JP2003189223A - Digital camera system, picture storage device, digital camera, and digital camera bag - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a digital camera of high performance without restrictions of circuit mounting techniques. <P>SOLUTION: A system is constituted of combination of a digital camera or a digital camera bag and a picture storage device. Raw data from the digital camera or the digital camera bag is inputted to the picture storage device by radio communication, a wired cable, attachment/detachment of a storage medium, or the like and is subjected to interpolation, compression, etc., by software on the picture storage device side and is stored. Information required for interpolation and general picture file generation is inputted to the picture storage device together with the Raw data. Picture information inputted from a plurality of digital cameras are stored under the control of the integrated system. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a digital camera, a digital camera back for digitizing images formed by a silver halide camera, and an image storage device for storing those digital images.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Image information from a digital camera is not only printed, but also output to the outside and accumulated, and thus has a wide range of utilization as digital information. In addition, digital cameras have advanced functions such as image processing technology year by year in order to obtain beautiful images, and circuit mounting technology for integrating these functions into a compact digital camera is also advanced.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a high-performance digital camera without restrictions such as circuit mounting technology.

[0004]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a digital camera system including a digital camera or a combination of a digital camera back and an image storage device. A digital camera or a digital camera bag according to the present invention has a storage unit for storing Raw data from the image pickup unit, and the R stored in the storage unit is stored.
The aw data is output to the image storage device by digital signal transmission means such as wireless communication or a wired cable, or the storage unit is a detachable storage medium and the storage medium taken out from the digital camera or the digital camera bag is It is attached to the image storage device. Raw data thus input to the image storage device is interpolated by the image storage device to be a digital image signal, compressed by the compression means, and stored by the storage means.

With the above configuration, interpolation of Raw data,
Functions such as compression, which are usually performed by circuits in the digital camera, are transferred to the image storage device side. This allows digital cameras to design, implement, and implement circuits that implement these functions.
Freed from demands for downsizing and cost reduction. Further, since the image is not visualized without executing these functions on the side of the image storage device, the image is always stored in the image storage device, and there is no fear of dissipation.

According to a specific feature of the present invention, the image storage device includes a plurality of interpolating means. This means that the imaging device of each "camera" needs different interpolation functions, whereas the different interpolation means are provided in the image storage device in advance. Then, the image storage device performs interpolation by selecting a suitable interpolating means from among a plurality of interpolating means based on the information of the identification or input of each digital camera. In this way, by inputting the information necessary for interpolation together with the raw data from the digital camera, the image storage device can support a plurality of “cameras”.

According to a more specific feature of the present invention,
The image storage device has a white balance adjustment means, a contour enhancement means, an image thinning means, and the like. These features also
It is usually executed by a circuit in a digital camera, but in the present invention, it is transferred to an image storage device.

According to a specific feature of the image storage device of the present invention, the input means for inputting Raw data from the image pickup means of the digital camera is a mounting portion for mounting a storage medium storing Raw data. There is.

According to another specific feature of the image storage device of the present invention, there are provided a display means for displaying a digital image signal and an instruction means for instructing whether or not to store the displayed digital image signal. The storage unit compresses and stores the digital image signal instructed by the instruction unit. As a result, it is possible to store the necessary image after confirming the image on the large screen of the image storage device.

According to another specific feature of the image storage device of the present invention, when a plurality of interpolating means are provided, the accumulating means is independent of which interpolating means performs the interpolation. The image signal of is accumulated. As a result, regardless of which digital camera the image data was input from, the storage and management in the image storage device are unified.

According to the features of the present invention, the functions of the image storage device are provided by a program that causes a computer to realize these functions or a storage medium that stores the program. As a result, the digital camera system becomes a product including an optical system, an image sensor, a "camera" having general-purpose hardware such as a large-capacity memory, and computer software. And, even if the "camera" part is not replaced, if the computer software is upgraded, it is possible to benefit from the improvements in these functions.

According to a specific feature of the digital camera of the present invention, information necessary for interpolation of Raw data or information necessary for creating a general-purpose image file is input to the image storage device together with the Raw data. This makes it possible to appropriately perform interpolation or create a general-purpose image file in the image storage device.

According to another specific feature of the digital camera of the present invention, in the storage unit of the digital camera, a portion corresponding to the Raw data output from the output unit is made available. As a result, a storage capacity is secured for subsequent shooting.

According to a specific feature of the digital camera back according to the present invention, an image sensor for detecting a subject image formed by a photographing lens of a silver salt camera and Raw data output from the image sensor for a plurality of images. A storage unit that stores the entire data, an output unit that outputs Raw data from the storage unit to a specific image storage device, and a signal transmission / reception unit that exchanges a digital signal with the silver halide camera, Provided is a digital camera back which can be replaced with a back cover of a silver salt camera.

According to another specific feature of the digital camera back according to the present invention, an image sensor for detecting a subject image formed by a photographing lens of a silver halide camera and a mounting for mounting a removable storage medium. A storage unit, a storage control unit that stores Raw data output from the image sensor in the storage medium from the mounting unit, and a signal transfer unit that transfers a digital signal to and from the silver halide camera, Provided is a digital camera back which can be replaced with a back cover of a silver salt camera.

The present invention has the above-described effects even when the digital video bag is constructed as described above.

According to a specific feature of the digital camera back according to the present invention, the information about the color temperature of the object from the silver halide camera transmitted from the signal transfer means is R.
It is output together with the aw data or stored in a removable storage medium and input to the image storage device. As a result, more appropriate image processing is performed in the image storage device.

According to still another feature of the present invention, a digital device having an encryption means for encrypting image data from the image pickup section and an output means for outputting the encrypted image data together with the identification signal of the digital camera. A camera is provided. On the other hand, an image storage device having a means for inputting an encrypted image, a decryption means for decrypting an input image by a decryption means adapted based on input information, and an storage means for storing the decrypted image are provided. Provided. This maintains security while the image is passed from the digital camera to the image storage device.

The detailed features of the present invention will become more apparent from the embodiments of the invention described below with reference to the drawings.

[0020]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a digital camera system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The digital camera is configured as a digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 and is integrated in the mobile phone. Also,
An important part of the function of the digital camera is provided in the server center 2 having a function as an image storage device, and the digital camera integrated mobile phone 1 and the server center are provided by the wireless communication 3 via the Internet using a public communication line. The functions of the digital camera are fulfilled by the cooperation of the two. As a specific example of the wireless communication 3, a method of connecting to a provider from a mobile phone line and connecting to the server center 2 via the Internet, a method of connecting to the LAN of the provider by short-range wireless communication, and then connecting to the server center 2 via the Internet There is a method of connecting to the server center and a method of connecting to the dedicated line of the server center by wireless communication.

The digital camera integrated mobile phone 1 is controlled by
It is controlled by the processing unit 4, and during a normal call, the telephone mode is selected on the operation unit 6 while looking at the menu on the LCD display unit 5, and the other party is called by the ten keys provided on the operation unit 6. Dial. When a transmission operation is performed by the operation unit 6 after confirming the dial destination, a calling signal is transmitted from the communication unit 7, and when the call is connected, the transmission / reception unit 8 makes a call. If the telephone number of the other party is stored in the telephone directory of the storage unit 9, it is possible to make a call simply by selecting a menu on the operation unit 6 while looking at the LCD display unit 5. The buffer 5a holds display data sent from the control / processing unit 4, and unless the display data in the buffer 5a is rewritten by the control / processing unit 4, the LCD display unit 5 displays the same display. Continued.

On the other hand, in the case of using as a digital camera, the photographing mode or the reproduction mode is selected by the operation section 6 while looking at the menu of the LCD display section 5. At this time, the calling and connection to the server center 2 contracted in advance are automatically performed, and the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 and the server center 2 are constantly connected during the subsequent use as a digital camera. Becomes

When the photographing mode is selected, the optical image from the lens (not shown) is repeatedly converted into an electronic image signal by the image pickup unit 11 having an image sensor for about 3 million images. Until the shutter release is performed, thinning-out reading is performed from the image pickup unit 11 under the control of the control / processing unit 4, and this is digitally converted into thinned-out image data by the A / D conversion unit 10 and then transmitted to the control / processing unit 4. Sent. The control / processing unit 4 converts the thinned-out image data into display image data and sends it to the buffer 5a. Since the imaging unit 11 repeatedly performs imaging, thinned-out image data is also repeatedly sent to the control / processing unit 4, and the buffer 5a is rewritten one after another by new display image data. by this,
The image repeatedly captured by the image capturing unit 11 is monitored as a moving image by the LCD display unit 5, and the LCD display unit 5 functions as a finder when used as a digital camera.

When a key assigned as a shutter release button is pressed on the operation unit 6, all pixels are read by the image pickup unit 11 under the control of the control / processing unit 4, and this is read by the A / D conversion unit 10. Digitally converted. The digital data in this state is used by the image pickup unit 1
R because it is the raw data output from the image sensor 1
This is called aw data. The Raw data from the A / D conversion unit 10 is directly sent to the Raw data temporary storage unit 12 and temporarily stored without being subjected to processing such as interpolation and white balance adjustment. The Raw data temporary storage unit 12 is a non-volatile memory and retains the memory even when the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 is powered off. When the storage of Raw data is completed, the reading of the imaging unit 11 returns to the thinning-out reading, and the moving image monitor by the LCD display unit 5 is restarted.

The Raw data temporary storage unit 12 stores 1
It has a capacity of 0 images and can store up to 10 images according to the operation of the shutter release button.
However, since the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 is always connected to the server center 2, the Raw data temporary storage unit 12 can be operated by operating the shutter release button.
The Raw data stored in is immediately transmitted from the control / processing unit 4 to the communication unit 13 of the server center 2 via the communication unit 7 without being subjected to processing such as interpolation and white balance adjustment and compression processing. To be done. Transmission speed is 20M
If it is about bps, the transmission of Raw data of 3 million pixels is completed within a few seconds. When the transmission is completed and the confirmation is confirmed, the transmitted Raw data is erased from the Raw data temporary storage unit 12 or can be overwritten. Therefore, as long as the connection is always maintained, it is rare that a plurality of Raw data are simultaneously stored in the Raw data temporary storage unit without being transmitted.

