JP2003061017A - Photographed image storage system and digital camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a photographed image storage system in which an image photographed by a digital camera is transferred to an image storage device using a simple operation, and the image can efficiently be stored in folders by categories. SOLUTION: The photographed image storage system includes the digital camera 100 having a camera movement detection section, an image information storage device 200 having an image storage section including a plurality of folders for storing image information, and an image display device 300, the digital camera 100 and the image information storage device 200 can transmit/ receive information through radio communication and the image information storage device 200 and the image display device 300 are interconnected by a cable 400. The digital camera 100 selects a folder for storing information among a plurality of folders displayed on the image display device, on the basis of an output of the camera movement detection section, transfers the photographed image information to the image information storage device, through radio communication for storing the information to the selected folder.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a captured image information storage system for storing image information captured by a digital camera and a digital camera used for the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, image information photographed by a digital camera is recorded and stored in a hard disk of a personal computer of each user or a large-capacity recording medium such as a DVD or a CD-ROM. They print with a printer connected to a personal computer, use a network, or bring a recording medium to a store to make a print request based on photographed image information. However, storing and printing image information on a personal computer and ordering prints via a network are not easy for a user who desires simple photography and printing. In particular, it is not easy for a user who is not used to using a personal computer, such as a senior user.

In particular, as the number of captured images that can be stored in the image storage medium increases, a plurality of categories (for example,
It is necessary to manage by dividing into "company", "home", "specific event", etc.), and it is troublesome for the user to classify and organize such file management on the display of the computer.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is possible to transfer an image captured by a digital camera to an image storage device by a simple operation and efficiently store the image in a folder for each category. An image information storage system and a digital camera used for the same are provided.

[0005]

A photographed image information storage system according to the present invention stores image information photographed by a digital camera, and the digital camera exchanges information with an external device. A second wireless communication unit and a camera movement detection unit that detects the movement of the camera housing are built-in, and are capable of exchanging information with the first wireless communication unit.
Wireless communication unit, an image information storage device including an image storage unit that stores image information, and the image information storage device has a function of outputting display information to an image display device. Includes a plurality of folders for storing the image information, and the digital camera selects the folder to be stored from the plurality of folders displayed on the image display device based on the output of the camera movement detection unit. In addition, the captured image information is used as the first
Via the wireless communication unit and the second wireless communication unit, and is stored in the selected folder.

In the photographed image information storage system of the present invention, the image information storage device further comprises a scanner device, and the digital camera displays the plurality of images displayed on the image display device based on the output of the camera movement detection unit. The folder to be stored is selected from among the above folders, and the image information acquired by the scanner device is stored in the selected folder. This makes it possible to store and manage the image information obtained from the photographic print as well as the image taken by the digital camera.

The image information storage device in the photographed image information storage system of the present invention further comprises a printing device, and the digital camera stores the image information storage device based on the output of the camera movement detection unit. The image information to be printed is selected from the image information, and the printing apparatus is instructed to print. By doing so, printing can be easily performed based on the stored image information.

In the photographed image information storage system of the present invention, the image storage section comprises a built-in hard disk device.

The image storage section in the photographed image information storage system of the present invention comprises a removable recording medium and its drive device.

The image display device in the photographed image information storage system of the present invention is built in the image storage device. With this, the image storage process can be easily performed by the digital camera and the image information storage device.

The digital camera in the photographed image information storage system of the present invention includes a display unit for displaying an image based on the photographed image information, and the display unit is based on the image information transferred to the image information storage device. The image is displayed prior to the transfer. In this way, the images to be transferred and stored can be easily selected without error.

The selection of the image information transferred to the image information storage device in the photographed image information storage system of the present invention is performed based on the output of the camera movement detection unit. This makes it easy to select images to transfer.

The first wireless communication section and the second wireless communication section in the photographed image information storage system of the present invention perform short-range wireless communication. In addition, infrared communication is used as the short-range wireless communication.

The digital camera of the present invention has a configuration applicable to the above-mentioned photographed image information storage system.

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a captured image information storage system of the present invention. The system of FIG. 1 includes a digital camera 100 and an image information storage device 2.
00, including the image display device 300, the digital camera 10
0 and the image information storage device 200 can send and receive information by wireless communication, and the image information storage device 200 and the image display device 300 are connected by a cable 400.

