JP2000295511A - Electronic camera - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) Abstract: To improve the quality of an image formed on a recording sheet in an electronic camera having an image forming section of a type to which a temperature-dependent reaction contributes. An electronic camera includes a printer unit for printing a subject image on a photosensitive recording sheet. The printer unit 7 has a loading unit 40 for detachably loading a cartridge 41 that stores a plurality of photosensitive recording sheets 53. A partition plate 86 made of a heat insulating synthetic resin plate is provided so as to surround the cartridge 41 in the loading section 40. The partition plate 86 connects the cartridge 41 with the CCD image pickup device 12, the LCD backlight 26a, and the D / D
It is thermally insulated from the converter 82 and the built-in battery 58.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic camera,
More specifically, the present invention relates to an electronic camera having an image forming unit (printer unit) of a type in which a temperature-dependent reaction contributes to image formation on a recording sheet.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, an electronic camera does not have a printer due to size and cost restrictions. Therefore, the operation of reproducing (printing) the image data captured by the electronic camera as an image on a recording sheet is outsourced or
Or, it is common practice to use an external data processing device such as a personal computer for personal use. However, like the conventional silver halide film type instant camera, the appearance of an electronic camera capable of forming a photograph at a shooting site is also expected.

[0003] From such a viewpoint, the structure of an electronic camera having a printer unit has already been proposed. In this case, the image data is sent to the print head via the print image processing circuit,
The image is printed on a recording sheet. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-93849 discloses a printer unit for an electronic camera that uses an LCD itself as an image display unit as an optical head (print head) and prints images on a photosensitive recording sheet at a time.

When the recording sheet is photosensitive paper used in a conventional silver halide film type instant camera, the photosensitive paper is subjected to a chemical treatment immediately after exposure by a built-in chemical, thereby forming an image. Progresses. Since the chemical reaction at this time is temperature-dependent (the progress of the chemical reaction for forming an image depends on the temperature), the environmental temperature during image formation is an important factor for forming a good image. Becomes For example, although the field is different from that of an electronic camera, an image forming mechanism considering this point of view is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-3052.
14 and JP-A-10-333766.

[0005]

An electronic camera is provided with various heat emitting portions, for example, a CCD image pickup device, an L
It has a CD backlight, a D / D converter of a power supply unit, and a built-in battery. On the other hand, the area of the recording sheet such as photosensitive paper is not so small as compared with the cross section of the camera housing, and therefore, the recording sheet is easily affected by the heat radiating portion in the camera housing.
In the case of a print unit of a type in which a temperature-dependent reaction, such as coloring of a coloring material, fixing, etc., contributes to the formation of an image on a recording sheet, the temperature unevenness of the recording sheet itself greatly reduces the quality of the formed image. Cause. This type of printing unit includes, for example, a photosensitive mechanism using photosensitive paper, a sublimation mechanism using an ink ribbon, and the like.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made based on the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and is directed to an electronic camera having an image forming section of a type in which a temperature-dependent reaction contributes to the formation of an image on a recording sheet. An object of the present invention is to improve the quality of an image to be formed by reducing the temperature unevenness of the image itself.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A first aspect of the present invention is as follows.
In an electronic camera, an electronic imaging unit having a photographic lens system for forming an image of a subject and a photoelectric conversion element for obtaining image data by photoelectrically converting the formed subject image; and Image forming means for reproducing and forming an image on a recording sheet, a cartridge loading section for loading a cartridge containing the recording sheet, and a heat emitting section in the cartridge loading section adjacent to the cartridge are thermally connected. And a partition plate disposed so as to be insulated from the partition plate.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in an electronic camera, a photographing lens system for forming a subject image and a photoelectric conversion element for photoelectrically converting the formed subject image to obtain image data are provided. Electronic image pickup means having an image forming means for reproducing and forming the image data as an image on a recording sheet, a cartridge loading section for loading a cartridge containing the recording sheet, and a cartridge loading section. A heat conductive soaking casing surrounding the cartridge and disposed to enhance thermal uniformity of the cartridge.

[0009]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a structure of a member mounted on a camera housing of an electronic camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the present electronic camera includes a bus 8
And a camera unit 6 and a printer unit 7 which are connected to the system controller 5 through the controller and operated under the control of the system controller 5.

The camera unit 6 includes a photographing lens system 11, a CCD
It has an electronic imaging mechanism including an imaging element 12, an imaging circuit 13, an A / D conversion circuit 14, a strobe 15, and the like. A light image of a subject to be photographed is captured via a photographing lens system 11 and is formed on a CCD image pickup device 12. The signal of the formed image is sent to the A / D conversion circuit 14 via the imaging circuit 13 and converted into a digital signal. A digital signal obtained by the electronic imaging mechanism is stored (stored) as image data in the recording buffer memory 21 for each frame. At this time, the image data is stored in the image processing unit 22.
Receive a process such as correction of luminance and color difference.

