JP2000103561A - Camera integrated printer - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To provide an easy-to-use camera-integrated printer. A camera-integrated printer (1) is a small-sized box type that can be held by one hand, and includes an imaging lens (5), a finder (6), a flash (7), a photographed image retrieving key (8), a print key (9), inside and outside an upper half of a housing (2). Button 10,
A digital camera unit including a shutter key 12 and the like is provided, and a printer unit 3 is provided throughout the inside. The printer unit 3 includes a recording paper insertion / ejection port 14, a lower ejection port 18, a grounding detection sensor 19, a thermal print head 21, a platen roller 22, and a pair of transport rollers 23a and 23b above these. , A pair of transport rollers 24a, 24b and the like are provided below. Printed recording paper 1
3 is discharged from the lower discharge port 18 when the apparatus main body is in a hand-held state and the grounding detection sensor 19 is off, and is discharged from the insertion / discharge port 14 when the apparatus main body is placed on a table or the ground and the grounding detection sensor 19 is on. You.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a camera-integrated printer including a camera unit for photographing a subject and storing a photographed image and a printer unit for printing the photographed image stored in the camera unit on recording paper.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a camera section and a printer section are provided in a small-sized housing so that the camera section can be used by hand, and images taken by the camera section are printed on predetermined recording paper by a printer section. 2. Description of the Related Art A camera-integrated printer configured to discharge printed recording paper outside the apparatus is known.

[0003]

Such a conventional camera-integrated printer is known in various housing shapes, and the setting of a recording paper insertion / ejection opening is also various.

In the above-described camera-integrated printer, while a photographed image is being printed on recording paper by the printer unit, when there is a new object to be photographed, the printed recording paper to be discharged is photographed. Must be constructed so as not to disturb the person's vision. Further, when the housing housing the above-described camera unit and printer unit is a box shape having good stability, for example, when printing a photographed image on a recording paper without always holding and operating the hand. In some cases, it is easier to operate on a nearby desk or table.

[0005] However, there has been no camera-integrated printer that satisfies these requirements, and there has been a complaint that it is not easy to use. It is an object of the present invention to provide a camera-integrated printer that is easy to use in view of the above-mentioned conventional circumstances.

[0006]

The construction of a camera-integrated printer according to the present invention will be described below. A camera-integrated printer according to the present invention includes a camera unit that captures an image of a subject and stores the captured image data, and a printer unit that prints an image on recording paper based on the captured image data stored in the camera unit. In the printer, a recording paper insertion port / discharge port provided on the upper surface of the apparatus main body, a recording paper discharge port provided on the lower surface of the apparatus main body, and a recording paper insertion / discharge port and the recording paper discharge port. A recording paper transporting means including a recording paper transporting path formed between the recording paper transporting means, a printing means provided in the recording paper transporting path, and a recording paper printed by the printing means. Transport control means for drivingly controlling the recording paper transport means so as to selectively discharge the recording paper to one of the recording paper discharge ports.

The transport control means includes, for example, a selection switching means for selectively switching a discharge direction of the recording paper. Further, the selection switching means includes state detection means for detecting a state as to whether or not the apparatus main body is placed on the table, for example, as set forth in claim 3. As described, the apparatus is provided with key input means for externally designating any one of the recording paper insertion / discharge port and the recording paper discharge port. Then, the printing means controls the switching of the reading direction of the captured image data and the timing of writing the read captured image data to the recording sheet according to the insertion direction of the recording sheet, for example. It is configured to

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1A is a perspective view illustrating an external configuration of a camera-integrated printer according to an embodiment, and FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view taken along the arrow A. FIG.
As shown in (b), the camera-integrated printer 1 is formed in a small box shape that can be easily held by a user with one hand, and is disposed inside and outside along the outer periphery of the upper half of the housing 2. Digital camera and housing 2
And a printer unit 3 disposed throughout the inside.

