JP2000333107A - Electronic camera and print system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain an electronic camera and print system where operations for print designation and entry by remote control are facilitated and transmission of data can easily be realized. SOLUTION: The electronic camera and print system is provided with an electronic camera 101 and a printer 400. The electronic camera has an image pickup means that picks up an image to obtain image data, a transmission means that transmits data or information, and a control means that generates remote control information, the transmission means transmits the remote control information received from the control means and the printer prints the data by receiving the remote control information sent from the transmission means.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic camera and a printing system, and more particularly to an electronic camera and a printing system suitable for designating and accepting printout of photographed digital image information.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A print service for processing a photographed silver halide film in a laboratory to produce a print has been generally performed.

In recent years, digital image information obtained by photographing with a digital camera or the like or digital image information obtained by reading a silver halide film with a film scanner is easily printed at home with a color printer or the like. ing.

[0004] Further, there has been proposed a service of processing or printing using expensive equipment in a lab or the like based on digital image information obtained by photographing to create a high quality print.

[0005] In recent years, digital cameras have become popular, but the number of pixels of a CCD as an image receiving means tends to increase in order to achieve higher image quality. However, in order to finally obtain a print of a fine and excellent image, it is important to output to a silver halide photographic paper having excellent gradation characteristics.

In the above-described high-quality print service, the user creates print designation information in advance in consideration of the time required to create the designated content at the store or the congestion that occurs, and Removable storage media for specifying information (PC card, various memory cards, etc.)
It has also been proposed to transfer to and use it for print reception.

Further, in order to save the trouble of going to an agency store, there has been proposed a print output service in which print designation information created by a user is transmitted to a laboratory using a network such as the Internet.

[0008]

However, the electronic camera itself does not consider the operation and input for print designation, and it is difficult to transfer the image data to the computer and then input the print designation on the computer. Was common. Further, even if the electronic camera can be operated for print designation, no consideration has been given to simple remote operation and data transmission.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an electronic camera and a printing system which can easily perform a print designation operation and a remote control input and easily transmit data when designating a print. It is.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention for solving the above problems is described below. (1) The invention of an electronic camera includes: an imaging unit that captures an image to obtain image data; a transmission unit that transmits data or information; and an operation unit that creates remote operation information. Transmitting the remote operation information created in the step (b) from the transmitting means.

In the present invention, image data is obtained by capturing an image by the imaging means, remote operation information is created by the operation means, and the remote operation information corresponding to the image data is transmitted by the transmission means.

That is, the provision of the operation means for creating the remote operation information facilitates the operation and input of the print designation at the time of the designation of the print, and the provision of the transmission means enables the transmission of data. become.

Preferably, the image data is transmitted by the transmission means. Further, it is desirable to have print designation information input means for inputting print designation information for printing the image data obtained by the imaging means.

Further, it is desirable that the transmission means transmits the print designation information. (2) The invention of a print system includes a receiving unit that receives print designation information including image data, a print unit that performs a print operation, a control unit that controls a print operation based on the received print designation information, The control means starts a printing operation in response to receiving the print designation information.

In the present invention, the receiving means receives the print designation information including the image, and in response to the reception of the print designation information, the control means controls the start of the printing operation based on the print designation information.

That is, in this print system, the print operation is controlled in accordance with the received print designation information, so that print designation and data transmission can be easily performed.

(3) The invention of a printing system comprises an electronic camera and a printer, wherein the electronic camera captures an image and obtains image data, and a transmitting means for transmitting data or information. Operating means for creating remote operation information, and transmitting the remote operation information input from the operating means from the transmitting means, wherein the printer receives the transmitted remote operation information. In this case, a printing operation is performed.

According to the present invention, on the electronic camera side, image data is generated by the imaging means, remote operation information is created by the operation means, and remote operation information corresponding to the image data is transmitted by the transmission means. The printer controls the printing operation by receiving the remote control information.

That is, since the electronic camera is provided with operation means for creating remote operation information, it is possible to easily perform the operation and input of the print designation when designating the print,
The provision of the transmission means also enables transmission of data. Further, since the printer controls the printing operation in accordance with the received remote operation information, it is possible to easily perform the print designation and the data transmission.

(4) The invention of a printing system includes an electronic camera and a set-top box, wherein the electronic camera captures an image and obtains image data, and a transmission for transmitting data or information. Means for transmitting remote operation information input from the operation means from the transmission means, the set top box comprising: A print is received by receiving information.

