JP2004222329A - Digital camera and image print system using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a digital camera which is easy to handle when transmitting an image file without increasing the production cost. <P>SOLUTION: When the digital camera 1 and a personal computer (PC) 3 are connected to each other, a DPOF file is downloaded from the digital camera 1 to the PC 3. Image data contained in the downloaded DPOF file are created as print data for printing an image in a printer 5 by the PC 3. The print data are transmitted to the printer and on the basis of the print data, the printer 5 prints the image. Namely, when the digital camera 1 and the PC 3 are connected, the image data transmitted from the digital camera 1 are printed by the printer 5. During printing, the operation of the PC 3 by a user is not required. The PC 3 is interposed between the digital camera 1 and the printer 5 so that, even when using USB (universal serial bus), it is not necessary to further add a CPU for making the digital camera 1 a host. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a digital camera and an image printing system using the same.

  2. Description of the Related Art A digital camera that converts light from a subject into an electric signal and records the converted signal as digital image data is known. With the improvement of the performance of a printer as a printing apparatus, a user can print an image captured by a digital camera at home.

  2. Description of the Related Art As a method of printing an image captured by a digital camera by a printer, a method of printing via a personal computer (hereinafter, a personal computer is referred to as a “personal computer”) as an image processing apparatus is generally used. In this case, a recording unit such as a flash memory of the digital camera in which the image data of the photographed image is recorded is connected to a personal computer, and the image data recorded in the recording unit is read out to the personal computer. Then, the read image data is subjected to image processing such as color correction, trimming, or layout according to the print medium using a personal computer, for example. Further, after performing these processes, it is necessary to execute processes for executing printing, for example, creation of print data. Therefore, the user needs to perform a plurality of operations such as connection between the digital camera and the personal computer, reading of image data, image processing, and print execution processing. Therefore, it is necessary for the user to operate the digital camera, the personal computer, and the printer at one time, and the handling is complicated for the user who is not used to the operation.

  As a method of printing an image captured by a digital camera with a printer, there is a method of directly connecting the digital camera to a printer via a transmission unit, so-called direct printing. By using direct printing, there is no need to interpose an image processing device such as a personal computer between the digital camera and the printer, and even users unfamiliar with the handling of personal computers can easily print images taken with a digital camera. it can.

  On the other hand, recently, in order to improve the data transfer speed between a personal computer and a peripheral device such as a scanner or a printer, or to improve the ease of handling, an interface which is a transmission means for connecting the personal computer and the peripheral device has been developed. Instead of the parallel (centronics) system, the serial system, the SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) system, and the like, the USB (Universal Serial Bus) system, the IEEE1394 system, and the like are used. In particular, the USB system is rapidly spreading because of easy connection.

  As the interface of the existing printer, the parallel system is mainly used. On the other hand, as a digital camera interface, a serial system is mainly used. Therefore, a serial system has been used as an interface of a digital camera for performing the direct printing as described above.

  On the other hand, with the spread of the USB system, the USB is becoming the standard as a printer interface instead of the conventional serial system. Therefore, there is a possibility that direct printing cannot be performed with an existing digital camera having a serial interface. Therefore, it is desirable that the interface of the digital camera is also a USB system.

  The USB system is used by connecting a printer or scanner, which is a device, mainly to a host such as a personal computer. Therefore, in order to use the USB system as an interface between the digital camera and the printer, it is necessary to set the digital camera as a host and the printer as a device. However, in order to set the digital camera as a host, it is necessary to add an additional function for the digital camera to function as a host, and there is a problem that the manufacturing cost of the digital camera increases.

  Therefore, when the USB method is used for a digital camera, it is conceivable to use a digital camera and a printer as devices using a personal computer as a host. However, printing an image captured by a digital camera via a personal computer by a printer requires the user to operate the personal computer, which is not preferable for a user who is not accustomed to operating the personal computer.

Accordingly, a main object of the present invention is to provide a digital camera that can easily handle output data at the time of transmission without increasing the manufacturing cost.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an image printing system which can print an image photographed by a digital camera by a printing device without special operation by an image processing device, and can easily handle printing execution. Is to do.

