JP2006238013A - Camera device - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is a camera device that is excellent in usability, operability, and the like and that effectively realizes downsizing.
An image input unit, an audio input unit, a signal processing unit that processes video and audio signals, a unit that records video and audio signals on a main recording medium, and various types of image input units and recording units. An operation button for performing the operation and a connection means 2 for connecting the external recording medium 12 are provided. The connection means 2 is configured to be able to connect an external device 3 that is compatible with the external recording medium 12, discriminates the specifications of the connected external device, and sets the function of the operation button of the apparatus main body to the specifications of the external device. It can be set according to.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a camera device such as a video camera that uses a recording medium such as a tape.

  Various video cameras using a tape as a recording medium have been developed and widely spread as a means for recording moving images. In recent years, DVC, which records a moving image by digital signal processing like the DV format, has become mainstream. Many of these products are equipped with a memory card slot and can record still images and high-compression MPEG4 video data on memory cards.

  Further, these video cameras generally include a relatively large liquid crystal panel in addition to a viewfinder as a means for confirming a subject to be photographed and a reproduced video. Therefore, in order to expand the use of the video camera in addition to recording and playing back movies and still images, prepare a TV tuner pack, and connect the video camera and the TV tuner pack on the video camera dedicated mounting section or docking station. Thus, products configured to allow TV viewing on the liquid crystal panel have been proposed (Patent Document 1, etc.).

  FIG. 13 shows an example thereof. In the figure, 41 is a tuner unit, and 42 is a video camera (deck unit) main body. The tuner unit 41 is configured to send a TV video signal to the main body by connecting and fixing the tuner unit to a coupling portion 43 provided on the side surface of the video camera main body 42. The tuner unit 41 includes a power switch 44, a channel selection button 45, a volume button 46, and the like.

JP-A-3-247174

  However, the conventional tuner pack is large and inconvenient to carry with the video camera body. In addition, it takes time and effort to attach to the video camera body, and the tuner pack itself is provided with a power switch and a channel selection button, which is inferior in operability when joined to the video camera body and disadvantageous for miniaturization. .

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a camera device that is excellent in usability, operability, and the like and that effectively realizes downsizing.

  The camera apparatus of the present invention includes an image input unit, an audio input unit, a signal processing unit that processes video and audio signals, a unit that records video and audio signals on a main recording medium, an image input unit, and a recording unit. A camera apparatus comprising operation buttons for performing various operations and a connection means for connecting an external recording medium, wherein the connection means connects an external device compatible with the external recording medium in addition to the external recording medium The function of the operation button of the apparatus main body can be set according to the specification of the external device by determining the specification of the connected external device.

  In the camera device of the present invention, the operation button of the device body includes a zoom operation unit that adjusts the angle of view of the video input unit, and the external device connected to the connection unit has a function of a TV tuner. In this case, the zoom operation unit functions to perform a TV channel selection operation.

  In the camera device of the present invention, the focus adjustment unit includes the focus adjustment unit of the video input unit as the operation button of the device body, and the external device connected to the connection unit has a function of a TV tuner. The unit functions to adjust the volume of the TV.

  Further, the imaging apparatus of the present invention, in an imaging apparatus having a connection unit to which a plurality of recording media or external devices can be connected, determines the specifications of the external device connected to the connection unit, and It is characterized by changing functions.

  According to the present invention, in a video camera that enables TV viewing by mounting a TV tuner card in a memory card slot, the operation button of the video camera main body is appropriately assigned as an operation button for TV viewing. It enables comfortable TV viewing. In particular, by using the zoom lever for channel selection and the focus ring for volume adjustment, intuitive operation is possible, and there is an effect of downsizing the video camera without impairing operability.

Preferred embodiments of a camera device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
1 to 4 are views showing each side of a video camera to which the present invention is applied. 1 is a video camera body, 2 is a memory card slot with a lid 2a that can be freely opened and closed, 3 is a TV tuner card that can be inserted into the memory card slot 2, 4 is a liquid crystal display panel, 5 is a zoom lever, 6 is a menu button, 7 is a lens, 8 is a microphone, 9 is a trigger button, 10 is a power switch, 11 is a tape / card switch button, 12 is a memory card, 15 is a viewfinder, 16 is a recorder operation button, 17 is a speaker, and 40 is focus It is a ring.

  FIG. 5 shows the internal structure of the memory card slot. Reference numeral 13 denotes a terminal row connected to the memory card 12, and 14 denotes a terminal row for the TV tuner card 3. As disclosed in JP-A-6-178218, a TV tuner card is provided with a connector 3a for inputting / outputting signals at its tip, and its outer shape is substantially the same as the size of the memory card. A shape (3b) different from that of the memory card is formed on the outer shape. For this portion, the step 2b of the memory card slot 2 serves as a stopper, and the insertion depth is different from that of the memory card 2.

