JP2005039668A - Image pickup device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image pickup device capable of transmitting a digital image that matches the resolution of a digital display to the digital display. <P>SOLUTION: A digital camera 100 is provided with a DVI (digital visual interface)interface including a T.M.D.S. transmitter 110 and a DVI output terminal 112. The DVI output terminal 112 of the digital camera 100 is connected to a DVI input terminal of a TV monitor 150, and the T.M.D.S. transmitter 110 of the digital camera 100 transmits the R, G and B data of a raster image for one screen to the TV monitor 150. When the R.G and B data are transmitted, an image reproduction processing circuit 120 resizes the image size of a photographed image so as to match the resolution of the display device and transmits the R, G and B data which match the resolution of the TV monitor 150. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus, and more particularly to an imaging apparatus suitable for connection with a digital display.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of a conventional imaging apparatus (digital camera).

  The digital camera 10 has a video output terminal 12 and a digital terminal 14 such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus). The digital camera 10 is connected to an analog TV monitor 20 via an AV cable 16 so as to be digital. Image data stored in the recording medium 30 in the camera 10 can be reproduced on the TV monitor 20.

  That is, a JPEG file (an image file in (Joint Photographic Experts Group) format) recorded on the recording medium 30 is read through the media control circuit 32 and added to the image reproduction processing circuit 34. The image reproduction processing circuit 34 expands the compressed data of the image file into YC data (luminance signal (Y) and chroma signal (C)), and outputs this to the video encoder 36. The video encoder 36 generates an NTSC analog video signal from the input YC data, outputs it to the TV monitor 20 via the video output terminal 12 and the AV cable 16, and causes the TV monitor 20 to display an image.

  In addition, the digital camera 10 connects the digital terminal 14 to an external storage device 22 such as a personal computer via the USB cable 18 so that image data stored in the recording medium 30 in the digital camera 10 can be stored in the external storage device. 22 can be transferred.

  That is, the JPEG file recorded on the recording medium 30 is read through the media control circuit 32 and output to the communication control circuit 38. The communication control circuit 38 transfers the JPEG file to the external storage device 22 by serial communication via the digital terminal 14 and the USB cable 18.

  In FIG. 3, reference numeral 40 denotes a photographic lens, 42 denotes an image sensor (CCD) that converts image light incident through the photographic lens 40 into an electrical signal, and 44 denotes an image processing circuit that processes an image signal input from the CCD. , 46 is a compression processing circuit that compresses the processed image signal (YC data) input from the image processing circuit 44 in the JPEG format, and the JPEG file compressed by the compression processing circuit 46 passes through the media control circuit 32. It is recorded on the recording medium 30.

Patent Document 1 discloses a digital camera having the video output terminal 12 and the digital terminal 14 shown in FIG.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-150641

  In recent years, as the resolution of image sensors such as CCDs of digital cameras has improved and the capacity of recording media has increased, the file size of image files recorded with captured images has been increasing. In addition, CD-R, which is an auxiliary recording medium such as a personal computer, can be easily used.

  However, when an image file having a large file size is sent from the digital camera to the auxiliary recording medium, there is a problem that the communication time increases as the file size is increased, and the file transfer time increases as the image resolution increases. In particular, an image file having a large file size is suitable for obtaining a high-quality photo print, but is not suitable for a purpose of displaying on a display screen of a personal computer or the like.

  In recent years, high-resolution digital displays such as plasma displays and liquid crystal displays equipped with a DVI (Digital Visual Interface) interface have become widespread.

  Conventional digital cameras are not provided with an interface for connecting to the above digital display. In order to display digital camera images on the digital display, the digital camera images are once captured in the personal computer. Therefore, there is a problem that image data needs to be transmitted and displayed on the digital display.

  Some digital displays have an analog video input terminal, but when the video output terminal of a digital camera is connected to this video input terminal to display an image, the resolution of the digital display is low. There is a problem that the image cannot be fully exhibited and a high-resolution image cannot be reproduced.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and can transmit a digital image suitable for the resolution of the digital display to the digital display, and can also transmit the digital image to an external storage device such as a personal computer. An object of the present invention is to provide an imaging apparatus capable of shortening the transfer time when transferring the image.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is a digital image recorded on a recording medium in an imaging apparatus that records an optical image formed on a imaging element by a photographing lens as a digital image on the recording medium. Resizing means for resizing the image size to match the resolution of an external digital display, and a digital display for transferring R, G, B signals of the digital image resized by the resizing means to the digital display And an interface for connection.

