JP3434246B2 - Digital electronic still camera - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a digital electronic still camera.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A digital electronic still camera is a camera that converts an analog video signal representing an imaged subject into digital image data, compresses the data, and records the data on a recording medium such as a memory card.

When it is desired to process the image data recorded on the memory card using a personal computer to obtain an image different from the image represented by the image data recorded on the memory card, a digital electronic still is used. -Remove the memory card from the camera and insert the removed memory card into the personal computer.

[0004]

Since the image data recorded on the memory card is compressed,
When the card is mounted on the personal computer, the personal computer expands the data to process the image data. Although the data decompression process can be performed by software, the data decompression process is usually performed by providing a decompression circuit in the personal computer because the load on the software becomes too large. However, since the expansion circuit is expensive, it is difficult to reduce the cost of the personal computer.

If compressed image data is required when the personal computer possesses the image data, the personal computer must be provided with a compression circuit.

According to the present invention, it is possible to receive image data transmitted from the outside, compress the data using a compression circuit included in a digital electronic still camera, and transmit the compressed data to the outside. With the goal.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, there are provided image pickup means for picking up an image of a subject, compression means for compressing data representing the subject imaged by the image pickup means, and object data compressed by the compression means. In a digital electronic still camera having recording means for recording on a recording medium connected to a first connector provided on the camera, an external device is connected through a second connector provided on the camera for connecting the external device. It is characterized in that it is provided with a receiving means for receiving the transmitted image data, and a control means for controlling the image data received by the receiving means to be compressed by the compressing means.

In a preferred embodiment, the digital electronic still camera comprises a memory for storing compressed image data obtained by data compression by the compression means,
The compressed image data in this memory is recorded on the recording medium by the recording means.

[0009]

According to the present invention, the image data transmitted from the external device and received by the receiving means through the second connector is compressed using the compression means provided in the digital electronic still camera. The compressed image data is stored in the memory. The compressed image data in the memory is recorded on the recording medium as needed.

[0010]

According to the present invention, the image data transmitted from the external device connected to the second connector is received and is compressed by using the compression means provided in the digital electronic still camera. . Compressed image data can be obtained without providing a compression circuit in an external device.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention and is a block diagram showing the electrical construction of a digital electronic still camera.

The overall operation of the digital electronic still camera 20 is controlled by the overall control unit 10. Overall control unit 10
Is for inputting a control signal generated by pressing down a control switch (not shown) or for inputting a control signal transmitted from the external device 31 to perform processing according to each control signal.

The digital electronic still camera 20 is a photographing process for compressing the data representing the photographed object image and recording it in a memory card, and the compressed data recorded in the memory card 30 is expanded to decompress the viewfinder 25 or monitor. In addition to the reproduction process displayed on the display device 32, compressed data or uncompressed image data is transmitted to the external device 31 or compressed data transmitted from the external device 31,
It has a communication processing function of receiving uncompressed image data or control data. To this end, the digital electronic still camera 20 includes a memory card and communication interface 40 and a transceiver circuit 60.
A memory card 30 can be connected to the memory card and transmission interface 40 via a connector 71.
The external device 31 can be connected to the transmission / reception circuit 60 via the connector 72.

The subject image is transferred to the CCD 12 by the imaging lens 11.
Imaged above. An analog video signal representing a subject image is output from the CCD 12 and applied to the preprocessing circuit 13.

The preprocessing circuit 13 is a circuit for performing processing such as amplification of an input analog video signal. The analog video signal output from the preprocessing circuit 13 is given to the A / D conversion circuit 14 and converted into digital image data.

The analog video signal output from the preprocessing circuit 13 is also applied to the viewfinder 25 via the changeover switch 24. At this time, the terminal a of the changeover switch 24 is made conductive, and the analog image signal output from the preprocessing circuit 13 is applied to the viewfinder 25, so that the subject image is displayed on the viewfinder 25.

