JP2000201335A - Electronic still camera with telephone function - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To recognize from what telephone set the image data is transmitted on the receiving side, in an electronic still camera to enable transmission of the photographed image data by integrating a camera and a portable telephone. SOLUTION: The electronic still camera is provided with a camera part 2 with a means to record the image data of a photographed image and a telephone circuit part 1 capable of transmitting the recorded image data by using a telephone line and the means to record the image data is constituted by constituting present station data to be set in the telephone circuit part 1 as recordable with the image data as additional information. When the image data to be obtained by photographing it by the camera part 2 is transmitted by the telephone circuit part 1, present station information to be set in the telephone circuit part 1 is added to the image data and by what camera the image data is photographed and transmitted is recognized on the side where the image data is received.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an electronic still camera, and more particularly to an electronic still camera having a telephone function.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, various electronic still cameras (hereinafter referred to as "electronic still cameras") have been developed.
Cameras are abbreviated), but most of them are recorded image data in a built-in memory, and then connected to an external computer or other image processing device via a cable or infrared, and recorded. The configuration is such that image data is taken into the image processing device. Alternatively, a configuration is adopted in which image data is recorded on a recording medium such as a flash card or a smart card mounted on a camera, and the image data is taken into an image processing device via the recording medium. However, with this type of camera, image data captured by the camera cannot be taken into a remote image processing device, and despite the miniaturization of the camera, its portability has not been sufficiently improved. It has not been possible to use it.

As a method of taking such image data into a remote image processing device, there is a method using a transmission technique. The image signal is converted into an electric signal, and then a wired or wireless telephone line is used. There is a technology to transmit. However, in this technique, a transmitting and receiving device for transmitting and receiving an image signal is required separately from the camera, and carrying both the camera and the transmitting and receiving device is not preferable in terms of portability of this type of camera. Under such circumstances, a technology has been proposed in which a mobile phone using a wireless telephone line is integrated with a camera. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 6-133,081 describes a technique in which a camera and a mobile phone are integrated, and photographed image data is transmitted using the mobile phone. With the camera having this configuration, the above-described problem can be solved, and this is effective in improving the portability of the camera.

[0004]

However, the technology described in the above publication is to simply integrate a camera and a mobile phone and transmit only captured image data to a remote image processing device via a wireless telephone line. Therefore, the image processing device that has received the transmitted image data cannot recognize from which telephone the received image data was transmitted. Therefore, when receiving image data from multiple telephones,
On the image processing device side, the call state is recorded at the same time as the reception of the image data, and the image data transmitted from any telephone is compared with the received image data and the call record. You need to know. Even when receiving image data from one telephone, it is necessary to recognize when the image data was received. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a circuit means for performing such recognition processing on the receiving side of image data such as the above-described image processing apparatus, which increases the load on the equipment on the receiving side and leads to higher price. Problems will arise.

[0005] It is an object of the present invention to provide an electronic still camera with a telephone function capable of recognizing which telephone the transmitted image data is from on the receiving side.

[0006]

According to the present invention, there is provided a camera unit having means for recording image data of a photographed image, and a telephone circuit unit capable of transmitting the recorded image data using a telephone line. Wherein the means for transmitting the image data is configured to be able to transmit the own station data set in the telephone circuit section as additional information together with the image data. Here, the additional information is any one of a number, a code, a character, etc. unique to the telephone, including the own station number of the telephone, or a combination thereof.
Further, the recording unit can arbitrarily set whether or not to record the additional information.

[0007] In the present invention, image data obtained by photographing with the camera unit can be transmitted by the telephone circuit unit, and the transmitted image data includes local station information set in the telephone circuit unit. Is added, the side that has received the image data can recognize which camera has taken and transmitted the image data.

