JP4328484B2 - Electronics - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an electronic device capable of displaying information without power.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, electronic devices such as digital cameras and audio devices have a battery level, the number of shot images that can be stored in a memory, and playback information (artist names, song titles, etc.) of music being played by audio devices. There is a function of displaying operation state information representing an operation state of the electronic device on a display device provided in the electronic device.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the above-described conventional electronic device, the user of the electronic device can check the remaining battery level and music reproduction information for the first time only when the electronic device is turned on. In other words, the user cannot check the remaining battery level or the playback information of music before the electronic device is turned on.
For example, in the above conventional digital camera, it is necessary to turn on the power to check the operation state information such as the remaining battery level and the number of shot images that can be stored in the memory. There is a problem in that power generated by turning on the power is wasted.
Taking an MD (MiniDisk: registered trademark) player as an example of audio equipment, the user plays music by turning on the power in order to confirm the playback information of the music he was listening to before the power was turned off. It is necessary to listen to the information, take out the MD, and see the information written on the label attached to the MD. For this reason, there is a problem that when the remaining battery level is low, the power generated by turning on the power is wasted, and when the MD is taken out and checked, the operation is troublesome.
[0004]
The present invention has been made to solve the above-described conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic device that can confirm an operation state before power-off without turning on the power.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The electronic device of the present invention is an electronic device having a photographing function including information display means for displaying information without power, and the information display means is a non-volatile display element capable of maintaining information without power. Configured to calculate the number of shootable images for each photographic resolution before power-off, means for displaying the photographic resolution and the number of shootable images on the information display means, and before turning off the power, in the electronic device the pre-specified image among the stored image being and means for displaying on said information display means.
[0007]
The electronic device of the present invention includes: a remaining battery level calculating unit that calculates a remaining battery level of the electronic device before power-off; and a unit that displays the remaining battery level on the information display unit. The calculation means causes the information display means to display no remaining battery power when the remaining battery power is zero.
[0010]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, a digital camera which is an embodiment of an electronic apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is an external view of a digital camera 100 according to this embodiment. As shown in the figure, the digital camera 100 is roughly composed of a camera body 101 and a lens barrel 102. The camera body 101 includes a release button 103, a mode switching dial 104, a power button 105, various operation buttons 106, an optical viewfinder 107, an LCD display unit 108, an electronic paper display unit 109, and a recording medium insertion unit 110. . A battery pack 111 (not shown) is detachably mounted on the digital camera body 101 from the bottom surface.
[0011]
Next, the internal configuration of the digital camera 100 will be described.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the digital camera 100. As shown in the figure, the digital camera 100 includes an imaging unit 201, a recording medium 202, an operation unit 203, a memory 204, a control unit 205, an LCD display unit 108, and an electronic paper display corresponding to the information display means in the claims. Part 109 and a battery pack 111. Further, the control unit 205 includes a voltage monitoring unit 206, a recording medium monitoring unit 207, and an information output unit 208 corresponding to the operating state information output means in the claims. Note that the voltage monitoring unit 206 and the recording medium monitoring unit 207 correspond to the operation state information generating unit in the claims.
[0012]
Hereinafter, each component shown in FIG. 2 will be described.
The imaging unit 201 is a block including an imaging element, a lens, a shutter, a signal processing unit, an analog / digital conversion unit, and the like, and generates image data by a shooting operation. The imaging unit 201 also includes a strobe and a strobe control unit, an image data compression / decompression unit, and other signal processing units. The recording medium 202 can be inserted from the recording medium insertion unit 110 illustrated in FIG. 1, and images captured by the imaging unit 201 are recorded.
[0013]
The LCD display unit 108 displays an image photographed by the imaging unit 201 and displays various operation menus and procedures, and is configured by a liquid crystal display or the like. The operation unit 203 corresponds to the release button 103, the mode switching dial 104, the power button 105, and the various operation buttons 106 illustrated in FIG. 1, and an input operation for the user to operate these buttons and dials is input to the control unit 205. introduce.
