JP2011013721A - Electronic equipment, starting method and starting program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To shorten time to start and effectively use a battery.SOLUTION: A digital still camera includes: a plurality of load means which drive in response to receiving supply of power from a battery including, a lens driving part, a camera shake compensation unit, an image sensor, and an LCD; a detection means which detects a remaining amount of the battery (S01); and a control part 11 which controls the plurality of load means. The control part 11 selects a sequence whose time to start becomes longer as remaining amount detected is smaller out of first and second sequences which differ time to start, and initializes a plurality of load means according to the selected sequence (S02, S03).

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic device, an activation method, and an activation program, and more particularly, to an electronic device driven by a battery, an activation method for activating the electronic device, and an activation program.

  When power is turned on, the electronic device executes an initialization process as preparation for driving. For example, a digital still camera includes a lens driving unit, an image sensor driving unit, an LCD driving unit, a camera shake correction unit, and the like, and initializes them. Normally, in order to shorten the time until the electronic device is activated, processing for initializing the lens driving unit, the image sensor driving unit, the LCD driving unit, the camera shake correction unit, and the like is executed in parallel.

  However, since the power consumption at the time of startup becomes large, the battery may be overloaded, and the output may be interrupted instantaneously. In particular, when the capacity remaining in the battery is small, the output of the battery is often interrupted instantaneously. For this reason, although electric power is stored in the battery, there is a problem in that the output is momentarily interrupted and it may not be possible to start up.

As a technique for reducing the maximum current, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-138358 discloses that when the first and second motors are driven simultaneously, the energization phases for the first and second motors do not overlap each other. A motor control method for an optical device that drives both motors in a time-sharing manner is described.
JP-A-6-138358

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and one of the objects of the present invention is to provide an electronic device capable of effectively using a battery while shortening the time until startup. That is.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide an activation method capable of shortening the time until activation and effectively using a battery.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a startup program capable of shortening the time until startup and effectively using a battery.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, according to one aspect of the present invention, an electronic device includes a plurality of load units that are driven by power supplied from a battery, a detection unit that detects the remaining amount of the battery, and a plurality of units. Control means for controlling the load means, and the control means selects and is selected from a plurality of sequences with different time until activation, a sequence having a longer time until activation as the remaining amount detected is smaller A plurality of load means are initialized according to the sequence.

  According to this aspect, the remaining amount of the battery is detected, and the load units are initialized according to a sequence in which the time until activation is longer as the remaining amount of the battery is smaller. When initializing in a sequence with a short time to startup, the maximum power consumption is larger than when initializing with a sequence with a long time to startup. If initialization is performed according to a sequence with a long time until startup when the remaining amount of the battery is low, it is possible to prevent the battery from being overloaded. In addition, even when initialization is performed according to a sequence in which the time until start-up is short when the remaining amount of the battery is large, the time until start-up can be shortened without overloading the battery. As a result, it is possible to provide an electronic device capable of shortening the time until activation and effectively using the battery.

  Preferably, the control unit can execute at least two of the plurality of processes for initializing the plurality of load units in parallel, and the plurality of sequences have different combinations of at least two processes executed in parallel. .

  According to another aspect of the present invention, the start-up method is a start-up method executed by an electronic device including a plurality of load means that are driven by receiving power supplied from a battery, and the step of detecting the remaining amount of the battery And a step of selecting a sequence having a longer time to start as the remaining amount detected from a plurality of sequences having different times to start is smaller, and a step of initializing a plurality of load means according to the selected sequence ,including.

  According to this aspect, it is possible to provide an activation method capable of shortening the time until activation and effectively using the battery.

  According to still another aspect of the present invention, the activation program is an activation program that is executed by a computer that controls an electronic device that includes a plurality of load units that are driven by power supplied from the battery. A step of detecting a remaining amount, a step of selecting a sequence having a longer time until activation as the remaining amount detected from a plurality of sequences having different times until activation, and a plurality of load means according to the selected sequence And causing the computer to execute.

