JP3339714B2 - Video printer - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a video printer,
In particular, the present invention relates to a video printer that captures a video signal from, for example, a camera-integrated video tape recorder and prints a desired image while outputting the video signal to a monitor device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, when reproducing a picture taken by a video tape recorder (hereinafter referred to as a VTR) integrated with a camera such as an 8 mm video camera, a video printer is required to print a certain screen displayed on a monitor. Used.

Conventionally, such a video printer is a VTR.
A video input / output terminal for inputting a playback signal from the device and outputting the same to a monitor device, a line for directly outputting the playback signal between them, and a frame memory for storing a signal of a screen with the playback signal. And a line on which is arranged. When capturing a video signal into the frame memory, a capture button disposed on the outer surface of the printer, a so-called freeze button, is pressed. Thereby, the video signal of the screen is written to the frame memory. When monitoring the image represented by the video signal captured in the frame memory, the playback signal representing the moving image from the VTR is switched to a still image from the frame memory by pressing the screen switching button, and the monitor device Is output to If this is the desired image, the user presses the print button to read out the video signal from the frame memory and print it in the printing unit.

[0004]

However, in the above-described conventional technique, when a desired image is printed by a video printer, the VTR side continuously performs reproduction, and after printing is completed, When the monitor screen was switched to the VTR screen, the part that had been printed shifted to the screen that was far ahead. If there was a screen that we wanted to print further during that time, the VTR had to be rewound. For this reason, in general, after pressing the freeze button of the printer and finishing the signal acquisition, the VT
Press the stop button on R to pause playback and then print. Therefore, when printing multiple screens, press the play button on the VTR, press the freeze button on the printer, press the stop button on the VTR, press the screen switch button on the printer, press the print button on the printer, and press the VTR button again. Button operation on a device different from the VTR and the printer, that is, pressing the playback button, has a problem that these operations are cumbersome.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a video printer which can solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art and can reduce the troublesome operation when taking in a desired video from a VTR.

[0006]

According to the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a recording / reproducing apparatus for recording / reproducing an image and a display means for displaying the image are connected, and in the printer to print the image as a still image, the printer includes a storage unit for the video signal from the recording and reproducing apparatus capable of storing at least one screen image content, and capture means for capturing a video signal of a desired images in the storage means, A print operation unit having a manual operation member for executing printing of a still image in response to an operation of the manual operation member; and instructing a recording / reproducing apparatus to reproduce a video signal in response to an operation of the print operation unit. Control means.

According to the present invention, there is also provided a recording / reproducing apparatus for recording / reproducing a video signal representing an image such as a moving image on a recording medium, and a monitor apparatus for receiving the video signal and displaying the video. in the video printer for printing a of them desired <br/> picture image as a still image receives the video signal while outputting the signal to the monitor device from the recording and reproducing apparatus, the printer, the image from the recording and reproducing apparatus storage means for at least storing one screen image component signals, and a button for signal capturing to be pressed when capturing an image signal to the storage means, the still image based on one image of the video signal stored in the storage means And a printing button that is pressed when printing. Further, when the signal capturing button is pressed and the video signal for one screen is stored in the storage unit, the printer performs a printing operation. Movie It sends a stop signal to stop the reproduction of the signal, when the printing of the still image based on the stored video signal in the storage means printing button is pressed in this state is performed, the video signal recording and reproducing apparatus it you <br/> characterized with a control means for sending the reproduced signal to start playback.

The printer further includes a selection output means for selecting either a video signal stored in the storage means or a direct video signal from the recording / reproducing device and outputting the selected signal to the monitor device. When a video signal for one image is stored in the storage unit, the video signal from the storage unit is selected by the selection output unit, and when the print button is pressed, the reproduction of the video signal by the recording / reproducing apparatus is started. And a switching signal for causing the selection output means to select the reproduced signal.

In this case, the control means includes a first detection means for detecting that the signal acquisition button has been pressed, a second detection means for detecting that the print button has been pressed, and a first detection means. First signal generation means for transmitting a switching signal to the selection output means based on the detection results of the detection means and the second detection means, and control including a stop signal or a reproduction signal to the recording / reproducing apparatus based on the detection results And a second signal generating means for transmitting a signal.

[0010] In this video printer, the connected recording / reproducing device is advantageously a video tape recorder. Further, the control signal of the control means may be transmitted to the recording / reproducing device wirelessly.

