JP2001028704A - Picture photographing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a picture photographing device which allows acquiring positional information with high precision and inputting a variety of additional information except for positional information by transmitting an information request and recording received information correlating it with a photographed picture. SOLUTION: A portable terminal control part 11 transfers positional information from a positional information acquisition part 12 to an input/output interface 13 for a digital camera, gives an instruction to transmit it and transmits the positional information to the other portable terminal input/output interface 25 of a digital camera 20. In the digital camera 20, the portable terminal input/ output interface 25 receives the positional information from the digital camera input/output interface part 13 and transfers the positional information to a digital camera control part 21. The digital camera control part 21 makes a photographed picture which is previously received from a picture photographing part 23 correspond to the positional information transferred from the portable terminal input/output interface part 25 and records them in a recording part 24.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to additional information such as position information of a photographing place and input information of a photographer, which are added to an image photographed by a photographing means such as a digital camera or a digital video camera. And an image capturing apparatus that records the images in association with each other.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional image photographing apparatus of this type,
For example, JP-A-4-7074 and JP-A-9-1275
As described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 95, by incorporating a position information acquisition device such as a GPS receiver in a camera, a position information of a photographing place is acquired and recorded in association with a photographed image. I have.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A position information acquiring device is
In order to increase the accuracy, the volume and weight of the device tend to increase. For example, a GPS receiver terminal requires an antenna for receiving radio waves from a satellite with high accuracy, and the accuracy increases as the size of the antenna increases. Therefore, when a camera is equipped with a position information acquisition device such as a GPS receiver that can obtain high accuracy, the camera becomes large and heavy, and the operability is deteriorated. Conversely, a position information acquisition device that uses an antenna or the like large enough to easily handle a camera has a problem that position information cannot be acquired with high accuracy.

[0004] In addition to the positional information, there are cases where it is desired to record the comment of the photographer, the weather of the photographing date, and other information in association with the photographed image. When mounted on a camera, the size of the camera is similarly increased and operability is deteriorated.

An object of the present invention is to obtain position information with high accuracy without impairing the operability of a camera body,
It is an object of the present invention to provide an image photographing apparatus capable of inputting various additional information other than position information.

[0006]

In an image photographing apparatus according to the present invention, a portable information supply means for acquiring and inputting position information and various other information and an image photographing means of a camera body are provided in separate housings. The information is stored and connected between them by a wired or wireless information input / output interface. Here, as the portable information supply means, a notebook personal computer connected to a portable terminal or a portable GPS receiver, dedicated hardware built in the GPS receiver, or the like can be used. The portable information supply means does not need to be held by hand with the image photographing means of the camera body at the time of photographing, and can be put in, for example, a bag or the like, so that the operability of the camera is not impaired.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the embodiment, a digital camera is used as an image photographing unit. However, a similar configuration is possible with a digital video camera or the like. Further, although a portable terminal is used as a portable information supply device, a similar configuration is possible with a notebook personal computer connected to a portable GPS receiver or dedicated hardware with a built-in GPS receiver as described above. .

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of an image photographing apparatus according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 denotes a portable terminal used for portable information supply means, and reference numeral 20 denotes a digital camera as image photographing means. The mobile terminal 10 includes a mobile terminal control unit 11, a position information acquisition unit 12, and a digital camera input / output interface unit 13. The position information acquisition unit 12 is a PHS, a GPS receiver, or the like. Mobile terminal 1
0 further includes a handset for talking, a liquid crystal touch panel for displaying information, and the like, but is omitted in FIG. The digital camera 20 includes a digital camera control unit 21,
An operation unit 22, an image photographing unit 23, a recording unit 24, and a portable terminal input / output interface unit 25 are provided. Operation unit 22
Is for the operator to give a shooting timing to the digital camera 20, and is, for example, a shutter button. The image photographing unit 23 is a part composed of a lens, an aperture, a CCD, a shutter, and the like, and has a function of inputting an external optical image and converting it into an internal electric signal. The recording unit 24 is detachable with a memory card, for example.

The digital camera input / output interface unit 13 of the mobile terminal 10 and the mobile terminal input / output interface unit 25 of the digital camera 20 are physically connected to each other via a wireless signal exchange or a signal transmission cable. To exchange signals. Therefore, the portable terminal 10 and the digital camera 20 can be held separately.

FIG. 2 shows a flow of the operation of the image photographing apparatus of this embodiment shown in FIG. The operation of this embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG.

