JP2001111884A - Electronic camrea provided with wireless communication means - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a digital electronic camera that can pick up a large number of pictures without caring about the capacity of a recording medium of the digital camera at all. SOLUTION: When a mode changeover lever is set from 'REC' to 'OFF' after the end of photographing, a wireless communication unit automatically transfers an image file in a memory to a center.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic camera for converting a subject image into an electric signal and recording the same, and more particularly to a digital camera using a digital signal as a subject image signal.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Digital cameras that take an image of a subject, convert the information into digital signals, and record the information on a recording medium such as an IC memory have been rapidly commercialized, but are essentially portable devices. Therefore, the capacity of the recording medium is limited, and the number of images that can be recorded is limited. Therefore, transfer the image signal recorded on the recording medium to the outside and then erase the contents of the recording medium or replace the recording medium, and when it becomes full, replace it with another new recording medium and shoot and record. I was able to continue.

However, in the former case, complicated operations are required such as connecting the camera to a device such as a personal computer with a cable for transfer and operating transfer software. Also, in the latter case, it is necessary to transfer the image signal recorded for reuse of the recording medium to an external device, and then delete the image signal, such as inserting and removing the recording medium into a personal computer and operating software. Similarly, complicated operations are required.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to automatically transfer an image signal in a recording medium to an external device without performing such a complicated operation and thereby to reduce the capacity of the recording medium. An object of the present invention is to provide a digital camera that can be used without worrying about the camera.

[0005]

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 of the present application comprises an image pickup means for converting a subject image formed by an image pickup optical system into a subject image signal, Recording means for recording the subject image signal;
An electronic camera comprising: a communication unit for wirelessly transmitting a subject image signal recorded in the recording unit; and a photographing unit capable of recording the subject image signal newly captured by the imaging unit in the recording unit. Mode, and means for switching between a non-shooting mode in which the imaging and recording functions are not possible. When the mode is switched from the shooting mode to the non-shooting mode by the switching means, transmission of the subject image signal is automatically started. And

Further, the invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that a means is provided for turning off the power when the transmission operation is completed. The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that the subject image signal recorded in the recording means has an area for identifying whether or not transmission by the communication means has been completed.

The invention according to claim 4 is characterized in that the subject image signal identified as having been transmitted has been erased from the recording means. The invention according to claim 5 is characterized in that, when the switching means is switched from the non-shooting mode to the shooting mode during the transmission of the subject image signal, the transmission is stopped and the shooting mode is returned.

[0008]

FIG. 1 shows the appearance of one embodiment of the present invention. The camera body 1 includes a photographing lens 2 and forms a subject image on an image sensor 3 inside the body. Reference numeral 4 denotes an optical viewfinder, which indicates a photographing range to a photographer. Reference numeral 5 denotes a release button that is pressed during photographing. A mode switching lever 6 is arranged around the release button 5, and the mode switching lever 6 can be switched to three positions of "REC", "OFF" and "PLAY" as shown in FIG. Reference numeral 7 denotes a built-in flash, and 8 denotes an antenna of a built-in wireless communication device 105 described later.

FIG. 3 is a view of the camera body 1 of the embodiment of FIG. 1 as viewed from the back. 9 is an LCD monitor, 10 is an LCD monitor 9
, An operation button for changing the display mode, a menu button 11 for displaying a menu on the liquid crystal monitor 9, and an up and down arrow button 12 for selecting the displayed menu. In addition, a liquid crystal display 13 is provided on the upper surface of the camera body 1.
And displays the number of frames that can be taken.

FIG. 4 shows the internal configuration of the embodiment of FIG. The subject image formed on the image sensor 3 by the photographing lens 2 is
The image is converted into an electric image signal by the image sensor 3 and sent to the AD conversion circuit 101. The AD conversion circuit 101 converts an image signal into a digital signal and sends it to the data bus 102. Thereafter, all exchanges of image signals are performed via the data bus 102.

Reference numeral 103 denotes a signal processing circuit which receives an image signal output from the AD conversion circuit 101, performs color signal processing on the image signal, displays it on the liquid crystal monitor 9, performs image compression, and performs memory compression.
Send to The memory 104 is a non-volatile memory having a capacity for recording several tens to several hundreds of image signals subjected to image compression, and records the image signals sent via the data bus 102, and The image signal recorded therein is also sent to another circuit via the data bus 102. Ten
Reference numeral 5 denotes a wireless communication device which sends an image file received via the data bus 102 to a predetermined center via a wireless line.

The control circuit 106 includes a release button 5, a mode switching lever 6, a display mode button 10, and a menu button 1.
It receives a signal from 1 and controls the operation of each circuit and the signal flow according to a predetermined program. FIG.
5 is a flowchart of an operation in the photographing mode of the embodiment shown in FIGS. To shoot a subject, first, the mode switching lever 6 is switched to the “REC” position.

In step S1, the contents of the memory 104 are checked first. As shown in FIG. 6, a header portion of an image file recorded in the memory 104 includes, in addition to a shooting date, shooting data, and a thumbnail image area, whether or not the image has been transferred to the outside of the memory. Is provided. In step S1, the transferred flag of the image file already recorded is checked, and a value obtained by subtracting the number of image files already recorded and having no transferred flag set from the maximum number of images that can be recorded in the memory 104 is obtained. LCD number display device 13
(Step S2). An image file with the transferred flag set is regarded as an image file that can be deleted when a new image is recorded, and is incorporated into a recordable area at the time of shooting.

If the number of recordable images calculated in step S1 and displayed in step S2 is less than 1, the capacity of the memory 104 is completely filled with the image file without the transferred flag, and It is determined that there is no room for recording an image (step S3), and the LCD monitor is determined in step S4.
The message "Transfer because the memory is full" is displayed in 9 and the transfer routine described later (step S10 in FIG. 7)
Enter 1).

