JP2007089075A - Image pickup device, navigation device, and positional information storage system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate addition of positional information to image data obtained by photographing. <P>SOLUTION: The positional data, in which time and positions are made to relate to each other, are prepared, for example, every five minutes and written into an internal memory as table data in a car navigation device installed to a vehicle such as an automobile. When a digital camera photographing a plurality of times is connected to the car navigation device, time information showing the time when connected last is transmitted from the digital camera to the car navigation device. In response to that, positional data written after the time when connected last is transmitted from the car navigation device to the digital camera. Then, a photographed place is specified from time of positional data and photographed-time information of the image data having no addition of photographed-position data on the basis of the positional data. The specified place is added to the image data as the photographed-position information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus, a navigation apparatus, and a position information storage system that create image data to which position information at the time of shooting is added.

  2. Description of the Related Art A digital camera that converts a subject image captured by an image sensor such as a CCD image sensor into image data and records it in a storage medium such as a built-in memory or a memory card has become widespread. In such a digital camera, the obtained image data is given time information indicating the time of imaging, and when the above-described image data is displayed on a display device such as an LCD provided in the digital camera, It can be displayed at the same time.

Recently, a digital camera has been devised in which position information at the time of shooting can be added to image data in addition to time information. In the case of such a digital camera, a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver is built in, and position information such as latitude and longitude at the time of imaging obtained from a signal from a GPS satellite is recorded together with the captured image data. . However, when the GPS receiver is built in the digital camera, there is a problem that the cost of the camera itself is increased and the power consumption of the camera is increased. In addition to this, when receiving position information, there is a drawback that the digital camera cannot capture images, and there is a problem that position information cannot be received, for example, indoors. As a method for solving such problems and problems, for example, it has been devised to transfer position information to a digital camera using a wireless device or the like from a navigation device installed in a vehicle such as an automobile (for example, Patent Documents). 1, 2 etc.).
JP 2002-271723 A JP 2004-7503 A

  However, when the position information is wirelessly transferred from the navigation device to the digital camera, it is necessary to incorporate a communication device in the digital camera for receiving the position information transmitted wirelessly. Effective means for solving problems such as increase in power consumption or power consumption, position information cannot be acquired in places where communication is not possible, or shooting cannot be performed with a digital camera when position information is acquired It is hard to say.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and can easily add position information to image data obtained by shooting without acquiring position information at the time of shooting. An object is to provide an imaging device, a navigation device, and a position information storage system.

  The image pickup apparatus of the present invention includes data adding means for adding shooting time information indicating the time of shooting to image data obtained when shooting, and image data to which shooting time information is added by the data adding means. The image pickup apparatus includes an image data storage unit that stores current position information indicating a current position, and performs route guidance from the current position information and map information to a destination. A data storage means that is connectable to a navigation device and stores position data in which the current position information and time information stored in the navigation device are associated when connected to the navigation device; and the image data The image position information indicating the position at the time of shooting, which is generated from the shooting time information added to the image data and the position data, is added to the image data. And data adding means, characterized in that the shooting position information addition image data and a data writing means for writing said image data storage means.

  The navigation device of the present invention is a navigation device that obtains current position information indicating a current position and guides a route from the current position information and map information to a destination. Data adding means for adding shooting time information indicating the time of shooting to the image data obtained by doing, and image data storage means for storing the image data to which the shooting time information is added. A position data creation unit that can be connected to the imaging apparatus and creates position data in which the acquired current position information and time information are associated with each other at a predetermined time, and stores the position data created by the position data creation unit And position data storage means for reading image data stored in the image data storage means when connected to the imaging device. A shooting position information indicating a position at the time of shooting is specified from the image reading means, the shooting time information added to the read image data and the time information of the position data, and the shooting position information indicating the specified position at the time of shooting is set as image data. And a data adding means for adding to the image data, and a writing means for writing the image data to which the photographing position information is added by the data adding means into the image data storage means of the image pickup apparatus.

  According to the position information storage system of the present invention, the position data creating means for creating position data in which the current position information of the vehicle and the time information are associated with each other at a predetermined time, and the position created by the data creating means. A navigation device comprising position data storage means for storing data, image data storage means for storing image data to which shooting time information indicating the time of shooting is added, and when connected to the navigation device, Data adding means for specifying a shooting position from the shooting time information added to the image data and the position data, and adding shooting position information indicating the specified shooting position to the image data, and the data A data writing unit for writing the image data to which the shooting position information is added by the adding unit into the image data storage unit; A device, that it consists characterized.

  Further, the position information storage system of the present invention includes data adding means for adding shooting time information indicating a shooting time to image data obtained by shooting, and image data to which shooting time information is added. An image data storage means for storing image data, position data creation means for creating position data in which vehicle current position information and time information are associated with each other at a predetermined time, and the position data creation means Position data storage means for storing the read position data, data reading means for reading the image data stored in the image data storage means when connected to the imaging device, and added to the read image data The position at the time of shooting is specified from the time information and the position data, and the shooting position information indicating the specified position at the time of shooting is added to the image data. And data adding means, the image data photographing position information is added by the data adding means, and a navigation device and a writing means for writing the image data storage means of the image pickup apparatus, characterized by comprising the.

