JP2000338578A - Camera and external device for camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suitably supply electric power to a load of the camera side from the power source of an external device by having a communication means to execute communication of information between the external device and the camera and by transmitting information regarding the power supplying ability to the camera. SOLUTION: The camera 10 capable of being connected to an external device 20 for camera has a communication means 12 to execute communication of information between the external device for camera, a means 16 to be supplied with electric power capable of being supplied electric power from a power source 23 of the external device for camera, and an electric power limiting means 17 to limit the power supply amount to the means to be supplied with electric power by receiving information relating to the power supplying ability of the power source of the external device for camera transmitted from the external device for the camera via the communication means. Consequently, extension of the life of the camera battery by supplying electric power to the camera from the external device, and to assure a normal operation at the camera side by limiting the electric power supply even if the electric power supplying ability of the electric power source is insufficient or the like become possible.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a camera and an external device for the camera, and more particularly to a technique for supplying power from the external device to the camera.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an electronic still camera and an external device such as an external strobe connected to the electronic camera, power is usually supplied to each device by a power supply provided thereto. In such a case, if the power is supplied to the camera from the power supply of the external device, the battery of the camera can be prolonged.

[0003]

However, from the viewpoint of the power supply capability of the power supply of the external device, there is a case where the power required by the camera cannot be sufficiently supplied from the power supply of the external device. It becomes difficult to perform a desired operation on the camera side. Further, supplying power to the camera side may cause a problem that the operation of the external device itself is adversely affected.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a camera and an external device for a camera which can solve the problem of supplying power from an external device power supply to a load on the camera. The purpose is to provide.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a camera connectable to an external device for a camera, comprising: communication means for communicating information with the external device for the camera; Receiving power-supplying means capable of supplying power and information on the power supply capability of the power supply of the camera external device transmitted from the camera external device via the communication means, Power limiting means for limiting the supply amount.

The present invention is also an external device for a camera connectable to a camera, comprising communication means for communicating information with the camera, and controlling the amount of power supplied to the power supply means of the camera. In order to limit, the camera is configured to transmit information on the power supply capability of the power supply of the camera external device to the camera via the communication unit.

According to the present invention, not only can the battery of the camera be extended by supplying power to the camera from the external device, but also the power supply of the power supply of the external device must be supplied before the power is supplied to the camera. Since information about the capability is communicated to the camera, even if the power supply capability of the power supply is insufficient, normal operation on the camera side can be ensured by limiting the supplied power.
By supplying power to the camera, it is possible to prevent a problem that the operation of the external device is adversely affected.

[0008]

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

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a main part of an embodiment of the present invention. As an external device for an electronic camera (electronic still camera) 10, an external strobe detachable from the electronic camera 10. 20 is connected.

The basic structure of the electronic camera 10 is the same as that of a normal electronic camera.
A / D-converts an analog image signal photoelectrically converted by an image pickup unit into a digital image signal, subjects the A / D-converted image signal to processing such as image compression, and then externally converts the signal to an external device such as a memory card. Image information is recorded on a recording medium.

The electronic camera 10 and the external strobe 20 are
The system is provided with controllers 11 and 21, respectively, and can communicate information with each other via the communication units 12 and 22. The electronic camera 10 and the external strobe 20 are provided with power supplies 13 and 23, respectively, and these power supplies 13 and 23 can use both a standard battery and an external power supply (such as a power supply using a battery pack or an AC adapter). It is possible.

Power can be supplied from the power supply 23 of the external strobe 20 to the electronic camera 10 as necessary. The control signals output from the switch control units 14 and 24 enable the selection units 15 and 25 to operate. Power is supplied by appropriately switching the switches. In this example,
Power can be supplied to the strobe light emitting unit 16 of the electronic camera 10 from a power supply 23 connected to a strobe light emitting unit 26 (including a light emitting tube, a charging circuit, and the like) of the external strobe 20.