If it is determined in step S4 that the memory 104 has a sufficient capacity, the image signal from the image sensor 3
The signal is converted to a digital signal by the D conversion circuit 101,
After performing color signal processing and the like in 103, the image is displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 9. This is repeated 30 times per second, so that the LCD monitor 9 has a finder function (step S
Five).

In this state, the release button 5 is used for photographing.
When is pressed, this is detected in step S6, and shooting is performed in the same manner as a normal digital camera. The signal of the subject image formed on the image sensor 3 by the photographing lens 2 is converted into a digital signal by the AD conversion circuit 101, and further subjected to image processing such as color signal processing by the signal processing circuit 103, and subjected to image compression processing. After performing, it is recorded in the memory 104.

Immediately before the recording, the memory 10 is stored in step S7.
Check if 4 is full. At this time, even if the image file has the transfer completed flag, it is considered that the memory is occupied, and only the free space is detected. If the space is not enough to record the captured image,
Of the image files with the transferred flag in step S8,
Delete the earliest recorded one. If the newly recorded image has a large file size and sufficient space cannot be obtained by erasing only one image, the image files are erased in order from the oldest recording point until the necessary free area is obtained. .

Next, the image photographed in step S9 is recorded in the memory 104. The recorded image file is set so that the transferred flag is not set. When the shooting and recording are completed, the process returns to step S1 and performs the operations of S1 to S5 again,
Wait for the next shot. In this situation, each time the release button is pressed, a series of operations are performed and shooting is repeated. Here, when the mode switching lever 6 is switched to the OFF position, an interrupt occurs, and the operation jumps to the transfer mode shown in FIG.

First, in step S101 in FIG. 7, an image file in the memory 104 is checked. If all of the recorded image files have the transferred flag set, the process jumps to step 108 without any processing to turn off the power of the circuit. If there is an image file without a transferred flag in step S101, the wireless communication device 105 calls a preset center in step S102. This center has an image storage area assigned to each individual user by contract in advance,
Each area is connected by a wireless line according to the mobile phone specification.

In step S103, the connection is checked. If the connection to the personal area of the center is successful, in step S104, the earliest image file among the image files without the transferred flag in the memory 104 is recorded. Start transfer from the thing to the center. The transfer is done using a common protocol,
A check is performed for each fixed amount of data, and if the transfer is not successful, the packet is resent. The center side sequentially records the transferred image files in the personal image storage area.

The transferred image file is stored in step S105.
, The transfer completion flag is set, and the transfer of the next image file is started. If it is confirmed in step S106 that no image without the transferred flag remains in the memory 104, the connection to the center is disconnected in step S107. Next, in step S108, the current position of the mode switching lever 6 is checked.
In step S109, the power of the circuit is turned off. If it is at another position, it returns to each mode.

The control circuit 106 always controls the mode switching lever 6
If the mode switching lever 6 is switched to the "REC" position while the operation shown in Fig. 7 is continuing in the "OFF" mode, the operation is stopped immediately and the line with the center is monitored. If is connected, disconnect the connection and go to step S in FIG.
Fly to one. The image file in the memory 104 that has not been transferred at that time is sent to the center according to the procedure from step 101 in FIG. 7 when the mode switching lever 6 is switched to the “OFF” position again.

When the mode switching lever 6 is switched to the "PLAY" position, the image file recorded in the memory 104 is displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 9 by a known method. In the present embodiment, a digital still camera that captures a still image has been described, but this is not limited to a still image.
The same effect can be obtained in a device that handles moving image and audio files.

[0024]

As described above, according to the present invention, in an electronic camera such as a digital camera, a photographed image is wirelessly transferred during idle time when the camera is not used.
Images can be recorded in the large-capacity recording area of the center without complicated procedures such as connecting cables and operating software. In addition, image files recorded in the camera's internal memory are managed by the transferred flag, and files that have been transferred to the center are deleted in order from the oldest, so the user does not need to be aware of the memory capacity at all. Can be used.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view of one embodiment of the present invention (front view).

FIG. 2 is a detailed view around a mode switching lever.

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart in a photographing mode.

FIG. 6 shows a file structure of a transferred subject image file.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart in OFF mode.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Camera body 2 Shooting lens 3 Image sensor 4 Optical viewfinder 5 Release button 6 Mode switching lever 7 Built-in flash 8 Antenna 9 LCD monitor 10 Display mode change button 11 Menu button 12 Arrow button 13 LCD numeric display device 101 AD conversion circuit 102 Data bus 103 Signal processing circuit 104 Memory 105 Wireless communication device 106 Control circuit

Claims (5)

[Claims] An imaging unit that converts a subject image formed by an imaging optical system into a subject image signal; a recording unit that records the subject image signal; and wirelessly transmits the subject image signal recorded in the recording unit. In an electronic camera including a communication unit for transmitting, a photographing mode in which a function of recording a subject image signal newly photographed by the imaging unit in the recording unit is enabled, and a non-shooting mode in which the imaging and recording functions are not possible. An electronic camera, comprising: means for switching between a shooting mode and a non-photographing mode by the switching means, wherein the transmission of the subject image signal is automatically started. 2. An electronic camera according to claim 1, further comprising means for turning off a power supply when the transmission operation is completed. 3. The electronic camera according to claim 1, wherein the subject image signal recorded in the recording unit has an area for identifying whether or not transmission by the communication unit has been completed. 4. The electronic camera according to claim 3, wherein the subject image signal identified as having been transmitted is erasable from the recording unit. 5. The transmission method according to claim 1, wherein when the switching unit is switched from the non-shooting mode to the shooting mode during the transmission of the subject image signal, the transmission is stopped and the shooting mode is returned. Electronic camera.