In the digital camera section, an image pickup lens 5 and a finder 6 are disposed in the center of the housing 4 at a position approximately one-half above the front 4 thereof, and a finder 6 is disposed above the imaging lens 5 (right side of the finder 6). Is provided with a flash 7, and below it (on the right side toward the imaging lens 5), a call key 8 operated when sequentially calling and displaying images that have been imaged and stored, and an image of the imaged and displayed subject Alternatively, there is provided a print key 9 which is operated when the printer unit 3 prints the captured and saved image called and displayed by the call key 8. An operation button 10 for performing other operations is provided on the left side of the side of the imaging lens 5.

On the left side of the upper surface 11 of the housing 2, a shutter key 12 for performing an instruction operation for photographing a still image of a subject captured through the viewfinder 6 through the photographing lens 5 is provided. Indicates that the recording paper 13 serving as a print medium of the captured image is manually inserted into the printer unit 3 as shown by the arrow B in the figure, and is shown by the arrow C in the figure after the photographed image is printed on the print area 13a. A recording paper insertion / ejection port 14 for ejecting the recording paper is provided.

A power supply key 16 is provided on the side surface 15 of the housing 2, and on the lower surface 17, the discharge direction is switched to discharge the recording paper 13 downward as indicated by a broken line 13 'in the figure. Is formed. At the right end of the lower surface 17 as well, a grounding detection sensor 19 is provided so as to protrude from the inside as shown in FIG. Absent). As shown by arrow B in FIG.
As will be described in detail later, the recording paper 13 manually inserted from the discharge port 14 is switched between the recording paper insertion / discharge port 14 and the lower discharge port 18 by turning on / off the ground detection sensor 19.

On the other hand, the printer section 3 includes the recording paper insertion / ejection port 14 and the lower ejection port 1 in the housing 2.
The thermal print head 21 and the platen roller 22 are arranged opposite to each other with a recording paper conveyance path formed between the print section 8 and a print section (print section). A transport roller pair 23 (23a, 23b) is disposed above the printing section, and another transport roller pair 24 (24a, 24b) is also provided below the printing section.
Are provided to form a transport mechanism.

A power supply battery 25 for driving each unit is accommodated in the rear of the housing 2 (right side in FIG. 2B), and an electrical unit 2 is provided between the power supply battery 25 and the recording paper conveyance path.
6 are provided. The electrical unit 26 includes an electronic circuit board on which a control device including a plurality of electronic components is mounted. The printer section 3 is also provided with a head moving mechanism that presses and separates the thermal print head 21 from and against the platen roller 22, a motor that drives the head moving mechanism, and the transport roller pairs 23 and 24. Illustration of these is omitted.

FIG. 2A is a diagram showing a printing surface (front surface) of the recording paper 13 used as a printing medium in the camera-integrated printer 1, and FIG. 2B is a diagram showing the back surface thereof. is there. As shown in FIG. 1A, the recording paper 13 is a fixed-size recording paper having a thermal paper as a printing surface as a front surface, an adhesive layer formed on a back surface of the thermal paper, and a release paper further laminated thereon. It is configured. The size of the printing area 13a on the printing surface of the recording paper 13 is set to a predetermined size in advance from the resolution and memory capacity of the digital camera unit, the printing function of the printer unit 3, and the like. In the margin 13b, various designs and backgrounds for bordering and decorating the print area 13a are printed in advance, so that the erect direction of the image 28 to be printed in the print area 13a is determined in advance. Have been. Then, 1 is set for this print area 13a.
The two photographed images 28 are printed.

As shown in FIG. 1B, the back side of the recording paper 13 is positioned in the direction in which the recording paper 13 is inserted into the printer unit 3 and on the transport path of the recording paper 13 inside the printer unit 3. It is a notation surface of control information for controlling the carry-in, discharge, print position, etc. A black triangular paper insertion direction mark 29 indicating the direction in which the recording paper 13 is inserted into the printer unit 3 is attached to one of the notation areas divided into two above and below the control information notation surface. The area is provided with a barcode 31 for print control such as information indicating that the recording paper 13 is the leading end in the direction of insertion into the printer unit 3 and information indicating the print position.

