Electronic device, method for controlling electronic device, and program

Abstract

This invention provides a mechanism that enables power supply control so as not to exceed the power supply capacity of the imaging device when acquiring accessory information from two or more attached accessories. [Solution] The distributor 400 includes a distributor connection part 402 that can be connected to the accessory shoe of the camera 100, and distributor connection parts A403 and B404 that can connect to accessories. When multiple accessories are attached, the distributor 400 acquires accessory information for one of the attached accessories, supplies power to that accessory, and supplies power to the other connected accessories.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an electronic device, a control method for an electronic device, and a program.

Background Art

[0002] A distributor as an electronic device that can be attached to an imaging device is known. Two or more accessories for the imaging device can be attached to the distributor at the same time. As a related technique, the technique of Patent Document 1 has been proposed. In Patent Document 1, the distributor acquires accessory information from two or more accessories attached to the distributor, and transmits the acquired accessory information to the imaging device. When the functions of these accessories overlap based on the acquired accessory information, the imaging device controls so as not to execute the overlapping functions.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Here, the distributor is driven based on the power supplied from the imaging device to which it is attached. Furthermore, when acquiring accessory information from accessories attached to the distributor, the distributor controls the power supply to the accessories based on the power supplied from the imaging device. If only one accessory is attached to the distributor, the distributor can appropriately supply power to this accessory based on the power supplied from the imaging device. However, if two or more accessories are attached to the distributor, supplying power to all accessories simultaneously may require more power than the imaging device can supply. In such cases, it becomes impossible to properly supply power to these accessories, and consequently, accessory information cannot be acquired.

[0005] The present invention aims to provide a mechanism that enables power supply control that does not require power exceeding the power supply capacity of the imaging device when acquiring accessory information from two or more attached accessories. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] To achieve the above objective, the electronic device of the present invention comprises a connection means that can be connected to an accessory shoe of an imaging device, a plurality of accessory shoes to which accessories for the imaging device can be connected, and a power supply control means that controls the power supply to a plurality of accessories connected to each of the plurality of accessory shoes, wherein when accessories are connected to two or more of the plurality of accessory shoes, the power supply control means supplies power to one connected accessory when acquiring accessory information for that one accessory, and does not supply power to the other connected accessories. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, when acquiring accessory information from two or more attached accessories, power supply control can be performed without requiring power exceeding the power supply capacity of the imaging device. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration when accessory A is directly attached to a camera that can be mounted on a distributor, which is an electronic device according to this embodiment. [Figure 2] This diagram shows the communication content when the camera in Figure 1 sends an operation execution command to accessory A via SPI communication. [Figure 3] This figure shows an example of accessory information stored in accessory A in Figure 1. [Figure 4] This is a sequence diagram showing the procedure for the communication control process that is executed when accessory A is attached to the camera in Figure 1. [Figure 5] This figure shows an example of accessory information in this embodiment. [Figure 6] This figure shows an example of the factors in the communication request signal / WAKE in this embodiment. [Figure 7] This figure shows an example of the cause number and cause content of a communication request in this embodiment. [Figure 8] This is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration when a camera and multiple accessories are attached to a distributor, which is an electronic device according to this embodiment. [Figure 9] Figure 8 is a sequence diagram showing the steps of the communication control process that are executed when the camera, accessory A, and accessory B are attached to the distributor. [Figure 10] Figure 8 is a sequence diagram showing another procedure for the communication control process that is performed when the camera, accessory A, and accessory B are attached to the distributor. [Figure 11] Figure 8 is a sequence diagram showing the procedure for power supply control processing when using accessories A and B with the camera, accessory A, and accessory B attached to the distributor. [Figure 12] Figure 8 is a flowchart showing the procedure for accessory power supply control processing performed by the camera. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Before describing the distributor as an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention, a camera and accessories that can be attached to this distributor will be described. Accessories can be connected to the camera via this distributor, or accessories can be attached directly without using this distributor.

[0010] Figure 1 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration when accessory A200 is directly attached to camera 100, which can be mounted on a distributor as an electronic device according to this embodiment. Camera 100 and accessory A200 are electrically connected by the one-to-one contact between multiple contacts (terminals) TC01 to TC12 of the camera connection part 103 provided on camera 100 and multiple contacts TA01 to TA12 of the accessory A connection part 202 provided on accessory A200.

[0011] First, the configuration of the camera 100 as an imaging device according to this embodiment will be described. The camera 100 includes a camera control circuit A101, a camera control circuit B102, a camera connection unit 103, a battery 111, a system power supply circuit 112, and an accessory power supply circuit 113. Furthermore, the camera 100 includes a protection circuit 114, an optical lens 121, an imaging sensor 122, an image processing circuit 123, a memory control circuit 124, a volatile memory 125, a recording memory 126, and a display circuit 127.

[0012] The battery 111 is removable from the camera 100. Camera control circuits A101 and B102 are circuits that control the entire camera 100 and are composed of a microcomputer with a built-in CPU, ROM, RAM, etc. Camera control circuit A101 monitors various switches (not shown) on the camera 100, such as switches for camera operation. Camera control circuit A101 operates even when the camera 100 is in standby mode (low power consumption mode) and controls the system power supply etc. in response to user operation. Camera control circuit B102 controls the image sensor 122 and the display circuit 127, etc., and stops their operation when the camera 100 is in standby mode (low power consumption mode).

[0013] The system power supply circuit 112 is a circuit that generates power to supply each circuit of the camera 100, and is composed of a DC-DC converter circuit, an LDO (Low Drop Out), a charge pump circuit, etc. For example, the 1.8V voltage generated by the system power supply circuit 112 is constantly supplied to the camera control circuit A101 as the camera microcontroller power supply VMCU_C. In addition, several types of voltages generated by the system power supply circuit 112 are supplied to the camera control circuit B102 as the camera microcontroller power supply VMCU2_C at arbitrary timings. The system power supply circuit 112 is controlled by the camera control circuit A101. The camera control circuit A101 controls the on / off switching of power supply to each circuit of the camera 100.

[0014] The optical lens 121 is configured to be detachable from the camera 100. The light from the subject incident through the optical lens 121 is imaged on an imaging sensor 122 composed of a CMOS sensor, a CCD sensor, or the like. The subject image imaged on the imaging sensor 122 is encoded into a digital imaging signal. The image processing circuit 123 performs image processing such as noise reduction processing and white balance processing on the digital imaging signal to generate image data. Further, the image processing circuit 123 converts this image data into an image file in the JPEG format or a video file in the MPEG format or the like in order to record it in the recording memory 126. Also, the image processing circuit 123 generates VRAM image data for display on the display circuit 127 from the image data.

[0015] The memory control circuit 124 performs control, for example, to write the image data generated by the image processing circuit 123 and other data into the recording memory 126 or the like. The volatile memory 125 is a memory capable of high-speed reading and writing such as DDR3 SDRAM, and is used as a workspace for the image processing performed by the image processing circuit 123. The recording memory 126 is a readable and writable recording medium such as an SD card or a CFexpress card that is detachable from the camera 100 via a connection part not shown. The display circuit 127 is a display disposed on the back surface of the camera 100, and is composed of an LCD panel, an organic EL display panel, or the like.

[0016] The accessory power supply circuit 113 is a voltage conversion circuit that converts the voltage supplied from the system power supply circuit 112 into a predetermined voltage. In the present embodiment, a voltage of 3.3 V is generated as the accessory power supply VACC.

