JP4065740B2 - Cradle device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a cradle device that holds a digital camera.
[0002]
[Prior art]
The biggest advantage of a digital camera is that it is lightweight, compact, and portable. The camera body is not built in the camera body as much as possible, except for the mechanism for taking the subject image and storing it in the electronic storage means. It is better to use it connected to. Therefore, for example, what is called a cradle assembly or a docking station having a function of a repeater having an interface (I / F) for connection with a personal computer and a charger for charging is digital. Often comes with the camera. Hereinafter, the cradle assembly or the docking station will be referred to as a cradle device.
[0003]
The cradle device as described above is provided with a mounting portion formed in a concave shape in accordance with the bottom surface portion of the digital camera, and the digital camera is positioned at a predetermined angle by mounting the digital camera on the mounting portion. Is done. By mounting the digital camera in this way, the cradle device can also function as a tripod for holding the digital camera toward the subject.
[0004]
On the other hand, the digital camera has a great advantage in that it can store a large number of photographed image data in a memory card used as a storage means in addition to good portability. For example, in the case of Finepix S602 (product name) manufactured and sold by the present applicant, the number of pixels that can be stored in this memory card is 1280 × 960 on 128 MB SmartMedia (registered trademark), and When used in the image quality mode, 398 shot image data can be stored. Recently, the CPU processing speed of digital cameras has been improved and the capacity of memory cards has been increasing, and it is expected that a larger number of images can be stored in the future.
[0005]
Therefore, taking advantage of such advantages, it is considered that the digital camera is used not only for normal photographing such as a person or landscape but also as a surveillance camera for photographing for surveillance purposes. In order to use a digital camera for such a monitoring purpose, for example, a digital camera described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-304227 can obtain an image obtained by photographing a certain portion over a long period of time. Various ideas are considered. Furthermore, when a digital camera is used as a surveillance camera, image data taken on a personal computer while holding the digital camera and fixing the position toward a predetermined subject by using the cradle device as described above. The usage form of transferring is considered.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, in order to use a normal digital camera for shooting as a surveillance camera, not only shooting a subject image and displaying it on the monitor, but also always storing the image data in the electronic storage means while shooting the subject image. I have to keep it. However, in the digital camera described in the above publication, there is no detailed description about storing image data during monitoring.
[0007]
Furthermore, the angle of view of the shooting range may differ between when performing normal shooting with a digital camera and when shooting for monitoring. In other words, a wide-angle shooting range is required to monitor the entire room, for example, as a monitoring camera, but a digital camera set for normal shooting should perform wide-angle shooting so that the entire room can be shot. With the digital camera described in the above publication, it is possible to narrow the shooting range more than usual when adjusting the shooting range, but there is no description about means for adjusting the shooting range for wide-angle shooting. Absent.
[0008]
In addition, the conventional cradle device does not consider using a digital camera as a surveillance camera. When a digital camera is attached to a cradle device and connected to a personal computer, a through image captured by the digital camera is stored in the personal computer. The image is transferred to the computer and displayed on a personal computer, and since it has not been considered to store an image, it cannot be used as a monitoring camera immediately.
[0009]
Furthermore, in the conventional cradle device, the digital camera is mounted on the mounting portion while being positioned at a predetermined angle, and the tilt of the digital camera cannot be adjusted to a free angle, and the angle of view of the shooting range It was difficult to decide.
[0010]
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a cradle device that can easily use a digital camera used for normal photographing as a surveillance camera.
[0011]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problems, in the cradle device of the present invention, a concave mounting portion on which a digital camera is mounted is formed in the upper portion, and a connection terminal connected to a connector for connecting a digital camera is provided on the mounting portion. Rutotomoni provided in the are provided adjustable foot for changing the tilt of the digital camera mounted on the mounting portion, when the digital camera to the mounting portion is mounted, said connecting terminal to said connector Connected, and via this connection terminal, a subject is photographed at a predetermined time interval, and a signal instructing to perform intermittent photographing in which image data is stored in an electronic storage means built in the digital camera is transmitted to the digital camera. It is characterized by that.
[0013]
The cradle apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein when the digital camera is mounted on the mounting portion, the wide-angle converter lens is positioned in front of the shooting lens of the digital camera and makes the shooting range of the digital camera wider than normal. Is provided.
