JPH0593948A - Camera dealing with remote control - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make a transmitter small-sized and inexpensive by detecting the power source voltage of the transmitter by using a voltage detection means mounted on a camera main body, and to eliminate the need of making a display device large in size and extending it by displaying the detected voltage state by a voltage state display means mounted on the camera main body. CONSTITUTION:This camera is constituted of the transmitter 114 which can be attached to/detached from an attachable/detachable hole provided on the camera main body 19 and has a remote control signal generation means 13 and a driving power source 15 for driving the signal generation means; and the camera main body provided with a power source voltage detection means(A/ D converter voltage detection means) 110 for the camera which is connected with the signal generation means and the driving power source when the transmitter is attached to the attachable/detachable hole, and the voltage state display means 117 for displaying the state of the voltage detected by the power source voltage detection means. The power source voltage detection means detects the state of the driving power source when the transmitter is attached, and the detected result is displayed on the camera main body side.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a remote control compatible camera provided with a remote control device for operating the camera by remote control.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a camera has been proposed which is remotely controlled by a separate remote control device. As a camera of this type, JP-A-63-24233 incorporates a power supply voltage detecting means for detecting a power supply voltage for driving a transmission circuit for emitting infrared light for control toward the camera body. A remote control device is disclosed.

However, in this conventional technique, since the remote control device is equipped with a special power supply voltage detecting means,
It has a drawback that the device becomes large and the cost increases.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above, and it is possible to reduce the size of the remote control device by using the voltage detection means mounted on the camera body, and to further reduce the power consumption. An object of the present invention is to provide a remote-control compatible camera in which the voltage status display device mounted on the camera body displays the status of the applied voltage, thereby preventing the display device from being expanded or complicated.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is attachable / detachable into / from an attaching / detaching hole provided in a camera body, and has a remote control signal generating means and a driving power source for driving the remote control signal generating means. And a power supply voltage detection means of the camera which is electrically connected to the remote control signal generation means and the drive power supply when the transmitter is inserted into the attachment / detachment hole, and the power supply voltage detection means. A camera body having voltage state display means for displaying the state of the voltage detected by the power source voltage detection means, wherein the power supply voltage detection means is provided on the transmitter side when the transmitter is inserted into the attachment / detachment hole. Of the driving power source of the transmitter, the voltage state display means can display the voltage state of the driving power source of the transmitter detected by the power source voltage detecting means, and Send A connection hole electrically connected to the remote control signal generating means and the drive power source is formed on the bottom, and a connection pin is provided on the bottom of the attachment / detachment hole on the camera body side to project the transmitter. It is characterized in that the connection pin is fitted into the connection hole when it is inserted into the attachment / detachment hole to electrically connect the transmitter and the camera body.

[0006]

When the remote control device for remote control is mounted on the camera body, the analog voltage for detecting the voltage of each part built in the camera body is used as the power supply voltage for driving the signal generating circuit of the remote control device. -Detected and displayed by a digital converter and a voltage status indicator that displays the status of the voltage detected by this converter, respectively.

Further, when the remote control device is mounted on the camera body, the attaching / detaching convex portion on the camera body side is fitted into the recessed portion formed on the remote control device side so that the camera body and the remote control device are electrically connected. Mechanically connected.

[0008]

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

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a circuit configuration of a transmitter (remote control device) for remotely controlling a camera and a camera body.

Reference numeral 10 is a light emitting element such as a light emitting diode (LED) which emits a transmission signal, and 11 is a switching transistor for switching the light emitting element 10. Light emitting element 10
The anode of is connected to the collector of the transistor 11, which forms a closed circuit with the low-impedance capacitor 12 that supplies the activation energy of the light-emitting element 10. Reference numeral 13 is a signal generation circuit for sending a switching signal pulse to the base of the switching transistor 11. Switching signal pulse is remote control release switch SW
Switching transistor by turning on 14
Output to 11 bases. Reference numeral 15 is a power supply battery (driving power supply), the positive electrode of which is connected to the voltage terminal VCC of the signal generating circuit 13 and the emitter of the switching transistor 11 and one terminal of the capacitor 12 via the resistor R16, and the negative electrode of which is the ground terminal GND. , Is connected to the cathode of the light emitting element 10 and the other terminal of the capacitor 12. Resistor R16 is a light emitting element
This is a resistance for preventing the signal generating circuit 13 from malfunctioning when the voltage of the power supply battery 15 suddenly drops when 10 emits light. A resistor R17 is connected between the base and the emitter of the switching transistor 11. The resistor R17 is a resistor for preventing the switching transistor 11 from operating carelessly. Reference numeral 18 is a connection terminal used for connection with the camera body 19.

The light emitting element 10, the transistor 11, the capacitor 12, the signal generating circuit 13, and the resistors R16 and R17 form a remote control signal generating means.