According to the present invention, on the electronic camera side, image data is generated by the imaging means, remote operation information is created by the operation means, and remote operation information corresponding to the image data is transmitted by the transmission means. Then, the set-top box receives the remote operation information and accepts the print.

That is, by providing the electronic camera with an operation means for creating remote operation information, it is possible to easily perform the operation and input of the print designation when designating the print,
The provision of the transmission means also enables transmission of data. In addition, since the set-top box receives prints in accordance with the received remote operation information, print reception can be easily performed.

[0023]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail. In the present embodiment, a digital camera 101 as an electronic camera that can easily create designation information and has an image pickup unit, a printing device 400 that receives print designation information from the digital camera and performs printing, System comprising a digital camera and a set-top box 200 for receiving print designation information from the digital camera
This will be described using a print system composed of the following as a specific example.

<Configuration of Print System> Here, FIG.
The relationship between the digital camera 101, the set-top box 200, and the printing device 400 will be described using FIG.

Here, the digital camera 101
In contrast, the set-top box 200 and the printing device 400 are shown as specific examples, but more set-top boxes and printing devices are
May exist around.

The digital camera 101 is an electronic camera having a function of transmitting remote operation information and print designation information, as described later. Set top box 200
Is a means that generally incorporates various tuners and communication means, and enables pay television broadcasting to be viewed. The set-top box 200 in this embodiment is configured to be able to receive print designation information. Note that the set-top box 200 is configured to be able to perform various operations related to channel operation and pay TV by the remote controller 210. The set-top box 200 includes the digital camera 101
Is configured to have a function of transferring print designation information from a laboratory via a network.

As the printing device 400, various devices such as a laser printer, an LED printer, a thermal printer, and an ink jet printer can be applied. Examples of the printing device 400 include a lab device that receives a print designation and prints on a silver halide photosensitive material. It is configured to be able to perform printing in accordance with remote operation information from the digital camera 101 and print designation information.

In FIG. 1, a digital camera 10
Reference numeral 1 denotes a state in which it is communicably connected to the set-top box 200 and the printing apparatus 400 via IrDA using infrared rays or the like.

Although a state where remote control using infrared rays is performed is shown here, a configuration in which remote control is performed by serial or parallel cable connection may be employed. Here, the digital camera 101 has an operation unit input unit constituted by several operation keys so that it can create and transmit print designation information including information such as the number of prints to be made and the print type of each image. And an image display unit capable of displaying graphics such as characters and images.

Therefore, hardware for transmission / reception, processing and display, and software for creating print designation information and remote operation information are provided. Next, a digital camera 101 as an example of the electronic camera 100 used in the present embodiment with reference to FIG.
Will be described.

In the digital camera 101 shown in FIG. 2, a light image obtained through an optical system including a lens 1, an aperture stop 2, and the like is formed on a light receiving surface of an image pickup device 3 such as a CCD. . At this time, the lens 1 and the aperture stop 2 are driven by a focus drive circuit 16 and an aperture drive circuit 15, respectively.

Here, the image pickup device 3 photoelectrically converts the light image formed on the light receiving surface into a charge amount, and outputs an analog image signal by a transfer pulse from the CCD drive circuit 19.
Note that the CCD drive circuit 19 can control the shutter speed while driving the image sensor 3.

The analog image signal output from the image sensor 3 is reduced in noise by CDS (correlated double sampling) processing in the pre-processing circuit 4 and gain is adjusted by AGC to expand the dynamic range. Is performed.

After being converted into a digital image signal by the A / D converter 5, the signal processing circuit 6 performs luminance processing and color processing on the digital video signal (for example, a luminance signal (Y) and a color difference signal ( The data is converted to digital data composed of Cr, Cb) and output to the memory controller 7.

A digital video signal is output from the signal processing circuit 6 to the image display unit 18, and an image captured by the image sensor 3 and a reproduced image from a storage unit described later are displayed on the image display unit 18. It is configured to be able to display an image.

The image display unit 18 displays, in addition to the image,
Various information can be displayed. In this embodiment, the display of the print designation information creation menu and the printing device 40
Display of print permission information from 0 and print accept information are performed.

These functions are switched by exchanging data with the main microcomputer 8, and the exposure information, the focus signal, and the white balance information of the image pickup device signal can be output to the main microcomputer 8 as needed.

The main microcomputer 8 is mainly used for photographing,
The sequence of recording and reproduction is controlled, and further, as necessary, compression and reproduction of the photographed image and serial port transmission with an external device are performed.