  That is, an interface for connecting a digital display that can be connected to the digital terminal of the digital display and transmit R, G, B signals of the digital image is provided in the imaging device, and the digital image is transferred from the imaging device to the digital display. R, G and B signals are transmitted. Further, when transmitting the R, G, B signals of this digital image, the image size of the original digital image is resized to match the resolution of the connected digital display. As a result, the imaging apparatus can directly connect to a digital display and transmit R, G, B signals of a digital image that matches the resolution of the digital display.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the imaging apparatus according to the first aspect, the interface is a DVI interface.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in an image pickup apparatus that records an optical image formed on a pickup element by a photographing lens on a recording medium as a digital image, the image size of the digital image recorded on the recording medium is reduced. A resizing means for resizing the image, and an interface for transferring R, G, B signals of the digital image resized by the resizing means to an external storage device.

  That is, when image data is transferred from the imaging device to the external storage device, the R, G, B signals of the digital image resized so as to be smaller than the image size of the original digital image recorded in the imaging device. The data can be transferred, and the transfer speed, display processing time, etc. can be shortened.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an imaging apparatus for recording an optical image formed on a imaging element by a photographing lens on a recording medium as a digital image. Resizing means for resizing to match the resolution of the display, and a first interface for connecting a digital display for transferring R, G, B signals of the digital image resized by the resizing means to the digital display And a second interface for transferring the R, G, B signals of the digital image resized by the resizing means to an external storage device.

  5. The plug-and-play function according to claim 1, wherein the resolution of the digital display is read from an external digital display and the image size to be resized by the resizing means is automatically set. It is characterized by having. Thus, by connecting the imaging apparatus to the digital display, the image size of the original digital image can be automatically resized to an image size suitable for the resolution of the connected digital display.

  According to the present invention, since an interface for connecting a digital display is provided in the image pickup apparatus, the image pickup apparatus can be directly connected to the digital display, and the original image can be connected to the resolution of the connected digital display. The digital image can be resized and the R, G, B signals of the digital image can be transmitted, so that a high quality image suitable for the resolution of the digital display can be displayed on the digital display. . In addition, when image data is transferred from the imaging device to the external storage device, the R, G, B signals of the digital image resized so as to be smaller than the image size of the original digital image recorded in the imaging device. The data can be transferred, and the transfer speed, display processing time, etc. can be shortened.

  Preferred embodiments of an imaging apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of an imaging apparatus according to the present invention. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the part which is common in the conventional digital camera 10 shown in FIG. 3, and the detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an imaging apparatus (digital camera) 100 according to the present invention is provided with a DVI interface including a T.M.D.S. (Transition Minimized Differential Signaling) transmitter 110 and a DVI output terminal 112. When displaying an image taken by the digital camera 100 on the TV monitor 150 as a digital display such as a plasma display or a liquid crystal display having a DVI interface, the DVI output terminal 112 and the DVI of the TV monitor 150 are displayed. An input terminal (not shown) is connected by a DVI cable 140.

  Then, the digital camera 100 is set to the playback mode, and a JPEG file to be played back on the TV monitor 150 is selected from the JPEG files recorded on the recording medium 30. When the digital camera 100 is switched from the shooting mode to the playback mode, the JPEG file recorded last on the recording medium 30 is selected, and then a desired JPEG file is selected by performing operations such as frame advance and frame reverse. be able to.

  When a JPEG file to be played back on the TV monitor 150 is selected, the JPEG file is read out via the media control circuit 32 and added to the image playback processing circuit 120. The image reproduction processing circuit 120 decompresses the compressed JPEG file and returns it to YC data (luminance signal (Y) and chroma signal (C)), and converts this YC data into R, G, B data. Further, the image is resized to the image size suitable for the resolution of the TV monitor 150, and the resized R, G, B data is sent to the T.M.D.S. transmitter 110.

  As the resolution of the digital display to which the digital camera 100 is directly connected, for example, VGA (640 × 480), SVGA (800 × 600), XGA (1024 × 768), SXGA (1280 × 1024), UXGA (1600 ×) 1200) and the like, and the operator sets an image size suitable for the resolution of the output digital display in advance using the setup menu of the digital camera 100 or the like. The image reproduction processing circuit 120 resizes the image size of the photographed image so as to have a preset image size.

  Digital R, G, B data for one screen resized to a predetermined image size by the image reproduction processing circuit 120 is output to the T.M.D.S. transmitter 110.

  The TMDS transmitter 110 performs digital transmission of a display video signal adopted in DVI. An output circuit (image reproduction processing circuit 120) that outputs digital R, G, B data for one screen, a TV, The video signal transmission method with the input circuit on the monitor 150 side is defined, and the DVI interface includes 2-link TMDS.

  Each link has one channel each for transmission of three types of video signals of R, G, and B, and transmits 24-bit data (pixels) and 6-bit control data. That is, 30-bit (24 bits + 6 bits) data is encoded, serialized, and transmitted over three channels. One channel transmits data serialized by differential driving with two signal lines.

  R, G, B data of the raster image transmitted from the T.M.D.S. transmitter 110 is output to the TV monitor 150 via the DVI output terminal 112 and the DVI cable 140.

