JP2006024046A - Data maintaining device and data transferring method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a data maintaining device and a data transferring method for easy transfer of data to a camera device. <P>SOLUTION: In response to connection of a digital camera 51 via a USB, this data maintaining device 1 recognizes the connected digital camera 51. Then, data inside a transfer source folder 201 previously arranged in a own data storage device 7 in compliance with the digital camera 51 are transferred to a transfer destination folder 301 inside an image storage memory 69 of the digital camera 51. If there is no transfer destination folder 301, the folder is generated before transfer. As to a static image and animation data, transfer is carried out after transformation to a data format or a image size usable in the digital camera 51 is carried out if necessary according to an instruction from the user. As to the data except the static image and the animation data, transfer is carried out only when the user desires it. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a data holding device having a function of transferring data to an imaging device such as a digital camera, and a data transfer method thereof.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a digital camera that records a subject image captured by an image sensor such as a CCD or CMOS sensor as digital data on various recording media, a liquid crystal monitor that displays the recorded image or a through image captured in a shooting standby state. In general, the display device includes a wired or wireless (including infrared) communication interface that enables data transfer between the display device and an external device. The external device is, for example, a personal computer or an image printer, and the data to be transferred is various data files such as an image file recorded on a recording medium.

On the other hand, in Patent Document 1 below, as a technique for easily transferring data to an external device in a digital camera equipped with a communication interface, for example, in a personal computer, link software ( Recording from the digital camera by automatically starting the connection program) or, if you do not have link software, automatically loading it from the digital camera and starting it automatically A technique for performing an operation of automatically capturing an image is disclosed.
JP 2000-215033 A

  However, the above-described technique is effective when the recorded image recorded in the digital camera is used in an external device such as a personal computer. On the contrary, the image file recorded in the external device is converted into the digital camera. If you want to use in, you can not use. Therefore, in this case, there is a problem that it is necessary to manually transfer data to the digital camera, and the work is complicated.

  The present invention has been made in view of such conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a data holding device and a data transfer method capable of easily transferring data to a camera device.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, in the first aspect of the invention, the subject image is picked up by the image pickup device and recorded on the recording medium, and the camera device displays the recorded image on the display means. A data holding device capable of transferring data, the data storage means for storing the data, the detection means for detecting that the camera device is connected, and the connection of the camera device is detected by the detection means In response to this, a transfer means for transferring data stored in a predetermined location of the data storage means to the camera device is provided.

  In such a configuration, the desired data is stored in advance in a predetermined location of the data storage means in the data holding device, so that the desired data is immediately transferred to the camera device simply by connecting the camera device to the data holding device. Can be transferred.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided conversion means for converting the data to be transferred by the transfer means into data corresponding to the data processing function of the transfer destination camera device.

  In such a configuration, even if the data to be transferred does not correspond to the data processing function of the transfer destination camera device, it can be reproduced and used in the transfer destination camera device.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided identification means for identifying a camera device whose connection is detected by the detection means, and the transfer means is provided corresponding to the camera device identified by the identification means. The data stored in the predetermined location is transferred to the camera device.

  In such a configuration, it is possible to prevent erroneous transfer work when transferring different data to a plurality of camera devices.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an adding means for adding transfer information indicating that the data is transferred by the data holding device to the data transferred by the transfer means.

  In such a configuration, the data transferred to the camera device can be distinguished from other data as necessary.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the transfer means transfers data stored in a predetermined location of the data storage means when the detection means detects the connection of the camera device. Prior to this, it is assumed that a deletion means for deleting existing data stored in the transfer destination camera device by the past transfer operation is included.

  In such a configuration, it is possible to prevent transfer failures due to insufficient capacity on the camera device side as much as possible.

  In the invention of claim 6, in the data holding device capable of transferring the data stored therein, the subject image is picked up by the image pickup device and recorded on the recording medium, and the recorded image is displayed on the display means. A method of transferring the data to a camera device, wherein the camera device is detected to be connected, and in response to the detection, the data stored in a predetermined location is transferred to the camera device. .

