JP2006319497A - Image pickup device and recording method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image pickup device directly transferring and storing a photographed photo image to an external device without the need for passing through a personal computer or the like. <P>SOLUTION: The image pickup device includes: a means for allowing an imaging means to convert an optical image representing an object into an electric signal and recording generated image data to an information recording medium in a form of an image file; a communication means for communicatably connecting to the external device via an interface; a means for storing information denoting whether the image file is recorded to the external device to respective image files; a means for searching an image file depending on the information denoting the presence / absence of the recording; and a means for starting recording-transfer of an unrecorded image file to the external device by being brought into a communicatable state with the external device by the communication means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus capable of directly transferring and recording a photographed photographic image to an external apparatus without using a personal computer or the like, and a recording method using the imaging apparatus.

  A digital camera is generally used as an imaging apparatus that records image data obtained by converting a subject image captured by an imaging unit into a digital signal in a nonvolatile storage medium or the like. Conventionally, in order to record file data of an image recorded by a digital camera (hereinafter referred to as “image file”) in an external device, the recording medium provided in the digital camera is removed and the recording medium is stored in a personal computer or the like as the external device. It was done by means such as mounting and copying. In recent years, in order to more easily record image data on an external device, the digital camera and the external device are directly connected with a communication cable, and the recording medium of the digital camera is operated from the external device to transfer the image file to the external device. The function to transfer has become widespread.

  The procedure for transferring an image file to an external device using the digital camera having the direct transfer function is as follows. That is, (1) The digital camera and an external device are connected with a communication cable so that communication is possible. (2) An image file to be transferred is selected from image files stored in a recording medium included in the digital camera by an operation on the external device side. (3) Move or copy the selected image file to storage means provided in the external device. (4) After all the image files selected by the above operation have been moved or copied (hereinafter referred to as “record transfer”), the communication is disconnected and the communication cable is disconnected.

  Since the capacity of storage media included in recent digital cameras has become very large, it is possible to store thousands of image files at once. As described above, when a large number of image files exist in the storage medium, it is very difficult and complicated to select an image file to be recorded and transferred. Further, since the operation becomes complicated, an error in selecting an image file is caused, or unnecessary image files are recorded and transferred, causing troubles such as selecting again.

  Therefore, in order to prevent the above-described mistakes, in the printing process which is an example of recording transfer from the digital camera to the external device, the print history information of the image file is used, and the image file recorded in the print storage information is used. There has been known an invention in which an image file taken on a new date is extracted as a print target and image file selection at the time of printing can be easily performed. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

  Also, by storing print history information and managing information on image files that have not yet been printed, it is possible to print only unprinted image files, and update the above-mentioned history information based on print processing There has been known an invention that enables a predetermined printing process without performing image file selection by management (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

JP 2003-158696 A JP 2004-15533 A

  In the invention described in Patent Document 1, a print history file different from an image file is stored in an external storage medium built in a digital camera. If this print history file does not exist in the external storage medium, printing of all image files is performed. If the print history file exists, the print processing is executed with an image file having a date after the date of the image file recorded in the print history file having the latest recording date as the print target. It is a thing.

  The invention described in Patent Document 2 is an image print system configured to perform image file printing based on print history information by operating a print start switch. Therefore, the unprinted image data can be easily printed by sequentially printing out the unprinted image data based on the print history information, and updating the print history information using the information corresponding to the output process after the output is completed. become.

  As in the above invention, if a management file is provided separately from the image file and each image file has been printed by the management file, that is, whether or not recording transfer has been completed, If only a part of the management file is moved together with the corresponding image file, the recording / transfer management of the image file cannot be continued. In addition, when performing transfer recording processing for a plurality of image files such as “processing to transfer only untransferred image files at once”, it is necessary to make settings necessary for recording and transfer in advance before processing. Since the size, output format, output image quality, and the like of the image data to be output are determined by the recording / transfer setting performed in advance, the setting cannot be freely changed during recording / transfer.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and is an imaging device that directly records and transfers an image file generated by shooting to an external device, even if there are many image files to be transferred. An object of the present invention is to provide an imaging apparatus that can automatically transfer only untransferred image files to an external apparatus and that can freely change recording and transfer settings even during automatic transfer.