The capacity of 10 images in the Raw data temporary storage unit is for continuous shooting or when a failure occurs in the constant connection with the server center. For example, in the case of continuous shooting in which the next image is captured before the transmission of one image is completed, a plurality of Raw data may be simultaneously stored in the Raw data temporary storage unit 12, but the Raw data is As long as the Raw data is stored in the temporary storage unit 12 and the connection is always maintained, R
Since the aw data is transmitted one after another, if the shutter release is interrupted for a while during the continuous shooting, the transmission of the raw data stored in the raw data temporary storage unit 12 proceeds during that time, and the raw data temporary storage unit 12 continues. The free space of is increasing. Also, if there is a problem with the constant connection,
As soon as the constant connection becomes possible, the transmission of Raw data will start automatically. In either case, automatic transmission is continued until it is confirmed that the transmission of all Raw data stored in the Raw data temporary storage unit 12 is completed and the new storage capacity of the Raw data temporary storage unit 12 becomes empty.

The Raw data sent to the server center 2 is sent from the communication unit 13 to the image processing server 15 via the information distribution server 14. When connecting the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 and the server center 2, information about who owns the digital camera-integrated mobile phone and what model it is sent to the server center, and the connection record is sent to the user server 16. Will be recorded. The image processing server 15 obtains information such as the color filter array of the image sensor in the image pickup unit 11 based on the record of the user server 16, and interpolates the received Raw data, which is suitable for the image sensor of the image pickup unit 11. Image signals for each color such as R, G, and B are created by performing processing. The image processing server further performs necessary image processing such as white balance adjustment and edge enhancement processing,
The resulting image data is sent to the image conversion server 17 via the information distribution server 14.

The image conversion server 17 performs recording format conversion processing and compression processing on the sent image data to create compressed image data. On the other hand, the image conversion server 17 performs thinning processing on the image data from the image processing server, and based on mobile communication data to be sent to the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 when a reproduction request is made, and based on a predetermined standard. Create thumbnail data. The mobile communication data may be compressed according to the Internet image communication standard. The above data is stored in one image folder as one image and is sent to the image recording server 18. FIG. 2 is a table showing the data structure inside such an image folder. Note that the RAW data is deleted by the image conversion server 17 at the time when the compressed image data is created and is stored in the image recording server unless the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 gives a special instruction to save the RAW data. It will not be sent. Therefore, in this case, the data amount in the Raw data column of FIG. 2 is empty.

File names are given to the respective data in FIG. 2 so that it can be understood that they are for the same image even if the respective data are processed separately. Note that each data in FIG. 2 may be put together in one file having such a structure.

The processing of each server in the server center 2 can be designated in advance from the digital camera integrated mobile phone 1. The above-mentioned instruction as to whether or not it is necessary to save the RAW data is one example, and if the setting is made by the operation unit 6 while looking at the menu of the LCD display unit 5, the specified content is set via the communication unit 7 and the communication unit 13. Be transmitted to. From the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1, the compression rate, the image size, the color balance, the degree of contour enhancement, and the like can be specified, and these are also displayed on the LCD display unit 5.
While viewing the menu, the setting is made by the operation unit 6 and transmitted to the server center 2. Each server in the server center 2 processes, converts, and stores an image based on these designations.

Instead of the designation from the digital camera, image data such as various compression ratios, image sizes, color balances, and degree of contour enhancement in the image processing server 15 and the image conversion server 17 on the server center 2 side. Can be created and stored in the image storage server 18, and the one suitable for designation from the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 or the like can be appropriately output. In this case, a plurality of types of compressed data and mobile communication data in FIG. 2 will be prepared.

In the above configuration, when the key assigned as the shutter release button is pressed and the reading from the image pickup section 11 becomes all pixel reading, A
Raw data is also output from the / D conversion unit 10 to the control / processing unit 4. The control / processing unit 4 thins out and samples it to create data for mobile communication, and further thins it out to create a thumbnail. The created mobile communication data and thumbnails are common to the standard in FIG. 2 created by the server center 2. Further, a file name associated with Raw data for the same image transmitted to the server center 2 is attached to the mobile communication data and the thumbnail. If you give it back, a mobile phone with a built-in digital camera 1
The mobile communication data and thumbnails created internally are given the same file names as those for the mobile communication data and thumbnails created by the server center 2 based on the transmitted Raw data. .

The mobile communication data and thumbnails created by the control / processing unit 4 are stored in the storage unit 9.
Since the storage unit 9 is non-volatile, it does not disappear even if the power switch of the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 is turned off. In this way, when the shutter release is performed, Raw data for the same image is stored in the Raw data temporary storage unit 12, and mobile communication data and thumbnails are stored in the storage unit 9. That is, image data other than the compressed data in FIG. 2 is created and held in the digital camera integrated mobile phone.
The mobile communication data and thumbnails stored in the storage unit 9 are intended for reproduction on the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1, and correspond to when the connection with the server center 2 is impossible, and the server center. The aim is to avoid unnecessary connections between the two.

Next, reproduction of images by the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 will be described. When the reproduction mode is selected on the operation unit 6 and a thumbnail request is required, the server center 2 is connected. When the thumbnail request is transmitted to the server center 2, thumbnails corresponding to the latest predetermined number of images or all images taken on the same day are transmitted from the image storage server 18 to the communication unit 13 via the information distribution server 14 to the communication unit. Sent to 7. A predetermined number of these thumbnails are controlled by the control / processing unit 4 in the buffer 5
sent to a and displayed on the LCD display unit 5. When the number of sent thumbnails is larger than the predetermined number that can be displayed on the LCD display unit 5 at one time, the operation unit 6 can scroll the thumbnails.

In the above description, when the thumbnail is stored in the storage unit 9, the thumbnail of the storage unit 9 is preferentially displayed on the LCD display unit 5 prior to the thumbnail request to the server center 2, and the other thumbnails are displayed. Only when the request is made, the server center 2 is connected and the thumbnail is requested as described above.

When one of the thumbnails displayed on the LCD display unit 5 is selected by the operation unit 6, the mobile communication data corresponding to the selected thumbnail is displayed.
If not, connection is made to the server center 2 and a request for mobile communication data corresponding to the selected thumbnail is made. In response to this, the mobile communication data of the corresponding image in the image storage server 18 is sent from the communication unit 13 to the communication unit 7 via the information distribution server 14. The data for mobile communication is sent to the buffer 5a under the control of the control / processing unit 4 and displayed on the LCD display unit 5. If the mobile communication data is compressed data, the image data is expanded using the expansion function for Internet images in the control / processing unit 4,
It is sent to the buffer 5a. Similarly, every time one thumbnail is selected, corresponding mobile communication data is sent from the server center 2 and displayed on the LCD display unit 5.

Also in the above, when the mobile communication data corresponding to the designated thumbnail is stored in the storage unit 9, instead of requesting the mobile communication data from the server center 2, the mobile communication data in the storage unit 9 is sent. Is displayed on the LCD display unit 5, and when there is no mobile communication data corresponding to the designated thumbnail, the server center 2 is requested for mobile communication data as described above.

The mobile communication data sent from the server center 2 is normally only held by the control / processing section, and the use as a digital camera is terminated and the continuous connection with the server center 2 is cut off. At this time, or when the power switch of the digital camera integrated mobile phone 1 is turned off, the digital camera integrated mobile phone 1 loses its power. However, if necessary, it can be immediately reproduced again by the supply from the server center 2.

The mobile communication data once received can be set to be stored in the storage unit 9. With such a setting, even if communication with the server center is impossible in the reproduction mode, only the mobile communication data received can be reproduced by the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1. Furthermore, it is possible to prevent unnecessary connection to the server center 2.

The thumbnails are stored in the storage unit 9 once sent to the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1. Therefore, as long as an image is selected from the sent thumbnails, it is not necessary to request the server center 2 to send the thumbnails. When the number of thumbnails stored in the storage unit 9 exceeds a predetermined number, the oldest thumbnail is deleted and replaced with a thumbnail newly supplied from the server center unless otherwise specified.

As described above, the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 leaves the functions of image processing, image conversion, and image storage to the server center 2, and has a lightweight structure for obtaining high-quality image data. LCD display 5
With regard to the display at, it can be used in the same manner as a normal digital camera.

The reproduction of the thumbnails and the mobile communication data held in the server center 2 is not limited to the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 that has taken the image, and other digital camera-integrated mobile phones or browsing devices that are qualified to browse. It is possible to access and play the server center 2 from any qualifying mobile device.

When the purpose is only browsing from the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 or another mobile device, only the thumbnail or mobile communication data is supplied from the server center 2 as described above. On the other hand, when a print order is placed from the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 or another digital camera-integrated mobile phone or mobile device that is qualified to acquire an image, compressed data is supplied from the server center 18 to the inside of the server center. The data is output by the printer provided or the compressed data is sent to the print service organization at a remote place via the communication unit 13. At this time, the print size can be specified from the digital camera integrated mobile phone 1 or the mobile device. In this case, Raw
If the data is an image file stored in the image storage server, the following processing can be performed instead of outputting the compressed data of the image storage server 18. That is, the image conversion server 17 causes the image storage server 18 to generate print data more suitable for the designated print size.
Is newly created based on the Raw data of, and this is compressed and output.

Also, the compressed data is provided when there is a request for viewing or downloading from a personal computer that is qualified to view / acquire images. In the case of a file in which Raw data is stored, Raw data can be supplied if requested.

In the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1, when a thumbnail is displayed and a specific thumbnail is designated by the operation unit 6 to delete the data, the thumbnail of the image and the mobile communication data Is deleted from the storage unit 9. At the same time, the information on the data deletion operation by the operation unit 6 is provided in the server center 2.
And the entire file of the corresponding image in the image storage server 18, that is, compressed data, mobile communication data, thumbnails, and Raw data if there is Raw data.
w Delete all of the data.

FIG. 3 is an external view of the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 in the system as described above, and parts corresponding to those in FIG. The digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 includes a first body 20 having an operation unit 6 and an LC.
The second body 21 has the D display portion 5, and the second body 21 can be folded toward the front surface at the first hinge portion 22. The operation unit 6 includes a menu operation unit 23, a numeric keypad 24, a transmission operation unit 25, and the like. On the other hand, the microphone 26 that constitutes the transmitter / receiver unit 8 has
7 is also arranged on the second body. First body 2
0 and the second body 21 are folded by the first hinge portion 22, each operation portion and the LCD display portion 5 shown in FIG.
Are all protected inside.