  Note that examples of the imaging device described above include a mobile phone with a camera function in addition to a digital camera and a digital video camera. Moreover, as a navigation apparatus, the portable terminal which can acquire position information other than the car navigation apparatus installed in vehicles, such as a motor vehicle, can be mentioned.

  According to the imaging apparatus of the present invention, data addition means for adding shooting time information indicating the time of shooting to image data obtained at the time of shooting, and shooting time information added by the data adding means. An imaging apparatus comprising image data storage means for storing image data, wherein the imaging apparatus acquires current position information indicating a current position, and guides a route from the current position information and map information to a destination A data storage means for storing position data associated with the current position information and time information stored in the navigation device when connected to the navigation device; Shooting position information indicating the position at the time of shooting generated from the shooting time information added to the image data and the position data is added to the image data. Data adding means and data writing means for writing the image data with the shooting position information added to the image data storage means, so that the position information at the time of shooting can be easily converted into image data simply by connecting to the navigation device. Therefore, it is possible to save the trouble of acquiring position information at the time of shooting.

  Further, according to the navigation device of the present invention, the navigation device acquires current position information indicating the current position, and guides a route from the current position information and the map information to the destination. A data adding unit for adding shooting time information indicating a shooting time to image data obtained by shooting, and an image data storage unit for storing the image data to which the shooting time information is added. Position data generating means that can be connected to the provided imaging device and that generates position data in which the acquired current position information and time information are associated with each other at a predetermined time, and position data generated by the position data generating means Position data storage means for storing the image data, and when connected to the imaging device, the image data stored in the image data storage means is read. The data reading means, the shooting time information added to the read image data and the time information of the position data specify the shooting position, and the shooting position information indicating the specified shooting position is displayed as an image. Since the data adding means for adding to the data and the writing means for writing the image data to which the photographing position information is added by the data adding means to the image data storage means of the imaging device are provided, the navigation device can take an image such as a digital camera. By simply connecting the device, position information at the time of shooting can be easily added to the image data, and the trouble of acquiring the position information at the time of shooting can be saved.

  According to the position information storage system of the present invention, the position data creating means for creating position data in which the current position information of the vehicle and the time information are associated with each other at a predetermined time, and the position created by the data creating means. A navigation device comprising position data storage means for storing data, image data storage means for storing image data to which shooting time information indicating the time of shooting is added, and when connected to the navigation device, Data adding means for specifying a shooting position from the shooting time information added to the image data and the position data, and adding shooting position information indicating the specified shooting position to the image data, and the data A data writing unit for writing the image data to which the shooting position information is added by the adding unit into the image data storage unit; Therefore, by simply connecting the navigation device and the imaging device, it is possible to easily add the position information at the time of shooting to the image data and save the trouble of acquiring the position information at the time of shooting. it can.

  Further, according to the position information storage system of the present invention, the data adding means for adding the shooting time information indicating the shooting time to the image data obtained by shooting, and the shooting time information are added. An image pickup apparatus comprising image data storage means for storing image data, position data creation means for creating position data in which vehicle current position information and time information are associated with each other at a predetermined time, and the position data creation means Position data storage means for storing the position data created by the above, data reading means for reading the image data stored in the image data storage means when connected to the imaging device, and the read image data The position at the time of shooting is specified from the added time information and the position data, and shooting position information indicating the specified position at the time of shooting is used as image data. A navigation apparatus comprising: a data adding means to be added; and a writing means for writing the image data to which the photographing position information has been added by the data adding means to the image data storage means of the imaging device. By simply connecting, the position information at the time of shooting can be easily added to the image data, and the trouble of acquiring the position information at the time of shooting can be saved.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a position information recording system according to the first embodiment. The position information recording system 10 includes a digital camera 11 and a car navigation device 12. The car navigation device 12 is provided to receive a signal from a GPS satellite 80 (see FIG. 4), acquire current position information of a vehicle such as an installed automobile, and guide the route to the destination. The car navigation device 12 includes a car navigation device body 15 having a map database (not shown), a GPS antenna 16 that receives a signal from a GPS satellite 80, and a display device 17 such as a liquid crystal monitor via cables 18, 19 and the like. Each is connected. In addition, the digital camera 11 is connected to the car navigation apparatus body 15 by, for example, a cable 20. In the present embodiment, a car navigation device is taken as an example of a navigation device, but the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, a portable terminal with a GPS function can be used.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the front of the digital camera 11, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the back. On the front surface of the digital camera 11, a photographing lens 25, a strobe light emitting unit 26, an objective window 27 a of an optical viewfinder 27, and a lens barrier 28 are provided. The lens barrier 28 is slidable between a closed position that covers the photographing lens 25 and the strobe light emitting unit 26 and an open position that is retracted from the front surface of the photographing lens 25 and the strobe light emitting unit 26 so that the photographing is possible. ing.

  A CCD image sensor 52 (see FIG. 4) is disposed behind the photographing lens 25. The subject image captured by the CCD image sensor 52 is displayed as a so-called through image on an LCD (liquid crystal display) 30 provided on the back surface of the digital camera 11. In this way, the LCD 30 is used for reproducing a photographed subject image in addition to displaying a through image. Further, an eyepiece window 27b of the optical finder 27 is provided on the back surface, and framing can be performed using the optical finder 27.