[0008]

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a view showing an embodiment of a camera with a mobile phone function according to the present invention, wherein FIG.
(B) is a rear view. The housing 101 of the camera is formed as a vertically elongated housing, and an antenna 102 is provided upright on the upper end thereof. On the front side, from the top to the bottom, a speaker 103, a liquid crystal display 104,
An operation key array 105 and a microphone 106 are provided, and a photographing lens 107 and a strobe light emitting unit 1
08 is provided with a battery / card exchange cover 109 at a position near the bottom. In addition, a terminal 110 for outputting an image signal, a terminal for connecting an earphone speaker, and the like 110 are provided on the side surface. The operation key row 105 includes a numeric keypad 111, a power key 112 for turning on and off the power of a camera including a mobile phone, and a mode switching key 11 for switching various modes described later.
3. It is composed of a call key 114 and a hold key 115 for switching between telephone call and hold in the telephone mode, a setting key 116 for inputting various information, and a search key 117. Of these keys, the call key 114
Can function as a release button in camera mode,
Of the numeric keys, the # key 118 and the * key 119 also function as a forward key and a return key of the display screen in the camera playback mode, respectively.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the internal circuit configuration of the camera. The internal circuit includes a telephone circuit unit 1 having a function as a mobile phone, a camera unit 2 having a function as an electronic still camera, and the telephone circuit unit 1 based on an input through the operation keys 105. Camera unit 2
And a power supply circuit 4 for supplying power to the control circuit 3 or each of the units 1 and 2.

The telephone circuit unit 1 includes the antenna 102
Communication circuit 1 for transmitting and receiving wireless signals connected to
21, a multiple access signal processing circuit 122 for multiplexing or demultiplexing a signal to be transmitted / received, an information identification circuit 123 for identifying whether the signal to be transmitted / received is image data or audio data, An image file encoding / decoding circuit 124 for encoding or decoding, and an audio signal encoding / decoding circuit 125 for encoding or decoding the audio data are provided. In the telephone circuit section 1, the audio signal input from the microphone 106 is encoded as audio data in an audio signal encoding / decoding circuit 125. Further, as described later, the image data from the camera unit 2 is transmitted to an image file encoding / decoding circuit 12.
4 to encode. The audio data or image data identified by the information identification circuit 123 is multiplexed by the multiple access signal processing circuit 122 and transmitted from the wireless communication circuit 121 via the antenna 102 using a wireless telephone line. A signal received by the wireless communication circuit 121 through the wireless telephone line is subjected to demultiplexing of audio data or image data by the multiple access signal processing circuit 122. Then, the audio data is identified by the information identification circuit 123 and then decoded by the audio signal encoding / decoding circuit 125 to produce an audio signal, which is output from the speaker 103 as audio. On the other hand, the image data is identified by the information identification circuit 123, decoded by the image file encoding / decoding circuit 124, and output to the camera unit 2.

On the other hand, the camera section 2 converts a subject image formed by the photographing lens 107 into an electric signal and outputs an image signal. It has a signal processing unit 130 that performs various processes on the image signal. The signal processing unit 130 has a circuit configuration basically similar to the configuration of signal processing of a conventionally proposed electronic still camera, and has a gain control for controlling a gain of an image signal output from the image sensor 131. 132, an A / D converter 133 for digitizing the image signal and converting it to image data, a signal processing circuit 134 for performing various processes on the converted image data, and an image signal for converting the image data to analog. To D / A converter 135
And a liquid crystal drive circuit 136 that drives the liquid crystal display unit 104 based on an image signal output from the D / A converter 135 to display an image. Further, the image data from the A / D converter 133 is input to the control circuit 3, and the control circuit 3 performs compression / expansion processing.

A built-in field memory 137 controlled by a field memory controller 138 for writing the image data, and a built-in or detachable flash memory controlled by a flash memory controller 140 for recording the image data 139 are provided. Further, the image sensor 13
And an A / D converter 133, a signal processing circuit 134, a D / A converter 135, the field memory controller 138, and a flash memory controller 140 of the signal processing unit 130. 142 controls the timing. Further, an AF unit 143 and an AF circuit 144 for performing an automatic focusing operation for focusing the photographing lens 107, a strobe circuit 145 for emitting the strobe light emitting unit 108, and light transmitted through the photographing lens 107. Sensor 1 for detecting
A photometric circuit 147 for performing photometry of the subject based on the control circuit 46 is configured to be controllable by the control circuit 3. Further, a backlight driving circuit 149 for turning on / off a backlight 148 for illuminating the liquid crystal display unit 104 is configured to be controllable by the control circuit 3.

