JP4356875B2 - Imaging device and illumination device thereof - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging device such as various cameras, particularly a digital camera, and also relates to an illumination device used in the imaging device. The illuminating device according to the present invention can also be used to obtain proximity auxiliary illumination light at the time of macro photography, or to obtain proximity auxiliary illumination light from a medical electronic camera, an electronic camera of a portable device, or the like.

  In a camera, a ring light may be used during close-up photography. For example, referring to FIG. 9 showing the appearance of an embodiment of the present invention, the imaging unit 101 including a digital camera or the like has a photographic lens 104 and a shutter button 103, and by pressing the shutter button 103 down, A shooting operation is performed under an appropriate amount of road light by an aperture value and a shutter speed corresponding to the luminance of the subject. A ring-shaped illumination device 102 is attached to the imaging unit 101 so as to surround the photographing lens 104 from the outer periphery. Although not shown in FIG. 9, the lighting device 102 has an independent power supply and an independent lighting switch, and has no interlocking relationship with the operation on the imaging unit 101 side. When turned off, the illumination light is emitted toward the subject, and the illumination light irradiation is stopped. The illumination device having such a configuration can also be used as an auxiliary light source during close-up photography (macro photography).

  However, according to the lighting device configured as described above, there is a power switch alone on the auxiliary lighting device side, and if the user forgets to turn off the power switch when not in use, the illumination light remains irradiated. There is a problem that the battery is consumed quickly. Therefore, it is conceivable to turn off the power switch after turning on the power switch by adding a timer, etc. However, the circuit configuration becomes complicated because a timer circuit is required, or the timer is driven. In order to do so, a power source is required, and the problem of consuming power by that amount remains.

  In order to irradiate the subject with the auxiliary light in the close-up shooting, it is necessary to devise so that the illumination light uniformly spreads over the entire subject. A so-called ring light can be used as in the conventional example, but the camera has a built-in stroboscope and the illumination light from the stroboscope is reflected or diffused at the tip of the photographic lens. The structure which attached the proximity | contact adapter which illuminates is proposed (for example, refer patent document 1).

  According to the technique described in Patent Document 1, the problem of uniformly illuminating a close subject can be solved. However, since the strobe light emission is an extremely short time light emission, it is difficult to check the state of the subject at the time of shooting. Especially when it is required to confirm the subject or the composition on the monitor screen or the like before photographing, such as a digital camera, it is difficult to confirm these.

  Therefore, a close-up lens is attached to the photographic lens, and an optical fiber for illumination is embedded in the close-up lens, and illumination light from an incandescent light source is irradiated to the subject via the optical fiber, so that it can be arbitrarily selected not only at the time of shooting. There has been proposed an attachment that illuminates a subject and allows the subject to be observed through a photographing lens (see, for example, Patent Document 2). However, according to the conventional example described in Patent Document 2, there is a problem that the battery is consumed quickly, similarly to the conventional example described at the beginning, and the heat generated by the heating lamp illumination is large, and it is necessary to consider heat dissipation and the like. There is a problem that the equipment becomes large.

  In addition, a dental clinical digital camera set has been proposed in which a ring strobe light emitter is attached to the digital camera body, and a multistage flash regulator is connected so that the light emitter emits light with an appropriate amount of light (for example, patent literature). 3). The conventional example described in Patent Document 3 is intended to capture an image in the oral cavity of a patient, which is a subject, with an appropriate amount of light, and cannot confirm the subject before photographing.

  As another conventional example related to the present invention, a detachable close-up lens adapter is prepared at the front end of a lens barrel having a photographing lens, and a flash light emitting unit for illuminating a subject is disposed on the lens adapter, and flash light emission is performed. A part having a trigger code for synchronous light emission that also serves as a power transmission cord from the camera body side has been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 4). According to the invention described in Patent Document 4, when the camera itself has a close-up shooting function, the optical system for close-up shooting of the lens adapter becomes redundant, and there is a difficulty that becomes a limiting factor in designing the shooting lens.

No. 6-4338 Registered Utility Model No. 3003592 JP 2001-356403 A JP 2002-99042 A

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an illumination switch for turning on and off the release switch and the auxiliary illumination unit on the same axis as the release operation member of the imaging unit, so that illumination is performed only during shooting and only when necessary. The object is to illuminate the subject by turning on the illumination unit before the release.