The bar code 31 is sequentially formed from the leading end of the recording paper 13 into the printer unit 3 in the insertion direction.
The front end non-detection bar 32 includes a front end detection margin 33 corresponding to the width of a 1-bit code, a print control information code 34 composed of a 9-bit code, and a rear end detection margin 35 to the rear end in the remaining insertion direction. The edge detection at the time of insertion of the recording paper 13 in the printer unit 3 is performed from the black background of two widths (two bits) of the front end non-detection bar 32 to one width of the front end detection margin 33 (one bit width). ) Is switched to a white background.

The first bit of the print control information code 34 consisting of the 9-bit code is a start code indicating the start of the print control information code 34, and the second bit is the start position of the print area 13a. Other print area information codes are described. According to the print area information code, the print area 13a is shown at a position closer to the left end of the recording paper 13 in FIG. 3A, but the print area 13a is located near the left end as shown in FIG. It can be set to any one such as leaning.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an electronic circuit of a control unit provided in the electrical unit 26 of the camera-integrated printer 1. As shown in FIG. First, in the electronic circuit 40 for controlling the digital camera unit shown in FIG. 1, a CCD 41 is an image pickup device (photoelectric conversion device) that converts an image formed by the photographing lens 5 into an analog electric signal and outputs the analog electric signal.

The driver 42 is a circuit for driving the CCD 41, and drives the CCD 41 according to a timing signal output from the timing generator 43. The analog / digital conversion circuit 44 is a circuit that converts an analog signal amplified by the amplifier 45 into a digital signal. The image memory 46 includes the analog / digital conversion circuit 4
4 is a memory for storing a plurality of screens of the digital signal converted by the digital camera 4.

The CPU 47 controls the digital camera unit and the printer unit 3 based on a control program stored in the ROM 48. The flash control circuit 49 is a circuit that causes the flash 7 to emit light by adjusting the amount of light. The video signal generator 51 generates a digital video signal by adding a synchronization signal or the like to a digital image signal output from the analog / digital conversion circuit 44 or the image memory 46. VR
The AM 52 is a memory that stores a digital video signal.

The digital / analog conversion circuit 53 is a circuit that converts a digital video signal output from the video signal generation unit 51 into an analog video signal and outputs the analog video signal to the liquid crystal display unit 54. The liquid crystal display unit 54 drives the liquid crystal based on the analog video signal supplied from the digital / analog conversion circuit 53 via the amplifier 55, and displays a captured image. This display device is disposed on the rear surface of the housing 2 which is not visible on the other side in the view of FIG.

The RAM 56 is a memory for managing various flags, print data, and the like in accordance with control of photographing, image storage, and printing by the CPU 47. In addition, CP
The key input unit 57 and the printer unit 3 are connected to U47. The key input unit 57 is connected to the call key 8, the print key 9, the operation button 10, the shutter key 12 on the housing upper surface 11, and the like shown in FIG.

The printer unit 3 prints the image data of the designated image stored in the image memory 46 of the digital camera unit 40. The paper sensor 58 in the printer unit 3
Although not particularly shown, it is arranged at an appropriate position in the paper transport path of FIG. 1B, and detects the print control barcode 31 on the back surface of the recording paper 13 shown in FIG. 2B. I do. The detection signal is supplied to the CPU 47.

The print data from the CPU 47 is transferred to the head driver 59, and the print data is transferred to the thermal print head 21.
Is driven, and a motor control signal from the CPU 47 is output to a motor driver 61 to drive a transport motor (step motor) 62 for driving each part in FIG. 1B.

In the camera-integrated printer 1, when the shutter key 12 is operated to instruct shooting of a subject, an analog signal of a still image for one screen imaged by the CCD 41 is output, and the analog-to-digital conversion circuit is used. 4
The digital signal is converted into a digital signal at 4 and stored in the image memory 46 as image data.

An image memory 46 accompanying the photographing of the subject
The still image data stored in the printer 3 is operated in accordance with the operation of the print key 9 in a state where the recording paper 13 is detected to be positioned at the printing start reference position in the printer unit 3 based on the detection signal from the paper sensor 58. The print image is generated as print data, and the captured image is printed on the print area 13 a of the recording paper 13 by controlling the paper transport mechanism and the print mechanism.

