JP2001268484A - Image transmitter and print system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image transmitter and a print system capable of printing a desired image in a short time by preparing print information in an equipment to which an image is inputted and transmitting the image and the print information to a printer. SOLUTION: Since this system is provided with an image input means (solid- state image pickup element 14) for picking up or inputting the image, a display means 38 for displaying the inputted image, an input means 26 for inputting and setting the print information at the time of printing the displayed image and a communication means 32 for separately radio transmitting the inputted image and the set print information to the printer, the desired image is printed in a short time.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image transmitting apparatus and a printing system, and more particularly to an image transmitting apparatus and a printing system for transmitting an input image and print information to a printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known an electronic camera in which an image recorded by an electronic camera is directly transmitted wirelessly to a printer to instruct printing.

[0003] Also, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-261519 discloses that a situation of a building construction site is photographed by a television camera, a still image is transmitted by a wireless communication network of a mobile phone, and a receiving unit receives the still image. Is shown by a monitor television, recorded by a video for recording, and printed out by a printer.

[0004]

However, in the conventional electronic camera, when a recorded image is wirelessly transmitted to a printer and print is instructed, there is a problem that only one image can be printed as it is. Had occurred. Therefore, when printing the same image a plurality of times, it is necessary to transmit a necessary number of images.

Further, the monitor monitoring system disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-261419 cannot transmit print information from a television camera or a mobile phone on the transmitting side.

However, actually, there is a demand for cutting out (trimming) a part of a captured image and printing a plurality of sheets on desired paper.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and creates a print quantity, print size information, trimming information, print paper information, print color information, and print density information using a device that has input an image. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image transmitting apparatus and a printing system that can print a desired image in a short time by transmitting an image and print information to a printer.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image input unit for capturing or inputting an image, a display unit for displaying the input image, and a display unit for displaying the input image. It is characterized by comprising input means for inputting and setting print information for printing an image, and communication means for separately transmitting the input image and the set print information to a printer by wireless.

According to the present invention, image input means for capturing or inputting an image, display means for displaying the input image, input means for inputting and setting print information for printing the displayed image, Since a communication unit is provided for separately transmitting the input image and the set print information to the printer wirelessly, it is possible to print a desired image in a short time.

[0010] In order to achieve the above object, a third aspect is provided.
According to the invention described in the above, image input means for capturing or inputting an image, first display means for displaying the input image, input means for inputting and setting print information when printing the displayed image, An image transmitting apparatus including a first communication unit that wirelessly transmits the input image and the set print information to a printer; a second communication unit that receives the input image and the print information; And a printer comprising at least a second display unit for displaying the print information and a print unit for printing the received image based on the print information.

According to the present invention, image input means for capturing or inputting an image, first display means for displaying the input image, and input for setting print information for printing the displayed image Means for transmitting the inputted image and the set print information to a printer by wireless communication, and a second communication means for receiving the inputted image and the print information. Since the printer includes a communication unit, at least a second display unit that displays the print information, and a print unit that prints the received image based on the print information, a desired image can be displayed. Printing can be performed in a short time.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of an image transmitting apparatus and a printing system according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of an image transmitting apparatus and a printing system according to the present invention.

The electronic camera 10, which is an image transmitting device,
A lens group 16 for forming an image of a subject on a CCD (solid-state imaging device) 14; a CCD (image input means) 14 for photoelectrically converting the formed subject image and outputting it as an analog signal of an image; A / D converter 18 for converting an analog signal of an output image into a digital signal, control of electronic camera 10 as a whole, control of image data sampling timing and the like according to the image data acquisition mode, and displayed image Information processing means 20 for editing image data and generating print information; image processing means 22 for performing processing such as image size change, sharpness correction, gamma correction, contrast correction, and white balance correction; and temporarily storing image data. A memory buffer 24 to be stored, a recording button, a communication button, and a transmission button (not shown) provided on the electronic camera 10. § down action switch, cursor keys, the input confirmation switch or the like is provided means 26
And information such as image data in JPEG or Motion JPE
A recording medium I / F 30 that performs processing of compressing data by a method represented by G, decompresses the compressed data, and converts data to be recorded on or read from the removable recording medium 28 is provided. ing.

