returns to step # 5.
[0023]
If the switch S4 is OFF in the determination of # 10, it is determined whether or not the switch S1 is ON (# 25). If the switch S1 is ON, it is further determined whether or not the switch S3 is ON (# 30). When the switch S3 is ON, shooting is performed (# 35). That is, an image signal is generated from the output of the photographing unit 11 and stored in the storage unit 13. After shooting and when the switch S3 is OFF, the process returns to step # 5.
[0024]
If the switch S1 is OFF in the determination of # 25, it is determined whether or not the switch S2 is ON (# 40). If the switch S2 is OFF, the process returns to step # 5. If the switch S2 is ON, the first image is read from the storage unit 13 and displayed on the display unit 12, and the image is reproduced (# 45). Next, it is determined whether or not the switch S3 is ON (# 50). If the switch S3 is turned on within a predetermined time, the display image is changed by reading the next image from the storage unit 13 and displaying it on the display unit 12 (# 55). Then, the process returns to step # 50. If the switch S3 is not turned ON within a predetermined time in # 50, the process returns to step # 5.
[0025]
The control unit 10 detects the setting state of the switches S1 to S4 again in step # 5 after each processing of photographing, reproduction, and printing, and performs photographing, reproduction, or printing processing according to the setting of each switch. Also in this case, the setting state of the switch S4 is first determined, and the printing process is prioritized over the shooting and reproduction processes.
[0026]
As described above, in the electronic still camera 1, the printing mode is always set when the cable 31 is attached to the connector 27, and when the cable 31 is not attached to the connector, the photographing mode or the reproduction mode is set according to a manual operation. Become. Therefore, when printing an image, the user does not need to be aware of the operation mode of the camera 1, and preparation is completed simply by connecting the printer 30 to the camera.
[0027]
In this embodiment, the case where printing is performed by connecting a printer to an electronic still camera has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to printing by connecting another external device such as a personal computer to the electronic still camera of the present invention. It is also possible to perform other processing such as image display and composition. In addition, an image can be stored in a large-capacity storage device of an external device. In this case, the operation mode for sending an image is automatically set by simply connecting a cable for connection with an external device to the connector.
[0028]
【The invention's effect】
According to the electronic still camera of the first aspect, since the camera can be set in a printable state only by performing a minimum necessary operation of connecting an external printing apparatus to the camera, a manual operation by the user is not required. It can be reduced and printing can be performed easily. Further, the operability is improved without fear of forgetting to return the operation mode to the state before printing after the printing is completed.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of an electronic still camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the electronic still camera.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between switch settings and operation modes of the electronic still camera.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of photographing, reproduction, and printing processing of the electronic still camera.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 electronic still camera 10 control unit (setting means, sending means, control means)
11 Shooting unit 12 Display unit 13 Storage unit 14 Operation unit 15 Connection unit 21 Shooting lens 22 Viewfinder 23 LCD
24 Release button 25 Dial 26 Card insertion slot 27 Connector (Mounting means)
30 Printer 31 Cable SM Power switch S1 Switch S2 Switch S3 Switch S4 Switch (Determination means)

Claims (1)

A first mode for capturing and storing an image, a second mode for displaying the stored image, and a second mode for transmitting the stored image to an external printing device via a detachable cable for printing. In an electronic still camera that operates in the mode 3 and can be switched between the first mode and the second mode by manual operation.
Mounting means for mounting the cable;
Discriminating means for discriminating whether or not the cable is attached to the attaching means;
Setting means for setting to the third mode regardless of selection of the first mode and the second mode by manual operation when the determination means determines that the cable is attached to the attachment means. An electronic still camera comprising:

Images