[0011]

According to the video printer of the present invention, in the video playback state of the video signal recording / playback apparatus, when the push switch for taking the video signal into the storage means is pressed, the control means stores the video signal of the screen in the storage means. And sends a control signal to write the signal. When the image signal for one image is taken into the storage means, the control means sends a signal for stopping the reproduction to the recording / reproducing apparatus to stop the signal reproduction of the apparatus. After that, when the print button is pressed and printing is performed based on the video signal of the storage means, the control means detects this and sends a control signal to the recording / reproducing apparatus to start reproduction again, and the next screen is displayed. Start playback from.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a video printer according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Referring to FIG. 3, the video printer 10 in the present embodiment is, for example, 8 m long.
It is connected between an image recording / reproducing device such as an m video camera (hereinafter, 8 mm VTR) 20 and a monitor device 30 that receives a video signal such as an NTSC standard television signal and displays the video.

The video printer 10 and the 8 mm VTR 20 are
Are connected by a signal line 40 and a control line 50. The first signal line 40 is connected from the video output VOUT of the 8 mm VTR 20 to the video input terminal IN of the video printer 10, and the reproduction signal from the 8 mm VTR 20 is supplied to the video printer 10. The control line 50 is connected to the control terminal CTL of the video printer 10, and control signals are transmitted and received between the video printer 10 and the 8mm VTR 20 in both directions. In particular, in this embodiment, a control signal for controlling the VTR 20 is supplied from the video printer 10 via the control line 50. The video printer 10 and the monitor device 30 are connected by a second signal line 60, and a video output terminal of the video printer 10
The video signal from out is supplied to the video input VIN of the monitor device 30. Also, the 8 mm VTR 20 and the monitor device 30 are connected by an audio signal line 70, and the recording output AOUT of the 8 mm VTR 20 is
Is supplied to the audio input AIN of the monitor device 30.

The video printer 10 in this embodiment has at least a power switch 80, a freeze button 90 and a print button 100. When the freeze button 90 is pressed, at least one video signal from the 8 mm VTR 20 at that time is output. It has a frame memory 110 for accumulating image data for each screen. When the print button 100 is pressed, the video signal stored in the frame memory 110 is read out and subjected to a predetermined printing process, and a still image represented by the video signal is printed out. In particular, in this embodiment, when the freeze button 90 is pressed, a control signal for stopping or pausing the playback of the tape is sent to the 8 mm VTR 20, and the print button is pressed while the playback is stopped to perform printing. When the operation is performed, a control signal for starting reproduction again is transmitted to the 8 mm VTR 20, and the monitor is restarted.

Next, the internal configuration of the video printer 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. First, in FIG. 1, the video printer 10 transmits a video signal from an 8 mm VTR 20 to a video input terminal IN. receive. This video input terminal IN
Are connected to a first bus B1 and a second bus B2 which are branched in parallel. An analog-to-digital converter (A / D) 120 is connected to the first bus B1. The analog-to-digital converter 120 is a conversion circuit that converts an analog video signal from the 8 mm VTR 20 into, for example, an 8-bit digital signal. The output of the analog-to-digital converter 120 is connected to the input of the frame memory 110.

The frame memory 110 is composed of a video RAM or the like, and has a capacity to store at least data for one screen of a video signal. Advantageously, a plurality of screens can be stored, and in this embodiment, a memory having the capacity of the plurality of screens is employed. This frame memory
110 has two outputs, one of which is connected to a digital-to-analog converter (D / A) 130. The digital-to-analog converter 130 is a conversion circuit that converts digital data read from the memory 110 into an analog video signal. The other output of the frame memory 110 is connected via a signal processing circuit (DSP) 140 to a printing mechanism 150, that is, a printing section including a thermal head and the like. The signal processing circuit 140 is constituted by a digital signal processing circuit such as a digital signal processor, and performs predetermined processing required for printing on the data from the memory 110. For example, the YC data of a television signal composed of a luminance signal (Y) and a color difference signal (C) from the memory 110 is converted to a yellow signal.
(Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), black (K), etc. are converted into print data. The printing mechanism 150 prints an image based on data from the digital signal processor 140.

On the other hand, a second bus B2 connected to the video input terminal IN is connected to a selector 160 for selecting a monitor output. The other input of the selector 160 is connected to the output from the digital-to-analog converter 160. The output from the digital-to-analog converter 130 is represented as a video signal for one screen, ie, a still image, stored in the frame memory 110, and the signal from the second bus B2 is 8 mm VTR 2
This is an output of 0, that is, a signal representing a moving image. Selector 16
Numeral 0 denotes a selection output circuit for selecting these and sequentially outputting them from the output AOUT to the monitor device 30. This selector 160
Are sequentially switched by a control signal from the system controller 190.