[0017] The protection circuit 114 is composed of a current fuse element, a polyswitch element, or an electronic fuse circuit formed by combining a resistor, an amplifier, and a switch element. When the power supply current value supplied from the accessory power supply circuit 113 to the accessory A200 exceeds a predetermined value and becomes excessive (abnormal), the protection circuit 114 outputs an overcurrent detection signal DET_OVC. In the present embodiment, as an example, it is assumed that the protection circuit 114 is composed of an electronic fuse circuit, and when a current of 1 A or more flows, the camera control circuit A101 is notified by the overcurrent detection signal DET_OVC. The overcurrent detection signal DET_OVC indicates an overcurrent by a High level and indicates no overcurrent by a Low level.

[0018] The camera connection part 103 is an accessory socket to which various accessories can be connected, and makes an electrical connection with the accessory through 12 contacts TC01 to TC12 arranged in a row. The contacts TC01 to TC12 are arranged in this order from one end to the other end in the arrangement direction.

[0019] TC01 and TC12 are connected to the ground (GND) and are contacts of the reference potential.

[0020] An accessory attachment detection signal / ACC_DET is transmitted to TC03 as an attachment detection contact. The accessory attachment detection signal / ACC_DET is pulled up to the camera microcomputer power supply VMCU_C through a resistor not shown. The camera control circuit A101 can detect the presence or absence of the attachment of the accessory A200 by reading the signal level of the accessory attachment detection signal / ACC_DET. When the signal level (potential) of the accessory attachment detection signal / ACC_DET is at the High level (predetermined potential), it is detected that the accessory A200 is not attached, and when it is at the Low level (GND potential as described later), it is detected that the accessory A200 is in the attached state.

[0021] The clock signal / SCLK transmitted to TC08, the signal / MOSI transmitted to TC09, the signal / MISO transmitted to TC10, and the signal / CS transmitted to TC11 are all signals for SPI communication, with the camera control circuit B102 acting as the communication master. In this embodiment, as an example, the communication clock frequency for SPI communication is 1 MHz, the data length is 8 bits (1 byte), the bit order is MSB first, and it is a full-duplex communication method. In this embodiment, the camera 100 and accessory A200 are capable of supporting two types of communication protocols for SPI communication. The first communication protocol is one in which the camera 100 does not check whether accessory A200 is in a communication-ready state before outputting the clock signal / SCLK, and in this embodiment, it is called SPI protocol A. The second communication protocol is one in which the camera 100 checks whether accessory A200 is in a communication-ready state before outputting the clock signal / SCLK, and in this embodiment, it is called SPI protocol B. Now, the SPI communication by camera 100 will be described.

[0022] Figure 2 shows the communication content when an operation execution command is sent from camera 100 in Figure 1 to accessory A200 via SPI communication.

[0023] In the first byte of communication, the camera control circuit B102 sends the command number information CMD as MOSI data to accessory A200. Meanwhile, the accessory A control circuit 201 of accessory A200 sends the value "0xA5" as MISO data to indicate that communication is possible. If the accessory A control circuit 201 is unable to perform the first byte of communication processing, it sends a value other than "0xA5" as MISO data.

[0024] In the second byte of communication, the camera control circuit B102 sends the argument MOSI_DATA1 corresponding to the command number CMD. Similarly, from the third byte to (N-2) bytes onward, it sends arguments MOSI_DATA2 to MOSI_DATA[N-3] corresponding to the command number CMD. Meanwhile, the accessory A control circuit 201 sends the command number CMD received in the first byte as MISO data. This allows the camera control circuit B102 to determine that the accessory A control circuit 201 has correctly received the MOSI data.

[0025] In the third byte of communication, the accessory A control circuit 201 sends the return value MISO_DATA1, which corresponds to the command number CMD, as MISO data. Similarly, from the fourth byte to the (N-2)th byte onward, it sends the arguments MISO_DATA2 to MISO_DATA[N-4], which correspond to the command number CMD. The number of arguments and return values ​​is predetermined for each command number. Furthermore, either an argument or a return value, or both, may be omitted.

[0026] In the N-1 byte of communication, the camera control circuit B102 sends CheckSum_C, a checksum calculated from the transmitted data, as MOSI data. Meanwhile, the accessory A control circuit 201 sends "0x00" as MISO data.

[0027] In the Nth byte of communication, the camera control circuit B102 sends "0x00" as MOSI data. Meanwhile, the accessory A control circuit 201 sends CheckSum_A, a checksum data calculated from the transmitted data, as MISO data. In this way, in this embodiment, a command is notified from camera 100 to accessory A200 via SPI communication.

[0028] Returning to Figure 1, TC04 receives a communication request signal / WAKE from accessory A200 to camera control circuit A101 to request communication. The communication request signal / WAKE is pulled up to the camera microcontroller power supply VMCU_C via a resistor. The camera control circuit A101 can receive the communication request from accessory A200 by detecting the falling edge of the communication request signal / WAKE.

[0029] The signals / SDA transmitted to TC05 and / SCL transmitted to TC06 are signals for I2C communication, with the camera control circuit A101 acting as the communication master. Signals / SDA and / SCL are open-drain signals pulled up to the camera microcontroller power supply VMCU_C, and in this embodiment, the communication frequency is 100kbps. In this embodiment, the camera 100 can read accessory information from accessory A200 via I2C communication.

[0030] Figure 3 shows an example of accessory information stored in accessory A200 shown in Figure 1. As shown in Figure 3, the accessory information is mapped to the memory space at addresses 0x00 to 0x0F and stored in the non-volatile memory (not shown) of accessory A200. Camera 100 can read the accessory information from accessory A200 via I2C communication. In this embodiment, a checksum value is added to the read data as the final data of the communication. A detailed explanation of the accessory information will be given later.

[0031] Returning to Figure 1, the signal / FNC transmitted to TC07 is a functional signal whose function changes depending on the type of accessory A200 attached to the camera 100. For example, if accessory A200 is a microphone device, the signal / FNC becomes an audio data signal, and if accessory A200 is a lighting device (strobe unit), the signal / FNC becomes a signal that notifies the timing of the flash.

[0032] Next, the configuration of accessory A200 will be described. Accessory A200 receives power from camera 100 via camera connection unit 103 and accessory A connection unit 202. Accessory A200 includes accessory A control circuit 201 and accessory A connection unit 202.

[0033] The Accessory A control circuit 201 is a circuit that controls the entire Accessory A200 and is a microcomputer with a built-in CPU, ROM, RAM, etc. The Accessory A control circuit 201 can transmit data received from the camera 100 to an external device and transmit data received from an external device to the camera 100. The Accessory A200 also has a functional circuit (not shown). This functional circuit has different functions depending on the type of Accessory A200. For example, if Accessory A200 is a strobe device, this functional circuit is a light emission circuit, a charging circuit, etc. If Accessory A200 is a microphone device, this functional circuit is an audio codec circuit, a microphone circuit, etc.

[0034] The accessory A connection section 202 is a connector for making an electrical connection to the camera 100 via 12 contacts TA01 to TA12 arranged in a row. The contacts TA01 to TA12 are arranged in this order from one end to the other in the direction of their arrangement.

[0035] TA01 and TA12 are connected to GND and correspond to the reference potential contacts.