  According to this method, the desired data is stored in advance in a predetermined location of the data storage means in the data holding device, so that the desired data is immediately acquired by simply connecting the camera device to the data holding device. Can be transferred to.

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, a subject image is picked up by an image pickup device and recorded on a recording medium, and data stored by itself can be transferred to a camera device that displays the recorded image on a display means. In response to detecting that the camera device is connected to the computer of the data holding device, and in response to detecting the connection of the camera device by this detection processing, the data storage means A program for executing a transfer process for transferring stored data to the camera device is provided.

  In the data holding device and the data transfer method of the present invention, it is possible to immediately transfer data such as desired image data to the camera device simply by connecting the camera device to the data holding device. Therefore, data transfer to the camera device can be performed extremely easily.

  Also, even if the image data to be transferred does not correspond to the data processing function of the transfer destination camera device, it can be played back on the transfer destination camera device and used in a plurality of camera devices. In addition, it is possible to prevent erroneous transfer work when transferring different data, and to prevent transfer failures due to insufficient capacity on the camera device side as much as possible. Therefore, high convenience can be ensured.

  In addition, the data transferred to the camera device can be distinguished from other data as necessary. Therefore, it is possible to improve the usability when handling the transferred data after the transfer.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a state in which a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a PC) 1 which is a data holding device of the present invention and a digital camera 51 which is a camera device of the present invention are connected via a USB communication cable 30. It is.

  The PC 1 has a general configuration, and mainly includes a main body 2, an input device 3 such as a keyboard and a mouse connected to the main body 2, and a display device 4 including an LCD and a CRT. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an outline of the electrical configuration of the PC 1. As illustrated, the PC 1 includes the input device 3 and the display device 4, a control unit 5, a RAM 6, a storage device 7, and a USB communication interface 8. The main body 2 is provided with a connection port for the USB communication interface 8 to which a USB communication cable 30 is connected. In the state shown in FIG. 1, the PC 1 is a digital camera that is an external device via the USB communication cable 30. Data communication with 51 is possible.

  The control unit 5 includes a CPU, peripheral circuits thereof, a built-in clock having a calendar function, and the like, and controls the entire apparatus using the RAM 6 as an external memory. The storage device 7 is a hard disk having a relatively large storage capacity, and is a data storage means of the present invention in which data such as an arbitrary OS (operating system) and other application programs are stored.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a part of data stored in the storage device 7. A data transfer program for causing the storage unit 7 to function as the detection unit, transfer unit, conversion unit, identification unit, and addition unit of the present invention by causing the control unit 5 to perform data transfer processing described later in the storage device 7 101, a camera information file 102 and a folder information file 103 used in the data transfer operation are stored.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the camera information file 102 includes a model name 111 indicating the type of digital camera that can be connected to the PC 1 via the USB communication cable 30, and the type of data that can be used in each model of digital camera. That is, it is composed of a data type 112 that is information of reproducible data and a data detail 113 that is detailed information of data for each type. As the data type 112, for example, one or a plurality of data types such as a still image, a moving image, music, and text are described. The data details 113 include a reproducible data format for each type described in the usable data type 112. For example, in the case of a still image or a moving image, the file format (JPEG, RAW, TIFF, Motion JPEG). , AVI, MPEG, etc.) and image size, and in the case of music data, a file format (MP3 etc.) is described. That is, the data type 112 and the data details 113 are information indicating the data processing function of each model in the connectable digital camera.

  The folder information file 103 includes a camera ID 114, which is identification information for specifying a digital camera, acquired from an arbitrary digital camera connected to the PC 1, and a folder name 115 corresponding to each camera ID 114. ing. In the present embodiment, the camera ID 114 is a model name and a serial number. The folder name 115 is created in the storage device 7 and corresponds to each digital camera (cameras A, B, and C in the figure) specified by the camera ID 114 as shown in FIG. This is the name of the work transfer source folder 201 created in advance (Export folders 1, 2, and 3 in the figure). The transfer source folder 201 is created by using a registration function provided in the data transfer program 101 with the digital camera to be used connected to the PC 1, for example, and the folder information file 103 is a new one. This data is updated each time a new transfer source folder 201 is created.