An image pickup apparatus according to the present invention includes a photographing unit that photographs a subject, a release switch that is provided in the photographing unit, and that can be attached to and detached from the photographing unit, and is directed toward the subject using an LED as a light source. An illumination unit that includes a control circuit that emits illumination light and controls the semiconductor switching element to turn on and off the illumination light; and an illumination switch that detects an operation state of a push-down operation member provided in the illumination unit; A connector unit that is provided in both the imaging unit and the illumination unit and transmits a signal, and the illumination unit is configured to be coaxial with the release switch and the push-down operation member. attached, the depressed operating member, by being pushed down, firstly the lighting switch is turned on, further when depressed Ru said release switch to It is set to ON and a so that, the control circuit controls the semiconductor switching element, that the depressing operation member is depressed with turning on the illumination light when the illumination switch detects, the connector through the parts and the most important feature Rukoto is maintained constant time control the state of the illumination light on to after the shooting to also turn on the illumination light by a signal input from the imaging portion .

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an imaging device and a lighting device thereof that solve the problems found in the prior art and that are convenient. That is, because the release switch and the lighting switch are located on the same axis, there is a difference in the ON / OFF timing of both switches, and the ON timing of the lighting switch is made earlier than the ON timing of the release switch, Before photographing, the illumination device is turned on to illuminate the subject, and the state of the subject can be observed or confirmed. In particular, with a digital camera, the state of the subject can be confirmed on the monitor before photographing, so that the photographing can be started immediately after confirmation, and photographing can be performed immediately without missing the photographing timing. In addition, the lighting device is turned on by an operation for photographing, and when the photographing is completed, the lighting device is turned off. This also has an effect of extending the battery life.

  First, an example of the appearance of an imaging device and its illumination device according to the present invention will be described. In FIG. 9, reference numeral 100 denotes an imaging device. The imaging apparatus 100 includes a photographing unit 101 made of, for example, a digital camera, and an illumination unit 102 that can be attached to and detached from the photographing unit 101. The illumination unit 102 includes an attachment unit 107 for attaching the illumination unit 102 to the photographing unit 101. The photographing unit 101 has a photographing lens 104 on the front side and a shutter button 103 at a position closer to one side of the upper surface. As is well known, the shutter button 103 is half-pressed to perform exposure control and automatic focus adjustment, and further pressed to take a picture.

  For example, a light emitting diode (hereinafter referred to as “LED”) is used as the light source in the illumination unit 102, and a plurality of LEDs are arranged at predetermined intervals on the illumination unit 102 formed in a ring shape. The ring-shaped illumination unit 102 surrounds the photographing lens 104 included in the photographing unit 101 and is arranged on the outer peripheral side thereof. A support plate 109 integrally extends downward from the lower end of the illumination unit 102, and the support plate 109 is integrally coupled to the mounting unit 107 via a horizontal connecting plate 108. The mounting unit 107 crosses the upper surface of the imaging unit 101 in the front-rear direction and crosses the horizontal piece 110 along the upper surface, the vertical grip unit 106 along the front surface of the imaging unit 101, and the lower surface of the imaging unit 101 in the front-rear direction. The horizontal piece along the lower surface of the lever forms a “U” shape when viewed from the side, and the lower horizontal piece is integrated with the support plate 109 and the illumination unit 102 via the connecting plate 108. Is bound to. The illumination unit 102 is shown in FIG. 9 by passing a mounting screw through a mounting hole formed through the connecting plate 108 and screwing this mounting screw into a tripod hole provided on the bottom surface of the photographing unit 101. The illuminating unit 102 can be detached from the photographing unit 101 by loosening the mounting screw.

  A drive circuit for driving the illumination light source and a power supply battery dedicated to the illumination unit are incorporated or loaded in the grip unit 106 of the illumination unit 102. An optical diffusing unit, for example, a diffusing plate is disposed on the front surface of the LED as a light source, and illumination light emitted from the LED is illuminated almost uniformly on the subject through the optical diffusing unit. There is a gap between the photographic lens 104 and the illuminating unit 102, and the photographic lens 104 is not directly impacted even when an impact is applied to the illuminating unit 102. A push-down operation member 111 is provided on the horizontal piece 110 that forms part of the illumination unit. The operation member 111 is interlocked with a power switch (hereinafter referred to as “illumination switch”) of the illumination unit. When the operation member 111 is pushed down, the illumination switch is turned on and irradiated with illumination light. When the depression is released, the operation member 111 returns to the original position. The illumination switch is configured to be turned off.