[0036] The accessory A control circuit 201 is connected to TA02, which serves as a power contact, and accessory power VAC is supplied from camera 100.

[0037] TA03, which acts as an attachment detection contact, is directly connected to GND. When accessory A200 is attached to camera 100, TA03 sets the aforementioned accessory attachment detection signal / ACC_DET to a low level (GND level (ground potential)), thereby acting as a contact for camera 100 to detect the attachment of accessory A200.

[0038] The clock signal / SCLK transmitted to TA08, the signal / MOSI transmitted to TA09, the signal / MISO transmitted to TA10, and the signal / CS transmitted to TA11 are signals that enable the accessory A control circuit 201 to act as a communication slave and perform SPI communication.

[0039] The accessory A control circuit 201 sends a communication request signal / WAKE to the camera 100 to request communication from the TA04. When the accessory A control circuit 201 determines that communication with the camera 100 is necessary, it sends a communication request to the camera 100 by outputting the communication request signal / WAKE at a low level.

[0040] The signal / SDA transmitted to TA05 and the signal / SCL transmitted to TA06 are signals that enable the accessory A control circuit 201 to perform I2C communication as a communication slave, respectively.

[0041] The signal / FNC transmitted to the TA07 is a signal whose function changes depending on the type of accessory A200. For example, if accessory A200 is a microphone device, the signal / FNC will be an audio data signal, and if accessory A200 is a strobe unit, the signal / FNC will be a signal that notifies the timing of the flash.

[0042] Figure 4 is a sequence diagram showing the procedure for communication control processing that is executed when accessory A200 is attached to camera 100 in Figure 1. The processing by camera 100 in this communication control processing is realized by camera control circuit A101 and camera control circuit B102 executing programs stored in their respective ROMs, etc. Furthermore, the processing by accessory A200 in this communication control processing is realized by accessory A control circuit 201 executing a program stored in its ROM, etc.

[0043] In Figure 4, when accessory A200 is first attached to camera 100, the accessory attachment detection signal / ACC_DET transitions from a High level to a Low level indicating that the accessory is attached to camera 100 (S401).

[0044] The camera control circuit A101 of camera 100 determines that an accessory has been attached to camera 100 based on the accessory attachment detection signal / ACC_DET. Next, the camera control circuit A101 controls the accessory power supply circuit 113 to turn on (S402). Specifically, the camera control circuit A101 transitions the power control signal CNT_VACC, which turns on the output of the accessory power supply circuit 113, to a high level.

[0045] When the power control signal CNT_VACC transitions to a high level, the accessory power supply circuit 113 outputs the accessory power supply VAC to accessory A200 (S403).

[0046] When accessory A200 receives power from the accessory power supply VACC, the accessory A control circuit 201 starts up. The started accessory A control circuit 201 initializes each block within accessory A200 (S404). Subsequently, when it becomes possible to communicate with camera 100, the accessory A control circuit 201 transitions the communication request signal / WAKE output to camera 100 from a high level to a low level (S405).

[0047] When the camera control circuit A101 of camera 100 detects the falling edge of the communication request signal / WAKE, it detects that accessory A200 has become ready to communicate. Next, the camera control circuit A101 requests accessory information from accessory A200 via I2C communication (S406).

[0048] Upon receiving this request, the accessory A control circuit 201 of accessory A200 transmits accessory information of accessory A200 to camera 100 via I2C communication (S407). After transmitting the accessory information to camera 100, the accessory A control circuit 201 also changes the communication request signal / WAKE to a high level (S408).

[0049] The camera control circuit A101 of camera 100 performs a determination of the received accessory information (S409). This determination determines whether or not the accessory A200 attached to camera 100 can be controlled.

[0050] Next, the camera control circuit A101 performs various settings for the camera 100 (S410). Once the various settings for the camera 100 are complete, the camera control circuit A101 notifies the camera control circuit B102 of the accessory information.

[0051] The camera control circuit B102 performs control communication with accessory A200 based on the received accessory information (S411). Specifically, the camera control circuit B102 notifies accessory A200 of control commands via SPI communication.

[0052] The accessory A control circuit 201 of accessory A200 responds to control commands received from camera 100 via SPI communication (S412).

[0053] Furthermore, the camera control circuit B102 performs function signal control based on the received accessory information (S413). Specifically, the camera control circuit B102 performs function signal control via SPI communication.

[0054] The accessory A control circuit 201 of accessory A200 performs control according to the function signal received from camera 100 via SPI communication (S414). After that, this process ends.

[0055] Next, we will explain the accessory information transmitted from accessory A200 to camera 100 using Figure 3.

[0056] In Figure 3, the D7-D0 data at address 0x00 indicates the type of accessory. Figure 5 will be used to explain this accessory type information.

[0057] Figure 5 shows an example of accessory information in this embodiment. For example, 0x81 indicates a strobe device. 0x82 indicates an interface conversion adapter device. 0x83 indicates a microphone device. 0x84 indicates a multi-accessory connection adapter device for attaching multiple accessory devices to the camera 100.

[0058] Returning to Figure 3, the D7-D0 data at address 0x01 contains information indicating the model number of accessory A200. By combining the information indicating the type of accessory, as explained earlier, with the information indicating the model number, it is possible to uniquely identify the model of the accessory.

[0059] The D7-D0 data at address 0x02 indicates the firmware version of accessory A200.

[0060] The D7-D6 data at address 0x03 indicates whether or not the camera 100 requests the supply of accessory power VAC to accessory A200 when the power switch (not shown) is turned off. If this information is "0", it indicates that no power supply is needed, and if it is "1", it indicates that power supply is requested by the accessory power supply circuit 113.

[0061] The D5-D4 data at address 0x03 indicates whether the camera 100 requests the supply of accessory power VAC to accessory A200 while in power-saving mode. If this information is "0", it indicates that no power supply is needed, and if it is "1", it indicates a power supply request from the accessory power supply circuit 113.

[0062] The D3-D2 data at address 0x03 indicates whether accessory A200 is equipped with a battery (not shown). A value of "0" indicates that accessory A200 is not equipped with this battery, while a value of "1" indicates that accessory A200 is equipped with this battery.

[0063] The D1-D0 data at address 0x03 indicates whether or not accessory A200 has a battery charging function (not shown). If this information is "0", it indicates that accessory A200 does not have the above charging function, and if it is "1", it indicates that accessory A200 has the above charging function.

[0064] The D7-D0 data at address 0x04 indicates the power request that accessory A200 receives from the accessory power supply VACC supplied by camera 100. Multiplying this information by 10 indicates the current value. For example, if this information is "10", the current value is 100[mA], and if this information is "100", the current value is 1"A". Alternatively, to reduce the amount of information, this information can be associated with an arbitrary current value. For example, if this information is "0", the current value is 100[mA], if this information is "1", the current value is 300[mA], if this information is "3", the current value is 450[mA], and if this information is "4", the current value is 600[mA], and so on.

[0065] The D7 data at address 0x05 indicates whether accessory A200 is in firmware update mode. A value of "0" indicates that it is not in firmware update mode, while a value of "1" indicates that it is in firmware update mode.

[0066] The D6 data at address 0x05 indicates whether accessory A200 has a firmware update function. If this information is "0", it indicates that accessory A200 does not have a firmware update function, and if it is "1", it indicates that accessory A200 has a firmware update function.