  On the other hand, the digital camera 51 has a still image / moving image shooting function. On the back side of the main body 52, a liquid crystal monitor 53, an optical viewfinder 54, a menu key 55, and a mode selection key, which are display means. 56 is provided.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the digital camera 51. As shown, the digital camera 51 has a CCD 61 as an image sensor. The CCD 61 is driven by a vertical and horizontal driver 64 based on a timing signal generated by a timing generator (TG: Timing Generator) 63 according to a command from the CPU 62, and outputs an analog imaging signal to the unit circuit 65. The unit circuit 65 includes a CDS circuit that removes noise included in the output signal of the CCD 61 by correlated double sampling, an A / D converter that converts the imaging signal from which noise has been removed into a digital signal, and the like. The converted imaging signal is output to the image processing unit 66.

  The image processing unit 66 performs processing such as pedestal clamping on the input imaging signal, converts it into a luminance (Y) signal and a color difference (UV) signal, and performs auto white balance, contour enhancement, pixel interpolation, and the like. Performs digital signal processing to improve image quality. The YUV data converted by the image processing unit 66 is sequentially stored in the SDRAM 68 via the bus 67. In the shooting standby state in the recording mode, the YUV data is converted into a video signal every time one frame of data (image data) is accumulated. The converted image is sent to the liquid crystal monitor (LCD) 53 and displayed on the screen as a through image.

  The image data temporarily stored in the SDRAM 68 is compressed by the CPU 62 and recorded in the external memory 69 as an image file of a predetermined format such as JEG during still image shooting. Further, at the time of moving image shooting, the CPU 62 sequentially compresses each frame and finally records it in the external memory 69 as an image file of a predetermined format such as MPEG. The external memory 69 is a memory card that is detachably attached to the camera body connected via a card interface (not shown), and an image file recorded in the external memory 69 is read to the CPU 62 according to a user's selection operation in the playback mode. After being expanded and expanded as YUV data in the SDRAM 68, it is displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 53 as a still image or a moving image.

  The flash memory 70 stores various programs for causing the CPU 62 to control the above-described units, for example, AE, AF, AWB control programs, still image and moving image compression / decompression programs, and is set by the user. The set data of the operation content that has been performed is stored as necessary.

  The bus 63 is connected to the above-described menu key 55, mode selection key 56, and a key input unit 71 including a plurality of operation keys and switches such as a power key and a shutter key (not shown). An operation signal corresponding to the operation content is sent to the CPU 62 at any time. Further, a USB communication interface 72 is connected to the bus 63. The main body 2 of the digital camera 51 is provided with a connection port for a USB communication interface 72, to which a USB communication cable 30 is connected. In the state shown in FIG. 1, the digital camera 51 is connected via the USB communication cable 30. Thus, data communication with the external device PC1 is possible.

  Next, the operation when the data transfer program is executed in the PC 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  When the digital camera 51 is connected when the data transfer program is being executed (YES in step S1), the PC 1 recognizes the digital camera 51 as an external device and acquires a camera ID including a model name from the digital camera 51. Then, the camera is identified (step S2). Next, the transfer source folder 201 corresponding to the connected digital camera 51 is specified by the folder information file 103 based on the camera ID acquired here (step S3), and then stored in a predetermined memory in the external memory 69 of the digital camera 51. It is confirmed whether or not the transfer destination folder 301 (Inprot folder in FIG. 1) exists (step S4). At this time, if the transfer destination folder 301 exists (YES in step S4), all data in the transfer destination folder 301 is deleted (step S5), and if it does not exist, a new transfer destination folder 301 is created. Create (step S6).

  If a transfer file (unprocessed transfer file) exists in the transfer source folder 201 specified in step S3 (YES in step S7), the following processing is repeatedly executed with each transfer file as a processing target. Here, as shown in FIG. 1, for example, music data, moving image data, TEXT data, and still image data data files are stored in the transfer source folder 201 corresponding to the digital camera 51 that is currently connected. It shall be.

