JP2005159774A - Method and apparatus for telephotographing, and program thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a telephotographing apparatus capable of automatically re-compressing at a higher rate if a telephotographing time exceeds a reference value (tolerable value) when calculating an actual telephotographing time for a compressed image to be transmitted. <P>SOLUTION: Image data are inputted from a camera 103, and an image CODEC104 generates a compressed image. A compressed image capacity detector 106 detects "capacity of compressed image", and a telephotographing rate detector 107 detects "telephotographing rate" of the line on which the compressed image is transmitted. Based on the "capacity of compressed image" and "telephotographing rate", a telephotographing time calculator 108 calculates the telephotographing time of the compressed image. An image compressing conversion judging part 109 judges whether the calculated telephotographing time is within a prescribed reference value (tolerable value). If it exceeds the prescribed reference value (tolerable value), the image CODEC104 re-compresses the image at a higher rate. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image transmission device, and in particular, calculates an actual transmission time of a compressed image, and automatically increases the compression rate of an image to be transmitted when the transmission time exceeds a reference value (allowable value). The present invention relates to an image transmission device that can be compressed again.

  In recent years, with the widespread use of digital cameras and the like, a large number of digital images have been distributed in the market, and the number of cases in which these digital images are transmitted / received via a communication network is increasing. As an image encoding method used for these, there is a standardized technique such as JPEG (ITU-T recommendation T.81). The difference between the encoded image data and other binary data is that the compression rate is changed by controlling the number of pixels when scanning an image or by controlling the sampling number of pixels when encoding. It is a point that can be. Naturally, if the compression rate is lowered, the image quality is high, and conversely, if the compression rate is high, the image quality is deteriorated.

In general, there are many needs for handling images with high image quality, that is, with a low compression rate. On the other hand, when sending images over a communication network, a high compression rate is considered in consideration of shortening the transmission time in order to reduce communication charges. There is a case of sending an image compressed by.
In this case, there is a case where the file size of the compressed image is confirmed as a material for determining whether or not the image to be transmitted is at this compression rate. For example, the file size of the compressed image displayed on the digital camera is confirmed. There is a confirmation means such as.

However, what we really want to know about the need to transmit this image is the transmission time, but this transmission time is not determined only by the file size, and actually the transmission speed of the transmission device is also indispensable information. . In particular, when image transmission is performed by an image transmission apparatus or communication line having a low communication speed, the relationship between the image compression rate and the transmission time appears remarkably.
In the past, when transferring this image, humans basically derived the approximate transmission time from past experience based on information such as the file size, and then increased the image as necessary. A troublesome operation of re-encoding and transmitting by compression is necessary.

  As one specific example, an image captured by a digital camera is stored in a memory medium by JPEG encoding, and the memory medium is stored in the memory medium by a file management program operating on the computer by inserting the memory medium into the computer. There is an example in which the file size of a digital image can be confirmed, and the digital image is attached to an e-mail and transmitted by an e-mail program (for example, Non-Patent Document 1).

Another example is a facsimile transmission function. Some facsimiles have a function to read a document with multiple image quality, and in the facsimile transmission operation, the image of the image to be read is considered in consideration of the image quality and the transmission time based on the number of documents to be transmitted and the contents of the image. Select the image quality. The facsimile scans all the originals with the selected image quality and performs facsimile transmission. When the reading of the original is completed, the memory usage rate of the facsimile is displayed on the screen, and a person can check the approximate file size of the read original by looking at the displayed content (for example, Non-Patent Document 2).
Asahi Optical Co., Ltd. product catalog “Digital Camera“ Optio230 ”” (as of July 2002) Product catalog of “Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Co., Ltd.“ OFISTAR B6000 ”” (as of November 2001)

