JP2001211364A - Digital camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a digital camera which can easily acquire additional information regarding a photographed image and record the obtained additional information together with image data. SOLUTION: A current place is measured according to signals sent from plural GPS satellites 82 arranged in space at an altitude of about 20,000 km. Then current place information and request information regarding the requested current place are sent to a server 86 through a portable telephone 84 connected to the digital camera 10, so that the information regarding the current place is acquired from the server 86.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a digital camera, and more particularly, to a digital camera capable of providing additional information to a captured image.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional digital camera, an image obtained photoelectrically by an image pickup device such as a CCD is stored as an image file in a recording medium such as an internal memory, an IC card, or a magnetic tape provided inside the digital camera. Record
In general, a printer can record the image on a recording sheet or the like based on the recorded image file, or display an image obtained by imaging on a monitor.

[0003] Generally, date and time information and the file size of an image file are recorded as additional information corresponding to the image file in a captured image.
Also, the file name of the recorded image file and the serial number of the number are automatically recorded together with the image file.

In the technique described in Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei 8-23870, a specified position on a map displayed on a display means is designated by an input operation means, and the specified specific position information is photographed. One that is recorded together with an image file has been proposed.

[0005]

However, in the case of a conventional digital camera, when managing image files photographed and recorded on a recording medium or the like, if the number of image files becomes enormous, date-time information is required. And search by file size, it takes a lot of time to search for the desired image file, and it is very inconvenient to manage the image file.
There is a problem.

[0006] In the technique described in Japanese Patent Publication No. H8-23870, information relating to a photographed image is obtained by associating information input via input operation means and current position information with image data as additional information of the image. And remember,
There is a problem that various information cannot be easily obtained.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and can easily acquire additional information relating to a photographed image, record the acquired additional information together with image data, and obtain the additional information by photographing. It is an object of the present invention to provide a digital camera capable of easily managing image data to be obtained.

[0008]

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a digital camera capable of storing a photographed subject as digital image data. A photographing position-related information acquiring unit that acquires photographing position-related information related to a photographing position based on the information; and the photographing position-related information acquired by the photographing position-related information acquiring unit corresponds to digital image data obtained by photographing. And storage means for storing the information.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, on the basis of the photographing position at which the digital camera performs photographing, photographing position-related information related to the photographing position, for example, the place name of the photographing place, the address of the photographing place, and the time of photographing. Information such as the weather and a telephone number is acquired by a photographing position related information acquiring unit, and photographing position related information related to the photographing position and digital image data obtained by photographing with a digital camera are stored in a storage unit in a corresponding manner. Remember. That is, information as additional information related to a captured image can be easily acquired by the imaging position-related information acquiring unit.

[0010] Further, since the acquired information can be stored in the storage means as additional information of the photographed image, for example, a keyword search is performed using the place name or the like added as the additional information as a keyword, so that image data can be searched. It can be easily performed, and image data obtained by photographing can be easily managed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the photographing position-related information acquiring means acquires position information of a current position at which photographing is performed; Communication means for transmitting information and receiving photographing position related information based on the position information.

According to the invention described in claim 2, according to claim 1,
In the invention described in (1), the photographing position-related information acquiring unit includes a position information acquiring unit and a communication unit, and the position information acquiring unit acquires position information of a current position at which photographing is performed.
For example, it is possible to acquire position information by inputting an address or the like. In addition, the communication unit (for example, a wireless device, a wired telephone, a mobile phone, or the like) transmits the acquired position information, and capture position related information related to the current position,
For example, a place name, weather, a name, and the like can be received.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, the position information acquiring means specifies a current position based on a signal transmitted from a GPS satellite.

According to the invention described in claim 3, according to claim 2
In the invention described in (1), the position information acquiring means can acquire the position information of the current position by receiving the signal transmitted from the GPS satellite and specifying the current position based on the received signal.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, the communication means accesses a database storing the photographing position related information corresponding to the position information.

