JP2001092925A - Input device for photographing device, device and system for photographing - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a photographing system for transmitting data at prescribed timing between an input device for photographing device and a photographing device. SOLUTION: Concerning the photographing system for exchanging data between the input device for photographing device and the photographing device, this system is provided with the input device for photographing device having an input part for inputting data from an operator, a timing receiving part for receiving the signal of timing to send the data inputted to the input part to the photographing device and a data transmitting part for sending the data to the photographing device on the basis of the timing signal received by the timing receiving part and the photographing device having a photographing part for photographing an image, a transmitting part for sending the timing signal to transmit the data to the input device for photographing device, a receiving part for receiving the data from the input device for photographing device and recording part for recording the image and the said data.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an input device for a photographing device, a photographing device, and a photographing system. In particular, the present invention relates to an imaging system that transmits data at a predetermined timing between an imaging device input device and an imaging device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when recognizing a character included in an image, a character string is extracted from the image, compared with the shape of the character string stored in advance, and a character code string corresponding to the character shape matched as a result of the comparison is extracted. Had been generated.

A conventional camera-integrated information processing apparatus is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-72546 (published March 1, 1995).
No. 7) discloses a camera having a function of recording data input by a photographer in a memory. Also, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open
No. 142694 (published June 18, 1991) discloses a method of extracting an area including a character from an image and recognizing the character. Also, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 9-114857
(Publication date May 2, 1997) discloses a computer that associates a keyword with an input image.

[0004]

However, when recognizing difficult-to-recognize characters such as hand-written characters or characters such as low-resolution character images, the recognition speed and the recognition rate may be low and the recognition rates may be improved. Was desired. For example, a construction photograph includes a blackboard image and recognizes characters written on the blackboard. However, the characters written on the blackboard are written during actual work at the construction site, and thus the typeface is often greatly distorted, making it difficult to recognize the characters correctly. Also, if the resolution of the image of the blackboard in the construction photograph is low, it is difficult to correctly recognize the characters written on the blackboard.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an input device for a photographing device, a photographing device, and a photographing system which can solve the above-mentioned problems. This object is achieved by a combination of features described in the independent claims. The dependent claims define further advantageous embodiments of the present invention.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an input device for a photographing device for transmitting predetermined data to a photographing device.
An input unit for inputting the data from the operator, a timing receiving unit for receiving a signal of a timing at which the data input to the input unit should be sent to the imaging device from the imaging device, and a timing reception unit for receiving the data; A data transmission unit that sends the data to the photographing device based on the timing signal, and associates the data with an image photographed by the photographing device.

[0007] The information processing apparatus may further include a character information generating unit that recognizes handwritten characters input as the data by the input unit and generates character information. The data transmission unit may include a unit that transmits the character information generated by the character information generation unit as the data, the timing reception unit,
There may be provided means for receiving the flash light of the photographing device as the timing signal.

[0008] The input unit may have an item column in which an operator enters handwritten characters. A selection condition storage unit that stores a character code string of a character string likely to be included in the item column as a selection condition in association with the item column, and stores a character code included in the character code string in the character code. A character shape condition storage unit for storing the character shape condition together with the corresponding character shape may be further provided. The character information generation unit may include means for recognizing the handwritten character entered in the item column based on the selection condition and the character shape condition.

[0009] The selection condition storage unit may include means for including the additional selection condition in the selection condition corresponding to the item column, and the character information generation unit may include a unit including the additional selection condition. The information processing apparatus may further include means for generating the character information based on the selection condition and the character shape condition.

[0010] The selection condition storage unit may further include means for storing, as the additional selection condition, history information indicating which character code string is generated based on the character code string among the selection conditions. .

[0011] The selection condition storage unit stores, as the additional selection condition, which of the character code strings included in the selection condition is prioritized when the character information generation unit generates the character information. It may further have means for performing.

[0012] The character shape condition storage unit may further include means for storing the shape of the character included in the item column as the additional character shape in association with the character code. May further include a unit configured to generate the character information based on the selection condition, the character shape condition including the additional character shape, and the selection condition.