  Similarly, the memory card 12 is provided with a signal input / output terminal 12a. However, the memory card 12 is different in arrangement and number from the terminal row of the TV tuner card 3. For this reason, the memory slot 2 mounted in the video camera of the present invention is provided with a terminal row suitable for each card.

  When the memory card 12 is inserted into the memory card slot 2, as shown in FIG. 7, the memory card terminal row 13 contacts the terminal portion 12a of the memory card 12, and the TV tuner card 3 is inserted. In this case, as shown in FIG. 6, the main body of the TV tuner card 3 pushes the memory card terminal row 12a, and the TV tuner card terminal row 14 located in the back of the TV tuner card 3 The connector 3a of the TV tuner card 3 is configured to come into contact.

  The above configuration is a case where the TV tuner card 3 is an analog tuner. However, when the TV tuner card 3 is a digital tuner card, a terminal similar to a memory card is processed by processing a signal in the TV tuner card. It is also possible to send and receive signals in a row. In this case, only the memory card terminal row 13 needs to be provided as the terminal row of the memory card slot.

  FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a video camera according to the present invention. In the figure, a CPU 23 executes a video camera control program according to the present invention stored in a ROM 24, and uses the RAM 25 as a work area. The key button 34 indicates various operation buttons such as the zoom button 5, the focus ring 40, and the trigger button 9 shown in FIGS. 1 to 4. The CPU 23 controls each unit in the apparatus in accordance with user input information obtained from the key button 34, the power supply switch 10, and the tape / card switch SW11.

  For example, the zoom button 5 is configured so that it can be operated from the neutral position to the tele side and the wide side. When the button is moved to each side, an internal SW (not shown) is turned on, and the CPU 23 controls the lens 7 to operate the zoom motor by driving the zoom motor of the lens 7 according to the ON / OFF state of the SW.

  Similarly, the rotation operation of the focus ring 40 is detected by pulse detection means (not shown), and the CPU 23 drives the focus motor of the lens 7 to perform focusing. When the power supply Sw10 is in the camera mode, a subject image is formed on the light receiving surface of the CCD 28 via the lens 7, and the CCD 28 outputs a video signal. The CCD signal processing unit 29 processes the video signal from the CCD 28 and outputs digital video data. The lens 7, the CCD 28, and the CCD signal processing unit 29 together constitute a camera unit.

  The sound recorded by the microphone 8 is amplified by the amplifier 21 and A / D converted by the A / D converter 22. The compression / decompression unit 19 compresses the digital video data and digital audio data from the camera unit, and records the video on a tape or a card. This selection is made with the tape / card switching button 11, and at the time of card recording, the video data is compressed by, for example, MPEG4 by the compression / decompression unit 19 and recorded in the memory card 37 via the card I / F 36. At the time of tape recording, the video data is compressed based on, for example, the DV format, and the video signal is recorded on the tape medium via the VTR I / F 33.

  During camera shooting, the zoom button 5 and the focus ring 40 are the most frequently used operation keys. Since these keys are frequently used, they have a shape that takes operability into consideration.

  The card I / F 36 determines whether the card loaded in the memory card slot 37 is a memory card or a tuner card. Then, the information is sent to the CPU 23. Based on the information, the CPU 23 performs ON / OFF of the camera unit, switching of operation buttons, and the like.

  FIG. 9 shows the operation of the video camera according to the present invention. As described above, in a video camera equipped with a memory card, the compression format and image resolution differ between recording and reproduction on a tape and recording and reproduction on a card. Therefore, the video signal processing method is switched by the tape / card switching button 11.

  When the tape / card switching button 11 is in the “tape” mode, the power of the camera unit is turned on by setting the power switch 10 to the “camera” mode. The liquid crystal panel 4 displays the video output (photographing target) of the camera unit, and the tape deck unit 41 enters a recording standby state. When the trigger button 9 is pressed once, tape running starts and tape recording of the camera unit video signal is started. When the trigger button 9 is pressed again, the tape recording is stopped, and the recording standby state is set again.

  When the camera unit is turned on, the camera operation buttons are enabled, and the zoom button, exposure control buttons such as shutter speed, program AE, etc. are used to adjust the recorded image to your liking and record it. can do.

  When the power switch 10 is set to the “VTR” mode in the “tape” mode, the power of the camera unit is turned off. In this case, the playback function of the tape deck portion can be used, and the tape recording signal can be played back by operating buttons such as playback / fast forward / rewind / slow playback. At this time, the reproduced video is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 4.