  According to the digital camera of the first aspect of the present invention, the digital camera is connected to an image processing device such as a personal computer, and a printing device such as a printer is connected to the image processing device. When printing image data recorded in the recording unit of the digital camera, desired image data is selected by the selection unit from the image data recorded in the recording unit. The output data creation means creates output data indicating the selected image data, and stores it in the recording unit. After the digital camera and the image processing device are connected via the transmission unit, the output data reading unit of the image processing device is activated by a start signal output from the activation unit of the digital camera. The activated output data reading unit receives the output data stored in the recording unit of the digital camera and the selected image data from the output data transmitting unit, and the output data is transmitted from the digital camera to the image processing apparatus. .

  Therefore, after the digital camera and the image processing device are connected, the output data reading unit is activated by the activation unit, and the output data including the image data selected by the selection unit is transmitted from the digital camera to the image processing device. . Therefore, the output data can be transmitted from the digital camera to the image processing device without operating the image processing device, and the handling at the time of transmitting the image can be facilitated. In addition, by setting the image processing apparatus as a host and setting the digital camera and the printing apparatus as devices, an additional function for using the digital camera as a host is unnecessary, so that the manufacturing cost of the digital camera does not increase.

  According to the digital camera of the second aspect of the present invention, the digital camera further includes a start input unit. A start signal for starting the output data reading means of the image processing apparatus is output after the input to the start input means. Therefore, for example, by using the shutter button of the digital camera as the activation input unit, the user can activate the output data reading unit simply by pressing the shutter button. Therefore, there is no need to operate the image processing device.

  According to the digital camera of the third aspect of the present invention, the digital camera has a transmission means of a wireless transmission system. Therefore, image data can be transmitted without being limited by the length or capacity of the transmission medium such as a cable of the transmission means.

  According to the digital camera according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, even when the USB type transmission means is used, since the image processing device is provided between the digital camera and the printing device, the digital camera can be used as a host. There is no need to provide additional functions for functioning. Therefore, the manufacturing cost of the digital camera does not increase.

  According to an image printing system according to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the digital camera according to any one of the first to fourth aspects. After the digital camera is connected to the image processing device, output data is transmitted from the digital camera to the image processing device. When the image processing apparatus receives the output data, the print data creation unit of the image processing apparatus creates print data from the image data specified by the output data. The printing device prints an image on a print medium based on print data created by the image processing device.

  Therefore, by connecting the digital camera and the image processing apparatus, the image data included in the output data transmitted from the digital camera is created as print data and printed as an image by the printing apparatus. That is, the user can select the image data desired to be printed and the desired number of prints, and connect the digital camera to the image processing apparatus to print an image captured by the digital camera. Therefore, the image photographed by the digital camera can be printed by the printing device without performing any special operation by the image processing device. Further, since printing of an image is started by connecting the digital camera to the image processing apparatus, it is possible to easily handle printing.

Hereinafter, a plurality of examples showing embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
(First embodiment)
As shown in FIG. 1, the image printing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a digital camera 1, a personal computer 3 as an image processing device, and a printer 5 as a printing device. The digital camera 1 and the personal computer 3, and the personal computer 3 and the printer 5 are connected by transmission means 6.

  As the transmission means 6, an interface including a USB type port and a USB cable is used. The transmission means 6 has a cable 61 for connecting the digital camera 1 and the personal computer 3 and a cable 62 for connecting the personal computer 3 and the printer 5. The transmission means 6 is not limited to the USB method as described above, and may use a wireless transmission method.

  As the wireless transmission method, for example, light such as infrared light, short wave, or electromagnetic wave including microwave can be used. The transmission means 6 is connected between the digital camera 1 and the personal computer 3 and the personal computer 3 so that the digital camera 1 and the personal computer 3 are connected by the USB system, and the personal computer 3 and the printer 5 are connected by the parallel system. And the printer 5 may not be the same.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the digital camera 1 has an imaging unit 11, a recording unit 12, a display unit 13, an input unit 14, a connection unit 15, and a control unit 16. The imaging unit 11 includes a lens 111 for condensing light from a subject, a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) 112 for converting the condensed light into an electric signal, and converting an electric signal output from the CCD 112 into digital image data. It comprises an A / D converter 113.

  The recording unit 12 includes a RAM (Random Access Memory) 121 for temporarily storing the converted image data, and a flash memory 122 for long-term recording of the image data. The flash memory 122 is a non-volatile memory that retains the recorded contents even when the power supply is stopped. The image data recorded on the flash memory 122 is compressed in order to increase the number of recordings on the flash memory 122, and is recorded as a file format such as JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group).

