JP2002237977A - Electronic camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic camera that can reduce the start time. SOLUTION: The electronic camera is provided with photographing means (12, 13) that photograph an object image, a recording means 20 that converts the photographed object image into image data and records the data to a removable recording medium, a reading means 45 that reads management information of the recording medium from the recoding medium, and a storage means 61 that stores the management information read from the recording medium and prepares for photographing, on the basis of the management information stored in the storage means at the application of power.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic camera to which a recording medium for recording a photographed image can be mounted.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Electronic cameras, to record a captured image, which is a detachable recording medium, for example,
Smart Media, Compact Flash (registered trademark)
And a recording medium such as an optical disk or a magnetic disk (hereinafter, referred to as a “removable memory”). When the power of the electronic camera is turned on, the management information is always read from the detachable memory in order to check the state of the detachable memory. This management information includes, for example, the remaining amount of memory, and the availability of writing and the number of recordable images are calculated based on the remaining amount of memory.

However, in the electronic camera, most of the time from when the power is turned on to when the image can be taken (that is, the startup time) is spent for reading the management information. The read management information is stored in a memory in the camera (for example, a cache in the main CPU or a main CPU).
PU memory). When the contents of the detachable memory change, such as during shooting or when erasing image data, the management information of the detachable memory in the memory is appropriately rewritten, but when the power is turned off, the management information stored in the memory is rewritten. Information is lost. FIG. 5 shows this state. As shown in FIG. 5, first, when a battery is inserted into the electronic camera and the power is turned on, management information of a detachable memory (hereinafter, also referred to as “media”) is acquired (this acquisition time is almost equal to the start-up time). Occupy). Then, when photographing becomes possible, normal photographing becomes possible. Each time a photograph is taken, the photographed image is recorded in the detachable memory, and the management information of the detachable memory is also updated (not shown), and whether or not photographing is possible is checked at any time. When the power is turned off, the management information is lost. When the power is turned on again, the management information is read from the detachable memory again and waits until the photographing is enabled. As described above, when the power is turned on, the management information of the detachable memory is always acquired, and the acquisition time of the management information is almost the same as the start-up time (start-up time) from when the power is turned on until photographing becomes possible. However, in the electronic camera, it is preferable to be able to take a picture as soon as the power is turned on in order not to miss a photo opportunity, so that the start-up time needs to be shortened. But,
No effective means for reducing the startup time of the electronic camera has been proposed. Also, Japanese Patent Application No. 11-298838 proposes a camera that stores a camera operation when the power is turned off and that stores a history of use (contents) of a used recording medium. Has no effect.

[0004]

As described above, in the electronic camera, it is required to shorten the start-up time in order not to miss a photo opportunity, but effective means for that purpose is as follows. I can't find it.

[0005] It is an object of the present invention to provide an electronic camera capable of shortening the startup time.

[0006]

According to the present invention, the following means have been taken in order to solve the above-mentioned problems.

[0007] An electronic camera according to the present invention comprises: a photographing means for photographing a subject image; a recording means for converting the photographed subject image into image data and recording the image data on a removable recording medium;
Reading means for reading out the management information of the recording medium from said recording medium, and a storage means for storing the management information read from the recording medium, when the power is turned on, the management information stored in said storage means It is characterized in that shooting preparation is performed based on the information.

[0008] Another electronic camera according to the present invention comprises: a photographing means for photographing a subject image; a recording means for converting the photographed subject image into image data and recording the image data on a removable recording medium; A reading unit that reads the management information of the recording medium; and a storage unit that stores the management information read from the recording medium. When the power is turned on, the management information read from the recording medium or stored in the recording medium. The photographing preparation is performed based on any of the management information.

A preferred embodiment of each of the above electronic cameras is as follows. The following embodiments may be used alone or in combination. (1) The apparatus further comprises a detecting means for detecting whether the cover provided for protecting the recording medium is opened or closed or whether the recording medium is inserted into or removed from a slot. Reading the management information from the recording medium after the mounting of the medium is detected.

[0010] (2) The apparatus further comprises detection means for detecting insertion / removal of a battery for supplying power to each unit, wherein the reading means reads the management information from the recording medium after the attachment of the battery is detected. read it.

(3) If replacement of the recording medium is detected when the power is turned off, the photographing preparation means prepares for photographing based on the medium management information read from the recording medium.

[0012] (4) further comprising that the rewriting means for rewriting the management information at a predetermined timing.