According to the invention described in claim 4, claim 2 is provided.
In the invention described in the above, the communication means accesses the database such as a server that stores the shooting position related information corresponding to the position information, and receives the shooting position related information corresponding to the position information to thereby obtain the shooting position related information. It can be easily obtained.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the fourth aspect of the present invention, the communication means is a wireless telephone which has a line contract and can exclusively communicate with a specific contract number. .

According to the invention set forth in claim 5, according to claim 4,
In the invention described in the above, as a communication means for transmitting position information, photographing position-related information, and the like, a wireless telephone contracted with a line and capable of exclusively communicating with a specific contract number, a so-called mobile phone (PHS, satellite mobile phone, etc.) Inclusive) can be used.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the fourth aspect of the present invention, the communication means includes: a plurality of relay stations for relaying photographing position related information from the database;
The relay station is connected to the nearest relay station based on the position information obtained by the position information obtaining means.

According to the invention of claim 6, according to claim 4,
In the invention described in the above, when acquiring the information via the communication means, among the plurality of relay stations relaying the imaging position related information from the database, based on the position information acquired by the position information acquisition means, By connecting to a nearby relay station, information can be reliably transmitted by the communication means.

Further, for example, when a mobile phone is used as the communication means, information can be transmitted at a low telephone charge.

[0022]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the present embodiment, the present invention is applied to a digital camera 10.

FIG. 1 shows a digital camera 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the main body 12 of the digital camera 10 is substantially box-shaped, and a projection (gripping portion) for facilitating the grip of the main body 12 is provided on the left side when viewed from the front. )
Is formed. A lens 13 is attached to the center of the front side of the main body 12. Above the lens 13 of the main body 12, an optical viewfinder 16 for a user to visually check a photographing range and the like is provided. A strobe 18 for emitting auxiliary light is attached.

On the upper surface of the main body 12, a power switch 20 is provided on the right side when viewed from the front, and a shutter button 22 is provided on the left side (a position corresponding to the grip portion). On the side surface, there are provided a slot 24 into which a memory card (not shown) can be inserted and a mobile phone connection slot 70 to which a mobile phone as a communication means can be connected.

As shown in FIG. 1B, a color display 26 (which may be a monochrome display) made of a reflection type liquid crystal (which may be a transflective type liquid crystal) is provided on the back surface of the main body 12. The display 26 may have the function of the finder 16.

Further, on the left side of the rear surface of the main body 12,
A menu (MENU) switch 36, an execution / screen switching (EX / VIEW CHG) switch 38, and a selection (SELECT) switch 72 are provided, respectively.
Above the display 26, CANCEL
L) A switch 76 is provided. The selection switch 72 is a switch for selecting a mode or the like displayed on a menu screen or the like displayed by pressing the menu switch 36, and the execution / screen switching switch 38 is for selecting the selected mode or the like. The switch is a switch for executing, and the cancel switch 76 is a switch for canceling various modes and the like.

FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the electric system of the digital camera 10. More specifically, the lens 13 is a zoom lens (variable focal length lens) having an autofocus (AF) mechanism. The AF function and the zoom mechanism of the lens 13 are driven by a drive circuit 44. Note that, instead of the zoom lens, a fixed focal length lens having only an AF mechanism may be used as the lens 13.

At a position corresponding to the focal position of the lens 13 inside the main body 12, an image pickup device 46 composed of an area CCD sensor or the like is arranged. An image is formed on the light receiving surface of the imaging device 46. The imaging device 46 is driven at a timing synchronized with a timing signal generated by a timing generation circuit (not shown) incorporated in the driving circuit 44, and outputs an image signal (a large number of pixels arranged in a matrix on a light receiving surface). Signal indicating the amount of light received in each of the photoelectric conversion cells)
Is output.