The second body 21 further includes a second hinge portion 28.
Is provided, and by pressing the lock button 29, the upper part from the second hinge part 28 can be folded to the back side. As a result, the first body 2
0 and the second body 21 can be folded back to back,
In that state, the lock button 29 is automatically locked.

The lens 30 for forming an image on the image sensor of the image pickup section 11 is provided on the first body 20. Therefore, FIG.
When the lens 30 faces the same direction as the LCD display unit 5 as described above, it is possible to image itself while checking the LCD display unit 5. Also, in such a state,
It is also possible to use the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 as a videophone. That is, the menu operation unit 2
When the videophone mode is selected by 3, the image pickup unit 1
The moving image thinned-out image data, which is thinned out and read from 1, digitally converted by the A / D conversion unit 10 and sent to the control / processing unit 4, is sent to the communication partner via the communication unit 7 while the moving image is compressed by the control / processing unit 4. To be Meanwhile, the communication unit 7
The moving picture information received from the other party via the call is sent to the buffer 5a while being expanded by the control / processing section 4 and displayed on the LCD display section 5.

On the other hand, when the first body 20 and the second body 21 are folded back to back and locked, the lens 30 faces the back surface of the LCD display unit 5, so that the object to be imaged with the lens 30 directed is the LCD display unit 5. The LCD display unit 5 can be made to function as a finder of a digital camera. That is, in this case, it is as easy to use as a normal digital camera. The control / processing unit 4 detects the state in which the first body 20 and the second body 21 are folded back to back and is automatically locked, and the control / processing unit 4 reproduces the image captured in the state of FIG. At the time of display, the image is displayed rotated by 90 degrees. This is the first body 20
This is because when the second body 21 is folded back to back, the LCD display unit 5 can be used while being held in a landscape orientation like a normal digital camera. On the other hand, when reproducing an image taken with the first body 20 and the second body 21 folded back to back in a state as shown in FIG. 3, it is possible to rotate the image signal by 90 degrees and view it on a vertically long screen. It can be so. When such an image is rotated by 90 degrees, the layout of code information such as menus is automatically changed so that the entire vertically and horizontally long screens are fully used. To deal with vertical and horizontal discrepancies by prioritizing that the entire image can be seen rather than using the entire horizontally long screen.

A strobe 31 is provided in the first body 20 for the case where the first body 20 and the second body 21 are folded back to back and used in the same manner as a normal digital camera. This strobe is configured to be capable of emitting light only when the first body 20 and the second body 21 are folded back to back and the locked state is automatically detected. It prevents the light from being inadvertently emitted when the face may be close.
When used as a normal digital camera, one of the buttons of the operation unit 6 such as the ten-key pad 24 may be assigned as the shutter release button, and the antenna 32 on the side surface of the second body 21 may be used also. . In this case, the antenna 32 is configured to be pushed in a little further from the normal storage position, and the shutter release is applied accordingly.

In the above embodiment, the image processing server 15, the image conversion server 17, and the image storage server 1.
The number 8 is not limited to the case of using another server as shown in FIG. 1, but is also one of the servers when it is more convenient to perform comprehensive processing by the same server. Further, the user server 16 also manages charging for each digital camera-integrated mobile phone for services such as image processing, image compression, and image storage.

Further, the number of server centers 1 need not be one. If the same one is provided in each region and the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 can access the nearest server center, The processing speed can be increased.
In this case, data is appropriately exchanged between the server centers as needed. For example, when a print request for compressed data is received, the compressed data is transferred from the server center that stores files to the server center that is most convenient for print delivery, and is output by a printer in the transfer destination server center. In order to enable such management, even if a plurality of server centers are provided, each server center shares management information of image data stored in all server centers. Further, it is possible to speed up the processing by providing a plurality of server centers and sharing the functions. For example, it is possible that the first server center is in charge of only image processing and the result is transmitted to another server center in charge of image compression. Further, it is possible to jointly outsource image processing and image compression to a central server center, and a local server center can receive raw data and take charge of image storage only.

Services such as image processing and image compression provided by the server center 2 are not fixed. That is, when an improved version such as image processing or image compression is made, or when a new method is proposed, a notification to that effect is sent to the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1, and a menu on the display unit 5 is displayed as necessary. Displayed on the screen. Therefore, the user can receive the service of the new digital camera function without replacing the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1, and if the user does not want the service, he / she can select from the menu to reduce the charge. You can also do it. In the case of a mere bug correction, the service version is updated at the discretion of the server center 1 without giving detailed notification.

If the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 is stolen or lost, the server center 1 is contacted to request the service to be stopped. As a result, the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 cannot store more than 10 images of Raw data and cannot use them. Further, since the data which can be stored in the storage unit 9 and which can be browsed on the LCD display unit 5 is limited to the data having a very small size such as the thumbnail and the data for mobile communication, it is impossible to record the image having the image quality worthy of the name of the camera. Therefore, the economic value is remarkably reduced, and it is possible to avoid the involuntary charge from the server center.

Although the cooperation between the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 and the server center 2 has been described above, in the embodiment shown in FIG. Is also possible.
While viewing the menu on the LCD display unit 5, the operation unit 6
Select the still image shooting mode for mobile communication only
When the key assigned as the shutter release button in is pressed, thinning-out reading is performed from the image pickup unit 11,
One of the thinned image data that is digitally converted by the A / D conversion unit 10 and sent to the control / processing unit 4 is compressed by the control / processing unit 4 as a still image and stored in the storage unit 9. This image data is the same as the mobile communication data in FIG. 2, but is not sent to the server center 2 and is sent directly to another mobile phone with an image communication function via the communication unit 7. On the other hand, the compressed still image information from the other party received via the communication unit 7 is stored in the storage unit 9 and is also expanded by the control / processing unit 4, sent to the buffer 5a and displayed on the LCD display unit 5. To be done. When the still image shooting mode dedicated to mobile communication is selected in this way, all pixels are not read from the image capturing unit 11 when capturing a still image, and data for mobile communication cannot be sent to the server center 2. Instead, it is stored inside the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1. Further, also during communication, image data is directly exchanged between mobile phones with an image communication function such as the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1.

FIG. 4 is a main flowchart of the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 according to the above embodiment. When the power switch is turned on in step S1, it is checked in step S2 whether the digital camera integrated mobile phone 1 is already registered in the server center. When the power switch is turned on for the first time after newly purchasing the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1, or when the predetermined registration processing is not completed, the process proceeds to step S3, and the connection to the server center 2 is automatically performed. When connection is completed, step S
Predetermined registration / initialization processing is performed in step 4, and when completed, the connection with the server center 2 is disconnected in step S5.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S2 that the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 has been registered, various interrupts are enabled in steps S6 to S10 and the standby state is entered in step S11.

FIG. 5 shows the registration in step S4 of FIG.
/ It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the process performed by the server center 2 in the initialization process. Step S
When the process starts at 21, a predetermined user registration process is performed at step S22. Next, after the purchase of the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 or the previous connection from the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 to the server center 2, the firmware of the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 is upgraded. It is checked in step S23 whether or not the result has been met. If there is a new version of firmware, data is sent from the server center 2 in step S24 to rewrite the firmware of the digital camera integrated mobile phone 1 and update the version. As a result, the firmware in the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 is always updated to the latest version, the function is improved, and the trouble is promptly corrected.

In step S25, usage / billing conditions are set. Specifically, a menu of functions of the server center 2 that can be used by the user is displayed on the LCD display unit 5 of the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 together with the charging conditions.
According to the instruction from the server center 2, the use / charge condition desired by the user is set from the operation unit 6. This usage / billing condition can be arbitrarily changed later.

In step S26, the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 is instructed by the instruction signal from the server center 2.
Each function of is checked once. The check items are both the unique function in the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 and the function related to the cooperation between the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 and the server center 2. These are indispensable when a new digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 is purchased.

In step S27, the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 is instructed by the instruction signal from the server center 2.
Shooting test by. This is for checking whether or not the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 works well with the server center 2 at the time of purchasing a new digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1. When the above is completed, the registration / initialization process ends in step S28.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing details of the photographing test in step S27 of FIG. When the shooting test starts in step S31, first step S31
At 32, the server center 2 sends a signal to the digital camera integrated mobile phone 1 to request the user to take a picture. After the request, start the timer, step S
At 33, it is checked whether a predetermined time has elapsed after the timer was started. If not, step S
Proceeding to 34, it is checked whether or not the Raw data image taken by the user is received. If not received, the process returns to step S33, and thereafter, steps S33 and S44 are repeated until the predetermined time elapses, and the user waits for the photographing.

When the Raw data image from the user is received within the predetermined time, the process proceeds to step S35, and the received R image is received.
The image processing server 15, the image conversion server 17, and the image storage server 18 are caused to function on the aw data. When these are completed, the thumbnail is transmitted to the digital camera integrated mobile phone 1 in step S36. After the transmission, the timer is started, and it is checked in step S37 whether a predetermined time has elapsed after the timer was started.
If it has not elapsed, the process proceeds to step S38, and it is checked whether the user has operated the thumbnail designation by the operation unit 6. If no thumbnail has been designated, the process returns to step S37, and thereafter, steps S37 and S38 are repeated until the predetermined time elapses, and the thumbnail designation by the user is waited.

When the thumbnail is designated by the user within the predetermined time, the process proceeds to step S39, and the mobile communication data is transmitted to the digital camera integrated mobile phone 1. If the confirmation can be confirmed, the process proceeds to step S40, authentication of completion of the photographing test is performed, and the photographing test is ended in step S41. If the authentication in step S40 is not performed, the user registration is not performed, and the next time the power switch of the digital camera integrated mobile phone 1 is turned on, the process proceeds from step S2 to step S3 in FIG.

