JP2004140797A - Imaging device control method, and device and program therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make information about photographing time to be imparted to pieces of image data to be acquired by each imaging device match with actual photographing time in a remote camera system using a plurality of imaging devices. <P>SOLUTION: A digital camera 1A is set as a master camera, digital cameras 1B, 1C, 1D are set as slave cameras and photography is performed in the digital cameras 1B, 1C, 1D as well by a photographing operation of the digital camera 1A. A time setting signal is transmitted from the digital camera 1A to the digital cameras 1B, 1C, 1D, time of the digital camera 1B, 1C, 1D is set to the time of the digital camera 1A and photographing date and time information is imparted to pieces of the image data acquired by photography based on the set time. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus control method and apparatus for controlling operations of a plurality of imaging apparatuses connected via a network such as a wireless LAN, and a program for causing a computer to execute the imaging apparatus control method.

There has been proposed a remote camera system that allows a camera installed in a remote place to be viewed via a network. Such a remote camera system can not only simply view the image of the camera, but also can operate the camera direction and zoom magnification from a remote location. In such a remote camera system, a method of controlling the operations of a plurality of cameras from one camera has also been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2000-113166 A

By the way, the remote camera system can be applied to a digital camera. Specifically, when each of a plurality of users has a digital camera, when one user takes a picture using the digital camera, the other user's digital camera also takes pictures simultaneously or continuously. It is also possible to do this. As described above, by operating a plurality of digital cameras in cooperation with each other, it becomes possible to simultaneously photograph one subject from various angles, and the enjoyment of photographing can be expanded. Further, by storing the image data acquired by each of the plurality of cameras in a centralized manner, it is possible to easily use the image data such as distribution of the image data and creation of an album using the image data.

As described above, when image data is used, it is necessary to arrange the image data by rearranging the image data in order of shooting date and time, for example. This rearrangement of the image data can be performed based on shooting date / time information indicating the shooting time given to the image data. However, since the remote camera system acquires image data in a plurality of digital cameras, if the time of the clock in each digital camera is not adjusted, when the image data are arranged in order of shooting date and time, the actual shooting is performed. The order in which they are placed and the order in which they are arranged do not match.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and a shooting time represented by shooting date and time information given to image data, and a shooting time measured based on a reference time such as an actual shooting time, The purpose is to match.

An imaging apparatus control method according to the present invention is an imaging apparatus control method that includes a clock and operates a plurality of imaging apparatuses that give imaging date and time information to image data acquired by imaging in cooperation with each other via a network.
The time adjustment of adjusting the time of the clock of all the imaging devices to a predetermined time is performed.

The “imaging device” is mounted not only on a digital camera dedicated to photographing that captures digital image data representing a subject image by photographing the subject, but also on a portable terminal device having a communication function such as a mobile phone or a PDA. Including digital cameras.

The “predetermined time” is a reference time among a plurality of imaging devices, and for example, the time of the clock of one imaging device among the plurality of imaging devices can be used.

The time adjustment may be performed at regular time intervals such as every hour, but may be performed based on a predetermined operation in one imaging device among a plurality of imaging devices.

The “predetermined operation” is an operation for adjusting the time of the clock of one imaging device that performs the operation and the time of the clock of another imaging device. For example, the time at which the user of one imaging device is provided in the imaging device By operating an adjustment button or the like, a signal for time adjustment is transmitted to all the imaging devices via a network.

An imaging apparatus control apparatus according to the present invention includes a clock, and operates an imaging apparatus control apparatus that operates a plurality of imaging apparatuses that give imaging date and time information to image data acquired by imaging in cooperation with each other via a network.
A timer unit that adjusts the time of the clocks of all the imaging apparatuses to a predetermined time is provided.

In the image pickup apparatus control apparatus according to the present invention, the timer means may be means for performing the time adjustment based on a predetermined operation in one of the plurality of image pickup apparatuses.

Further, the imaging device control device according to the present invention may be provided in each of the plurality of imaging devices.

In addition, you may provide as a program for making a computer perform the imaging device control method by this invention.

According to the present invention, since the times of all the imaging devices are adjusted to a predetermined time, the imaging time represented by the imaging date / time information added to the image data acquired by each of the plurality of imaging devices is a predetermined time. This coincides with the photographing time measured with respect to the time. Therefore, by arranging the image data based on the shooting date / time information given to the image data, the image data can be arranged accurately in the actual shooting order.