  On the back of the digital camera 11, in addition to the LCD 30, a power button 31 for switching on / off the power, a zoom operation button 32 for zooming the photographing lens 25, a mode button 33 for selecting various modes, a playback image selection, An operation key unit 34 for performing various settings on a setting screen displayed on the LCD 30 is provided. The operation key unit 34 includes a four-way cursor key 34a and an enter button 34b. The operation mode selected by operating the mode button 33 includes a shooting mode for shooting a still image, a playback mode for displaying a shot image recorded on the memory card 37 on the LCD 30, and a setup mode for setting various settings. There is also a connection mode. Note that the connection mode is a mode that automatically shifts when the digital camera 11 and the car navigation device 12 are connected by the cable 20. When the connection mode is switched, the image data stored in the memory card 37 is stored. Among them, the addition processing of the shooting position information is performed on the image data attached with the shooting additional information to which the shooting position information indicating the shooting location is not added.

  A release button 35 is provided on the upper surface of the digital camera 11. By pressing the release button 35, a still image is taken. On the side surface of the digital camera 11, a memory slot 36 into which the memory card 37 is mounted, a connector 38 for connecting the cable 20, and the like are provided.

  FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the digital camera 11 and the car navigation device 12. The digital camera 11 is centrally controlled by the microcomputer 45. The microcomputer 45 includes a ROM in which a CPU, a control program, reference data, and the like are recorded, a RAM that serves as a work area when performing various arithmetic processes of the CPU, and the like.

  The microcomputer 45 includes a clock circuit 46 and transmits time information to an information generation unit 65 described later. When the digital camera 11 is connected to the car navigation device 12, the microcomputer 45 refers to the internal memory 61 to obtain the time when the data collection was last executed from the car navigation device 12, and to obtain the time. It transmits to the car navigation device 12. After this transmission, the position data stored after the time when the data was last collected is transmitted from the car navigation device 12, so that the microcomputer 45 writes the received position data in the internal memory 61 and Referring to the circuit 46, the time when the communication is performed is written in the internal memory. This position data is data in which the time and the position (latitude, longitude) at the time are associated with each other. Further, the microcomputer 45 refers to the memory card 37 inserted into the memory slot 36, reads out image data taken after the last data collection time, and writes the image data in the internal memory 61.

  The operation unit 47 includes a release button 35, a power button 31, a zoom operation button 32, a mode button 33, and an operation key unit 34. Based on an operation signal from the operation unit 47, the microcomputer 45 performs the operation of each unit. Control.

  The photographic lens 25 is driven by a zoom mechanism 50 constituted by a zoom motor or the like in accordance with the operation of the zoom operation button 32, so that the focal length changes. A zoom sensor 51 serving as a focal length detection unit that detects a focal length of the photographing lens 25 outputs a zoom detection signal corresponding to the focal length of the photographing lens 25. Note that the zoom position (focal length of the photographing lens) can be detected by the microcomputer 45 based on the time of the drive signal sent to the zoom motor or the number of drive pulses without using the zoom sensor 51. Furthermore, in the electronic zoom, detection can be performed with a set zoom magnification.

  The subject light transmitted through the photographic lens 3 forms an image on the light receiving surface of the CCD image sensor 52. The subject image formed on the light receiving surface of the CCD image sensor 52 is converted into an amount of electric charge corresponding to the amount of incident light, accumulated, and sequentially output as an analog image signal having a voltage corresponding to the accumulated electric charge. The CCD image sensor 52 adjusts the exposure time by a so-called electronic shutter that controls the charge accumulation time.

  The analog image signal from the CCD image sensor 52 is subjected to noise removal by a CDS (correlated double sampling) circuit 53, amplified by an AMP (amplifier) 54, and input to an A / D converter 55. This A / D converter 55 converts the image data into R, G, and B image data. Image data from the A / D converter 55 is input to the image signal processing unit 60.

  The bus 56 interconnects the microcomputer 45, the image signal processing unit 60, the internal memory 61, and the like. Each unit connected to the bus 56 is controlled by the microcomputer 45 via the bus 56 and can exchange data with each other.

  When displaying a through image, the image signal processing unit 60 performs image processing such as γ correction, white balance correction, and contrast correction on the image data from the A / D converter 55 to obtain a processed image. Data is sent to the driver 62. At the time of shooting a still image, in addition to the above-described image processing, the image signal processing unit 60 converts R, G, B image data into Y, Cb, Cr image data corresponding to the luminance signal and the color difference signal. YC conversion processing to be performed, compression processing for compressing the image data into a predetermined compression format, for example, JPEG format, and shooting additional information as a tag are added to the image data. Further, under the playback mode, the image signal processing unit 60 performs decompression processing for decompressing image data read from the memory card 37, and RGB conversion for converting Y, Cb, and Cr image data into R, G, and B image data. Process. After the RGB conversion processing is completed, the image signal processing unit 60 sends the image data to which the shooting additional information is added to the media controller 63. When the mode is changed to the connection mode, the image signal processing unit 60 adds the additional shooting information to which the shooting position information generated by the information generating unit 65 is added as new additional shooting information to the image data.