[0067] The D5-D4 data at address 0x05 indicates whether accessory A200 is permitted to operate when an intermediate connection accessory is installed. If this information is "0", it indicates that the above operation is not permitted, and if it is "1", it indicates that the above operation is permitted.

[0068] The D3-D2 data at address 0x05 indicates whether accessory A200 needs to check the installation status of the intermediate connection accessory when camera 100 starts up. If this information is "0", it indicates that the above check is not necessary, and if it is "1", it indicates that the above check is necessary.

[0069] The D1-D0 data at address 0x05 indicates whether accessory A200 supports command notification via I2C communication. A value of "0" indicates that accessory A200 does not support command notification via I2C communication, while a value of "1" indicates that accessory A200 supports command notification via I2C communication.

[0070] The D5-D4 data at address 0x06 indicates the communication method that can be used to notify camera 100 of the reason for the communication request after accessory A200 has notified camera 100 of the communication request signal / WAKE. If this information is "0", it indicates that I2C communication is supported as the above communication method; if it is "1", it indicates that SPI communication is supported as the above communication method; and if it is "2", it indicates that both I2C communication and SPI communication are supported as the above communication methods.

[0071] The D3-D0 data at address 0x06 indicates whether accessory A200 has signal / FNC functionality. This information identifies the functionality of accessory A200.

[0072] The D7 data at address 0x0A indicates whether accessory A200 requests camera 100 to wake up when it notifies camera 100 of a communication request signal / WAKE. If this information is "0", it indicates that wake-up is requested, and if it is "1", it indicates that wake-up is not requested.

[0073] The D6-D0 data at address 0x0A contains information indicating the cause of the communication request signal / WAKE that accessory A200 notified camera 100 of. Here, the information indicating the cause of the communication request signal / WAKE will be explained using Figure 6.

[0074] Figure 6 shows an example of the cause of a communication request signal / WAKE in this embodiment. In Figure 6, an example is shown where accessory A200 is a microphone device. For example, cause number 0x00 indicates that the menu call switch, which is one of the operation switches not shown, has been pressed. Also, cause number 0x01 indicates that accessory A200 has completed output control of the audio signal. Also, cause number 0x02 indicates that accessory A200 has completed muting the audio signal. In this way, information regarding the cause of the communication request signal / WAKE can be notified to camera 100. Furthermore, cause number 0x03 indicates that accessory power control information, which is information that camera 100 instructs on which accessory to supply power to when using the distributor, is sent to the distributor. Cause number 0x04 indicates that the power supply capacity of camera 100 is sent to the distributor.

[0075] Returning to Figure 3, the D1 data at address 0x0C indicates the SPI communication protocol supported by accessory A200.

[0076] The D0 data at address 0x0C indicates the control logic of the CS signal for SPI communication supported by accessory A200. If this information is "0", it indicates that the CS signal is Low active logic, and if it is "1", it indicates that the CS signal is High active logic.

[0077] The D7-D0 data at address 0x0D indicates the time required for the communication byte interval when the D7 data at address 0x05 is "0", i.e., when accessory A200 is not in firmware update mode. Here, Figure 7(a) shows the relationship between the 0x0D data and the time between communication bytes.

[0078] The D7-D0 data at address 0x0E indicates the time required for the communication byte interval when accessory A200 is in firmware update mode, i.e., when the D7 data at address 0x05 is "1". Figure 7(b) shows the relationship between the 0x0E data and the time between communication bytes.

[0079] The D7-D0 data at address 0x0F contains information indicating the checksum. This type of address information is transmitted from accessory A200 to camera 100.

[0080] Next, a distributor as an electronic device according to this embodiment will be described.

[0081] Figure 8 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration when a camera 100 and several accessories are attached to a distributor 400, which is an electronic device according to this embodiment. In this embodiment, as an example of accessories, a configuration in which the above-mentioned accessory A200 and accessory B300 are connected to the distributor 400 will be described. The configuration of the camera 100 and accessory A200 is as described in Figure 1. Accessory B300 has the same configuration as accessory A200 and can also be connected directly to the camera 100 without going through the distributor 400.

[0082] The camera 100 and the distributor 400 are electrically connected by a one-to-one contact between multiple contacts (terminals) TC01 to TC12 of the camera connection section 103 on the camera 100 and multiple contacts TD01 to TD12 of the distributor connection section 402 on the distributor 400.

[0083] The distributor 400 and accessory A200 are electrically connected by the one-to-one contact between multiple contacts (terminals) TDA01~TDA12 of the distributor connection part A403 on the distributor 400 and multiple contacts TAA01~TAA12 of the accessory A connection part 202 on the accessory A200. Similarly, the distributor 400 and accessory B300 are electrically connected by the one-to-one contact between multiple contacts (terminals) TDB01~TDB12 of the distributor connection part B404 on the distributor 400 and multiple contacts TAB01~TAB12 of the accessory B connection part 302 on the accessory B300.

[0084] The distributor 400 includes a distributor control circuit 401, a distributor connection section 402 (connection means), a distributor connection section A403, a distributor connection section B404, a power supply circuit A411, a power supply circuit B412, and a BUSSW 413.

[0085] The distributor control circuit 401 is a circuit that controls the entire distributor 400 and is composed of a microcomputer with a built-in CPU, ROM, RAM, etc. For example, the distributor control circuit 401 controls the power supply circuits A411 and B412 to control the supply of power to accessories connected to the distributor 400. The distributor control circuit 401 also controls BUSSW413 to switch between establishing an SPI communication connection between camera 100 and accessory A200, establishing an SPI communication connection between camera 100 and accessory B300, or establishing SPI communication connections between camera 100 and accessory A200 and camera 100 and accessory B300.

[0086] The power supply circuit A411 is controlled by the distributor control circuit 401, which controls whether or not to supply VCC, the power supply for the accessory, to the accessory connected to the distributor connection section A403.

[0087] The power supply circuit B412 is controlled by the distributor control circuit 401 and controls whether or not to supply VCC, which is the power supply for the accessory connected to the distributor connection section B404.

[0088] Distributor connectors A403 and B404 are accessory shoes to which various accessories can be attached.

[0089] Figure 9 is a sequence diagram showing the procedure for communication control processing performed when the camera 100, accessory A200, and accessory B300 are attached to the distributor 400 shown in Figure 8. In this communication control processing, the processing by the camera 100 is achieved by the camera control circuit A101 and camera control circuit B102 executing programs stored in their respective ROMs. In this communication control processing, the processing by the distributor 400 is achieved by the distributor control circuit 401 executing a program stored in its ROM. In this communication control processing, the processing by accessory A200 is achieved by the accessory A control circuit 201 executing a program stored in its ROM. In this communication control processing, the processing by accessory B300 is achieved by the accessory B control circuit 301 executing a program stored in its ROM.

[0090] In Figure 9, first, when the distributor 400 is attached to the camera 100, the accessory attachment detection signal / ACC_DET transmitted to TC03 transitions from a High level to a Low level indicating that an accessory is attached to the camera 100 (S901).

[0091] The camera control circuit A101 of camera 100 determines that an accessory has been attached to camera 100 based on the accessory attachment detection signal / ACC_DET from TC03. Next, the camera control circuit A101 controls the accessory power supply circuit 113 to turn on (S902). Specifically, the camera control circuit A101 transitions the power control signal CNT_VACC, which turns on the output of the accessory power supply circuit 113, to a high level.