  The operating member 111 is designed to be positioned directly above the shutter button 103 of the imaging unit 101 with the illumination unit 102 mounted on the imaging unit 101, and the shutter button 103 is pressed by depressing the operating member 111. Also, the operation member 111 can be pushed down. As is well known, the shutter button 103 of the photographing unit 101 is subjected to automatic exposure control and autofocus control by half-pressing the shutter button 103, and further, the release switch of the photographing unit 101 is turned on by pressing the shutter button 103. Shooting by the department is started. The timing is set so that there is a difference between the turn-on timing of the illumination light in the illumination unit 102 when the operation member 111 is pushed down and the timing when the shutter button 103 is pushed by the operation member 111 and the release switch is turned on. Specifically, the lighting switch is turned on earlier than the release switch is turned on.

  Therefore, the illumination unit 102 irradiates the subject with auxiliary illumination light before the shutter operates, and the state of the subject can be observed in advance on the monitor screen or the like that the photographing unit 101 has. When the operation member 111 is further pushed down, the lower end of the operation member 111 reaches the release button of the photographing unit 101, and the release switch is turned on as described above to perform photographing. As a result, the auxiliary illumination is turned on, the release switch is turned on, the release switch is turned off, and the auxiliary illumination is turned off.

  In addition, if the support part of the illumination unit can be moved as necessary with respect to the photographing unit 101 as in the embodiment described later, a close-up lens or the like is attached to the photographing lens 104. Can also be illuminated.

  FIG. 1 shows an example of a driving circuit of the illumination unit. In FIG. 1, BATT1 represents a power supply battery. Instead of the power battery, a predetermined DC power source may be taken from the AC adapter. When the power supply battery is a dedicated battery, the DC output of the AC adapter may be connected using a dummy battery having the same shape. In this example, the light source of the illuminating unit is a light emitting diode (hereinafter referred to as “LED”), and the LED has an operating voltage higher than the voltage of the power supply battery, so the voltage of the power supply battery BATT1 is boosted by a booster circuit that also serves as a constant current circuit. It is like that. Reference numeral SW1 denotes an illumination switch. As described with reference to FIG. 1, the illumination switch SW1 is positioned on the same axis as the release switch of the photographing unit, and the illumination switch SW1 for auxiliary illumination light is turned on by the operation of the operation member of the illumination unit. After that, the release switch is turned on.

  Since the illuminating unit in this drive circuit is composed of an assembly of a large number of LEDs as a light source, the LEDs are divided into several groups. In FIG. 1, a group of LED1, LED2, and LED3 driven by a first booster circuit, a group of LED4, LED5, and LED6 driven by a second booster circuit, and a third booster circuit are driven. It consists of a group of LED7, LED8, and LED9. Each booster circuit is configured such that when the illumination switch SW1 is turned on, power is supplied from the power supply battery BATT1, a constant current is supplied to each LED, each LED emits light, and the subject is irradiated with auxiliary light. ing. As the LED, a white LED is used. As already described, since the operating voltage of the LED is generally higher than the voltage of the power supply battery BATT1, the voltage is increased by the booster circuit and each LED is driven with a constant current. The number of LEDs increases / decreases depending on a required set value such as subject brightness, and the number of LED groups may also increase / decrease, and the boosting & constant current circuit may increase / decrease accordingly.

  Further, in order to adjust the current for driving the LED according to the position of each LED, luminance variation, chromaticity, etc., an IF setting resistor R1, an IF setting resistor R2, and an IF setting resistor R3, which are variable resistors, are connected to each booster circuit. Has been. When the current may be constant, the value of each resistor may be fixed. Using high-brightness red LED, high-brightness blue LED, and high-brightness green LED instead of white LED, and making each step-up and constant current circuit according to these LEDs, further increase the brightness and improve the white balance. There is also a method.

  FIG. 2 shows a second example of the illumination unit driving circuit. This circuit example is different from the first circuit example in that voltage detection means is added, and this point will be described mainly. This circuit example is effective when used as a power source when a secondary battery (for example, a nickel metal hydride battery or a lithium ion battery) is used and overdischarge damages the power source battery. In FIG. 2, a semiconductor switching element Q1 (hereinafter simply referred to as “Q1”) and a lighting switch SW1 made of a P-channel MOS are connected in series from the power supply side to a power supply path from the power battery BATT1 to each booster circuit. When both Q1 and lighting switch SW1 are turned on, power is supplied to each booster circuit. Q1 is ON / OFF controlled by a semiconductor switching element Q2 (hereinafter simply referred to as “Q2”) made of an N-channel MOS, and Q2 is connected to be controlled by a voltage detection circuit. The power source voltage is divided and input to the gate of Q1 by dividing resistors R1 and R2.

