JPH0253994B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a photometric device that uses the photoelectric output of the image sensor as photometric information in an electronic camera using a solid-state image sensor.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, electronic cameras using solid-state imaging devices such as CCDs (charge coupled devices) have been known. The camera requires a photometry device that measures subject brightness for exposure control. Further, for this purpose, the photometric device needs to be equipped with a photoelectric element that converts light from a subject into an electrical signal corresponding to the intensity of the light. Therefore, rather than providing a dedicated photoelectric element for photometry, it is conceivable to use the image signal of the image sensor as photometry information. However, the image signal is not information that is obtained continuously according to the intensity of incident light like the output of a normal photoelectric device, but is based on the amount of charge accumulated in each light-receiving element of the image sensor for a predetermined time, that is, the amount of light incident on the imaging surface. This is discontinuous information that is sampled at regular intervals. Therefore, this cannot be treated like conventional photometric information.

An object of the present invention is to obtain a photometric device that can use the photoelectric output of a solid-state image sensor as continuous photometric information.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

1 and 2 show the appearance of an embodiment of an electronic camera using the present invention. The camera includes an imaging unit 1 that photoelectrically converts a subject image into a still image signal;
The storage unit 2 includes memory cells for storing one frame of still image information for 20 frames. Both parts are separable as shown in Figures 3a and b.

A photographing lens 10 is attached to the front surface of the imaging section 1, and as shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. do. Lens 10 has aperture 1
0a, a mosaic filter 11a for color separation is arranged in front of the image sensor 11. Further, the image pickup unit 1 is provided with a finder 12 that penetrates from the front side to the rear side to define a photographic field of view, and in FIG. An accessory shoe 14 and a release button 15 are provided. When the release button 15 is pressed lightly, a power supply switch inserted into the power supply circuit is turned on, and power is supplied. Along with this, a photometric operation is performed. When the release button 15 is pressed deeply, the power supply switch remains ON and the photographing sequence is further started. Once the photographing sequence is started, it does not stop even if the release button 15 is released halfway. Also, the power supply switch remains ON until the shooting sequence ends. In FIG. 2, on the rear surface of the imaging unit 1 is a mode selection lever 16 for selecting one of a mode for automatically accessing memory cell addresses in the storage unit 2, a mode for manual access, and a mode for multiple exposure.
A push button 17 for manual access, a 7-segment display device 18 such as a liquid crystal display for displaying the address of the memory cell currently being accessed, and a switch 19 for disabling the audible warning device are provided. There is. Further, on the side surface of the imaging unit 1, there are mounting screws 100 for attaching external accessories such as a data imprinting device or an electronic monitoring device for monitoring a subject image, and a connector 13 for the accessories.
0 are arranged respectively.

On the rear surface of the storage unit 2, as shown in FIG. 2, there is a display device 201 such as a liquid crystal or electrochromic device for displaying the addresses of used memory cells;
A label 202 on which storage capacity (total number of memory cells, ie, number of frames that can be stored), etc. is printed is provided. Further, there is a detachable slider 203 on the side as shown in FIG. 3b. When this is slid to the right, the attachment/detachment key 204 protruding from the top surface of the storage section 2 slides in the same direction, and the locking key 204, which is not shown in the corresponding part of the imaging section 1, is disengaged and the storage section 2 can be removed from the imaging section 1. The storage section 2 is provided with a T-slot 205, which engages with the guide member 131 on the imaging section side during attachment and detachment.
I will guide you through it. Furthermore, a connector 206 and pins 207 are provided upright on the upper surface of the storage section 2 . The connector 206 is connected to a corresponding connector (not shown) of the imaging unit 1 to mutually transmit electrical signals.
The pin 207 mechanically transmits the storage capacity of the storage unit 2 to the imaging unit 1.

FIG. 5 illustrates the internal structure of the imaging element 11 of the imaging section 1. This is a CCD image sensor that uses a so-called interline charge-coupled device (CCD).
Light receiving element a ₁

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. In a solid-state imaging device comprising a plurality of light-receiving elements arranged two-dimensionally and an overflow drain for discharging accumulated charges of the light-receiving elements, the overflow drain is connected to the arrangement of the light-receiving elements. has a first overflow drain that collectively discharges the accumulated charges of the light receiving elements in one vertical row, and a second overflow drain that divides one vertical row into a plurality of parts, each of which is divided into two or more parts. An electronic camera using a solid-state image sensor, characterized in that each of the light receiving elements is configured to discharge the accumulated charge of the corresponding adjacent light receiving element, and a photometric signal is obtained from the current discharged to the first and second overflow drains. Photometric device.