JPH10304293A - Image collection system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image collection system where the need for a voluminous image storage device at an electronic camera side is eliminated, the required capacity for storage and power in the camera for high resolution is minimized, and photographing is made by the electronic camera that is a handy camera with a small size and a light weight. SOLUTION: Since an integral handy camera 10 (electronic camera with radio telephone set) transmits image data to a camera external storage device 28 through a radio telephone network, a voluminous image storage device is eliminated from the camera side. Thus, photographing by electronic images is made by a light weight and small sized handy electronic camera. In one embodiment, an LCD screen used for display of a conventional message for the radio telephone user and acting like a view finder for an image picked up by the camera is provided to the radio telephone set. Furthermore, telephone key pads are used to access a stored image and the image is sent by radio communication to the camera with the telephone set and displayed on the LCD screen so as to execute the complete two-way system.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to the field of electronic cameras, and more particularly to an image collection system for connecting an electronic camera with a wireless telephone for transmitting an image to a storage device outside the camera.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Digital or electronic cameras are currently in use that connect a CCD imaging device to the storage device of a camera so that when the snapshot is taken, the snapshot is stored locally on some recording medium of the camera. Cameras such as Ricoh's RDC-2, Sony's DK-1, Fuji's DS-7, Kodak's DC20, and Sanyo's Image PC provide electronic memory for storing images for later retrieval. , A magnetic storage device, or a modified disk storage device.

[0003] Some immediate problems are that such cameras are bulky due to the size of the storage required when photos of snap resolution are required. Without bulk storage, large amounts of RAM or disk space cannot be used to store high resolution photographic quality images. Thus, these cameras are the same as carrying a conventional camera with only a small roll of film while traveling. Not only are the storage devices bulky, but the amount of current required by the drive units for such storage devices is excessive, and the use of high-resolution digital cameras is Have difficulty.

To view the images of such cameras on a permanent basis, the images are downloaded to a graphics rendering system according to a conventional computer, but physically transporting the camera to a computer location to download the image data is not possible. Will be appreciated.

[0005] In the past, cellular telephones have been used to transmit and receive images by data modulation or demodulation or fax transmission, but only recently have cellular systems been used to transmit camera images. For example, a system called "Isaac" devised by a Swedish university,
We provide a separate CCD camera and a portable computer that is transported in a shoulder bag to capture and store the CCD image. After storing the images in the computer memory, the images read from the computer memory are transmitted over a wireless network using a cell phone.

[0006] Note that the serial link between the camera and the computer is said to operate at 115.2 kbit / s, and the camera is hardwired into the bagged computer. With this portable system, users can receive pictures taken with, for example, a CCD camera,
The state of communication with the central support system that stores them in a database with the user's name can be maintained. A global positioning system in the portable unit can determine the position of the user.

Unfortunately, it will be appreciated that the "Isaac" portable device is a relatively cumbersome device that includes both a shoulder bag and a handheld camera. In addition, control circuitry is required for both camera control and control of other communication mechanisms, such as cellular telephone communication circuits. In addition, a communication protocol must be defined and coordinated to allow communication between the two units, the cellular telephone and the computer storage.

[0008]

However, if a portable laptop that stores camera data is hardwired to the camera, the overall weight would likely be 4-5 pounds, and at least the face to determine the frame of the snapshot was taken. In terms of a hand-held device that can be held in position,
The generality and usefulness of the system are severely limited. Especially on vacations where weight and size requirements are important.
It is hard to imagine struggling to carry such a unit to be able to store 0-100 snapshots.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, and can eliminate a bulky image storage device on the camera side, and can store and store power in the camera for high resolution. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image collection system capable of taking an electronic camera photograph with a small and lightweight hand-held device while minimizing image quality.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An image acquisition system according to the present invention is a battery-powered portable system for on-site recording of high-resolution pictures, comprising an integrated hand-held device including an electronic camera and a wireless telephone. Including a wireless network and an off-camera storage device connected thereto and the wireless telephone built in the integrated handheld device;
Means for transmitting the output of the electronic camera to the off-camera storage device over the wireless network, so that a high-resolution photograph taken at a position by the electronic camera can be stored outside the camera. It minimizes the in-camera storage and power requirements for high resolution.

[0011] Also, the integrated hand-held device has a display, and further includes means for connecting the display to both the camera and the wireless telephone. And can function as a wireless telephone display.