The electronic camera 10 is provided with a power limiting circuit 17 for limiting power supply to the strobe light emitting unit 16. In this power limiting circuit 17, the external strobe 2
0 from the power supply 23 of the electronic camera 10
When power is supplied to the electronic flash 20, the amount of power supplied to the flash light emitting unit 16 is limited based on information on the power supply capability of the power supply 23 of the external flash 20 transmitted from the external flash 20. When power is supplied from the power supply 13 of the electronic camera 10 to the strobe light emitting unit 16 of the electronic camera 10, the power may be limited or the power may not be limited.

Next, an operation example of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, the controller 11 of the electronic camera 10
When it is determined that the power supply to the strobe light emitting unit 16 is to be performed from the power supply 23 of the external strobe 20, the controller 11 of the external strobe 10 is requested to supply power via the communication units 12 and 22. Is transmitted (S1). Based on this information, the external strobe 20 transmits information regarding the power supply capability of the power supply 23 of the external strobe 20 to the electronic camera 10 and performs necessary measures (for example, switches the selection unit 25).
Will be performed. The electronic camera 10 receives information on the power supply capability of the power supply 23 from the external strobe 20 (S2), and determines the amount of power limitation of the power limiting circuit 17 according to the power supply capability of the power supply 23 (S3). afterwards,
The switch of the selection unit 15 is switched to the external strobe 20 side, and a load operation in which the power of the power limiting circuit 17 is limited (in this example, a charging operation with current limitation on the charging circuit of the strobe light emitting unit 16) is performed (S4). ).

In the above embodiment, step S
When determining the power limit amount in step 3, it may be determined that the power limit is not to be performed. In this case, the power limit is not performed in step 4.

According to the present embodiment, for example, the electronic camera 1
0 using a standard battery for the power supply 13
In the case where an external power supply is used as the power supply 23 of the electronic camera 10, when the remaining capacity of the battery of the electronic camera 10 is low,
Electric power can be supplied from the external strobe 20 to the electronic camera 10 side, and the battery of the electronic camera 10 can be prevented from being consumed.

In this embodiment, the external strobe 20
When power is supplied from the power supply 23 to the electronic flash unit 16 of the electronic camera 10, information about the power supply capability of the power supply 23 is notified from the external flash 20 to the electronic camera in advance. Therefore, the power supply 23 of the external strobe 20
Even if the power supply capacity of the
A normal charging operation can be ensured by limiting the power supplied to the electronic camera 10, and the power supplied to the external strobe 20 (the strobe light emitting unit 26 in this example) is supplied to the electronic camera 10. It is possible to prevent a problem that the supply amount is reduced and the operation of the external strobe-side load is adversely affected.

The embodiment of the present invention has been described above, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.
In the above embodiment, an external strobe was described as an example of the external device. However, the present invention can be applied to an external device connected to an electronic camera other than the external strobe.

In addition, the present invention can be variously modified and implemented without departing from the gist thereof.

[0021]

According to the present invention, by supplying power to the camera from the external device, the battery of the camera can be prolonged. In addition, the information on the power supply capability of the power supply of the external device can be used in the camera. By performing the power limitation, it is possible to ensure normal operations on the camera side and the external device side even if the power supply capability of the power supply of the external device is insufficient.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Electronic camera 20 ... External strobe 11, 21 ... Controller 12, 22 ... Communication part 13, 23 ... Power supply 14, 24 ... Switch control part 15, 25 ... Selection part 16, 26 ... Strobe light emission part 27 ... Power control circuit

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A camera connectable to an external device for a camera, a communication means for communicating information with the external device for the camera, and a power receiver capable of supplying power from a power supply of the external device for the camera. Power supply means, and power limiting means for receiving information on the power supply capability of the power supply of the camera external device transmitted from the camera external device via the communication means, and limiting the amount of power supplied to the power supplied means A camera comprising: 2. An external device for a camera connectable to a camera, comprising communication means for communicating information with the camera, and for limiting an amount of power supplied to a power supplied means of the camera. An external device for a camera, characterized in that the external device for a camera is configured to transmit information on the power supply capability of a power supply of the external device for the camera itself to the camera via the communication means.