JPH0614696B2 - Electronic still camera - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to electronic still cameras, and more specifically,
The present invention relates to improvement of an electronic still camera capable of recording voice.

“Prior Art and Problems Thereof” In recent years, various electronic still cameras that convert an object image into an electric signal and record the electric signal have been developed. As is well known, a conventional electronic still camera forms a subject image on a photoelectric conversion surface of an image pickup device in which a large number of photoelectric conversion elements are arranged, and converts the subject image into an electric signal by the photoelectric conversion element. Electric signals are sequentially recorded on the magnetic disk.

Some of these conventional electronic still cameras can record audio.

In a conventional electronic still camera, when video and audio are simultaneously recorded using a self-timer, the timing of shooting and the timing of audio recording are constant, and the audio recording cannot be changed depending on the photographer's intention. Therefore, for example, it was not possible to record the rough appearance before shooting.

Also. The conventional electronic still camera capable of recording audio can record sound only when the sound collecting device (microphone) is provided in the camera body or is a separate body and is integrated with the camera body. . Therefore, when controlling the release of the camera by remote control, if the subject and the camera are far apart, clear voice of the subject cannot be recorded.

[Object of the Invention] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems of the conventional electronic still camera, and provides an electronic still camera capable of remote control of the camera from a remote location and capable of recording at a remote location. The purpose is to

[Summary of the Invention] According to the present invention, which achieves the above-mentioned object, a camera body having recording means for recording a subject image signal converted into an electric signal by an imaging means and a sound signal converted into an electric signal by a sound collecting means, respectively. An electronic still camera including: a sound adapter detachably formed on the camera body, the sound adapter having sound collecting means and transfer means for sending a sound signal converted into an electric signal by the sound collecting means to the camera body; The audio adapter is provided with audio recording means for recording the audio signal converted by the sound collecting means and reading means for reading out the audio signal recorded in the audio recording means and sending it to the camera body via the transfer means. Further, the camera body is provided with a receiver of a remote control device for controlling the operation of the camera body, and the audio adapter is connected to the remote controller. Characterized in that providing the operating unit and the transmission unit of the roll apparatus.

According to the above configuration, it is possible to release and record with the voice adapter while the voice adapter is separated from the camera body.

"Examples of the Invention" The present invention will be described below based on illustrated examples. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of an electronic still camera to which the present invention has been applied. This electronic still camera comprises two parts, a camera body 10 for recording video and audio and an audio adapter 20 used as an auxiliary device when recording audio.

The camera body 10 includes an image pickup lens 11 (see FIG. 2) and an finder unit 12 as an optical system, an image pickup device 13 and a magnetic disk 17 as an image processing and recording system.
Although components necessary for recording, recording and reproducing, such as a device for driving the device, are incorporated, components not necessary for understanding the present invention are not shown.

The voice adapter 20 includes a microphone 21 as a sound collecting means,
Parts necessary for recording such as a RAM 22 as a voice recording medium are incorporated. The voice adapter 20 is formed so as to be attachable to and detachable from the camera body 10, and this attachment and detachment is performed by operating a lock screw 23 provided on the voice adapter 20. When the voice adapter 20 is attached to the camera body 10, the voice adapter 20
The adapter connector 24 and the body connector 14 of the camera body 10 are connected.

A disc lid 15 for loading a magnetic disc and a release button 16 for starting recording are provided on the upper surface of the camera body 10, and a display panel 17 for displaying imaging information such as the number of captured tracks is provided on the rear surface. A control switch 18 for starting recording or reproduction track selection and reproduction, and a power switch 19 are provided.

On the other hand, on the rear surface of the voice adapter 20, a power switch 25
And a recording switch 26 for starting recording.

Further, an infrared remote control device (hereinafter, referred to as a "remote control device") for controlling the camera body 10 from a remote location is incorporated in the camera body 10 and the voice adapter 20. A remote control receiver 45 (see FIG. 2) of the remote control device is provided on the front surface of the camera body 10, and a remote control operation switch 27 and a remote control transmission unit 28 as the operation part of the remote control device are provided on the upper surface of the voice adapter 20. It is provided. The remote control transmitter 28
Transmits an infrared signal, that is, emits light, and the remote control receiving unit 45 receives the infrared signal, that is, receives light.