The digital image data converted by the A / D conversion circuit 14 is temporarily stored in the frame memory 16 under the control of the memory controller 15. flame·
The digital image data stored in the memory 16 is given to the luminance data / color data (Y / C) processing circuit 21 and pixel interpolation is performed. The digital image data subjected to the pixel interpolation is again given to the frame memory 16 and stored therein.

The digital image data stored in the frame memory 16 is read again and given to the compression / expansion circuit 17. The compression / expansion circuit 17 is a circuit for performing data compression processing by Huffman coding and run-length coding and processing for expanding compressed digital image data.
The digital image data compressed by the compression / expansion circuit 17 is stored in the memory card and the communication interface.
It is given to the memory card 30 via 40 and recorded in a predetermined area.

When reproducing the digital image data recorded on the memory card 30, the digital image data is read from the memory card 30 and given to the compression / expansion circuit 17 via the memory card and the communication interface 40. When the data is expanded by the compression / expansion circuit 17, it is temporarily stored in the frame memory 16 under the control of the memory controller 15.

The digital image data once stored in the frame memory 16 is read from the frame memory 16 and Y
It is supplied to the D / A conversion circuit 22 via the / C processing circuit 21.
The D / A conversion circuit 22 performs an analog conversion process to obtain an analog video signal. The analog video signal is given to the post-processing circuit 23.

The post-processing circuit 23 amplifies and outputs the analog video signal. Digital electronic still camera
A monitor display device 32 can be connected to the device 20, and an image can be displayed by the monitor display device 32 in addition to the viewfinder 25. At the time of reproduction, the control switch 24 is turned on at the terminal b side. As a result, the reproduced image is displayed on the viewfinder 25 and the monitor display device 32.

The digital electronic still camera 20 also has a function of communicating image data with the external device 31.

When transmitting the compressed image data recorded in the memory card 30 to the external device 31, the digital image data recorded in the memory card 30 is read, and the memory card, the communication interface 40, and the transmission / reception circuit. It is given to the external device 31 via 60. Compress the compressed image data sent from the external device 31 to the memory card
When recording on 30, the digital image data is taken into the digital electronic still camera 20 via the transmission / reception circuit 60, given to the memory card 30 via the memory card and the communication interface 40, and recorded.

The digital electronic still camera 20 can also send / receive uncompressed image data to / from the external device 31.

When transmitting the image data stored in the frame memory 16 to the external device 31, the image data is read from the frame memory 16 and given to the Y / C processing circuit 21 under the control of the memory controller 15. To be The image data is given to the transmitting / receiving circuit 60 via the Y / C processing circuit 21 and the memory card and the communication interface 40. The image data will be transmitted from the transmission / reception circuit 60 to the external device 31. When the image data transmitted from the external device 31 is stored in the frame memory 16, the image data is received by the transmission / reception circuit 60, passes through the memory card and the communication interface 40 and the Y / C processing circuit 21, and is stored in the memory controller 15. Frame memory under control 16
Given to.

It is also possible to receive control data transmitted from the external device 31, and the control data is given to the overall control unit 10 via the transmission / reception circuit 60, the memory card and the communication interface 40. When the control data is given to the overall control unit 10, the process according to the control data is performed.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the memory card and communication interface 40.

The memory card and communication interface 40 is a bidirectional buffer 41 capable of bidirectionally transferring data,
42 and 43, data selectors 44, 45 and 48, control unit 46 for controlling data selection by data selectors 44, 45 and 48, parameter register 47 and buffer for analyzing control data and issuing control data. It has memories 49 and 50.

The memory card and communication interface 40 further includes a packet buffer memory 51 that temporarily stores data for transferring the data based on the header, and a memory controller 52 that controls the packet buffer memory 51. , Send data buffer 53, receive data
Buffer 54, parallel / serial (P / S) conversion circuit 5
5, serial / parallel (S / P) conversion circuit 56 and transmission data buffer 53, reception data buffer 54, P
The communication control unit 57 is provided for controlling the / S conversion circuit 55 and the S / P conversion circuit 56.