[0013] The character information generating section is configured to generate a character string candidate that can be included in the item column based on the selection condition and the character shape condition. Means for determining one character string to generate the character information, the character shape condition storage unit stores the character shape of a character included in the character string determined by the character information generation unit. The apparatus may further include means for storing the additional character shape in association with the character code.

When a handwritten character of the same character string is recognized a plurality of times, the character shape condition storage unit stores the shape of the handwritten character as the additional character shape in association with the character code. Means may further be provided.

According to a first embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a photographing apparatus for photographing and recording an image, a photographing section for photographing the image, and an input for the photographing apparatus for transmitting predetermined data to the photographing apparatus. A transmitting unit that sends a timing signal for transmitting the data to the device, a receiving unit that receives the data from the input device for the photographing device, and a recording unit that records the image and the data.

[0016] The image processing apparatus may further include a correspondence information generation unit that generates correspondence information indicating that the image corresponds to the data. The recording unit may include a unit that records the correspondence information.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an imaging system for exchanging data between an imaging device input device and an imaging device, comprising: an input unit for inputting the data from an operator; A timing receiving unit that receives a signal of a timing at which the data input to the imaging device should be sent to the imaging device, and data that sends the data to the imaging device based on the timing signal received by the timing receiving unit. A photographing device input device having a transmitting unit, a photographing unit for photographing an image, a transmitting unit for transmitting a timing signal for transmitting the data to the photographing device input device, and the photographing device input device An image capturing apparatus includes a receiving unit that receives data, and a recording unit that records the image and the data.

The above summary of the present invention does not enumerate all of the necessary features of the present invention, and sub-combinations of these features may also constitute the present invention.

[0019]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described through embodiments of the present invention. However, the following embodiments do not limit the claimed invention and have the features described in the embodiments. Not all combinations are essential to the solution of the invention.

FIG. 1 shows the appearance of an input device 100 for a photographing device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 shows a character description column 110, a display unit 42, a data transmission unit 46, and a timing reception unit 48 among the components included in the imaging device input device 100. The character description column 110 has a plurality of item columns 112a to 112f (collectively 112). When a handwritten character is entered in the character description field 110, the input device 100 for a photographing device recognizes the input character,
The character string candidates are displayed on the display unit 42. The imaging device input device 100 generates character information by selecting one character string from character string candidates according to an operator's selection. The timing receiving unit 48 receives a timing signal indicating the timing of image capturing from the image capturing apparatus 200 that captures an image. The data transmitting unit 46 transmits character information to the photographing device 200 based on a timing signal indicating a photographing timing.

For example, in photographing a construction site,
Take a picture of the blackboard describing the construction. When the photographing device input device 100 is used as the blackboard, the photographing device 200 can obtain a photograph taken by the photographing device 200 and information described on the blackboard included in the photograph, so that the album can be easily created. become.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a photographing system 500 including the photographing device input device 100 and the photographing device 200 shown in FIG. The photographing device 200 sends a timing signal indicating the timing of photographing to the photographing device input device 100. The photographing device input device 100 sends character information to the photographing device 200 based on the timing signal received from the photographing device 200.

The input device 100 for a photographing device has a character description column 110, an input unit 10, a processing unit 20, a selection input unit 40, a display unit 42, a data transmission unit 46, and a timing reception unit 48.

The input unit 10 inputs the handwritten character entered in the character entry field 110 by the operator, and the position information and hand information indicating in which item column 112 the character entry is entered in the character entry field 110. The character is passed to the processing unit 20.
The processing unit 20 recognizes the input handwritten character based on a predetermined condition corresponding to the position information, and generates character information.
The display unit 42 displays character string candidates for generating character information. The selection input unit 40 selects one character string from the character string candidates displayed on the display unit 42 based on the operation of the operator. The processing unit 20 generates character information from the selected character string.