The above is the appearance of the electronic still camera to which the present invention is applied. Next, a specific circuit configuration of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

The subject image is formed on the photoelectric conversion surface of the image pickup unit 30 by the taking lens 11, converted into an electric video signal here, and output to the video signal processing circuit 31. The video signal is subjected to predetermined processing in the video signal processing circuit 31 (processed into a video signal including a color difference signal and a luminance signal), and the video output terminal 32 and the AV changeover switch 3
The FM modulation circuit 34 from the Video terminal of 3 through the fixed terminal
Is output to.

The video signal is FM-modulated in the FM modulation circuit 34 and recorded on the magnetic disk 37 via the head amplifier 35 and the magnetic head 36.

The magnetic disk 37 is driven at a predetermined rotation speed by a servo motor 39 driven by a servo circuit 38.

An FM demodulation circuit 40 for reproduction is connected to the head amplifier 35. The video signal recorded on the magnetic disk 37 is picked up by the magnetic head 36 at the time of reproduction and input to the FM demodulation circuit 40 via the head amplifier 35. The video signal demodulated by the FM demodulation circuit 40 is AV
From the Video terminal of the changeover switch 41 to the video signal processing circuit 3
1 and is output to the video signal output terminal 32. Although the audio signal is also recorded on the magnetic disk 37,
The audio signal is the audio of the AV selector switch 41 during playback.
Output from the terminal to the main body connector 14.

Further, each of the circuits described above is comprehensively controlled by a camera body system controller (hereinafter referred to as “body controller”) 42. The main body controller 42 is a microcomputer, which operates according to a predetermined control program, and also controls the switching of the AV changeover switches 41 and 33.

The main body controller 42 includes a release switch 16 and a control switch 18 as operation switches.
Has been entered. The main body controller 42 controls operations such as predetermined photographing and reproduction when these switches 16 and 18 are turned ON / OFF.

The light receiving unit 45 of the remote control device is input to the main body controller 42. The light receiving unit 45 receives the infrared pulse signal emitted from the light emitting unit 28 and outputs it to the switch 1
It is converted into an electric operation signal similar to that of Nos. 6 and 18 and output to the main body controller 42. The main body controller 42, which has received the electrical operation signal, starts control of recording and recording operation according to the signal.

Reference numeral 43 denotes a battery, which supplies electric power to each of the above circuits via the power switch 19 and is also connected to the battery terminal 14d of the main body connector 14 via the power switch 19.

Next, the main circuit configuration of the voice adapter 20 will be described. The voice is converted into an electric signal by the microphone 21, the voice signal is amplified by the microphone amplifier 51, the noise is reduced by the noise reduction circuit 52, and the high-frequency component is removed through the low-pass filter 53. Then, it is sent from the Rec terminal of the recording / reproducing switch circuit 54 to the A / D converter 55 via the fixed terminal, where it is converted into a digital signal and output to the data bus 56. The data bus 56 includes a RAM 22 and a D / A converter 5
7 and a voice adapter system controller (hereinafter referred to as “adapter controller”) 67 that constitutes the reading and transferring means.

The RAM 22 stores the audio signal converted into a digital signal by the A / D converter 55. On the other hand, the D / A converter 57 converts the digital audio signal read from the RAM 22 into an analog signal again. The audio signal converted into an analog signal is output from the fixed terminal of the recording / reproduction changeover switch circuit 58 by Re
It is sent to the low-pass filter 59 via the c terminal and output to the audio terminal 24b of the adapter connector 24 through the pre-emphasis circuit 60.