Assume that the user points the digital camera 20 at the subject and presses the shutter button of the operation unit 22. The digital camera control unit 21 detects the depression of the shutter button (step 101), and the image photographing unit 2
In step 3, the subject is photographed, and the photographed image is received from the image photographing unit 23 (step 102). At the same time, the digital camera control unit 21 instructs the portable terminal input / output interface unit 25 to transmit an information request signal (step 103). The mobile terminal input / output interface 25 transmits an information request signal to the digital camera input / output interface 13 of the mobile terminal 10 (step 104).

In the portable terminal 10, the digital camera input / output interface unit 13 receives the information request signal from the portable terminal input / output interface unit 25 of the digital camera 20 (step 105). The reception of the information request signal is notified (step 10).
6). In response, the portable terminal control unit 11 instructs the position information acquisition unit 12 to acquire position information (Step 107). The position information acquisition unit 12 acquires the position information of the local point and returns it to the portable terminal control unit 11 (step 10).
8). The portable terminal control unit 11 passes the position information from the position information acquisition unit 12 to the digital camera input / output interface unit 13 and instructs to transmit it (step 109).
3 transmits the position information to the portable terminal input / output interface 25 of the digital camera 20 (step 110).

In the digital camera 20, the portable terminal input / output interface unit 25 receives the position information from the digital camera input / output interface unit 13 of the portable terminal 10 (step 111). The position information is passed (step 112). The digital camera control section 21 associates the captured image already received from the image capturing section 23 with the position information passed from the portable terminal input / output interface section 25 in step 102 and records the captured image in the recording section 24.

At the time of photographing, if a user inputs desired information using a liquid crystal display touch panel of the portable terminal 10 or the like, an information request from the digital camera 20 is satisfied.
The mobile terminal 10 sends the information input by the user to the digital camera 20, and the digital camera 20 can record the input information of the user in association with the photographed image.

While the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, as another embodiment, for example, the digital camera input / output interface unit 13 of the portable terminal 10 is used as an output interface unit, and the portable terminal control unit 11 is provided with the output terminal. The interface unit is configured to continuously output position information and the like at all times. On the other hand, the digital camera control unit 21 uses the input / output interface unit 25 of the digital camera 20 as an input interface unit. A configuration may be adopted in which position information and the like from the terminal 10 are received, and the information is recorded in the recording unit 24 in association with the photographed image.

[0016]

As described above in detail, according to the image photographing apparatus of the present invention, position information and other information can be obtained and obtained.
The portable information supply means such as a portable terminal for inputting and the image capturing means of the camera body are stored in independent housings, and the space between them is connected by a wired or wireless information input / output interface. It is possible to reduce the size of the photographing means, and it is not necessary to hold a portable information supply means for acquiring position information and the like at the time of photographing together with the image photographing means. This has a remarkable effect that the operability of the camera is improved as compared with a camera having a built-in GPS receiver or the like.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of an image photographing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a processing operation of one embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 mobile terminal 11 mobile terminal control unit 12 position information acquisition unit 13 digital camera input / output interface unit 20 digital camera 21 digital camera control unit 22 operation unit 23 image capturing unit 24 recording unit 25 mobile terminal input / output interface unit

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Sakuichi Otsuka 3-19-2 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo F-term in Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (reference) 5C022 AA11 AA13 AC79 5C053 FA08 GA20 JA21 KA04 LA01 LA11 LA20

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An image photographing means, comprising: portable information supply means independent of the image photographing means; the portable information supply means comprising: an information input means; a wireless or wired information input / output interface means; Control means for receiving an information request from the image photographing means via the input / output interface, and transmitting information inputted by the input means to the image photographing means, wherein the image photographing means comprises a photographing means. Recording means; wireless or wired information input / output interface means;
Via the input / output interface, transmits an information request to the portable information supply unit, receives information from the portable information supply unit, and associates the received information with an image captured by the imaging unit. An image photographing apparatus, comprising: a control unit that records on the recording unit. 2. An image photographing means, and a portable information supply means independent of the image photographing means, the portable information supply means comprising: an information input means; a wireless or wired output interface means; Control means for continuously transmitting information input by the input means to the image photographing means via an interface, wherein the image photographing means includes a photographing means, a recording means, and wireless or wired information. Input interface means, and control means for receiving information from the portable information supply means via the input interface, and recording the received information in the recording means in association with an image photographed by the photographing means. An image capturing apparatus, comprising: 3. The image photographing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the portable information supply means has means for acquiring position information as input means, and at least transmits the position information to the image photographing means. An image photographing apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. 4. The image photographing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein
An image capturing apparatus, wherein the means for acquiring position information is a GPS receiving means.