  First, when the file to be processed is an image file (still image or moving image) (YES in step S8), the data format and image size are determined by the camera information file 102 based on the model name acquired in step S2. It is determined whether or not data conversion is necessary by confirming whether or not the digital camera 51 is out of regulation (step S9). If it is not necessary (when the data format and image size are within the specified range) (NO in step S9), the header of the transfer file is rewritten (step S13) and then transferred to the transfer destination folder 301 of the digital camera 51. (Step S14). Note that the header rewriting process is a minimum processing to be performed to indicate that the file has been transferred. In the present embodiment, character information such as the name of the data transfer program is stored in the file. This process is added as transfer information indicating that the data has been transferred.

  On the other hand, when data conversion is necessary, for example, the format of moving image data or still image data in the transfer source folder 201 is a file format that is not supported by the digital camera 51, or the file format is supported. If the image size (resolution) exceeds the prescribed maximum size (YES in step S9), the user is allowed to specify whether or not conversion is possible by displaying a predetermined instruction screen on the display device 4, etc. If conversion is instructed (YES in step S10), data conversion that matches the file format and image size of the data with the specifications of the digital camera 51 is performed (step S11), and then the header rewriting process described above is performed (step S11). In step S13, the converted moving image data and still image data are transferred to the transfer destination folder 301 (step S14). If conversion is not instructed (NO in step S10), the process proceeds directly to the header rewriting process. After the data transfer, the process returns to step S7 to continue the process for another transfer file.

  On the other hand, when the determination result in step S8 is NO and the file to be processed is a file other than an image file, that is, a type of data that cannot be reproduced by the digital camera 51, such as music data or TEXT data ( If YES in step S8), the user designates whether transfer is possible by displaying a predetermined instruction screen on the display device 4 once, and when transfer is instructed (YES in step S12), the file also has a header. Is rewritten (step S13) and transferred to the transfer destination folder 301 (step S14). If conversion is not instructed (NO in step S12), the file is ignored and the process returns to step S7 to continue the process for another transfer file.

  When the above-described processing is completed for all transfer files in the transfer source folder 201 (NO in step S7), it is displayed on the display device 4 that transfer has been completed (step S15). Terminate the process. If the determination result in step S7 immediately after the start of the transfer process is NO and there is no transfer file in the transfer source folder 201 specified in step S3, the process ends without doing anything. To do.

  Therefore, according to this embodiment, if the user prepares one or more arbitrary data to be transferred in advance in the PC 1 in the transfer source folder 201 (FIG. 4) corresponding to each camera, By simply connecting the digital camera 51, those data can be immediately transferred to the digital camera 51. Therefore, data transfer work is facilitated. In the present embodiment, since data of a type that cannot be used (reproduced) in the transfer destination digital camera 51 can be transferred, even when the digital camera 51 is used as a simple data storage or data transfer device, Data transfer work is easy and convenient. In particular, when the digital camera 51 is used for the above purpose, since the file header is rewritten at the time of transfer, when data is used in a device other than the digital camera 51, the origin of the data can be known. It is convenient because it can.

  In the present embodiment, when the data in the transfer source folder 201 includes data of a type that cannot be reproduced by the digital camera 51, the data is transferred only when the user desires. Alternatively, the data may be transferred unconditionally, or may be unconditionally excluded from the transfer target. Further, the user may be allowed to set in advance whether or not to transfer such data.

  In the present embodiment, when the format or size of still image data or moving image data to be transferred is out of the standard, it can be automatically converted into reproducible standard data. A still image or a moving image recorded by another different digital camera can also be used as it is by the transfer destination digital camera 51.

  In the present embodiment, the data conversion process is performed immediately before transfer to the digital camera 51 side. However, since the transfer source folder 201 corresponds to the transfer destination digital camera 51, the user May be automatically performed when a desired file is prepared (written) in the transfer source folder 201. In addition, the user is allowed to designate whether or not the data conversion process is possible each time, but it may be performed unconditionally, or may be set in advance by the user. In that case, it is preferable to enable the setting of whether or not the conversion processing regarding the data format and the image size is performed separately, for example, the data format is not converted but the image size is always performed.