  According to this aspect, it is possible to provide an activation program capable of shortening the time until activation and effectively using the battery.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals. Their names and functions are also the same. Therefore, detailed description thereof will not be repeated.

  In this embodiment, a digital still camera will be described as an example of an electronic device. The electronic device is not limited to a digital still camera, and may be, for example, a video camera, a mobile phone, a music player, a navigation device, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistants), a personal computer, etc. Good.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a digital still camera according to one embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, a digital still camera 1 includes a control unit 11 that controls the entire digital still camera 1, a lens 13, a lens driving unit 15 that drives the lens 13, a camera shake correction unit 17, and an image sensor. 19, a liquid crystal display (LCD) 23, a codec (CODEC) 21, a signal processing circuit 22 for image processing, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 25 for storing a program to be executed by the control unit 11, and the like. A SDRAM (Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory) 27 used as a work area of the control unit 11, a card interface (I / F) 29 in which a memory card 29 A is mounted, and a battery 31 that supplies power to the entire digital still camera 1. And including.

  The lens 13 is controlled by the lens driving unit 15. The lens 13 is housed inside the main body when the digital still camera 1 is not driven. The lens driving unit 15 causes the lens 13 to protrude outside the main body in the initialization process at the time of activation. Further, the lens 13 has a zoom mechanism, and the lens driving unit 15 arranges the zoom mechanism of the lens 13 at the reference position in order to determine the zoom amount of the lens 13 in the initialization process at the time of activation.

  The image sensor 19 is a photoelectric conversion element such as a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) image sensor, and outputs image data obtained by photoelectrically converting an image of a subject image formed through the lens 13 to the control unit 11. The control unit 11 receives the image data output from the image sensor 19 and stores it in the SDRAM 27. The image data here is, for example, bitmap format data in which one pixel is composed of R (red), G (green), and B (blue). The image sensor 19 is not limited to a CMOS image sensor, and a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) image sensor may be used. The image sensor 19 outputs one frame of image data at a predetermined time interval. A frame is a unit constituting a moving image, and one frame means one image. The frame can be replaced with a field. The predetermined time interval is 1/5 second when the frame rate is 5 FPS.

  The signal processing circuit 22 reads the image data stored in the SDRAM 27, performs various signal processing on the image data, and converts the image data into a color system YUV format represented by a luminance signal and a color difference signal. The signal processing circuit 22 stores YUV format image data in the SDRAM 27.

  The control unit 11 generates a composite video signal from the YUV format image data stored in the SDRAM 27 and outputs the composite video signal to the LCD 23. As a result, an image output from the image sensor 19 by imaging the subject is displayed on the LCD 23. Instead of the LCD 23, an organic EL (ElectroLuminescence) display may be used.

  The codec 21 is controlled by the control unit 11, reads YUV format image data stored in the SDRAM 27, compresses and encodes the encoded data, and stores the encoded data in the SDRAM 27. Here, encoded data compressed and encoded for each frame is sequentially stored in the SDRAM 21. Note that the codec 21 compresses and encodes a plurality of frames using an MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) compression method when storing a moving image. In this case, encoded data that has been compression-encoded in units of GOP (Group of Pictures) is stored in the SDRAM 21.

  The camera shake correction unit 17 includes a detection element such as a gyro sensor, and drives the image sensor 19 according to the angular velocity component generated by the vibration of the digital still camera 1 to prevent the subject from shaking. The lens 13 may be driven instead of or in addition to the image sensor 19. The camera shake correction unit 17 is controlled by the control unit 11 and executes processing such as initialization of the gyro sensor and movement of the image sensor 19 to an initial position in initialization processing at the time of activation.

  The card I / F 29 is loaded with a memory card 29A having a nonvolatile memory. The control unit 11 can access the memory card 29A via the card I / F 29, and stores the encoded data stored in the SDRAM 27 in the memory card 29A.