[0014]
Furthermore, in the cradle device according to claim 3 , when the digital camera is mounted on the mounting portion, the digital camera is positioned on the photographing optical axis of the digital camera, and the subject image is projected onto a mirror surface in a wide angle range. A wide-angle convex mirror is provided to widen the shooting range of the digital camera by causing the subject image projected on the camera to enter the shooting lens of the digital camera.
[0015]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing configurations of a digital camera 2 and a cradle device 3 embodying the present invention. The front surface of the digital camera 2 is used for a lens barrel 5 in which a photographing lens 4 is incorporated, an objective-side finder window 7 constituting a finder, a strobe light emitting unit 8 that emits strobe light toward a subject, and a shutter release operation. A shutter button 9 and the like are provided.
[0016]
A memory card slot 11 into which the memory card 10 is detachably set is provided on one side surface of the digital camera 2. A memory I / F 12 (see FIG. 4), which will be described later, is incorporated in the back of the memory card slot 11. When the memory card 10 is set in the memory card slot 11, the memory card 10 is electrically connected to the memory I / F 12. Connected. The memory card slot 11 is protected by an openable protective cover 13 in order to prevent dust from entering. As the memory card 10, SmartMedia (registered trademark) is used.
[0017]
On the back surface of the digital camera 2, an eyepiece side finder window, an operation unit (not shown) and the like constituting the finder are provided. The digital camera 2 is provided with a battery chamber. The bottom surface 15 of the digital camera 2 is provided with an opening 16 for accessing the battery chamber. The opening 16 is opened and closed by a lid member 17. A battery 18 as a rechargeable secondary battery is set in the battery chamber.
[0018]
The cradle device 3 includes a cradle body 20, an imaging range switching unit 21, and an adjustment leg 22. The cradle body 20 is formed in a short rectangular base shape, and a mounting portion 23 to which the digital camera 2 is mounted is provided on the upper surface. The mounting portion 23 is formed in a concave shape matching the outer periphery of the bottom surface portion 15 of the digital camera 2, and the digital camera 2 is positioned at a predetermined angle by placing the bottom surface portion 15 on the mounting portion 23. Has been supported.
[0019]
A connection terminal 26 is provided inside the mounting portion 23. When the digital camera 2 is mounted on the mounting portion 23, the connection terminal 26 is fitted into a connection connector 27 provided on the bottom surface portion 15 of the digital camera 2, so that the digital camera 2 and the cradle device 3 are electrically connected. Connect to. By being electrically connected to the digital camera 2, the cradle device 3 functions as a stand for stably holding the digital camera 2, and also functions as a terminal for interposing charging and connection with an external device. When the digital camera 2 is set, it also functions as a tripod that holds the digital camera 2 toward the subject.
[0020]
The side surface of the cradle body 20 is provided with a Universal Serial Bus (USB) connector 32 that is connected to a DC power input connector 30, a personal computer 31 (see FIG. 4), and the like. These connectors 30 and 32 are connected to the connection terminal 26 inside the stand 3.
[0021]
An imaging range switching unit 21 is provided on the front surface of the cradle body 20. The photographing range switching unit 21 includes a lens support frame 34, a wide-angle converter lens 35, a rotation shaft 36, and positioning pins 37a and 37b. The lens support frame 34 includes a shaft portion 38 that is formed in a thin plate shape having a rectangular cross section, and a frame portion 39 that is integrally formed on the distal end side of the shaft portion 38. The lens support frame 34 has a shaft portion 38 attached to the front surface of the cradle body 20 via a rotation shaft 36.
[0022]
The frame portion 39 is formed in an annular shape, and a wide-angle converter lens 35 is fitted and fixed thereto. The wide-angle converter lens 35 moves in a plane perpendicular to the photographing optical axis L of the photographing lens 4 of the digital camera 2 by the rotation of the lens support frame 34.
[0023]
The positioning pins 37a and 37b contact the side surfaces 38a and 38b of the shaft portion 38 to position the lens supporting frame 34 when the lens supporting frame 34 is rotated. This limits the range of rotation of the lens support frame 34.
[0024]
As described above, when the lens support frame 34 rotates and contacts the positioning pins 37a and 37b, the wide-angle converter lens 35 is positioned at the wide-angle shooting position (indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 1). Position) and a retracted position (position shown in practice in FIG. 1) retracted from the front of the photographing lens 4. When the digital camera 2 is not attached, the wide-angle converter lens 35 is in the retracted position.