  Now, when the power supply battery BATT1 is loaded, the voltage of the battery is checked by the voltage detection circuit. When the voltage is normal, the H signal is output from the voltage detection circuit, Q2 is turned on, and R1, R2 are supplied to the gate of Q1. Q1 is turned on by applying the power source voltage divided by resistance. At this time, when the operating member is pushed down and the illumination switch SW1 is turned on as described above, power is supplied from the power supply battery BATT1 to each LED as a light source via each booster circuit. When the voltage of the battery is equal to or lower than the set voltage of the voltage detection circuit, the output of the voltage detection circuit becomes L, Q2 is turned off, Q1 is turned off, and even if the lighting switch SW1 is turned on, no power is supplied to the LED. That is, the illumination switch SW1 is turned on so that illumination is not performed. In this way, when the power supply voltage is lower than the predetermined voltage, the auxiliary illumination is not turned on, but the shutter is released by further depressing the operation member, and photographing is performed.

  According to the first and second drive circuit examples, when the operation of the operation member of the illumination unit is released, that is, when the operation member is released from being depressed, the irradiation of the auxiliary illumination light is stopped. Along with this, irradiation of illumination light to the subject is stopped, and in the case of a digital camera, the subject is not displayed on the monitor or the sharpness is lowered even if it is displayed. Therefore, it is preferable that the auxiliary illumination light is irradiated for a certain period of time after the photographing is finished so that the subject after photographing can be clearly observed. This is realized by a third circuit example shown in FIG. In this circuit example, a circuit for controlling turning off of the illumination unit after photographing is added to the second circuit example shown in FIG. 2, and different parts from the second circuit example shown in FIG. To do.

  Between the power supply battery BATT1 and each booster circuit, the semiconductor switching element Q1 made of the P-channel MOS is interposed, so that the power supply to each booster circuit is turned on / off by turning on / off Q1. It has become. As described above, the on / off state of Q1 is controlled by Q2, and the on / off state of Q2 is controlled by the control circuit 16. The control circuit 16 outputs an “H” signal when the illumination switch SW1 is turned on, and also outputs an “H” signal when a signal is input from the photographing unit (camera) via the connector 11. It is supposed to be. The signal input from the photographing unit via the connector 11 is a signal that is maintained for a certain time after the release switch is turned on and the shutter is operated.

  In the third circuit example described above, the control circuit 16 turns on the illumination switch SW1 before turning on the shutter to turn on Q2 and Q1, turn on each LED through each booster circuit, and emit auxiliary illumination light. Irradiate the subject. Irradiation of the illumination light to the subject is continued until a certain time elapses after the shutter of the photographing unit is operated, and the illumination light irradiation is stopped by the elapse of the certain time. In other words, the illumination time based on the operation of the operation member in the illumination unit is longer than the exposure time due to the operation of the shutter in the imaging unit. Therefore, since the subject is illuminated with the auxiliary illumination light for a certain period of time after the photographing is finished, the subject after photographing can be observed with a sharp image using a monitor of a digital camera or the like.

  In the third circuit example, the signal transmission between the illuminating unit and the photographing unit is assumed to be a connector composed of electrical contacts, but this may be changed to an optical connecting means. The fourth circuit example shown in FIG. 4 is an example. For example, an LED drive circuit 17 is provided in a photographing unit including a digital camera, and an LED for signal transmission is driven by the LED drive circuit 17. The LED drive circuit 17 is controlled by a control circuit in the photographing unit so as to drive the signal transmission LED for a predetermined time after the shutter is operated. A phototransistor that detects light emitted from the signal transmission LED is disposed on the illumination unit side. The phototransistor is turned on when light from the signal transmission LED is detected, inputs a signal to the control circuit 16 shown in FIG. 3, and turns on the power supply circuit to each booster circuit to thereby turn on each LED as a light source. Is designed to light up. The signal transmission LED may also be used as a self-timer display LED for displaying this when the self-timer is set. Other configurations are the same as those of the circuit example shown in FIG.

