JP2003125337A - Digital camera system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To appreciate picture data photographed by a digital camera on a television screen without using any cable for connecting the digital camera to the television. SOLUTION: A memory card 103 in which the digital picture data of a digital camera 101 are recorded is connected to a memory card inserting part 113 of a remote control device 104. Then, the digital picture data of the memory card 103 are transferred from the remote control device 104 to a television 102 by wireless communication. The transferred digital picture data are stored in a memory which is not shown in the television 102 so that the pictures can be reproduced by the television 102.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a digital remote controller for a television, which captures a digital image captured by a digital camera having the function of an electronic image pickup device having an electronic image pickup device for converting a subject image into an electric signal. The present invention relates to a configuration of a digital camera system that can be used to transfer to a TV and play the transferred digital image on a TV screen.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an electronic photographing apparatus having an image pickup means for converting a subject image into an electronic image signal and a means for recording an electronic image signal picked up by the image pickup means on a recording medium and displaying an image. There have been proposed a number of electronic photographing cameras (hereinafter, referred to as digital cameras) composed of and.

When viewing an image taken by a conventional digital camera on a television, as shown in FIG. 2, the video output terminal 128 of the digital camera 101 and the television 10 are connected.
This is done by connecting a video input terminal (not shown) on the back of No. 2 via a video cable 129. At this time, the digital camera 101 side is set to the reproduction mode. Further, when the image to be viewed is not displayed on the TV screen, the necessary image could be viewed by operating the operation buttons on the digital camera 101 side to scroll the display on the TV screen. .

[0004]

As described above, in the conventional digital camera 101 and the television 102, it is necessary to connect the digital camera 101 and the television 102 using the video cable 129 when viewing the captured image. Therefore, the image captured by the digital camera 101 cannot be immediately viewed on the television 102. Further, when the image to be viewed is not displayed on the TV screen, it is necessary to operate the operation button on the digital camera 101 side, which is very inconvenient to handle.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a digital camera system capable of viewing image data taken by a digital camera on a television screen without using a cable.

[0006]

To achieve the above object, a digital camera system according to the present invention comprises a digital camera capable of capturing a digital image, and a memory device for storing the digital image captured by the digital camera. A remote controller for the television, in which the memory device can be attached and detached, and a television that can be operated by the remote controller. The digital image stored in the memory device is transferred to the television using the remote controller, The feature is that the transferred digital image is played back on a television.

That is, according to the digital camera system of the present invention, the image data taken by the digital camera can be transferred to the television by wireless communication by the remote controller for the television, so that no cable is required. Also,
Since the remote controller can be used for operations such as selecting an image on the screen of the television, operability is improved.

[0008]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

First, the configuration of the digital camera system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

That is, the digital camera system according to the present embodiment has a digital camera 101 capable of photographing a subject and storing it as a digital image data in a recording medium (memory card 103), and a memory card 103 in which a memory card 103 is removable. A remote controller (hereinafter, referred to as a remote controller) 104 capable of transferring digital image data stored in the card 103 to the television 102, and a remote controller 104.
And a television 102 capable of reproducing the digital image transferred by.

Here, the conventional digital camera 101 can be used as it is, and therefore its explanation is omitted. The memory card 103 is also a non-volatile card-type memory, and includes the digital camera 101 and the remote controller 1.
There is no particular limitation as long as it is removable from 04. Furthermore,
The television 102 is assumed to have a memory (not shown) for storing the transferred digital image. Further, the television 102 has a display screen for viewing digital images (a channel dedicated to viewing digital images),
The user operates the remote controller 104 or the like to
This digital image viewing screen can be displayed on the TV screen.

Next, the remote controller 104 will be described with reference to FIG.

That is, the remote controller 104 is a power ON / OFF key 10 for turning ON / OFF the power of the TV, which is various operation keys functioning as a remote controller for a normal TV.
5, number keys 106 for channel selection, video key 1 for setting the TV screen to the video mode for watching videos
07 and so on.