The timing receiving section 48 includes a photographing device 200
And passes it to the data transmission unit 46. The data transmission unit 46 sends the character information generated by the processing unit 20 to the imaging device 200 based on the timing signal received from the timing reception unit 48. The timing receiving section 48 may receive the flash light of the imaging device 200 as a timing signal. For this reason, the photographing device 2
00 can receive character information from the input device 100 for a photographing device at the timing of photographing an image. Therefore, the image capturing apparatus 200 can easily associate the image with the character information.

The photographing apparatus 200 includes a photographing section 50, a timing transmitting section 52, a data receiving section 54, and a correspondence information generating section 56.
And a recording unit 58 and an output unit 60.

Prior to photographing an image, the photographing section 50 generates a timing signal indicating that an image is to be photographed, and sends it to the timing transmitting section 52. In another form,
After capturing the image, the capturing unit 50 transmits a timing signal indicating that the capturing of the image has been completed to the timing transmitting unit 52.
May be sent to The timing transmitting unit 52 includes the photographing unit 50
The timing signal received from the camera input device 1
Send to 00. The photographing device input device 100 transmits character information to be associated with an image photographed by the photographing device 200 to the photographing device 200 based on the timing signal. Then
The data receiving unit 54 of the imaging device 200 receives the character information and sends it to the correspondence information generating unit 56. Correspondence information generator 5
Reference numeral 6 generates correspondence information indicating that the character information and the image photographed by the photographing unit 50 correspond to each other.

The recording unit 58 records the character information received by the correspondence information generation unit 56, the image photographed by the photographing unit 50, and the correspondence information generated by the correspondence information generation unit 56 on a recording medium. As the recording medium, a detachable nonvolatile semiconductor memory such as a memory card, a magnetic recording medium such as a floppy disk, or the like may be used. The recording unit 58 is an APS (Advanced Phot) provided with a magnetic recording unit.
o System) Character information may be recorded on a magnetic recording unit of a film, a semiconductor memory incorporated in the photographing apparatus 200, a magnetic disk, or the like.

The output section 60 outputs character information and a photographed image. The output unit 60 may be, for example, a liquid crystal monitor with a built-in camera that displays images and character information on a screen, a small printer with a built-in camera that prints character information and captured images, and the like.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an image processing method of the photographing device input device 100 according to the present embodiment. When the input device 100 for a photographing device starts a character input operation, the input unit 10 reads the handwritten character entered in the character description column 110, and the handwritten character is changed to any item column 11
2 is generated (S10).
2). Next, the processing unit 20 recognizes the input handwritten character and generates character information (S104). The timing receiving unit 48 receives a timing signal indicating the timing at which the imaging device 200 performs imaging from the imaging device 200,
The data is sent to the data transmission unit 46 (S106). Data transmission unit 4
6 sends the character information generated in S104 to the photographing device 200 based on the timing signal received from the timing receiving unit 48 (S108).

FIG. 4 shows a photographing apparatus 20 according to this embodiment.
11 is a flowchart showing the operation of the "0". For example, when it is detected that an image is shot by an operator touching a shutter switch or the like, the shooting unit 50 sends a timing signal of shooting to the timing transmission unit 52. The timing transmitting unit 52 receives the timing signal of photographing from the photographing unit 50 and sends it to the photographing device input device 100 (S
202). Next, the image capturing unit 50 captures an image (S2
04). Then, based on the received timing signal, the input device 100 for a photographing device
Send to 0. Next, in the photographing device 200, the data receiving unit 54 receives the character information transmitted from the photographing device input device 100 (S206). Next, the correspondence information generation unit 56 generates correspondence information indicating that the character information received by the data reception unit 54 corresponds to the image captured by the imaging unit 50 (S208). The recording unit 58 records the character information received by the correspondence information generation unit 56 and the photographed image (S210). Next, the output unit 60 outputs the character information and the captured image on a screen or as a printed matter (S212).