  When the shutter button 35 is operated, the information generation unit 65 creates additional shooting information including shooting setting information, shooting time information indicating date and time of shooting, and the like. Also, when the digital camera 11 shifts to the connection mode, shooting time information in the additional shooting information added to the image data written in the internal memory 61, and position data stored in the internal memory 61, From this, the position where the photographing was performed is specified and the photographing position information is generated. The generated shooting position information is sent to the image signal processing unit 60 and added to the image data as a tag. In addition to the latitude / longitude information, the shooting position information includes a place name (for example, a landmark) or address information obtained from the latitude / longitude.

  The internal memory 61 records image data being processed for recording on the memory card 37, image data of a captured image being reproduced, and corresponding additional shooting information. These various data are read out by the microcomputer 45 and the image signal processing unit 60 in accordance with the processing. In addition, the position data read from the car navigation device 12 is recorded.

  The driver 62 drives the LCD 30 based on the input data. Under the shooting mode, the image data from the A / D converter 55 is subjected to image processing by the image signal processing unit 60 and sent to the driver 62 one after another. As a result, a through image is displayed on the LCD 30. In the reproduction mode, the image data read from the memory card 37 and subjected to the decompression process and the RGB conversion process by the image signal processing unit 60 is sent to the driver 62 and recorded on the memory card 37. The captured image is displayed on the LCD 30.

  The media controller 63 reads and writes the memory card 61. In the shooting mode, image data for one frame shot in response to the operation of the release button 35 is input from the image signal processing unit 60 to the media controller 63 and recorded in the memory card 37. In the playback mode, the media controller 63 reads out image data from the memory card 37 and sends it to the image signal processing unit 60. The recording medium is not limited to the memory card 37 but may be a memory built in the digital camera.

  The communication I / F (interface) 65 has a connector 38 to which the car navigation device 12 is connected. As described above, when the cable 20 connected to the car navigation device 12 is connected to the connector 38 of the digital camera 11, the microcomputer 45 switches the operation mode to the connection mode and operates from the operation unit 45. While invalidating the signal, the driving of the LCD 30 is stopped.

  The car navigation device 12 is comprehensively controlled by the microcomputer 70 and, for example, causes the processing of each unit to be executed based on a signal output by an operation of the operation unit 71 provided in the navigation device body 15. The microcomputer 70 includes a ROM in which a CPU, a control program, reference data, and the like are recorded, and a RAM that is a work area when performing various arithmetic processes of the CPU. The microcomputer 70 includes a clock circuit 72, and the microcomputer 70 refers to the clock circuit 72 to operate the data creation unit 75 every predetermined time.

  A GPS module 74, a data creation unit 75, a disk drive 76, an internal memory 77, and the like are connected to the microcomputer 70 via a bus 73, and data is exchanged between them. In addition, a communication I / F 78 is connected to enable connection to an external device.

  The GPS module 74 receives signals from a plurality of GPS satellites 80 via the GPS antenna 16, and outputs the position (latitude, longitude) of the car navigation device 12, that is, the current vehicle position, as current position information. .

  The data creation unit 75 operates when power supply to the car navigation device 12 is started. The data creation unit 75 creates position data in which the time when the car navigation device 12 is activated and the current position at that time are associated with each other. Remember. The data creation unit 75 operates every time a predetermined time elapses to create position data, and stores the position data in the internal memory 77. In the internal memory 77, the plurality of position data created by the data creation unit 75 are stored together as table data 79 (see FIG. 6). Since the car navigation device 12 is installed in a vehicle such as an automobile, if the position data is created in time units, the route between them cannot be specified. Therefore, the operation interval of the data creation unit 75 is in minutes. Is preferably carried out. In addition, when the power supply to the car navigation device 12 is stopped, the position data is created by the data creation unit 75 and the position data is written in the internal memory 77.

  The disk drive 76 includes, for example, a disk drive such as a hard disk drive in addition to a drive in which an optical recording medium such as a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM is set. In the recording medium set in the disk drive, map information including text information such as a map and a place name is recorded. From the current position information obtained by the GPS module 74, map information around the current current position is recorded. Is displayed, a map image is displayed on the LCD 17, and an index indicating the current vehicle position is superimposed on the displayed map image. Reference numeral 81 denotes a driver which controls the display of the LCD 17.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. First, when the engine of the automobile is started, power is supplied to the car navigation apparatus 12 and the car navigation apparatus 12 is activated. When the car navigation device 12 is activated, the GPS antenna 16 receives a signal from the GPS satellite 80, so that current position information is output from the GPS module 74. Further, when the car navigation device 12 is activated, the data creation unit 75 operates to create position data in which the time when power is supplied and the position at that time are associated with each other, and the created position data is stored in the internal memory 77. Is stored as table data 79. Since the microcomputer 70 includes the clock circuit 72, the microcomputer 70 operates the data creation unit 75, for example, every 5 minutes, and writes the created position data in the internal memory 77 as table data 79. When the vehicle is moved to the destination and the engine is stopped, the power supply to the car navigation device 12 is stopped. Therefore, the microcomputer 70 operates the table creating unit 75 and writes the position data in the internal memory 77. In this manner, when the vehicle is moved, position data is created every 5 minutes and stored as table data 79 in the internal memory 77.