In the memory card and communication interface 40, when the photographed subject image is compressed and recorded in the memory card 30, the compressed data output from the compression / expansion circuit 17 is given to the bidirectional buffer 43. . This compressed data is the bidirectional data selector 45 and
Memory card provided to bidirectional buffer 42 via 44
By inputting in 30, the compressed data is recorded.

When the image data recorded on the memory card 30 is reproduced and displayed on the monitor display device 32,
The compressed data recorded in the memory card 30 is read and given to the bidirectional buffer 42. This compressed data is passed through the bidirectional data selectors 44 and 45 to the bidirectional buffer 43.
To the compression / expansion circuit 17 for data expansion. After that, the reproduction processing is performed as described above and the monitor display device 32 visually displays.

When transmitting the compressed data recorded in the memory card 30 to the external device 31, the memory card 30
The compressed data is read from and is supplied to the bidirectional buffer 42. This compressed data is temporarily stored in the buffer memory 49 via the bidirectional data selector 44 and the data selector 48. The compressed data is read from the buffer memory 49 and given to the packet buffer memory 51. The packet buffer memory 51 is temporarily stored, and the transfer destination is determined based on the data header. The data once stored in the packet buffer memory 51 is given to the transmission data buffer 53 and input to the P / S conversion circuit 55. In the P / S conversion circuit 55, parallel data is converted into serial data and given to the transmission / reception circuit 60. It is given from the transmission / reception circuit 60 to the external device 31.

When compressed data is given from the external device 31, it is inputted to the S / P conversion circuit 56 via the transmission / reception circuit 60. It is converted into parallel data in the S / P conversion circuit 56, and is temporarily stored in the packet buffer memory 51 via the reception data buffer 54. The compressed data is read from the packet buffer memory 51, given to the buffer memory 50, given to the memory card 30 via the bidirectional data selector 44 and the bidirectional buffer 42, and recorded.

The digital electronic still camera 20 can also send / receive uncompressed image data to / from the external device 31.

When transmitting the image data stored in the frame memory 16 to the external device 31, the image data is read from the frame memory 16 and passed through the Y / C processing circuit 21 to the memory card and the communication interface 40. Is given to the bidirectional buffer 41. The image data passes through the bidirectional buffer 41, and similarly to the transmission of the compressed data, the data selector 48, the buffer memory 49, the packet buffer
It is given to the transmission / reception circuit 60 via the memory 51, the transmission data buffer 53 and the P / S conversion circuit 55. The image data is transmitted from the transmission / reception circuit 60 to the external device 31.

When the image data transmitted from the external device 31 is received and stored in the frame memory 16, the image data is received by the transmission / reception circuit 60 and is sent to the memory card and the S / P conversion circuit 56 of the communication interface 40. Given. The image data converted into parallel data in the S / P conversion circuit 56 is received data buffer 54,
The Y / C processing circuit 21 is output via the packet buffer memory 51, the buffer memory 50 and the bidirectional buffer 41.
Given to. And from the Y / C processing circuit 21,
It is given to and stored in the memory 16.

Further, the digital electronic still camera 20 receives the control data output from the external device 31,
It can also be provided to 20 overall control units 10. When the control data is input to the overall control unit 10, the camera 20 performs processing according to the input control data.

The control data output from the external device 31 is received by the transmission / reception circuit 60 and given to the memory card and the S / P conversion circuit 56 of the communication interface 40.
The control data is given from the S / P conversion circuit 56 to the parameter register 47 via the reception data buffer 54, the packet buffer memory 51, and the buffer memory 50. The control data is analyzed by the parameter register 47, and the analyzed contents are given to the overall control unit 10. Overall control unit
Processing such as data transfer processing is performed according to the content analyzed by 10.