In the above (2) and (3),
When the battery is replaced or the recording medium is replaced, the management information of the recording medium is read out while the display is turned off and stored in the storage means. When the power is turned on, the management information of the recording medium is read from the storage means. It is preferable to read the data to shorten the startup time.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an electronic camera to which the present invention is applied.

The optical image of the object passing through the lens 11 is
The signal is converted into an electric signal by the CCD 12 and is converted into an analog image signal by the imaging circuit 13. This analog image signal is A
The digital image signal is converted into a digital image signal (hereinafter, also referred to as “image information”) by the / D converter 14 and temporarily stored in the volatile built-in memory 25. The built-in memory 25 has a high speed, for example, an SDRAM (Synchronous Dy).
natural RandomAccess Memor
y), and is also used as a work area for image processing described later. The image processing circuit 21 performs processing such as conversion processing of color information of image information temporarily stored in the built-in memory 25 and conversion of the number of pixels. The image information that has been subjected to various types of image processing in the image processing circuit 21 is supplied to the compression / decompression unit 22.
Then, the data is JPEG-compressed and recorded in a removable memory 20 such as a smart media.

When displaying a photographed image, the image information after the image processing is transmitted to the LCD driver 31 via the LCD driver 31.
The image is displayed on the image display LCD 30.

When an image recorded in the removable memory 20 is displayed, the image is expanded by the compression / expansion unit 22 and, for example, subjected to predetermined image processing by the image processing circuit 21 and then photographed. The image recorded on the image display LCD 30 is displayed.

The main CPU 40 reads a basic control program of the electronic camera from a nonvolatile memory 41 such as a flash memory and controls the entire electronic camera.

The sub CPU 45 receives an input from an operation section 46 (including a release button, a cross key, etc., not shown) and performs control according to the input. Also, sub C
The PU 45 controls a power supply unit (not shown) to manage the power supply of the entire electronic camera.

FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram of a portion relating to the main CPU 40 and a portion relating to the sub CPU 45 in FIG.
Particularly, a detailed circuit diagram of a portion related to the sub CPU 45 is shown. 2, the same parts as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals. 2, ON / OFF from a power switch 51 or a switch 52 of a removable memory slot cover is input to the sub CPU, and power is supplied to the electronic camera according to ON / OFF of the power switch 51 (power supply). Switch 5
3). When the battery 55 is replaced, the setting is returned to the default value by inputting the reset signal. In the present invention, a small volume to the sub CPU45 parts R
AM61 (random access memory: volatile memory)
, And the management information of the recording medium is stored in the RAM 61. As shown in FIG. 2, since the RAM 61 is always on, its contents are not lost. When the battery 55 is replaced, the power is supplied by the backup large-capacity capacitor 56. Therefore, the contents are not lost unless the battery is left unplugged for a long time.

The operation of the electronic camera according to the present invention configured as described above will be described. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an operation of the electronic camera according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 3, when the electronic camera is used for the first time, when a battery is inserted, default values of the electronic camera are read and initial settings are performed. Then, when the power is turned on (first time), since there is no data in the RAM 61, management information of the recording medium is acquired to check whether writing to the recording medium is possible. And
Whether shooting is possible or not is determined based on the management information, and if shooting is possible, shooting processing is performed. Then, the image is recorded on the storage medium after photographing. And turn off the power, then
When the power is turned on (for the second time or later), the management information of the recording medium stored in the RAM is read, and whether or not shooting is possible is determined based on the management information. Then, at the time when the photographing is possible, the management information of the recording medium is read from the recording medium in the background. This is because RAM
This is because only the minimum management information (for example, the free space of the recording medium) for judging whether or not shooting is possible is recorded in 61. As described above, according to the present invention, the management information is read from the recording medium for the first time after the battery replacement, but the RA
Since the management information stored in M61 is read and the standby state is set, the startup time is greatly reduced, and a photo opportunity is not missed. Note that the management information of the recording medium is read out after the battery replacement at the first power-on. However, it may be before the power-on, and only the management information of the recording medium is turned off with the display turned off. What is necessary is just to read it. By adopting such a method, the standby state can be established in a short startup time from the first power-on. Next, consider a case where the battery is replaced while the RAM 61 has the management information. Also in this case, since the contents can be held in the RAM 61 by the backup capacitor 56 for a short time, the management information is read from the RAM 61 as in the case where the power is turned on for the second time and thereafter, so that there is almost no start-up time. Thus, it is possible to determine whether the photographing is possible (or impossible). Therefore, there is no chance of missing a photo opportunity.