  For example, there is a case where the digital camera 11 and the car navigation apparatus 12 are connected by the cable 20 while taking a picture using the digital camera 11 at the destination and moving to the next destination by a car. As shown in FIG. 5, when the digital camera 11 and the car navigation device 12 are connected, the operation mode of the digital camera 11 is switched to the connection mode. When the mode is shifted to the connection mode, the time information indicating the time at which the last data collection is written in the internal memory 61 is read by the my computer 45 of the digital camera 11, and this time information is transmitted to the car navigation device 12. .

  When the time information from the digital camera 11 is received by the personal computer 70 of the car navigation device 12, the table data 79 stored in the internal memory 77 is referred to, and the position data written after the last data collection time is read out. To the digital camera 11. When the digital camera receives position data, the position data is written into the internal memory 61. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the time when the digital camera 11 is connected to the car navigation device 12 is “2005/05/01 22:00”, and the time when the data collection was last performed is “2005/05 / In the case of “01 8:40”, the position data from “2005/05/01 8:40” to “2005/05/01 22:00” from the table data 79 is the microcomputer 70 of the car navigation device 12. Is transmitted to the digital camera 11. When these position data are transmitted to the digital camera 11, the microcomputer 45 of the digital camera 11 writes these position data in the internal memory 61.

  At the same time, the my computer 45 of the digital camera 11 determines from the image data recorded on the memory card 61 whether there is image data to which shooting position information is not added. When there is image data to which shooting position information is not added, the information generation unit 65 includes time information added to the image data and time information of position data written in the internal memory 61. The shooting position in the shooting time information added to the image data is specified with reference to each of the above. The information generation unit 65 creates the specified shooting position as shooting position information and sends it to the image signal processing unit 60. As a result, the newly created shooting position information is added to the image data as a tag in the image signal processing unit 60.

  For example, when the shooting time obtained from the shooting time information added to the image data is “2005/05/01 15:30”, the position obtained by the car navigation device 12 from 12:55 to 21:24 Is not changed, that is, the car is not moving, so the shooting position is “35 ° 37'47” N 139 ° 53′8 ”E. Therefore, shooting position information is generated based on this shooting position. The Similarly, shooting position information is created for image data to which shooting position information is not added, and is added to each image data. Note that the generation of shooting position information in the information generation unit 65 and the addition of shooting additional information to the image data in the image signal processing unit 60 are executed inside the digital camera 11, so the digital camera 11 and the car navigation device 12. May be executed after the connection is released even if the connection is maintained. This eliminates the need to receive the shooting position information by the digital camera at the time of shooting, and can save time and effort at the time of shooting. On the other hand, when no shooting is performed after the time when data was collected last, there is no image data to which shooting position information is not added, and thus the above-described processing is not performed.

  On the other hand, shooting may be performed while moving in a car. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, a case where photographing is performed at time T will be described. For example, the position (detection position S) at the time Ts when the position data is created is “latitude ns longitude es”, and the position (detection position U) at the time Tu when the position data is created is “latitude nu longitude eu”. Indicated by From these position data, for example, the latitude n at time T is from n = | nu-ns | × {T / (Tu−Ts)}, and the longitude is n = | eu−es | × {T / (Tu−Ts). )} Respectively. In this case, since the actual movement path (solid line in FIG. 7) is considered as a movement path of a straight line (two-dot difference line in FIG. 7), the calculated position is not necessarily a photographed position. You can see the approximate location where the photo was taken.

  In the first embodiment, the digital camera and the car navigation device are connected to each other. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, in the digital camera, the car navigation device is a large-capacity storage medium. You may make it recognize as. In this case, the microcomputer directly refers to the internal memory of the car navigation device, refers to the table data, reads the position data written after the time when data was last collected, and adds the shooting position information. Shooting position information is added to unprocessed image data.

  FIG. 8 is a functional block showing the position information recording system of the second embodiment of the present invention. Like the first embodiment, the second embodiment is composed of a digital camera and a car navigation device. However, the digital camera does not add shooting position information to image data. Position information is added to image data. Thus, when the digital camera is connected to the car navigation device, the car navigation device operates to identify the digital camera as a mass storage device. In the following description, the position information recording system is denoted by reference numeral 85, the digital camera is denoted by reference numeral 90, and the car navigation device is denoted by reference numeral 115.

  The digital camera 90 is centrally controlled by the microcomputer 91. The microcomputer 91 includes a CPU, a ROM in which a control program, reference data, and the like are recorded, a RAM that is a work area when performing various arithmetic processes of the CPU, and the like. The microcomputer 91 includes a clock circuit 92, and transmits time information to the information generation unit 107 described later when photographing using the digital camera 90 is performed.

  The operation unit 93 includes a release button, a power button, a zoom operation button, a mode button, an operation key unit, and the like. Based on an operation signal from the operation unit 93, the microcomputer 91 controls the operation of each unit.

  The photographic lens 94 is driven by a zoom mechanism 95 including a zoom motor or the like in accordance with the operation of the zoom operation button, so that the focal length changes. A zoom sensor 96 serving as a focal length detection unit that detects the focal length of the photographic lens 94 outputs a zoom detection signal corresponding to the focal length of the photographic lens 94. It should be noted that the zoom position (focal length of the photographing lens) can be detected from the time of the drive signal sent to the zoom motor or the number of drive pulses by the microcomputer 92 without using the zoom sensor 96. Furthermore, in the electronic zoom, detection can be performed with a set zoom magnification.