  The display unit 13 includes an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) 131 for displaying an image formed from an object photographed by the CCD 112 or image data recorded in the flash memory 122, and a VRAM for storing image data to be displayed on the LCD 131. (Video RAM) 132.

The input unit 14 includes a shutter button 141 for inputting a shooting start instruction from a user, a setting button 142 for inputting various settings such as an exposure and a shutter speed, and an image data recorded in the flash memory 122. And a selection button 143 as selection means for selecting image data desired to be printed. The shutter button 141 functions not only as an instruction to start shooting but also as a start input unit for starting the downloader 321a of the personal computer 3 after connecting the digital camera 1 and the personal computer 3 as described later.
The connection section 15 has a port 151 for connecting the cable 61 to the personal computer 3. The port 151 is provided with a detection unit 152 that detects whether or not the cable 61 is connected to a port 341 of the personal computer 3 described later.

  The control unit 16 is connected to the imaging unit 11, the recording unit 12, the display unit 13, the input unit 14, and the connection unit 15, and controls each unit. The control unit 16 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a ROM (Read Only Memory) in which software for controlling the entire digital camera 1 is recorded. The control unit 16 also functions as an output data transmission unit that transfers output data recorded in the flash memory 122 to a downloader started by the personal computer 3.

  The personal computer 3 mainly includes a control unit 31, a recording unit 32, an input unit 33, a connection unit 34, and the like. A cable 61 connected to the digital camera 1 is connected to a connection port 341 of the connection unit 34. The cable 62 connected to the printer 5 is connected to the connection port 342. As the recording unit 32, a memory device such as a ROM or a RAM, and a disk device such as a hard disk or a CD-ROM are provided. As the input unit 33, a keyboard 331 and a mouse 332 as shown in FIG. 1 are provided.

  The printer 5 has a print head unit 51, a drive unit 52, a connection unit 53, a control unit 54, and the like. For example, in the case of an ink jet printer, the print head unit 51 includes nozzles for ejecting ink for forming an image on the print medium 55 shown in FIG. 1, a tank storing the ink, and the like. As the print medium 55, paper, cloth, an OHP sheet, a resin film, or the like is used. The drive unit 52 includes a medium feeding unit for feeding the print medium 55 to the print head unit 51, and a head drive unit for driving the print head unit 51. A cable 62 connected to the personal computer 3 is connected to a port 531 of the connection unit 53. The control unit 54 has a CPU, a ROM, and the like, and controls each unit of the printer 5.

Next, the operation of the image printing system having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIG.
1. Shooting by Digital Camera 1 When the user presses the shutter button 141 of the digital camera 1, shooting of a subject is performed. The photographing is performed in the following procedure (S101). At the time of executing the photographing, the digital camera 1 and the personal computer 3 are not connected.

  When the user presses the shutter button 141, all the charges stored in the CCD 112 are once released, and thereafter, light from the subject is stored as charges in the CCD 112 for a predetermined period. The CCD 112 outputs a current corresponding to the amount of light incident on the CCD 112, that is, the amount of accumulated charge. The output current is converted into digital image data by the A / D converter 113. The converted image data is written by DMA (Direct Memory Access) by directly specifying the address of the RAM 121 without going through the CPU of the control unit 16 for speeding up. The image data stored in the RAM 121 is subjected to processing such as pixel complementation, color correction, and compression, and is then copied and recorded in the flash memory 122.

2. Selection of Image An operation for printing an image based on the image data recorded in the flash memory 122 by the printer 5 will be described with reference to FIGS.
(1) The user selects image data of an image desired to be printed from the image data recorded in the flash memory 122. The selection of the image is performed by operating the setting button 142 and the selection button 143 of the digital camera 1 while watching the image displayed on the LCD 131. For example, a reduced image created from the image data recorded in the flash memory 122 is displayed on the LCD 131, and the user selects a desired image while viewing the reduced image (S102).

  (2) When the user finishes selecting the image data, he or she inputs the number of images to be printed. The printing direction of the image at the time of printing can also be input. These inputs are also input by operating the setting button 142 and the selection button 143. Further, the number of prints and the print direction may be input simultaneously with the selection of the image in S102.

(3) The control unit 16 creates a DPOF file (Digital Photo Order Format) from the input number of prints and the print direction (S104). The DPOF file includes print number data of the image selected as described above, layout data indicating the print direction of the image, and the like.
(4) The created DPOF file and the image data of the selected image are stored in the flash memory 122 of the digital camera 1 as output data (S105).