The digital camera 100 has a well-known configuration, as shown in the schematic configuration in FIG. 2, in which wireless communication is performed between the acceleration sensor 115 for detecting the movement of the camera housing and the image information storage device 200. The wireless communication unit 116 for performing the above is added. The digital camera 100 includes a taking lens 101, a shutter / aperture 102, and an imaging device 1.
03, auxiliary light emitting section 120, an image pickup section including a drive circuit 110, an analog signal processing section 104, an A / D conversion section 10.
5, digital signal processing unit 106, output memory 107,
And a signal processing unit including a compression / expansion processing unit 108, an output unit including a media interface 111 and a display unit 113,
An acceleration sensor 115 and a wireless communication unit 116 are provided in a known configuration including an operation unit including a switch group 114 such as an operation switch, a power switch, a shutter button, and a menu switch, and a CPU 109 that controls the entire digital camera.
Has been added. And media interface 1
A memory card 112, which is a removable recording medium on which captured image information is recorded, can be attached to the memory card 11.

The structures of the image pickup unit and the signal processing unit are the same as those of the conventional digital camera, and therefore will be briefly described. Light passing through the lens 101 and the shutter / aperture 102 is CC
A focused image signal is acquired by focusing on the image pickup device 103 such as D. Here, the shutter is the imaging device 1
This is to prevent smear from occurring when the signal is read from 03. The imaging device 103 has a shutter button 119.
Is used as a trigger to drive the drive circuit 11 at a predetermined timing.
It is driven by 0 and outputs an image signal. Drive circuit 1
10 may be omitted depending on the driving voltage condition of the image pickup device 103.

After the image signal is analog signal processed,
A / D conversion is performed, digital signal processing is performed, and the result is temporarily recorded in the output memory 107. Here, when displaying on the display unit 113, the contents of the output memory 107 are read and sent to the display unit 113. The captured image in the output memory 107 is compressed by the compression / expansion processing unit 108, and is recorded in the memory card 112 via the media interface 111. The compression process may be omitted depending on the shooting mode.

When the image recorded on the memory card 112 is to be displayed on the display unit 113, the image information read from the memory card 112 is expanded by the compression / expansion processing unit 108, written in the output memory 107, and displayed on the display unit 113. Send to.

These operations are performed by the CPU 1 which operates according to a predetermined program according to the state of the switch group 114.
It is performed under the control of 09. The memory for storing the program, the work memory, and the identification information storage unit for storing the second identification information described later are omitted in the drawing.

The acceleration sensor 115 detects the movement of the camera housing, and is provided in a predetermined number according to the direction to be detected. Then, the detection signal of the movement in the predetermined direction is a camera operation signal similar to the output of the switch group 114,
It is also used as an image transfer operation signal described later. The acceleration sensor itself is a well-known element, and the one used for a portable device such as a digital camera is also disclosed in JP-A-6-4208 and JP-A-2000-92389, so the description thereof will be omitted.

The wireless communication section 116 is used for the image information storage device 2.
Wireless communication with 00, Bluetooth
h, short-range wireless communication using IrDA infrared data communication or the like. As will be described later, the wireless communication unit 116 transfers the captured image information and transmits / receives a control signal related to storage of the captured image information to / from the image information storage device 200.

The digital camera 100 shown in FIG. 1 stores the photographed image information in a removable recording medium such as the memory card 112, but it may be configured to store it in an internal memory (not shown).

The image information storage device 200 has a wireless communication section 201, a hard disk device 202, a CD-R drive 203 for writing / reading a CD-R 204, and an image display device, as shown in the schematic configuration of an example in FIG. Display device interface 20 for outputting display information for 300
5. Control unit 2 for controlling the entire image information storage device 200
06, a scanner device 207, and a printing device 208.

The wireless communication unit 201 is used for the digital camera 10.
Wireless communication with the wireless communication unit 116 of 0,
The short-range wireless communication of the same communication method as the wireless communication unit 116 is performed.

