JP2000092358A - Camera and camera system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a camera system that makes data communication with an external electronic device without providing a special connection and communication means to a camera main body where a large-scale configuration and a cost increase are avoidable. SOLUTION: The camera system has a camera main body 1 that builds in a memory 14 storing object image data, an interchangeable lens that is mounted on a mount section 1a of the camera main body 1 via another mount section and conducts a prescribed operation by control data transferred from the camera main body 1, and an external electronic device that has the mount section and outputs image data stored in the memory 14 of the camera main body 1, and the external electronic device mounts the camera main body 1 by means of the mount section and conducts data communication.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic camera capable of capturing a subject image with an image sensor and storing the image information as image information, or a silver halide camera having a built-in image sensor unit, wherein the image information is stored in an external electronic device. Cameras that can be transferred to devices, and
The present invention relates to a camera system including the camera and the external electronic device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, electronic cameras (electronic still cameras)
As a system capable of transferring image data captured by a computer to a personal computer or a printer, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-350888, an electronic still camera is connected to an external electronic device such as a printer or a personal computer by a cable. In general, a method of transferring imaging data is used. Also,
In some cases, instead of a cable connection, an infrared communication device is incorporated in both the camera body and the peripheral device to transfer data wirelessly.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The above-mentioned JP-A-6-35
In the case of the system disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 0888 in which data communication is performed by cable connection, it is necessary to provide a connector or a communication circuit dedicated to data in the camera body.
There was a problem that the camera body became large. In the case of incorporating an infrared communication device, a special communication device is required on the camera body side, which not only increases the size but also causes a significant increase in cost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and enables data communication between a camera body and external electronic equipment without providing a special connection and communication means on the camera body. In addition, a camera system that avoids increasing the size and cost of the camera body, or
The purpose is to provide the camera.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a camera system having a built-in memory for storing a picked-up subject image as subject image data, and a self-mounted camera mounted on a mounting portion of the camera body. An interchangeable lens that is mounted via a unit and performs a predetermined operation with control data from the camera body, and an external electronic device that receives data stored in a memory in the camera body from the camera body. The electronic device has a mount, and is mounted on the camera body via the mount,
Data communication can be performed.

In a camera system according to a second aspect of the present invention, the camera body has an interchangeable lens or shared data communication means for performing data communication with an external electronic device.

A camera system according to a third aspect of the present invention is an interchangeable lens camera having a memory for storing, as subject image data, a subject image picked up through an interchangeable lens attachable to the camera body. ,
Object image data that can be directly connected to an external electronic device using mounting means for mounting the interchangeable lens, and is stored in the memory for the external electronic device using communication means with the interchangeable lens. Can be transmitted.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a connection between an electronic camera body, an interchangeable lens, and an external electronic device that constitute a camera system according to an embodiment of the present invention. A camera system according to the present embodiment includes a main body (hereinafter, referred to as an electronic camera main body) 1 of an interchangeable lens single-lens reflex electronic camera (electronic still camera) having a built-in imaging element for imaging.
An interchangeable lens 2 attachable to the electronic camera body 1;
Further, it is composed of a printer 3, a liquid crystal projector 4, and an external electronic device connectable to a data converter 5 for transmitting conversion data to a general-purpose printer.

In the present camera system, the connection between the electronic camera main body 1 and the interchangeable lens 2 and each external electronic device is performed by mounting the interchangeable lens and mount portions 2a provided on each device main body.
A mount 1a provided on the electronic camera main body 1 is fitted into and attached to 3a, 4a, 5a. Each of the mount sections is provided with a communication terminal, through which control data or image data is communicated, and photographing, image printing, reproduction, and transfer of image information are performed.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control unit built in the electronic camera body 1. As shown in FIG. The overall control of the camera in the electronic camera body 1 is performed by a sequence control unit 1
7 does. The sequence control unit 17 includes a distance measuring circuit 18 that outputs subject distance information or defocus information of the subject, and a photometric circuit 1 that outputs luminance information of the subject.
9, a shutter control mechanism 20 for adjusting the light incident on the image sensor, and a release switch 21a linked to the release button / a mode selection switch 2 linked to the mode selection button
1b / image selection switch 21c / interlocked with image selection button
An operation switch group 21 including a data output switch 21d and the like interlocked with the data output button, an imaging control unit 16 for performing an imaging operation, and a communication control unit 22 for communicating with an interchangeable lens and an external device are included. It is connected.

The imaging control unit 16 controls an imaging operation of a subject image, a monitor display operation of image data, an operation of storing image data, and an operation of generating data for external transfer in accordance with an instruction of the sequence control unit 17. The imaging control unit 16 includes a CCD, which is an imaging device that electrically captures a subject image.
11, an A / D converter 12 for converting an imaging output of the CCD 11 into digital data, a signal processing circuit 13 for generating image data from the A / D converted digital data, and an image output from the signal processing circuit 13 A monitor 24 including a display circuit for displaying data, a memory 14 for storing image data output from the signal processing circuit 13, and control data to be transferred to the interchangeable lens 2 or image data to be transferred to an external electronic device. A data generation circuit 15 that generates transfer data and outputs the data to the communication control unit 22 is connected.