  The present invention has been made to solve such a problem. The object of the present invention is to calculate the actual transmission time of a compressed image, and when the transmission time exceeds a reference value (allowable value), the automatic transmission time is calculated. It is another object of the present invention to provide an image transmission device, an image transmission method, and a program that can be recompressed at a high compression rate.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an image transmission device according to the present invention is an image transmission device that transmits and receives image data via a communication line, and is an image input for inputting image data. Means, and if the image data is not a compressed image, encodes it into a compressed image and re-encodes the compressed image at another different compression rate; and a compressed image for detecting the capacity of the compressed image Capacity detection means, transmission rate detection means for detecting the transmission rate of communication when transmitting the compressed image, compressed image capacity detected by the compressed image capacity detection means and detected by the transmission rate detection means Based on the transmission rate, a transmission time calculation means for calculating the transmission time of the compressed image, and whether to compress the compressed image at a higher compression rate based on the calculated transmission time And image compression conversion determination means for determining, characterized by comprising a determination condition storage means for storing a parameter for determining whether or not to re-compressed by the image compression conversion determination means.
Thus, based on information such as the file size of the compressed image to be transmitted, the image can be transmitted within the transmission time according to the user's request without performing the troublesome operation of performing the re-encoding operation from past experience. Can be sent.

The image transmission apparatus of the present invention further includes means for setting a parameter stored in the determination condition storage means to an arbitrary value.
As a result, the image can be automatically compressed so that it is less than the transmission time specified by the user.

The image transmission method of the present invention is an image transmission method in an image transmission apparatus that transmits and receives image data via a communication line, and the image input procedure for inputting image data and the image data are not compressed images In some cases, the image is encoded into a compressed image, and the image encoding procedure for re-encoding the compressed image at another different compression rate, the compressed image capacity detecting procedure for detecting the capacity of the compressed image, and the compressed image are transmitted. A transmission rate detection procedure for detecting a transmission rate of communication at the time of communication, a compressed image capacity detected in the compressed image capacity detection procedure, and a transmission rate detected in the transmission rate detection procedure, A transmission time calculation procedure for calculating a transmission time, and an image compression conversion determination for determining whether or not to compress the compressed image at a higher compression rate based on the calculated transmission time. And forward, characterized in that it comprises a determination condition storage procedure for storing the parameters for determining whether or not to re-compressed by the image compression conversion determining step.
As a result, the image can be transmitted within the transmission time according to the user's request without performing the troublesome operation of performing the re-encoding operation from past experience based on the information such as the file size of the compressed image to be transmitted. It can be sent.

The image transmission method of the present invention further includes a procedure for setting a parameter stored in the determination condition storing procedure to an arbitrary value.
As a result, the image can be automatically compressed so that it is less than the transmission time specified by the user.

  The computer program of the present invention also includes an image input procedure for inputting image data to a computer in an image transmission device that transmits and receives image data via a communication line, and compression if the image data is not a compressed image. An image encoding procedure for encoding an image and re-encoding the compressed image at another different compression rate, a compressed image capacity detecting procedure for detecting the capacity of the compressed image, and communication when transmitting the compressed image The transmission time of the compressed image is calculated based on the transmission rate detection procedure for detecting the transmission rate, the compressed image capacity detected in the compressed image capacity detection procedure, and the transmission rate detected in the transmission rate detection procedure. Image compression conversion determination for determining whether to compress the compressed image at a higher compression rate based on the transmission time calculation procedure to be performed and the calculated transmission time And forward a program for executing the determination condition storing procedure for storing parameters for determining whether or not to re-compressed by the image compression conversion determining step.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and in the image transmission apparatus and the image transmission method of the present invention, the input image data is compressed to generate a compressed image, and the compressed image capacity is detected. Then, the transmission time of the compressed image is calculated based on the transmission rate of the line for transmitting the compressed image. When the calculated transmission time exceeds a predetermined reference value (allowable value), the image is automatically recompressed at a higher compression rate.
As a result, the image can be transmitted within the transmission time according to the user's request without performing the troublesome operation of performing the re-encoding operation from past experience based on the information such as the file size of the compressed image to be transmitted. It can be sent.

