Modeless digital still camera using touch-sensitive shutter button

• US 7,027,094 B2
• Filed: 06/21/2001
• Issued: 04/11/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/21/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Battles, Amy E, Hall, Kenneth Jay, Staudacher, David J
• Primary Examiner(s): Vu, Ngoc-Yen
• Assistant Examiner(s): Villecco, John M.
• Application Number:
  US09/885,064
• Publication Number:
  US 20020196357A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,755 Days
• Field of Search: 348/333.01, 348/333.02, 348/333.05, 348/333.08, 348/333.09, 348/333.13, 348/341, 348/372, 396/374
• US Class Current: 348/333.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/0044 for image preview or review, e.g. to help the user position a sheet
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2101/00 Still video cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/632 for displaying or modifying preview images prior to image capturing, e.g. variety of image resolutions or capturing parameters

Abstract

A modeless electronic imaging apparatus, such as a digital still camera, uses a touch-sensitive shutter button to automatically display “live” images from an image sensor whenever a user touches the shutter button. When the user is not touching the shutter button, the apparatus displays stored image data of the last stored image, or may display menu data according to actuation of system navigation buttons. The apparatus does not require the switching of modes between image capture mode and stored image display mode, but is always capable of image capture as well as stored image display.

Claims

1. An electronic imaging apparatus comprising:

an image sensor device responsive to light focused on said image sensor device from an object to be imaged, for converting said focused light into image data;

a storage medium for storing selected image data from said image sensor device and data related to stored images;

a display for displaying images and related data from said storage medium and images from said image sensor device;

a touch-sensitive shutter button producing a touch signal in response to the touching of a user'"'"'s finger on said button, and producing an actuation signal upon actuation of said button by a user; and

a processor responsive to said touch signal to cause said display to display an image from said image sensor device, responsive to said actuation signal to cause image data from said image sensor device to be stored in said storage medium, and responsive to the absence of said touch signal to cause said display to display an image and/or related data from said storage medium.

2. An electronic imaging apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said data related to stored images comprises menu data.

3. An electronic imaging apparatus as set forth in claim 2, further including at least one navigation button for selecting an item listed in said menu data.

4. An electronic imaging apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said display is an LCD.

5. An electronic imaging apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said image sensor device is a CCD array.

6. An electronic imaging apparatus as set forth in claim 1, further comprising an optical viewfinder for framing images to be captured, and a viewfinder sensor for determining the presence of a user'"'"'s eye is adjacent to the viewfinder and producing a viewfinder sensor signal in response to said determination;

wherein said processor is responsive to said viewfinder sensor signal to turn off power to said display.

7. In an electronic imaging apparatus having a display, an image sensor for producing image data in response to an optical image focused on said image sensor, and a storage medium for storing image data, the improvement comprising:

a touch-sensitive shutter button, wherein merely touching the shutter button without pressing the shutter button down is sufficient to cause the shutter button to produce a signal that causes said display to receive image data from said image sensor and display images corresponding thereto.

8. The electronic imaging apparatus of claim 7, wherein pressing down the shutter button causes the shutter button to produce an actuation signal.

9. The electronic imaging apparatus of claim 8, wherein the actuation signal causes image data from said image sensor to be stored in said storage medium.

10. The electronic imaging apparatus of claim 7, wherein the absence of said signal causes said display to display an image and/or related data from said storage medium.

11. A method of operating an electronic imaging apparatus having a display capable of being selectively deactivated, comprising the steps of:

providing a touch-sensitive shutter button, wherein merely touching the shutter button without pressing down the shutter button is sufficient to cause said display to display an instantaneous image from an image sensor; and

displaying data from a storage medium of said apparatus in the absence of said touch signal when said display is activated.

12. A method of operating an electronic imaging apparatus as set forth in claim 11, further comprising the step of providing a viewfinder sensor for detecting the presence of a user'"'"'s eye adjacent to a viewfinder of said apparatus and producing a viewfinder sensor signal in response thereto;

and

deactivating said display in response to said viewfinder sensor signal.

13. A method of operating an electronic imaging apparatus as set forth in claim 11, wherein said data from said storage medium includes stored image data and menu data.

14. A method of operating an electronic imaging apparatus as set forth in claim 11, further comprising the step of causing image data from said image sensor to be stored in said storage medium upon actuation of said touch-sensitive shutter button by pressing said shutter button.