[0025]
2 and 3 show a state in which the digital camera 2 is mounted on the cradle device 3. When the wide-angle converter lens 35 is moved to the wide-angle shooting position when the digital camera 2 is attached, the wide-angle converter lens 35 is positioned in front of the photographing lens 4, and the position of the optical axis of the wide-angle converter lens 35 and the photographing lens 4. The position of the photographic optical axis L matches. As a result, the digital camera 2 can shoot in a wide-angle shooting range.
[0026]
The adjustment legs 22 are arranged so as to protrude downward from the vicinity of the four corners of the cradle body 20. As shown in FIG. 3, the adjustment leg 22 includes a leg main body 40, a male screw portion 42 that is screwed into the bottom surface 20 a of the cradle body 20, and a retaining portion 43 that is positioned at the tip of the male screw portion 42. It is integrally formed. When the adjustment leg 22 is rotated about the axis, the male screw portion 42 moves straight along the axial direction with respect to the bottom surface 20a, and the length of the adjustment leg 22 protruding from the bottom surface 20a is adjusted. In this way, by changing the length by which the adjusting leg 22 protrudes, the inclination of the cradle body 20 can be changed, and the inclination of the photographing optical axis L of the digital camera 2 attached to the cradle device 3 can be adjusted. . In FIG. 3, the projecting dimension of the adjustment leg 22 arranged at the front part is made longer than the adjustment leg 22 arranged at the rear part of the cradle body 20. Accordingly, since the front of the cradle body 20 is tilted so that the rear is lowered, the digital camera 2 mounted on the cradle device 3 is arranged so that the photographing optical axis L is directed upward with respect to the horizontal direction. It is inclined to.
[0027]
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an outline of the electrical configuration of the digital camera 2 and the cradle device 3. The system controller 46 manages and controls various circuits of the digital camera 2 as a whole. The input unit 47 includes the release button 9 and various operation units, and transmits operation signals corresponding to these operations to the system controller 46. Based on these operation signals, the system controller 46 controls various circuits to execute a sequence for photographing.
[0028]
A CCD image sensor 49 is disposed behind the photographing lens 4, and a subject image is formed on the photoelectric surface of the CCD image sensor 49 by focusing the photographing lens 4. The CCD image sensor 49 converts the optical subject image formed on the photocathode by driving the CCD driver 50 into an electrical photographing signal and outputs it.
[0029]
A photographing signal output from the CCD image sensor 49 is amplified to an appropriate level by an amplifier 52 and then digitally converted by an A / D converter 53. As is well known, synchronization is established between the drive of the CCD driver 50 and the sampling timing of the A / D converter 53.
[0030]
The A / D converter 53 digitally converts the photographic signal to generate image data, which is sequentially input to the image data processing circuit 55. The image data processing circuit 55 performs signal processing such as matrix calculation, white balance adjustment, and gamma correction on the input image data.
[0031]
Further, the system controller 46 includes a personal computer communication circuit 57 that performs data communication with the personal computer 31, a power supply control circuit 58 that controls charging of the battery 18, and a memory I / O that performs writing to and reading from the memory card 10. F12 is connected.
[0032]
The personal computer communication circuit 57 and the power supply control circuit 58 are connected to the connection connector 27 provided on the bottom surface portion 15. By connecting the connection connector 27 to the connection terminal 26 of the cradle device 3, the personal computer communication circuit 57 and the power control circuit 58, the USB connector 32 of the cradle device 3, and the charging circuit 61 are electrically connected. Will be.
[0033]
The cradle device 3 is provided with a connection terminal 27, a DC power input connector 30, a USB connector 32, and a charging circuit 61. In the present embodiment, the personal computer 31 is connected to the USB connector 32 via the USB cable 62, and when the digital camera 2 is attached to the cradle device 3, the connection terminal 26 and the connection connector 27 are used. The digital camera 2 and the personal computer 31 are electrically connected. When the digital camera 2 is connected to the personal computer 31 in this way, the system controller 46 receives various instruction signals from the personal computer 31 by the personal computer communication circuit 57, and based on the received various instruction signals, The various circuits are controlled to execute a sequence for photographing, and various data including image data obtained by capturing the subject image is transmitted to the personal computer 31.
[0034]
The charging circuit 61 is connected to the DC power input connector 30 and the connection terminal 26. An AC power adapter 63 is connected to the DC power input adapter 30, and DC power is supplied to the charging circuit 61. When the digital camera 2 is attached to the cradle device 3, the charging circuit 61 is electrically connected to the battery 18 inside the digital camera 2 via the connection terminal 26, the connection connector 27, and the power supply control circuit 58. When the digital camera 2 is mounted on the cradle device 3, the power control circuit 58 charges the battery 18 with the power supplied from the charging circuit 61.