  Next, an example of a system configuration inside the digital camera suitable for use as the photographing unit in the present invention will be schematically described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 shows about half of the system configuration and FIG. 6 shows the other half. 5 and 6, reference numeral 1 indicates the overall configuration of the digital camera system as the photographing unit, and reference numeral 2 indicates a lens system. The lens system 2 includes a focus lens system 201, a zoom lens system 202, a mechanism unit 203 including an aperture, a focus motor 204, a zoom motor 205, an aperture motor 206, a focus motor driver 207, a zoom motor driver 208, and an aperture motor driver 209. Have. The mechanism unit 203 is an example in which the shutter motor 210 and the shutter motor driver 211 are separated. A subject image is picked up by a CCD (charge coupled device) 302 by the lens system 2, and an image information signal obtained by picking up the image is a CDS (correlated double sampling) circuit 303, a variable gain amplifier (AGC amplifier) 304. And A / D converter 305, respectively. These CCD 302, CDS 303, variable gain amplifier 304, and A / D converter 305 operate synchronously in synchronization with the synchronization signal generated by the TG unit (Timing Generator) 301.

  The image information signal converted into a digital signal by the A / D converter 305 further includes an IPP (Image Pre-Processor) 306, a DCT (Discrete Cosine Transform) 308, a coder (Huffman Encoder / Decoder) 309, and an MCC (Memory Card). It is possible to record the data on a PC card (including a memory card) 312 via a card interface 311 in order. The IPP 306 is connected to a RAM 307 that is an internal memory.

  The digital camera system 1 also has, for example, a controller 4 comprising a CPU for controlling the entire system, a flash memory (EEPROM) 401, a controller A / D converter 402, a controller D / A converter 403, a system bus line 404, LCD (liquid crystal display element) display unit 602, auxiliary light lamp 603, auxiliary light lamp drive circuit 604, LCD driver circuit 601, strobe light emitter 5, DC-DC converter 7, battery 701, AC adapter 702, operation unit 9, release A switch 901, a mode input unit 902, an audio amplifier unit 8, a microphone 801, a speaker 802, an earphone 803, a vibration motor driver 1001, and a vibration motor 1002 are provided.

  The lens unit 2 includes a mechanism unit 203 including a lens system, a diaphragm, a filter unit, and the like, and a mechanical shutter of the mechanism unit 203 performs exposure of two fields. In the figure, a shutter mechanism is also shown as an exposure unit, but the mechanism unit 203 may also serve as a shutter mechanism. The lens system 2 is composed of, for example, a varifocal lens, and includes a focus lens system 204 and a zoom lens system 205.

  The focus motor driver 207 drives the focus motor driver 207 in accordance with a control signal supplied from the controller 4 to move the focus lens system 201 in the optical axis direction. The zoom motor driver 208 drives the zoom motor 205 according to the control signal supplied from the controller 4 to move the zoom lens system 202 in the optical axis direction. The aperture motor driver 209 drives the mechanism unit 203 in accordance with a control signal supplied from the controller 4 to set, for example, an aperture value of the aperture.

  A CCD (charge coupled device) 302 converts an image input via a lens unit into an electric signal (analog image data). A CDS (correlated double sampling) circuit 303 is a circuit for reducing noise in the CCD type image pickup device. In addition, the AGC amplifier 304 corrects the level of the signal that has been correlated and sampled by the CDS circuit 303. The setting data (control voltage) is set in the AGC amplifier 304 via a D / A converter built in the AGC amplifier 304. Further, the A / D converter 305 converts analog image data from the CCD 302 input via the AGC amplifier 304 into digital image data. That is, the output signal of the CCD 302 is converted into a digital signal through the CDS circuit 303 and the AGC amplifier 304 and by the A / D converter 305 at an optimum sampling frequency (for example, an integer multiple of the subcarrier frequency of the NTSC signal). Is done. Also, the IPP 306, DCT 308, and coder 309, which are digital signal processing units, perform various processing, correction, and image compression on the digital image data input from the A / D converter 305 by dividing it into color differences (Cb, Cr) and luminance (Y). / Data processing for decompression is performed. The DCT 308 and the coder 309 perform, for example, orthogonal transformation / inverse orthogonal transformation, which is a process of JPEG-compliant image compression / decompression, and Huffman coding / decoding, which is a process of JPEG-compliant image compression / decompression.