3. Data Transfer (1) When the user connects the port 151 of the digital camera 1 and the port 342 of the personal computer 3 with the cable 61, the detecting unit 152 of the digital camera 1 detects the connection with the personal computer 3. Then, the control unit 16 of the digital camera 1 recognizes the connection between the digital camera 1 and the personal computer 3 (S106). At this time, the power is already turned on in the personal computer 3 (S301), and the operating system (OS) is running (S302). The power of the printer 5 is already turned on (S501), and the printer 5 is on standby in a printable state.

  The OS running on the personal computer 3 inquires at a predetermined interval whether or not the cable 61 connected to the digital camera 1 is connected to the port 342. When the control unit 16 of the digital camera 1 recognizes the connection with the personal computer 3 in S106 described above and the OS of the personal computer 3 also recognizes the connection with the digital camera 1 (S303), the DPOF file and the DPOF file from the digital camera 1 to the personal computer 3 are read. The system enters a standby state in which image data can be transmitted and received.

  When the user presses the shutter button 141 of the digital camera 1, a start signal for starting predetermined application software is transmitted from the digital camera 1 to the personal computer 3 (S107). When an activation signal is transmitted from the digital camera 1 to the personal computer 3 and the OS receives the activation signal, the monitor program shown in FIG. 4 resident in the OS activates the application software recorded in the recording unit 32 of the personal computer 3. . This application software is a downloader 321a as output data reading means for downloading a DPOF file and image data as output data from the flash memory 122 of the digital camera 1 (S204). That is, when the user presses the shutter button 141, the downloading of the DPOF file and the image data from the digital camera 1 to the personal computer 3 is started.

  (2) When the downloader 321a is activated, the downloader 321a inquires whether the output data stored in the flash memory 122 of the digital camera 1 includes a DPOF file (S205). The processing differs depending on the presence or absence of the DPOF file.

  (3) If there is a DPOF file in the flash memory 122, the downloader 321a first downloads the DPOF file from the flash memory 122 of the digital camera 1 (S221). The downloader 321a specifies the image data of the image to be printed based on the content of the downloaded DPOF file, and downloads the specified image data from the flash memory 122 (S222).

  (4) If there is no DPOF file in the flash memory 122, the downloader 321a downloads all of the image data recorded in the flash memory 122 (S206).

  (5) If there is a DPOF file, the downloader 321a that has downloaded the DPOF file and the image data saves the downloaded DPOF file and the image data respectively in predetermined areas of the personal computer 3 (S207). If there is no DPOF file, the downloader 321a that has downloaded all the image data stores the downloaded image data in a predetermined area of the recording unit 32 of the personal computer 3.

(6) When the download by the downloader 321a is completed and the image data and the like are stored in a predetermined area of the recording unit 32, the downloader 321a activates the utility program 321b as shown in FIG. 4 (S208).
(7) In order for the printer 5 to print an image based on the image data stored in the recording area of the recording unit 32, the utility program 321b converts the image data into print data, for example, according to the number of ink colors of the printer 5. Bitmap data and the like are created (S209). The utility program 321b includes a printer driver which is software for driving the printer 5.

If there is a DPOF file, the utility program 321b creates print data for the number set in the print number data from the print number data of the DPOF file. That is, for example, when the number of print data included in the DPOF file for a certain image data A is 3, the utility program 321b creates three print data a based on the certain image data A.
On the other hand, if there is no DPOF file, the utility program 321a creates print data one by one for all image data.

  (8) The created print data is transmitted to the printer 5 (S210, S302). The printer 5 prints an image based on the print data created by the utility program 321b of the personal computer 3 (S303). That is, an image based on the image data selected by the digital camera 1 is printed.

  (9) When the printing of the image is completed, the downloader 321a running on the personal computer 3 ends the utility program 321b, and deletes the DPOF file and the image data stored in the recording area of the recording unit 32 (S211). Then, the downloader 321a itself ends.

  As described above, in the image printing system using the digital camera 1, when the digital camera 1 is connected to the personal computer 3, the downloader starts in the personal computer 3 and is stored in the flash memory 122 of the digital camera 1. Download the DPOF file to the personal computer 3. Then, the downloader activates a utility program, and the utility program creates print data for printing an image on the printer 5 from the image data included in the DPOF file. The print data is transmitted to the printer, and the printer 5 prints an image based on the print data. That is, the user can print an image based on the image data selected by the digital camera 1 with the printer 5 without performing any special operation on the personal computer 3 for downloading and executing printing.