[0092] When the power control signal CNT_VACC transitions to a high level, the accessory power supply circuit 113 outputs the accessory power supply VACC to the distributor 400 (S903).

[0093] When the distributor 400 receives power from the accessory power supply VACC, the distributor control circuit 401 starts up. The started distributor control circuit 401 initializes each block within the distributor 400 (S904). Then, when it becomes possible to communicate with the camera 100, the distributor control circuit 401 transitions the communication request signal / WAKE output to the camera 100 from a high level to a low level (S905).

[0094] When the camera control circuit A101 of camera 100 detects the falling edge of the communication request signal / WAKE terminal, it detects that the distributor 400 has become ready to communicate. Next, the camera control circuit A101 requests distributor information via I2C communication (S906).

[0095] Upon receiving this request, the distributor control circuit 401 of the distributor 400 transmits distributor information to the camera 100 via I2C communication (S907). The distributor information includes information about the distributor 400, including, for example, information used to determine whether the distributor 400 is in a controllable configuration as described in S909. At this point, even if accessories A200 and B300 are attached to the distributor 400, the distributor 400 has not yet obtained accessory information from these accessories. Therefore, the distributor information transmitted to the camera 100 in S907 does not include information about accessories A200 or B300. After transmitting the distributor information to the camera 100, the distributor control circuit 401 transitions the communication request signal / WAKE to a High level.

[0096] The camera control circuit A101 of camera 100 performs a determination of the received distributor information (S909). This determination determines whether the distributor 400 attached to camera 100 can be controlled, etc.

[0097] Next, the camera control circuit A101 performs various settings for the camera 100 (S910). In S910, various settings necessary for shooting are performed, such as setting the shooting mode, including still image shooting mode and video shooting mode. Once the various settings for the camera 100 are complete, the camera control circuit A101 notifies the camera control circuit B102 of the distributor information.

[0098] Next, the distributor control circuit 401 of the distributor 400 performs control to acquire accessory power control information from the camera 100 to control the power supply to the accessories attached to the distributor 400 (S911). Specifically, the distributor control circuit 401 transitions the communication request signal / WAKE to a Low level. Based on this communication request signal / WAKE, the camera control circuit A101 detects that the distributor 400 has become ready to communicate. The distributor control circuit 401 also sends an accessory power control information request to the camera 100 via I2C communication.

[0099] The camera control circuit A101 transmits accessory power control information to the distributor 400 via I2C communication in accordance with the received accessory power control information request (S912). The accessory power control information is information that instructs which accessory attached to the distributor 400 to supply power to, as described above. The accessory power control information includes, for example, instructions on whether to supply power to the accessory attached to the distributor connection A403 or the distributor connection B404 first. The accessory power control information is generated based on information indicating the power supply capacity of the camera 100 and the shooting mode set in S910, etc.

[0100] When the distributor control circuit 401 receives accessory power control information, it transitions the communication request signal / WAKE to a high level (S913).

[0101] Next, the distributor control circuit 401 controls the power supply to the accessories attached to the distributor 400 based on the received accessory power control information. In this embodiment, as an example, the accessory power control information includes an instruction to supply power to the accessories attached to the distributor connection unit A403 first.

[0102] When accessory A200 is connected to distributor connector A403, the accessory installation detection signal / ACC_DET transmitted to TDA03 transitions to a low level.

[0103] The distributor control circuit 401 determines that an accessory has been installed in the distributor connection unit A403 based on the accessory installation detection signal / ACC_DET from TDA03.

[0104] When the distributor control circuit 401 determines that an accessory has been attached to the distributor connection A403, it turns on the power supply circuit A411 (S914). The power supply circuit A411 outputs VCC to accessory A200, which is the accessory attached to the distributor connection A403 (S915).

[0105] When accessory A200 receives power from VCC, the accessory A control circuit 201 starts up. The started accessory A control circuit 201 initializes each block within accessory A200 (S916).

[0106] Next, when the accessory A control circuit 201 becomes ready to communicate with the distributor 400, it transitions the communication request signal / WAKE to a Low level (S917).

[0107] The distributor control circuit 401 of the distributor 400 detects that accessory A200 has become ready to communicate based on the transition of the communication request signal / WAKE to a low level. Next, the distributor control circuit 401 requests accessory information from accessory A200 via I2C communication (S918).

[0108] The accessory A control circuit 201 of accessory A200 transmits accessory information of accessory A200 to distributor 400 via I2C communication in response to a request received from distributor 400 (S919). The accessory A control circuit 201 also transitions the communication request signal / WAKE to a high level (S920).

[0109] Next, when accessory B300 is attached to distributor connection section B404 of distributor 400, the accessory attachment detection signal / ACC_DET transmitted to TDB03 transitions to a low level. Based on the accessory attachment detection signal / ACC_DET from TDB03, the distributor control circuit 401 determines that an accessory has been attached to distributor connection section B404.

[0110] When the distributor control circuit 401 determines that an accessory has been connected to the distributor connection section B404, it turns off the power supply circuit A411 and then turns on the power supply circuit B412 (S921). As a result, the power supply circuit A411 stops supplying VCC to accessory A200 (S922), and the power supply circuit B412 outputs VCC to accessory B300 (S923). In this way, in this embodiment, in a distributor 400 to which multiple accessories are connected, power is supplied to the multiple connected accessories one by one in sequence, and the system is controlled so that power is not supplied to multiple accessories simultaneously.

[0111] When accessory B300 receives power from VCC, the accessory B control circuit 301 starts up. The started accessory B control circuit 301 initializes each block within accessory B300 (S924). Next, when accessory B control circuit 301 becomes ready to communicate with distributor 400, it transitions the communication request signal / WAKE to Low level (S925).

[0112] The distributor control circuit 401 of the distributor 400 detects that accessory B300 has become ready to communicate based on the transition of the communication request signal / WAKE to a low level. Next, the distributor control circuit 401 requests accessory information from accessory B300 via I2C communication (S926).

[0113] The accessory B control circuit 301 of accessory B300 transmits accessory information of accessory B300 to distributor 400 via I2C communication in response to a request received from distributor 400 (S927). Accessory B300 also transitions the communication request signal / WAKE to a high level (S928). After that, the process shown in Figure 9 is completed.

[0114] According to the embodiment described above, when multiple accessories are attached to the distributor 400, power is supplied to one accessory when acquiring accessory information for that accessory, and power is not supplied to the other connected accessories. In other words, power is supplied to the multiple accessories attached to the distributor 400 one by one in sequence, and power is not supplied to multiple accessories simultaneously. This makes it possible to perform power supply control that does not require power exceeding the power supply capacity of the camera 100 when acquiring accessory information from each of the multiple attached accessories.

[0115] Furthermore, in the embodiment described above, power supply control to the accessories attached to the distributor 400 is performed based on accessory power control information acquired from the camera 100. As a result, the distributor 400 does not need to perform a determination process on its side regarding the order in which to supply power to the multiple accessories attached to the distributor 400, and therefore the distributor control circuit 401 of the distributor 400 can be implemented with a relatively inexpensive microcontroller or logic circuit.

[0116] Furthermore, in the embodiment described above, the distributor connection section A403 and the distributor connection section B404 are each equipped with terminals TDA_03 and TDB_03, to which the accessory installation detection signal / ACC_DET is transmitted. This allows the distributor 400 to easily determine whether or not an accessory is connected to the distributor connection section A403 and the distributor connection section B404, respectively.