On the other hand, reference numeral 110 in the camera body 19 indicates
It is a voltage detection unit composed of an analog / digital converter that is capable of switching the input from each unit in relation to the photometric unit 111 of the camera, the power supply battery 112, and the like. Reference numeral 113 is a connection terminal provided for connection with the connection terminal 18 on the transmitter 114 side. 115
Is a central processing unit (CPU), and SW116 is a connection terminal 11 connected to the CPU115 and detected by the voltage detecting means 110.
This is a display switch for displaying the voltage status between the three on the voltage status display means 117.

The CPU 115 and the voltage state display means 117 are also involved in control of other control targets required in the camera body 19 and other display operations.

FIG. 2 shows the voltage state display means 117 shown in FIG.
The mode of the display in is shown. The figure (A) shows the camera body 19
It is a display example of the voltage state of the power supply battery 112 on the side, and is a display mode when the voltage is sufficient. The figure (B) is a transmitter
This is a display mode when the voltage state of the power supply battery 15 on the 114 side is displayed and the voltage is slightly lowered. FIG. 11C is a display mode when the transmitter 114 cannot be used because the voltage of the power supply battery 15 on the transmitter 114 side is greatly reduced in the same case as FIG. Number "32" in each display
Is a counter display showing the number of films.

FIG. 3 shows the connection structure of the connection terminal 18 of the transmitter 114 to the camera body 19 and the connection terminal 113 of the camera body 19 to the transmitter 114.

An attaching / detaching hole 30 for detachably inserting the transmitter 114 is formed at an appropriate position on the upper surface or the lower surface of the camera body 19. A connection pin 32 constituting a connection terminal 113 on the camera body 19 side shown in FIG. on the other hand,
The transmitter (remote control device) 114 attached / detached to / from the attachment / detachment hole 30 has an end face 34 on which an emission window 33 is formed.
A connection hole 35 constituting the 14-side connection terminal 18 is provided. Connection hole
Reference numeral 35 has a receptacle terminal or the like (not shown), and this terminal is connected to the remote control signal generating means and the driving power supply 15. The connection pin 32 is fitted into the connection hole 35, and the contact surface 34 of the transmitter 114 abuts on the inner part 31 of the attachment / detachment hole 30 of the camera body 19, so that the transmitter 114 and the camera body 19 are connected to each other as shown in FIG. The connection terminals 18 and 113 shown in are electrically connected.
Reference numeral 36 is an operation button for turning on / off the remote control release switch SW14 shown in FIG.

The operation of this embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS.

That is, in a state where the transmitter 114 is attached to the attachment / detachment hole 30 of the camera body 19 along the direction of the arrow 37 shown in FIG. 3, the connection pin 32 and the connection hole 35 shown in FIG. , The connection terminals 113 and 18 shown in FIG. 1 are connected. In this condition, the terminal voltage of the power supply battery 15 of the transmitter 114 is
The voltage is input to the voltage detection means (AD converter) on the camera body 19 side via 113 and 18. When the operator operates an operation button (not shown) attached to the camera body 19 to turn on the display switch SW116, the CPU 115 detects this and the power supply battery of the transmitter 114 input to the voltage detection means 110 from the connection terminal 113. Send the detection command signal to detect the terminal voltage of 15.

Upon receiving the detection command signal, the voltage detecting means 110 reads the terminal voltage and sends the read voltage data to the CPU 115. The CPU 115 discriminates the voltage data, sends the state to the voltage state display means 117, and displays it in a display position (not shown) on the camera body 19 in each mode shown in FIG. Display switch SW116 shown in FIG.
The display mode when the button is turned on is any one of (A), (B), and (C) in FIG. The operator views the display in any one of these modes, knows the state of the voltage of the power supply battery of the transmitter 114, and performs necessary processing.

When the display switch SW116 is off, the voltage state display means 117 is a power source battery 112 on the camera body 19 side.
Only the voltage status of will be displayed. Figure 2 now
If the display in the mode shown in (A) is visually recognized, in this case, since the voltage on the transmitter 114 side is sufficient, remote control shooting can be performed with the existing power supply battery 15.

Next, the operator attaches the transmitter 114 to the camera body 19
3 will be described in the direction opposite to the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 3 for remote control shooting. When the remote control release switch SW14 shown in FIG. Since it is not sent to the base, the transistor 11 remains off, the light emitting element 10 does not emit light, and remote control signal light is not output.