In the image transmission device and the image transmission method of the present invention, the user can set the reference value (allowable value) of the transmission time to an arbitrary value.
As a result, the image can be automatically compressed so that it is less than the transmission time specified by the user.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of an image transmission apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

1, reference numeral 101 denotes a line interface that is connected to a communication network and performs call control such as outgoing / incoming calls, and 102 conforms to “ITU-T V.8” with another image transmission device via the communication network. The communication procedure is established by the procedure described above, the transmission rate is established and the compressed image is transmitted by the procedure conforming to “V.34”, 103 is a camera such as a digital camera as an image input means, and 104 is input by the camera 103 The encoded image is encoded by, for example, the JPEG rule defined in “ITU-T Recommendation T.81” to be a compressed image, or the JPEG-encoded compressed image is changed and re-encoded by JPEG. An image CODEC 105 to be converted is an image memory for storing a compressed image encoded by the image CODEC 104, and 106 is a compressed image stored in the image memory 105. Compressed image capacity detection unit for confirming “compressed image capacity”, 107 is a transmission rate detection unit for detecting and notifying the “transmission rate” established by the modem 102, and 108 is a “compression” detected by the compressed image capacity detection unit 106. The figure shows a transmission time calculation unit for calculating “compression transmission time” based on “image capacity” and “transmission rate” at the time of image transmission detected by the transmission rate detection unit.
As a method of calculating the “compression image transmission time” by the transmission time calculation unit 108, the “compressed image capacity (unit: bit)” is divided by the “transmission rate (unit bit / second)” to obtain the “compressed image transmission time”. Can be calculated in seconds.
Reference numeral 109 denotes an image compression conversion determination unit that determines whether to transmit a compressed image at the time of calculation based on the transmission time calculated by the transmission time calculation unit 108, or to further increase the compression rate of the compressed image. Judgment condition memory for storing “electric transmission time permissible judgment reference time” used at the time of judgment by the image compression conversion judgment unit 109, 111 a key operation unit for performing shooting operations by the camera 103 and various operations at the time of image transmission, and 112 a line The control circuit controls the interface 101, the modem 102, the camera 103, the image CODEC 104, the image memory 105, the compressed image capacity detection unit 106, the transmission rate detection unit 107, the transmission time calculation unit 108, and the image compression conversion determination unit 109.

  In FIG. 1, a line interface 101 closes a DC loop for notifying the communication network of an off-hook, sends a selection signal such as DP or PB, detects an incoming signal from the communication network, amplifies a transmission signal or a reception signal. It has functions such as 2-wire to 4-wire conversion, and these functions are configured using LSI (integrated circuit), transistors, resistors, capacitors, transformers, etc., as in the case of conventional analog telephones.

  The modem 102 can be composed of a data modem LSI or the like. The camera 103 can be composed of a CCD camera and an LSI that controls the CCD camera. The image CODEC 104 can be composed of a JPEG encoding LSI or the like. The image memory 105 can be configured by a semiconductor memory such as a RAM or a flash memory, or a magnetic storage device such as a hard disk. The key operation unit 111 can be composed of keys, buttons, etc. and their peripheral circuits.

  The compressed image capacity detection unit 106, the transmission rate detection unit 107, the transmission time calculation unit 108, the image compression conversion determination unit 109, the determination condition memory 110, and the control circuit 112 can be configured by general-purpose LSIs such as a CPU, RAM, and ROM. . The transmission rate detection unit 107 can be included in the function of the modem for the data modem of the modem 102. Further, it goes without saying that a plurality of circuits and means in these components can be combined into one LSI.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a first system configuration example using the image transmission device of the present invention. 1 is a communication network, 100 is the image transmission device illustrated in FIG. 1, and 10 is a predetermined communication procedure. This is a normal image transmission device capable of receiving a compressed image.

  Next, based on FIG.1 and FIG.2, the operation | movement of the image transmission apparatus of this invention is demonstrated with reference to the flowchart of FIG. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the control circuit 112 in FIG.

  In the operation example described below, it is assumed that the determination condition memory 110 stores a determination reference value “recompressed after transmission time of 50 seconds or more”.

  (1) When the user instructs photography using the key operation unit 111 (step S101), the control circuit 112 performs photography by controlling the camera 103, and controls the image CODEC 104 to compress the input image photographed. And the compressed image is stored in the image memory 105 (step S102).