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram showing a detailed configuration of the processing section 20. The processing unit 20 includes the character information generation unit 2
2, a date mechanism 24, a selection condition storage unit 26, and a character shape condition storage unit 28. The character information generation unit 22 determines a character string included in the character description column 110 based on a predetermined selection condition stored in the selection condition storage unit 26 and a predetermined character shape condition stored in the character shape condition storage unit 28. Recognize and generate character information. The selection condition storage unit 26 stores the character description field 11
A character code string of a character likely to be included in each of the item columns 112a to f in 0 is stored as a selection condition in association with each of the item columns 112a to 112f. Further, the selection condition storage unit 26 stores a character code string of a general-purpose word. The character shape condition storage unit 28 stores the character code as a character shape condition together with the character shape corresponding to the character code.

The character information generation unit 22 receives, from the input unit 10, positional information indicating in which item column 112 the character string is described, and the character string described in the item column 112.
From the selection conditions stored in the selection condition storage unit 26, a plurality of character code strings associated with the item columns 112a to 112f are selected. Next, the character shape corresponding to the character code included in the selected character code string is extracted from the character shape condition, and is compared with the character shapes included in the character strings in the item columns 112a to 112f. When the character shapes match or approximate as a result of the comparison, the character information generation unit 22 determines that the characters match. The character information generation unit 22 similarly recognizes all characters included in the character code string, and
A character code string that is sufficiently likely is selected from a plurality of character code strings associated with .about.f, and character information is generated. As described above, since the character recognition is performed based on the character strings likely to be included in the respective item columns 112a to 112f, the speed of character recognition can be increased.

The character information generation section 22 causes the display section 42 to display the character information of the selected character code string that is sufficiently likely. The operator operates the display unit 4 via the selection input unit 40.
One character code string is selected from the plurality of character code strings displayed in 2. The character information generation unit 22 passes the character information of the selected character string to the data transmission unit 46. The character shape used to generate the character information may be added to the character shape condition storage unit 28. In this case, in the next character recognition, the character information generation unit 22 can recognize similar characters faster and with higher accuracy.

The character information generation unit 22 determines, from among a plurality of character code strings included in the selection condition, only one character code string whose corresponding character shape is closest to the character shape of the character entered in the item box 112. May be selected. in this case,
The character information generation unit 22 generates character information including the selected character code string.

According to the present embodiment, even if the degree of approximation between the character shape of the character entered in the item column 112 and the character shape of the character to be selected is low, the difference from the other character code strings is large. If so, the correct character code string can be selected. That is, when the character string entered in the item column 112 is included in the selection condition, the accuracy of character recognition can be increased.

When the character string to be recognized is not included in the selection condition, the character information generating section 22 recognizes the character using a general-purpose character code and generates character information.

The character information generating unit 22 includes the selection condition storing unit 2
6 may include additional selection conditions. For example, in the character recognition, history information indicating which character code string is generated based on the character code string among the selection conditions may be included in the selection condition as an additional selection condition.

The date mechanism 24 generates date information. The character information generation unit 22 may perform character recognition on a character string relating to a date based on the date information. For example, the character description field 11
When 0 includes a column describing the shooting date, characters can be recognized faster than normal recognition by comparing the number described in this column with the date information generated by the date mechanism 44. . Further, even in the case where the character description column 110 does not include a column for entering the shooting date, the character information generating unit 22
May generate textual information about the date.

FIG. 6 shows the item column 1 of “Construction type” shown in FIG.
The selection condition corresponding to 12a is shown. The selection criteria include:
Position information indicating the item column 112a and a character code string corresponding to the item column 112a are included. As described above, since the selection condition storage unit 26 stores a character code string of a character string likely to be described in each item column 112 for each item column, the character information generation unit 22 recognizes characters quickly. can do.

The character code strings included in the selection condition may be arranged in descending order of the possibility of being described in the item column 112. In this case, the character information generation unit 22 sequentially selects the character code strings from the character code strings arranged and arranged on the selection condition. Therefore, the character information generation unit 22 can preferentially extract a character code string having a high possibility from the selection condition.

