Motion video signal processing for recording or reproducing – Local trick play processing – With randomly accessible medium
Reexamination Certificate
1995-02-10
2001-05-01
Tran, Thai (Department: 2615)
Motion video signal processing for recording or reproducing
Local trick play processing
With randomly accessible medium
C358S906000, C348S207110, C348S373000, C348S376000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06226448
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a video tape recorder (to be abbreviated as VTR) with a monitor-equipped built-in camera, and more particularly to a VTR with a monitor-equipped built-in camera including a monitor for visually checking the picture recording condition of a subject and means for connecting between plural separate parts rotatably and electrically.
(2) Description of the Related Art
It is well known that various products of video tape recorders with a camera have been developed and brought into the market with the spread of home video apparatus in recent years. Therefore, first of all, consideration and review on these prior art VTR apparatuses will be made with regard to their advantages and drawbacks.
Initially,
FIG. 1
shows an external appearance of a typical prior art VTR with a built-in camera, which includes a camera portion
101
, a VTR portion
102
holding a removable tape cassette, a monochrome or color liquid crystal viewfinder
103
for a monitor, an eyepiece
104
, a microphone
105
and a main body cabinet
106
. The liquid crystal display panel used in viewfinder
103
is as small in its picture frame size as about 1 inch square, so that the image is adapted to be magnified through an ocular lens and observed from eyepiece
104
.
Using such a small-sized liquid crystal display panel in viewfinder
103
presents an advantage that the liquid crystal display panel is less expensive. But this configuration suffers from the following drawbacks:
1) monitoring picture is hard to see because an operator must look the image through eyepiece
104
with only one eye;
2) an operator cannot monitor the recording condition while keeping his/her eye away from the camera body (or the operator must take a position to bring his/her eye close to the camera body for monitoring the recording condition);
3) the viewfinder is directed to provide an angular field of view to be taken for an operator, only plural more than one person cannot observe at the same time; and
4) if an operator tries to take a record of his or her own figure, this configuration requires another larger-sized monitor, but this is hard to realize.
Under such circumstances, in recent years there has been an earnest demand for a VTR with a built-in camera equipped with a monitor which enables an operator and observers, if any, to take a view of the pickup image at some distance without using an eyepiece.
However, in order to provide such a monitor that allows an operator to take a view of the real-time picture at some distance, in place of looking through an eyepiece, the frame size of the monitor becomes considerably large as compared to that of the view finder. In the prior art, the large size of the apparatus has resulted in difficulty in handling the apparatus.
As an example of such the apparatus, there has been disclosed a VTR with a monitor-equipped built-in camera in Japanese Patent Publication Hei 4 No.6154. This apparatus has a VTR portion and a monitor portion arranged integrally side by side, that is, the bottom of the monitor portion is arranged to fit to the VTR portion. A camera portion is supported rotatably on a longitudinal side of the thus integrated monitor/VTR portion having a shape of an elongated rectangular parallelepiped.
In this example, since the VTR portion and monitor portions are arranged side by side to form an elongated parallelepiped in order to make an integrated monitor/VTR portion, the monitor/VTR portion indispensably becomes large, thus limiting the miniaturization of the apparatus.
Further, the publication cited above does not take into account a self-image pickup mode in which an operator records a picture of his or her own image. If the apparatus is used to record the image of the operator, by way of experiment, the picture displayed on the monitor portion is upside down or inverted, therefore, the apparatus is far from practical for use in the self-image pickup mode.
On the other hand, a prior art VTR with a built-in camera shown in
FIG. 1
includes a rotary mechanism as to be a connecting device at a joint between a main body cabinet
106
and a viewfinder
103
. Viewfinder
103
rotates with respect to main body cabinet
106
to be set at a desired rotation angle. Provided inside viewfinder
103
and main body cabinet
106
are electric circuits such as a signal processing circuit for effecting signal processing, therefore the joint for connecting between the two is composed of mechanically and electrically connecting means.
In the above case, the conventional connecting device is arranged as shown in FIG.
3
. That is, a connecting portion
103
a
of viewfinder
103
is fit in with a leaf spring
202
, and main body cabinet
106
and a plate metal
204
are fitted to the connecting portion
103
a
so as to be rotatable, and then a disc
205
is laid over the plate metal
204
and fixed to viewfinder
103
with screws
206
, each of which is screwed through a through-hole
205
a
into a screw hole
103
b
. Thus, there is provided in main body cabinet
106
a mechanical connecting means allowing viewfinder
103
to rotate with respect to main body cabinet
106
.
On the other hand, the electric connection is provided such that a flexible substrate
207
for electrically connecting means is inserted across a hollow portion
208
formed inside the joint of the mechanically connecting means, and connected at its ends to the connectors (not shown) of respective portions.
Next, the operation of the thus constructed connecting device of the prior art will be described.
In the conventional connecting device, the viewfinder
103
, leaf spring
202
and disc
205
united makes a rotational movement against main body cabinet
106
and plate metal
204
on the side of the main body of the VTR with a built-in camera as shown in
FIGS. 4 and 5
. In the movement, the flexible substrate
207
across hollow portion
208
of the joint is twisted since it is connected at its ends to both connectors.
FIG. 6
is a schematic illustration of essential parts showing a rotation of flexible substrate
207
when it is twisted. In
FIG. 6
, as viewfinder
103
rotates, flexible substrate
207
rotates while being twisted.
In the conventional connecting device as constructed above, the flexible substrate is twisted by the rotation of viewfinder, if the rotation should be made at a large angle, the flexible substrate is also twisted largely. As a result, there would occur disconnection of the flexible substrate. In addition, the sagging portion caused by and required for the twist of the flexible substrate makes a large movement, so that the substrate interferes with, or comes into contact with the periphery, and this presents the dangers of making frictional noise and disconnection. Further, if additional lead wires and the like are provided in parallel with the flexible substrate, these elements interfere with one another greatly lowering their durability. To avoid these problems, there must be provided a large clearance around the substrate and other elements, which opposes the demand of compactness.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been achieved under circumstances described above. A first object of the present invention is to achieve sufficient reduction or miniaturization of a VTR with a camera which is equipped with a monitor portion of a liquid crystal display panel having a rather large-sized picture frame. A second object of the present invention is to provide a device that allows an operator to picture-record his or her own figure as a subject without any troublesome handling and inconvenience. A third object of the present invention is to improve the battery attachment and gripping performance. Still, a fourth object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus wherein a connecting device allows a large rotational angle while the connecting member has an increased durability and is prevented from interfering with its peripheral members to thereby be compact.
The present invention proposes a novel
Aramaki Kouji
Ikeda Takeshi
Takagi Minori
Birch & Stewart Kolasch & Birch, LLP
Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
Tran Thai
LandOfFree
Video tape recorder with a monitor-equipped built-in camera does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Video tape recorder with a monitor-equipped built-in camera, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Video tape recorder with a monitor-equipped built-in camera will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2451441