  (2) Next, when the user instructs a transmission operation using the key operation unit 111 (step S103), the control circuit 112 controls the line interface 101 to make a call, and transmits the other party's image transmission via the communication network 1. The device 10 is connected (step S104).

(3) After connecting with the partner image transmission apparatus 10, the modem 102 is controlled to establish a communication procedure.
At this time, when the modem 102 establishes a predetermined communication procedure according to “ITU-T V.8” and “V.34”, the transmission rate in this communication is also established. This transmission rate varies for each communication depending on the noise state of the communication line after connection to the communication line, the value of the transmission rate that can be communicated specified during the communication procedure from the receiving side, and the like.
When this communication procedure is established, the “transmission rate” established by controlling the transmission rate detection unit 107 is obtained (step S105).

  (4) Further, the compressed image capacity detection unit 106 is controlled to acquire the “compressed image capacity” from the image memory 105 (step S106).

  (5) Next, the “transmission time” and “compressed image capacity” are notified to the transmission time calculation unit 108 and the calculation of the transmission time is instructed. The transmission time calculation unit 108 calculates the transmission time based on the notified transmission rate and compressed image capacity, and returns the calculation result to the control circuit 112 (step S107).

Here, three calculation examples are shown.
(A) As an example 1, when the compressed image capacity is 50,000 bytes (50,000 x 8 bits) and the transmission rate is 14,400 bits / second,
(50,000 × 8) ÷ 14,400 ≒ 27.8
As a calculation result, a value of 27.8 seconds is calculated as the transmission time of the compressed image.

(B) As example 2, when the compressed image capacity is 50,000 bytes (50,000 x 8 bits) and the transmission rate is 4,800 bits / second,
(50,000 × 8) ÷ 4,800 ≒ 83.3
As a calculation result, a value of 83.3 seconds is calculated as the transmission time of the compressed image.

(C) As Example 3, when the compressed image capacity is 100,000 bytes (100,000 × 8 bits) and the transmission rate is 14,400 bits / second,
(100,000 × 8) ÷ 14,400 ≒ 55.6
As a calculation result, a value of 55.6 seconds is calculated as the transmission time of the compressed image.

  (6) The control circuit 112 notifies the image compression / conversion determination unit 109 of “calculation result of transmission time” and “transmission rate”, and whether to send the current compressed image to the image compression / conversion determination unit 109. Then, an instruction is given to determine whether to further increase the compression rate of the compressed image (step S108).

  (7) Here, the image compression conversion determination unit 109 reads the determination reference value from the determination condition memory 110 (for example, recompression is required for 50 seconds or more), and compares it with the notified calculation time (step S109). If the determination reference value is larger, the control circuit 112 is notified to transmit the current compressed image.

  (8) Upon receiving this notification, the control circuit 112 reads the compressed image stored in the image memory 105, controls the modem 102, and transmits the compressed image to the partner image transmission apparatus 10 (step S112). The procedure described above is “(a) the calculation result in Example 1 is 27.8 seconds”.

  (9) On the other hand, when the determination reference value is smaller, the control circuit 112 is notified of the fact that it is necessary to further increase the compression rate and the allowable capacity of the compressed image. Specifically, a value obtained by multiplying the notified “electric transmission rate” and “determination reference value” is the maximum compressed image capacity allowable in the current communication.

This procedure is performed in the case of “Example 2 of (b)” and “Example 3 of (c)” described above.
(A) In the case of Example 2,
4,800 × 50 = 240,000
30,000 buys (240,000 bits)
The allowable capacity of compressed images is 30,000 bytes or less.

(B) In the case of Example 3,
14,400 × 50 = 720,000
90,000 bytes (720,000 bits)
The allowable capacity of compressed images is 90,000 bytes or less.

  The control circuit 112 reads the compressed image stored in the image memory 105, notifies the image CODEC 104 of the maximum allowable capacity value of the compressed image, and controls to recompress the read compressed image to be equal to or less than the maximum allowable capacity value. (Step S110).

  (10) The image CODEC 104 re-encodes the compressed image below the maximum allowable capacity notified from the control circuit 112, writes the re-encoded compressed image into the image memory 105, and notifies the control circuit 112 of the end of recompression. (Step S111).