FIG. 7 shows a selection condition when the selection condition shown in FIG. 6 includes the priority order of the character mode string included in the selection condition as an additional selection condition. In FIG. 7, a corresponding character string is shown instead of the character code string.
The left side shows the selection conditions used by the character information generation unit 22 to generate the character information, and the right side shows the selection conditions after the generation of the character information. As described above, before and after the character information generation unit 22 generates the character information, the priority of the character code string used by the character information generation unit 22 to generate the character information changes. When the character information generating unit 22 generates character information corresponding to “waterworks”, the character information generating unit 22 determines “waterworks” in the selection conditions for “work type” in the next character information generation.
Is used with the highest priority. Then, every time a character is recognized, the priority of the character string included in the selection condition is changed.
Since the character information generation unit 22 can extract the character strings included in the item column 112 in the order of possibility, the character recognition speed can be increased.

FIG. 8 shows history information as another example of the additional selection condition. In the selection condition table shown in FIG. 7, the character information generation unit 22 generates history information by giving a flag to a character code string. For example, after character recognition, the character information generation unit 22 gives one flag to the character code string used to generate the character information in the selection condition table shown in FIG. The character information generation unit 22 weights the number of flags in order from the most recently used character code string. Then, the character information generation unit 22 determines a priority order from the number and weight of the flags, and generates character information based on the priority order. As a result, the character information generation unit 22 can frequently use the character code string used for generating the character information, and can preferentially use the character code string used more recently.

By including these additional selection conditions, the character information generation unit 22 can preferentially extract a character string having a higher possibility that can be included in the character description field 110, so that character recognition can be performed. Speed can be increased.

FIG. 9 shows the contents of the character shape conditions stored in the character shape condition storage unit 28. The character shape condition includes a character code and a character shape corresponding to the character code. A plurality of character shapes may be included. The character information generation unit 22 may generate character information from the handwritten character string, and associate the shape of the handwritten character with the character code as a character shape and include the character information in the character shape condition. As described above, since information on handwritten characters is accumulated, the character information generating unit 22 can recognize handwritten characters with high accuracy.

The character shape condition storage unit 28 stores the handwritten character shape in an additional character only when the character information generation unit 22 recognizes the character string of the handwritten character corresponding to the same character code string a plurality of times. The shape may be added to the character shape condition in association with the character code. As described above, since information relating to handwritten character recognition is accumulated only for frequently occurring characters, the amount of data to be stored is small compared to a case where a character shape is added each time, and necessary minimum information is added. be able to.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the detailed operation of the processing section 20 in the character information generation step (S104) in FIG. The character information generation unit 22 includes the input unit 1
Position information indicating in which item column the handwritten character generated by 0 has been entered is received, and a plurality of character code strings corresponding to this position information are selected from the selection conditions stored in the selection condition storage unit 26 ( S220). Next, the character information generation unit 22 extracts the character shape corresponding to the character code included in the selected character code string from the character shape condition storage unit 28, and compares the character shape with the character shape included in the character description column 110. (S222). As a result of the comparison, a plurality of character code strings whose character shapes sufficiently match are selected (S224), and S2
Jump to 30. In addition, as a result of the comparison, if a character code string whose character shape is sufficiently similar is not found,
The character information generation unit 22 performs normal character recognition by a conventionally known method using a character code string of a general-purpose word (S226). The character information generation unit 22 selects a plurality of sufficiently reliable character code strings as a result of the character recognition.
(S228). The character information generation unit 22 causes the display unit 42 to display character strings corresponding to the plurality of character code strings selected in S224 or S228. The operator selects one character string for generating character information via the selection input unit 40. (S230). Next, the character information generation unit 22
Generates character information of the selected character string (S23).
2). When the character information generation unit 22 generates the character information, the arrangement position of the character code corresponding to the selected character string in the selection condition is raised, thereby increasing the priority of the selected character string (S234). Information indicating such an arrangement is:
The additional selection condition in this specification is satisfied (S23
4). The character information generation unit 22 generates the character shape of the recognized character as an additional character shape (S236).