  The IPP 306 detects luminance data (Y) of the G image data, and outputs an AE evaluation value corresponding to the detected luminance data (Y) to the controller 4. This AE evaluation value indicates the luminance (brightness) of the subject. The IPP 306 outputs an AWB (Auto White Balance) evaluation value corresponding to each luminance data (Y) of the R, G, B image data to the controller 4 within the set color temperature range. This AWB evaluation value indicates the color component of the subject. The MCC 310 temporarily stores the compressed image data and records it on the PC card 312 or reads it from the PC card 312 via the PC card interface 311. Reference numeral 313 denotes an external communication driver, which communicates with an external unit using a standard communication protocol such as USB or IEEE 1394, and exchanges data by connecting to a PC (personal computer) 001 or the like. . Alternatively, the PC 001 and the AC adapter 703 can be connected via a communication / power adapter that can be connected to the camera, thereby enabling exchange of power and communication.

  The LCD display unit 602 is a transmissive LCD and displays image data, operation menus, and the like. The auxiliary light lamp 603 is a backlight for illuminating the LCD display unit 602, and includes, for example, a fluorescent tube or a white LED. The auxiliary light lamp driving circuit 604 outputs driving power to the auxiliary light lamp 603 based on the control of the controller 4 to light the auxiliary light lamp 603. The LCD driver circuit 604 is a circuit for causing the LCD display unit 602 to display the image data input from the IPP 306. The operation unit 9 includes a release switch 901 for instructing photographing, a mode input unit 902, a power switch, an LCD switch, an auxiliary light lamp switch, buttons for performing function selection and other various settings from the outside, and the like. Yes. The mode input unit 902 selects and inputs a sound recording mode, a still image recording mode, a moving image recording mode, and the like, and is operated manually.

  The strobe circuit 5 emits strobe light under the control of the controller 4. The strobe irradiation angle changing unit 501 controls the irradiation angle of the strobe light as necessary under the control of the controller 4. The battery A 701 battery B 702 includes, for example, a nickel metal hydride battery, a lithium ion battery, a nickel cadmium (NiCd) battery, an alkaline battery, and the like, and in some cases, power is supplied from the AC adapter 703. These DC power supply voltages are boosted by the DC-DC converter 7 and supplied to the inside of the digital camera 1. The DC-DC converter 7 has a built-in switch circuit that turns on and off various power supplies output to the digital camera 1 under the control of the controller 4. The controller 4 includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, an A / D converter, a D / A converter, and the like. The CPU stores in the ROM in accordance with an instruction from the operation unit 9 or an external operation instruction such as a remote controller (not shown). The entire digital camera system 1 is controlled using the RAM as a work area according to the control program.

  When the A / D converter and the D / A converter are prepared outside the controller 4, they are prepared as the A / D converter 402 and the D / A converter 403 shown in FIG. Specifically, the controller 4 controls a photographing operation, automatic exposure (AE) operation, automatic white balance (AWB) adjustment operation, automatic focusing (AF) operation, display, and the like. Also, analog information is grasped by using a built-in A / D converter as one of information input means for various controls. The built-in A / D converter is compared with a reference voltage. On the other hand, a D / A converter is used for analog output.

  For example, control and data exchange between the IPP 306 and the controller 4 are performed via the system bus 404. The controller 4 also has a recording mode for recording image data obtained by imaging a subject on the PC card 312, a playback mode for reproducing and displaying the image data recorded on the PC card 312 on the LCD display unit 602, and A monitoring mode for directly displaying the captured monitoring image on the LCD display unit 602 is provided. In addition, as a display mode when an image is displayed on the LCD display unit 602 in the reproduction mode or the moniering mode, a fixed mode and an external light adaptive mode are provided, and selection of these modes is performed by the operation unit 9.

  Various parameters and data of the digital camera are recorded in the flash memory 401. The timing generator (TG) 301 generates various timing signals based on the horizontal synchronization signal and the vertical synchronization signal input from the IPP 306. The audio amplifier unit 8 amplifies analog signals of the microphone 801, the speaker 802, and the earphone 803 via the A / D converter 402 or the D / A converter 403 of the controller 4. Note that, as the sound output means, a method of outputting sound using a buzzer from an output (not shown) of the controller 4 instead of the speaker 802 may be employed.