[0012] The present invention also includes means for transmitting an image stored in the off-camera storage device to the integrated hand-held device using the wireless network on the off-camera storage device side, and the wireless telephone. Means for displaying the transmitted image on the display on the integrated device side.

The wireless telephone includes a keypad. The keypad and the wireless telephone are connected to each other and transmitted to the integrated handheld device for display in the external storage device. It is provided with a means for selecting an image.

[0014] The integrated hand-held device may include a CPU.
And a means for connecting the CPU to the camera and the wireless telephone, and the CPU provides both functions.

Also, a GPS receiver provided on the integrated device side for sensing its position,
Means for transmitting the data from the S receiver to the storage device outside the camera so that the data can be stored therein.

Further, the position is transmitted together with the transmission of the output of the electronic camera.

The electronic camera further includes means for displaying both the stored output of the electronic camera and the display of the position, which is connected to the external storage device.

The indication of the position includes a map with a position symbol.

Further, the apparatus further comprises a posture sensor on the side of the integrated hand-held device, and means for transmitting an output of the posture sensor to the storage device outside the camera so as to be stored therein.

Further, the apparatus further comprises means for displaying an image stored in the storage device outside the camera, and means for formatting the image according to the storage attitude.

[0021]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Rather than providing a very limited amount of storage to a CCD digital camera, the present invention provides infinite image storage outside the camera and stores images in real time, usually over a wireless network, on a server or server. The data is transmitted to a storage device having a similar mechanism. All that is required on the camera side is a CCD-type device for providing images, an analog / digital converter, and a frame buffer for limited storage within the camera. By using the method of wirelessly transmitting an image to the off-camera storage device, the camera and its associated circuits can be made very lightweight. By utilizing a wireless network such as a cellular network, it is now possible to use lighter cell phones weighing 7 ounces or less.

According to the present invention, the CPU in the cellular telephone can have two functions. That is, it will be understood that not only the radiotelephone function can be controlled, but also the imaging function. This involves minimizing the activity of the CCD camera to take snapshots, storing images in the frame buffer, and transmitting the output of the frame buffer to off-camera storage over a cellular network.

As will be appreciated in most cellular telephones, LCD-type displays are used to display signal strength, cell telephone numbers, and other wireless data useful to the user. The LCD display is also used for paging to display the telephone number of the person calling to the user. By extending current LCD displays, the display can also be used as a viewfinder for a CCD camera, thereby performing a dual function.

Using the telephone keypad, accessing the off-camera storage device and sending the image back from the off-camera storage device to the wireless telephone over the wireless network, where the stored image is displayed on the LCD display device. it can. In this case, since the system is bidirectional, images stored outside the camera can be transferred to the camera and viewed by the user.

In another embodiment, the telephone / camera can be provided with an onboard GPS receiver that transmits the camera's position in latitude and longitude along with the frame buffer signal.
This makes it possible to store not only the image but also the position of the image outside the camera. At a location outside the camera, the location can be correlated with a map of the area to display a photographic image in close proximity to the indicator on the map where the picture was taken.

Further, the camera angle or azimuth can be determined according to the attitude of the camera at the time of taking a picture. This is to give a format command to display the stored image, convert the image to a photo display and print it, and perform a certain pre-editing by knowing the attitude of the camera when taking the snapshot be able to.

As described in the SIGGRAPH 96 bulletin on August 4-9, 1996, ACM, New York, NY, pages 11-20, a series of two-dimensional images were taken at known locations and orientations. Note that there are programs that take and compose a virtual reality environment of photo composition. These programs can receive inputs directly from stored data obtained from the phone / camera of the invention with GPS and attitude / azimuth obtained from sensors in the camera.

In summary, an electronic camera with a radiotelephone
By transmitting the image data to the off-camera storage device over the wireless telephone network, the bulky image storage device on the camera side can be eliminated, so that electronic camera photos can be taken with a lightweight, compact, hand-held device. In one embodiment, an LCD screen is provided on the phone for normal messages provided to wireless users and also as a viewfinder for images captured by the camera.
In addition, the stored images can be accessed using the telephone keypad and wirelessly communicated to the camera with telephone and displayed on the LCD screen, implementing a fully interactive system.

The above and other features of the present invention will be better understood from the detailed description with reference to the drawings. Referring now to FIG. 1, an integrated handheld device 10 includes an electronic camera 12 in the form of a CCD device having a field of view 14 focused on a scenery 16. The camera is built into a cellular telephone 18 having a large display 20 that shows what the camera is looking at. Therefore, the display 20 functions as a view finder of the camera.