  (11) Upon receiving this notification, the control circuit 112 reads out the recompressed compressed image stored in the image memory 105, controls the modem 102, and transmits the compressed plane image to the partner image transmission apparatus 10 (step). S112).

  According to the above control procedure, even when re-encoding is performed at the time of image transmission, it can be performed without human (user) intervention.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of an image transmission apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

4, 201 is a line interface that is connected to a communication network and performs call control such as outgoing / incoming calls, and 202 is compliant with “ITU-T V.8” with other image transmission apparatuses via the communication network. A modem that establishes a communication procedure according to the above-described procedure, establishes a transmission rate and transmits a compressed image according to a procedure conforming to “V.34”, and 203 is a predetermined image encoding method such as “ITU-T recommendation T.81”. ”Is a compressed image input unit that can insert a storage medium storing a compressed image compressed in accordance with the JPEG law defined in the above, and can read the compressed image. 204 is a compressed image input unit 203 An image CODEC 205 for re-encoding by changing the compression rate, 205 is an image memory for storing a compressed image encoded by the image CODEC 204, and 206 is stored in the image memory 205 Compressed image capacity detection unit 207 for confirming the capacity of the compressed image, 207, a transmission rate detection unit that detects and notifies the “transmission rate” established by the modem 202, and 208, “compression” detected by the compressed image capacity detection unit 206 The transmission time calculation unit calculates the transmission time of the compressed image based on the “image capacity” and the “transmission rate” at the time of image transmission detected by the transmission rate detection unit 207.
As a method of calculating the “compressed image transmission time”, the “compressed image transmission time” is calculated by dividing the “compressed image capacity (unit: bits)” by the “transmission rate (unit bits / second)” to obtain the “compressed image transmission time” in seconds. Can be calculated in units.
Reference numeral 209 denotes an image compression conversion determination unit 210 that determines whether to transmit a compressed image at the time of calculation based on the transmission time calculated by the transmission time calculation unit 208, or to further increase the compression rate of the compressed image. A determination condition memory for storing a transmission time allowable determination reference time used when the image compression conversion determination unit determines, 211 a key operation unit that performs various operations during image transmission, 212 a line interface 201, a modem 202, and a compressed image input The control circuit controls the unit 203, the image CODEC 204, the image memory 205, the compressed image capacity detection unit 206, the transmission rate detection unit 207, the transmission time calculation unit 208, and the image compression conversion determination unit 209.

  4, the line interface 201, the modem 202, the image CODEC 204, the image memory 205, the compressed image capacity detection unit 206, the transmission rate detection unit 207, the transmission time calculation unit 208, the image compression conversion determination unit 209, and the determination condition memory 210. , The key operation unit 211, and the control circuit 212 are respectively the line interface 101, the modem 102, the image CODEC 104, the image memory 105, the compressed image capacity detection unit 106, and the electric transmission shown in FIG. The rate detection unit 107, the transmission time calculation unit 108, the image compression conversion determination unit 109, the determination condition memory 110, the key operation unit 111, and the control circuit 112 can be configured similarly.

  The compressed image input unit 203 can be configured by an interface component corresponding to a storage medium 203a for storing various memories such as a memory card such as a PC card interface conforming to the PCMCIA interface and its peripheral circuit.

  Further, it goes without saying that a plurality of circuits and means in these components can be combined into one LSI.

  FIG. 5 shows a system configuration example according to the second embodiment of the present invention, in which 1 is a communication network, 200 is the image transmission apparatus of the present invention shown in FIG. 4, and 10 is a predetermined communication procedure. 1 shows a normal image transmission apparatus capable of receiving a compressed image.

  Next, based on FIG.4 and FIG.5, with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 6, operation | movement of the image transmission apparatus of this Embodiment is demonstrated. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the control circuit 212.

  In the operation example described below, it is assumed that the determination condition memory 210 stores a determination reference value “recompressed after 50 seconds of power transmission time”. In addition, it is assumed that a storage medium 203a in which compressed images are stored in advance is inserted into the compressed image input unit 203.