Here, a description will be given assuming that the JPEG method (or JBIG method) standardized by CCITT (current ITU-T) and ISO is used as image compression in the image recording mode. And the memory controller 7
Then, the digital image data input from the signal processing circuit 6 is stored in the frame memory 9 and, conversely, the image data in the frame memory 9 is output to the signal processing circuit 6.

The frame memory 9 is an image memory capable of storing at least one screen of image data. For example, a VRAM, an SRAM, a DRAM or the like is generally used. Here, a VRAM which can operate independently of a CPU bus is used. It shall be.

The light emission timing of the strobe 12 is obtained by the main microcomputer 8 which controls the photographing sequence. The transmission / reception unit 13 performs transmission and reception for information transmission between the camera body and the external device via a communication line. The transmitting / receiving unit 13 is a modular connector 13
With c, it is configured to be connected to a communication line such as a public line or a LAN. Note that the optical connector for an optical fiber may be used instead of the modular connector 13c according to the usage environment. Furthermore, serial communication by cable connection is possible by the serial communication connector 13d.

Even when a dedicated communication line is provided, a normal telephone line may be required for payment of a fee for viewing a pay broadcast, which will be described later. The sub-microcomputer 14 controls a man-machine interface such as a switch for recording, reproduction, frame advance, etc.
The information is transmitted as needed.

The aperture drive circuit 15 is constituted by, for example, an auto iris, and changes the aperture value of the optical aperture 2 under the control of the main microcomputer 8. The focus drive circuit 16 is configured by, for example, a stepping motor, and changes the lens position under the control of the main microcomputer 8 so that the optical focus surface of the subject is appropriately adjusted on the image sensor 3.

The status display section 17 is a display means for displaying various states of the camera by numbers and pictograms (icons), and the image display section 18 is a display means for displaying images and various information graphically.

The image storage section 21 constitutes storage means, and is subjected to image compression processing or the like by the main microcomputer 8 and digital data in JPEG format via the frame memory 9 is recorded.

The image storage unit 21 includes a recording / reproducing device using a semiconductor memory detachable from the main body,
A hard disk device that can be attached to and detached from the main unit corresponds to this. When data is exchanged with an external computer, the storage medium of the still image storage unit 21 is preferably various semiconductor memories compatible with a PC card or the like. The image storage section 21 is configured to be detachable by a memory socket 50.

A release switch 31 is a release switch for instructing image recording, and this selection is supplied to the sub-microcomputer 14. The operation input unit 32 includes print designation information (print designation information for designating an image to be printed, print size information for setting a print size, print number information for setting the number of prints, print finish information for print finish, and the like). ), And print operation information input means for setting and inputting the information about the print job, and operation means for creating remote operation information.

Reference numeral 40 denotes an IR transmission / reception unit for transmitting / receiving data by infrared rays, radio waves, or the like. The IR transmission / reception unit transmits print designation information, digital image information, and remote operation information to the outside by the above-described transmission start signal. To receive.

FIG. 3 shows the digital camera 1 described above.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of the electronic apparatus, particularly showing a state of a rear surface. A release switch 31 is disposed on the right side of the upper surface. An image display unit 18 such as an LCD is arranged on the rear surface, and is configured to be able to display images and various information (a print designation information creation menu and the like).

Further, when the side of the image display section 18 is opened, various operation buttons as an operation input section 32 are provided, and the print operation information and the remote operation information can be created by the various operation buttons. Has become.

The modular connector 13 is provided on the side.
c, serial communication connector 13d, memory socket 50
And are arranged. In front (not shown in FIG. 3) I
The transmission / reception unit of the R transmission / reception unit 40 is arranged.

FIG. 3 shows the digital camera 10.
1 is an example of the external configuration, and the shape and arrangement of various members are not limited to those shown here. FIG.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the set-top box 200. The set-top box 200 includes a main microcomputer 201 for controlling each unit, a tuner 202 for receiving various broadcasts, and a remote controller 210 (FIG. 1).
IR transmission / reception unit 20 that receives a remote operation signal from the digital camera 101 or various information from the digital camera 101.
3. Modem 2 for transmitting information via telephone line
04, IEEE13 for exchanging data with TV receivers
It comprises a serial interface 205 such as 94, a video signal output unit 206 for outputting a video signal to a television receiver, and a network controller 207 for exchanging data via a communication line.

Further, as shown in FIG.
Reference numeral 0 denotes a main microcomputer 401 for controlling each unit, a parallel interface 402 for exchanging data with the digital camera 101 and the computer, a serial interface 403 such as IEEE1394 for exchanging data with the digital camera 101, and the digital camera 101. And a status display unit 405 for displaying the status of the printing apparatus, and a printer 406 for printing an image according to the print designation information.