  The vibration motor 1002 is a means of warning display means. The vibration motor driver 1001 is operated by a control signal from the controller 4, and the driver 1001 generates vibration by driving the vibration motor 1002, and displays a warning by vibration. . The distance information input means 11 is controlled by the controller 4, and in the first distance information input means 1101 included in the distance information input means 11, the change in resistance value is changed as a change in voltage by a resistor plate linked to the operation of the focus motor. The distance information can be obtained by taking out and performing A / D conversion by the A / D converter 401 connected to the controller 4. Alternatively, the distance information can be obtained by the second distance information input means 1102 using an external AF sensor.

  In the configuration example of the digital camera system shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the parts related to the present invention are the operation unit 9 and its release switch 901, the auxiliary lamp 603, the auxiliary lamp driving circuit 604, the first battery 701, For example, the power source includes a second battery 702, an AC adapter 703, and the like. These are input / output means for the controller 4, and are input to the controller 4 or controlled by the controller 4. In FIG. 6, the present invention portion is indicated by reference numeral 1200, and the control signal input means from the controller 4 of the present invention portion 1200 is indicated by reference numeral 12.

  A specific example of the appearance of the illumination unit according to the present invention is shown in FIG. This example is similar in appearance to the illumination unit shown in FIG. 9, but is characterized in that the illumination unit 102 can be moved. In FIG. 7, the ring-shaped illumination unit 102 is configured to fit a circular center hole 1021 around the photographing lens of the photographing unit on the outer peripheral side with a space (with a gap). . A support plate 109 integrally extends downward from the lower end of the illumination unit 102, and the support plate 109 is coupled to the horizontal connection plate 108 by a bolt 112 and a nut 113. The head 1121 of the bolt 112 has a horizontally long rectangular shape, and the head 1121 is fitted into a groove 1081 formed in the longitudinal direction of the connecting plate 108 so that the bolt 112 can move along the groove 1081. In addition, the head 1121 cannot come out of the connecting plate 108. The threaded portion of the bolt 112 passes through the hole 1091 of the support plate 109 via the above, and the nut 113 is screwed into the threaded portion so that the illumination unit 102 and the connecting plate 108 are integrally coupled. ing.

  As described above, the connecting plate 108 is integrally coupled to the grip portion 106 and attached to a digital camera or the like forming the photographing portion using a tripod hole or the like. In this way, the illumination unit 102 is mounted on the imaging unit, and as shown in FIG. 6, the operation member on the illumination unit side is positioned directly above the release button of the imaging unit, and the release switch and the illumination switch are coaxial. It is comprised so that it may be located in. According to the example shown in FIG. 7, since the illumination unit 102 can be moved along the longitudinal direction of the connecting plate 108, the relative positional relationship between the imaging lens of the imaging unit and the illumination unit 102 is adjusted and attached. Can do. Therefore, it is possible to provide a general-purpose illumination unit that can be adapted not only to a specific type of imaging unit but also to a different type of imaging unit.

  The illumination unit may be movable in the front-rear direction. An example of this is shown in FIG. In FIG. 8, the illumination unit 102 having the central hole 1021 surrounding the imaging lens of the imaging unit has a support plate 109 extending downward, but the illumination unit 102 and the support plate 109 are formed in the front-rear direction. The grooves 114 are connected so as to be relatively movable in the front-rear direction depending on the relationship between the grooves 114 and the grooves 114. As in the example described so far, the support plate 109 is coupled to the coupling plate 108, the coupling plate 108 is coupled to the grip portion 106, and the coupling plate 108 is attached to the imaging unit, so that the illumination unit 102 captures an image. It is attached to the part.

  Since the photographing lens of the photographing unit differs in the position in the front-rear direction relative to the illumination unit 102, the illumination unit 102 is photographed by adjusting the position by relatively moving the illumination unit 102 along the dovetail 114. It can be set to a position suitable for the part. The mechanism shown in FIG. 7 and the mechanism shown in FIG. 8 may be combined so that the illumination unit 102 can move both in the lateral direction and in the front-rear direction. In the illustrated embodiment, the illumination unit has a ring shape surrounding the photographing lens, but the illumination unit in the present invention is not limited to the ring shape.

  The imaging device and the illumination device thereof according to the present invention exhibit further effects when applied to various cameras, in particular, a digital camera or a single-lens reflex camera that can observe a subject before and after photographing with a monitor or a viewfinder. . In addition, the illumination device according to the present invention provides proximity auxiliary illumination light such as an electronic camera built in a portable device such as a medical electronic camera or a mobile phone in order to obtain proximity auxiliary illumination light at the time of macro photography. It can also be used to obtain.