In the camera-integrated printer 13,
When the call key 8 is operated, the image memory 4
Each of the photographed image data stored in 6 is called and displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 54. When the print key 9 is operated in a state in which an arbitrary photographed image is displayed, print data is generated based on the image data that is called and displayed from the image memory 46, and is recorded on the recording paper by the printer unit 3. The image is printed on the 13 print areas 13a.

FIG. 4A shows an example of image data which is selected and called from the image memory 46 of the digital camera unit 40 and is developed in the RAM 56 to be printed. b) is the RA of the image data
It is a figure showing composition in M56. As shown in FIG. 9A, the image (image data) 63 is the first main scanning one line to the pixel (0, 120) at the upper left corner with the pixel (0, 0) at the lower left corner of the erect image as the origin. Is developed, the next main scanning one line also goes from bottom to top, the next main scanning one line goes from bottom to top, and the pixel at the starting point (160, 0) of the last main scanning one line to the end point (120, 16
0).

This is because the actual image data 63 in the RAM 56 is, as shown in FIG.
, For example, one pixel is sequentially written as 8-bit data in the positive direction from top to bottom as shown by the arrow D in the figure.

FIGS. 5 (a), (b), (c) and FIGS. 6 (a), (b), (c)
Is, in the camera-integrated printer having the above configuration,
FIG. 7 is an operation state diagram showing an operation of printing on the recording paper 13 and discharging the printed recording paper 13.

First, FIG. 5A shows a camera-integrated printer 1.
Shows a state in which is held in the hand of the user, and therefore, the bottom is floating in the air, and the grounding detection sensor 19 protrudes outside. In this state, the output of the ground detection sensor 19 is off. Here, when the recording paper 13 is manually inserted from the recording paper insertion / ejection port 14, the leading end in the insertion direction is sandwiched between the transport roller pairs 23a and 23b, and the conveyance is started.

Then, as shown in FIG.
The leading end of the printing area 3 in the loading direction is the thermal print head 21.
At the timing when the platen roller 22 and the platen roller 22 are opposed to each other, printing by the thermal print head 21 is started with the leading end of the printing area in the carrying direction as the leading end in the carrying direction, and as shown in FIG. The print image 64 is formed while the conveyance is taken over by the pair 24a, 24b,
The printed recording paper 13 is discharged from the lower discharge port 18 to the outside.

FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 6C show a state in which the camera-integrated printer 1 is placed on a suitable base (or the ground) 65, and therefore, the bottom is grounded. The ground detection sensor 19 is pushed inside. In this state, the output of the ground detection sensor 19 is on. Here, when the recording paper 13 is manually inserted from the recording paper insertion / ejection port 14, the leading end of the recording paper 13 in the insertion direction is also set to the conveying roller pair 23.
a and 23b are sandwiched to start loading.

In this case, the output of the ground detection sensor 19 is turned on, so that the printed recording paper 1
The discharge direction is set so that 3 is discharged from the recording paper insertion / discharge port 14. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2B, the conveyance of the recording paper 13 is performed by the pair of conveying rollers 24a and 24b.
Then, the recording paper 13 is carried in until the rear end in the carrying direction of the printing region of the recording paper 13 in the carrying direction comes to a printing portion where the thermal print head 21 and the platen roller 22 face each other, and the conveyance is temporarily stopped.

Subsequently, the pair of conveying rollers 24a and 24b rotate in the reverse direction to start conveying the recording paper 13 with the trailing end in the carrying direction now as the leading end in the discharging direction. At the same time, printing by the thermal print head 21 starts. Is done. And the same figure
As shown in (c), a print image 64 is formed while the conveyance is carried over by the conveyance roller pairs 23a and 23b, and the printed recording paper 13 is discharged from the recording paper insertion / ejection port 14 to the outside.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a processing operation by the CPU 47 shown in FIG. 3 for controlling the operation of the printer unit 3 of the camera-integrated printer 1 operating as described above.
FIGS. 8A and 8B are diagrams for explaining the image data reading direction in the above-described flowchart, respectively.
FIG. 8 (c) shows the image data 63 shown in FIG.
Similarly, FIG. 4 is used to explain the reading direction of the image data.
3 (b) shows the configuration of the image data in the RAM 56 again.