FIG. 11 shows the configuration of a photographing system 500 according to the second embodiment. The imaging device input device 100 according to the present embodiment is the same as the imaging device input device 100 illustrated in FIG.
Is provided with a keyboard 41 in place of the character description field 110 as compared with the character string. The input unit 10 passes the character string input from the keyboard 41 to the processing unit 20. The processing unit 20 includes the input unit 10
Is displayed on the display unit 42. In the present embodiment, since the character string is directly input from the keyboard 41, the processing unit 20 differs from the configuration shown in FIG. 2 in that it does not need to recognize the character. The operations of the data transmitting unit 46 and the timing receiving unit 48 are the same as the operations described in FIG. In addition, the configuration and operation of the imaging device 200 are the same as those described with reference to FIG.
Since the configuration and operation of the image capturing apparatus 200 according to the embodiment are the same as those of the embodiment, description thereof is omitted.

Also in the present embodiment, the input device 100 for the photographing device outputs character information indicating a character string based on the timing signal received from the photographing device 200.
Therefore, the character information can be reliably transmitted to the photographing device 200. Further, compared with the case where character information is transmitted from the photographing device input device 100 to the photographing device 200 without receiving a timing signal, it is not necessary to repeatedly transmit character information to the photographing device 200 more than necessary. The power consumption of the device input device 100 can be reduced. Also in the present embodiment, since the image capturing apparatus 200 receives character information from the image capturing apparatus input device 100 when capturing an image, the received character information can be easily associated with the image to be captured.

In the first and second embodiments, the photographing device input device 100 transmits character information to the photographing device 200. However, the scope of the present invention is not limited to a system for transmitting such character information. For example, the imaging device input device 100 may externally input voice, position information, white balance, brightness, or the like, and transmit the input to the imaging device 200. That is, the input device 100 for the photographing device is synchronized with the timing at which the photographing device 200 photographs the image.
By transmitting data to the photographing apparatus 200, it is possible to easily associate a photographed image with data transmitted from the photographing apparatus input device 100 to the photographing apparatus 200.

As described above, according to the first and second embodiments, for example, in photographing a construction site, a blackboard describing the contents of the construction is photographed. When the photographing device input device 100 is used as the blackboard, the photographing device 200 can obtain information described on the blackboard included in the photograph together with the photograph taken by the photographing device 200, so that the album can be easily created. Become.

According to the above embodiment, the timing receiving section 48 receives the timing signal from the photographing device 200 and passes it to the data transmitting section 46. The data transmitting unit 46 transmits the character information generated by the processing unit 20 based on the timing signal received from the timing receiving unit 48 to the photographing device 20.
Send to 0. For this reason, the imaging device 200 can receive the character information from the imaging device input device 100 at the timing of capturing an image. Therefore, the image capturing apparatus 200 can easily associate the image with the character information.

According to the first embodiment, the character information generation unit 2
2 performs character recognition based on a character string likely to be included in each of the item columns 112a to 112f, so that the speed of character recognition can be increased.

According to the above embodiment, the character information generation unit 2
2 causes the display unit 42 to display the character information of the selected character code string that is likely to be sufficient. The operator selects one character code string from the plurality of character code strings displayed on the display unit 42 via the selection input unit 40. The character information generation unit 22 transmits the character information of the selected character string to the data transmission unit 4.
Pass to 6. The character shape used to generate the character information may be added to the character shape condition storage unit 28. In this case, in the next character recognition, the character information generation unit 22 can recognize similar characters faster and with higher accuracy.

According to the above embodiment, even if the degree of approximation between the character shape of the character entered in the item column 112 and the character shape of the character to be selected is low, the difference from the other character code strings is large. If so, the correct character code string can be selected. That is, when the character string entered in the item column 112 is included in the selection condition, the accuracy of character recognition can be increased.

According to the above embodiment, the date mechanism 24
Generate date information. The character information generation unit 22 may perform character recognition on a character string relating to a date based on the date information.
For example, when the character description column 110 includes a column describing the date of shooting, by comparing the number described in this column with the date information generated by the date mechanism 44, characters can be written faster than normal recognition. Can be recognized.