Hard disk drive 202 and CD-R2
The CD-R drive 203 in which 04 is installed constitutes an image storage unit for storing image information, and the storage area has a plurality of folders as will be described later, and is selected by a user's instruction. Image information is stored in the folder. It is optional whether the hard disk device 202 stores the image information or the CD-R 204. An example is a method of reusing the storage area of the hard disk device 202 by using the hard disk device 202 as an image storage unit and creating and storing copy information in the CD-R 204 when necessary. In addition, the hard disk device 202 is used as a temporary buffer, and
A method of writing on a CD-R may be adopted. In addition, CD-
The R204 and the CD-R drive 203 are an example of a removable recording medium and its drive device.
You may use M and its drive.

The display device interface 205 is an interface for outputting display information to the display device 300. When a TV monitor is used as the display device 300,
It outputs a video signal. In addition, in the system of FIG. 1, the display device 300 is described as using a separate device such as a TV monitor, but it may be integrated with the image information storage device 200 by using a liquid crystal monitor or the like.

The scanner device 207 converts a print photograph into a digital image. In order to store not only photographed image information from a digital camera but also a photograph print image including a silver halide photograph print as digital data. It is provided. The scanner device 207 is preferably configured to be removable. In that case, the image information when the photographic print is scanned in the separated state may be transferred to the image information storage device 200 by a cable or wirelessly, or may be stored in a memory (not shown) built in the scanner device 207. It may be transferred to the hard disk device 202 after being attached to the image information storage device 200.

The printing device 208 is the hard disk device 2
02 or the image information stored in the CD-R 204 is printed. The scanner device 207 and the printing device 208 are not necessarily essential and can be omitted.

The control unit 206 controls the image information storage device 200.
It controls the whole, and is mainly composed of a processor that operates according to a predetermined program. Control unit 206
Is a folder for storing image information, a transfer and storage of image information from the digital camera 100 or the scanner device 207, and a printing device 208 according to a control signal received from the digital camera 100 via the wireless communication unit 201.
Selects the image information to be printed and controls the printing device 208. These controls are performed according to the display of the image display device 300, and necessary display image information is displayed by the control device 206 on the display device interface 2.
It is sent to the image display device 300 via 05. Further, the control signal from the digital camera 100 includes not only the control signal by the operation of the switch group 114 of the digital camera 100 but also the control signal by the motion detection of the digital camera 100 by the acceleration sensor 115.

Next, the operation of the system shown in FIG. 1 will be described. Before explaining the operation, the acceleration sensor 1 of the digital camera 100
A method of using the motion detection signal of the camera housing by 15 will be described with reference to FIG. In this system, the plane parallel to the plane formed by the display unit 113 provided on the back surface of the digital camera 100 is the XY plane,
When holding normally, the upward direction is + Y direction and the right direction is + X
Direction, the rear surface direction of the digital camera 100 is defined as + Z direction, and movement on a plane parallel to the XY plane, the YZ plane, or the XZ plane, the X axis, the Y axis, or the axis parallel to the Z axis. The surrounding rotation is acquired as a motion detection signal. Then, some of the motion detection signals are used as operation signals according to the state of the system.

FIG. 5 shows a schematic flow of the operation at the time of transferring the image information. When storing image information captured by the digital camera 100 in the image information storage device 200, the image information storage device 200 and the image display device 300 are connected by a cable 400, and the image information storage device 200 and the image display device 300 are powered on. After that, in step 501, the digital camera 100 is set to the image information transfer mode. This mode setting is performed by operating one of the switches in the switch group 114.

When the image transfer mode is set, the digital camera 100 transmits the mode setting information indicating that the image transfer mode has been set to the image information storage device 200 via the wireless communication section 116 (step 502). Wireless communication unit 2
Upon receiving the mode setting information via 01, the image information storage device 200 outputs the folder selection screen information via the display device interface 205 in order to select the folder for storing the transferred image information (step 50).
3). An example of the folder selection screen is shown in FIG. For the folder provided in the hard disk device 202 or the CD-R 204, it is preferable to select information prepared in advance according to the needs of the user and display it on one or more screens. The example of FIG. 6 shows that six folders are prepared, and the number of images indicated by the number above the folder icon is already stored in each folder. Also, the folder selected by the cursor 601 is shown.

In the following description, the digital camera 10 will be described.
0 to use the wireless communication units 116 and 201 to transmit information to the image information storage device 200, and to use the display device interface 205 to transmit display screen information from the image information storage device 200 to the image display device 300. Is the same as step 502 and step 503, and the description thereof is omitted.