  (1) When a user instructs a transmission operation using the key operation unit 211 (step S201), the control circuit 212 controls the line interface 201 to make a call and connect to the partner image transmission apparatus 10 via the communication network 1. (Step S202).

(2) After connection, the modem 202 is controlled to establish a communication procedure.
At this time, when a predetermined communication procedure based on “ITU-T V.8” and “V.34” is established in the modem 202, the transmission rate in this communication is also established. This transmission rate varies for each communication depending on the noise state of the communication line after connection to the communication line, the value of the transmission rate that can be communicated specified during the communication procedure from the receiving side, and the like.
When this communication procedure is established, the established transmission rate is obtained by controlling the transmission rate detection unit 207 (step S203).

  (3) Further, the compressed image capacity detection unit 206 is controlled to obtain the compressed image capacity of the storage medium 203a inserted into the compressed image input unit 203 (step S204).

  (4) Next, the transmission time calculation unit 208 is notified of the “transmission rate” and “compressed image capacity” and instructed to calculate the transmission time. The transmission time calculation unit 208 calculates the transmission time based on the notified transmission rate and compressed image capacity, and returns the calculation result to the control circuit 212 (step S205).

Here, three calculation examples are shown.
(A) As Example 1, if the compressed image capacity is 50,000 bytes (50,000 x 8 bits) and the transmission rate is 14,400 bits / second,
(50,000 × 8) ÷ 14,400 ≒ 27.8
As a calculation result, a value of 27.8 seconds is calculated as the transmission time of the compressed image.

(B) As Example 2, when the compressed image capacity is 50,000 bytes (50,000 x 8 bits) and the transmission rate is 4,800 bits / second,
(50,000 × 8) ÷ 4,800 ≒ 83.3
As a calculation result, a value of 83.3 seconds is calculated as the transmission time of the compressed image.

(C) As Example 3, when the compressed image capacity is 100,000 bytes (100,000 × 8 bits) and the transmission rate is 14,400 bits / second,
(100,000 × 8) ÷ 14,400 ≒ 55.6
As a calculation result, a value of 55.6 seconds is calculated as the transmission time of the compressed image.

  (5) The control circuit 212 notifies the image compression / conversion determination unit 209 of the “calculation result” and “electric transmission rate”, and transmits the current compressed image to the image compression / conversion determination unit 209 or further compresses the compressed image. It is instructed to determine whether to increase the rate (step S206).

  (6) Here, the image compression conversion determination unit 209 reads out the determination reference value from the determination condition memory 210 (recompression is required for 50 seconds or more) and compares it with the notified calculation time (step S207). If it is larger, the control circuit 212 is notified to transmit the current compressed image. Upon receiving this notification, the control circuit 212 reads the compressed image stored in the storage medium 203a inserted in the compressed image input unit 203, controls the modem 202, and transmits the compressed image to the image transmission device 10 (step S210). ). This procedure is performed when “(a) the calculation result in Example 1 is 27.8 seconds” described above.

(7) On the other hand, if the determination reference value is smaller, the control circuit 212 is notified that “it is necessary to further increase the compression rate” and “allowable capacity of the compressed image”. Specifically, a value obtained by multiplying the notified “electric transmission rate” and “determination reference value” is the maximum compressed image capacity allowable in the current communication.
This procedure is performed when “(b) the calculation result in Example 2 is 83.3 seconds” and “(c) the calculation result in Example 3 is 55.6 seconds” described above.

For example 2,
4,800 × 50 = 240,000
30,000 bytes (240,000 bits)
The allowable capacity of compressed images is 30,000 bytes or less.

For example 3,
14,400 × 50 = 720,000
90,000 bytes (720,000 bits)
The allowable capacity of compressed images is 90,000 bytes or less.

  (8) The control circuit 212 reads the compressed image stored in the storage medium 203a inserted in the compressed image input unit 203, notifies the image CODEC 204 of the maximum allowable capacity value of the compressed image, and the amount of the compressed image. An instruction is given to recompress to below the large allowable capacity value (step S208).

  (9) The image CODEC 204 re-encodes the compressed image below the maximum allowable capacity notified from the control circuit 212, writes the re-encoded compressed image into the image memory 205, and notifies the control circuit 212 of the end of recompression. (Step S209).