In addition, by performing time adjustment based on a predetermined operation in one of the plurality of imaging devices, it is represented by shooting date and time information given to image data acquired by each of the plurality of imaging devices. It is possible to reliably match the shooting time with the shooting time measured with reference to a predetermined time.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing a configuration of a remote camera system using an imaging apparatus control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the remote camera system according to the present embodiment includes a plurality of (here, four) digital cameras 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D and a camera server 2 connected by a network 3, and the digital cameras 1A to 1 The image data acquired in 1D is transmitted to the camera server 2, and the camera server 2 stores and manages the image data. In the present embodiment, the network 3 uses a wireless LAN. However, any network may be used as long as the digital cameras 1A to 1D can be remotely controlled.

In the present embodiment, when the digital camera 1A is set as a master camera and the digital cameras 1B, 1C, and 1D are set as slave cameras and a shooting operation is performed in the digital camera 1A, at the same time, shooting is performed in the digital cameras 1B, 1C, and 1D. It is assumed that the operations of the digital cameras 1B, 1C, 1D are controlled so as to be performed.

It should be noted that the digital camera 1A set as the master camera can perform shooting independently without causing the digital cameras 1B, 1C, and 1D to perform shooting. Also, the digital cameras 1B, 1C, and 1D set as slave cameras can perform shooting independently without receiving a shooting instruction from the digital camera 1A. Here, the image data acquired by each of the digital cameras 1A to 1D taking a picture may be transmitted to the camera server 2, but may be stored in a memory card of each of the digital cameras 1A to 1D. .

FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view showing the configuration of the digital camera 1A. Since the digital cameras 1B, 1C, and 1D have the same configuration as the digital camera 1A, description thereof is omitted. As shown in FIG. 2, the digital camera 1 </ b> A has a monitor 11 that performs various displays such as images and menus to be photographed, a shutter button 12, a wireless LAN chip 13 that performs wireless LAN communication, and various inputs. The input unit 14 includes a cross key 14 </ b> A for performing, and a speaker 15 for outputting sound. In addition, the digital camera 1A has a shooting notification means 16 that transmits shooting notification information to the digital cameras 1B, 1C, and 1D by a half-pressing operation of the shutter button 12, and functions as a clock and a time by operation of the input means 14. Timer means 17 having a function of outputting a time adjustment signal for adjusting the time to the network 3 via the wireless LAN chip 13.

The monitor 11 displays both the image that the digital camera 1A itself is about to shoot and the image that the digital cameras 1B, 1C, and 1D are about to shoot. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an image displayed on the monitor 11. As shown in FIG. 3, the monitor 11 has a window 11A for displaying an image to be photographed by the digital camera 1A and windows 11B, 11C, and 11D for displaying an image to be photographed by the digital cameras 1B, 1C, and 1D. Is displayed. As shown in FIG. 3, the window 11A is an image to be taken by the digital camera 1A, and therefore has a larger size than the other windows 11B, 11C, and 11D.

Here, since the other windows 11B, 11C, and 11D are smaller in size than the window 11A, the displayed image may be difficult to see. Therefore, only the central portion of the image to be photographed may be displayed on the windows 11B, 11C, and 11D. Further, the windows 11B, 11C, 11D selected by the input means 14 may be enlarged and displayed on the monitor 11.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the screen of the monitor 11 may be simply divided according to the number of digital cameras, and images to be taken by the digital cameras 1A to 1D may be displayed.

The shutter button 12 performs focusing and photometry by half-pressing operation, and performs shooting by driving the shutter by full-pressing operation. Here, in this embodiment, the shooting notification means 16 is driven by the half-pressing operation of the shutter button 12, and shooting notification information is sent from the wireless LAN chip 13 to the digital cameras 1 B, 1 C, 1 D via the network 3. Sent. The shooting notification information is information for notifying the digital cameras 1B, 1C, and 1D that shooting will be performed from now on. The digital cameras 1B, 1C, and 1D are based on the shooting notification information. Send a shooting notification to the user.

Specifically, the shooting notification may be performed by outputting a chime sound, a beep sound, and “shoot” and “please hold the camera” sound from the speakers 15 of the digital cameras 1B, 1C, and 1D. In addition, a message such as “Shoot” or “Please hold the camera” may be displayed on the monitor 11 of the digital camera 1B, 1C, or 1D, and a shooting notification may be given. Notification may be performed. Furthermore, the imaging notification may be performed by blinking the monitor 11 itself, inverting the display color of the monitor 11, or vibrating the camera itself.

Then, after the shooting notification is made in this way, the shutter release button 12 of the digital camera 1A is fully pressed, so that shooting is performed in the digital camera 1A and shooting is also performed simultaneously in the digital cameras 1B, 1C, and 1D. . Note that the shooting timing may be not only simultaneous but also delayed for a certain time so that the digital cameras 1B, 1C, and 1D sequentially perform shooting.