On the other hand, step S33 or step S
In 37, if there is no response from the user even after the lapse of a predetermined time, the process jumps to step S41, and the photographing test is immediately terminated. In these cases, the shooting test is not certified.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing details of the user registration process in step S22 of FIG. When the process starts in step S51, the product number is checked / input in step S52. Specifically, the product number data is sent from the digital camera integrated mobile phone 1 to the server center 2. At the server center 2,
If the product number is already registered when the user purchases the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1, this is checked, and if nothing is registered, the sent product number is updated. To enter.

Next, in step S53, the image pickup unit information is checked / input. This information relates to information such as the color filter array of the image sensor in the image pickup unit 11 of the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1, and the image processing server 1
5 is indispensable when performing interpolation processing or the like on the RAW data sent. With respect to these pieces of information, communication between the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 and the server center 2 checks information uniquely determined from the product number, and individual input from each digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1.

The above steps S52 and S5
When the user registration process starts, the process 3 is automatically performed by the communication between the digital camera integrated mobile phone 1 and the server center 2.

In step S54, it is checked whether personal information such as the user's name, sex, age, address and telephone number has already been input. If it has not been input, in step S55 a signal is sent to the digital camera integrated mobile phone 1 to request the user to input information. After the request, the timer is started, and it is checked in step S56 whether a predetermined time has elapsed after the timer was started. If it has not elapsed, the process proceeds to step S57, and it is checked whether or not the user has completed the input of predetermined user information using the operation unit 6. If not completed, the process returns to step S56, and thereafter, steps S56 and S57 are repeated until the predetermined time elapses, and the completion of the user information input is awaited.

When the input of the user information is completed within the predetermined time, the process proceeds to step S58, the user registration completion authentication is performed, and the user registration process ends in step S59. If the authentication in step S58 is not performed, the user registration is not performed, and the next time the power switch of the digital camera integrated mobile phone 1 is turned on, the process proceeds from step S2 to step S3 in FIG.

On the other hand, in step S56, if the input of the user information is not completed even after the lapse of a predetermined time, the process jumps to step S59, and the user registration process is immediately terminated. In this case, user registration completion authentication is not performed.

FIG. 8 shows the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 when the operation section 6 is operated and the photographing mode is selected in the standby state of step S11 in FIG.
3 is a flowchart of the operation of FIG. When the shooting mode interrupt is activated by the menu selection of the operation unit 6 and the flow starts in step S61, the display of the LCD display unit 5 is started in step S62, and the image of the thinning-out reading by the image pickup unit 11 is displayed and the LCD display unit 5 is displayed. Functions as a finder. Next, in step S63, the release interrupt is enabled.

In step S64, it is checked whether the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 and the server center 2 are connected, and if they are not connected, the call to the server center 2 is started in step S65. After the calling is started, the timer is started, and it is checked in step S66 whether a predetermined time has elapsed after the timer was started. If it has not elapsed, the process proceeds to step S67 to check whether the connection to the server center 2 is successful. If the connection is not established, the process returns to step S66, and thereafter, steps S66 and S67 are repeated until the predetermined time elapses, and the connection to the server center 2 is waited.

If the connection to the server center 2 is successful within the predetermined time, it is checked in step S68 whether or not the untransmitted Raw data remains in the Raw data temporary storage unit 12. If there is Raw data that has not been transmitted, step S
After performing the transmission process in 69, the process proceeds to step S70. The transmission process in step S69 is similar to steps S84 and S85 in FIG. 9 described later. On the other hand, if there is no Raw data remaining in step S68, the process directly proceeds to step S70. In step S70, it is checked whether the initialization process has been completed. this is,
Specifically, it corresponds to the test completion authentication in step S40 of FIG. 6 or the user registration completion authentication in step S58 of FIG. 7, and it is determined that initialization is not performed without any of these authentications. If so, the initialization process is performed in step S71, and the process proceeds to step S72 to wait for the release operation and wait. On the other hand, when it is determined in step S70 that the initialization process is completed, the process directly proceeds to step S72. This initialization process is similar to that of FIG.

When it is determined in step S64 that the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 is connected to the server center 2, the process directly jumps to step S72 and stands by. If the connection to the server center 2 cannot be established even after the lapse of the predetermined time in step S66, the intermittent call initiation process is performed in step S73,
It jumps to step S72 and stands by. Intermittent call processing refers to the server center 2 while the shooting mode is continued.
Until a successful connection is made with step S65.
It is a process for repeating the operation from.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing the operation when a release interrupt occurs. When the release interrupt is triggered by the operation of the operation unit 6 and the flow starts in step S76, all pixels are read out from the image pickup unit 11, and in Step S77, the Raw data temporary storage unit performs temporary storage of Raw data for all pixel readout. To be done.
Along with this, the thumbnails are stored in the storage unit 9 in step S78. Further, in step S79, the storage unit 9 stores the mobile communication data. The above thumbnails and mobile communication data are stored in the image capturing unit 1.
Ra for reading all pixels from 1 to the control / processing unit 4
It is created by thinning out w data in the control / processing unit 4.

In step S80, it is checked whether the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 is connected to the server center 2. If the connection is not established, a call is made to the server center 2 in step S81. After the calling is started, the timer is started, and it is checked in step S82 whether a predetermined time has elapsed after the timer was started. If it has not elapsed, the process proceeds to step S83 to check whether the connection to the server center 2 is successful. If the connection is not made, the process returns to step S82, and thereafter, steps S82 and S83 are repeated until the predetermined time elapses, and the connection to the server center 2 is waited.

If the connection to the server center 2 is successful within the predetermined time, the photographed Raw data is transmitted to the server center 2 in step S84. If the transmission is successful, a new Raw is added to the Raw data in step S85.
A process to the effect that data may be overwritten is performed and step S8 is performed.
Wait for the next release at 6 and wait. This is substantially equivalent to deleting the transmitted data from the Raw data temporary storage unit 12 and reserving the capacity for storing new Raw data.

If the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 is connected to the server center 2 in step S80, the process directly jumps to step S84 to execute the transmission. In addition, if it is not possible to connect to the server center 2 within the predetermined time in step S82, the process proceeds directly to step S86.
Fly to and wait. In this case, untransmitted Raw data remains in the Raw data temporary storage unit.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of the operation of the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 when the operation section 6 is operated and the reproduction mode is selected in the standby state of step S11 in FIG. When a reproduction mode interruption is caused by the menu selection of the operation unit 6, step S9
The flow starts at 1 and the display on the LCD display unit 5 is started at step S92 to prepare for the display of thumbnails. In step S93, it is checked whether or not there is a thumbnail in the storage unit 9, and if there is no thumbnail, it is checked in step S94 whether the digital camera integrated mobile phone 1 is connected to the server center 2. If not connected, step S
At 95, the call to the server center 2 is started. After the calling is started, the timer is started, and it is checked in step S96 whether a predetermined time has elapsed after the timer was started. If it has not elapsed, the process proceeds to step S97,
Check if the connection to the server center 2 is successful. If the connection is not established, the process returns to step S96, and thereafter, steps S96 and S97 are repeated until the predetermined time elapses, and the connection to the server center 2 is waited.

If the connection to the server center 2 is successful within a predetermined time, it is checked in step S98 whether untransmitted Raw data remains in the Raw data temporary storage unit 12. If there is Raw data that has not been transmitted, step S
After performing the transmission process in 99, the process proceeds to step S100.
The transmission process in step S99 is similar to the above-described steps S84 and S85 in FIG. If there is no untransmitted Raw data in step S98, the process directly proceeds to step S100.

In step S100, the server center 2
A predetermined number of thumbnails are received from step S101
Then, they are stored in the storage unit 9. And step S10
2. Enable thumbnail designation interrupt in step S10
Wait at 3.

If there is a thumbnail in the storage unit 9 in step S93, the process directly jumps to step S102 to enable thumbnail interruption. Further, in step S94, the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 is transferred to the server center 2
If it is determined that the connection with the
Jump to 00 to receive the thumbnail.

Furthermore, when the connection to the server center 2 cannot be made within the predetermined time in step S96,
It directly jumps to step S103 and stands by. In this case, it means that the reproduction mode is not set, but in practice, some kind of thumbnail is stored in the storage unit 9, and such an operation does not occur. This operation is to prevent the flow from hanging when there is no thumbnail in the storage unit 9 and the connection to the server center 2 cannot be made due to some accident.

Incidentally, from step S93 to step S10.
When the user jumps to step 2 and enters the standby state and wants a thumbnail other than the one existing in the storage unit 9, the flow from step S94 can be entered by inputting that effect from the operation unit 6.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing the operation when a thumbnail designation interrupt occurs. When one of the thumbnails is specified by the operation of the operation unit 6, the flow starts in S111, and it is checked in step S112 whether there is mobile communication data corresponding to the thumbnail specified in the storage unit 9. If there is no designated data, the call to the server center 2 is started in step S113. After the calling is started, the timer is started, and it is checked in step S114 whether a predetermined time has elapsed after the timer was started. If it has not elapsed, the process proceeds to step S115 to check whether the connection to the server center 2 is successful. If the connection is not established, the process returns to step S114, and thereafter, steps S114 and S115 are repeated until the predetermined time elapses, and the connection to the server center 2 is waited for.

If the connection to the server center 2 is successful within the predetermined time, the process proceeds to step S116, and the mobile communication data corresponding to the designated thumbnail is received from the server center 2 and stored in the storage unit in step S117. Store in 9. Then, in step S118
Is displayed on the LCD display unit 5 in step S1.
It enters the standby state at 19.

When it is determined in step S112 that mobile communication data corresponding to the designated thumbnail is stored in the storage unit 9, the process directly jumps to step S118 to display it on the LCD display unit 5. Also, step S1
When the connection to the server center 2 cannot be made within the predetermined time at 14, the process jumps to step S119 to enter the standby state.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the operation when the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 receives a communication. When a call is made to the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 from the outside, the flow starts in step S121, and in step S122, it is checked whether the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 is connected to the server center 2.
If there is no connection, there is no problem, so the flow advances to step S123 to start reception. After starting reception, step S124
Check whether or not a specific number is input from the sender within a predetermined time. The input of this specific number is carried out as a countermeasure against the case where the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 is lost or stolen. If the user makes a call to the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 from the outside and connects, It is something to enter.