The device 10 is provided with a snap photo button 22 which, when pressed, transmits the image formed by the CCD camera as shown at 24, in this case to the cell site 26, which Implement the two-way communication function of the wireless network. The received signal is downloaded to the off-camera storage device 28 and the image can then be displayed on the display 30 or a photo can be made as shown at 32. A keypad 34 is provided on the telephone 18,
The utility of this will be seen from the description below.

As indicated by the dotted outline 40, the cellular telephone portion of the device 10 comprises a CPU 42 and a receiver 44.
And a transmitter 46. The receiver and the transmitter are connected to a duplexer 48 connected to a cell phone antenna 50. The CPU 42 is also connected to the LCD display 20, and can access the CPU 42 using the keypad 34.

The camera portion of the present invention includes a dotted outline 54.
The CCD camera 12, the analog / digital converter 56, and the frame buffer 58 are provided, and the frame buffer is controlled by the CPU 42. As shown, the cell phone CPU not only controls the cell phone functions, but also controls the download from the frame buffer 58 to the CPU 42 and from there to the transmitter 46 for transmitting images to the cell site 26. I do. CPU4
2 also controls the frame buffer 58 to
Note that it can be downloaded to D20, thereby providing the viewfinder function described above.

In operation, the device 10 is aimed at a desired object and a button 22 is pressed to take a snapshot of the image. The output of the CCD camera 12 is converted into a digital signal by an analog / digital converter 56, and the digital signal is organized by a frame buffer 58. Next, C from the frame buffer 58
Via the PU 42, the transmitter 46 and the duplexer 4
8 to a off-camera storage device 28 via a cell phone or other wireless network.

Thus, the memory required for the camera function is:
There is only minimal storage associated with the frame buffer 58 that is read out in real time. In addition, the hand-held device 1
A battery 60 is used to power all the circuits in 0, which has the capacity for cell phone use and only a limited amount of power for the camera part of the device. Please be careful. In this way, the battery consumption of a lightweight hand-held device can be reduced, the CPU has the dual function of a camera and a cell phone, and the storage device is completely off-site.

The above describes a one-way system in which the display displays off-camera storage or creates a photo 62 by photo production. In the two-way mode, the keypad 34 is used to store the off-camera storage device 28. To send the image back from the cell site 26 to the device 10, which decodes it at the receiver 44 and sends it to the frame buffer 58 via the CPU 42, from there to the local display, in this case to the LCD display 20. Can be displayed.

Regardless of whether or not the frame buffer 58 is used in a bidirectional mode, a very handy camera that is very light weight and saves battery voltage so that the device itself can be provided in a package of 10 ounces or less. It will be appreciated that a / wireless telephone is provided. The ability to provide such a lightweight, low power consumption handheld device is due to the fact that there is no need to provide storage in the handheld device through the use of unlimited off-camera storage and wireless networks.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the CCD camera 12
And the cell phone 40 can receive various inputs, such as the location of the cell phone sent from a GPS receiver 70, compass 72 or camera attitude sensor 74, which can be part of the integrated device 10. It will be appreciated that the GPS device produces a NEMA0183 output that gives a compass or heading as well as latitude and longitude at 2.0 version.

By using a simple accelerometer as the camera attitude sensor, not only the image data but also the position of the hand-held device and its orientation and compass direction are transmitted to the cell site receiver 76 via link 24. Will be returned. By sending this information to the display 30 and the photo production device when read from the storage device 28, the photo 62 can be produced with respect to the camera attitude, right side up or at least with the same framing as the original camera. Further, when the latitude and longitude information is given to the map producing device 80, the display can display not only a camera image but also a map in which a point where a photograph is taken is aimed.

Referring to FIG. 3, the CPU 42 can be used to control the GPS 70, compass 72, and attitude sensor 74, as well as to provide appropriate commands and control signals to the radiotelephone components summarized here at 40. I understand. Display 30 or photo production device 3
It will be appreciated that the output of 2 can be a photo 82 which prints and displays the location in latitude and longitude along with the direction, date and time. Similarly, as shown at 84, the photographic image shown at 86 is shown with the map 88, and the position of the image is aimed 90 directly on the map 88.
The position of the camera when the picture was taken can also be displayed by expressing with.

Although a few embodiments and some modifications of the present invention have been described above, the above description is merely illustrative, not restrictive, and is provided by way of example only. Will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Many modifications and other embodiments are within the purview of those having ordinary skill in the art and are intended to be within the scope of the invention, which is limited solely by the appended claims or their equivalents. Be considered.