  The control unit 11 activates the digital still camera 1 by executing the activation program stored in the ROM 25. Here, the activation means that the digital still camera 1 is brought into an imageable state after the power is turned on. In the digital still camera 1, an image output from the image sensor 19 is displayed on the LCD 23 in a state where imaging is possible. Here, when the digital still camera 1 is activated, the control unit 11 initializes the lens 13, initializes the image sensor 19, initializes the LCD 23, and initializes the camera shake correction unit 17. Processing, for example, processing for initializing other portions such as the card I / F 29 (hereinafter referred to as “processing for initializing other portions”) is executed. Here, a period from when the power is turned on to when all initialization processes are completed is referred to as a startup period.

  In addition, although the example which memorize | stores a starting program in ROM25 is demonstrated, you may make it run not only ROM25 but the starting program memorize | stored in the memory card 29A. Further, the recording medium for storing the activation program is not limited to the memory card 29A, but a magnetic tape, a flexible disk, an optical disk (CD-ROM (Compact Disc-Read Only Memory) / MO (Magnetic Optical Disc / MD (Mini Disc)). / DVD (Digital Versatile Disc)), IC card (including memory card), optical card, mask ROM, EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), EEPROM (Electronically EPROM), and the like.

  The battery 31 is a primary battery or a secondary battery, and supplies power to the entire digital still camera 1. The control unit 11 detects the output voltage V1 of the battery 31 and calculates the remaining capacity of the battery 31. The battery 31 may be detachable from the digital still camera 1 main body.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the flow of activation processing. The startup process is a process executed by the control unit 11 when the control unit 11 executes a startup program after the digital still camera 1 is turned on. Referring to FIG. 2, control unit 11 determines whether output voltage V1 of battery 31 is equal to or higher than threshold value T. The threshold value T is a predetermined value, and here is the output voltage when the remaining capacity of the battery 31 is half. Since the relationship between the remaining capacity of the battery 31 and the output voltage V1 is known in advance, the remaining capacity of the battery 31 can be calculated from the output voltage V1. In other words, in step S01, it is determined whether or not the remaining capacity of the battery 31 is a predetermined capacity, here half or more.

  If output voltage V1 of battery 31 is equal to or greater than threshold value T, the process proceeds to step S02; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S03. In step S02, an initialization process is executed according to the first sequence, and the process ends. On the other hand, in step S03, an initialization process is executed according to the second sequence, and the process ends.

  The first sequence and the second sequence determine the order of initialization processing for initializing the lens 13, the image sensor 19, the camera shake correction unit 17, the LCD 23, and other parts, and are predetermined. In the first sequence and the second sequence, the maximum power consumption when the control unit 11 executes the initialization process according to the first sequence is larger than the maximum power consumption when the initialization process is executed according to the second sequence. It is predetermined as follows. For this reason, the startup time for the control unit 11 to execute the initialization process according to the first sequence is shorter than the startup time for the initialization process to be executed according to the second sequence.

  The control unit 11 can execute in parallel two or more of five initialization processes for initializing the lens 13, the image sensor 19, the camera shake correction unit 17, the LCD 23, and other parts. The combination of initialization processes executed in parallel differs between the first sequence and the second sequence. Specifically, in the second sequence, at least two of the five initialization processes for initializing the lens 13, the image sensor 19, the camera shake correction unit 17, the LCD 23, and other parts are not executed in parallel. To. More specifically, in the second sequence, the order of the initialization process is determined so that the process of initializing the lens 13 and the process of initializing the camera shake correction unit 17 having the largest maximum power consumption is not performed in parallel. However, the first sequence determines the order of initialization processing so that they are executed in parallel. Since the lens 13, the image sensor 19, the camera shake correction unit 17, the LCD 23, and the other parts are each supplied with power from the battery 31, the first sequence in which the processes for initializing them are executed in parallel is excessive. It tends to be in a loaded state. On the other hand, in the second sequence, the process for initializing the lens 13 and the process for initializing the camera shake correction unit 17 are not performed in parallel, so that the battery 31 is less likely to be overloaded as compared with the first sequence.