The electronic camera body 1 is provided with a mount 1a for mounting an interchangeable lens or an external electronic device and for connecting, and the mount 1a is provided with a data communication terminal 1b. , The output line of the communication control unit 22 is connected.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the electronic camera body 1 as viewed from the back. As shown in FIG. 3, a monitor (display unit) 24, operation buttons of a mode selection switch 21b, and a finder eyepiece unit 23 are arranged on the back of the camera body. The release switch 2 is located on the top of the camera body.
An operation button 1a, an operation button for the data output switch 21c, and an operation button for the image selection switch 21d are provided.

The monitor 24 is a display device including a color liquid crystal display element for displaying a photographed subject image for confirmation.

The mode selection switch 21b is a switch for determining an operation mode of the camera main body. The operation buttons of the mode selection switch 21b are "OFF" position, "EX" position,
It can slide to three positions of “OUT” position.

When the operation button is in the "OFF" (off) position, the camera is set to the non-operation mode (OFF mode). When the operation button of the mode selection switch 21b is "E
When the camera is at the "X" position, a shooting mode (EX mode) in which a shooting operation is possible is selected, and in that shooting mode, shooting is performed by operating a button of the release switch 21a. Also,
When the operation button of the mode selection switch 21b is at the "OUT" position, the data transfer mode (OUT mode) is selected, and the image data can be transmitted to the external electronic device. At this time, the image of the transmitted image data is the image displayed on the screen of the monitor 24. If the operation button of the data output switch 21c is operated in the monitor display state, the image data is output to the external electronic device.

The image data displayed on the monitor 24 is read out by selecting the photographed subject image from the memory 14 with the operation button of the image selection switch 21c, and
4 on the screen. Immediately after switching to the transfer mode (OUT mode) with the mode selection switch 21b, the latest captured image is displayed on the screen of the monitor 24. afterwards,
Each time the operation button of the image selection switch 21d is operated, images that have been shot are sequentially selected and displayed.

When the photographing mode (EX mode) is selected as the operation mode, when the release switch 21a of the operation switch group 21 of the camera body 1 is turned on,
The sequence control unit 17 sends an imaging instruction signal to the imaging control unit 16. In response to the imaging instruction signal, the imaging control unit 16 controls the CCD 11, the A / D converter 12, and the signal processing circuit 1
3. The respective operations of the memory 14 are sequentially executed.

When the transfer mode (OUT mode) is selected and the image selection switch 21d is turned on, the sequence control unit 17 causes the imaging control unit 16 to perform an image display operation. That is, the imaging control unit 16 instructs the signal processing circuit 13 to read image data from the memory 14 and display the image data on the monitor 24 via the display circuit.
The sequence control unit 17 gives an instruction of which of the captured images to display, based on the instruction of the image selection switch 21d.

When the interchangeable lens 2 is mounted on the mount section 1a of the camera body 1 and the operation mode is set to the photographing mode (EX mode), the control for the interchangeable lens output from the sequence control section 17 is performed. The data is serially output to the interchangeable lens 2 via the communication control unit 22.

On the other hand, when an external electronic device is connected to the mount section 1a of the camera body 1 and the transfer mode (OUT mode) is set, the data generating circuit 15 serially outputs the generated transfer image data. I do. The sequence control unit 17 determines the timing of the data transfer. For example, in the photographing mode (EX mode), transfer is performed during a series of photographing operations. In the transfer mode (OUT mode), the data output switch 21 is used.
Data transfer is started when c is turned on.

The interchangeable lens 2 has a mount 2a for photographing a subject image by the electronic camera body 1.
Can be fitted to and mounted on the mount section 1a of the camera body to perform the above-described photographing. The mount 1a of the camera body and the mount 2a of the interchangeable lens are provided with data communication terminals 1b and 2b (see block diagrams in FIGS. 2 and 6), respectively, and these communication terminals 1b and 2b are provided. The interchangeable lens 2 receives control data from the camera body 1 via the camera, and performs a predetermined operation required for photographing, such as a focus adjustment operation and an aperture operation. The photographed image data is stored in the memory 14 of the camera body 1 each time.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a control unit built in the interchangeable lens 2. As shown in FIG. The control data sent from the camera body 1 is once received by the sub-communication control unit 31 and sent to the sub-sequence control unit 32 via the communication terminal 2b of the mount unit. The sub-sequence control unit 32 decodes the control data, controls the focus adjustment control mechanism 33 and the aperture adjustment mechanism 34, and executes photographing.