Next, when the recording medium is replaced, it is necessary to obtain management information of the recording medium. A second embodiment in such a case will be described with reference to FIG.
The first on / off of the power after replacing the battery is the same as in the first embodiment. Next, when the recording medium is exchanged thereafter, it is necessary to read the management information of the recording medium from the recording medium. Therefore, the contents of the RAM 61 may be cleared after the recording medium is mounted, and then the management information of the recording medium may be read at the time of power-on. However, in this case, there is a problem that the start-up time immediately after the replacement of the recording medium becomes long. Therefore, even when the power is off, it is preferable to obtain the management information of the recording medium without displaying the operation immediately after the replacement and store it in the RAM 61. By doing so, the start-up time can be reduced as in the first embodiment.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment of the present invention. In the above embodiment, the management information of the recording medium is stored in the RAM 61 which is a volatile memory. However, the management information is not limited to the RAM 61 and may be stored in a nonvolatile memory. In this case, the management information may be read from the non-volatile memory when the power is turned on. In addition, it goes without saying that various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0024]

According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

Since the management information is read from a high-speed storage medium (RAM, nonvolatile memory, etc.), the time for reading the management information from the recording medium becomes unnecessary, and the startup time is shortened.

When the recording medium is exchanged when the battery is exchanged or when the power is turned on or off, the management information is read from the recording medium, so that there is no risk of preparing for photographing based on incorrect information.

Since the change of the medium content due to photographing or the like is appropriately updated, the correct medium management information is always stored when the power is turned off.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an electronic camera to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a portion related to a main CPU and a sub C in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a detailed circuit diagram of a portion related to a sub CPU, among circuit diagrams of a portion related to a PU.

FIG. 3 is a view showing the operation of the electronic camera according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a view showing the operation of the electronic camera according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the operation of a conventional electronic camera.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Lens 12 ... CCD 13 ... Imaging circuit 14 ... D converter 20 ... Removable memory 21 ... Image processing circuit 22 ... Compression / decompression unit 25 ... Built-in memory 30 ... LCD for image display 31 ... LCD driver 40 ... Main CPU 41 ... Non-volatile Memory 45 sub CPU 46 operating unit 51 power switch 52 switch 55 battery 56 capacitor 61 RAM

Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2H054 AA01 5C022 AA11 AB40 AC69 AC73 AC77 CA00 5C052 AA17 AB03 AB04 AC08 CC11 DD02 DD04 5C053 FA09 FA21 FA23 FA27 GA11 GB06 GB36 JA24 KA04 KA21 KA24 LA01

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A photographing means for photographing a subject image, a recording means for converting the photographed subject image into image data and recording it on a removable recording medium, and reading management information of the recording medium from the recording medium An electronic device comprising: a reading unit; and a storage unit that stores the management information read from the recording medium, and performs a shooting preparation based on the management information stored in the storage unit when a power is turned on. camera. 2. A photographing unit for photographing a subject image, a recording unit for converting the photographed subject image into image data and recording the image data on a removable recording medium, and a recording medium recorded on the recording medium. Storage means for storing management information; selecting means for selecting one of the storage medium and the storage means on which the management information is recorded; and one of the storage medium or the storage means selected by the selection means An electronic camera, comprising: a reading unit that reads out the management information from the electronic camera, and performs a shooting preparation based on the management information read out by the reading unit when the power is turned on. 3. The electronic camera according to claim 1, wherein a detecting means for detecting whether the cover provided for protecting the recording medium is opened or closed or whether the recording medium is inserted into or removed from a slot. The electronic camera, further comprising: reading out the management information from the recording medium after detecting that the lid is closed or mounting of the recording medium. 4. The electronic camera according to claim 1 or claim 2, further comprising detection means for detecting the insertion and removal of a battery for supplying power to each section, the reading means, the mounting of the battery An electronic camera, wherein the management information is read from the recording medium after being detected. 5. The electronic camera according to claim 1, wherein when the exchange of the recording medium is detected when the power is turned off, the photographing preparation unit manages the medium read from the recording medium. An electronic camera, which performs preparation for photographing based on information. 6. The electronic camera according to claim 1, further comprising rewriting means for rewriting the management information at a predetermined timing.