When it is confirmed in step S124 that the specific number has been input, the normal mode interrupt is prohibited in step S125. As a result, the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 thereafter does not have the shooting mode interrupt, the playback mode interrupt, and the phone mode interrupt even if the operation unit 6 is operated, and the normal operation as a digital camera and a mobile phone is prevented. Can no longer be used. Note that reception interrupts are not prohibited.

Further, in step S126, the disconnection interrupt is prohibited. As a result, thereafter, the mobile phone having the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 cannot operate the operation unit 6 to turn off the power switch.

After that, in step S127, the evidence collection photographing interrupt is enabled. After that, this interruption occurs when one having the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 operates any one of the operation units 6, and the photographing mode interruption is automatically issued, and after the release interruption becomes possible, the interruption is automatically performed. The release interrupt is applied. As a result, shooting is automatically performed and Raw data is transmitted to the server center 2. As can be seen from FIG. 3, the face of the person who operates the operation unit 6 is normally about 50 cm away from the lens 30, so that the digital camera-equipped mobile phone 1 can be obtained by the above automatic photographing. A photograph of the person's face is automatically taken and sent to the server center 2 to become an evidence photograph. Even if the user notices this and tries to turn off the power switch, the transmission to the server center 2 cannot be stopped because the disconnection interrupt is prohibited in step S126.

After changing the functions of the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 as described above, the reception connection is cut off in step S128, and the call is disconnected. Immediately after that, step S
In 129, the shooting mode interrupt is automatically set,
After the release interrupt becomes possible, the release interrupt is automatically applied in step S130 to perform the first evidence-gathering photographing. In this way, the evidence collection photography can be performed by calling the digital camera integrated mobile phone 1 from the outside, and after the evidence collection photography interruption is enabled in step S127,
The operation is repeatedly performed according to the operation of the operation unit 6 by the one having the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1. Although the flow ends in step S131, if the release interrupt is correctly received in step S130,
It does not reach step S131 but jumps to step S76 in FIG.

If the specific number is not input in step S124, the call is a normal call, and thus step S1 is performed.
The normal telephone mode is set at 32, and the flow ends at step S131. If the server center 2 which is the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 is being connected in step S122, the connected output is returned to the transmitting side in step S133, and the LCD indicates that there is an incoming call in step S134.
It is displayed on the display unit 5, and the flow ends in step S131. In other words, in this case, it is treated as busy and reception is not performed. In addition, looking at the incoming call information display performed in step S134, when the telephone mode is switched to the telephone mode by the operation unit 6 while the other party is making a call, a disconnection interruption occurs and the connection to the server center 2 is cut off. Reception of the outgoing call starts, and the call becomes possible.

FIG. 13 is a flow chart showing the operation when a disconnection interrupt for the connection with the server center 2 is issued. When the power switch is turned off or the telephone mode is switched by the operation unit 6, a disconnection interrupt occurs and the flow starts in step S141. In step S142, the Raw data that has not been transmitted at that time is R.
It is checked whether or not it remains in the aw data storage unit 12, and if it remains, it is determined that transmission is in progress and the process proceeds to step S143. In step S143, it is checked whether or not a disconnection interruption has occurred due to switching to the telephone mode. If the mode is not the telephone mode, it means that the disconnection interrupt has been generated by turning off the power switch, so the process proceeds to step S144, and it is checked whether Raw data still remains. If it still remains, the transmission has not been completed, and thus the transmission is awaited in step S144. When the transmission is completed, the process proceeds to step S145, the connection to the server center 2 is cut off, and the flow ends in step S146. In this way, when the disconnection interrupt due to the power switch being turned off occurs when the RAW data remains, the connection to the server center 2 is disconnected after waiting for the transmission of the RAW data.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S143 that a disconnection interrupt has occurred due to switching to the telephone mode, the process proceeds to step S147, and transmission interruption processing is performed. In the transmission interruption process, first, the raw data transmission is immediately stopped, and overwriting of the raw data is prohibited. Therefore, when the connection with the server center 2 is made next time, the Raw data is retransmitted from the beginning. Further, in the transmission interruption process of step S147, the server center 2 side is also notified of the interruption of the transmission, and the server center 2 receives the Raw partially received.
The data is canceled, and it is considered that the Raw data was not transmitted from the beginning for the image. After performing the above processing, the connection with the server center 2 is promptly cut off in step S145 to cope with the switching to the telephone mode. This allows the user to make an emergency telephone call.

FIG. 14 is a main flow of the server center 2. When the flow starts in step S151,
In step S152, it is confirmed whether a new service is newly prepared in the server center 2. The new service is improvement or addition of functions of the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1. If there is a new service, a program for actually proposing a new service to the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 is prepared in step S153, and the proposal interruption is enabled in step S154.

In step S155, the registration / initialization process interruption is enabled, and corresponds to the case where there is a connection from the digital camera integrated mobile phone 1 for the purpose of the registration / initialization process in FIG. Further, in step S156, it is possible to enable the photographing interruption, and correspond to the case where there is a connection from the digital camera integrated mobile phone 1 according to the photographing mode interruption of FIG. Further, in step S157, reproduction interruption is enabled,
This corresponds to the case where there is a connection from the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 according to the reproduction mode interrupt of FIG. A step S158 enables a contract change interrupt for a contract change operation from the operation unit 6 during connection with the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1. After enabling these interrupts, a standby state is set in step S159.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the operation when the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 is connected to the server center 2. Connection for the purpose of registration / initialization processing in FIG. 5, or shooting mode interrupt in FIG.
If the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1 is connected according to the reproduction mode interrupt of step 1, the flow starts in step S161, and the connected digital camera-integrated mobile phone is identified in step S162 and related. The user server information is confirmed. The information items confirmed at this time are the same as the information checked / input in step S52 and step S53 in FIG.

When the confirmation of the information of the user server is completed, it is checked in step S163 whether it is a photographing interruption. If it is not a shooting interruption, register in step S164 /
It is further checked if it is an initialization interrupt. Registration /
If the interrupt is an initialization interrupt, the process in FIG.
When the registration / initialization processing in step 1 is performed and this is completed, it is checked in step S166 whether the proposal interruption is enabled. If the proposal interruption is possible, the process proceeds to step S167 to perform service proposal processing.
Specifically, a proposal interruption is made, the contents of the new service proposal are sent to the digital camera-integrated mobile phone 1, and according to the user's response, whether or not to provide the new service, and if so, what are the usage / billing conditions? Or something.

When the service proposing process is completed, step S
Proceeding to 168, when there is a defect such as a bug in the firmware of the digital camera-integrated mobile phone, the firmware is automatically rewritten to the revised version as necessary. Whether or not this rewriting has been completed can be checked by the information of the user server confirmed in step S162, so this processing is performed only for those that have not been rewritten. After the above processing, the flow ends in step S169.

If it is not a registration / initialization interrupt in step S164, it is a reproduction interrupt. Therefore, in step S170, processing for responding to the reproduction mode interrupt of FIG. 10 is performed, and the flow advances to step S166. On the other hand, if the shooting interrupt is determined in step S163, the process responding to the shooting mode interrupt in FIG. 8 is performed in step S171, and the process jumps to step S168. In the image capturing process in step S171, the information necessary for control from the server center 2 is utilized, if necessary, among the information of the user server regarding the digital camera integrated mobile phone 1 confirmed in step S162.

[0103] In the above description, like the registration / initialization interrupt for the reproduction mode interrupt, the proposal interrupt is performed if the proposal interrupt is possible, whereas the proposal interrupt is possible for the shooting mode interrupt. However, I refrain from proposing interruptions. This is for the user who made the shooting mode interrupt,
This is because it does not interfere with the photo opportunity.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram of the second embodiment of the present invention, and the same parts as those of the first embodiment in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals. The second embodiment in FIG. 16 is not configured as a digital camera integrated mobile phone, but is configured as a digital camera back 42 for a silver halide film camera 41. Some of the functions of the digital camera are provided in the server center 2, and the server center 2 is provided by the wireless communication 3.
The point of cooperation with is similar to that of the first embodiment. In addition,
The detailed configuration of the server center 2 in FIG. 16 is the same as that in FIG.

The silver salt film camera 41 has a normal structure, but the replaceable back cover is removed and the digital camera back 22 is attached instead. As a result, a subject image formed by the photographing optical system 43 is formed on the image sensor 44. Unlike the first embodiment, the digital camera back 42 itself does not have a taking lens. The image sensor 44 is a large area type provided directly on the focal plane of the photographing optical system 43.

Instead of the above, a reduction re-imaging optical system is provided in front of the image sensor 44 on the side of the digital camera back 42, and the image on the focal plane of the photographing optical system is reduced and re-formed, and the reduction is performed. The image sensor 44 is formed on the secondary focal plane of the optical system.
The image sensor 44 can be of a small area type.

As described above, the digital camera back 42 mounted on the silver halide camera 41 constitutes a digital camera as a whole.

The silver salt film camera 41 and the digital camera back 42 are electrically coupled by the interface 45 and the interface 46, and the control / processing unit 47 of the silver salt film camera 41 controls the processing / processing unit of the digital camera back 42. Digitally communicating with 4. The control / processing unit 47 of the silver halide film camera 41 is the operation unit 48.
In addition to receiving an operation signal from the shutter mechanism 49, the shutter mechanism 49 and the focusing mechanism and the zooming mechanism of the photographing optical system 43 are controlled. Therefore, in the second embodiment, the shutter release is performed by the shutter release button on the operation unit 48 of the silver halide film camera 41, and the shutter release signal issued by this is released by the control / processing unit 47, the interface 45 and the interface 46. Is transmitted to the control / processing unit 4 via. As a result, the reading from the imaging unit 11 becomes all-pixel reading, which is digitally converted by the A / D conversion unit 10 and stored in the Raw data temporary storage unit 12. Storage of thumbnail data and mobile communication data in the storage unit 9, and Raw
Raw from the data temporary storage unit 12 to the server center 2
Other operations such as data transmission are the same as those of the first embodiment including those shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 2 and 4 to 15.