The printer 3 shoots images with the camera body 1,
The camera body 1 with the interchangeable lens 2 removed is used to print the recorded subject image.
a is fitted and mounted on the mount 3a of the printer to perform the printing. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which the camera body 1 is mounted on the printer 3, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the vicinity of the mount 3 a of the printer 3.

The camera mounting mount 3a provided in the printer 3 has substantially the same shape as the mount 2a of the interchangeable lens 2. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the mounting portion 3a has a mounting surface 3c and a bayonet claw 3d.
And a communication terminal 3b on the mounting surface 3c. When the camera body 1 is mounted on the printer 3, the camera body 1 is engaged with the camera body 1 with the bayonet claw 3 d in the reverse manner to the case where the lens is mounted on the camera body, and the camera body 1 is mounted on the printer 3. Can be. Printer 3
When the camera main body 1 is mounted on the camera body 1, the communication terminal 3b comes into electrical contact with the communication terminal 1b on the camera main body 1 side to be in a communicable state. Image data for printing is transferred from the camera body 1 via the communication terminal 3b.

The mount 3a for mounting the camera of the printer 3 is not limited to the same shape as the mount 2a of the interchangeable lens 2 described above.
Can be mounted, and the mounting portion 1 of the camera body 1
The shape of the data communication terminal 1b is not particularly limited as long as the data communication terminal 1b can be electrically connected to the data communication terminal 3b of the printer 3 without any trouble.

The communication terminal 3 of the mount 3a
Reference numeral b denotes a communication terminal for receiving image data transmitted from the camera body 1 and has substantially the same shape as that provided on the interchangeable lens 2. Therefore, the camera body 1
It is not necessary to provide a communication terminal dedicated to external electronic equipment such as a printer or its transmission circuit on the side.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a control unit built in the printer 3. Communication terminal 3 from camera body 1
The image data sent via b is temporarily received by the sub communication control unit 41 under the control of the print control unit 43 and temporarily stored in the register 42. The print controller 43 causes the image data stored in the register 42 to be transferred to the print data generator 44. The print data generation unit 44 converts the transferred image data into data in a format suitable for printing. The converted data is printed by the printing mechanism 45.

The liquid crystal projector 4 includes the camera body 1
It is used when projecting a subject image taken and recorded in
As in the case of the printer 3, the camera body 1 with the interchangeable lens 2 removed can be fitted to the mount 4a by the mount 1a. With the attachment, the communication terminals 1b and 4b are connected, and data transfer can be performed to project a subject image.

The camera mounting mount 4a provided on the liquid crystal projector 4 has substantially the same shape as the mount 2a of the interchangeable lens 2 as in the case of the printer 3.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a control unit built in the liquid crystal projector 4. Image data sent from the mounted camera body 1 via the communication terminal 4b of the mount unit 4a is once received by the sub-communication control unit 51 under the control of the projection control unit 53, and stored in the register 52. Stored temporarily. The projection control unit 53 causes the image data stored in the register 52 to be transferred to the projection image data generation unit 54. The projection image data generation unit 54 converts the transferred image data into image data in a format suitable for projection. The converted image data is projected on a screen by the projection mechanism 55.

The above-described printer 3 and liquid crystal projector 4
Has a built-in mechanism and control unit for connecting to the camera body 1, for example, mount units 3a and 4a, data communication terminals 3b and 4b, and a receiving circuit.
However, in order to print or project an image photographed by the camera body using a general-purpose printer or a general-purpose liquid crystal projector having no mount unit or receiving circuit, a data converter 5 described later may be used (FIG. 1). 9).

The data converter 5 is a general-purpose processing device which does not have the above-described camera mount and data conversion circuit for photographing and recording the subject image by the camera body 1.
For example, it is used as a data converter when printing or reproducing with a general-purpose printer or a general-purpose projection projector.

The data converter 5 is provided with a camera mounting mount 5a similar to the mount 3a of the printer 3. For example, when connecting to a general-purpose printer,
The camera body 1 is mounted on the data converter 5 by the mount unit 5a, and the image data sent from the camera body 1 is temporarily converted into print data corresponding to a general-purpose printer by a processing circuit inside the data converter 5. . Then, the converted print data is sent from the data converter 5 to a general-purpose printer via a general-purpose cable, and printing is performed.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a control unit built in the data converter 5 which can be connected to a general-purpose printer. Communication terminal 5b of mounting part 5a from camera body 1
The image data sent via the communication controller 61 is received by the communication controller 61 under the control of the conversion controller 63, and is temporarily stored in the register 62.
Is stored temporarily. The conversion control unit 63 stores
2 is transferred to the data conversion unit 64. The data converter 64 converts the transferred image data into data in a format suitable for printing. The converted image data is output from the data output unit 65, sent to a general-purpose printer via a general-purpose cable 66, and printed.