Next, the operation of the above-configured camera with a portable telephone function will be described. FIG. 3 is a mode setting chart. First, by sequentially depressing the mode switching key 113, the “setting mode” M1, the “camera mode” M2,
"Telephone mode" M3 is selected. In the “setting mode” M1, by operating the setting key 116 and the numeric keypad 111 in combination, the own station number and name of the telephone integrated with the camera, or a unique number capable of recognizing the self,
It is possible to register own station data composed of any of the codes or a combination thereof in a memory (not shown) built in the control circuit 3. The registration of the own station data is optional, but the own station number is often required for the mobile phone, and even if it is not essential, the own station data should be recorded in the “camera mode”. If so, be sure to register. Also,
By a combination operation with the ten keys 111, a "photographing mode" M21 and a "playback mode" M22 can be selected in the "camera mode" M2. Further, in the "photographing mode" M21, when recording image data as described later, it is possible to select the "own station data recording mode" M211 in which the own station data is recorded simultaneously with the image data. On the other hand, in the "telephone mode" M3, a "normal call mode" M31 and an "image transmission mode" M32 can be selected. Hereinafter, each mode will be described individually.

"Camera mode"-"Shooting mode" As shown in the flowchart of FIG.
When the “camera mode” M2 is set at 13 and the “photographing mode” M21 is further set at the camera unit 2, the control circuit 3 in the camera unit 2 operates based on the photometric data obtained from the photometric sensor 146 and the photometric circuit 147. To set the charge accumulation time in the image sensor 131 (S10).
1). At this time, the AF circuit 144 controls the AF unit 143 to perform focusing on the subject (S102). Then, the subject image formed by the photographing lens 107 is photoelectrically converted by the image sensor 131, and the obtained image signal is converted into digital data of a predetermined level by the gain control 132 and the A / D converter 133. After performing a predetermined process in the circuit 134, it is recorded in the field memory 137 (S103). At the same time, the image data is converted into an analog video signal by the D / A converter 135, and the photographed subject image is displayed as a monitor image on the liquid crystal display unit 104 by the liquid crystal drive circuit 136. And release button (call key) 1
It is determined that the button 14 has been pressed (S104). If the button 14 has not been pressed, the above operation is repeated. On the other hand, the release button 114
When the button is pressed, the subject is photographed by the photographing lens 107 and the image sensor 131, and the image data obtained by the above-described operation by this photographing is written in the field memory 137 (S105). Then, it is determined whether the mode is the “own station data recording mode” (S106). If the mode is the “own station data recording mode”, the own station data registered in the internal memory of the control circuit 3 is read (S107). The additional information is constructed using the own station data (S108), and the constructed additional information is stored in the flash memory 139 together with the image data.
(S109).

In recording on the flash memory 139, one file 200 is constructed for one image data as shown in FIG. 5 showing the file structure of the recording information in the flash memory 139. Each file is
A file header area 201 for recording file format identification information and the like, and an image data area 2 for recording the image data
02 and an additional information area 203. When image data is recorded in the flash memory 139, required header information is recorded in the file header area 201,
At the same time as recording the compressed image data in the image data area 202, the additional information constructed from the own station data as described above is recorded in the additional information area 203. Needless to say, the additional information area 203 can record photographing data, for example, data such as photographing date and time, place, and exposure. If the "own station data recording mode" is not selected in step S106 of the above-described process, the own station data is not read out, and thus the construction of additional information not including the own station data is performed. (S108).

[Camera Mode]-[Reproduction Mode] When [Reproduction Mode] is selected in [Camera Mode], a file recorded in the flash memory 139 is read out by the control circuit 3 and recorded in the file. Image data is written into the field memory 137, and the signal processing circuit 134 and the D / A converter 1
The image signal is converted into a video signal by 35 and displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 104 by the liquid crystal drive circuit 136. By pressing the # key (forward key) 118 and the * key (return key) 119, the previous image and the next image can be sequentially displayed, and an arbitrary image is searched by the search key 117. It is possible. Also, in this playback mode, the additional information recorded in the currently displayed video file can be erased by additionally pressing the operation keys, or the additional information not recorded is additionally recorded. It is also possible.

"Telephone mode"-"Normal telephone mode" In the "Normal telephone mode" of the "Phone mode", the microphone 10
The audio signal input from 6 is encoded as audio data in the audio signal encoding / decoding circuit 125, transmitted through the multiple access signal processing circuit 122, and transmitted from the wireless communication circuit 121 as an audio data signal. In addition, the wireless communication circuit 12
The audio data signal received in 1 passes through a multiple access signal processing circuit 122, is decoded as an audio signal in an audio signal encoding / decoding circuit 125, and is output from the speaker 103 as audio. This allows a normal call.