  The TV monitor 150 having a DVI interface decodes the received data after parallelizing it, extracts 24-bit data (pixels) and a 6-bit control signal, and displays an image based on these data.

  Conventionally, in order to display an image on a digital display, the JPEG file is transferred to a personal computer, the JPEG file to be displayed on the personal computer is read, the JPEG file is expanded, and the image size matches the resolution of the digital display. In the present invention, the digital camera 100 is directly connected to the digital display (TV monitor 150), and the digital camera 100 is connected to the TV monitor 150. The data stream with the required resolution is transferred as it is. A DVI interface that includes two links of T.M.D.S. can achieve a display of 1600 × 1200 dots at 85 Hz or higher.

  Next, a case where image data recorded on the recording medium 30 of the digital camera 100 is transferred to the external storage device 22 will be described.

  In this case, the digital (USB) terminal 14 is connected to the external storage device 22 via the USB cable 18. The communication control circuit 130 has a function of transferring the JPEG file recorded on the recording medium 30 as it is as shown in FIG. 3, but the data equivalent to the R, G, B data output from the TMDS transmitter 110 is received. It also has a function of outputting and transferring it to the external storage device 22. Note that selection of whether to transfer a JPEG file or R, G, B data can be made, for example, by selecting a communication mode in the setup menu of the camera. The digital data to be transferred need not be T.M.D.S., but may be converted into a USB stream.

  When the case of transferring a JPEG file and the case of transferring resized R, G, B data are compared, for example, the size of a JPEG file having an image size of 4256 × 2848 pixels is 4.7 Mbytes. However, an actual display device does not display a size of 4256 × 2848 pixels, and data required by the display device depends on the resolution of the display device.

  The general resolution of the display device is XGA (1024 × 768), which is about 2.3 Mbytes for 24-bit full color and 1.5 Mbytes for 16-bit color. Therefore, the transfer time and the display processing time can be shortened by transferring the data that is actually used in the display device as compared with the case of transferring the JPEG file.

  FIG. 2 is a principal block diagram showing another embodiment of the imaging apparatus according to the present invention. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the part which is common in FIG. 1, and the detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

  In the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 1, the operator sets an image size suitable for the resolution of the output destination display device in advance, and resizes the image size of the captured image so as to be the set image size. However, in the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 2, the image size to be resized is automatically set.

  The DVI standard defines hot-swap and automatic setting (plug and play). The digital camera of this embodiment automatically detects that the TV monitor 150 is connected to the DVI output terminal 112 and acquires various types of information including the resolution of the connected TV monitor 150. In the resizing means 122 of the image reproduction processing circuit 120, an image size suitable for the resolution of the TV monitor 150 acquired by the plug and play function is automatically set as an image size to be resized, and the resizing means 122 takes a picture with a digital camera. Resize the image so that the image size is automatically set.

  The carrier for transferring digital data may be any of USB, IEEE 1394, etc., and may be a wired or wireless network. In this embodiment, a digital camera has been described as an example of an imaging device. However, the present invention can also be applied to a portable terminal such as a camera-equipped phone.

1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of an imaging apparatus according to the present invention. The principal part block diagram which shows other embodiment of the imaging device which concerns on this invention Block diagram showing an example of a conventional imaging device

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 14 ... Digital (USB) terminal, 18 ... USB cable, 22 ... External storage device, 30 ... Recording medium, 32 ... Media control circuit, 40 ... Shooting lens, 42 ... Imaging device (CCD), 110 ... TMDS transmitter, 112 ... DVI output terminal, 120 ... Image reproduction processing circuit, 122 ... Resize means, 130 ... Communication control circuit, 140 ... DVI cable, 150 ... TV monitor

Claims (5)

In an imaging apparatus that records an optical image formed on a imaging element by a photographing lens on a recording medium as a digital image,
Resizing means for resizing the image size of the digital image recorded on the recording medium to match the resolution of an external digital display;
An interface for connecting a digital display for transferring R, G, B signals of the digital image resized by the resizing means to the digital display;
An imaging apparatus comprising:   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the interface is a DVI interface. In an imaging apparatus that records an optical image formed on a imaging element by a photographing lens on a recording medium as a digital image,
Resizing means for resizing so that the image size of the digital image recorded on the recording medium is reduced;
An interface for transferring R, G, B signals of the digital image resized by the resizing means to an external storage device;
An imaging apparatus comprising: In an imaging apparatus that records an optical image formed on a imaging element by a photographing lens on a recording medium as a digital image,
Resizing means for resizing the image size of the digital image recorded on the recording medium to match the resolution of an external digital display;
A first interface for connecting a digital display for transferring R, G, B signals of the digital image resized by the resizing means to the digital display;
A second interface for transferring R, G, B signals of the digital image resized by the resizing means to an external storage device;
An imaging apparatus comprising:   5. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a plug-and-play function for reading a resolution of the digital display from an external digital display and automatically setting an image size to be resized by the resizing unit.

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