According to the above embodiment, the selection condition storage unit 2
The selection condition stored in No. 6 includes position information indicating the item column 112 and a character code string corresponding to the item column 112. Thus, the selection condition storage unit 26 stores the information in each item column 11
The character code string of the character string likely to be described in 2 is
Since the character information is stored for each item column, the character information generation unit 22 can quickly recognize the character.

According to the above-described embodiment, the character code strings included in the selection condition may be arranged in the descending order of the possibility of being described in the item column 112. In this case, the character information generation unit 22 selects character code strings in order from the selection condition. Therefore, the character information generation unit 22 can preferentially extract a character code string having a high possibility from the selection condition.

According to the above-described embodiment, when the selection condition includes the priority order of the character mode string included in the selection condition as an additional selection condition, the character information generation unit 22 determines the character before and after the character information is generated. The priority of the character code string used by the information generation unit 22 to generate the character information changes. That is, the character information generation unit 22 changes the priority of the character string included in the selection condition every time a character is recognized. Since the character information generation unit 22 can extract the character strings included in the item column 112 in the order of possibility, the character recognition speed can be increased.

According to the above embodiment, when history information is included as an additional selection condition, the character information generation unit 22 generates history information by giving a flag to a character code string, and based on this history information. Character information is generated based on the determined priority. As a result, the character information generating unit 22 frequently uses the character information to generate character information, and
The character code string used more recently can be preferentially used.

According to the above embodiment, the character information generation unit 2
2 may generate character information from the handwritten character string, and associate the shape of the handwritten character with the character code as a character shape and include it in the character shape condition. As described above, since information on handwritten characters is accumulated, the character information generating unit 22 can recognize handwritten characters with high accuracy.

According to the above-described embodiment, the character shape condition storage unit 28 stores the handwritten character only when the character information generating unit 22 recognizes the handwritten character string corresponding to the same character code string a plurality of times. The character shape may be added to the character shape condition in association with the character code as an additional character shape. As described above, since information relating to handwritten character recognition is accumulated only for frequently occurring characters, the amount of data to be stored is small compared to a case where a character shape is added each time, and necessary minimum information is added. be able to.

According to the second embodiment, as compared with the case where character information is transmitted from the photographing device input device 100 to the photographing device 200 without receiving a timing signal, the photographing device repeats character information more than necessary. Since it is not necessary to transmit the data to the input device 200, the power consumption of the input device 100 for a photographing device can be reduced. Also in the present embodiment, the image capturing apparatus 200 receives character information from the image capturing apparatus input device 100 when capturing an image.
The received character information can be easily associated with the image to be photographed.

According to the above embodiment, the input device 100 for the photographing device has transmitted the character information to the photographing device 200. However, the scope of the present invention is not limited to a system for transmitting such character information. The imaging device input device 100 transmits data to the imaging device 200 at the timing when the imaging device 200 captures an image. Therefore, it is possible to easily associate the captured image with the data transmitted from the imaging device input device 100 to the imaging device 200.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiment, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiment. Various changes or improvements can be added to the above embodiment. It should be noted that such modified or improved embodiments may be included in the technical scope of the present invention.
It is clear from the description of the claims.

[0066]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, data can be exchanged between the input device for a photographing device and the photographing device at a predetermined timing.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows the appearance of an input device for a photographing device.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of an imaging system 500.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an image processing method of the image capturing apparatus input device 100;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the photographing apparatus 200.

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of a processing unit 20;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the contents of a selection condition.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a priority order of character code strings included in a selection condition as an example of an additional selection condition.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing history information as an example of an additional selection condition.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the contents of a character shape condition.

FIG. 10 is a character information generation step in FIG. 5 (S104).
5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the processing unit 20 in FIG.