In FIG. 7, first, the ground contact detection sensor 19
Is referred to (step S1). If the output of the ground detection sensor 19 is OFF, it is determined that the lower discharge port 18 is specified as the discharge direction of the printed recording paper, and the recording paper 13 is first loaded (step S2). In this processing, based on the above determination, as shown in FIG. 5 (b), at the timing when the leading end of the printing area of the recording paper 13 in the carrying direction reaches the printing unit where the thermal print head 21 and the platen roller 22 face each other. The conveyance of the recording paper 13 is temporarily stopped.

Subsequently, the image data 63 for one screen developed in the RAM 56 is fetched into a page buffer (not shown) in the forward direction (step S3). In this process, FIG.
As shown by the arrow D in FIG.
3 is taken in the forward direction (the same direction as the writing direction).

That is, as an image, as shown in FIG. 8 (a), starting from the pixel (0, 0) at the lower left corner of the erect image to the pixel (0, 120) at the upper left corner, as shown in FIG. a) As shown by arrow E0 in FIG.
Returning as indicated by the broken line F, the next main scanning one line is also taken in from the bottom to the top, and further returning to the next main scanning one line from the bottom to the top, the pixels of the last main scanning one line (160,
0) to the end point pixel (120, 160).

Then, in step S4 (FIG. 7),
While transporting the recording paper 13 downward, the captured images are printed in the order in which they were captured as shown in FIG. Then, the recording paper 13 on which printing has been completed is discharged from the lower discharge port 18, and the process is terminated.

On the other hand, if the output of the ground detection sensor 19 referred to in step S1 is ON, it is determined that the recording paper insertion / ejection port 14 is designated as the ejection direction of the printed recording paper. The recording paper 13 is carried in (step S5). In this process, based on the above determination, as shown in FIG. 6B, the timing at which the rear end of the printing area of the recording paper 13 in the carrying direction comes to the printing unit where the thermal print head 21 and the platen roller 22 face each other. , The conveyance of the recording paper 13 is temporarily stopped.

Subsequently, the image data 63 for one screen developed in the RAM 56 is fetched in the page buffer in the reverse direction (step S6). In this process, as shown by the arrow G in FIG. 8C, the image data 63 in the RAM 56 is fetched in the reverse direction (the direction opposite to the writing direction).

That is, as shown in FIG. 8B, the pixels (120, 160) at the upper right corner of the erect image are imagewise.
Starting from, the same figure up to the pixel (160, 0) in the lower right corner
As shown by the arrow H0 in (b), the first main scanning line is fetched, and as shown by the broken line J, the next main scanning line is fetched from top to bottom. From the top to the bottom of the line, the pixels are sequentially fetched from the pixel (0, 120) of the last main scanning line to the pixel (0, 0) at the end point.

Then, in step S5 (FIG. 7), the recording paper 1
While transporting the image 3 downward, the captured images are printed in the order in which they were captured as shown in FIG. Then, the recording paper 13 on which printing has been completed is discharged from the recording paper insertion / ejection port 14, and the process is terminated.

As described above, the discharge direction of the recording paper 13 with print is automatically switched according to the state of the camera-integrated printer 1 (whether it is held in a hand or placed on a table or the ground). Normally, the forward discharge shown in FIGS. 5A, 5B and 5C is faster in operation. Also,
For example, when the user wants to release his hand, the user can place the camera on the table or the ground as shown in FIG. 6 (a), and as shown in FIGS. Switching is automatically made in the reverse direction, and the printed recording paper 13 is discharged in the reverse direction.

Incidentally, it is also possible to operate the operation button 10 (see FIG. 1B) to manually select the discharge direction of the recording paper. However, in this case, even if the forward direction (downward) discharge direction is specified by manual input, the specification of the discharge direction by manual input is ignored when the ground detection sensor 19 is ON, and the recording paper is not recorded. The discharge direction is automatically switched to the reverse direction (upward).