The recording medium 28 is a detachable recording medium represented by a semiconductor such as a memory card or MO, magnetic recording, and optical recording. Although not shown, a configuration in which audio information can be recorded together may be adopted.

The communication means 32 of the electronic camera 10 used for transmitting and receiving image data and the like to and from an external device by wireless communication includes an oscillating section for generating a carrier wave for performing wireless communication, and places data on the carrier wave. A transmitting unit for transmitting the data, a receiving unit for performing a process of separating the data carried on the received carrier wave, and a switching circuit for switching between transmission and reception of the data. The communication means 32 is provided with an antenna 36 for transmitting and receiving a carrier wave and data.

The electronic camera 10 has a D / A converter 40 for displaying image data and print information on the display means 38, an attribute register 42 for storing the attribute of a communication partner, A power supply unit 44 for supplying power to each provided element is provided. In addition,
Although not shown, the information processing means 20 is provided with a ROM in which an operation program and constants are stored, and a RAM which is a storage means serving as a work area when executing the program.

A control unit of the printer 50 shown in FIG. 1 controls the overall processing of the printer 50, and edits a displayed image and edits print information.
(Information processing means) 52, a removable HDD (hard disk drive) 54 for recording data such as an execution program and image data, a display means 58 for displaying print information and image data. Input means 60 for inputting print information and processing, communication means 62 having an oscillating unit for transmitting and receiving data to and from the electronic camera 10 and other external devices, and a transmitting unit for transmitting data on a carrier wave. Transmits and receives carrier waves and data to and from a plurality of transmitting / receiving sections 63, 63 each comprising a receiving section for performing a process of separating data carried on a received carrier wave and a switching circuit for switching between transmission and reception of data. Antennas 64, 64, and a general-purpose interface 68 for transmitting and receiving image data by communication with a printer unit, a scanner, or the like. , ROM · RAM 70 of the storage means programs and constants of CPU52 is CPU52 workspace with stored is provided.

The printer unit (printing means) of the printer 50 includes an interface 72 for receiving image data by communicating with the control unit, and a RAM serving as a storage area serving as a work area of the information processing apparatus of the printer unit.
A print engine 8 for feeding printing paper from a paper feeding unit 76 and discharging the printing paper to an output tray 78 after printing;
0.

The photographing process of the electronic camera 10 configured as described above will be described.

The image to be photographed is transmitted through the lens group 16 to the CC
An image is formed on a light receiving surface of a D (solid-state imaging device) 14. This subject image is photoelectrically converted by each sensor in the CCD into a charge signal of an amount corresponding to the amount of incident light. The charge signals accumulated in the CCD 14 are sequentially output according to the imaging timing signal, and are converted into R, G, and B digital image data by the A / D converter 18.

The image data thus obtained is subjected to amplification and noise reduction processing by the image processing means 22, and the data is temporarily stored in the memory buffer 24. The information processing means 20 sequentially transmits the image data stored in the memory buffer 24 to the D / A converter 40 and displays the image data on the display means 58.

When the user presses a record button provided on the input means 26, the apparatus enters a mode for photographing a subject. Then, the information processing means 20 performs a process of sequentially recording the image data on the recording medium 28 on the recording medium I / F 30. When the user presses the send button provided on the input means 26, the information processing means 20 sequentially reads out the designated image data from the recording medium 28 and executes the designated format (for performing the compression processing and the communication error correction function processing). After that, a process of transmitting the data to an external device via the communication unit 32 and the antenna 36 is executed.

When the user edits the image to be printed, the user operates the cursor keys provided on the input means 26 to select the image to be printed, and sets the function switch to the "print edit" function. To edit the image. The editing flow will be described below with reference to FIG.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing print order information in the case where the captured input image 82 is trimmed to generate an output image 84.

According to FIG. 1, an input image 82 is displayed on the display means 38 of the electronic camera 10. First, the user specifies a print range of the input image 82. A method of designating the print range is to operate a cursor key or a determination switch provided on the input means 26 to, for example, start coordinate values (X1, Y1) from the origin (X0, Y0) of the input image 82.
Y1) and the size XL and YL of the output image, or the coordinate value (X2, Y2) of the end point. Instead of specifying the coordinate values and the size of the output image 84, the aspect ratio to be printed, the center position of the output image 84, and the size or magnification may be set.