  Further, the first sequence has a number of parallel executions of five initialization processes for initializing the lens 13, the image sensor 19, the camera shake correction unit 17, the LCD 23, and other parts, as compared to the second sequence. The order of initialization processing may be determined so as to increase.

  Here, the first sequence and the second sequence when the lens 13, the image sensor 19, the camera shake correction unit 17, the LCD 23, and other parts are initialized will be described as an example. It is not limited. The sequence at the time of activation may be a combination that determines the order of processing for driving a portion that is driven by receiving power supplied from the battery 31 that is the same drive source. For example, the sequence may be a combination of initialization of the card I / F 29 to which the memory card 29A is mounted, strobe charging processing, startup sound output processing, and the like.

  FIG. 3A is a diagram showing the initialization process executed in accordance with the first sequence in time series, and FIG. 3B shows the output voltage of the battery when the initialization process is executed in accordance with the first sequence. It is a figure which shows the time change of. Referring to FIG. 3A, first, an initialization process for activating other parts is started, and then the initialization process is started in the order of camera shake correction unit 17, LCD 23, lens 13, and image sensor 19. In the period A, five initialization processes for starting up the other parts, the camera shake correction unit 17, the LCD 23, the lens 13, and the image sensor 19, are executed in parallel.

  Referring to FIG. 3B, as the initialization process to be executed increases, the power consumption increases, so the output voltage of battery 31 drops. When the output voltage V1 of the battery 31 immediately before the start-up process is started is V3, the output voltage V1 of the battery 31 does not become smaller than the instantaneous interruption threshold Thr, and thus the start-up process can be executed to the end. However, when the output voltage V1 of the battery 31 just before the start-up process is V2 smaller than V3, the output voltage V1 of the battery 31 becomes smaller than the instantaneous interruption threshold Thr at time t1, and the battery 31 stops discharging. In this case, the initialization process is stopped at time t1.

  FIG. 4A is a diagram showing the initialization process executed in accordance with the second sequence in time series, and FIG. 4B shows the output voltage of the battery when the initialization process is executed in accordance with the second sequence. It is a figure which shows the time change of. Referring to FIG. 4A, first, an initialization process for activating other parts is started, and a process for initializing camera shake correction unit 17 and LCD 23 is executed in parallel. After the process for initializing the camera shake correction unit 17 is completed, the process for initializing the lens 13 is started, and in some engines thereafter, the initialization process for starting the other parts, the lens 13 and the image sensor 19 is performed. Run in parallel. The initialization process executed in accordance with the second sequence is not executed in parallel with the initialization process for starting each of the camera shake correction unit 17 and the lens 13.

  Referring to FIG. 4B, while the process for initializing camera shake correction unit 17 is being executed, the process for initializing lens 13 is not executed, so that the maximum power consumption can be suppressed. For this reason, even if the output voltage V1 of the battery 31 immediately before the start-up process is executed is V2, the output voltage V1 of the battery 31 does not fall below the threshold value Thr. When the initialization process for activating the camera shake correction unit 17 is completed, the power consumption is reduced, and the output voltage V1 of the battery 31 increases. Thereafter, when the initialization process for starting the lens 13 and the image sensor 19 is started, the power consumption increases, and the output voltage V1 of the battery 31 drops. While the process of initializing the lens 13 is being executed, the process of initializing the camera shake correction unit 17 is not executed, so that the maximum power consumption is suppressed to a predetermined value or less. For this reason, the output voltage of the battery 31 drops, but does not fall below the threshold value Thr. Therefore, even if the output voltage V1 of the battery 31 immediately before the start-up process is started is V2, the output voltage V1 of the battery 31 is The activation process is executed to the end without being smaller than the threshold value Thr of instantaneous interruption.

  For this reason, since the digital still camera 1 according to the present embodiment executes the startup process according to the second sequence when the remaining capacity of the battery 31 is less than half, the battery 31 capable of executing the startup process to the end. Can be made smaller than when the initialization process is executed according to the first sequence. Furthermore, since the digital still camera 1 executes the initialization process according to the first sequence when the remaining capacity of the battery 31 is more than half, the activation time is set to be longer than the initialization process executed according to the second sequence. Can be shortened.