[0047]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, the discharging direction of the printed recording paper is automatically or selectively switched between upper and lower directions, so that the apparatus can be used in a hand-held state. In this case, the recording paper can be discharged from the lower surface of the apparatus main body, so that the discharged recording paper does not cover the operation surface of the camera unit, and thus not only does not disturb the operation. It is convenient because the printing process can be performed quickly. In addition, when the apparatus is in a stationary state in which the lower surface of the apparatus body is in contact with the table or the ground, the recording paper is automatically discharged from the upper surface of the apparatus body.
Even when the discharge port on the lower surface is closed, printing can be performed and the paper can be discharged without causing a paper jam. Therefore, printing and discharging can be performed conveniently in both a hand-held state and a stationary state.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1A is a perspective view showing an external configuration of a camera-integrated printer according to an embodiment, and FIG.

2A is a diagram illustrating a front surface of a recording paper used as a print medium in a camera-integrated printer, and FIG. 2B is a diagram illustrating a back surface thereof.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an electronic circuit of a control unit provided in an electrical unit of the camera-integrated printer.

FIG. 4A is a diagram showing an example of an image image which is called from an image memory of a digital camera unit and is expanded in a RAM to be printed, and FIG. 4B is a diagram showing a configuration of image data in the RAM; It is.

FIGS. 5A, 5B, and 5C are operation state diagrams (part 1) showing the operation of printing on recording paper and discharging the printed recording paper by the camera-integrated printer.

FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 6C are operation state diagrams (part 2) showing the operation of printing on recording paper and discharging the printed recording paper by the camera-integrated printer.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a processing operation of control by a CPU of a control unit.

FIGS. 8A, 8B, and 8C are diagrams for explaining reading of an image in a forward direction and reading of an image in a reverse direction.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printer integrated with camera 2 Housing 3 Printer part 4 Front of housing 5 Imaging lens 6 Finder 7 Flash 8 Call key 9 Print key 10 Operation button 11 Upper surface of housing 12 Shutter key 13 Recording paper 13a Printing area 13b Marginal part (rim decoration part, background part) 14) Recording paper insertion / ejection port 15 Housing side 16 Power key 17 Housing lower face 18 Lower ejection port 19 Ground detection sensor 21 Thermal print head 22 Platen roller 23 (23a, 23b), 24 (24a, 24b) Transport roller pair 25 Power supply Battery 26 Electrical part 28 Image 29 Paper insertion direction mark 31 Print control bar code 32 Lead non-detection bar 33 Lead detection margin 34 Print control information code 35 Rear detection margin 41 CCD 42 Driver 43 Thailand Generator 44 analog-digital conversion circuit 45 amplifier 46 image memory 47 CPU 48 ROM 49 flash control circuit 51 video signal generation unit 52 VRAM 53 digital-analog conversion circuit 54 liquid crystal display unit 55 amplifier 56 RAM 57 key input unit 58 paper sensor 59 head driver 61 motor driver 62 transfer motor (step motor) 63 image data 64 print image 65 units (or ground)

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A camera-integrated printer comprising: a camera unit that images a subject and stores the captured image data; and a printer unit that prints an image on recording paper based on the captured image data stored in the camera unit. A recording paper insertion port and a discharge port provided on the upper surface of the apparatus main body;
A recording paper discharge means provided on a lower surface of the apparatus main body, a recording paper conveyance means including a recording paper conveyance path formed between the recording paper insertion / discharge port and the recording paper discharge port; A printing means provided in a transport path, and the recording paper transport means for selectively discharging the recording paper printed by the printing means to one of the recording paper insertion / discharge port and the recording paper discharge port And a transfer control means for controlling the driving of the printer. 2. The camera-integrated printer according to claim 1, wherein said conveyance control means includes a selection switching means for selectively switching a discharge direction of said recording paper. 3. The camera-integrated printer according to claim 2, wherein said selection switching means includes state detection means for detecting whether or not the apparatus main body is placed on a table. 4. The camera-integrated camera according to claim 2, wherein said selection switching means has a key input means for externally designating one of said recording paper insertion / discharge port and said recording paper discharge port. Printer. 5. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printing unit switches and controls a reading direction of the captured image data and a writing timing of the read captured image data on the recording sheet in accordance with an insertion direction of the recording sheet. The camera-integrated printer according to claim 1.