A shutter / aperture 48 is arranged between the lens 13 and the imaging device 46. The shutter and the aperture 48 are driven by the drive circuit 44. The shutter is for preventing the occurrence of smear due to light entering the light receiving surface of the imaging device 46 when an image signal is output from the imaging device 46, and is omitted depending on the configuration of the imaging device 46. It is possible. The aperture is
The aperture may be configured by a single aperture capable of continuously changing the aperture, or a configuration in which a plurality of apertures having different apertures may be switched. The strobe 18 is further connected to the drive circuit 44. When the strobe 18 is detected to have low illuminance or when light emission is instructed by the user, light emission is controlled.

An analog signal processing unit 50, an A / D converter 52, a digital signal processing unit 54, and a memory 56 are sequentially connected to a signal output terminal of the imaging device 46. The analog signal processing unit 50 amplifies the image signal output from the imaging device 46 and performs correction such as white balance on the amplified image signal. The image signal output from the analog signal processing unit 50 is converted into digital image data by the A / D converter 52 and input to the digital signal processing unit 54. The digital signal processor 54 performs color correction, γ correction, Y correction on the input image data.
Various processing such as / C conversion is performed. Digital signal processing unit 54
Is temporarily stored in a memory 56 such as a RAM.

The driving circuit 44, the analog signal processing unit 50,
A / D converter 52, digital signal processing unit 54, memory 5
6 and a compression / decompression unit 58 (to be described later) are connected to a bus 60. The bus 60 is connected to a CPU 62 and switches such as a power switch 20, a menu switch 36, and an execution / screen switch 38. 40, and
A shutter switch 64 that is turned on / off by operating the shutter button 22 is connected. Although not shown, the CPU 62 includes peripheral circuits such as a ROM, a RAM, and input / output ports.

The display 26 and the compression / expansion unit 58 are connected to the memory 56, respectively. When displaying an image on the display 26, the CPU 62
After a predetermined process is performed on the image data selected by operating the selection switch 42 from the plurality of image data temporarily stored in the display device 26, the image data is transferred to the display 26. Thus, an image represented by the image data temporarily stored in the memory 56 is displayed on the display 26.

When the shutter button 22 is operated and the shutter switch 64 is turned on, the slot 2
When the instruction to store the image data in the memory card loaded in 4 is given, the CPU 62 reads out the image data temporarily stored in the memory 56 and transfers it to the compression / expansion unit 58. Thus, the image data is stored in the memory card after being compressed by the compression / decompression unit 58. The image data may be stored in the memory card without being compressed depending on the shooting mode or the like.

Reproduction (display) of an image represented by image data stored in a memory card loaded in a slot.
Is instructed, the image data is read from the memory card, and the read image data is
And then temporarily stored in the memory 56.
Then, display (reproduction) of the image on the display 26 is performed using the image data temporarily stored in the memory 56.

Further, the bus 60 has a GPS (Global Positioning System) located in outer space at an altitude of about 20,000 km.
m) GPS antenna 7 for receiving signals from satellites
8 and the access point memory 80 are connected,
The GPS antenna 78 receives a direct signal from a GPS satellite. Then, the current position is measured by the CPU 62 based on the signal.

The access point memory 80 stores a predetermined number of telephone numbers for accessing a server described later, so that the CPU 62 can search for the telephone number of the access point of the server closest to the specified current position. Is configured. A mobile phone (including a PHS and a satellite mobile phone) is connected to the mobile phone connection slot 70, and when a predetermined operation is input, the mobile phone dials up to the searched phone number. Information on the current position is obtained from a server described later, and desired information among the information is stored in the memory 56 in correspondence with the captured image data. Note that, in addition to the mobile phone, a wireless device, a general line phone, a public phone, or the like may be connectable to the mobile phone connection slot 70.

Next, a system using the digital camera 10 configured as described above to acquire the information on the above-described current position will be described with reference to FIG.

The system includes a plurality of GPS satellites 82 arranged in outer space at an altitude of about 20,000 km, the digital camera 10 described above, and a mobile phone 8 connected to the digital camera 10.
4, a server 86 provided on the Internet, and
It is constituted by a plurality of relay stations (access points) 88 connected to the server 86.