Next, when the operator operates the operation button 36 of the transmitter 114 shown in FIG. 3 to turn on the remote control release switch SW14 shown in FIG. 1, the switching signal pulse output of the signal generating circuit 13 is the switching transistor. Sent to 11 bases. The transistor 11 is repeatedly turned on and off at a predetermined frequency of the switching signal pulse, a pulse current responding to the repeated frequency flows to the light emitting element 10, and the electric charge of the capacitor 12 is discharged accordingly. In this way, a pulse discharge current flows through the light emitting element 10, and pulse light substantially proportional to this is output from the light emitting element toward the camera body 19. This pulsed light is received by a receiver circuit having pulsed light detection means (not shown) attached to the camera body 19, and an interface circuit (not shown) transmits a signal to the camera to release the camera.

Next, the operator operates the operation button 36 of the transmitter 114 shown in FIG. 3 to operate the remote control release switch SW.
When 14 is turned off, the switching transistor 11 remains off. The terminal voltage of the capacitor 12 is
The electric charge is discharged to emit light, and is reduced to about the sum voltage of the collector-emitter saturation voltage of the switching transistor 11 and the forward voltage of the light emitting element 10. The capacitor 12 discharged in this way and whose terminal voltage has dropped is
While the remote control release switch SW14 is off, that is, while the switching transistor 11 is off, the power supply battery 15 charges the battery 15 up to the voltage thereof. If the remote control release switch SW14 is turned on in this state, the light emitting element 10 outputs pulsed light in the same manner as the above-described operation.

In this way, the release operation is performed several times, or the transmitter 114 is removed,
The voltage of the power supply battery 15 gradually decreases. When the remote control operation is completed and the transmitter 114 is reattached to the camera body 19, the connection terminals 18 and 113 are electrically connected.

In this state, if the display switch SW116 is turned on, the power consumption state of the power supply battery of the transmitter 114 detected by the voltage detecting means (A / D converter) 110 on the camera body 19 side is detected. It is displayed in the mode shown in FIG. 2 by the voltage state display means 117 on the side.

[0026]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the voltage of the power source of the transmitter is detected by using the voltage detecting means mounted on the camera body, the voltage detecting means is mounted on the transmitter side. Therefore, the remote control transmitter can be made compact and low cost. Further, since the detected power supply voltage state of the transmitter is displayed by using the voltage state display means mounted on the camera body, it is not necessary to mount the display means on the transmitter side, and the transmitter is It is also smaller and more compact.

Further, since one or all of the display units for displaying normal data on the camera body side are used for displaying voltage data on the transmitter side, it is not necessary to increase the display space on the camera body side. The operator can know the state of data of both the camera and the transmitter simply by looking at the same display section.

Further, since the connecting portion between the transmitter and the camera body is formed in the concave portion of the transmitter and the convex portion of the camera in the attaching / detaching hole, the transmitter is carried away from the camera body. Even if the two contacts are not touched carelessly, connection failure when the transmitter is mounted can be prevented. Furthermore, since the connecting portion of both is a fitting between the pin and the hole, it is not necessary to form a special locking mechanism.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a circuit configuration of a main part of an embodiment of a transmitter and a camera body of the present invention.

2 (A), (B) and (C) are diagrams showing a display mode showing a state of voltage.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a structure of an electrical connecting portion and a mechanical attaching / detaching portion between the transmitter and the camera body shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... Light emitting element, 11 ... Switching transistor, 12 ... Capacitor, 13 ... Signal generating circuit, SW14 ... Remote control release switch, 15, 112 ... Power battery, R16, R17 ... Resistor,
18, 113 ... Connection terminal, 19 ... Camera body, 110 ... Voltage detection means, 111 ... Photometric section, 114 ... Transmitter, 115 ... CPU, S
W116 ... Display switch, 117 ... Voltage state display means, 30 ...
Attaching / detaching hole, 31 ... Abutting part, 32 ... Connection pin, 33 ... Light emitting window, 34 ...
Abutment surface, 35 ... Connection hole, 36 ... Operation button.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A transmitter, which is attachable / detachable in an attachment / detachment hole provided in a camera body, and has a remote control signal generating means and a drive power source for driving the remote control signal generating means; A power supply voltage detection means of the camera which is electrically connected to the remote control signal generation means and the drive power supply when inserted into the hole, and a voltage for displaying the state of the voltage detected by the power supply voltage detection means. A camera body having a status display means, wherein the power supply voltage detection means is capable of detecting the status of the drive power supply on the transmitter side when the transmitter is inserted into the attachment / detachment hole. Characteristic remote control compatible camera. 2. The remote operation according to claim 1, wherein the voltage status display means can display the status of the voltage of the drive power supply on the transmitter side detected by the power supply voltage detection means. Compatible camera. 3. A connection hole electrically connected to the remote control signal generating means and the driving power source is formed on the bottom of the transmitter, and a connection pin is projected on the bottom of the attachment / detachment hole on the camera body side. And the connection pin is fitted into the connection hole when the transmitter is inserted into the attachment / detachment hole to electrically connect the transmitter and the camera body. The remote-control compatible camera according to claim 1.