When the content analyzed by the overall control unit 10 is input, data representing a response message is output and given to the parameter register 47. The data representing the response message is applied to the transmission / reception circuit 60 via the data selector 48, the buffer memory 49, the packet buffer memory 51, the transmission data buffer 53 and the P / S conversion circuit 55. Data representing a response message is transmitted from the transmission / reception circuit 60 to the external device 31. This allows external devices
It is recognized that the control data transmitted at 31 is received at the digital electronic still camera 40.

Since the digital electronic still camera 20 is provided with the memory card, the communication interface 40, and the transmission / reception circuit 60, the external device 31 can be used as described above.
It becomes possible to send and receive data to and from. Thus, for example, compressed image data representing a subject image captured by the digital electronic still camera 20 is transmitted to the external device 31, the external device 31 performs filing processing once, and then the expanded image data is received and processed and digitally processed. It can also be transmitted to the electronic still camera 20, compressed, and recorded in the memory card 30. This process will be described below.

Referring to FIG. 1, an image of a subject is picked up by a CCD 12 and image data representing the subject is given to a frame memory 16 via a preprocessing circuit 13 and an A / D conversion circuit 14.
Once remembered. The image data stored in the frame memory 16 includes a Y / C processing circuit 21, a compression / expansion circuit 17, a memory
The compressed data is given to the memory card 30 via the card and the communication interface 40 and recorded therein.

Control data is output from the external device 31 so as to read and transmit the compressed data recorded in the memory card 30, and is supplied to the overall control unit 10 via the transmission / reception circuit 60, the memory card and the communication interface 40. .
In response to the control data, the overall control unit 10 controls to read the compressed data recorded in the memory card 30,
The compressed data is given to the external device 31 via the memory card, the communication interface 40, and the transmission / reception circuit 60. As a result, the filing process is once performed in the external device 31.

Next, the control data for instructing to write the compressed data transmitted from the external device 31 into the memory card 30,
It is provided to the overall control unit 10 of the digital electronic still camera 20. When a response message to this control data is given from the overall control unit 10 to the external device 31, compressed data is given from the external device 31 to the memory card 30 and recorded.

Further, control data for decompressing the compressed data recorded in the memory card 30 and transmitting it to the external device 31 is given from the external device 30 to the overall control unit 10. When this control data is received by the overall control unit 10, the compressed data recorded in the memory card 30 is read out and the data is expanded in the compression / expansion circuit 17. The expanded image data is processed by the Y / C processing circuit 21, the memory card and communication interface 40, the transmission / reception circuit 60.
And is given to the external device 31 via.

When the expanded image data is given to the external device 31, the external device 31 processes the image data. When the processing of the image data is completed, control data for instructing to receive the image data transmitted from the external device 31 is given from the external device 31 to the overall control unit 10 of the digital electronic still camera. When a response message to this control data is given from the overall control unit 10 to the external device 31, the processed image data is output from the external device 31 and the transmission / reception circuit 60, the memory card and communication interface 40, the Y / C processing circuit 21. Is given to and stored in the frame memory 16.

The processed image data stored in the frame memory 16 is given to the compression / expansion circuit 17 to be subjected to data compression and recorded in the memory card 30. As a result, the processed compressed image data is recorded in the memory card 30.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a digital electronic still camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a memory card and a communication interface.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Overall control unit 12 CCD 16 frame memory 17 Compression / expansion circuit 20 Digital electronic still camera 40 memory card and communication interface 60 transmitter / receiver circuit

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. An image pickup means for picking up an object, a compression means for compressing data representing the object picked up by the image pickup means, and object data compressed by the compressing means is provided in a first camera. In a digital electronic still camera including recording means for recording on a recording medium connected to a connector, receiving image data transmitted from an external device through a second connector provided in the camera for connecting the external device Receiving means,
And a control means for controlling the image data received by the receiving means so that the image data is compressed by the compressing means. 2. A memory is further provided for storing compressed image data obtained by data compression by said compression means,
The digital electronic still camera according to claim 1, wherein the recording means records the compressed image data of the memory on the recording medium.