  An optical image representing a subject is converted into an electrical signal by an imaging unit, and the generated image data is recorded on an information recording medium as an image file, and a communication unit is connected to be communicable with an external device via an interface. Means for storing information indicating whether or not the image file has been recorded in an external device in each image file, means for searching for an image file based on the information on the presence or absence of recording, and the communication The main feature is that it has means for starting recording transfer of an unrecorded image file to the external apparatus by being able to communicate with the external apparatus by means.

  There may be provided means for selecting whether or not to record and transfer only an unrecorded image file when communication is enabled by connection with an external device by the communication means. Further, the recording conditions for recording and transferring image files to an external device may be set in advance, or the total number of image files to be transferred may be displayed when recording and transferring. . In addition, when the external device does not have a function that can cope with the transfer recording condition, a control unit may be provided so as not to perform the recording transfer.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to detect a state where communication with an external device is possible and automatically search for and record and transfer unrecorded image files. There is no need to select an image file, and by setting the storage conditions after recording and transfer in advance, it is not necessary to specify the conditions to be stored in the external device every time recording and transfer is performed. Management of various image files.

  In addition, since the total number of image files to be transferred can be displayed before recording transfer is started, the time required for processing can be grasped in advance.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing an example of a digital camera according to the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, a digital camera 1 includes an external storage device 11 (compact flash (registered trademark), memory card, smart media, etc.) for storing captured images, a lens and its drive system, a CCD, an AD converter, and the like. An imaging device 12, a display device 13 for displaying various information relating to the imaging operation and various setting information relating to the imaging process of the digital camera 1, an operation console 14 used for setting operations relating to the imaging operation and the imaging process, and the external device 2 And a communication I / F 15 that controls the interface with the CPU, a CPU / ROM / RAM / input / output port (I / O port) that controls the entire digital camera, a bus line that connects them, and the like. Yes. The overall control device 10 is constituted by a known microcomputer.

  The digital camera 1 is communicably connected to the external device 2 via the communication means 3 connected to the communication I / F 15. The communication means 3 can be used regardless of wired or wireless, and a specific example of wired is USB (Universal Sirial Bus). A specific example of wireless is a short-range wireless communication system that is widely used in general, such as Bluetooth, Wi-fi (wireless LAN standard), IrDA (infrared communication). In general, a form using USB is widespread.

  The storage unit configured by the ROM and RAM is configured by a non-volatile memory (for example, flash memory) that stores a processing procedure (program) of the CPU, and the program stored in the storage unit Thus, the processing according to the present invention is executed. The storage unit also functions as a communication buffer memory when transmitting image files to the external device 2 in addition to storing various parameters used by the program when executing the program and functioning as a work area used by the CPU. To do.

  In order to connect the digital camera 1 to the external device 2 and perform direct recording / transfer, it is first necessary to connect to the external device 2 to enable communication. After entering the communicable state, the recording transfer control program in the storage unit of the overall control device 10 is activated. This program requests the external device 2 to transmit a processing capacity value. The processing capability value is a text file in a script format indicating recording transfer conditions that can be handled by the external apparatus 2. The processing capability value describes information indicating the output size, output condition, output format, etc. of the image file that can be recorded by the external device 2.

  After receiving the processing capability value, the digital camera 1 displays a recording start operation and enters an operation acceptance state. FIG. 9 shows a screen display example in the reception state. As shown in FIG. 9, the screen 130 includes an image data display unit 131 and an operation menu display unit 132 of the last image file taken.

  FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a file format used when an image file of a photographic image taken by a digital camera is stored in the external storage device 11. In FIG. 10, an image file 200 includes an image data unit 201 and an additional information unit 202. The image data portion 201 stores a photographic image taken by the digital camera 1. Additional information relating to the photographic image is stored in the additional information section 202. For example, information indicating whether or not the image data has already been recorded and transferred (hereinafter referred to as “record flag”) is stored.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining an embodiment of the record transfer process of the imaging apparatus according to the present invention. In FIG. 2, each step of the process is represented as (301), (302),.

  First, it is assumed that the user operates the console 14 and selects “untransferred” from the operation menu (shown in FIG. 9) displayed on the display device 13 (301). Next, an image file that has not yet been transferred and recorded is searched from the image files stored in the external storage device 11 (302). This search process is performed by reading out the image file and checking whether the recording flag stored in the additional information section 202 of this image file indicates “untransferred”.

  The above process is repeated until the corresponding image file is extracted. When the untransferred image file is extracted, the recording start request information of this image file is transmitted to the external device 2 (303).

  FIG. 3 shows an example of the recording start request information transferred from the digital camera 1 to the external device 2 by the above processing. In FIG. 3, the recording start request information includes an information identifier 81 indicating that this information is a request for transfer recording, a file identifier 82 indicating the file name of the image file to be transferred, and a file name 83 of the image file. ing. The external device 2 that has received this recording start request information requests the digital camera 1 to start transferring the image file specified by the file name 82, and the digital camera 1 requests the requested image file. Is transmitted to the external device 2.

  Next, the result of the transfer process is received from the external device 2 (304), and if the received transfer result is an error, this process is terminated (No in 304). If the received transfer result is a normal end (YES in 304), the recording flag stored in the additional information section 202 of the image file that was a normal end is updated and stored with information indicating “already transferred”. In this way, the process returns to step 302 until the above process is completed for all the image files stored in the external storage device 11 (305).

  Next, another embodiment of the recording / transfer process of the imaging apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the transfer recording process according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 4, each step of the process is expressed as (701), (702),. When the power of the digital camera 1 is turned on and the setup mode is selected by operating the console 14, the setup menu is displayed on the display device 13 (701).

  FIG. 5 shows an example of a setup menu screen displayed on the display device 13. In FIG. 5A, a setting item 131 and setting information 132 are displayed on the screen 130, and a scroll bar 133 indicating that there are other setting items above and below the currently displayed setting item 131 is displayed. The The user can perform necessary settings by operating the console 14, placing the cursor 134 on the setting item 131 desired to be set, and pressing a setting button (not shown).

  In FIG. 5A, when the cursor 134 is placed on the “transfer recording mode” and a setting button (not shown) is pressed, a setting option 135 is displayed as shown in FIG. 5B (702). The value selected in this setting option 135 becomes the set value of “transfer recording mode” (703).

  When “normal” is selected on the setup menu screen and then connected to the external device 2, it operates as a normal mode in which transfer is started after an image file selection operation. In the above setup menu screen, when “Automatic” is selected and the photographing device is connected to the external device, processing for automatically recording and transferring all untransferred image files is started after receiving the processing capability value from the external device ( FIG. 2A).

  Next, still another embodiment of the transfer recording process of the photographing apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the record transfer process according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 6, each step of the process is expressed as (901), (902),. When the digital camera 1 is communicably connected to the external device 2 (901) and receives a processing capability value from the external device 2 (902), a transfer record setting screen that can be set based on the received processing capability value is displayed on the display device. 13 is displayed (903).

  FIG. 7 shows an example of a print setting screen displayed on the display device 13. In FIG. 7, the screen 130 displays a display title 130a, a selection item 130b, and a setting operation display 130c. Since the cursor is at the top of the selection item 130b (“image output size” in FIG. 7), an arrow display prompting a setting operation is displayed on the right side of this item. When the cursor is moved to an item to be set and a right arrow key (not shown) is operated, an item value (not shown) is displayed. The setting of the selected item is completed by selecting a setting value from the displayed item values. In this way, each item of the print setting is set (904 in FIG. 6).

  When the “OK” button (not shown) is pressed after all the selection items that require setting have been set, the setting is stored in the storage unit in association with the processing capability value received from the connected external device (905). .