The silver salt camera 41 is provided with a photometric and colorimetric section 51 for measuring the light passing through the photographing optical system. Based on the photometric information, the shutter speed and aperture are controlled to adjust the exposure and the color. Colorimetric information such as temperature is recorded in the information recording section of the magnetic recording layer or film cartridge coated on the film and provided to the laboratory as print information. When the digital camera back 42 is attached to the silver salt camera 41, the color measurement information from the photometric color measurement unit 51 at the time of shutter release is the control / processing unit 47 and the interface 4.
It is also sent to the control / processing unit 4 via 5 and 46. This colorimetric information is sent to the server center 2 together with the Raw data when the Raw data is sent to the server center 2. The image processing server 15 shown in FIG. 1 in the server center 2 performs white balance adjustment based on the sent colorimetric information such as color temperature.

The LCD display section 50 of the digital camera back 42 is larger than that in the first embodiment, and is horizontally arranged. Therefore, the number of thumbnails that can be displayed is increased, the data for mobile communication can be displayed large, and the operation unit 6
The two screens can be displayed in parallel by the operation.

It is also possible to request the server center 2 to transmit the compressed data shown in FIG. 2 by operating the operation unit 6. In this case, when confirming that the request is from the digital camera back, the server center 2 recreates the compressed data into a smaller file size suitable for display on the LCD display unit 50 and transmits it.

As described above, in the second embodiment, the back cover of a normal silver salt film camera is removed, and the image sensor 44 is provided on the focal plane of the photographing optical system 43 instead of the silver salt film.
Place it to make it function as a digital camera.
Further, the essential configuration of the digital camera back 42 is an image sensor with a high pixel count and a communication function, and like the first embodiment, the server center 2 is responsible for image processing, image conversion including compression, and image storage. Therefore, the configuration of the digital camera back 42 can be simplified even though it has a high image quality imaging function.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram of the third embodiment of the present invention, and the same parts as those of the second embodiment in FIG. 16 are designated by the same reference numerals. FIG. 17
The third exemplary embodiment has basically the same configuration as that of the second exemplary embodiment of FIG. 16 except that the ordinary mobile phone 60 is responsible for the communication function. The configuration is further simplified. The fact that a part of the functions of the digital camera is provided in the server center 2 and that the digital camera 3 cooperates with the server center 2 by the wireless communication 3 is the same as in the first and second embodiments. 17, the detailed configuration of the server center 2 is the same as that of FIG. 1, and the detailed configuration of the silver halide film camera 41 is the same as that of FIG.

The difference between FIG. 17 and FIG. 16 is that a short-distance communication unit 62 for exchanging signals with the mobile phone 60 is provided in place of the communication unit 7. The short-distance communication unit 62 is specifically composed of a short-distance radio communication unit, and is connected to the short-distance communication unit 63 provided in the mobile phone 60 by a short-distance radio communication 64. This simplifies the configuration of the digital camera back 61, and eliminates the need to make a mobile phone contract and have a telephone number with the digital camera back 61 itself.

In the mobile phone 60, the short-distance communication section 63 is configured to send and receive digital signals to and from the normal mobile phone function section 65, and the wireless communication 3 by the mobile phone function section 65 allows the server center 2 to communicate. Connecting. In this way, the digital camera back 61 via the short-range communication unit 62, the short-range communication unit 63, and the mobile phone function 65.
And the server center 2 can cooperate.

Since the user usually carries the mobile phone 60, the appearance in which the digital camera back 61 is attached to the silver-salt camera 41 is as convenient to the user as a normal digital camera, and the user can use the mobile phone 60. You can concentrate on shooting without being aware of the operation. For example, when the digital camera back 61 is set to the shooting mode, the process proceeds to step S65 according to the flowchart of FIG. 8, and the control unit 4 causes the mobile phone function unit 65 of the mobile phone 60 to connect to the server center 2 via the short-range communication units 62 and 63. To make a call to. Below, according to the flow chart, if the connection is successful, the digital camera bag and the server center 2 are always connected. As for other functions, the relationship between the control unit 4 and the communication unit 7 in FIG. 16 (equal to the relationship in FIG. 1) and the control unit 4 and the mobile phone function unit via the short-range communication units 62 and 63 in FIG. It can be understood by replacing it with the relationship with 65.

The short-range communication section 62 and the short-range communication section 63 may be infrared communication means instead of the short-range radio wave communication means. If wireless communication is not desired, the shortest distance communication unit 62 and the short distance communication unit 63 may be provided with cable connectors, respectively, and the two may be directly connected by a cable. Will be configured. In this case, a mobile phone holder is provided on the digital camera back 61 so that the mobile phone 60 and the digital camera 61 can be handled integrally.

In order to further simplify the structure of the digital camera back, in FIG.
The CD display unit 50, the buffer 5a, etc. are omitted, and the LCD display unit originally provided in the mobile phone 60 is used for display, and the memory provided for the original function of the mobile phone 60 is also used for storage. Utilize the department. As a result, the essential configuration of the digital camera back 61 is essentially only the peripheral device including the image sensor with a high pixel count and its output interface, and the configuration of the digital camera back becomes simpler and lower in cost.

FIG. 18 is a table showing another embodiment of the data structure inside the image folder, and Raw data and mobile communication data are the same as in FIG. Unlike FIG. 2, the compressed data and the thumbnails are collected as a general-purpose image file according to a predetermined standard, and header information is added. Header information includes items such as camera name, user information such as the photographer, file version designation by the photographer, shooting date, shutter speed, aperture, focal length, shooting information such as whether flash is used, etc. when creating a general-purpose image file. It contains the necessary information. These pieces of information are sent together with the RAW data from the mobile phone with a built-in digital camera shown in FIG. 1 or the digital camera back shown in FIGS. 16 and 17 to the server center 2, and the image conversion server 2 creates compressed data and thumbnails for general use. It is written in the header part of a general-purpose image file as header information when it is put together in an image file. This allows the server center 2 to create a general-purpose image file according to a predetermined standard.

In the above embodiment, FIG. 1 has been described as a mobile phone with a built-in digital camera.
If the telephone mode is omitted, the embodiment becomes a digital camera. On the other hand, although FIGS. 16 and 17 have been described as the digital camera back to be mounted on the silver halide camera, if both are fixed, it becomes an embodiment dedicated to the digital camera. Therefore, the features of the present invention are not necessarily limited to the digital camera integrated mobile phone or the digital camera back.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram relating to the fourth embodiment of the present invention, and the same parts as those of the first embodiment in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals. Note that the digital camera 71 in FIG. 19 is not a digital camera-integrated mobile phone as in FIG. 1 and does not have a voice call function. However, it is optional to configure the mobile phone with a digital camera by adding the handset 8 as shown in FIG. Further, the function of the storage unit 9 in FIG. 1 is included in the control / processing unit 72 in FIG. 19 and is not shown separately. Further, the image pickup unit 11 and the A / D conversion unit 10 in FIG. 1 are integrated as an image pickup unit 73 in FIG. 19, and the digital image data is directly output from the image pickup unit 73, and the Raw data temporary storage unit. 12 and the control / processing unit 72.

In the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 19, Raw data is not transmitted to the outside as in FIG. 1, but is stored in the large-capacity storage unit 74 and held in the digital camera 71. For this purpose, the mass storage unit 7
Reference numeral 4 is a small hard disk device having a storage capacity of a gigabyte level or a nonvolatile solid-state memory. The Raw data in the large-capacity storage unit 74 is input to the personal computer 75 by connecting the digital camera 71 brought back home to the personal computer 75 in the home after use. Specifically, by connecting the input / output unit 76 of the digital camera 71 to the input / output unit 78 of the personal computer 75 by the high-speed digital cable 77, the raw data of the large-capacity storage unit 74 is connected to the personal computer via the control / processing unit 72. 75
Input to the control / processing unit 79, and “develop”.

The encryption processing unit 8 of the digital camera 71
0 indicates the Raw data temporary storage unit 12 to the large capacity storage unit 7
When storing Raw data in 4, the encryption process is applied to this. Raw from the digital camera 1 to the personal computer 75
As described above, data is normally input directly by the high-speed digital cable 77. However, when the storage capacity of the large-capacity storage unit runs out or when the user wants to immediately send Raw data, the communication unit 7 can be used. In some cases, Raw data may be transmitted to the personal computer 75 via the public line via the public line. The cryptographic processing unit 80 is intended to maintain security in this case. With this configuration, the image data cannot be obtained unless it is input to the personal computer 75 and the code is decrypted. Therefore, the security of the image data itself is possible, and even if the digital camera 71 alone is taken away, it is useless. It has an anti-theft effect and is suitable for commercialization as a rental camera. The operation unit 81 is
Although the configuration is basically the same as that of the operation unit 6 in FIG. 1, operations compatible with the digital camera 71 are possible.

The encrypted Raw data input to the control / processing unit 79 of the personal computer 75 is returned to the regular Raw data by the decryption function 82. The interpolation function 83 uses this R
Interpolation processing suitable for the image sensor of the image pickup unit 73 is performed on the aw data to create image signals for each color such as R, G, and B. The image processing function 84 performs necessary image processing such as white balance adjustment and edge enhancement processing on the image signal for each color. The image conversion function 85 performs recording format conversion processing and compression processing on the image data that has undergone image processing to create compressed image data. The image conversion function 85 further performs thinning processing on the image data that has undergone image processing to create "data for mobile communication" and thumbnail data based on a predetermined standard. The above data are stored in one image folder as one image folder and stored in the storage unit 86. The structure is similar to that shown in FIG. 2, for example. The “mobile communication data” is input / output unit 78 for viewing the image with the digital camera 71.
From the control / processing unit 72 via the high-speed digital cable 77
Can be transferred to and stored in.

The personal computer 75 also functions as an image storage device, and uses the operation unit 87 such as a keyboard and a mouse and the display unit 88 such as a monitor to search and appreciate the image data stored in the storage unit 86 and give a print instruction. It can be performed. The functions of these image storage devices are executed by the album function 89.

The function of the control / processing unit 79 as described above is
The program software is installed on the personal computer 75 from the input / output interface 90. The input / output interface 90 is specifically a CD-ROM drive or a communication function, and the above-mentioned program is a CD-ROM that stores this.
The program itself that can be downloaded via the ROM or the communication function is commercialized as a set with the digital camera 71.