The digital camera 10 receives the signals from the plurality of GPS satellites 82 with the GPS antenna 78 as described above, and measures the current position based on the received signals.
Then, the mobile phone 84 connected to the digital camera 10
By transmitting the current position information measured as described above and the request information on the requested current position to the server 86 via the server 86, the information on the current position can be obtained from the server 86. ing.

Next, the operation of the digital camera 10 in the above system will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In step 100, it is determined whether or not to acquire additional information. The determination as to whether or not to acquire additional information is made based on whether or not an operation for acquiring additional information has been performed on a menu screen displayed by operating the menu switch 36. If the determination is negative, the process ends.

If the determination in step 100 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 102 in which the GPS satellite 82 built in the digital camera 10
, And the current position is determined based on the signal.

In step 104, it is determined whether the mobile phone 84 has been connected to the mobile phone connection slot 70 or not. If the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step 106, a message is displayed on the display 26 to connect the mobile phone, and the process returns to step 102 described above.

If the determination at step 104 is affirmative, the routine proceeds to step 108 where dial control is performed. The dial control automatically searches for the access point 88 closest to the current position obtained in step 102 from among the access points stored in the access point memory 80, and also searches the access point 8
Dial-up to 8 is performed. That is, by dialing up to the nearest access point, the mobile phone 84 can be reliably connected, communication can be reliably performed, and the telephone charge can be reduced.

At step 110, access point 8
It is determined whether a telephone has been connected to 8. If the determination is negative, the process returns to step 108 again to perform dial control.

If the determination in step 110 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 112, where the position information and the request information are transmitted to the server 86. For the request information, an information acquisition screen is selected from a menu screen displayed by operating the menu switch 36.
For example, as the information acquisition screen, a screen as shown in FIG. By operating the selection switch 72, the execution / screen changeover switch 38, and the cancel switch 76 to select the requested information from the information acquisition screen, the request information is transmitted to the server 86. As the request information, for example, a map around the current position, weather information, and current position detailed information such as the name of the current position can be selected.

In step 114, external processing is performed. The external processing is performed according to the flowchart of FIG. Here, the external processing will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In the external processing, first, at step 200, it is determined whether or not the server 86 can be accessed. Step 200 is repeated until the determination is affirmed, that is, until the server 86 becomes accessible. Step 2
If the determination is negative in 00, the fact that the server 86 cannot be accessed may be transmitted to the digital camera 10 as information, and the external processing may be terminated.

If the determination in step 200 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 202, where map information is searched based on the above-described position information.

In step 204, the above-mentioned request information corresponding to the searched map information is searched. The map information and the request information searched in step 206 are transmitted to the digital camera 10 by the relay station 88 and the mobile phone 84. Is transmitted from the server 86 via the PC, and a series of external processing ends.

In the digital camera 10, step 116
In FIG. 4, it is determined whether or not the information transmitted by the external processing has been received. If the judgment is negative,
A series of processing ends.

If the determination in step 116 is affirmative, information processing is performed. The information processing is performed according to the flowchart of FIG. Here, the information processing will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In the information processing, first, the information received from the server 86 in step 300 is temporarily stored in the memory 56.

Then, in step 302, an image to which the information received from the server 86 is to be added is selected.
Move to 4.

In step 304, an assignment process is performed to make the information temporarily stored in the memory 56 correspond to image data obtained by photographing with the digital camera 10. In the allocation process, for example, a photographed image is selected by operating various switches provided on the digital camera 10. Then, by operating the menu switch 36, for example, a selection screen for related information recording as shown in FIG. 5B is displayed on the display 26, and information to be recorded together with the image is selected.

In step 306, the information selected in step 302 is written as additional information in the header of the image data.