[0035]
In addition to the OS (Operating System), the personal computer 31 is installed with various software such as software for communication with the digital camera 2 and software for monitoring camera operation for operating the digital camera 2 as a monitoring camera. In the surveillance camera operation software in this embodiment, there is a program for instructing to perform intermittent shooting in which the digital camera 2 captures a subject at predetermined time intervals and sequentially stores the captured image data in the memory card 10. Has been made.
[0036]
Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the subject to be monitored is in a room, and the digital camera 2 and the cradle device 3 are installed in the room and monitoring is performed in a wide-angle shooting range. To explain. In order to use the digital camera 2 as a surveillance camera, first, the digital camera 2 and the personal computer 31 are turned on, and the OS, communication, and surveillance camera operation software are activated. The AC power adapter 63 is inserted into an outlet such as AC 100V.
[0037]
When the digital camera 2 is mounted on the mounting portion 23 of the cradle device 3, the personal computer 31 is electrically connected. Further, the wide angle converter lens 35 of the photographing range switching unit 21 is moved to the wide angle photographing position. As a result, the digital camera 2 can shoot in a wide-angle shooting range suitable for indoor monitoring. When the subject is located in the normal photographing range and it is not necessary to photograph in the wide-angle photographing range, the wide-angle converter lens 35 may be set at the retracted position. Further, the adjustment leg 22 is adjusted so that the photographing optical axis L of the photographing lens 4 faces the direction of the subject.
[0038]
Then, a command by the monitoring camera operation software of the personal computer 31 is transmitted to the digital camera 2 via the connection terminal 26 and the connection connector 27 via the cradle device 3. An instruction signal by the monitoring camera operation software is transmitted from the personal computer communication circuit 67 to the system controller 46. The system controller 46 drives various circuits of the digital camera 2 based on instructions from the monitoring camera operation software. As a result, the system controller 46 drives the CCD driver 50 so that the shutter operation is performed at predetermined time intervals. At this time, the subject image formed on the photocathode of the CCD image sensor 49 is sequentially stored in the memory card 10. I will do it. As the image data of the subject image photographed at a predetermined time interval, for example, up to several hundred images can be stored in the memory card 10. When the image data is stored until the capacity of the memory card 10 reaches the limit, the image data of the oldest time is deleted in order, and new image data is sequentially stored. In this way, it is possible to take image data of a subject to be monitored and store it in the memory card 10, and it can be easily used as a monitoring camera immediately after the digital camera 2 is mounted on the cradle device 3. It is possible to use.
[0039]
In the above embodiment, a monitoring method is performed in which image data obtained by capturing a subject image to be monitored is stored in the memory card 10, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the personal computer 31 is connected to the Internet. The latest image data of the subject photographed with the digital camera 2 is stored in the personal computer 31 at any time, and the latest image is stored on the mobile phone carried by the user who is monitoring via the Internet. You may set it to transmit data. Thereby, the user can know the latest state of the monitoring target. If the image data cannot be transmitted directly from the personal computer 31 to the user's mobile phone, it is uploaded from the personal computer 31 to a data distribution server on the Internet, and the latest image data is distributed from this data distribution server. Then, it can be received by the user's mobile phone.
[0040]
In the above embodiment, an instruction by the monitoring camera operation software is transmitted from the personal computer 31 connected to the cradle device 3 to the digital camera 2 through the connection terminal 26 and the connection connector 27, and the digital camera 2 performs a predetermined time interval. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the digital camera 2 performs intermittent shooting, for example. The cradle device 3 has a built-in CPU for controlling the transmission, and an instruction from the CPU is transmitted to the digital camera 2 through the connection terminal 26 and the connection connector 27 so that the digital camera 2 performs intermittent shooting. May be.
[0041]
Further, in the above embodiment, the image data obtained by capturing the subject image to be monitored is stored in the memory card 10 attached to the digital camera 2, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a removable memory card is used. Alternatively, the image data may be stored in a memory incorporated in the digital camera 2, or the subject image is intermittently photographed at predetermined time intervals, and image data transmitted to the personal computer 31 as needed is stored in the personal computer 31. You may make it memorize | store in HDD (hard disk drive) etc. as.