In addition to the function of the conventional TV remote controller, the remote controller 104 also has a digital key 108 for switching the display screen of the TV 102 to a screen for viewing digital images.
An up / down key 109 for selecting a menu from various menus on a screen for viewing digital images, an OK key 110 for actually deciding the selected menu, and a mode for the remote controller 104 to transfer digital image data to the television 102. Transfer key 111 for changing to mode, all transfer key 1 for transferring all digital image data in the memory card 103 in the transfer mode
It also has various operation keys such as 12 for a digital image viewing screen. Of course, the up-down key 109 and OK
The key 110 may be used in another mode of the television 102, such as brightness adjustment.

Further, the remote controller 104 used in the digital camera system of the present embodiment has, for example, a memory card insertion portion 113 for attaching / detaching the memory card 103 on the side surface portion. This memory card insertion part 113
It is possible to transfer the image data of the memory card 103 to the television 102 by mounting the memory card 103 on the remote controller 104. The communication method at the time of data transfer may be the same as that of the conventional TV remote controller (for example, infrared communication).

Next, as an explanation of the operation of the digital camera system according to the present embodiment, a photographic image delivery service system using the digital camera system according to the present embodiment will be explained.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a photographic image delivery service system.

That is, this photographic image delivery service system comprises the digital camera system according to the embodiment.
Hard disk 114 and service provider 115
And a cable for cable broadcasting (LCV cable) 116,
It is composed of a printing place (lab) 117.

As described above, the digital camera system according to the present embodiment stores the digital camera 101 for photographing a subject and storing it in the memory card 103 as digital image data, and the memory card 103 which is removable and stored in the memory card 103. The remote controller 104 capable of transferring the stored digital image data to the television 102, and the remote controller 10.
4 and a television 102 capable of reproducing the digital image data transferred.

The hard disk 114 is a remote controller 1.
A storage device for storing the digital image transferred to the TV 102 by the TV 04.
It is also possible to make it built in 02.

The service provider 115 is a cable television company that provides television programs. The LCV cable 116 enables bidirectional communication with the television 102, and can receive data sent from the television 102 and perform processing according to the request, as described later.

The laboratory 117 is a service provider 1.
It is a print shop that is requested by 15 to print the digital image data sent from the television 102 and deliver it to each home.

Next, the flow of operation of the photographic image delivery service system will be described.

First, the image data of the object O photographed by the user using the digital camera 101 is stored in the memory card 1.
03 is recorded as digital image data. Next, the user takes out the memory card 103 from the digital camera 101 and mounts it on the remote controller 104. The memory card 103 is attached to the remote controller 104. After that, the user presses the digital key 108 of the remote controller 104,
When the signal is transmitted to the television 102, the television 102
Switches to a screen display for viewing digital images. In addition,
At this point, the numeric keys 106 of the remote controller 104 are switched from the channel changing function to the function of selecting an image on the digital image viewing screen (which can be used in place of the up / down key 109). To cancel this, the digital key 108 should be pressed again.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen for viewing digital images on the television 102.

First, the menu display shown in FIG. 5A is displayed as the display screen 119. In this state, the remote controller 10
It is possible to select a menu with the number keys 106 or the UP / DOWN key 109 and to select the selected menu with the OK key 110.

"1. Transfer" in FIG. 5A is the remote control 1
In this mode, digital image data can be transferred from 04 to the television 102.

"2. Playback" in FIG. 5A means the digital image data transferred in the transfer mode and the television 10.
This is a mode in which the digital image data stored in the hard disk 114 in the No. 2 can be reproduced on the television 102.

"3. Save" in FIG.
This is a mode in which the digital image data stored in the memory (not shown) in 2 can be stored in the hard disk 114.

"4. Order" in FIG. 5A is a mode in which a print photograph 118 of a digital image can be ordered from the laboratory 117 via the service provider 115.