<Operation of Print System> The operation of the electronic camera and the print designation receiving operation of the print system will now be described.

A user who wants to obtain a print by photographing with the digital camera 101 first receives print designation information or remote operation information from the operation surface of the operation input unit 32 provided on the back of the digital camera 101 after the photographing is completed. Create

Here, the remote operation information refers to information for giving an instruction by a remote operation to an external device such as a printer or a set-top box. The print designation information is information for print designation such as which image is to be printed on a printer or a laboratory.

After pressing a menu display button on the operation input section 32, a remote operation information creation menu or print designation information creation menu is displayed on the image display section 18, and remote operation information or print designation information is displayed in accordance with the menu display. May be created.

For example, on the initial screen of the print designation information creation menu, a list of images for which print designation is possible is displayed. Then, the desired image to be designated for printing is
After the selection and determination, a screen for inputting a print size, the number of prints, and the like for the image appears separately, and necessary information is input. The print designation information can include various information relating to the print designation, in addition to the information indicating the number of the image to be designated for printing, the print size, the receiving method, and the like.

After the above operation has been performed for all the images to be designated for printing, by pressing an icon on the menu screen or a decision button of the operation input unit 32, the creation of the print designation information is completed.

As the remote control information, the image display unit 1
For example, when the user wants to execute printing of the image being displayed on the display unit 8, the user can give a print instruction to the printing apparatus 400 by pressing a “print” button from the operation unit 32. By pressing the print button while sequentially displaying a plurality of images, and finally pressing the send button, it is possible to create remote operation information for printing a plurality of images.

When the remote operation information and the print designation information are created in this way, the main microcomputer 8 of the digital camera 101 transmits the print designation information and the remote operation information to the set-top box 200 and the printing device 400.

Note that this transmission means that the transmission using the infrared
Network, RS-232C, IE as well as rDA
Any of serial communication such as EE1394 or parallel communication may be used. In either case, the operation is performed by pressing a predetermined button on the operation unit 32 as a remote operation unit.

The digital camera 10 according to this embodiment is
In the first embodiment, the provision of the operation unit 32 for creating the remote operation information facilitates the operation of the print designation and the input of the remote operation information when the print is designated. Further, by providing a means for transmitting remote operation information, data transmission can be realized. It is desirable that the image data be transmitted together with the remote operation information by the transmitting means. Further, it is desirable to have print designation information input means for inputting print designation information for printing image data obtained by imaging. Then, it is desirable to transmit the print designation information by the transmitting means.

As a result, it is possible to realize an electronic camera that can easily perform operations and inputs and can easily transmit data when transmitting remote operation information or designating printing. In the printing apparatus 400, when the remote operation information or the print designation information including the image data is received by any of the parallel I / F 402, the serial I / F 403, and the IR transmission / reception unit 404 as the receiving unit, the remote operation information or the print In response to receiving the designation information, the main microcomputer 401 controls the printer 406 for starting a printing operation.

That is, in this print system, the print operation is controlled in accordance with the received remote operation information and print designation information, so that print designation and data transmission can be easily performed.

In the set-top box 200,
When the IR transmission / reception unit 203 receives the remote operation information or the print designation information including the image data, the main microcomputer 201 controls the print reception in response to the reception of the remote operation information or the print designation information.

That is, the set-top box 200 of the print system accepts a print in accordance with the received remote operation information and print designation information, and transmits the accepted information to the modem 204 and the network controller 2.
07 to control the transmission to the designated laboratory.

In the set-top box 200,
When the print specification information is received, the control to transmit the print specification information to the laboratory as it is is performed, and when the remote operation information is received, the operation according to the operation content included in the remote operation information can be performed. is there.

In the case of this remote operation information, the operation of the set top box 200 can be remotely controlled from the digital camera 101. For example, a menu for creating print designation information is displayed on the television receiver 300, and
It is also possible to create print designation information.

That is, the digital camera 101 is provided with operation means for creating remote operation information, thereby facilitating the operation and input of print designation at the time of print designation, and having the transmission means. Can also be transmitted. In addition, set-top box 20
On the 0 side, print reception is performed in accordance with the received remote operation information and print designation information, so that print reception can be easily performed.

In the above case, the digital camera 10
The remote control information from 1 may include not only remote control for printing but also remote control for controlling various operations such as ON / OFF of the printing apparatus 400 and the set-top box 200.

That is, the ON / OFF of the switches of the printer and the set-top box can be operated by remote control. Further, it is possible to give a detailed print instruction by remote control.