The camera section 6 also has a recording medium I / F (interface) 17 for recording or reading on a removable recording medium 16 such as a memory card. As described above, each frame image data stored in the recording buffer memory 21 is subjected to data compression processing by the compression / decompression function 23, and is then recorded on the recording medium 16 via the recording medium I / F 17. Conversely, image data recorded on the recording medium 16 is extracted via the recording medium I / F 17, subjected to data decompression processing by the compression / decompression function 23, and then stored in the recording buffer memory 21.

The camera section 6 also has an image display LCD 26,
It has a video output circuit 28 and an external data I / F 29. Supplied from an electronic imaging mechanism or recording medium 16,
The image data stored in the recording buffer memory 21 is
The image is sent to the image display LCD 26 via the display circuit 27 and is reproduced and displayed as a video. These image data are supplied to a video output terminal 28a via a video output circuit 28.
Can be output as a video signal to an external display device such as a television. The external data I / F 29 is connected to an external input / output terminal 29.
This is used for exchanging data between the electronic camera and an external data processing device such as a personal computer via a.

On the other hand, the printer section 7 has a structure for printing a subject image on a photosensitive recording sheet. Specifically, the printer section 7 has a loading section 40 formed in a camera housing for detachably loading a cartridge 41 containing a plurality of photosensitive recording sheets. The loading unit 40 has a sensor 4 for detecting the attachment / detachment of the cartridge 41.
3 are provided. Preferably, the cartridge 41 is provided with an attached battery 42, which is connected to a power supply unit 57 of an electronic camera described later when the cartridge 41 is loaded.

The recording sheets in the cartridge 41 are supplied one by one to the discharge port 77 (see FIG. 2) by the paper feeding means 46. An optical head 47 for exposing a photosensitive recording sheet based on image data is provided between the loading section 40 and the discharge port 77. Paper feeding means 46 and optical head 4
The paper feed drive circuit 48 and the head drive circuit 49 are connected to the system controller 5 to drive the drive 7. The image data supplied from the electronic imaging mechanism or the external recording medium 16 and stored in the recording buffer memory 21 is converted into print data by the print image processing circuit 51 and stored in the print buffer memory 52. The head drive circuit 49 drives the optical head 47 while reading print data from the print buffer memory 52 as needed.

An operation section 56 and a power supply section 57 are also connected to the system controller 5. The operation unit 56 includes various operation buttons and operation keys. An operation command is input to the system controller 5 via the operation unit 56, and the operation of the electronic camera is set. The power supply unit 57 has a built-in battery 5
8 (for example, 1.5 V × 3) is used as a power supply. However, the power supply unit 57 can also be connected to an external power supply via the external power supply input terminal 59, so that the external power supply can be selectively used as a power supply. As described above, when the cartridge 41 is loaded in the print unit 7, the battery 42 attached to the cartridge is connected to the power supply unit 57. The power of the built-in battery and external power supply is mainly
Used to drive the battery 42 attached to the cartridge.
Is mainly used to drive the printing unit 7.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a structure inside a camera housing 71 of the electronic camera according to the embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in the figure, a lens barrel of the photographing lens system 11 is disposed on the front surface 72 side of the camera housing 71, and C
Imaging substrate 8 on which CD imaging device 12 and imaging circuit are mounted
3 are provided. A printed circuit board 81 on which the circuits of the camera unit 6 and the printed unit 7 are mounted is further inside the imaging board 83.
Is arranged. On the right side of the printed circuit board 81, the D of the power supply unit 57 is provided to supply the power of the built-in battery 58 to the mounted circuit.
/ D converter 82 is connected. Also, the camera housing 7
An image display LCD 26 having a backlight 26a is provided on the back surface 73 side of the device 1. A slot 74 for forming the recording medium I / F 17 is provided on the right side of the camera housing 71.
Is formed inside the recording medium 16 such as a memory card.
Is detachably mounted. A built-in battery 58 (for example, three commercially available 1.5 V AA batteries) of the power supply unit 57 is disposed in the bulging portion 76 on the right side of the camera housing 71.

The loading section 40 formed in the camera housing 71
, A cartridge 41 accommodating a plurality of photosensitive recording sheets 53 is detachably mounted. The cartridge 41 is
When the rear surface 73 or the bottom surface of the camera housing 71 has a lid structure, the camera housing 71 can be introduced into the housing 71. An optical head 47 is provided so as to face the cartridge 41. The recording sheets 53 in the cartridge 41 are supplied one by one to the discharge port 77 on the left side of the camera housing 71 by the paper supply means 46, and undergo a photosensitive process from the optical head 47 during paper supply. At times other than printing, for example, at the time of photographing and image reproduction, the discharge port 77 is closed by the shutter 78.