[0117] Furthermore, distributor connection unit A403 and distributor connection unit B404 are each equipped with terminals TDA_04 and TDB_04 to which a communication request signal / WAKE is transmitted. As a result, the distributor 400 can initiate communication with the accessories connected to distributor connection unit A403 and distributor connection unit B404, respectively, based on the communication request signal / WAKE transmitted to terminals TDA_04 and TDB_04.

[0118] In the embodiment described above, a configuration in which the distributor 400 can be fitted with two accessories was explained, but the configuration of the distributor 400 is not limited to this. For example, the distributor 400 may be configured to be fitted with three or more accessories. In such a configuration, power is supplied to multiple (three or more) accessories fitted to the distributor 400 one by one in sequence, and power is not supplied to multiple accessories simultaneously. This makes it possible to perform power supply control that does not require power exceeding the power supply capacity of the camera 100 when acquiring accessory information from each of the multiple fitted accessories.

[0119] Furthermore, although the above-described embodiment describes a configuration in which power supply control to accessories attached to the distributor 400 is performed based on accessory power control information acquired from the camera 100, the configuration is not limited to this. For example, the distributor 400 may decide in what order power to supply to multiple accessories attached to the distributor 400.

[0120] Figure 10 is a sequence diagram showing another procedure for the communication control process executed when the camera 100, accessory A200, and accessory B300 are attached to the distributor 400 shown in Figure 8. The communication control process in Figure 10 is similar to the communication control process in Figure 9 described above, and the differences from the communication control process in Figure 9 will be explained below. The processing by the camera 100 in this communication control process is achieved by the camera control circuit A101 and camera control circuit B102 executing programs stored in their respective ROMs. The processing by the distributor 400 in this communication control process is achieved by the distributor control circuit 401 executing a program stored in its ROM. The processing by accessory A200 in this communication control process is achieved by the accessory A control circuit 201 executing a program stored in its ROM. The processing by accessory B300 in this communication control process is achieved by the accessory B control circuit 301 executing a program stored in its ROM.

[0121] In Figure 10, first, processes S1001 to S1010 are performed, which are the same as the processes S901 to S910 described above.

[0122] Next, the distributor 400 controls the acquisition of accessory power information (imaging device information) from the camera 100 (S1011). The accessory power information includes information used by the camera 100 when generating the accessory power control information described above, such as information indicating the power supply capacity of the camera 100 and information on the shooting mode set in S1010. Specifically in S1011, the distributor control circuit 401 transitions the communication request signal / WAKE to a Low level. Based on this communication request signal / WAKE, the camera control circuit A101 detects that the distributor 400 has become ready to communicate. The distributor control circuit 401 also sends an accessory power information request to the camera 100 via I2C communication.

[0123] The camera control circuit A101 transmits accessory power information to the distributor 400 in accordance with the received accessory power information request (S1012).

[0124] When the distributor control circuit 401 receives accessory power information, it transitions the communication request signal / WAKE to a high level (S1013).

[0125] Next, the distributor control circuit 401 determines, based on the received accessory power information, which of the two distributor connection units, A403 or B404, to supply power to first. In this embodiment, as an example, it is determined that power will be supplied first to the accessory connected to distributor connection unit A403.

[0126] Next, processes S1014 to S1028, which are similar to S914 to S928 described above, are performed.

[0127] In the embodiment described above, the camera 100 determines, based on the accessory power information received from the camera 100, which accessory is connected to the distributor connection A403 and which accessory is connected to the distributor connection B404, and whether power should be supplied to the accessory connected to the distributor connection A403 and which accessory is connected to the distributor connection B404, before the camera 100 has to perform the determination process. This reduces the processing load on the camera 100.

[0128] Furthermore, in the embodiment described above, the accessory power information includes information indicating the power supply capacity of the camera 100 and information on the shooting mode set in S1010. As a result, the distributor 400 can perform the above determination process using the same input information as the camera 100 that performs the above determination process.

[0129] Next, we will explain the power supply control when actually using the accessories.

[0130] Figure 11 is a sequence diagram showing the procedure for power supply control processing when accessories A200 and B300 are used with the camera 100, accessory A200, and accessory B300 attached to the distributor 400 shown in Figure 8. The power supply control processing in Figure 11 is executed after the communication control processing in Figure 9 or Figure 10 is completed. That is, the distributor 400 obtains accessory information from accessory A200 and accessory B300, respectively. The processing by camera 100 in this power supply control processing is achieved by camera control circuit A101 and camera control circuit B102 executing programs stored in their respective ROMs, etc. The processing by distributor 400 in this power supply control processing is achieved by distributor control circuit 401 executing a program stored in its ROM, etc. The processing by accessory A200 in this power supply control processing is achieved by accessory A control circuit 201 executing a program stored in its ROM, etc. The processing performed by accessory B300 in this power supply control process is realized when accessory B control circuit 301 executes a program stored in this ROM or the like.

[0131] In Figure 11, first, the distributor 400 controls the transmission of acquired accessory information to the camera 100. In this embodiment, as an example, the accessory information for accessory A200 and the accessory information for accessory B300 are transmitted to the camera 100 in the order in which the accessory information was acquired.

[0132] In S1101, the distributor 400 controls the transmission of accessory information for accessory A200. Specifically, the distributor control circuit 401 of the distributor 400 transitions the communication request signal / WAKE being transmitted to the camera 100 to a Low level. This causes the distributor 400 to start communication with the camera 100.

[0133] The camera control circuit A101 of camera 100 detects that the distributor 400 has become ready to communicate based on the communication request signal / WAKE going to a low level. Next, the camera control circuit A101 requests accessory information from the distributor 400 via I2C communication (S1102).

[0134] The distributor control circuit 401 of the distributor 400 transmits accessory information of accessory A200 to the camera 100 via I2C communication in accordance with the request received from the camera 100 (S1103). In addition, after transmitting the accessory information of accessory A200, the distributor control circuit 401 transitions the communication request signal / WAKE to a high level (S1104).

[0135] The camera control circuit A101 of camera 100 performs a determination of the accessory information of the received accessory A200 (S1105). This determination determines whether or not the accessory A200 attached to the distributor 400 can be controlled.

[0136] Next, the distributor 400 controls the transmission of accessory information for accessory B300 (S1106). Specifically, the distributor control circuit 401 of the distributor 400 transitions the communication request signal / WAKE being transmitted to the camera 100 to a Low level. As a result, the distributor 400 starts communication with the camera 100.

[0137] Next, the camera control circuit A101 of camera 100 detects that the distributor 400 has become ready to communicate based on the communication request signal / WAKE going to a low level. Then, the camera control circuit A101 requests accessory information from the distributor 400 via I2C communication (S1107).

[0138] The distributor control circuit 401 of the distributor 400 transmits accessory information of accessory B300 to the camera 100 via I2C communication in accordance with the request received from the camera 100 (S1108). In addition, after transmitting the accessory information of accessory B300, the distributor control circuit 401 transitions the communication request signal / WAKE to a high level (S1109).

[0139] The camera control circuit A101 of camera 100 performs a determination of the accessory information of the received accessory B300 (S1110). This determination determines whether or not the accessory B300 attached to the distributor 400 can be controlled.