From the above four menus, "1. Transfer"
When is selected, the display screen 1 as shown in FIG.
20 is displayed. On this display screen 120, the user first presses the transfer key 111 of the remote controller 104. Then, the numeric keypad 106 of the remote controller 104 has a function for data transfer (that is, the digital image data corresponding to the pressed number is called from the memory card 103 to call the television 102.
It is a function to transfer to. ). Then, the user determines which of the digital image data stored in the memory card 103 is to be transferred to the television 102. After that, by pressing the number key 106 corresponding to the number of the frame to be transferred, the transfer of the digital image data corresponding to the number is started. In addition,
At this time, it is preferable to be able to display information (for example, shooting date and time) of the digital image data to be transferred on the remote controller 104. When the all transfer key 112 is pressed, transfer of all digital image data stored in the memory card 103 is started.

The transferred digital image data is stored in a memory (not shown) of the television 102,
The thumbnail image 122 obtained by reducing the original image data is displayed on the display screen 121 of the television 102 as shown in FIG. In this state, the display screen 121
When the thumbnail image 122 is selected and the OK key 110 is pressed, a selection screen (not shown) that asks for reproduction or storage is displayed. Then, the digital image data desired to be viewed can be selected and reproduced, or the digital image data can be stored in the hard disk 114 from the memory.
After the above transfer operation is completed, the function of the numeric key 106 can be returned to the function of menu selection by pressing the transfer key 111 again.

The television 102 can receive digital image data from the remote controller only in the "1. transfer" mode. That is, when the digital image data is transferred to the television 102, the CPU (not shown) inside the television 102 determines the current mode, and when the current mode is other than the “1. transfer” mode, FIG. ) Is not displayed.

[2. Playback] from the above four menus
When is selected, the display screen 1 as shown in FIG.
21 is displayed. Here, the channels A, B, and C in FIG. 5D are the hard disk 11
In the data area in 4, the data area of the individual user is shown. On this display screen 123, if the number key 106 corresponding to the channel to be viewed (for example, A channel is 1, B channel is 2 ...) is pressed, a display screen 124 as shown in FIG. A list of digital images 125, which are the contents, is displayed. Then, after the contents of the channel are displayed, the digital image data to be viewed is displayed on the numeric keypad 106 or the up / down key 109.
The image desired to be viewed can be reproduced by selecting using the key and selecting with the OK key 110. For this playback, you can simply display the stored image data in its original size, display it as an enlarged image according to the size of the TV screen, or add shooting information to the displayed image. Since various methods such as a method of displaying the same are conceivable, after selecting the digital image 123 in “2. Reproduction”, a necessary reproduction method may be selected from these reproduction methods. Furthermore, the personal information may be protected by not displaying the contents of the channel unless a personal identification number or the like is input when displaying the digital image data.

[3. Save] from the above four menus
When (after transfer of digital image data) is selected, the digital image data temporarily stored in the memory (not shown) of the television 102 is stored in the hard disk 114. The digital image data stored in the hard disk 114 can be processed by using a personal computer or the like.

[4. Order] from the above four menus
(After transfer of digital image data or hard disk 1
14) is selected), the screen shown in FIG.
The display screen 126 like this is displayed. Here, the user selects “1. image selection” and then selects digital image data desired to be printed. Next, when "2. MENU" is selected, a menu display screen 127 (FIG. 5 (G)) for adding options to the image desired to be printed is displayed. On the display screen 127 of FIG. 5 (G), the number of prints, size, etc. can be set. When these settings are completed, select "4.OK" to display a selection screen (not shown) that asks OK or NG. Select "OK" from the TV 102 to the service provider 113. Start transmitting digital image data.

At the same time when the transmission of the digital image data is started, other user information (the number of prints, size setting, user ID, etc.) is also transmitted. The transmitted information is received by the service provider 115 via the LCV cable 116. Service provider 1
In 15, the user ID is collated, and then the lab 117 is requested to print based on the specified information. The lab 117 delivers the print photograph 118 on which the digital image data is printed to each home by mail or home delivery.