The system controller 190 sends a control signal to each section based on the depression of each of the push buttons 80 to 100. For example, when the press of the freeze button 90 is detected, a control signal for instructing signal capture is sent to the memory controller 170 for controlling data writing and reading of the memory 110, and when the print button 100 is pressed, the signal processing circuit 140 and the print processing are performed. A control signal for instructing printing is sent to the controller 180. In particular, the system controller 190 of this embodiment sends out a switching signal of the selector 160 and a control signal for controlling the VTR 20 in accordance with the normal processing.

Specifically, the system controller 19
0, as shown in FIG. 2, includes a button press detection section 200, an internal control signal processing section 300, and a VTR control signal processing section 400. The button press detection unit 200 is a circuit that detects the press of each of the buttons 80 to 100 installed outside the apparatus and notifies the control signal processing units 300 and 400 of the button press.In this embodiment, the power switch press detection is performed. It has a unit 210, a freeze button press detection unit 220, and a print button press detection unit 220. The internal control signal processing 300 sends a control signal for instructing each processing to the respective controllers 150 and 170 and the signal processing unit 140 inside the apparatus, and receives and receives the control signals to sequentially execute the respective processings. A circuit for sending a control signal instructing switching, for example, a memory control signal generation unit 310
, A print control signal generator 320 and a switch control signal generator 33
0, and an accumulation completion signal detection unit 340. The VTR control signal processing unit 400 is a circuit that monitors the state of the VTR 20, generates a control signal for controlling the VTR 20, and transmits the control signal via the control line 50. A signal detection section 420 is provided.

The function of each unit will be further described. First, the button press detection unit 200 detects the power switch press detection unit 210.
Detects when the power switch 80 is pressed,
A power supply control unit (not shown) for supplying a power supply voltage to each unit; and
The detection circuit sends a detection signal to the VTR control signal generation unit 410. The freeze button press detection section 220 is a detection circuit that detects the press of the freeze button 90 and sends the detection signal to the memory control signal generation section 310 and the VTR control signal generation section 410. The print button press detection unit 230 is a detection circuit that detects press of the print button 100 and sends a detection signal to the print control signal generation unit 320, the memory control signal generation unit 310, and the VTR control signal generation unit 410.

Next, the memory control signal generation unit 310 in the internal control signal processing unit 300 is a signal generation circuit that supplies a control signal for instructing the memory controller 170 to fetch and read signals into and from the memory 110, Specifically, VT
Freeze button press detection unit in tape playback state in R20
Memory controller when a detection signal is received from the
A signal fetch signal is sent to the memory 170, and when receiving a detection signal from the print button press detection unit 230 after the completion of the storage in the memory 110, the memory controller 170 is instructed to read a signal for printing, and a switching control signal is output. When a control signal instructing signal selection from the memory 110 is received from the generation unit 330, a control signal instructing reading of a signal for monitoring is sent to the memory controller 170.

The print control signal generation section 320 includes a signal processing section 14
0 and a signal generation circuit that sends a control signal for instructing the print controller 180 to perform printing. More specifically, the signal generation circuit receives a detection signal from the print button press detection unit 230 while the video signal is stored in the memory 110. In this case, a print instruction signal is sent to the signal processing unit 140 and the print controller 180, and when printing is completed, the VTR control signal generation unit 41
Send a print end signal to 0. Switching control signal generator 330
Is a signal generation circuit for transmitting a switching signal for switching the selector 170.Specifically, the signal generation circuit receives a detection signal from the power switch press detection unit 210, and receives a signal reproduction start signal from the state signal detection unit 420. In this case, a switching signal for selecting a moving image signal from the second bus B2 is sent to the selector 160, and a detection signal from the freeze button detection unit 230 is received, and a storage completion signal from the storage completion signal detection unit 340 is received. In this case, the selector 160 supplies a selector 160 and a memory control signal generator with a switching signal for switching from selection of a moving image signal from the second bus B2 to selection of a still image from the memory 110 via the digital-to-analog converter 130. The switching signal for selecting a signal from the second bus B2 is transmitted to the selector 160 when a reproduction start signal is transmitted from the state signal detecting section 420 to the selector 160. Storage completion signal detection 34
Reference numeral 0 denotes a signal detection circuit that receives an accumulation completion signal from the memory controller 170 and notifies the completion signal to the print control signal generation unit 320, the switching control signal generation unit 330, and the VTR control signal generation unit 410, respectively.