After the folder selection screen is displayed in step 503, the image information to be transferred and the folder to be stored are selected. When selecting the one to be transferred from the image information stored in the memory card 112, the selected image is displayed on the display unit 113 by operating one of the switches in the switch group 114 (step 504). When the image to be transferred is selected, the thumbnail image information of the image is transferred to the image information storage device 200 (step 505).

Upon receiving the thumbnail image information, the image information storage device 200 outputs screen information for displaying the thumbnail image 702 corresponding to the selected folder to the image display device 300, as shown in FIG. 7 (step). Fifty
6). When changing the folder to be stored, the digital camera 100 is moved to select the folder (step 5).
07). For selecting the folder, refer to FIG.
It is preferable to move by moving on a plane parallel to the XZ plane in. For example, in FIG. 7, when the digital camera 100 is moved to the right (+ X direction in FIG. 4) with the folder “grandchild” selected, the digital camera 100 moves to the folder “pet”.

The movement of the digital camera 100 is detected by the acceleration sensor 116 and transmitted to the image information storage device 200 as folder movement information (step 50).
8). When the image information storage device 200 receives the folder movement information, it outputs the screen information in which the position of the thumbnail image 702 is moved together with the folder selection cursor 701 (step 509), so that the user can select the selected folder and the transfer image. Will be surely confirmed.

It is not always necessary to transfer and display the thumbnail image information, and only the moving display of the cursor may be performed. Further, when displaying the thumbnail image, the cursor display may be omitted.

After selecting the image information to be transferred and the folder to be stored, the digital camera 100 is moved to give an instruction to transfer the image information (step 510). In that case, the movement uses a different type of movement from the folder selection.
It is preferred to utilize rotational movement about an axis parallel to the Y axis of FIG. In the example of FIG. 7, the thumbnail image 702 is contained in the folder displayed as a pocket, so it is preferable to use the movement shown in FIG. 8A, that is, the movement of left rotation in the + Y direction. .

In step 510, when the image information transfer instruction is issued, the selected image information is transferred to the image information storage device 20.
0 (step 511) and stored in the selected folder (step 512). At that time, the thumbnail image 702 is output to the image display device 300 as the screen information which moves into the pocket and disappears (step 513). Further, it is preferable to control the display image on the display unit 113 of the digital camera 100 so that it is moved to the left and disappears as shown in FIG. 8A.

By repeating the above operation, the image information of the digital camera 100 is stored in each selected folder. For the image information of the second and subsequent images, it is preferable to select the next image without any special selection operation.
It is preferable that the display image of 13 is also displayed according to the movement of the stored image. When the next image is automatically selected, it is necessary to skip the image that does not need to be stored. The skip operation is the movement shown in FIG. 8B, that is, the movement to the right in the + Y direction. It is preferable to use.

The operation when the image information of the digital camera 100 is stored in the image information storage device 200 has been described above. However, when storing the image information acquired by the scanner device 207, the same movement of the digital camera 100 is performed. Folder selection and storage instructions can be performed. That is, when digital image information is acquired by the scanner device 207, a folder selection screen is displayed and the digital camera 1
Folder selection and storage instruction may be performed by moving 00.

The hard disk drive 202 or CD
Even when a photograph based on the image information stored in R204 is obtained by the printing apparatus 208, the operation by moving the digital camera 100 is possible. In this case, the folder selection is
This is similar to the storage of image information. After selecting a folder, for example, when moving the image in FIG. 8B to sequentially display and print the images in the folder, the print instruction is issued by the operation in FIG. 8A. Is possible.

In the above description, the digital camera 1
As the movement of 00, only the movement on the plane parallel to the XZ plane and the rotational movement around the axis parallel to the Y axis are used, but other movements may be used.

[0045]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, an image taken by a digital camera can be transferred to an image storage device by a simple operation and can be efficiently stored in a folder for each category.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a captured image information storage system.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an example of a digital camera.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an example of an image information storage device.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the movement of the housing of the digital camera.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a schematic flow of an operation at the time of transferring image information.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a folder selection screen.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing another example of a folder selection screen.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the movement of the housing of the digital camera when an image information transfer instruction is given.