The audio terminal 24b is the audio terminal 14b of the main body connector 14.
The audio terminal 14b is connected to the AV selector switch 3
FM modulation circuit 3 via the Audio terminal and the fixed terminal of 3
Connected to 4. That is, an audio signal input from the audio adapter 20 to the camera body 10 is FM-modulated by the FM modulation circuit 34 in the camera body 10 and recorded on the magnetic disk 37 as an FM modulation signal via the head amplifier 35 and the magnetic head 36. To be done.

The D / A converter 57 receives the low-pass filter 6 via the PB terminal which is the other switching terminal of the recording / reproducing switch 58.
Connected to 1. The audio signal sent from the D / A converter 57 to the low-pass filter 61 via the recording / reproducing switch 58 is output to the audio output terminal 64 through the noise reduction circuit 62 and the line amplifier 63.
If a voice reproducing device is connected to the voice output terminal 64, the voice can be heard.

Further, the A / D converter 55 is connected to the low-pass filter 66 via the PB terminal which is the other switching terminal of the pre-recording re-selection switch 54. This low pass filter 6
6 is connected to the de-emphasis circuit 65, and the de-emphasis circuit 65 is connected to the audio reproduction terminal 24 a of the adapter connector 24.

The audio reproduction terminal 24a is connected to the Audio terminal of the AV switch 41 via the audio reproduction terminal 14a of the main body connector 14. The fixed terminal of the AV switch 41 is connected to the FM demodulation circuit 40. That is, the audio signal recorded on the magnetic disk 37 is reproduced by the magnetic head 36, head amplifier 35, FM demodulation circuit 40, A
V changeover switch 41 and audio reproduction terminals 24a, 14a
Through the de-emphasis circuit 65 of the voice adapter 20
Entered in. Then, the audio signal demodulated by the de-emphasis circuit 65 passes through the low-pass filter 66, and is output from the PB terminal of the recording / reproduction changeover switch 54 to the A / D converter 5.
5 and is converted into a digital signal and stored in the RAM 22 via the data bus 56.

The adapter controller 67 is a microcomputer that controls each circuit of the audio adapter 20, such as writing / reading control of the RAM 22 and switching control of the recording / reproducing changeover switches 54 and 58. Adapter controller 6
7 and the main body controller 42 are connected via an interface bus 68, bus connectors 24c and 14c, and an interface bus 44.

A voice adapter operation unit (recording switch 26) is also input to the adapter controller 67 as switches. When the recording switch 26 is turned on, the adapter controller 67 starts the recording operation.

Further, a remote controller operation unit (remote controller operation switch 27) is input to the adapter controller 67. The remote control operation switch 27 includes the switch 16 of the camera body,
Similar to 18, the recording and reproducing operations of the camera body 10 can be controlled.

The adapter controller 67 includes the remote control operation switch 2
When the operation signal is output from 7, the drive signal corresponding to the operation signal is sent to the light emitting unit 28. The light emitting unit 28 converts this drive signal into an infrared pulse signal and emits light.

On the other hand, the light receiving unit 45 of the camera body 10 receives the infrared pulse signal emitted from the light emitting unit 28, converts the infrared pulse signal into an electrical operation signal, and outputs the electrical operation signal to the body controller 42.
Upon receiving this operation signal, the main body controller 42 starts control such as recording.

The adapter controller 67, the remote control switch 27, and the light emitting unit 28 constitute a transmitting unit, and the main body controller 42 and the light receiving unit 45 constitute a receiving unit, which constitute a remote control device.

Reference numeral 69 denotes a battery, which supplies power to each of the above components via the power switch 25 and the battery changeover switch 70. The battery changeover switch 70 is a switch for changing over between the battery 69 and the battery 43 of the camera body 10. In this battery changeover switch 70, fixed terminals are connected to each of the above-mentioned components, and a pair of changeover terminals are respectively provided in the battery terminal 2 of the power switch 25 and the adapter connector 24.
4d, respectively. The battery terminal 14d of the camera body 10 connected to the battery terminal 24d is connected to the battery 43 via the power switch 19.

The battery changeover switch 70 is switched to the body battery 43 when the voice adapter 20 is connected to the camera body 10, and is switched to the built-in battery 69 when the voice adapter 20 is removed. This switching mechanism has a known mechanical structure.