  Here, the threshold value T is the output voltage when the capacity of the battery 31 is half. However, the threshold value T is an instantaneous interruption of the output voltage V1 of the battery 31 during the initialization process according to the second sequence. It is preferable to set to the smallest value that does not fall below the threshold value Thr. Thereby, the electric power stored in the battery 31 can be used as effectively as possible.

  Here, a plurality of initialization processes are executed according to one of the first sequence and the second sequence, but three or more sequences having different maximum power consumption during the execution of the plurality of initialization processes. Any one of the initialization processes may be executed. In this case, which of the three or more sequences is used is determined by the output voltage V1 of the battery 31. The higher the output voltage V1 of the battery 31, the higher the maximum power consumption among the three or more sequences. For example, in the case where a third sequence having a maximum power consumption smaller than the first sequence and larger than the second sequence is provided, the output of the battery 31 using the threshold T1 and the threshold T2 larger than the threshold T1. The first sequence is used when the voltage V1 is greater than or equal to the threshold T1, the third sequence is used when the output voltage V1 is less than the threshold T1 and greater than or equal to the threshold T2, and the first sequence is used when the output voltage V1 is less than the threshold T2. Two sequences are used. By doing in this way, while using the battery 31 effectively, the starting time of the digital still camera 1 can be shortened as much as possible.

  In the above-described embodiment, the digital still camera 1 has been described as an example of the electronic device. However, the activation method for executing the activation process illustrated in FIG. 2 and the activation program for causing the computer to execute the activation method are illustrated. It goes without saying that the invention can be understood as.

  The embodiment disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

<Appendix>
(1) The electronic device according to claim 2, wherein the plurality of sequences have a smaller maximum power consumption as a time until activation becomes longer.
(2) The electronic device according to claim 2, wherein the plurality of sequences has a smaller number of at least two processes to be executed in parallel as a time until activation is longer.

It is a block diagram which shows the outline of a structure of the digital still camera in one of the embodiments of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of a starting process. (A) is a figure which shows the initialization process performed according to a 1st sequence in time series, (B) is a time-dependent output voltage of a battery in case an initialization process is performed according to a 1st sequence. It is a figure which shows a change. (A) is a figure which shows the initialization process performed according to a 2nd sequence in a time series, (B) is a temporal figure of the output voltage of a battery in case an initialization process is performed according to a 2nd sequence. It is a figure which shows a change.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Digital still camera, 11 Control part, 13 Lens, 15 Lens drive part, 17 Correction unit, 19 Image sensor, 21 Codec, 23 LCD, 25 ROM, 27 SDRAM, 29 Card I / F, 29A Memory card, 31 Battery

Claims (4)

A plurality of load means driven by receiving power from the battery;
Detecting means for detecting the remaining amount of the battery;
Control means for controlling the plurality of load means,
The control means selects a sequence having a longer time until activation from among a plurality of sequences having different times until activation, and initializes the plurality of load means according to the selected sequence. Electronic equipment. The control means is capable of executing in parallel at least two of a plurality of processes for initializing the plurality of load means,
The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of sequences have different combinations of at least two processes executed in parallel. An activation method that is executed in an electronic device that includes a plurality of load means that are driven by power supplied from a battery,
Detecting the remaining amount of the battery;
Selecting a sequence having a longer time to start as the detected remaining amount is smaller from a plurality of sequences having different times to start; and
Initializing the plurality of loading means according to the selected sequence. An activation program that is executed by a computer that controls an electronic device that includes a plurality of load units that are driven by power supplied from a battery,
Detecting the remaining amount of the battery;
Selecting a sequence having a longer time to start as the detected remaining amount is smaller from a plurality of sequences having different times to start; and
And a step of initializing the plurality of load means according to the selected sequence.

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