As shown in FIG. 2, the size to be actually printed is directly set to 45 × 35 mm, the type of paper (seal paper, plain paper, glossy paper, postcard, etc.) is set, Print conditions (monochrome, color, sepia,
Saturation control, density control, etc.), image resolution (dot / m
m), the number of prints (the number of print papers, the number of prints on one print paper, and arrangement information, etc.) can be set.

After the print conditions are set as described above, a send button provided on the input means 26 is pressed,
Instruct printing of the image. Then, the information processing means 20 instructs to transmit the designated image data and the set print information (print order information) to a predetermined printer. According to the present invention, image data to be transmitted when a plurality of images are printed need only be transmitted once,
Thereafter, since the print information including the information on the number of prints is transmitted together with the print information, the amount of data to be transmitted can be reduced as compared with the case where the image data is transmitted a plurality of times. Therefore, the communication time is short, and a quick print process can be performed.

In the printer 50, the image data obtained via the communication means 62 and the set print information are displayed on the display means 58, and printing is performed based on the designated print information. Then, the specified number of prints of the output image 84 are obtained. Also, according to the user's instructions, the HDD
It is also possible to combine and display the image data recorded in 54 and print it. The display means 58 of the printer 50 displays a display equivalent to the display shown in FIG.
It is also possible to edit the print information according to the print resolution and print characteristics of the printer 50.

In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which the image transmitting apparatus is an electronic camera. However, the present invention is not limited to the electronic camera, and may be a scanner for reading an image.

[0031]

As described above, according to the image transmitting apparatus of the present invention, image input means for capturing or inputting an image, display means for displaying the input image, and printing the displayed image Input means for inputting and setting print information at the time of printing, and communication means for separately transmitting the input image and the set print information to the printer wirelessly, so that a desired image can be printed in a short time. It becomes possible.

Further, according to the print system of the present invention, an image input means for taking or inputting an image, a first display means for displaying the input image, and a print for printing the displayed image An image transmitting apparatus comprising: input means for inputting and setting information; and first communication means for wirelessly transmitting the input image and the set print information to a printer; the input image; and the print information. And a printer having at least a second display unit for displaying the print information and a print unit for printing the received image based on the print information. So
It is possible to print a desired image in a short time.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of an image transmitting apparatus and a printing system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing trimming of a captured input image and print order information.

[Explanation of symbols]

10: electronic camera, 14: CCD (solid-state imaging device), 1
6: lens group, 18: A / D converter, 20: information processing means, 22: image processing means, 24: memory buffer, 26
... input means, 28 ... recording medium, 30 ... recording medium I / F,
32 communication means, 36 antenna, 38 display means, 4
0: D / A converter, 50: Printer, 52: CPU (information processing means), 54: HDD (hard disk drive), 58: Display means, 60: Input means, 62: Communication means, 63: Transmission / reception section, 64 ... Antenna, 68 ... Interface, 72 ... Interface, 74 ... RAM, 7
6 Paper feed unit, 78 Output tray, 80 Print engine, 82 Input image, 84 Output image

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Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An image input means for capturing or inputting an image, a display means for displaying the input image, an input means for inputting and setting print information for printing the displayed image, and the input image And a communication unit for separately transmitting the set print information wirelessly to a printer. 2. The image transmission according to claim 1, wherein the print information is at least one of print quantity, print size information, trimming information, print paper information, print color tone information, and print density information. apparatus. 3. An image input means for capturing or inputting an image, a first display means for displaying the input image, an input means for inputting and setting print information for printing the displayed image, An image transmitting apparatus including a first communication unit that wirelessly transmits an input image and the set print information to a printer; a second communication unit that receives the input image and the print information; A print system comprising: at least a second display unit for displaying the print information; and a printer having a print unit for printing the received image based on the print information. 4. The print system according to claim 3, wherein the print information is at least one of print quantity, print size information, trimming information, print paper information, print color tone information, and print density information. .