Next, an operation and an operation relating to recording of the electronic still camera having the above-mentioned configuration will be described. First, a recording operation in a conventional state in which the voice adapter 20 is attached to the camera body 10 will be described.

First, the power switches 19 and 25 of the camera body 10 and the audio adapter 20 are turned on. Here, when the recording switch 26 of the audio adapter 20 is turned on, the adapter controller 67 is activated and the recording / reproduction changeover switches 54 and 58 are turned on.
Interface bus 6 while switching to the Rec terminal
A recording start signal is sent to the main body controller 42 via 8, 44. Main body controller 42 which received the recording start signal
Prepares for recording by switching the AV selector switch 33 to the Audio terminal.

The adapter controller 67 activates the recording circuit, and RA
The memory of the audio signal is started in M22. Here, the sound picked up by the microphone 21 is temporarily stored in the RAM 22 via the microphone amplifier 51, the noise reduction circuit 52, the low-pass filter 53, the recording / reproducing switch 54, the A / D converter 55, and the data bus 56.

When the recording switch 26 is turned off or when a predetermined recording time elapses, the memory operation to the RAM 22 is stopped.

Thereafter, the audio signal stored in the RAM 22 is read at high speed via the data bus 56 and output to the D / A converter 57. Then, it is sent from the D / A converter 57 to the camera body 10 via the recording / reproducing switch 58, the low-pass filter 59, the pre-emphasis 60 and the voice recording terminals 24b and 14b.

The audio signal sent from the audio adapter 20 is recorded on the magnetic disk 37 via the FM modulation circuit 34, the AV switch 33, the head amplifier 35, and the magnetic head 36.

When reproducing the voice recorded on the magnetic disk 37, the voice adapter 20 is attached to the camera body 10. When the control switch 18 is set to voice reproduction in this state, the voice reproduction operation starts. First, the main body controller 42 switches the AV selector switch 41 to the Audio terminal, sends an audio reproduction signal to the adapter controller 67, starts rotating the magnetic disk 37 and tracking the magnetic head 36, and starts reading an audio signal.

The audio signal read by the magnetic head 36 is sent to the audio adapter 20 via the head amplifier 35, the FM demodulation circuit 40, and the AV changeover switch 41.

On the other hand, in the voice adapter 20, the adapter controller 67
However, first, the recording / reproduction changeover switches 54 and 58 are switched to the PB terminal to prepare for reproduction. The audio signal input from the camera body 10 to the audio reproduction terminal 24a is the de-emphasis circuit 65, the low-pass filter 66, the recording / reproduction switch 5
4, the data is temporarily stored in the RAM 22 via the A / D converter 55 and the data bus 56.

When the memory ends, the audio signal stored in the RAM 22 is read at a low speed this time, and the D / A converter 57
Is output to. Then, it is sent from the D / A converter 57 to the low pass filter 61 via the recording / reproducing switch 58, and further to the audio output terminal 64 via the noise reduction circuit 62 and the line amplifier 63. By connecting a sound reproducing device to the sound output terminal 64, sound can be reproduced.

The above is the recording operation with the voice adapter 20 attached to the camera body 10. Next, the remote control operation and the recording operation when the voice adapter 20 is separated from the camera body 10, which is a feature of the present invention, will be described. .

The system controllers 67 and 42 know through the interface buses 68 and 44 whether or not the audio adapter 20 is detached from the camera body 10.

If the audio adapter 20 is detached from the camera body 10, it can be moved independently to a place away from the camera body 10. When the recording switch 26 is turned on here, the adapter controller 67 switches the recording / reproducing switch 54 and the recording / reproducing switch 58 to the Rec terminal, respectively. When the recording switch 26 is turned on in this state, the audio signal picked up by the microphone 21 is converted into the microphone amplifier 51, the noise reduction circuit 52, the low-pass filter 53, and the recording / reproducing switch 5.
4, sent to the RAM 22 as a digital audio signal via the A / D converter 55 and the data bus 56 and stored therein.