During use of the electronic camera, the CCD image pickup device 1
2. The backlight 26a of the LCD, the D / D converter 82 of the power supply unit, and the built-in battery 58 serve as a heat radiating unit that radiates considerable heat. In order to prevent the thermal effects from these heat emitting portions from affecting the photosensitive recording sheet 53, the cartridge mounting portion 40 is surrounded by a partition plate 86. Specifically, the partition plate 86 is made of a heat-insulating synthetic resin plate, and the cartridge 41 in the loading section 40 is connected to the CCD image pickup device 12, the backlight 26a of the LCD, and the D / D of the power supply section.
It is thermally insulated from the converter 82 and the built-in battery 58. Thereby, the temperature unevenness of the photosensitive recording sheet 53 itself can be reduced, and the image formation by the temperature-dependent reaction can be made to proceed uniformly on the recording sheet 53. That is, the quality of the image formed on the recording sheet 53 can be improved.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a structure inside a camera housing 71 of an electronic camera according to another embodiment of the present invention. In the following description, components having substantially the same functions and configurations as those of the above embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and repeated description will be made only when necessary.

In this embodiment, a partition plate 88 made of a heat-insulating synthetic resin plate is used to connect the cartridge 41 in the loading section 40 to the CCD imaging device 12, the D / D converter 82 of the power supply section, and the built-in battery 58. It is arranged to be thermally insulated from However, the partition plate 88 does not have a portion interposed between the backlight 26a of the LCD and the cartridge 41. Instead, a heat-conducting heat equalizing casing 89 is provided so as to surround substantially the entire cartridge 41 in the loading section 40 except for the discharge side of the recording sheet 53.

The heat equalizing casing 89 is made of a metal having high thermal conductivity, such as Al or Cu, and is disposed so as to enhance the thermal uniformity of the cartridge 41. Thereby, the temperature unevenness of the photosensitive recording sheet 53 itself can be reduced, and the image formation by the temperature-dependent reaction can be made to proceed uniformly on the recording sheet 53. That is, the quality of the image formed on the recording sheet 53 can be improved. Further, since the heat equalizing casing 89 receives heat from the backlight 26a of the LCD, the temperature of the entire cartridge 41 can be increased. Accordingly, even when the photosensitive recording sheet 53 is used in a cold region, the temperature of the photosensitive recording sheet 53 is appropriately increased, so that formation of an image by a temperature-dependent reaction can be promoted.

In both of the above-described embodiments, the printing unit 7 comprises a photosensitive printing mechanism for printing on the photosensitive recording sheet 53 by the optical head 47. Instead of this, a sublimation printing mechanism using an ink ribbon is used. Other image forming mechanisms, such as the mechanism described above, may be employed.

[0025]

According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the temperature unevenness of the recording sheet itself by increasing the thermal uniformity of the recording sheet cartridge used in the image forming section of the electronic camera. Therefore, when a temperature-dependent reaction contributes to the formation of an image on a recording sheet, the quality of the formed image can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a member attached to a camera housing of an electronic camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a structure inside a camera housing of the electronic camera according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a structure inside a camera housing of an electronic camera according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 5: System controller 6: Camera section 7: Printer section 40: Loading section 41: Cartridge 46: Paper feeding means 47: Optical head 53: Photosensitive recording sheet 57: Power supply section 58: Built-in battery 71: Camera housing 77: Discharge port 78: Shutter 81: Printed circuit board 82: D / D converter 86, 88: Partition plate 89: Heat equalizing casing

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An electronic image pickup device comprising: a photographing lens system for forming a subject image; and a photoelectric conversion element for performing photoelectric conversion of the formed subject image to obtain image data. Image forming means for reproducing and forming an image on a recording sheet, a cartridge loading section for loading a cartridge containing the recording sheet, and a heat emitting section in the cartridge loading section which is close to the cartridge. An electronic camera, comprising: a partition plate disposed so as to be electrically insulated. 2. An electronic image pickup means comprising: a photographing lens system for forming a subject image; and a photoelectric conversion element for performing photoelectric conversion of the formed subject image to obtain image data. Forming an image on a recording sheet as an image, a cartridge loading section for loading a cartridge containing the recording sheet, and enclosing the cartridge in the cartridge loading section. An electronic camera, comprising: a heat conductive heat equalizing casing disposed so as to enhance uniformity.