  The subject light transmitted through the photographing lens 94 is imaged on the light receiving surface of the CCD image sensor 97. The subject image formed on the light receiving surface of the CCD image sensor 97 is converted into an amount of electric charge corresponding to the amount of incident light, accumulated, and sequentially output as an analog image signal having a voltage corresponding to the accumulated electric charge. The CCD image sensor 97 adjusts the exposure time by a so-called electronic shutter that controls the charge accumulation time.

  The analog image signal from the CCD image sensor 97 is subjected to noise removal by a CDS (correlated double sampling) circuit 98, amplified by an AMP (amplifier) 99, and input to the A / D converter 100. The A / D converter 100 converts the image data into R, G, and B image data. Image data from the A / D converter 100 is input to the image signal processing unit 106.

  The bus 105 connects the microcomputer 91, the image signal processing unit 106, the internal memory 108, and the like. Each unit connected to the bus 105 is controlled by the microcomputer 91 via the bus 105 and can exchange data with each other.

  When displaying a through image, the image signal processing unit 106 performs image processing such as γ correction, white balance correction, and contrast correction on the image data from the A / D converter 100 to process the processed image. Data is sent to the driver 109. At the time of shooting a still image, the image signal processing unit 106 converts the R, G, B image data into Y, Cb, Cr image data corresponding to the luminance signal and the color difference signal in addition to the above image processing. YC conversion processing to be performed, and compression processing for compressing the image data into a predetermined compression format, for example, JPEG format, and shooting additional information generated by the information generation unit 107 are added to the image data as tags. Further, under the reproduction mode, the image signal processing unit 106 expands image data read from the memory card 111, and performs RGB conversion that converts Y, Cb, and Cr image data into R, G, and B image data. Process. After the RGB conversion processing is completed, the image signal processing unit 106 sends the image data with the additional shooting information added to the media controller 110.

  When the shutter button is operated, the information generation unit 107 generates additional shooting information including shooting setting information, shooting time information indicating date and time of shooting, and the like. This photographing additional information is sent to the image signal processing unit 106 and added to the image data compressed by the image signal processing unit 106.

  The internal memory 108 stores image data being processed for recording in the memory card 111, image data of a captured image being reproduced, and corresponding additional shooting information. These various data are read out by the microcomputer 91 and the image signal processing unit 106 in accordance with the processing.

  The driver 109 drives the LCD 112 based on the input data. Under the shooting mode, the image data from the A / D converter 100 is subjected to image processing by the image signal processing unit 106 and sent to the driver 109 one after another. As a result, a through image is displayed on the LCD 112. In the playback mode, the image data read from the memory card 111 and subjected to the decompression process and the RGB conversion process by the image signal processing unit 106 is sent to the driver 109 to be recorded on the memory card 111. The captured image is displayed on the LCD 112.

The media controller 110 reads and writes the memory card 111. In the shooting mode, image data for one frame shot in response to the operation of the release button is input from the image signal processing unit 106 to the media controller 110 and recorded in the memory card 112. In the playback mode, the media controller 110 reads image data from the memory card 112 and sends it to the image signal processing unit 106. The recording medium is not limited to a memory card, but may be a memory built in a digital camera. The communication I / F (interface) 113 has a connector to which the car navigation device 115 is connected.

  The car navigation device 115 is centrally controlled by the microcomputer 116 and, for example, causes the processing of each unit to be executed based on a signal output by an operation of the operation unit 117 provided in the navigation device 115. The microcomputer 116 includes a CPU, a ROM that stores control programs, reference data, and the like, and a RAM that serves as a work area when performing various arithmetic processes of the CPU. The microcomputer 116 includes a clock circuit 118. The microcomputer 116 refers to the clock circuit 118 to operate the data creation unit 122 at predetermined time intervals.

  Further, when the digital camera 90 is connected, the microcomputer 116 recognizes the digital camera as a mass storage device after determining the model of the digital camera from the model information stored in the internal memory. Also, the time information indicating the last connected time is read with reference to the internal memory 108 of the digital camera 90. Further, the microcomputer 116 refers to the memory card 111 inserted into the digital camera 90, reads out image data from the time when the shooting time obtained from the shooting time information is last connected, and reads out the internal memory 126. Write to. When shooting position information is added to all image data written in the internal memory 126, the time information written in the internal memory 108 of the digital camera 90 is rewritten with new time information. Although the time information indicating the connected time is written in the internal memory 108 of the digital camera 90, the present invention is not limited to this, and the digital camera 90 and the car are stored in the internal memory 126 of the car navigation device 115. You may make it write the time information which shows the time when the navigation apparatus 115 was connected.

  The microcomputer 116 is connected to the GPS module 121, the data creation unit 122, the information generation unit 123, the data processing unit 124, the disk drive 125, the internal memory 126, and the like via the bus 120, and exchanges data between them. Done. In addition, a communication I / F 127 is connected to enable connection to an external device.

  The GPS module 121 outputs the position (latitude, longitude) of the car navigation device 115, that is, the current vehicle position as current position information by receiving signals from a plurality of GPS satellites 130 via the GPS antenna 128. .