The recordable time of one time matches the recordable time of the camera body 10. Although the number of recordings depends on the memory capacity of the RAM 22, the memory capacity may be at least one or more times.

The audio signal stored in the RAM 22 is finally recorded on the magnetic disk 37 when the audio adapter 20 is attached to the camera body 10. When the voice adapter 20 in which the voice is stored in the RAM 22 is attached to the camera body 10, the adapter controller 67 sends a signal to the body controller 42 that there is a memory. Upon receiving this signal, the main body controller 42 starts recording preparation.

After that, the adapter controller 67 reads the audio signal stored in the RAM 22 at high speed, and the D / A converter 57
Send to. The audio signal converted into the analog signal in the D / A converter 57 is sent to the camera body 10 via the recording / reproducing switch 58, the low-pass filter 59, the pre-emphasis circuit 60 and the recording terminal 24b.

The audio signal sent from the audio adapter 20 is recorded on the magnetic disk 37 in the camera body 10 via the FM modulation circuit 34, the head amplifier 35, and the magnetic head 36. This completes the recording operation.

When the voice adapter 20 is attached or detached, the battery changeover switch 70 has the voice adapter 20 in the camera body 1
When it is attached to 0, it switches to the main battery 43,
When removed, it switches to the built-in battery 69. This prevents the built-in battery 69 of the voice adapter 20 from being consumed.

The above is the recording operation, but the remote control operation, which is a feature of the present invention, is performed as follows. The voice adapter 20 is removed from the camera body 10, and the camera body 10 is set on a tripod or the like. The photographer carries the voice adapter 20 and moves to any place.

Here, when the photographer takes a picture, the remote control transmitter 2
8 to the remote control receiver 45, and the remote control switch 27
Turn on the release switch inside. Then, the release signal is transmitted from the remote control transmission unit 28 and received by the remote control reception unit 45, and the main body controller 42 is activated to perform photographing.

When recording voice, the recording switch 26 is pressed. Then, as described above, the voice signal is stored in the RAM 22.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the camera body 10 and the voice adapter 20 are detachable, the voice adapter 20 can record, and the camera body 10 can be operated by remote control. It is possible to record the voice of a place away from the, and moreover, it is possible to arbitrarily set the timing of recording and shooting.

Although the present invention has been described based on the embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. For example, the remote control device can use electromagnetic waves or ultrasonic waves instead of infrared rays as a signal transmission medium between the transmission unit and the reception unit. Further, it can be wired by using a cord. In short, the camera body 10
It suffices if the can be controlled from a remote location.

"Effects of the Invention" As is apparent from the above description, the electronic still camera of the present invention has the detachable voice adapter provided with the remote control operation function and the recording function. It becomes possible to record the voice and the image of the subject, and the voice of the subject far from the camera body can be clearly recorded.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of an embodiment of an electronic still camera to which the present invention is applied, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a main circuit configuration of the embodiment. 10 ... Camera body, 20 ... Voice adapter, 22 ...
RAM, 27 ... Remote control operation switch, 28 ... Remote control transmission section, 37 ... Magnetic disk, 42 ... Camera body system controller, 45 ... Remote control reception section, 6
7 ... Voice adapter system controller, 70 ... Battery changeover switch

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A camera body having recording means for respectively recording a subject image signal converted into an electric signal by an image pickup means and a sound signal converted into an electric signal by a sound collecting means; An electronic still camera having a sound collecting means and a transfer means for transmitting a sound signal converted into an electric signal by the sound collecting means to the camera body, wherein the sound adapter has the sound collecting means. Audio recording means for recording the audio signal converted by the above, and read-out means for reading out the audio signal recorded in the audio recording means and sending it to the camera body through the transfer means. A receiver of the remote control device for controlling the operation of the camera body is provided, and the operation part of the remote control device and the transmission are provided to the voice adapter. Electronic still camera, wherein a is provided. 2. The electronic still camera according to claim 1, wherein the signal transmission medium between the transmitter and the receiver of the remote control device is infrared rays.