The digital camera 7 immediately after photographing
For reproduction at 1, the same Raw data stored in the Raw data temporary storage unit 12 at the image capturing timing is input from the image capturing unit 73 to the control / processing unit 72. The Raw data is thinned by the control / processing unit 72 and has an image size suitable for display on the LCD display unit 5 (“data for mobile communication” in the first embodiment).
Raw data stored in the Raw data temporary storage unit 12 after being converted into display data and thumbnail data.
It is stored in association with data. The reproduction by the digital camera 71 is performed based on the display data and the thumbnail data thus stored in the storage unit (corresponding to the storage unit 9 in FIG. 1) in the control / processing unit 72. Since the reproduction in the digital camera 71 is only performed within the small screen of the LCD display unit 5, such a small amount of data is sufficient, and it is necessary to compare raw data with full-scale interpolation and image processing for storage. Then, the load on the digital camera 71 is remarkably reduced, and the processing time is shortened, so that continuous shooting is also possible.

The structure and control of the LCD display unit 5
If the functions such as the creation of the display data in the processing unit 72 are omitted at all, the digital camera 71 does not perform the reproduction, and the image is confirmed after being “developed” by the personal computer 75, The configuration of the digital camera 71 becomes simpler. This usability is familiar to users of silver halide cameras. Furthermore, according to the present invention, an image cannot be obtained unless "developed" by a personal computer, so all the images are collected in the personal computer through the act of "developed" and managed by the album function, so it is dissipated. There is no.

FIG. 20 is a block diagram relating to the fifth embodiment of the present invention, and the same parts as those of the fourth embodiment of FIG. 19 are designated by the same reference numerals.
The fifth embodiment in FIG. 20 comprises a digital camera 101 and a personal computer 102 as in the fourth embodiment, but the mass storage unit 74 in FIG. 19 is configured as a removable mass storage medium 103. It is a thing. The large-capacity storage medium 103 is constituted by a card-type removable hard disk drive or a non-volatile solid-state memory card. The large-capacity storage medium 103 can be attached to and detached from the storage-medium slot 104. After use, the large-capacity storage medium 103 is taken out from the digital camera 101 brought home and inserted into the storage-medium slot 105 of the personal computer 102 in the home. By this, the mass storage medium 10
The Raw data of No. 3 is input to the personal computer 102. The Raw data input to the personal computer 102 is “developed” by the control / processing unit 79 in the same manner as in FIG. The details are the same as those in FIG. 19, and thus the description is omitted.

Raw data can be input to the personal computer 102 by using the mass storage medium 103 as the digital camera 101.
It is also possible to connect the input / output units 76 and 78 with a high-speed digital cable as in FIG.

FIG. 21 is a block diagram relating to the sixth embodiment of the present invention, and the same parts as those of the third embodiment in FIG. 17 are designated by the same reference numerals.
Since the personal computer 75 has the same configuration as that of the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 19, the control / processing unit 79 and the input / output unit 78 are provided.
Illustrations of other configurations and illustrations of the internal configuration of the control / processing unit 79 are omitted.

The sixth embodiment shown in FIG. 21 is similar to that shown in FIG.
Similar to the third embodiment in FIG. 7, the combination of the silver halide camera 41 and the digital camera back 111 fulfills the function of the digital camera. However, as in the fourth embodiment in FIG. It is stored in the large-capacity storage unit 112 instead of being transmitted to the digital camera back 111. For this purpose, the large-capacity storage unit 112 is composed of a small hard disk device having a storage capacity of a gigabyte level or a nonvolatile solid-state memory, as in the fourth embodiment. Raw data of the large-capacity storage unit 111 is input to the personal computer 75 by connecting the digital camera back 111 brought back home after use to the personal computer 75 in the home. Specifically, by connecting the input / output unit 113 of the digital camera back 111 to the input / output unit 78 of the personal computer 75 by the high-speed digital cable 77, the large-capacity storage unit 112 is obtained.
Raw data is input to the control / processing unit 79 of the personal computer 75 via the control / processing unit 114, and “developed”. Other functions are the same as those in the third embodiment.

FIG. 22 is a block diagram relating to the seventh embodiment of the present invention, and the same parts as those of the sixth embodiment in FIG. 21 are designated by the same reference numerals.
Since the personal computer 102 has the same configuration as that of the fifth embodiment shown in FIG. 20, the control / processing unit 79 and the input / output unit 7
8 and the configuration other than the storage medium slot 105, and the internal configuration of the control / processing unit 79 are omitted.

The seventh embodiment shown in FIG. 22 comprises a digital camera back 121, a silver halide film camera 41 and a personal computer 102 as in the sixth embodiment, but the large-capacity storage section 112 shown in FIG. It is configured as a removable mass storage medium 103 in the same manner as in FIG. The large-capacity storage medium 103 is composed of a card-type removable compact hard disk drive or a non-volatile solid-state memory card, as in FIG. The large-capacity storage medium 103 is attachable / detachable to / from the storage-medium slot 122. After use, the large-capacity storage medium 103 is taken out from the digital camera bag 121 brought home and inserted into the storage-medium slot 105 of the personal computer 102 at home. By doing so, Raw data in the mass storage medium 103 is input to the personal computer 102. The Raw data input to the personal computer 102 is “developed” by the control / processing unit 79 in the same manner as in FIG. For details, see FIG.
Since it is the same as, the description will be omitted.

Raw data can be input to the personal computer 102 with the high-capacity storage medium 103 inserted into the medium slot 122 of the digital camera back 121, and the input / output units 113 and 78 are connected with the high-speed digital cable as in FIG. It is also possible by connecting.

FIG. 23 is an image accumulation flow of the personal computer in the fourth to seventh embodiments. Image data input to the input / output unit 78 via the high-speed digital cable 77,
Alternatively, when image data is input from the mass storage medium 103 via the storage medium slot 105, the flow starts from step S171. In step S172, it is checked whether there is pending data. The "hold data" will be described later. If there is no reserved data, the process advances to step S173 to identify whether the input data is Raw data.

If it is Raw data in step S173, the flow advances to step S174 to identify the digital camera (including "digital camera back". The same applies hereinafter) based on the input data. In step S175, based on this identification, the processing software commercialized as a set with the digital camera and installed in the personal computer is selected and activated. Here, it is assumed that the personal computer is compatible with image data from a plurality of digital cameras, and a plurality of processing software that is a set with each digital camera is installed in the personal computer.
In step S175, one of the plurality of processing software is selected. As described above, the input data includes information necessary for identifying the digital camera, and appropriate processing such as interpolation is performed based on the information.

In steps S176 to S178, according to the processing software selected in step S175,
The decryption process, the interpolation process, and the image process are performed for each image data, and when these processes are completed, the image of the process result is displayed on the display unit 88 in step S179. In step S180, it is checked whether or not there is a storage operation from the operation unit 87 within a predetermined time from the start of display. If there is a storage operation, step S1
In step 81, the image is converted by image conversion processing, and the image data is saved in step S182, and the process proceeds to step S183. On the other hand, if there is no storage operation within the predetermined time in step S180, a confirmation message is displayed on the display unit 88, and if there is an input from the operation unit 87 that there is no intention to store an image, the process directly proceeds to step S183. . As a result, the input image data is not saved but deleted. If the judgment cannot be made at that time, if "hold" is input from the operation unit 87 within a predetermined time, the process proceeds to step S186, and the image data is temporarily saved as "hold data" without being compressed. It

In step S183, it is checked whether Raw data still remains in the input data,
If it remains, the process returns to step S174 to start the process for the next RAW data, and hereafter, from step S174 to step S1 until all RAW data are processed.
Repeat 83. If no unprocessed Raw data remains, the process proceeds to step S184. In this case, if only Raw data captured by the same digital camera is used, it is redundant to perform the processing of step S174 and step S175 each time, but the mass storage medium is inserted into a different digital camera for use. As a result, the flow returns from step S183 to step S174 in order to take measures against the case where Raw data from different image capturing units coexist and to process "hold data".

In step S184, a comprehensive album process is performed. This processing is for uniformly handling all the image data input in the personal computer in the comprehensive album, and regardless of the processing software selected in step S175, the image data saved in step S182 is processed. Move to general album. As a result, all the data input to the personal computer will be accumulated in the general album, and the desired image data can be found without fail by searching the general album with the album software. When the comprehensive album conversion process is completed, step S18
In step 5, the image storage flow ends.

By the way, in step S172, if the "holding data" previously held is temporarily stored, the process jumps to step S179 to display the data, and the final processing is prompted in step S180.
The following processing is as described above, and usually unprocessed Ra
Since there is w data, steps S183 to S1
Returning to 74, a predetermined process is performed.

In step S173, Raw
If it is not the data, it means that the compressed image data which has already been processed in the normal image format has been input to the personal computer, and therefore the process jumps to step S184 to perform the comprehensive album processing. As described above, in the image storage flow of the personal computer in FIG. 23, regardless of whether the input image data is the image data that has been already compressed in the normal image format or the RAW data, all the image data is stored. Images are stored so that they can be handled uniformly according to the comprehensive album.

Also in the above fourth to seventh embodiments, when the image data is handled by the general-purpose image file according to the predetermined standard as described in FIG. 18, the user information such as the camera name and the photographer, Header information required as items for creating a general-purpose image file, such as designation of a file version by a photographer, photographing date, shutter speed, aperture, focal length, photographing information such as whether or not a flash is used, is input to a personal computer together with Raw data. These data are written as header information in the header portion of the general-purpose image file when compressed data and thumbnails are created and put together into a general-purpose image file in image conversion on a personal computer. This allows the personal computer side to create a general-purpose image file according to a predetermined standard.

The functions in each of the above embodiments can be implemented by an application program of a computer other than the embodiments specifically mentioned.
In that case, the computer in which this application program is installed and its peripheral devices connected as necessary are the devices described above. Therefore, the application program itself distributed on the Internet or the like for realizing the functions of the present invention or a recording medium such as a CD-ROM in which the application program is recorded is also an object of the present invention.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a first embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a table showing a data structure of an image folder.

FIG. 3 is an external view of the digital camera-integrated mobile phone according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a main flowchart of a mobile phone integrated with a digital camera.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing details of registration / initialization processing.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing details of a shooting test.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing details of user registration processing.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of an operation when a shooting mode is selected. .