The wireless LAN chip 13 is for performing communication via the network 3 by wireless LAN, and includes a memory for storing authentication information necessary for communication, a communication interface, and the like.

The timer means 17 has a function as a clock for adding shooting date / time information indicating a shooting time to image data acquired by shooting. The timer means 17 outputs a time adjustment signal for adjusting the time of the timer means 17 of the other digital cameras 1B, 1C, 1D to the time of the timer means 17 of the digital camera 1A. This time adjustment signal is transmitted from the wireless LAN chip 13 to the digital cameras 1B, 1C, 1D via the network 3. The timer means 17 of the digital cameras 1B, 1C, 1D performs time adjustment based on the received time adjustment signal. Thereby, the time of the timer means 17 of all the digital cameras 1A to 1D is set to the time of the timer means 17 of the digital camera 1A.

The camera server 2 is for storing and managing image data acquired by the digital cameras 1A to 1D, and includes a large-capacity hard disk 2A. That is, when the digital camera 1A performs shooting, shooting is performed in the digital cameras 1B, 1C, and 1D, and four image data are acquired simultaneously in each of the digital cameras 1A to 1D. The image data is transmitted to the camera server 2 from where the image data is stored.

Further, the camera server 2 manages the models of the digital cameras 1A to 1D to be remotely operated, the ID for identifying the camera, and information on whether the camera is a master camera or a slave camera. In the present embodiment, four image data are transmitted to the camera server 2 by one shooting, but the camera server 2 assigns a file name to the image data and stores the image data so as not to overlap. In addition, the image data is managed so that it can be understood in which digital camera 1A to 1D the stored image data is acquired.

Next, processing performed in the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing processing performed at the time adjustment in the present embodiment. First, it is monitored by the digital camera 1A, which is a master camera, whether or not an input for time adjustment has been made in the input means 14 (step S1). An alignment signal is output, and the time alignment signal is transmitted from the wireless LAN chip 3 to the digital cameras 1B, 1C, and 1D that are slave cameras via the network 3 (step S2). The digital cameras 1B, 1C, and 1D receive the time adjustment signal (step S3), and based on the time adjustment signal, the timer means 17 of the digital cameras 1B, 1C, and 1D performs time adjustment (step S4) and processing. Exit.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing processing performed at the time of shooting in the present embodiment. First, it is monitored by the digital camera 1A whether or not the shutter button 12 has been fully pressed to give a shooting instruction (step S11). If step S11 is affirmed, shooting is performed by the digital camera 1A (step S11). In step S12, the date and time information is added to the image data acquired by shooting with reference to the timer unit 17 (step S13), and the image data to which the shooting date and time information is added is transmitted to the camera server 2 (step S14). ).

At the same time, shooting is performed by the other digital cameras 1B, 1C, and 1D (step S15), and the shooting date / time information is added to the image data acquired by shooting with reference to the timer means 17 (step S16). Image data to which shooting date / time information is assigned is transmitted to the camera server 2 (step S17).

Then, the camera server 2 receives the image data (step S18), stores the received image data (step S19), and ends the process.

Thus, in this embodiment, since the time of all the digital cameras 1A-1D is adjusted, the imaging time represented by the imaging date / time information given to the image data acquired by each of the digital cameras 1A-1D. Corresponds to the photographing time measured with reference to the time of the timer means 17 of the digital camera 1A. Therefore, by organizing the image data stored in the camera server 2 based on the shooting date / time information given to the image data, it is possible to arrange the image data accurately in the actual shooting order.

Also, a time adjustment signal is transmitted to the digital cameras 1B, 1C, 1D based on the input from the input means 14 in the digital camera 1A as a master camera, and the digital cameras 1B, 1C, 1D are transmitted based on the time adjustment signal. By adjusting the time of the timer unit 17, the shooting time represented by the shooting date and time information added to the image data acquired by each of the digital cameras 1A to 1D and the time of the timer unit 17 of the digital camera 1A are used as a reference. It is possible to reliably match the shooting time counted as.

In the above embodiment, the time adjustment signal is transmitted to the digital cameras 1B, 1C, 1D based on the input of the time adjustment to the input means 14 in the digital camera 1A, and the timer means 17 of the digital cameras 1A-1D. Although time adjustment is performed, a time adjustment signal is transmitted to the digital cameras 1B, 1C, 1D at a fixed time or a fixed time in the timer means 17 of the digital camera 1A, for example, without inputting the time adjustment. You may perform the time adjustment of the timer means 17 of 1A-1D.

In the above embodiment, the time of the timer means 17 of the digital cameras 1B, 1C, and 1D is set to the time of the timer means 17 of the digital camera 1A, but the time adjustment signal is sent from the camera server 2 to the digital cameras 1A to 1D. And the time of the timer means 17 of the digital cameras 1A to 1D may be synchronized with the time of the camera server 2.