[Explanation of symbols] 100: Digital camera 101 ... Shooting lens 102 ... Shutter / Aperture 103 ... Imaging device 104 ... Analog signal processing unit 105 ... A / D converter 106 ... Digital signal processing unit 107 ... Output memory 108 ... Compression / decompression processing unit 109 ... CPU 110 ... Driving circuit 111 ... Media interface 112 ... Memory card 113 ... Display section 114: Switch group 115 ... Acceleration sensor 116 ... Wireless communication unit 200 ... Image information storage device 201 ... Wireless communication unit 202 ... Hard disk device 203 ... CD-R drive 204 ... CD-R 205 ... Display device interface 206 ... Control unit 207 ... Scanner device 208 ... Printing device

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Claims (17)

[Claims] 1. A captured image information storage system for storing image information captured by a digital camera, wherein the digital camera includes a first wireless communication unit for exchanging information with an external device, and movement of a camera housing. An image including a second wireless communication unit capable of transmitting and receiving information to and from the first wireless communication unit, and an image storage unit that stores image information. An information storage device, the image information storage device has a function of outputting display information for an image display device, the image storage unit includes a plurality of folders for storing the image information, the digital camera Selecting the folder to be stored from the plurality of folders displayed on the image display device based on the output of the camera movement detection unit, The image information is transferred to the storage device, the captured image data storage system is intended to be stored in the selected folder through the first wireless communication unit and the second wireless communication section. 2. The captured image information storage system according to claim 1, wherein the image information storage device further includes a scanner device, and the digital camera displays the image based on an output of the camera movement detection unit. A picked-up image information storage system for selecting the folder to be stored from the plurality of folders displayed on the device and storing the image information acquired by the scanner device in the selected folder. 3. The captured image information storage system according to claim 1, wherein the image information storage device further includes a printing device, and the digital camera is configured to output the image based on an output of the camera movement detection unit. A captured image information storage system for selecting image information to be printed from the image information stored in the image information storage device and instructing the printing device to perform printing. 4. The captured image information storage system according to claim 1, wherein the image storage unit is a built-in hard disk device. 5. The captured image information storage system according to claim 1, wherein the image storage unit includes a removable recording medium and a drive device thereof. Information storage system. 6. The captured image information storage system according to claim 1, wherein the image display device is built in the image storage device. 7. The captured image information storage system according to claim 1, wherein the digital camera includes a display unit that displays an image based on the captured image information, and the display unit. A captured image information storage system for displaying an image based on image information transferred to the image information storage device prior to the transfer. 8. The photographed image information storage system according to claim 1, wherein the image information transferred to the image information storage device is selected.
A captured image information storage system that is performed based on the output of the camera movement detection unit. 9. The captured image information storage system according to claim 1, wherein the first wireless communication unit and the second wireless communication unit perform near field wireless communication. A photographed image information storage system. 10. The captured image information storage system according to claim 9, wherein the short-range wireless communication is infrared communication. 11. A digital camera for transferring photographed image information to an image information storage device including an image storage section having a plurality of folders for storing image information, and exchanging information with the image information storage device. A wireless communication unit and a camera movement detection unit that detects movement of the camera housing are built-in, and based on the output of the camera movement detection unit, the folder to be stored should be stored from the plurality of folders displayed on the image display device. A digital camera having a function of selecting a folder, transferring the captured image information to the image information storage device via the wireless communication unit, and storing the image information in the selected folder. 12. The digital camera according to claim 11, wherein the folder to be stored is selected from the plurality of folders displayed on the image display device based on the output of the camera movement detection unit, A digital camera having a function of storing image information acquired by a scanner device included in the image information storage device in the selected folder. 13. The digital camera according to claim 11, wherein image information to be printed is selected from the image information stored in the image information storage device based on the output of the camera movement detection unit. At the same time, a digital camera having a function of instructing a printing device included in the image information storage device to perform printing. 14. The digital camera according to claim 11, further comprising a display unit that displays an image based on captured image information, wherein the display unit is the image information storage device. A digital camera for displaying an image based on image information transferred to the device prior to the transfer. 15. The digital camera according to claim 11, wherein the image information transferred to the image information storage device is selected.
A digital camera performed based on the output of the camera movement detection unit. 16. The digital camera according to claim 11, wherein the wireless communication unit performs near field communication. 17. The digital camera according to claim 16, wherein the short-range wireless communication is infrared communication.