[0140] Next, the camera control circuit A101 performs various settings for the camera 100 (S1111). In S1111, various settings necessary for shooting are performed, such as setting the shooting mode, including still image shooting mode and video shooting mode. Once the various settings for the camera 100 are complete, the camera control circuit A101 notifies the camera control circuit B102 of the accessory information.

[0141] Next, the distributor control circuit 401 of the distributor 400 performs control to acquire accessory power control information from the camera 100 to control the power supply to the accessories attached to the distributor 400 (S1112). Specifically, the distributor control circuit 401 transitions the communication request signal / WAKE to a Low level. Based on this communication request signal / WAKE, the camera control circuit A101 detects that the distributor 400 has become ready to communicate. The distributor control circuit 401 also sends an accessory power control information request to the camera 100 via I2C communication.

[0142] The camera control circuit A101 generates accessory power control information by performing the accessory power supply control process shown in Figure 12, described later, in accordance with the accessory power control information request received from the distributor control circuit 401. The camera control circuit A101 transmits this accessory power control information to the distributor 400 via I2C communication (S1113).

[0143] When the distributor control circuit 401 receives accessory power control information, it transitions the communication request signal / WAKE to a high level (S1114).

[0144] Next, the distributor control circuit 401, based on the accessory power control information acquired from the camera 100, turns on the power supply circuit A411 if it is to output power to accessory A200, and turns off the power supply circuit A411 if it is not to output power. Similarly, it turns on the power supply circuit B412 if it is to output power to accessory B300, and turns off the power supply circuit B412 if it is not to output power. In this embodiment, the distributor control circuit 401 controls the distributor connection section A403 and the distributor connection section B404 so that power is not supplied to the connection section to which an accessory is not connected.

[0145] Next, the camera control circuit B102 communicates with accessory A200 via SPI communication if necessary, based on the accessory information received from accessory A200 and the shooting mode of camera 100 set in S1111. For example, the camera control circuit B102 notifies accessory A200 of control commands and controls the function signals to be sent to accessory A200.

[0146] The accessory A control circuit 201 of accessory A200 responds to control commands transmitted from camera 100 via SPI communication and performs control according to function signals.

[0147] Similarly, the camera control circuit B102 communicates with accessory B300 via SPI communication if necessary, based on the accessory information received from accessory B300 and the shooting mode of camera 100 set in S1111. For example, the camera control circuit B102 notifies accessory B300 of control commands and controls the function signals to be sent to accessory B300.

[0148] The Accessory B control circuit 301 responds to control commands transmitted from the camera 100 via SPI communication and performs control according to function signals. After that, this process ends.

[0149] Figure 12 is a flowchart showing the procedure for accessory power supply control processing performed by the camera 100 in Figure 8. Accessory power supply control processing is achieved by the camera control circuit A101 executing a program stored in its own ROM or the like. Accessory power supply control processing is performed, for example, when the camera 100 receives an accessory power supply control information request transmitted from the distributor 400 in S1113.

[0150] In Figure 12, first, the camera control circuit A101 determines whether the operating mode of the camera 100 is still image shooting mode (S1201). If the operating mode of the camera 100 is still image shooting mode, this process proceeds to S1202. If the operating mode of the camera 100 is not still image shooting mode, this process proceeds to S1205, which will be described later.

[0151] In S1202, the camera control circuit A101 performs still image settings. Specifically, the camera control circuit A101 sets the accessories used in still image shooting mode (hereinafter referred to as "still image shooting accessories"), such as a flash.

[0152] Next, in S1203, the camera control circuit B102 determines whether the power supply capacity of the camera 100 exceeds the power consumption of the accessories used for still image shooting. If it is determined that the power supply capacity of the camera 100 exceeds the power consumption of the accessories used for still image shooting, this process proceeds to S1204. If it is determined that the power supply capacity of the camera 100 does not exceed the power consumption of the accessories used for still image shooting, this process proceeds to S1209, which will be described later.

[0153] In S1204, the camera control circuit A101 controls the power supply to the accessories used for still image capture. Specifically, the camera control circuit A101 generates accessory power control information that instructs the supply of power to the accessories used for still image capture. After that, this process ends.

[0154] In S1205, the camera control circuit A101 determines whether the operating mode of the camera 100 is video recording mode. If the operating mode of the camera 100 is video recording mode, this process proceeds to S1206. If the operating mode of the camera 100 is not video recording mode, this process proceeds to S1209, which will be described later.

[0155] In S1206, the camera control circuit A101 performs video settings. Specifically, the camera control circuit A101 sets the accessories used in video recording mode (hereinafter referred to as "video recording accessories"), such as microphones and lighting.

[0156] Next, in S1207, the camera control circuit A101 determines whether the power supply capacity of the camera 100 exceeds the power consumption of the video recording accessories. If it is determined that the power supply capacity of the camera 100 exceeds the power consumption of the video recording accessories, the process proceeds to S1208. If it is determined that the power supply capacity of the camera 100 does not exceed the power consumption of the video recording accessories, the process proceeds to S1209, which will be described later.

[0157] In S1208, the camera control circuit A101 controls the power supply to the video recording accessories. Specifically, the camera control circuit A101 generates accessory power control information that instructs the video recording accessories to receive power. After that, this process ends.

[0158] In S1209, the camera control circuit A101 performs other settings. For example, the camera control circuit A101 allows the user to select the accessory to be used and configures that accessory.

[0159] Next, in S1210, the camera control circuit A101 determines whether the camera's power supply capacity exceeds the power consumption of the accessory set in S1209. If it is determined that the camera's power supply capacity exceeds the power consumption of the accessory set in S1209, the process proceeds to S1211. If it is determined that the camera's power supply capacity does not exceed the power consumption of the accessory set in S1209, the process proceeds to S1212.

[0160] In S1211, the camera control circuit A101 controls the power supply to the accessories configured in S1209. Specifically, the camera control circuit A101 generates accessory power control information that instructs the accessories configured in S1209 to receive power. After that, this process ends.

[0161] In S1212, the camera control circuit A101 notifies (displays) the accessory power supply error to the display circuit 127 and terminates this process. The accessory power control information generated in S1204, S1208, and S1211 described above is transmitted from the camera 100 to the distributor 400 in S1113 described above. The distributor 400 supplies power to the accessories indicated in the received accessory power control information.

[0162] In the embodiment described above, when using any of the multiple accessories attached to the distributor 400, power is supplied to the accessory indicated in the accessory power control information received from the camera 100. As a result, when using any of the multiple accessories attached to the distributor 400, the distributor 400 does not need to perform a determination process to determine which accessory to supply power to, and therefore the distributor control circuit 401 of the distributor 400 can be implemented with a relatively inexpensive microcontroller or logic circuit.

[0163] In the embodiment described above, a configuration was described in which, when using any of the multiple accessories attached to the distributor 400, power supply to the accessory is controlled based on accessory power control information received from the camera 100. However, the configuration is not limited to this. For example, as described in the sequence of Figure 10 above, the distributor 400 may receive accessory power information from the camera 100 and supply power to the accessory determined based on the received accessory power information. This reduces the processing load on the camera 100 compared to a configuration in which the camera 100 performs the process of determining which accessory to supply power to when using any of the multiple accessories attached to the distributor 400.

[0164] In this embodiment, the accessory to be powered is determined by the shooting mode, but it is necessary to switch the powered accessory each time the shooting mode changes.

