Method and apparatus for storing and displaying an image taken by a rotatable image pickup portion

• US 6,630,958 B2
• Filed: 01/07/1998
• Issued: 10/07/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 01/07/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Minolta Corporation Limited (Konica Minolta Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Minolta Corporation Limited (Konica Minolta Inc.)
• Inventors: Inoue, Manabu, Tanaka, Toshiyuki, Yagura, Hirokazu, Kido, Toshihito
• Primary Examiner(s): MOE, AUNG SOE
• Application Number:
  US09/003,793
• Publication Number:
  US 20020191096A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,099 Days
• Field of Search: 348/333.06, 348/333.01, 348/333.02, 348/333.05, 348/333.07, 348/333.08, 348/333.11, 348/333.12, 348/334, 348/373, 348/374, 348/375, 348/233, 348/207, 348/14.01, 348/207.99, 348/231.3, 386/118, 396/373, 396/374, 396/378, 396/381, 396/301, 396/56, 396/277, 358/906, 358/909.1
• US Class Current: 348/333.06
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/50 Constructional details
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/634 Warning indications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/663 for controlling interchangeable camera parts based on electronic image sensor signals

Abstract

A digital camera 1 includes a main body 2 and an image pickup section 3 connected to the main body rotatably. The main body 2 has a display monitor 10 which displays an object picture. A switch SCPOS2 detects rotation position of the image pickup section 3. When the image pickup direction of the image pickup section 3 is detected to agree generally with the direction to the side of display monitor, the image data taken by the image pickup section is displayed in the display monitor with reversal upside down, while it is recorded without reversal in an IC card 35. Thus, when a photographer takes a picture thereof, the picture can be taken and recorded at a fast speed without a complicated and expensive circuit.

Claims

1. A camera comprising:

a camera main body;

an image pickup device having an optical system for taking a picture and being rotatable relative to said camera main body;

a display device mounted to said camera main body and displaying an optical image of the picture taken by said image pickup device;

a storage device which stores the picture taken by said image pickup device together with a thumbnail picture of the picture as image signals in a recording medium;

a detector which detects a direction of said image pickup device; and

a controller which controls said display device to change display direction of the picture to be displayed in said display device and controls said storage device to store the picture and the thumbnail picture thereof by changing the direction of the thumbnail picture when said detector detects that the optical axis of said image pickup device is directed to a position wherein said display device can be observed.

2. A camera according to claim 1, wherein said display device is provided at a rear side of said camera main body and said controller reverses the display direction of the picture displayed in said display section upside down when said detector detects that the image pickup section is directed to a back side relative to said camera main body.

3. A camera according to claim 1, wherein said image pickup section comprises an image pickup element which converts the picture of an object focused by the optical system of the image pickup section to the image signals.

4. A camera according to claim 1, wherein said image pickup section is detachable from said camera main body, and said image pickup section can communicate with said camera main body in a state wherein said image pickup section is detached from said camera, main body.

5. A camera according to claim 4, wherein said controller inhibits to change the display direction of the picture displayed in said display section irrespective of a result of detection by said detector when said image pickup section communicates with said camera main body in a state wherein said image pickup section is detached from said camera main body.

6. A camera according to claim 1, wherein said controller controls said storage device to store the thumbnail picture by changing the display direction of the thumbnail picture when said detector detects that the optical axis of said image pickup device is directed to a position wherein said display device can be observed.

7. A camera comprising:

a main body;

an image pickup device having an optical system for taking a photograph, being rotatable relative to said main body, being detachable from said main body, and able to communicate with said main body in a state detached from said main body;

an image memory, which temporarily stores image data for displaying a picture taken by said image pickup device;

a display device mounted to said main body at a rear side thereof for displaying the picture based on the image data temporarily stored in said image memory;

a storage device which stores the picture taken by said image pickup device as image signals in a recording medium;

a detector which detects a direction of said image pickup device; and

a controller which carries out control so as to reverse display direction of the picture displayed in said display device upside down by setting the image data in said image memory so as to reverse the picture upside down when said image pickup device is connected to said main body and said detector detects that the optical axis of said image pickup device is directed to a back side relative to said main body, controls said display device by setting the image data in said image memory as received to display the picture irrespective of the direction of said image pickup device when said image pickup device communicates with said main body in a state detached from said main body, and controls said storage device to store the image signals of the picture irrespective of the direction of the image pickup device and a state of attachment and detachment of said image pickup device to said main body,

wherein said controller controls said storage device to store a thumbnail picture by reversing the direction of the thumbnail picture upside down when said image pick up device is connected to said camera main body and said detector detects that the optical axis of the image pickup device is directed to a back side relative to said camera main body.

8. A camera according to claim 7, wherein said image pickup device comprises an image pickup element which converts an image of an object focused by the optical system of the image pickup device to the image signals.

9. A camera according to claim 7, wherein said storage device stores the picture and a thumbnail picture thereof in the recording medium.

10. A camera comprising:

a camera main body;

an image pickup device having an optical system for taking a photograph, being rotatable relative to said camera main body, being detachable from said camera main body, being rotatable relative to said camera main body when attached to said camera main body, and able to communicate with said camera main body in a state detached from said camera main body;

a display device mounted to said camera main body at a rear side thereof and displaying a picture taken by said image pickup device;

a storage device which stores the picture taken by said image pickup device as image signals in a recording medium;

a detector which detects a direction of said image pickup device; and

a controller which controls said display device to reverse display direction of the picture displayed in said display device upside down when said image pickup device is connected to said camera main body and said detector detects that the optical axis of said image pickup device is directed to a back side relative to the camera main body, controls said display device to display the picture irrespective of the direction of said image pickup device when said image pickup device communicates with said camera main body in a state detached from said camera main body, and controls said storage device to store the image signals of the picture irrespective of the direction of the image pickup device and a state of attachment and detachment of said image pickup device to said camera main body,

wherein said storage device stores the picture and a thumbnail picture thereof in the recording medium, and

wherein said controller controls said storage device to store the thumbnail picture by reversing the direction of the thumbnail picture upside down when said image pickup device is connected to said camera main body and said detector detects that the optical axis of said image pickup device is directed to a back side relative to said camera main body.

11. A digital camera comprising:

a camera main body which processes and records image signals;

an image sensor which senses and converts an optical image of an object to the image signals with photoelectric conversion;

a display device which displays the optical image of the object taken by said image sensor;

a processor which produces image signals of a thumbnail image from the converted image signals;

a storage device which stores image signals of the optical image of the object taken by said image sensor together with the image signals of the thumbnail image;

a detector which detects whether a sensing direction of said image sensor agrees with a display direction of said display device; and

a controller which controls said display device to display the image signals taken by said image sensor upside down and controls said storage device to store the image signals of the object image and the thumbnail image thereof by changing the direction of the thumbnail image upside down when the sensing direction of said image sensor detected by said detector agrees with the display direction of said display device.