[0041]

As described above, according to the present invention, there is provided a battery-operated portable system for on-site recording of high-resolution pictures, comprising an integrated hand-held device including an electronic camera and a wireless telephone, and a wireless system. A network and an off-camera storage device connected to the network, and a built-in handheld device, including the wireless telephone, for transmitting the output of the electronic camera to the off-camera storage device over the wireless network. Means for storing high resolution pictures taken at a location by the electronic camera outside of the camera, thereby minimizing in-camera storage and power requirements for high resolution. it can.

Further, the above-mentioned integrated hand-held device has a CPU
In addition, a means for connecting the CPU to the camera and the wireless telephone is provided, and a single CPU supplies both functions, whereby both the wireless telephone function and the imaging function can be controlled.

Also, a GPS receiver provided on the integrated device side for sensing its position,
Means for transmitting the data from the S receiver to the storage device outside the camera so that the data can be stored in the storage device, so that not only the image but also the position of the image can be stored.

Further, the apparatus further comprises a posture sensor on the side of the integrated hand-held device and means for transmitting an output of the posture sensor to the storage device outside the camera so as to be able to store it therein. The camera angle or orientation can be captured.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 Using a handheld wireless phone / electronic camera,
1 is a schematic block diagram of a system according to the present invention in which a locally generated image is transmitted to a storage device outside a camera via a wireless network to display and create a photograph.

FIG. 2 optionally uses a GPS, compass, and camera attitude sensor to wirelessly transmit that information to an off-camera storage device and represent the camera position along with the creation of a picture in a format suitable for the camera attitude and camera viewpoint. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the system of FIG. 1 for use in creating a map.

FIG. 3 is a more detailed block diagram of the system of FIG. 2, showing the use of a CCD camera, an analog / digital converter, a frame buffer and a CPU, and a composite output generated from off-camera storage.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 integrated handheld device, 12 electronic camera, 18
Wireless phone, 24 wireless network, 28 off-camera storage.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (71) Applicant 597067574 201 BROADWAY, CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETS 02139, U.S. S. A. (72) Inventor John Barras Lexington Drive, Menlo Park, California, United States 328

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A battery-powered portable system for on-site recording of high-resolution photos, comprising an integrated hand-held device including an electronic camera and a wireless telephone, a wireless network and an off-camera storage device connected thereto. A means for transmitting the output of the electronic camera to the off-camera storage device via the wireless network, the means being built in the integrated hand-held device, including the wireless telephone; An image acquisition system that minimizes in-camera storage and power requirements for high resolution by allowing high-resolution photos taken at locations to be stored off-camera. 2. The integrated hand-held device comprises a display, and further comprising means for connecting the display to both the camera and the radiotelephone, whereby the display comprises a camera viewfinder. 2. The image collection system according to claim 1, wherein the system can function as a wireless telephone display. 3. A means for transmitting an image stored in the off-camera storage device to the off-camera storage device using the wireless network on the off-camera storage device side, and the wireless telephone. 3. The system according to claim 2, further comprising: means for displaying the transmitted image on the display on the integrated device side. 4. The wireless telephone includes a keypad, and further connects the keypad and the wireless telephone to transmit data to the integrated handheld device for display in the external storage device. 4. An image acquisition system according to claim 3, further comprising means for selecting an image. 5. The integrated hand-held device according to claim 1, further comprising a CPU, further comprising means for connecting the CPU to the camera and the wireless telephone, and a single CPU provides both functions. Image collection system. 6. A GPS receiver provided on the integrated device for sensing the position thereof, and means for transmitting the position from the GPS receiver to the storage device outside the camera so as to be stored therein. The image collection system according to claim 1, further comprising: 7. The image acquisition system according to claim 6, wherein the position is transmitted together with transmission of an output of the electronic camera. 8. The image collection system according to claim 7, further comprising means connected to said off-camera storage device for displaying both the stored output of said electronic camera and said display of said position. 9. The image acquisition system according to claim 8, wherein the indication of the location includes a map with a location symbol. 10. The image according to claim 1, further comprising: a posture sensor on the side of the integrated hand-held device; and means for transmitting an output of the posture sensor to the storage device outside the camera so that the output can be stored therein. Collection system. 11. The apparatus further comprising: means for displaying an image stored in the off-camera storage device; and means for formatting the image according to the storage attitude.
Image collection system as described.