  Next, when the tape / card switching button 11 is set to the “card” mode, the card I / F 33 determines whether the card is a memory card or a tuner card. When the card is a memory card, signal processing for the memory card is performed, and an image can be recorded / reproduced on the memory card by selecting the power switch 10 in the same manner as in the “tape” mode. That is, only the recording / reproducing medium is changed from a tape to a memory card, and the basic operations of both are the same. (Range of broken lines in the figure)

  If the card is a tuner card, the camera unit is turned off regardless of the position of the power switch 10 and the VTR mode is forcibly set. At this time, the liquid crystal panel 4 is displayed so that it can be easily understood that a tuner card is loaded and the VTR mode is forcibly set, and the user is not confused. In this case, the CH (channel) display of TV is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 4, but this can be turned off by turning the display ON / OFF.

  Further, the CH switching is assigned so that it can be operated by the zoom button 10. When the tuner card is used, the camera unit is not used, so the operability is excellent, and the zoom button 10 that is intuitively recognized as the CH switching operation button is assigned to the CH switching, so that the operability is excellent. TV viewing is possible.

  By the way, the zoom button 10 is configured to always return to the neutral position, and is configured to be able to vary the zooming speed by the amount of pressing. When the amount of pressing is large, the zoom is configured to be high speed zoom, while when it is small, the zoom is configured to be low speed zoom. Even when the zoom lever is used for CH switching during TV viewing, the CH switching speed can be varied depending on the amount of pressing.

At this time, the VTR section is in a recording standby state, and when the trigger button 9 is pressed, a TV image is recorded on a tape.
At this time, the focus ring 40 provided in the lens unit is assigned to be used for volume (VOL) adjustment. The focus ring is configured to continuously and smoothly rotate, and is easy to adjust the volume intuitively.

  With this configuration, when a TV tuner card is loaded, the TV viewing function is assigned with the highest priority, and the main operations of channel selection and volume adjustment are operated most among the operation keys of the video camera. Comfortable operability can be obtained by using a zoom and focus ring that are easy and intuitive to understand.

  FIG. 10 shows another embodiment of the present invention. When a TV tuner card is loaded and the power switch is in camera mode, if the trigger button is pressed long, the camera section is turned on. Then, the camera image is displayed on the panel, and the camera image is switched to be recorded on the tape. By doing so, it is possible to shoot the camera immediately without losing the chance of shooting the camera while watching TV.

  Also, as shown in FIG. 11, there are various zoom lever shapes, but it goes without saying that the application of the present invention is not limited thereto.

  Also, as shown in FIG. 12, when the speaker 17 is arranged on the same surface as the liquid crystal panel 4 and the zoom lever 5 is arranged on the top surface, the channel selection and the VOL adjustment are facilitated. It is also possible to further improve the operability. With such a layout, the video camera can be reduced in size without impairing operability.

It is a side view of the video camera in the embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a side view of a video camera according to the present invention. 1 is a side view of a video camera according to the present invention. 1 is a side view of a video camera according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a memory slot of a video camera according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a memory slot of a video camera according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a memory slot of a video camera according to the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the video camera by this invention. It is a figure which shows operation | movement of the video camera by this invention. It is a figure which shows operation | movement of the video camera by this invention. It is a figure which shows the various shapes of a zoom lever. 1 is a diagram of a video camera according to the present invention. It is a figure of the conventional video camera.

Explanation of symbols

1 Video camera body 2 Memory card slot 3 TV tuner card 4 LCD panel 5 Zoom lever 7 Lens 8 Microphone 9 Trigger button 10 Power switch 11 Tape / card switch 12 Memory card 17 Speaker 40 Focus ring 41 Deck

Claims (4)

An image input unit, an audio input unit, a signal processing unit for processing video and audio signals, means for recording the video and audio signals in a main recording medium, and operation buttons for performing various operations of the image input unit and the recording unit A camera device comprising a connection means for connecting an external recording medium,
The connection means is configured to be able to connect an external device compatible with the external recording medium in addition to the external recording medium, and determines the specifications of the connected external device, so that the operation button on the apparatus main body The camera device can be set in accordance with the specifications of the external device. As an operation button of the apparatus main body, a zoom operation unit for adjusting an angle of view of the video input unit is provided,
2. The camera device according to claim 1, wherein when the external device connected to the connection unit has a TV tuner function, the zoom operation unit functions to perform a TV channel selection operation. As an operation button of the apparatus main body, a focus adjustment unit of the video input unit is provided,
The camera device according to claim 1, wherein when the external device connected to the connection unit has a function of a TV tuner, the focus adjustment unit functions to adjust a volume of the TV.   In an imaging device including a connection unit capable of connecting a plurality of recording media or external devices, the specification of the external device connected to the connection unit is determined, and the function of the operation unit of the imaging device body changes. Imaging device.

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