  The data creation unit 122 is activated when power supply to the car navigation device 115 is started, and creates position data that associates the time when the car navigation device 115 is activated with the position information output from the GPS module 121, Store in the internal memory 126. The data creation unit 122 operates every time a predetermined time elapses to create position data, and stores the position data in the internal memory 126. The plurality of position data created by the data creation unit 122 are collected as table data 131 and stored in the internal memory 126. Since the car navigation device 122 is installed in a vehicle such as an automobile, if the table data is created in units of time, the route between them cannot be specified. Therefore, the operation interval of the data creation unit 122 is in minutes. Is preferably carried out. For this reason, in this embodiment, it demonstrates as what the data preparation part 122 act | operates at intervals of 5 minutes. In addition, when the power supply to the car navigation device 115 is stopped, the data creation unit 122 creates position data, and the position data is written in the internal memory 126.

  The information generation unit 123 operates when the microcomputer 116 reads the time when the last transition to the connection mode was written in the internal memory 108 of the digital camera 90, and the image stored in the internal memory 126. From the shooting time information of the data and the table data 131 stored in the internal memory 126, shooting position information indicating the shooting position (latitude, longitude, etc.) is generated.

  The data processing unit 124 is provided to add the shooting position information generated by the information generating unit 123 to the image data. Note that since the additional shooting information is added to the image data in advance, the shooting position information generated by the information generation unit 123 is added to the image data as it is as a tag. Note that image data to which shooting position information is added is sent to the media controller 110 via the communication I / F 127.

  The disk drive 125 includes a disk drive such as a hard disk drive in addition to a drive in which an optical recording medium such as a CD-ROM or a DVD-ROM is set. In the recording medium set in the disk drive 125, map information including map information and text information such as place names is recorded. From the current position information obtained by the GPS module 121, a map near the current current position is recorded. The information is read out, a map image is displayed on the LCD 132, and an index indicating the current vehicle position is superimposed on the displayed map image. Reference numeral 133 denotes a driver that controls the display of the LCD 132.

  Next, the operation in the second embodiment will be described. First, when the automobile engine is started, power is supplied to the car navigation device 115 and the car navigation device 115 is activated. When the car navigation device 115 is activated, a signal from the GPS satellite 130 is received by the GPS antenna 128, so that position information is output from the GPS module 121. Further, when the car navigation device 115 is activated, the data creation unit 122 is activated to create position data in which the time when power is supplied and the position at that time are associated with each other and stored as table data 131 in the internal memory 126. To do. Since the microcomputer 116 includes the clock circuit 117, the microcomputer 116 operates the data creation unit 122, for example, every 5 minutes, and writes the created position data as the table data 131 in the internal memory 126. Note that when the vehicle is moved to the destination and the engine is stopped, the power supply to the car navigation device 115 is stopped. Therefore, the microcomputer 116 operates the data creating unit 122 and writes the position data in the internal memory 126. In this manner, when the vehicle is moved, position data is created every 5 minutes and stored as table data 131 in the internal memory 126.

  For example, the digital camera 90 and the car navigation device 115 are connected while taking a picture using the digital camera 90 at the destination and moving by car to the next destination. As shown in FIG. 9, when the digital camera 90 and the car navigation device 115 are connected, the my computer 116 of the car navigation device 115 refers to the internal memory 108 of the connected digital camera 90 and the digital camera 108. After identifying the type, the digital camera 108 is recognized as a mass storage device. In addition, the microcomputer 116 refers to the internal memory 108 of the digital camera 90 and reads time information indicating the last connected time. The microcomputer 116 determines whether or not the shooting time indicated by the shooting time information is after the last connected time from the read time information and the shooting time information of the image data written in the memory card 113. And the image data whose photographing time is after the last connection time is written in the internal memory 126 of the car navigation device 115. If there is no image data whose shooting time is after the last connected time, the my computer 116 erases the time written in the internal memory 108 of the digital camera 90 and newly connects the time. Write.

  When there is image data whose shooting time is after the last connected time, the information generation unit 123 operates and refers to the shooting time information of the image data written in the internal memory 126 and the table data 131. Shooting position information indicating the shooting position is generated. The shooting position information is sent to the data processing unit 124, and the data processing unit 124 adds the shooting position information to the image data as a tag. This process is performed on all image data written in the internal memory 126 of the car navigation device 115. Then, the my computer 116 rewrites the time information written in the internal memory 108 of the digital camera 90. This eliminates the need to acquire the shooting position information at the time of shooting, and can save time and effort at the time of shooting. Further, since it is not necessary to mount the GPS function in the digital camera itself, it is not necessary to increase the manufacturing cost or price of the digital camera.

In the case of the second embodiment, the shooting position information may be a place name or a landmark name in addition to the longitude and latitude. Below, the part which has the same function as 2nd Embodiment attaches | subjects and demonstrates the same code | symbol. As described above, the car navigation device 115 is configured to read map information around the current current position from a storage medium set in the disk drive 125 and display a map image on the LCD 132. Since the storage medium set in the disk drive 125 stores the text data as the place name, the place name obtained from the text data stored in the storage medium in the position data written in the internal memory 126 of the car navigation device 115. Alternatively, position data is created by associating landmark names with time. Then, it is stored in the internal memory 126 as table data. According to this, since the shooting position information becomes the name of the landmark and the place name, it is easy to understand when the file is read by a PC or the like after shooting, so that the image data can be easily sorted.