For example, trimming, paper size designation,
Printing on other recording media (shirts, cups, jigsaw puzzles, etc.), designation of the print destination (home, gift partner), settlement information, and the like can be freely set.

It is also possible to operate other devices by remote control. For example, it is possible to operate a television receiver on which the set-top box 200 is mounted, and to operate indoor lighting for making the television screen easier to see.

As an improvement of the data transmission method, FIG.
As shown in FIG.
Whether to use a telephone line, to communicate with another personal computer 500 at home, or to output to a printer 510 connected to another personal computer 500 at home.
It is also possible to select an instruction such as.

[0076]

As described in detail above, the following effects can be obtained. (1) In the invention of the electronic camera, an image is taken by an imaging unit to obtain image data, remote operation information is created by an operation unit, and remote operation information corresponding to the image data is transmitted by a transmission unit. I have. In other words, by providing the operation means for creating the remote operation information, it becomes possible to easily perform the operation and input of the print designation when designating the print,
The provision of the transmission means also enables transmission of data.

(2) In the invention of the printing system, the receiving means receives the print designation information including the image, and in response to the reception of the print designation information, the control means controls the start of the printing operation based on the print designation information. . That is,
In this print system, the print operation is controlled in accordance with the received print designation information, so that print designation and data transmission can be easily performed.

(3) In the invention of the print system including the digital camera and the printer, on the electronic camera side, image data is generated by the imaging means, remote operation information is generated by the operation means, and the image data is generated by the transmission means. The corresponding remote operation information is transmitted. The printer controls the printing operation by receiving the remote control information. In other words, the electronic camera has an operation unit for creating remote operation information, which makes it easy to operate and input the print designation when specifying the print, and the transmission unit realizes data transmission. become able to.
Further, since the printer controls the printing operation in accordance with the received remote operation information, it is possible to easily perform the print designation and the data transmission.

(4) In the invention of the print system including the digital camera and the set-top box, on the electronic camera side, image data is generated by the imaging means, remote operation information is generated by the operation means, and the image data is generated by the transmission means. Transmit the remote operation information according to the data. Then, the set-top box receives the remote operation information and accepts the print. In other words, the electronic camera has an operation unit for creating remote operation information, which makes it easy to operate and input the print designation when specifying the print, and the transmission unit realizes data transmission. become able to. In addition, since the set-top box receives prints in accordance with the received remote operation information, print reception can be easily performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration and a connection state of a print system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration of a digital camera as an electronic camera used in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a digital camera as an electronic camera according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration of a set-top box used in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration of a printing apparatus used in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration of a printing apparatus used in the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 101 digital camera 200 set-top box 300 television receiver 400 printing device 500 other personal computer

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04N 5/225 H04N 5/225 F 5K048 H04Q 9/00 301 H04Q 9/00 301E F term (reference) 2H104 AA19 5B021 AA30 BB13 5C022 AA13 AB15 AB22 AB65 AC00 AC03 AC74 5C052 AA12 CC06 FA02 FA03 FA04 FA07 FC01 FC06 FE04 5C056 AA05 AA07 BA01 BA10 CA06 DA06 5K048 BA03 BA10

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An image capturing means for capturing an image to obtain image data, a transmitting means for transmitting data or information, and an operating means for creating remote operation information, comprising: An electronic camera, wherein remote operation information is transmitted from the transmission means. 2. The electronic camera according to claim 1, wherein said image data is transmitted by said transmission means. 3. An electronic camera according to claim 1, further comprising print designation information input means for inputting print designation information for printing image data obtained by said imaging means. 4. The electronic camera according to claim 3, wherein said print designation information is transmitted by said transmission means. 5. A receiving means for receiving print designation information including image data; a print means for performing a print operation; a control means for controlling a print operation based on the received print designation information; The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit starts a printing operation in response to the reception. 6. A print system comprising an electronic camera and a printer, wherein the electronic camera captures an image to obtain image data, a transmission unit for transmitting data or information, and a remote control. Operating means for creating operation information; andtransmitting the remote operation information input from the operating means from the transmitting means, wherein the printer receives the transmitted remote operation information. A printing system for performing a printing operation. 7. A printing system comprising an electronic camera and a set-top box, wherein the electronic camera captures an image to obtain image data, and a transmission unit for transmitting data or information. Operating means for creating remote operation information, and transmitting the remote operation information input from the operating means from the transmitting means, wherein the set-top box transmits the transmitted remote operation information. A print system for receiving a print by receiving the print.