  In the present embodiment, the digital camera 51 connected to the PC 1 is identified, and only the data prepared in the transfer source folder 201 corresponding to the digital camera 51 is automatically transferred. Even when a plurality of digital cameras 51 are connected to the PC 1, the wrong data file is not transferred to the wrong digital camera 51. In addition, when performing data transfer operations for a plurality of digital cameras 51 only by exchanging the digital cameras 51 connected to the PC 1, the workability in that case is extremely good.

  In addition, since all files existing in the transfer destination folder 301 of the digital camera 51 are deleted prior to the transfer of individual files, the transfer operation cannot be performed due to insufficient free space in the external memory 69, or may be interrupted. It is possible to prevent the occurrence of problems such as

  In this embodiment, the transfer destination folder 301 is provided in the digital camera 51 (external memory 69), and the data prepared in the transfer source folder 201 is transferred there. It does not necessarily have to be provided. In that case, if it is determined whether or not the file has been transferred by the header of the image file or the like recorded in the external memory 69, and the files are deleted, the free space in the external memory 69 is obtained. The occurrence of the above-described problems due to shortage can be prevented in advance.

  Further, although the case where the data holding device of the present invention is the PC 1 has been described in the present embodiment, the present invention can also be adopted for other electronic devices (which may be digital cameras). In addition, a general digital camera 51 is shown as the camera device in the present invention. However, the camera device may be another camera device such as a camera-equipped mobile phone, and the data communication method is other than USB. It may be due to.

1 is a system configuration diagram showing a connection state between a personal computer and a digital camera according to the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of a personal computer. It is the figure which showed a part of data recorded on the memory | storage device of the personal computer. It is a figure which shows the transfer source folder ensured in the memory | storage device of the personal computer. It is a block diagram which shows the electric constitution of a digital camera. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement which concerns on this invention in a personal computer.

Explanation of symbols

1 Personal computer (PC)
5 Control unit 6 RAM
7 Storage Device 8 USB Communication Interface 30 USB Communication Cable 51 Digital Camera 53 LCD Monitor 61 CCD
62 CPU
69 External memory 72 USB communication interface 101 Data transfer program 102 Camera information file 103 Folder information file 201 Source folder

Claims (7)

A data holding device capable of capturing a subject image by an image sensor and recording the image on a recording medium, and transferring data stored therein to a camera device that displays the recorded image on a display unit,
Data storage means for storing the data;
Detecting means for detecting that the camera device is connected;
Transfer means for transferring data stored in a predetermined location of the data storage means to the camera device in response to the connection of the camera device being detected by the detection means. Data holding device.   2. The data holding device according to claim 1, further comprising conversion means for converting data to be transferred by the transfer means into data corresponding to a data processing function of a transfer destination camera device. An identification means for identifying the camera device whose connection is detected by the detection means;
3. The transfer unit transfers data stored in a predetermined location provided corresponding to the camera device identified by the identification unit to the camera device. The data holding device described.   4. The data holding device according to claim 1, further comprising an adding unit for adding transfer information indicating that the data is transferred by the data holding device to the data transferred by the transfer unit. .   The transfer means transfers a past transfer to a transfer destination camera apparatus prior to transfer of data stored in a predetermined location of the data storage means when the detection means detects the connection of the camera apparatus. The data holding device according to claim 1, further comprising a deleting unit that deletes existing data stored by the operation. In the data holding device capable of transferring data stored by itself, the method for transferring the data to the camera device that captures a subject image by an image sensor and records it on a recording medium, and displays the recorded image on a display means,
A data transfer method comprising: detecting that the camera device is connected; and transferring data stored in a predetermined location to the camera device in response to the detection. A computer having a data holding device capable of transferring data stored by itself to a camera device that captures a subject image by an image sensor and records the image on a recording medium and displays the recorded image on a display unit.
A detection process for detecting that the camera device is connected;
A program for executing a transfer process for transferring data stored in a predetermined location of a data storage unit to the camera apparatus in response to the connection of the camera apparatus being detected by the detection process.

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