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an operation when a release interrupt occurs.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart when a reproduction mode is selected.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an operation when a thumbnail designation interrupt is applied.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart when the mobile phone with a built-in digital camera receives it.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart when a disconnection interrupt with the server center is taken. .

FIG. 14 is a main flow of the server center.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart when the server center 2 is connected.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram of a second embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram of a third embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a table showing another embodiment of the data structure of an image folder.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram of a fourth embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a block diagram of a fifth embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a block diagram of a sixth embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a block diagram of a seventh embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 23 is an image storage flowchart of the personal computer according to the fourth to seventh embodiments.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Digital camera integrated mobile phone 2 server centers 5 LCD display 6 Operation part 7 Digital camera integrated mobile phone communication section 8 Handset 9 memory 11 Imaging unit 12 Raw data temporary storage 13 Server Center Communications Department 15 Image processing server 16 user server 17 Image conversion server 18 Image storage server 22 First hinge part 28 Second hinge part 29 Lock button 30 lenses 31 Strobe 41 Silver salt film camera 42 digital camera back 60 mobile phones 61 digital camera back 62 Digital camera back short-range communication section 63 Mobile phone short-distance communication unit 65 Mobile phone function 71 digital camera 74 Mass storage 75 PC 77 high speed digital cable 79 Control / processing unit 101 digital camera 102 PC 103 mass storage medium 104 storage medium slot 105 storage medium slot 111 digital camera back 112 mass storage 121 digital camera back 122 storage medium slot

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) H04N 5/92 H04N 101: 00 9/04 5/91 L // H04N 101: 00 5/92 HF term (Reference) 2H101 EE08 5C022 AA12 AA13 AB15 AB40 AC03 AC22 AC32 AC63 AC72 AC73 5C052 AA12 AA17 AB04 CC11 DD02 EE02 EE03 5C053 FA04 FA05 FA08 FA23 FA27 GB21 KA04 KA25 LA01 LA03 LA11 LA14 5C065 A41 BB4801

Claims (44)

[Claims] 1. A digital camera having an image pickup section, a storage section for storing Raw data from the image pickup section, and an output means for outputting Raw data from the storage section, and the R.
input means for inputting aw data, and interpolation means for interpolating the input raw data to create a digital image signal,
A digital camera system comprising: an image storage device having a compression means for compressing the digital image signal from the interpolation means, and a storage means for storing the compressed compressed image signal. 2. The digital camera system according to claim 1, wherein the input means of the image storage device has a digital signal transmission means connected to the output means of the digital camera. 3. The image storage device comprises a plurality of interpolating means, identification means for identifying the digital camera, and the interpolation means adapted to the identified digital camera performs the interpolation. The digital camera system according to claim 1 or 2. 4. The image storage device is provided with a plurality of interpolating means, and performs interpolation by selecting the interpolating means that is suitable based on information input from the digital camera. The digital camera system according to any one of 3 above. 5. The digital camera system according to claim 1, wherein the image storage device has a white balance adjusting means. 6. The digital camera system according to claim 1, wherein the image storage device has a contour enhancement unit. 7. The digital camera system according to claim 1, wherein the image storage device has an image thinning means. 8. The digital camera system according to claim 1, wherein a portion of the storage unit corresponding to Raw data output from the output unit is made available. 9. The image storage device according to claim 1, further comprising second storage means for storing the digital image signal from the interpolation means in association with the compressed image signal without compressing the digital image signal. The digital camera system according to any one of 1. 10. A Raw from an image pickup means of a digital camera.
Input means for inputting data, interpolating means for interpolating the input Raw data to create a digital image signal, compression means for compressing the digital image signal from the interpolating means, and storing the compressed compressed image signal. An image storage device comprising: storage means. 11. The image storage device according to claim 10, wherein the input unit is a mounting unit for mounting a storage medium in which Raw data is stored. 12. A display means for displaying the digital image signal, and an instruction means for instructing whether or not to store a compressed image signal corresponding to the displayed digital image signal. The storage means comprises the instruction means. 12. The image storage device according to claim 10, wherein the compressed image signal instructed by is stored. 13. The method according to claim 10, further comprising a plurality of interpolating means, an identifying means for identifying the digital camera, and the interpolating means adapted to the identified digital camera. The image storage device according to any one of the above. 14. The image storage device according to claim 10, further comprising a plurality of interpolating means, wherein the interpolating means adapted based on information input from a digital camera performs the interpolation. . 15. The image storage device according to claim 13, wherein the storage unit stores the compressed image signal regardless of which of the plurality of interpolation units performs the interpolation. . 16. The image storage device according to claim 10, further comprising white balance adjusting means. 17. The image storage device according to claim 10, further comprising a contour enhancement unit. 18. The image storage device according to claim 10, further comprising image thinning means. 19. A second storage unit for storing the digital image signal from the interpolation unit in association with the compressed image signal without compressing the digital image signal.
19. The image storage device according to any one of 18 to 18. 20. The image storage device according to claim 10, wherein the interpolation means inputs information necessary for interpolation from a digital camera. 21. A program for causing a computer to realize the function according to any one of claims 1 to 20. 22. An image pickup unit, a storage unit for storing Raw data from the image pickup unit for a plurality of images, a Raw image from the storage unit and information necessary for interpolation of the Raw data stored in a specific image. A digital camera having an output means for outputting to a device. 23. An image storage device which stores an image pickup section, a storage section for storing Raw data from the image pickup section for a plurality of images, and a specific data storage section for storing the Raw data from the storage section and information necessary for creating a general-purpose image file. A digital camera having output means for outputting to. 24. The digital camera according to claim 22, wherein in the storage unit, a portion corresponding to Raw data output from the output unit is made available. 25. An image sensor for detecting a subject image formed by a photographing lens of a silver halide camera, a storage unit for storing Raw data output from the image sensor for a plurality of images, and Raw data from the storage unit. Is output to a specific image storage device, and signal transmitting / receiving means for transmitting / receiving a digital signal to / from the silver salt camera. Possible digital camera back. 26. The digital camera back according to claim 25, wherein the output means outputs information necessary for interpolation of the Raw data together with the Raw data to the outside. 27. The information according to claim 25 or 26, wherein the information about the color temperature of the subject from the silver halide camera transmitted from the signal transfer means is output to the outside together with the Raw data by the output means. Digital camera back. 28. The digital camera back according to claim 25, wherein the information necessary for creating a general-purpose image file is output to the outside together with the Raw data. 29. A digital camera having an imaging section, a storage section for storing Raw data from the imaging section, and an output means for outputting Raw data from the storage section, and a computer to which the Raw data is input. , The Raw
Implements an interpolation function of interpolating data to create a digital image signal, a compression function of compressing the digital image signal created by the interpolation function, and a storage control function of controlling storage of the compressed image signal by the compression function. A digital camera system having a program for causing the digital camera system to operate. 30. A digital camera having an imaging unit, a storage unit for storing Raw data from the imaging unit, and an output unit for outputting Raw data from the storage unit, and a digital image obtained by interpolating the Raw data. Storage storing a computer program for realizing an interpolation function for creating a signal, a compression function for compressing a digital image signal created by the interpolation function, and a storage control function for controlling storage of a compressed image signal by the compression function A digital camera system having a medium. 31. An image pickup unit, a mounting unit for mounting a removable storage medium, and a storage control unit for storing Raw data from the image pickup unit in the storage medium from the mounting unit. Digital camera. 32. The digital camera according to claim 31, wherein the storage control unit stores information necessary for interpolation of the Raw data in the storage medium together with the Raw data. 33. The storage control means stores information necessary for creating a general-purpose image file in the storage medium together with the raw data.
The digital camera described in 2. 34. An image sensor for detecting a subject image formed by a photographing lens of a silver halide camera, a mounting section for mounting a removable storage medium, and Raw data output from the image sensor from the mounting section. It has a storage control means for storing it in the storage medium and a signal transfer means for transferring a digital signal to and from the silver salt camera, and can be mounted by replacing the back cover of the silver salt camera. Digital camera back. 35. The digital camera back according to claim 34, wherein the storage control means stores information necessary for interpolation of the Raw data together with the Raw data in the storage medium. 36. The storage control means stores information necessary for creating a general-purpose image file in the storage medium together with the Raw data.
The digital camera back described in 5. 37. The storage control means stores, in the storage medium, information relating to the color temperature of the subject from the silver halide camera transmitted from the signal transfer means together with the Raw data. 36. The digital camera back according to any one of 36 to 36. 38. A digital camera having an image pickup section, a mounting section for mounting a removable storage medium, and a storage control unit for storing Raw data from the image pickup section from the mounting section to the storage medium, and the digital camera. A digital camera system comprising a program for causing a computer into which raw data is input to realize an interpolation function of interpolating the raw data to create a digital image signal. 39. A digital camera having an imaging section, a mounting section for mounting a removable storage medium, and a storage control means for storing Raw data from the imaging section in the storage medium, and the digital camera. A digital camera system having a storage medium storing a computer program for realizing an interpolation function of interpolating Raw data to create a digital image signal. 40. Image input management means for performing image input by a plurality of image input management means, image input management means adapted based on input information, and image input management means for performing image input An image storage device having storage means for storing an input image regardless of whether it is executed. 41. Raw from an image pickup means of a digital camera
Input means for inputting data, interpolating means for interpolating the input Raw data to create a digital image signal, displaying means for the digital image signal, and instructing whether or not to store the displayed digital image signal An image storage device comprising: an instruction means, a compression means for compressing the digital image signal from the interpolation means instructed by the instruction means, and an accumulation means for accumulating the compressed compressed image signal. 42. A means for inputting an encrypted image, a decryption means for decrypting an input image by a decryption means adapted based on input information, and a storage means for storing the decrypted image. Characteristic image storage device. 43. The image according to claim 42, wherein the decryption means identifies the digital camera based on the input signal, and decrypts the input image by the decryption means adapted to the identified digital camera. Storage device. 44. An image pickup unit, an encryption unit for encrypting image data from the image pickup unit, and an output unit for outputting the encrypted image data together with an identification signal of a digital camera. Digital camera.