Next, a shooting / data output sequence in the camera body 1 of the camera system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The above sequence starts when the mode selection switch 21b is switched from the non-operation mode (OFF mode) to the shooting mode (EX mode) or the transfer mode (OUT mode).

First, the state of the mode selection switch is determined in step S1, and if the mode is the EX mode, step S2
If the mode is not the EX mode, ie, if the mode is the OUT mode, the process proceeds to step S5.

In step S2, the release switch 21
The state of a is checked, and if it is off, the process proceeds to step S4, but if it is on, the process proceeds to step S3, where a shooting operation is performed, and the process proceeds to step S4. In step S4,
The on / off state of the power switch is checked. If the power switch is on, the process returns to step S1. If the power switch is off, this routine ends.

When the selection mode is the OUT mode and the process proceeds to step S5, the latest image stored in the memory 14 is selected and the imaging control unit 16 is instructed to display the latest image on the screen of the monitor 24. (Step S6).

Next, in step S7, it is determined whether or not the data output switch 21c (OUT switch) is on. If it is on, the process proceeds to step S8, and if it is off, the process proceeds to step S9.

In step S9, the image selection switch 21
The on / off of d (SEL switch) is checked, and if it is off, the process proceeds to step S10. Then, it is determined whether or not the selection mode is the OUT mode. If the selection mode is not the OUT mode, the process returns to step S4. If the selection mode is the OUT mode, the process returns to step S6 again. On the other hand, if the image selection switch 21d is on, it means that another image is requested to be displayed. Therefore, the process proceeds to step S11, where the image previously recorded in the memory 14 is selected, and the process returns to step S11. Returning to S6, the selected image is displayed.

If it is determined in step S7 that the data output switch 21c is turned on and the process proceeds to step S8, a data output subroutine for transferring image data to an external electronic device is executed. And the subsequent processing is repeated.

As described above, according to the camera system of the present embodiment, a special communication mechanism is provided by using the mount 1a for mounting the interchangeable lens 2 provided on the camera body 1. In addition, since it is possible to connect to an external electronic device such as a printer and transfer image data, it is possible to suppress an increase in size and cost of the camera body.

Note that, in place of the camera body 1 applied to the camera system of the above-described embodiment, a silver halide camera body having a built-in electronic still camera unit such as an imaging control unit including a similar image sensor and a communication control unit is provided. It is also possible to apply.

[0045]

According to the camera and the camera system of the present invention, the camera can be connected to an external electronic device without providing a special communication mechanism by using the interchangeable lens mounting mount provided in the camera. Since image data can be transferred, it is possible to suppress an increase in size and cost of the camera.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exemplary conceptual view showing a connection between an electronic camera body, an interchangeable lens, and an external electronic device that constitute a camera system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control unit built in an electronic camera body constituting the camera system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exemplary perspective view showing the appearance of the electronic camera body of FIG. 2 as viewed from the back;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which a camera body is mounted on a printer constituting the camera system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view around a mount of the printer of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a control unit incorporated in the interchangeable lens included in the camera system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a control unit built in the printer of FIG. 4;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a control unit built in the liquid crystal projector constituting the camera system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a control unit incorporated in a data converter connectable to a general-purpose printer or the like, which is a device included in the camera system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of sequence control in the camera body of the camera system of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Camera main body 1a ... Mount part of camera main body 2 ... Exchange camera 2a ... Mount part of exchange camera 3 ... Printer (external electronic device) 3a, 4a, 5a ... Mount part (mount of external electronic device) 4) Liquid crystal projector (external electronic device) 5 Data converter (external electronic device) 14 Memory 22 Communication control unit (data communication means)

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04N 5/91 HF term (Reference) 5C022 AA13 AC54 AC69 AC77 AC78 5C052 GA02 GB01 GC10 GE04 5C053 FA08 KA01 KA18 KA19 KA24 KA25 LA03 LA06 LA11 5C058 AA06 BA35 EA02

Claims (3)

[Claims] A camera body having a built-in memory for storing a captured subject image as subject image data; a camera body mounted on a mount section of the camera body via its own mount section; An interchangeable lens that operates, and an external electronic device that receives data stored in a memory in the camera main body from the camera main body. The external electronic device is directly mounted on a mount section of the camera main body. A camera system comprising a mount section for mounting. 2. The camera system according to claim 1, wherein the camera body has an interchangeable lens or a common data communication unit for performing data communication with an external electronic device. 3. An interchangeable lens camera having a memory for storing, as subject image data, a subject image captured via an interchangeable lens that can be mounted on the camera body, wherein the camera body is mounted for mounting the interchangeable lens. Means can be directly connected to an external electronic device, and subject image data stored in the memory can be transmitted to the external electronic device using communication means with the interchangeable lens. And the camera.