[0165] Furthermore, although this embodiment describes a configuration in which the camera's shooting mode supplies power only to accessories corresponding to still image shooting mode or video shooting mode, the configuration is not limited to this. For example, if the power supply capacity of the camera 100 exceeds the power consumption of all accessories attached to the distributor 400, the system may be controlled to supply power to all accessories.

[0166] The present invention can also be realized by supplying a program that implements one or more of the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or device via a network or storage medium, and by having one or more processors in the computer of that system or device read and execute the program. It can also be realized by a circuit (e.g., an ASIC) that implements one or more functions.

[0167] Furthermore, the disclosure of this embodiment includes the following configurations and methods. (Configuration 1) An electronic device comprising: connection means that can be connected to an accessory shoe of an imaging device; a plurality of accessory shoes to which accessories for the imaging device can be connected; and power supply control means that controls the power supply to a plurality of accessories connected to each of the plurality of accessory shoes, wherein when accessories are connected to two or more of the plurality of accessory shoes, the power supply control means supplies power to one connected accessory when acquiring accessory information for that one accessory, and does not supply power to the other connected accessories. (Configuration 2) The electronic device according to Configuration 1, further comprising an acquisition means for acquiring control information from the imaging device to indicate which of the plurality of accessory shoes the accessory connected to should be powered, wherein the power supply control means performs the power supply control based on the control information. (Configuration 3) The electronic device according to Configuration 2, characterized in that when using any of the multiple accessories connected to each of the multiple accessory shoes, the power supply control means supplies power to the accessory indicated in the control information. (Configuration 4) The electronic device according to Configuration 1, further comprising an acquisition means for acquiring imaging device information relating to the capabilities of the imaging device, which is used to determine which of the plurality of accessory shoes to supply power to the accessory connected to the accessory, and wherein the power supply control means supplies power to the accessory connected to the accessory shoe determined based on the imaging device information from among the plurality of accessory shoes. (Configuration 5) The electronic device according to Configuration 4, characterized in that the imaging device information includes information indicating the ability of the imaging device to supply power to accessories, and information indicating the shooting mode set by the imaging device. (Configuration 6) When using any of the multiple accessories connected to each of the multiple accessory shoes, the power supply control means supplies power to the accessory connected to the accessory shoe determined from among the multiple accessory shoes based on the imaging device information, as described in Configuration 4 or 5. (Configuration 7) The electronic device according to any one of Configurations 1 to 6, characterized in that each of the plurality of accessory shoes includes a terminal on which a signal is transmitted for detecting that an accessory has been connected. (Configuration 8) The electronic device according to any one of Configurations 1 to 7, characterized in that each of the plurality of accessory shoes includes a terminal on which a signal is transmitted to initiate communication with the connected accessory. (Configuration 9) The electronic device according to any one of Configurations 1 to 8, characterized in that the power supply control means does not supply power to accessory shoes among the plurality of accessory shoes to which no accessory is connected. (Configuration 10) A control method for electronic equipment comprising a connection means connectable to an accessory shoe of an imaging device and a plurality of accessory shoes to which accessories for the imaging device can be connected, the method comprising a power supply control step for controlling the supply of power to a plurality of accessories connected to each of the plurality of accessory shoes, wherein when accessories are connected to two or more of the plurality of accessory shoes, the power supply control step supplies power to the one connected accessory when acquiring accessory information for that one accessory, and does not supply power to the other connected accessories. (Configuration 11) A program that causes a computer to execute a control method for an electronic device comprising a connection means that can be connected to an accessory shoe of an imaging device, and a plurality of accessory shoes to which accessories for the imaging device can be connected, wherein the control method for the electronic device includes a power supply control step that controls the supply of power to a plurality of accessories connected to each of the plurality of accessory shoes, and the power supply control step is characterized in that, when accessories are connected to two or more of the plurality of accessory shoes, power is supplied to the one connected accessory when acquiring accessory information for that one accessory, and power is not supplied to the other connected accessories. [Explanation of symbols]

[0168] 100 Cameras 103 Camera connection section 200 Accessory A 300 Accessory B 400 distributors 401 Distributor Control Circuit 402 Distributor connection 403 Distributor connection part A 404 Distributor connection section B 411 Power supply circuit A 412 Power supply circuit B

Claims

1. A connection means that can be connected to the accessory shoe of an imaging device, Multiple accessory shoes to which accessories for the aforementioned imaging device can be connected, The system includes a power supply control means for controlling the power supply to multiple accessories connected to each of the multiple accessory shoes, The power supply control means is characterized in that, when accessories are connected to two or more of the plurality of accessory shoes, it supplies power to one connected accessory when acquiring accessory information for that one accessory, and does not supply power to the other connected accessories.

2. The system further includes an acquisition means for acquiring control information from the imaging device that indicates which of the plurality of accessory shoes to which accessory to which accessory to supply power. The electronic device according to claim 1, characterized in that the power supply control means performs the power supply control based on the control information.

3. The electronic device according to claim 2, characterized in that when using any of the multiple accessories connected to each of the multiple accessory shoes, the power supply control means supplies power to the accessory indicated in the control information.

4. The system further comprises acquisition means for acquiring imaging device information relating to the capabilities of the imaging device, which is used to determine which of the plurality of accessory shoes to supply power to the accessory connected to the accessory, The electronic device according to claim 1, characterized in that the power supply control means supplies power to an accessory connected to an accessory shoe determined from among the plurality of accessory shoes based on the imaging device information.

5. The electronic device according to claim 4, characterized in that the imaging device information includes information indicating the ability of the imaging device to supply power to an accessory, and information indicating the shooting mode set by the imaging device.

6. The electronic device according to claim 4, characterized in that, when using any of the multiple accessories connected to each of the multiple accessory shoes, the power supply control means supplies power to the accessory connected to the accessory shoe determined from among the multiple accessory shoes based on the imaging device information.

7. The electronic device according to claim 1, characterized in that each of the plurality of accessory shoes includes a terminal on which a signal is transmitted for detecting that an accessory has been connected.

8. The electronic device according to claim 1, characterized in that each of the plurality of accessory shoes includes a terminal on which a signal is transmitted to initiate communication with the connected accessory.

9. The electronic device according to claim 1, characterized in that the power supply control means does not supply power to accessory shoes among the plurality of accessory shoes to which no accessory is connected.

10. A control method for electronic equipment comprising a connection means that can be connected to an accessory shoe of an imaging device, and a plurality of accessory shoes to which accessories for the imaging device can be connected, The system includes a power supply control step that controls the power supply to multiple accessories connected to each of the multiple accessory shoes, The power supply control step is a control method for electronic equipment characterized in that, when accessories are connected to two or more of the plurality of accessory shoes, power is supplied to one of the connected accessories when acquiring accessory information for that one accessory, and power is not supplied to the other connected accessories.

11. A program that causes a computer to execute a control method for an electronic device comprising a connection means that can be connected to an accessory shoe of an imaging device, and a plurality of accessory shoes to which accessories for the imaging device can be connected, The control method for the electronic device is as follows: The system includes a power supply control step that controls the power supply to multiple accessories connected to each of the multiple accessory shoes, The power supply control step is a program characterized in that, when accessories are connected to two or more of the plurality of accessory shoes, it supplies power to one of the connected accessories when acquiring accessory information for that one accessory, and does not supply power to the other connected accessories.

Images