[0014]
The electronic paper display unit 109 is a display that uses electronic paper for displaying information output from the information output unit 208. In the display using this electronic paper, toner used in a copying machine is sealed between two plastics, and when a voltage of several volts to 10 volts is applied, the toner is adsorbed or separated. Wear and change color and display information. In addition, the electronic paper used by this embodiment can use the thing of another well-known technique.
[0015]
The electronic paper display unit 109 uses a non-power source memory capable of displaying information even when the power of the digital camera 100 is turned off and a non-volatile display element capable of rewriting information. A cholesteric liquid crystal element or a ferroelectric liquid crystal element is used.
[0016]
In the above description, the LCD display unit 108 and the electronic paper display unit 109 are configured separately, but they may be integrated. Alternatively, the electronic paper display unit 109 may be removable from the digital camera body 101. By doing in this way, the display part of the digital camera 100 can be made into one, and the design convenience of the digital camera 100 is convenient.
[0017]
The memory 204 stores programs and various software for controlling the system of the digital camera body 101. The control unit 205 controls the entire digital camera 100 based on a program stored in the memory 204. The battery pack 111 supplies power to the control unit 205.
[0018]
Next, a specific configuration of the control unit 205 will be described.
The voltage monitoring unit 206 monitors the battery capacity of the battery pack 111. When the user presses the power button 105 to perform a power-off operation, the battery is exhausted and the power is turned off or is constant. It has a function of calculating the remaining battery level of the battery pack 111 at that time and transmitting the calculated information to the information output unit 208 every time.
[0019]
The recording medium monitoring unit 207 monitors the storage capacity of the recording medium 202, and when the user presses the power button 105 to perform a power-off operation, before the battery is consumed and the power is turned off, or It has a function of calculating the number of images that can be taken by the digital camera 100 from the free storage capacity of the recording medium 202 at regular intervals, and transmitting the calculated information to the information output unit 208. If the digital camera 100 is capable of moving image shooting, the time for moving image shooting is also calculated and transmitted to the information output unit 208.
[0020]
Here, since the remaining number of images that can be captured by the digital camera 100 varies depending on the resolution of the image, the recording medium monitoring unit 207 calculates the number of images that can be captured when captured at each resolution. Is preferred. Alternatively, the user may set the resolution in advance and calculate the number of shootable images when shooting at the set resolution.
The information output unit 208 causes the electronic paper display unit 109 to display operation state information such as the remaining battery level and the number of shootable images calculated by the voltage monitoring unit 206 and the recording medium monitoring unit 207.
[0021]
FIG. 3 shows a display example of information displayed on the electronic paper display unit 109. As shown in the figure, 12 images can be stored in the fine mode (high resolution mode) and 25 images can be stored in the normal mode. Further, the battery remaining amount may be expressed by a shaded portion of the battery mark as shown, or may be expressed by a numerical value or the like.
[0022]
In this embodiment, the remaining battery level and the number of shootable images are displayed on the electronic paper display unit 109, but only one of them may be displayed. In addition to the above information, for example, predetermined information possessed by the digital camera 100 such as an image designated by the user or a simple manual of the digital camera 100 may be read from the memory 204 or the storage medium 202 and displayed. .
In this way, even when the digital camera 100 is turned off, the user can see the operation method. When displaying an image, an original digital camera only for the user can be provided.
[0023]
In the present embodiment, a digital camera has been described as an example, but the present invention can also be applied to electronic devices such as an MD player and a mobile phone. Hereinafter, these cases will be described.
[For MD player]
The configuration of the MD player is the same as that of the digital camera 100. That is, the main body of the MD player is provided with an electronic paper display unit in addition to a display unit for displaying music information or the like, or a display unit for displaying music information and the like is integrated with an electronic paper display unit, or an electronic paper display. Is configured to be removable from the MD player main body.
[0024]
In this case, the electronic paper display unit is controlled to display reproduction information such as the artist name and song name of the music that has been played on the MD player before the power is turned off. By doing so, it is possible to know the contents of the MD contained in the MD player before the MD player is turned on, and it is not necessary to both turn on the power or take out and check the MD.