It is a circuit diagram which shows an example of the drive circuit of the illumination part applicable to this invention. It is a circuit diagram which shows another example of the drive circuit of the illumination part applicable to this invention. It is a circuit diagram which shows another example of the drive circuit of the illumination part applicable to this invention. It is a circuit diagram which shows another example of the drive circuit of the illumination part applicable to this invention. It is a circuit block diagram which shows a part of system configuration example of the imaging | photography part which can apply this invention. It is a circuit block diagram which shows the remaining one part of the system configuration example of the imaging | photography part which can apply this invention. It is a perspective view which shows an example of the illuminating device which concerns on this invention. It is a perspective view which shows another example of the illuminating device which concerns on this invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing an embodiment of an imaging device and its illumination device according to the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Image pick-up part 102 Illumination part 103 Shutter button 104 Shooting lens 106 Grip part 111 Operation member

Claims (9)

A shooting section for shooting the subject;
A release switch that is provided in the above-described photographing unit and starts photographing,
An illuminating unit equipped with a control circuit that can be attached to and detached from the photographing unit, emits illumination light toward a subject using an LED as a light source, and controls a semiconductor switching element to turn the illumination light on and off ;
An illumination switch for detecting an operation state of a push-down operation member provided in the illumination unit;
A connector unit that is provided in both the photographing unit and the illumination unit and transmits a signal;
The illumination unit is attached to the photographing unit such that the release switch and the push-down operation member are coaxial.
The depressing operation member by being pressed down, first the illumination switch is turned on, is further Ru depressed configured so that such the release switch is turned on and,
The control circuit controls the semiconductor switching element to turn on the illumination light when the illumination switch detects that the push-down operation member is pushed down, and from the photographing unit side via the connector unit. imaging device according to claim Rukoto is maintained constant time by controlling the state of the illumination light on to also turn on the illumination light by a signal input after the end of shooting.   The illumination unit includes a connecting plate disposed in a horizontal direction on a bottom surface of the photographing unit, a horizontal piece having the push-down operation member and provided on the top surface of the photographing unit, and the connecting plate and the horizontal piece. A grip portion coupled in a vertical direction along the front surface, an illumination member provided in the vicinity of the photographing lens on the photographing front surface, and a support plate for coupling the illumination member and the connecting plate. Item 2. The imaging device according to Item 1.   The illumination unit is attached to the photographing unit by passing an attachment screw through an attachment hole formed through the connecting plate and screwing the attachment screw into a tripod hole provided on the bottom surface of the photographing unit. The imaging apparatus according to claim 2.   3. The imaging apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the illumination member includes a plurality of LEDs arranged in a ring shape so as to surround the photographing lens.   The support plate is provided with a through-hole, and the connecting plate is provided with a groove penetrating the through-hole. A nut is screwed into a bolt passing through the through-hole and the groove, so that the illumination member is attached to the photographing lens. The imaging apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the position of the connecting plate can be adjusted in the groove direction.   3. The front-rear direction position of the illumination member can be adjusted with respect to the photographing lens by fitting the illumination member into a groove provided in the front-rear direction of the support plate. Imaging device.   The imaging according to claim 1, wherein the connector unit is an optical signal transmission unit having a light emitting member on the photographing unit side and a light receiving member on the illumination unit side. apparatus.   8. The imaging apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the light emitting member is also used as a self-timer display LED. An illumination device that can be attached to a photographing device for photographing a subject,
An illumination unit including a control circuit that illuminates illumination light toward an object using an LED as a light source and controls the semiconductor switching element to turn on / off the illumination light ;
An illumination switch for detecting an operation state of a push-down operation member attached to the illumination unit ;
A connector unit for transmitting signals of the imaging device and the illumination unit;
The illumination unit is attached to the photographing apparatus so that a release switch for starting photographing and the push-down operation member are coaxial.
The depressing operation member by being pressed down, first the illumination switch is turned on, is further Ru depressed configured so that such the release switch is turned on and,
The control circuit controls the semiconductor switching element to turn on the illumination light when the illumination switch detects that the push-down operation member is pushed down, and from the photographing unit side via the connector unit. lighting device also features a Rukoto is maintained constant time control the state of the illumination light on to after the shooting to turn on the illumination light by a signal input.

Images