Still video camera having one-shot and serial shot modes

• US 5,206,730 A
• Filed: 03/04/1992
• Issued: 04/27/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 11/10/1989
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Konica Corporation (Konica Minolta Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Konica Corporation (Konica Minolta Inc.)
• Inventors: Sakai, Yuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Goldstein, Herbert
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ho, Tuan V.
• Application Number:
  US07/844,932
• Time in Patent Office: 419 Days
• Field of Search: 358/209, 358/909, 358/906, 358/337, 358/339, 358/312, 358/334, 358/335, 354/3, 354/7
• US Class Current: 348/220.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/2112 using still video cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/2137 with temporary storage before final recording, e.g. in a frame buffer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2101/00 Still video cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/00 Circuitry of solid-state image sensors [SSIS]; Control thereof

Abstract

A digital still video camera having a plurality of photographing modes. The camera includes a switch for selecting one of the plurality of photographing modes, CCD for photographing an image to output a digital image signal in accordance with the selected photographing mode, a circuit for processing the digital image signal in synchronization with a clock signal and an oscillator for generating the clock signal and output the clock signal to the circuit, the oscillator adapted to change the frequency of the clock signal in accordance with the selected photographing mode so that the circuit changes its processing speed in accordance with the selected photographing mode.

Claims

1. A still video camera having a one-shot mode for photographing one frame and a serial-shot mode for photographing a plurality of successive frames at a specific frequency, the camera comprising:

means for selecting between the one-shot mode and the serial-shot mode;

means for generating a digital signal representative of the frame being photographed;

a frame memory for temporarily storing and then transmitting the digital signal, the frame memory having the capacity to store the digital signal corresponding to at least one frame;

a semiconductor memory;

means for processing the digital signal from the frame memory, the processing means changing its operating speed in synchronization with the frequency of a clock signal;

means for compressing the digital signal from the processing means for storage in the semiconductor memory, the compressing means changing its operating speed in synchronization with the frequency of the clock signal;

the semiconductor memory storing the processed and compressed digital signal in synchronization with the operating speed of the processing means and the compressing means;

clock means for providing the clock signal to the processing means and compressing means at different frequencies in accordance with the selected mode so that the processing means and compressing means change their operating speed in accordance with the selection mode and so that the semiconductor memory stores the processed and compressed digital signal at a speed and power consumption in the one-shot mode lower than the speed and power consumption in the serial-shot mode; and

a battery for supplying power to the selecting means, the generating means, the frame memory, the semiconductor memory, the processing means, the compressing means, and the clock means.

2. The camera as claimed in claim 1, wherein the selecting means includes means for selecting the specific frequency for photographing in the serial-shot mode, and wherein the clock means changes the frequency of the clock signal in accordance with the specific frequency selected.