At step 308, whether or not to end the information processing is determined by displaying on the display 26 whether or not to end the information processing. If the operation of the digital camera 10 is performed and the determination is negative,
Returning to the above-mentioned step 302, the above-mentioned steps 302 to
Step 308 is repeated.

If the determination in step 308 is affirmative, a series of information processing and processing by the digital camera are terminated.

As described above, the digital camera 10 of the present embodiment can specify the current position and can easily acquire information on the current position. Further, information relating to the acquired current position can be recorded as additional information in the image data.

Next, a search process for searching for an image based on the additional information obtained as described above will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

Menu switch 3 of digital camera 10
By operating No. 6, the mode is switched to an image search mode for performing an image search. In the image search mode, first, in step 400, it is determined whether or not to perform a keyword search. The judgment is made by the selection switch 72 and the execution / screen changeover switch 3
8 and the operation of the cancel switch 76 are performed on the information input. When a keyword is input, a keyword search is performed. The keyword can be input by, for example, displaying the Japanese syllabary on the display 26 and operating the selection switch 72 or the like to select and input the displayed Japanese syllabary.

If the determination at step 400 is affirmative, the routine proceeds to 402, where the corresponding additional information recorded together with the image data is searched based on the input keyword.

Subsequently, in step 406, the search result is displayed on the display 26. And step 40
At 8, image data is selected. Selection of image data can be performed by operating the selection switch 72.

In step 410, the selected image is displayed on the display 26, and a series of processing is completed.

On the other hand, if the determination in step 402 is negative, the process proceeds to step 408, where the selection switch 72 is operated from the image data stored in the memory 56 to select the image data. In step 410, the image is displayed on the display 26, and the series of search processing ends.

As described above, the photographed image can be searched based on the additional information, so that the image data can be easily managed.

In the above description, an example in which image data shot by the digital camera 10 is searched has been described. However, as described above, image data in which additional information is recorded is loaded into a personal computer, and the personal computer reads the image data. The search may be performed, or the search may be performed by a printer that outputs an image.

[0069]

As described above, according to the present invention, position information is obtained, related information related to the obtained position information is obtained, and the related information is associated with image data obtained by shooting. By storing the image data, it is possible to easily manage the image data.

That is, there is provided a digital camera capable of easily acquiring additional information relating to a photographed image, recording the acquired additional information together with image data, and easily managing image data obtained by photographing. There is an effect that can be.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view of a digital camera according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which (A) is a front view and (B) is a back view.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the digital camera according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a system using the digital camera according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation in a system using the digital camera according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5A illustrates an example of an information acquisition screen.
FIG. 13B is a diagram illustrating an example of a selection screen for related information recording.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of an external process.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of information processing.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a search process.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 digital camera 13 lens 46 imaging device 56 memory 62 CPU 70 mobile phone connection slot 78 GPS antenna 80 access point memory 82 GPS satellite 84 mobile phone 86 server 88 access point

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A digital camera capable of storing a photographed subject as digital image data, wherein the photographing position-related information related to the photographing position is acquired based on the photographing position information. A digital camera, comprising: information acquisition means; and storage means for storing the shooting position-related information obtained by the shooting position-related information obtaining means in correspondence with digital image data obtained by shooting. 2. The photographing position-related information acquiring means transmits a position information acquiring means for acquiring position information of a current position at which photographing is performed, and the acquired position information, and acquires photographing position-related information based on the position information. 2. The digital camera according to claim 1, comprising: a communication unit for receiving. 3. The digital camera according to claim 2, wherein the position information acquisition unit specifies a current position based on a signal transmitted from a GPS satellite. 4. The digital camera according to claim 2, wherein the communication unit accesses a database that stores the photographing position related information corresponding to the position information. 5. The digital camera according to claim 4, wherein said communication means is a wireless telephone which is under a line contract and can exclusively communicate with a specific contract number. 6. The communication unit connects to the nearest relay station based on the position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit, among the plurality of relay stations that relay the photographing position-related information from the database. The digital camera according to claim 4 or 5, wherein