FIG. 11 shows a configuration of an imaging system 500 according to the second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Input part 20 Processing part 22 Character information generation part 24 Date mechanism 26 Selection condition storage part 28 Character shape condition storage part 40 Selection input part 41 Keyboard 42 Display part 46 Data transmission part 48 Timing reception part 50 Imaging part 52 Timing transmission part 54 Data receiving unit 56 Corresponding information generating unit 58 Recording unit 60 Output unit 100 Input device for photographing device 110 Character entry field 112 Item field 200 Imaging device 500 Imaging system

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. An input device for a photographing device for transmitting predetermined data to a photographing device, comprising: an input unit for inputting the data from an operator; and the photographing device for inputting the data input to the input unit. A timing receiving unit that receives a signal of a timing to be sent to the imaging device, based on the timing signal received by the timing receiving unit, sends the data to the imaging device, and converts the data to an image captured by the imaging device. An input device for a photographing device, comprising: a data transmission unit that associates data. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a character information generating unit configured to recognize handwritten characters input as the data by the input unit and generate character information, wherein the data transmitting unit includes a character generated by the character information generating unit. The input device for a photographing device according to claim 1, wherein information is transmitted as the data. 3. The input device for a photographing device according to claim 1, wherein the timing receiving unit includes a unit that receives flash light of the photographing device as the timing signal. 4. The input unit has an item column in which an operator enters a handwritten character, and associates the item column with a character code string of a character string likely to be included in the item column. Further comprising: a selection condition storage unit for storing as a selection condition; and a character shape condition storage unit for storing a character code included in the character code string together with a character shape corresponding to the character code as a character shape condition. 4. The input device according to claim 2, wherein the unit recognizes the handwritten character entered in the item column based on the selection condition and the character shape condition. 5. 5. The selection condition storage unit includes means for including the additional selection condition in the selection condition corresponding to the item column, and the character information generation unit includes the selection information including the additional selection condition. The input device according to claim 4, wherein the character information is generated based on a condition and the character shape condition. 6. The selection condition storage unit stores, as the additional selection condition, history information indicating which character code string is generated based on the character code string among the selection conditions. Item 6. An input device for a photographing device according to Item 5. 7. The additional selection condition, wherein the selection condition storage unit determines which of the character code strings included in the selection condition is prioritized when the character information generation unit generates the character information. The input device for a photographing device according to claim 5, wherein the input device is stored as: 8. The character shape condition storage unit includes a unit configured to store a shape of a character included in the item column as the additional character shape in association with the character code, 8. The input device according to claim 4, wherein the character information is generated based on the character shape condition including the selection condition, the additional character shape, and the selection condition. 9. 9. The character information generating unit generates a character string candidate that can be included in the item column based on the selection condition and the character shape condition, and operates an operator based on the character string candidate. Means for determining one character string according to and generating the character information, wherein the character shape condition storage unit determines the character shape of a character included in the character string determined by the character information generation unit. 9. The input device for a photographing device according to claim 8, wherein an additional character shape is stored in association with the character code. 10. The character shape condition storage unit, when a handwritten character of the same character string is recognized a plurality of times, associates the shape of the handwritten character with the character code as the additional character shape. The input device for a photographing device according to claim 9, wherein the input device is stored. 11. A photographing apparatus for photographing and recording an image, wherein the data is transmitted to a photographing unit that photographs the image, and an input device for the photographing apparatus that transmits predetermined data to the photographing apparatus. A photographing apparatus comprising: a transmitting unit that sends a timing signal to be transmitted; a receiving unit that receives the data from the photographing device input device; and a recording unit that records the image and the data. 12. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a correspondence information generation unit that generates correspondence information indicating that the image and the data correspond to each other, wherein the recording unit has a unit that records the correspondence information. Item 12. The imaging device according to Item 11. 13. An imaging system for exchanging data between an input device for an imaging device and an imaging device, comprising: an input unit for inputting the data from an operator; A timing receiving unit that receives a timing signal to be sent to the imaging device from the imaging device; and a data transmission unit that sends the data to the imaging device based on the timing signal received by the timing receiving unit. An input device, a photographing unit that photographs an image, a transmitting unit that transmits a timing signal for transmitting the data to the photographing device input device, a receiving unit that receives the data from the photographing device input device, An imaging system comprising: an imaging device having an image and a recording unit for recording the data.