  (10) Upon receiving this notification, the control circuit 212 reads the recompressed compressed image stored in the image memory 205 and controls the modem 202 to transmit the compressed image to the image transmission apparatus 10.

  According to the above control procedure, even when re-encoding is performed at the time of image transmission, it can be performed without human (user) intervention.

  FIG. 7 shows a configuration example of an image transmission apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

  The image transmission apparatus 300 shown in FIG. 7 has the same basic configuration as the image transmission apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1, but the conditions determined by the image compression / conversion determination unit 109 can be changed by a human operation. It is. That is, the transmission time as a determination condition is changed by the user by inputting the value input by the control circuit 112 in the determination condition memory 110a when the user inputs from the key operation unit 111. It is something that can be done.

  FIG. 8 shows a configuration example of an image transmission device according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

  The image transmission apparatus 400 shown in FIG. 8 has the same basic configuration as the image transmission apparatus 200 shown in FIG. 4, but the conditions determined by the image compression / conversion determination unit 209 can be changed by a human operation. It is. In other words, the transmission time used as the determination condition is changed by the user by inputting the value input by the control circuit 212 in the determination condition memory 210a when the user inputs from the key operation unit 211, thereby arbitrarily changing the determination reference value. It is something that can be done.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, each processing unit (line interface 101, modem 102, image CODEC 104, compressed image capacity detection unit 106, transmission rate detection unit 107, and the like in the image transmission apparatus 100 shown in FIG. Transmission time calculation unit 108, image compression conversion determination unit 109, determination condition memory 110, control circuit 112, etc.), and each processing unit (line interface 201, modem 202, image CODEC 204, compressed image) in the image transmission apparatus 200 shown in FIG. Capacity detection unit 206, transmission rate detection unit 207, transmission time calculation unit 208, image compression conversion determination unit 209, determination condition memory 210, control circuit 212, and the like), and each processing unit (line) in the image transmission apparatus 300 shown in FIG. Interface 101, modem 102, image CODEC 104, compressed image capacity detection unit 106, power transmission 8, and a processing unit (line interface 201, modem) in the image transmission apparatus 400 shown in FIG. 8, and the image transmission conversion calculation determination unit 109, the image compression conversion determination unit 109, the determination condition memory 110 a, and the control circuit 112. 202, the image CODEC 204, the compressed image capacity detection unit 206, the transmission rate detection unit 207, the transmission time calculation unit 208, the image compression conversion determination unit 209, the determination condition memory 210a, the control circuit 212, and the like) are realized by dedicated hardware. These processing units may be configured by general-purpose information processing devices such as a memory and a CPU (central processing unit), and a program for realizing the functions of the processing unit is loaded into the memory and executed. By doing so, the function may be realized.
Further, the image transmission apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1, the image transmission apparatus 200 shown in FIG. 4, the image transmission apparatus 300 shown in FIG. 7, and the image transmission apparatus 400 shown in FIG. It is assumed that none of them is connected. Here, the input device refers to an input device such as a keyboard and a mouse. The display device refers to a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube), a liquid crystal display device, or the like.

  Further, each processing unit in the image transmission device 100 shown in FIG. 1, each processing unit in the image transmission device 200 shown in FIG. 4, each processing unit in the image transmission device 300 shown in FIG. 7, and the image shown in FIG. By recording a program for realizing the function of each processing unit in the electric transmission device 400 on a computer-readable recording medium, and causing the computer system to read and execute the program recorded on the recording medium, image transmission You may perform a process required for each process part in an apparatus. Here, the “computer system” includes an OS and hardware such as peripheral devices.

The “computer-readable recording medium” refers to a storage device such as a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, a general medium such as a ROM and a CD-ROM, and a hard disk incorporated in a computer system.
Furthermore, the “computer-readable recording medium” dynamically holds a program for a short time like a communication line when transmitting a program via a network such as the Internet or a communication line such as a telephone line. In this case, it is intended to include those that hold a program for a certain period of time, such as a volatile memory inside a computer system that becomes a server or a client in that case (transmission medium or transmission wave).
The program may be for realizing a part of the functions described above, and further, a program that can realize the functions described above in combination with a program already recorded in a computer system, a so-called difference file (difference). Program).

  Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the image transmission device of the present invention is not limited to the above illustrated example, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Of course.

It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the image transmission apparatus which is the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the 1st example of a system configuration | structure using the image transmission apparatus of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the control circuit 112 in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the image transmission apparatus which is the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the 2nd system configuration example using the image transmission apparatus of this invention. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of a control circuit 212 in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the image transmission apparatus which is the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the image transmission apparatus which is the 4th Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Communication network 10 Opposite image transmission apparatus 100 Image transmission apparatus 101 Line interface 102 Modem 103 Camera 104 Image CODEC
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 105 Image memory 106 Compressed image capacity detection part 107 Transmission rate detection part 108 Transmission time calculation part 109 Image compression conversion determination part 110, 110a Determination condition memory 111 Key operation part 112 Control circuit 200 Image transmission apparatus 201 Line interface 202 Modem 203 Compressed image Input unit 203a Storage medium 204 Image CODEC
205 Image memory 206 Compressed image capacity detection unit 207 Transmission rate detection unit 208 Transmission time calculation unit 209 Image compression conversion determination unit 210, 210a Determination condition memory 211 Key operation unit 212 Control circuit 300 Image transmission device 400 Image transmission device

Claims (5)

An image transmission device that transmits and receives image data via a communication line,
Image input means for inputting image data;
When the image data is not a compressed image, the image data is encoded into a compressed image, and image encoding means for re-encoding the compressed image at another different compression rate;
Compressed image capacity detecting means for detecting the capacity of the compressed image;
A transmission rate detecting means for detecting a transmission rate of communication when transmitting the compressed image;
Based on the compressed image capacity detected by the compressed image capacity detection means and the transmission rate detected by the transmission rate detection means, a transmission time calculation means for calculating the transmission time of the compressed image;
Image compression conversion determination means for determining whether or not to compress the compressed image at a higher compression rate based on the calculated transmission time;
An image transmission apparatus comprising: determination condition storage means for storing a parameter for determining whether or not recompression is performed by the image compression conversion determination means. 2. The image transmission device according to claim 1, further comprising means for setting a parameter stored in the determination condition storage means to an arbitrary value. An image transmission method in an image transmission apparatus that transmits and receives image data via a communication line,
Image input procedure for inputting image data,
An image encoding procedure for encoding the compressed image when the image data is not a compressed image, and re-encoding the compressed image at another different compression rate;
A compressed image capacity detection procedure for detecting the capacity of the compressed image;
A transmission rate detection procedure for detecting a transmission rate of communication when transmitting the compressed image;
Based on the compressed image capacity detected in the compressed image capacity detection procedure and the transmission rate detected in the transmission rate detection procedure, a transmission time calculation procedure for calculating the transmission time of the compressed image;
An image compression conversion determination procedure for determining whether to compress the compressed image at a higher compression rate based on the calculated transmission time;
And a determination condition storage procedure for storing a parameter for determining whether or not to perform recompression according to the image compression conversion determination procedure. The image transmission method according to claim 3, further comprising a step of setting a parameter stored in the determination condition storage step to an arbitrary value. To a computer in an image transmission device that transmits and receives image data via a communication line,
Image input procedure for inputting image data,
An image encoding procedure for encoding the compressed image when the image data is not a compressed image, and re-encoding the compressed image at another different compression rate;
A compressed image capacity detection procedure for detecting the capacity of the compressed image;
A transmission rate detection procedure for detecting a transmission rate of communication when transmitting the compressed image;
Based on the compressed image capacity detected in the compressed image capacity detection procedure and the transmission rate detected in the transmission rate detection procedure, a transmission time calculation procedure for calculating the transmission time of the compressed image;
An image compression conversion determination procedure for determining whether to compress the compressed image at a higher compression rate based on the calculated transmission time;
A determination condition storage procedure for storing a parameter for determining whether or not to perform recompression according to the image compression conversion determination procedure.

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