It should be noted that the service provider 115 collectively withdraws the expenses required for printing these photographs from the account designated by each user.

The above is a series of flow of the photographic image delivery service system, but this is merely an example, and various modifications can be considered. Although the operation of the present photo image delivery service system is not described by the flow chart, the operation is clear from the transition diagram of the display screen of FIG. 5 and the description thereof, and thus the description of the flow chart is omitted. There is.

Although the present invention has been described based on the embodiment above, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and various modifications and applications are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention. Of course, of course. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the remote controller is a television, but a memory card may be connected to the remote controller for video so that the digital image data of the digital camera can be reproduced on the video side. In that case, it is necessary to provide a storage device for storing a digital image on the video side.

Further, in the present embodiment, the function of the numeric keys is switched to the function related to digital image viewing when the digital key is pressed, but the numeric key is not provided with such a function, and the up / down key is used. Of course, the operation such as selecting an image to be transferred may be performed only by the OK key. At this time as well, it is preferable that a list of image data stored in the memory card can be displayed on the remote controller by LCD display or the like.

Further, various examples can be considered as a method of transferring digital image data using a remote controller. For example, if the number keys have only an image transfer function and digital image data is transferred by the number keys, the TV mode can be switched to the transfer mode.
The transfer key is no longer needed. In addition, the transmission of image data can be performed by providing a transmitting device on the television side for transmitting a signal instructing the remote control which image to transfer and a receiving device for receiving the signal on the remote control side. You can

[0043]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention,
It is possible to provide a digital camera system that allows viewing of image data with a simple operation without using a cable for connecting the digital camera and the television. Further, since the remote controller can be used for operations such as image selection on the television screen, operability is improved.

Further, by utilizing the present invention, it is possible to obtain a photographic image delivery service system for selecting and ordering image data to be printed while viewing the image displayed on the television screen.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a digital camera system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a state of connection between a conventional digital camera and a television.

FIG. 3 is an external view of a remote controller used in the digital camera system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a photographic image delivery service system as an example of use of the digital camera system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a transition diagram of a display screen on a television in the photo image delivery service system.

[Explanation of symbols]

101 digital camera 102 TV (TV) 103 memory card 104 remote controller 106 number keys 108 digital key 109 Up / Down key 110 OK key 111 Transfer key 112 All transfer keys 113 memory card insertion part 114 hard disk 115 Service Provider 116 Cable for cable broadcasting (LCV cable) 117 Printing Office (Lab)

Front page continuation (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ identification code FI theme code (reference) H04N 7/18 H04N 7/18 U 5K048 H04Q 9/00 301 H04Q 9/00 301E 361 361 F term (reference) 5C022 AA13 AC01 AC42 AC78 5C025 AA01 BA27 CA02 5C052 AA11 AA17 DD02 FA02 FA03 FA04 FA08 FB01 FE01 FE08 GA02 GA03 GA05 GA07 GB01 GE08 5C054 AA01 CC03 CH02 DA07 EA05 EA07 FA05 GA04 5C056 AA01 BA01 CA08 CA19 DA20 EA01 EA05 FA01 HA01 HA04 5K048 BA03 BA10 DC01 EA11 EB02 EB15 FB08 FC01 HA01 HA02 HA13 HA21

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A digital camera capable of capturing a digital image, a memory device for storing the digital image captured by the digital camera, a remote controller for a television to which the memory device is detachable, and an operation by the remote controller. A digital camera system having a possible television, wherein the digital image stored in the memory device is transferred to the television using the remote controller, and the transferred digital image is played back on the television. 2. The digital camera system according to claim 1, wherein the memory device is a card-type memory that can be attached to and detached from the digital camera and the remote controller. 3. The digital camera system according to claim 1, wherein the television is capable of storing at least one digital image transferred by the remote controller.