Next, in the VTR control signal processing section 400, the VTR control signal generation section 410 is a signal generation circuit for generating and transmitting a control signal for controlling the VTR 20 via the control line 50. When a detection signal is received from the freeze button press detection unit 220 in the signal reproduction state of 20, the accumulation completion signal detection unit 34
When receiving the detection signal from 0 and the detection signal from the state signal detection section 420, the stop signal for stopping or temporarily stopping the reproduction of the VTR 20 is transmitted. Upon receiving the detection signal from the print button press detection unit 230 in the stop state of the VTR 20, and sending a start signal to start reproduction of the VTR 20 when receiving the print completion signal from the print control signal generation unit 320, At this time, a start signal indicating that the reproduction has been started is sent to the memory control generation unit 310.

The state signal detecting section 420 receives the state signal from the VTR 20 supplied via the control line 50, and outputs the detection signal to the VTR control signal generating section 410 and the switching control signal generating section 33.
This is a detection circuit that sends each signal to 0. The status signal from the VTR 20 includes, for example, a status signal for instructing the playback of one screen image synchronized with the vertical synchronization signal included in the video signal in the playback state as shown in FIG. Stop status when the tape is stopped or paused, and playback end status when the playback of the tape ends.

In the above-described configuration, the operation of the video printer according to the present embodiment is shown together with the operation of the 8 mm VTR 20 in FIG.
This will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, in step V100 of FIG. 5, the main power of the 8 mm VTR 20 is turned on, and then the power switch 80 is turned on in step P100 of the printer 10, and this is detected by the system controller 190 in step P102. The power supply voltage is supplied to each unit of the own device. Next, the system controller 190 generates a command to turn on the VTR 20 in step P104, and sends this to the system controller of the VTR 20 via the control line 50. Accordingly, the VTR 20 proceeds to step V102, and turns on each unit by supplying the power supply voltage from the system controller to each unit.

Next, the operator sets the VTR 20 in step V104.
Press the play button. As a result, the tape is reproduced in step V106, and the video signal is transmitted to the first signal line 40.
Is supplied to the video input terminal IN of the video printer 10 via the. At this time, in the VTR 20, a reproduction state signal including a state signal synchronized with the vertical synchronizing signal is transmitted to the system controller 190 of the video printer 10 via the control line 50 in step V108. Upon receiving this, the system controller 190 detects the initial state signal and switches the selector 160 to select the signal on the second bus B2 side. As a result, the monitor output becomes a reproduction signal of the VTR 20, and the monitor device
The moving image being reproduced on the VTR 20 is displayed at 30. When a desired image is displayed on the monitor screen while monitoring this image, the freeze button of the video printer 10 is pressed.
Press 90. When the freeze button 90 is pressed, the system controller 190 detects this in step P106, and sends a capture start signal to the memory controller 170. Upon receiving this, the memory controller 170 proceeds to step
Send a write control signal to the frame memory 110 in P108
The video signal from the VTR 20 is stored in the memory 110 for one image. When the storage of one image is completed, the memory controller
170 sends an accumulation completion signal to the system controller 190.

The system controller 190, which has detected the accumulation completion signal in step P110, sends a signal for switching the selector 160. Thus, the selector 170 switches the signal from the second bus B2 to the still image signal from the memory 110 by the analog-to-digital converter 130 in step P112. As a result, a still image to be printed is displayed on the monitor device 30. At this time, when the system controller 190 detects a state signal synchronized with the vertical synchronization signal from the control line 40 in Step P114, the system controller 190 generates a command to stop the VTR 20 and sends it to the VTR 20. This allows
The VTR 20 stops tape playback in a state where playback of the next screen captured by the printer 10 is started.