  Also, in the case where the personal computer 3 is interposed between the digital camera 1 and the printer 5, an image based on image data recorded in the flash memory 122 of the digital camera 1 is printed using a USB as an interface. However, it is not necessary to further add a CPU for using the digital camera 1 as a host. Therefore, the manufacturing cost of the digital camera 1 does not increase.

  As described above, in the first embodiment, the case where the activation signal is transmitted from the digital camera 1 to the personal computer 3 when the user presses the shutter button 141 has been described. However, the invention is not limited to the shutter button 141, and other input means or a dedicated activation signal may be used. A transmission button or the like may be provided to transmit an activation signal when the user operates them.

(Second embodiment)
An image printing system according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. Components that are substantially the same as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.
In the second embodiment, the configuration of the image printing system and the configurations of the digital camera 1, the personal computer 3, and the printer 5 included in the image printing system are the same as those in the first embodiment.

  In the second embodiment, the method of starting the downloader 321a on the personal computer 3 is different from the first embodiment. Therefore, only different points will be described. The process of taking an image and selecting an image by the digital camera 1 is the same as in the first embodiment.

(Transfer of data)
When the user connects the port 151 of the digital camera 1 and the port 342 of the personal computer 3 with the cable 61, the detecting unit 152 of the digital camera 1 detects the connection with the personal computer 3. Then, the control unit 16 of the digital camera 1 recognizes the connection between the digital camera 1 and the personal computer 3. At this time, the personal computer 3 is already powered on and the OS is running. The power of the printer 5 is already turned on, and the printer 5 is on standby in a printable state.

  The OS running on the personal computer 3 inquires at a predetermined interval whether or not the cable 61 connected to the digital camera 1 is connected to the port 342. When the control unit 16 of the digital camera 1 recognizes the connection with the personal computer 3 in S106, and the OS of the personal computer 3 also recognizes the connection with the digital camera 1, a start signal is transmitted from the digital camera 1 to the personal computer 3.

When an activation signal is transmitted from the digital camera 1 to the personal computer 3 and the OS of the personal computer 3 receives the activation signal, the monitor program shown in FIG. 4 resident in the OS is recorded in the recording unit 32 of the personal computer 3. Activate the downloader 321a.
Processing after the downloader 321a is started is the same as in the first embodiment. That is, the second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the downloader 321a is activated without the user operating the shutter button 141.

  In the second embodiment, when the digital camera 1 is connected to the personal computer 3, the personal computer 3 starts the downloader 321a. Therefore, one or both of the DPOF file and the image data can be downloaded without operating the shutter button 141, and the operation becomes easier.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an image printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an image printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a flowchart illustrating an image printing method using an image printing method according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an image printing method using the image printing system according to one embodiment of the present invention, and is a diagram illustrating processing of software running on a personal computer.

Explanation of reference numerals

1 digital camera, 3 personal computer (image processing device), 5 printer (printing device), 6 transmission means, 12 recording section, 14 input section (selection section), 15 connection section, 16 control section (output data creation section, output data) Transmission means), 55 print media, 141 shutter button (start-up input means)

Claims (5)

A digital camera capable of printing an image created from image data recorded in a recording unit by a printing device via an image processing device,
Selecting means for selecting image data to be printed by the printing apparatus from the image data recorded in the recording unit,
Output data creating means for creating output data indicating the selected image data to be transmitted to the image processing apparatus, and storing the output data in the recording unit,
A connection unit to which a transmission unit for transmitting the output data and the selected image data recorded in the recording unit to the image processing apparatus is connected;
Starting means for outputting a start signal for starting the output data reading means of the image processing apparatus after the connection unit and the transmission means are connected,
Output data transmitting means for passing the output data to the activated output data reading means;
A digital camera, comprising: Further comprising a start input means for instructing the output of a start signal,
2. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein the activation signal is output after the activation input unit receives an input.   The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein the transmission unit uses a wireless transmission system.   3. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein the transmission unit is a USB. A digital camera according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
An image processing apparatus having the image reading unit, connected to the digital camera via the transmission unit,
A print data creation unit that is provided in the image processing apparatus and creates print data from the image data specified by the output data;
A printing device connected to the image processing device and capable of printing an image based on the print data on a print medium,
An image printing system comprising:

Images