[0042]
In the above embodiment, the battery 18 built in the digital camera 2 is charged from the charging circuit 61 built in the cradle device 3 via the connection terminal 26 and the connection connector 27 to supply power. However, it is not limited to this. For example, the digital camera 2 may not be charged from the cradle device 3 and only a battery built in the digital camera 2 may be used as a power source. Alternatively, an AC power adapter may be directly connected to the digital camera 2 to supply power.
[0043]
Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, a wide-angle converter lens is provided in order to capture a subject image in a wide-angle imaging range, and is disposed on the front surface of the imaging lens. However, the present invention is not limited to this. As in the cradle device 70 shown in FIG. 5, a wide-angle convex mirror 72 that is located on the photographing optical axis L of the digital camera 2 and projects the subject image on the mirror surface 71 in a wide angle range may be provided. In FIG. 5, the same reference numerals are used for the same members and components as those in the above embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted. The electrical configuration of the cradle device 70 is the same as that of the cradle device 3 described above. In the cradle device 70, the support rod 73 that supports the wide-angle convex mirror 72 is fixed to the cradle body 74, and the wide-angle is applied to the photographing lens 4 of the digital camera 2 mounted on the mounting portion 23 formed at the upper part of the cradle body 74. The subject image projected on the mirror surface 71 of the convex mirror 72 enters. As a result, the digital camera 2 can shoot a subject to be monitored in a wide-angle shooting range.
[0044]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the cradle device of the present invention, the concave mounting portion to which the digital camera is mounted is formed in the upper portion, and the connection terminal connected to the connection connector of the digital camera is the mounting portion. comprising Rutotomoni, wherein are provided adjustable foot for changing the tilt of the digital camera mounted on the mounting portion, when the digital camera to the mounting portion is mounted, the connection terminal is connected to the connector Through this connection terminal, a signal is sent to the digital camera to instruct intermittent shooting in which the subject is photographed at predetermined time intervals and the image data is stored in an electronic storage means built in the digital camera. Therefore, a digital camera used for normal shooting can be easily used as a surveillance camera.
[0045]
The cradle apparatus according to claim 2, wherein when the digital camera is mounted on the mounting portion, the wide-angle converter is positioned in front of the shooting lens of the digital camera and makes the shooting range of the digital camera wider than normal. 4. The cradle device according to claim 3, wherein when the digital camera is mounted on the mounting portion, the lens is positioned on the photographing optical axis of the digital camera and projects the subject image on a mirror surface in a wide angle range. A wide-angle convex mirror is provided to make the shooting range of the digital camera wide by making the subject image projected on the mirror surface incident on the shooting lens of the digital camera. Shoot and monitor. Further, in the cradle device according to the fourth aspect, since the adjustment leg for changing the tilt of the digital camera is provided, the photographing range can be set more easily.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing a configuration of a digital camera and a cradle device of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an external perspective view showing a state in which a digital camera is mounted on a cradle device.
FIG. 3 is a side view showing a state in which the digital camera is mounted on the cradle device.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an electrical configuration of a digital camera and a cradle device.
FIG. 5 is a side view showing a state in which a digital camera is mounted on a cradle device according to another embodiment different from the cradle device shown in FIG. 1;
[Explanation of symbols]
2 Digital camera 3, 70 Cradle device 4 Shooting lens 10 Memory card 23 Mounting portion 26 Connection terminal 27 Connection connector 30 DC power input connector 31 Personal computer 32 USB connector 35 Wide angle converter lens 46 CPU
72 Wide-angle convex mirror

Claims (3)

Concave mounting portion digital camera is mounted is formed in the upper part, Rutotomoni includes a connection terminal to the mounting portion connected to the connector of the digital camera, the inclination of the digital camera mounted on the mounting portion and an adjusting feet for changing the, when the digital camera to the mounting portion is mounted, wherein the connecting terminal is connected to the connecting connector, via the connection terminals, subject at predetermined time intervals A cradle device that transmits a signal instructing to perform intermittent shooting in which an image is stored in an electronic storage means built in the digital camera. When equipped with the digital camera to the mounting portion, according to claim 1 which is located in front of the taking lens of the digital camera, characterized in that a wide-angle converter lens to the wide angle than normal photographing range of the digital camera The cradle device described. When the digital camera is mounted on the mounting portion, the digital camera is positioned on the optical axis of the digital camera, and the subject image is projected onto a mirror surface in a wide angle range, and the subject image projected on the mirror surface is a photographing lens of the digital camera. by entering the cradle apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that a wide-angle convex mirror to the imaging range of the digital camera to the wide angle.

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