[0025]
[For mobile phones]
The configuration of the mobile phone is the same as that of the MD player. The electronic paper display unit displays predetermined information of the mobile phone designated by the user. For example, the user specifies names and telephone numbers for five people from the telephone directory. And when the power supply of a mobile telephone is cut | disconnected, control which displays the name and telephone number for these 5 persons on an electronic paper display part is performed. By doing so, even when the battery of the mobile phone is exhausted and the power is cut off, the telephone number of the designated person can be known.
[0026]
Hereinafter, the operation of the digital camera 100 according to the present embodiment will be described.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of the digital camera 100 from power-on to power-off. First, the power is turned on when the power button 105 is pressed by the user (S401). The user determines the subject and operates the operation unit 203 to photograph the subject, and the photographed image is recorded on the recording medium 202 (S402). Thereafter, when the power button 105 is pressed by the user (S403), the voltage monitoring unit 206 calculates the remaining battery level of the battery pack 111, and the recording medium monitoring unit 207 calculates the number of shootable images from the free capacity of the recording medium 202. Calculate (S404). The operating state information calculated by the voltage monitoring unit 206 and the recording medium monitoring unit 207 is output to the electronic paper display unit 109 by the information output unit 208 (S405), and the electronic paper display unit 109 displays the current remaining battery level and the like. The number of shootable images is displayed (S406). Thereafter, the digital camera 100 performs a power off operation, and the power is turned off (S407). Even after the power is turned off, the electronic paper display unit 109 displays operating state information such as the remaining battery level and the number of shootable images before the power is turned off.
[0027]
As described above, according to the present embodiment, the voltage monitoring unit 206 calculates the remaining battery level of the battery pack 111 before the power button 105 is pressed by the user and the digital camera 100 is turned off. The recording medium monitoring unit 207 calculates the number of shootable images from the free capacity of the recording medium 202. Then, the calculated information is displayed on the electronic paper display unit 109, and the power is turned off. Even after the power is turned off, the electronic paper display unit 109 displays information such as the remaining battery level and the number of shootable images.
[0028]
For this reason, the user can know the remaining battery level, the number of shootable images, and the like before the power is turned off without turning on the digital camera 100. Therefore, when it is confirmed that the remaining battery level is low, it can be determined that the power supply should be turned on only when necessary (when a subject to be photographed is found). In addition, it is not necessary to turn on the digital camera 100 in order to check the remaining battery level and the number of images that can be taken, and the power can be used effectively.
[0029]
【The invention's effect】
ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the electronic device which can confirm the operation state before power-off without turning on a power supply can be provided.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an external view of a digital camera 100 according to an embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the digital camera 100. FIG.
FIG. 3 is a display example of information displayed on the electronic paper display unit 109;
FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining a flow from power-on to power-off of the digital camera 100.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Digital camera 101 Digital camera body 102 Lens barrel 103 Release button 104 Mode switch dial 105 Power button 106 Various operation buttons 107 Optical viewfinder 108 LCD display unit 109 Electronic paper display unit 110 Recording medium insertion unit 111 Battery pack 201 Imaging unit 202 Recording Medium 203 Operation unit 204 Memory 205 Control unit 206 Voltage monitoring unit 207 Recording medium monitoring unit 208 Information output unit

Claims (2)

An electronic device having a photographing function provided with information display means for displaying information without power,
The information display means includes a non-volatile display element capable of maintaining information without power,
Means for calculating the number of images that can be taken for each resolution before the power is turned off;
Means for causing the information display means to display the photographing resolution and the number of images that can be photographed;
Before power-off, the electronic device and means for displaying the pre-specified image among the images stored in said electronic device to said information display means. The electronic device according to claim 1 ,
A battery remaining amount calculating means for calculating a remaining battery level of the electronic device before power off;
Means for displaying the battery remaining amount on the information display means,
The battery remaining amount calculating means is an electronic device for causing the information display means to display no remaining battery power when the remaining battery charge is zero.

Images