  Furthermore, when the shooting position information is a place name or landmark name, the image data in the memory card inserted into the digital camera can be organized. In this case, as shown in FIG. 10A, when shooting is performed using a digital camera, a folder that is the name of the digital camera is created in the root directory in the memory card. Inside, image data obtained at the time of photographing is written.

  As shown in FIG. 11, first, after adding shooting time information to image data, based on the added shooting time information, the shooting date and time and the name of the landmark based on the specified position information are displayed. Management data consisting of the associated position data is created (see FIG. 12). These are performed for all image data.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the microcomputer 116 refers to the management data, and in the root directory created in the memory card 111, for example, a folder name “2005/05/01 amusement park OOXX” or a folder A folder such as a name “2005/05/01 restaurant XXX” is created. For example, since “002.jpg” and “003.jpg” have the landmark name “Amusement Park XX”, these image data are stored in the folder name “2005/05/01 Amusement Park XX”. It will be moved to the folder “○○”. Similarly, it is performed for other image data. As a result, as shown in FIG. 10B, the image data written in the memory card 111 inserted into the digital camera is classified for each folder on the same shooting date and the same shooting location. It becomes. Thereby, when many imaging | photography is performed, the effort which classifies the image data in each imaging | photography place can be saved. In this case, it is not necessary to classify the image data itself for each folder. For example, table data in which the created position data is collected can be created and written to a memory card. In this case, if the table data can be read out by a PC or the like after photographing, the data can be easily classified with reference to the table data and the image data.

It is a perspective view which shows the structure of a positional information recording system. It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance of the front surface of a digital camera. It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance of the rear surface of a digital camera. It is a functional block diagram which shows each electric structure of the digital camera of 1st Embodiment, and a car navigation apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the flow which records position information. It is explanatory drawing which shows the content of table data. It is explanatory drawing which shows the case where the imaging | photography position with respect to the image data obtained when imaging | photography was performed during the movement is specified. It is a functional block diagram which shows each electric structure of the digital camera of 2nd Embodiment, and a car navigation apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the flow which records position information. Configuration (a) of image data recorded on a memory card when shooting position information is not added, and configuration (b) of image data recorded on a memory card when shooting position information is added It is explanatory drawing which shows an example, respectively. It is a flowchart which shows the flow at the time of organizing the image data to which imaging position information was added. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the management data.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Position information recording system 11 Digital camera 12 Car navigation apparatus 45, 70, 91, 116 Microcomputer 37, 111 Memory card 46, 72, 92, 118 Clock circuit 60, 106 Image signal processing part 61, 77, 108, 126 Inside Memory 65, 123 Information generation unit 75, 122 Data creation unit 79, 131 Table data 124 Data processing unit

Claims (4)

Data adding means for adding shooting time information indicating the time of shooting to image data obtained at the time of shooting, and image data storage means for storing image data to which shooting time information has been added by this data adding means An imaging device comprising:
The imaging device can be connected to a navigation device that obtains current position information indicating a current position and performs route guidance from the current position information and map information to a destination,
Data storage means for storing position data in which the current position information and time information stored in the navigation device are associated with each other when connected to the navigation device; and shooting time information added to the image data; Data adding means for adding shooting position information indicating the shooting position generated from the position data to the image data, and data writing means for writing the image data with the shooting position information added to the image data storage means An imaging apparatus comprising: A navigation device that obtains current position information indicating a current position and performs route guidance from the current position information and map information to a destination,
The navigation device includes data adding means for adding shooting time information indicating a shooting time to image data obtained by shooting, and image data for storing the image data to which the shooting time information is added. It can be connected to an imaging device provided with storage means,
Position data creating means for creating position data associated with the acquired current position information and time information every predetermined time; position data storage means for storing position data created by the position data creating means; and Captured from data reading means for reading out image data stored in the image data storage means when connected to the imaging device, shooting time information added to the read image data, and time information of the position data A data adding means for specifying the position of the time and adding the shooting position information indicating the specified shooting position to the image data; and image data to which the shooting position information is added by the data adding means. A navigation apparatus comprising: writing means for writing into image data storage means. Navigation comprising position data creation means for creating position data in which vehicle current position information and time information are associated with each other at predetermined time intervals, and position data storage means for storing position data created by the data creation means. Equipment,
Image data storage means for storing image data to which shooting time information indicating the time of shooting is added, and shooting time information and position data added to the image data when connected to the navigation device. A data adding means for specifying a position at the time of shooting and adding shooting position information indicating the specified position at the time of shooting to the image data; and image data to which the shooting position information is added by the data adding means. A position information storage system comprising: an imaging device including data writing means for writing to the storage means. Data addition means for adding shooting time information indicating the shooting time to image data obtained by shooting, and image data storage means for storing image data to which shooting time information is added An imaging device;
Position data generating means for generating position data in which vehicle current position information and time information are associated with each other at a predetermined time; position data storing means for storing position data generated by the position data generating means; and the imaging A data reading means for reading the image data stored in the image data storage means when connected to the apparatus, and a position at the time of photographing is specified from the time information added to the read image data and the position data. Then, data adding means for adding shooting position information indicating the specified shooting position to the image data, and image data to which the shooting position information is added by the data adding means are stored in the image data storage means of the imaging apparatus. A position information storage system comprising: a navigation device comprising writing means for writing.

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