Next, referring to FIG. 6, the VTR 20 executes step V1.
At 12, a reproduction stop status is generated and sent to the system controller 190 of the printer 10. Upon receiving this, the system controller 190 enters a state of waiting for pressing of the print button 100 as shown in step P118. In this state,
When the operator checks the monitor screen and presses the print button 100, the system controller 190 detects the press and sends a print instruction signal to the memory controller 170, the signal processing unit 140, and the print controller 180 in step P120. . As a result, the image data stored in the memory 110 is read out, signal processing is performed in the signal processing unit 140, and printing is performed in the printing mechanism unit 150 based on the image data. When printing is completed, a print completion signal is sent from the print controller 180 to the system controller 190. Upon receiving this, the system controller 190 detects the end of printing in step P122, moves to step P124, generates a reproduction start command, and sends it to the VTR 20. As a result, in VTR 20,
At step V114, reproduction of the tape is started again, and a reproduction state signal is sent to the system controller 190 of the printer 10 at step V116 in the same manner as described above. Upon detecting this, the system controller 190 switches the selector 160 in step P126 to select the reproduced signal from the VTR 20 and display it on the monitor device 30. As a result, a moving image following the printed image is reproduced on the monitor screen.

Next, the VTR 20 determines whether or not the tape reproduction has ended at step V118, and at the end of the tape, transmits a reproduction end status to the system controller 190 of the printer 10 at step V120. The system controller 190 repeats the operation from step P106 in FIG. 5 to P126 in FIG. 6 until receiving the reproduction end status, and upon receiving the reproduction end status from the VTR 20,
The process ends.

In the above embodiment, the system controller 190 receives the print end signal from the print controller 180 and sends a reproduction start command to the 8 mm VTR 20. However, in the present invention, the reproduction is performed when the print button is detected. A start command may be sent. Further, in the above embodiment, the system controller 180
Although the control signal to the 8 mm VTR 20 has been supplied via the control line 50, the control signal may be transmitted and received wirelessly.

[0031]

As described above, according to the video printer of the present invention, the signal capture button is pressed to switch the screen and the recording / reproducing apparatus is automatically stopped, and the print button is pressed in this state. When the printing is performed, the recording / reproducing device is configured to be automatically reproduced, so that when the desired screen is printed, the recording / reproducing device is hardly operated, and only the operation of the present device is performed. This provides an excellent effect that a video signal can be captured and printed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing an internal configuration of a system controller in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a connection state with another device to which the embodiment is applied.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state signal from a VTR in the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the printer and VTR in the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the printer and VTR in the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Video printer 20 8mm VTR 30 Monitor device 40 First signal line 50 Control line 60 Second signal line 70 Audio signal line 80 Power switch 90 Freeze button 100 Print button 110 Frame memory 160 Selector 190 System controller 210 Freeze button press detection Section 310 memory control signal generation section 320 print control signal generation section 330 switching control signal generation section 340 accumulation completion signal detection section 400 VTR control signal generation section 410 status signal detection section B1 first bus B2 second bus

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-3-60289 (JP, A) JP-A-62-175822 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H04N 5/76-5/956 G11B 31/00

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] (1)Record video signals representing images such as moving images
A recording / reproducing device for recording / reproducing on a medium, and receiving a video signal
Connected to a monitor device that displays the video
Upon receiving a video signal from the recording / reproducing device, the
Output to NitaMake the image a still image
A video printer that prints from the recording / reproducing device.Sent via signal lineVideo
Store signal for at least one imageDoStorage means;The For storage meansSignal capture pressed when capturing video signals
Button, Based on the video signal for one image stored in the storage means
A print button to be pressed when printing a still image Video signal stored in storage means and recording / reproducing apparatus
Of the video signal sent directly from the
Selection output means for selecting one of them and outputting it to the monitor device
When, The storage means, a signal capture button, a print button, and
Control means connected to the selection output means, The control means determines that the signal capture button has been pressed.
First detecting means for detecting an error, and the printing button is pressed
Second detecting means for detecting that the recording / reproduction has been performed;
The recording / reproducing device sent from the device via a control line
Vertical synchronization signal of the video signal sent from the
1 frame that instructs playback of 1 screen image synchronized with the number
Third detecting means for detecting a pulse-like state signal having a period
And first detection means, second detection means, and third detection
A switching signal to the selection output means based on a detection result of the means.
First signal generating means for transmitting a signal based on the detection result.
Video signal to the recording / reproducing device via the control line.
Start playback of stop signal or video signal to stop playback
A second signal source for transmitting a control signal including a reproduced signal to be generated
Including raw means A video printer. 2. A video printer according to claim 1, wherein the recording / reproducing device connected to the printer is a video printer.
Video printer characterized by Oh Rukoto in Purekoda. 3. The video printer according to claim 2 , wherein a control signal of said control means is sent to said recording / reproducing apparatus.
Video printer according to claim Rukoto transmitted in Iyaresu.