  After the above setting process, when the above-described “automatic transfer process of untransferred image file” is executed, the processing capacity value associated with the above setting is compared with the processing capacity value received from the currently connected external device. If they have the same processing capability, the automatic transfer recording process is started with the above settings. However, if the processing capability value associated with the above setting is compared with the processing capability value received from the currently connected external device, if the processing capability value is not equivalent, automatic transfer recording of the untransferred image file is performed. A normal transfer recording process for selecting and transferring an image file to be transferred by an operation is executed without executing the process.

  Further, when performing the automatic transfer recording process of the untransferred image file described above, even if the external device supports the above settings, after displaying the screen shown in FIG. 8 on the display device and confirming the set values, Transfer recording processing may be performed. Until the screen of FIG. 8 is displayed and “OK” is pressed, the transfer record setting can be changed in this screen. By pressing “OK” after the necessary setting change, the transfer recording process with the changed setting value is executed.

  The present invention can also be applied to a camera-equipped mobile phone connected to a printer by USB connection.

It is a block diagram which shows the example of the digital camera which operate | moves as an imaging device which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the example of the recording transfer process concerning this invention. It is an example of description of the recording start request information transmitted to the external device from the digital camera applicable to the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows another example of the recording transfer process performed using the imaging device which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the screen display in the digital camera applicable to this invention. It is a flowchart which shows another example of the recording transfer process performed using the imaging device which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the screen display in the digital camera applicable to this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the screen display in the digital camera applicable to this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the screen display in the digital camera applicable to this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the file format of the image data applicable to this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1 Digital Camera 2 External Device 3 Communication Network 81 Information Identifier 82 File Identifier 83 File Name

Claims (12)

An optical image representing a subject is converted into an electrical signal by an imaging unit, and the generated image data is recorded on an information recording medium as an image file, and a communication unit is communicably connected to an external device via an interface. An imaging device,
Means for storing in each image file information indicating whether the image file has been recorded and transferred to an external device;
Means for searching for an image file according to the presence or absence of the information;
An image pickup apparatus comprising: means for starting recording transfer of an unrecorded image file to an external apparatus when the communication means is enabled to communicate with the external apparatus.   2. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for selecting whether or not to record and transfer only an unrecorded image file when communication is enabled by connection with an external apparatus by the communication means. .   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means capable of presetting a recording condition for recording and transferring the image file to an external apparatus.   4. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising means for displaying a preset recording condition when the image file is recorded and transferred to an external device.   4. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising means for displaying a total number of image files to be recorded when the image file is recorded and transferred to an external apparatus.   When recording and transferring the image file to an external apparatus, the apparatus has a means for determining that recording to the recording apparatus is not performed if the recording condition for the external apparatus connected by the communication unit is not provided. The imaging device according to claim 3. Photographing having means for recording image data generated by converting an optical image representing a subject into an electrical signal by an image pickup means on an information recording medium as an image file, and communication means for communicatively connecting to an external device via an interface An image recording method using an apparatus,
Recording information indicating whether or not to record to an external device in an image file;
A step of searching the image file by information indicating the presence or absence of recording;
And a step of starting recording transfer of an unrecorded image file to the external device when the communication means becomes communicable with the external device.   8. The recording method according to claim 7, further comprising a step of selecting whether or not to start recording transfer of only an unrecorded image file when the communication means is in a state capable of notifying with an external device.   8. The recording method according to claim 7, further comprising a step of presetting recording conditions for recording and transferring the image file to an external device.   10. The recording method according to claim 9, further comprising a step of displaying a preset recording condition when the image file is recorded and transferred to an external device.   10. The recording method according to claim 9, further comprising a step of displaying a total number of image files to be recorded when the image file is recorded and transferred to an external device.   When the image file is recorded and transferred to an external device, it has a step of determining that recording to the recording device is not performed if the recording condition for the external device connected by the communication means is not provided. The recording method according to claim 9.

Images