[Telephone Mode]-[Image Transmission Mode] In the [Image Transmission Mode], file data recorded in the flash memory 139 of the camera unit 2 is read out.
The image data and additional information in the file data are encoded in the image file encoding / decoding circuit 124. Then, the image data encoded by the multiple access signal processing circuit 122 is multiplexed and transmitted from the wireless communication circuit 121 as an image data signal. On the other hand, the image data signal received by the wireless communication circuit 121 is demultiplexed by the multiple access signal processing circuit 122, and the separated image data is identified by the information identification circuit 123, and is then identified by the image file encoding / decoding circuit 124. The data is decrypted and recorded in the flash memory 139.

As described above, in the "image transmission mode", it is possible to transmit the photographed image data together with the additional information to the remote image processing device using the wireless telephone line. Contains own station data on the side that has transmitted the image data as additional information. Therefore, the image processing device that has received the image data can recognize which telephone or from which telephone the image data has been transmitted by referring to the additional information of the transmitted image data. Further, when constructing the additional information, since the photographing data such as the photographing date and time, the photographing place and the photographing conditions are added to the pre-registered own station data, the photographing data is used on the receiving side. It is also possible. As a result, the image processing device that receives the image data can use the additional information for the processing of the image data. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide the receiving device with a circuit unit that performs the process of recognizing the image data.

Further, when image data is received by the above-described camera of the present embodiment, the transmitting camera records own station data as additional information in a file of image data, similarly to the present embodiment. , The received image data can be handled exactly the same as the image data captured by the own camera. In this case, after detecting the own station data of the additional information of the received image data, a call may be made to the camera on the transmitting side.

Here, the file configuration of the image data in the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, image data can be recorded in an uncompressed state such as an RGB format without compression. Also,
The data may be encrypted (recorded as a so-called digital watermark) in the image data so that the additional information of the image data cannot be altered on the receiving side. In addition, the flash card may have a built-in configuration that cannot be removed. Further, the camera unit and the telephone unit may be mechanically separable.

[0022]

As described above, the present invention provides a camera unit having means for recording image data of a photographed image,
A telephone circuit unit capable of transmitting the recorded image data using a telephone line, and configured so that own station data set in the telephone circuit unit can be recorded as image data and the original as additional information. When image data obtained by photographing with the camera unit is transmitted by the telephone circuit unit, the local data set in the telephone circuit unit is added to the image data, so that the image data is received. In this case, it is possible to recognize which camera has taken and transmitted the image data. Therefore, while the portability of the camera due to the integration of the camera and the telephone can be effectively exhibited, an operation for transmitting the source together with the image data each time image data is transmitted is required. Without this, the operability of the camera can be simplified and the convenience can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view and a rear view of an electronic still camera according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an internal configuration of the electronic still camera in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a chart illustrating an operation mode of the electronic still camera in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the electronic still camera in FIG. 1 in a shooting mode.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a recording file structure of the electronic still camera of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Telephone circuit part 2 Camera part 3 Control circuit 4 Power supply circuit 101 Case 102 Antenna 103 Speaker 104 Liquid crystal display part 105 Operation key row 106 Microphone 107 Photo lens 108 Strobe 130 Signal processing part 131 Image sensor

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An electronic still camera with a telephone function, comprising: a camera unit having means for recording image data of a photographed image; and a telephone circuit unit capable of transmitting the recorded image data using a telephone line. The electronic still camera with a telephone function, wherein the means for transmitting the image data is configured to be able to transmit own station data set in the telephone circuit section as additional information together with the image data. 2. The mobile phone according to claim 1, wherein the additional information is local station data including a local number of the telephone, a code, a character, or the like or a combination thereof, including a local telephone number of the telephone. Electronic still camera with telephone function. 3. The electronic still camera with a telephone function according to claim 1, wherein the means for recording the image data can arbitrarily set whether or not to record the additional information. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said means for recording image data has a file structure for recording individual image data, and records said image data and additional information in individual file units. An electronic still camera with a telephone function according to Crab. 5. The electronic still camera with a telephone function according to claim 4, wherein the means for recording the image data is a built-in or detachable memory. 6. The telephone circuit unit according to claim 1, wherein the telephone circuit unit is configured as a mobile phone that performs a telephone call through a wireless telephone line, and is configured to switch between a normal telephone call and the transmission of the image data. An electronic still camera with a telephone function according to any of the above.