In the above embodiment, the time of the timer unit 17 of the digital camera 1B, 1C, 1D is set to the time of the timer unit 17 of the digital camera 1A. However, positioning radio waves from GPS satellites are transmitted to the digital cameras 1A to 1D. GPS means may be provided, and the time of the timer means 17 of the digital cameras 1A to 1D may be adjusted based on time information included in the positioning radio waves. Note that the positioning radio wave is received at a fixed time or at a fixed time or by transmitting a signal for receiving the positioning radio wave based on the operation of the input means 14 in the digital camera 1A to the digital cameras 1B, 1C, 1D. Just do it.

Further, the timer unit 17 may be provided with a function of receiving a standard radio wave having time information, and the time may be adjusted by receiving the standard radio wave. Note that the reception of the standard radio wave may be performed by transmitting a signal for receiving the standard radio wave based on the operation of the input unit 14 in the digital camera 1A to the digital cameras 1B, 1C, 1D or at a fixed time or at a fixed time.

In the above embodiment, the image data acquired by the digital cameras 1A to 1D is stored in the camera server 2, but the image data is acquired by the digital camera 1A as a master camera without providing the camera server 2. The image data obtained and the image data acquired by the other digital cameras 1B, 1C, 1D may be stored. In this case, image data is directly transmitted from the digital cameras 1B, 1C, and 1D to the digital camera 1A. Note that image data may be stored directly in any one slave camera by directly transmitting the image data from the other slave camera and the digital camera 1A that is the master camera. In this case, the communication between the digital cameras 1A to 1D may use a peer-to-peer communication method in which data is directly exchanged between the digital cameras 1A to 1D as shown in FIG. In the peer-to-peer communication method, data transfer between the digital cameras 1A to 1D is performed by directly transferring information packets from a digital camera that transmits data to a digital camera that is a transmission destination.

In the above embodiment, the relationship between the master camera and the slave camera may be arbitrarily switched in each of the digital cameras 1A to 1D.

In the above embodiment, the remote camera system using the digital cameras 1A to 1D has been described. However, the remote camera system can also be configured using a mobile terminal device with a camera such as a mobile phone or a PDA. It is. In this case, a system in which a portable terminal device with a camera and a digital camera are mixed may be used. Unlike the digital cameras 1A to 1D, the camera-equipped mobile terminal device is not provided with a dedicated button for performing various operations for shooting including a dedicated shutter button, and the operation button of the mobile terminal device is used for shooting. This is also used as a button for performing various operations.

1 is a schematic block diagram showing a configuration of a remote camera system using an imaging apparatus control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Rear perspective view showing the configuration of the digital camera The figure which shows the picture which is displayed on the monitor The figure which shows the screen of the monitor divided according to the number of digital cameras A flowchart showing processing performed at time adjustment in the present embodiment. A flowchart showing processing performed at the time of shooting in this embodiment Diagram for explaining peer-to-peer communication method

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1A-1D Digital camera 2 Camera server 3 Network 11, 2A Monitor 12 Shutter button 13 Wireless LAN chip 14 Input means 15 Speaker 16 Image | photographing notification means 17 Timer means

Claims (7)

In an imaging apparatus control method that includes a clock and operates a plurality of imaging apparatuses that provide shooting date and time information to image data acquired by shooting in cooperation with each other via a network.
A method for controlling an imaging apparatus, wherein time adjustment is performed to adjust the time of the clock of all the imaging apparatuses to a predetermined time. The imaging apparatus control method according to claim 1, wherein the time adjustment is performed based on a predetermined operation in one imaging apparatus among the plurality of imaging apparatuses. In an imaging apparatus control apparatus that includes a clock and operates a plurality of imaging apparatuses that give imaging date and time information to image data acquired by imaging in cooperation with each other via a network.
An image pickup apparatus control apparatus comprising timer means for adjusting time of all clocks of the image pickup apparatus to a predetermined time. 4. The image pickup apparatus control apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the timer means is means for performing the time adjustment based on a predetermined operation in one image pickup apparatus among the plurality of image pickup apparatuses. 5. The imaging device control device according to claim 3, wherein the imaging device control device is provided in each of the plurality of imaging devices. In a program for causing a computer to execute an imaging device control method that includes a clock and operates a plurality of imaging devices that add imaging date and time information to image data acquired by imaging in cooperation with each other via a network.
A program having a procedure for adjusting the time of adjusting the time of the clock of all the imaging devices to a predetermined time. The program according to claim 6, wherein the procedure for adjusting the time is a procedure for adjusting the time based on a predetermined operation in one of the plurality of imaging devices.

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