JP2006157235A - Imaging apparatus, control method thereof, and image transfer system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To construct an image transfer system for transferring moving image data photographed by an imaging apparatus to a storage server without using any high-speed dedicated lines. <P>SOLUTION: There are provided the imaging apparatus for generating a data block from the moving image data generated by photographing an object for sequential transfer; a radio relay point for receiving the data block transferred from the imaging apparatus for transferring to a plurality of access points; the plurality of access points for transferring the data block transferred from the radio relay point to the storage server via the Internet; a data block storage means for storing the data block arriving first in the data blocks sent from the plurality of access points into a storage medium; and a data block decoding means for decoding the original moving image data from the data block stored in the storage medium, thus ensuring real time properties when data are transferred by using the Internet. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus such as a digital video camera.

An imaging device such as a digital camera or a digital video camera can usually record a captured image on a recording medium such as a memory card.
In recent years, there has been proposed a moving image transfer system that wirelessly transfers a moving image shot by an imaging device such as a digital camera or a digital video camera from an imaging device to a storage server on the Internet (for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2002-281421 A

  In Patent Document 1, no consideration is given to speeding up data transfer from a wireless base station that is a wireless relay point to a data storage server that is a storage server.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to enable data transfer from a wireless relay point to a storage server at high speed.

  An image pickup apparatus according to the present invention includes an image pickup unit that picks up a subject and generates moving image data, a moving image data dividing unit that divides the moving image data generated by the image pickup unit into a plurality of frame groups, and a frame formed by the moving image data dividing unit A compressed data generating unit that compresses the divided moving image data for each frame group to generate compressed data, and information such as a frame number and a user ID is added to the compressed data generated by the compressed data generating unit. Data block generating means for generating a data block; and wireless communication means for transferring the data block generated by the data block generating means to a wireless relay point.

  An image transfer system according to the present invention receives an image pickup apparatus that sequentially generates and transfers data blocks from moving image data generated by picking up an image of a subject, and a data block transferred from the image pickup apparatus, and the received data block Sent from the plurality of access points, a plurality of access points that transfer data blocks transferred from the wireless relay points to the storage server via the Internet, and a plurality of access points. A data block storage unit that stores, in a storage medium, a data block that arrives earliest among the data blocks, and a data block decoding unit that decodes original moving image data from the data block stored in the storage medium. And

  The imaging apparatus control method of the present invention includes an imaging step of capturing a subject to generate moving image data, a moving image data dividing step of dividing the moving image data generated by the imaging step into a plurality of frame groups, and the moving image data division A compressed data generation step for generating compressed data by compressing the moving image data divided into frames for each frame group, and information such as a frame number and a user ID in the compressed data generated by the compressed data generation step A data block generation step for adding and generating a data block and a wireless communication step for transferring the data block generated by the data block generation step to a wireless relay point are provided.

  The moving image data transfer method of the present invention includes a data block transfer step of generating and sequentially transferring data blocks from moving image data generated by imaging a subject, and the data blocks transferred by the data block transfer step at a wireless relay point. A wireless relay step of receiving and transferring the received data block from the wireless relay point to a plurality of access points; and storing the data block transferred from the wireless relay point via the Internet from the plurality of access points A data block relay step for relaying to a server, a data block storage step for storing the data block that arrives earliest among the data blocks respectively transmitted from the plurality of access points in a storage medium, and a data block stored in the storage medium From the original data block And having a data block decoding step of decoding the image data.

The computer program of the present invention includes an imaging step of capturing a subject to generate moving image data, a moving image data dividing step of dividing the moving image data generated by the imaging step into a plurality of frame groups, and a frame by the moving image data dividing step. A compressed data generation process that generates compressed data by compressing the divided moving image data for each frame group, and information such as a frame number and a user ID is added to the compressed data generated by the compressed data generation process. A method for causing a computer to execute a method for controlling an imaging apparatus, comprising: a data block generating step for generating a data block; and a wireless communication step for transferring the data block generated by the data block generating step to a wireless relay point. .
Another feature of the computer program of the present invention is that a data block transfer step of generating and sequentially transferring data blocks from moving image data generated by imaging a subject and the data block transfer step are transferred. A wireless relay step of receiving a data block at a wireless relay point and transferring the received data block from the wireless relay point to a plurality of access points; and a data block transferred from the wireless relay point as the plurality of access A data block relay step of relaying from the point to the storage server via the Internet, and a data block storing step of storing the data block that arrives earliest among the data blocks respectively sent from the plurality of access points in the storage medium; To the storage medium Characterized in that to execute the moving image data transfer method and a data block decoding step of decoding the paid by the original moving image data from the data block to the computer.

  According to the present invention, an imaging unit that captures an image of a subject to generate moving image data, a moving image data dividing unit that divides the moving image data generated by the imaging unit into a plurality of frame groups, and a frame division by the moving image data dividing unit. A compressed data generating unit that compresses the moving image data for each frame group to generate compressed data, and data by adding information such as a frame number and a user ID to the compressed data generated by the compressed data generating unit Since the data block generating means for generating the block and the wireless communication means for transferring the data block generated by the data block generating means to the wireless relay point are provided, the captured video data is transferred to the storage server in real time. Can be limited by the storage capacity of the storage medium for recording video data. No shooting can be performed. In addition, it is possible to eliminate the consumption of the battery required for driving the storage medium as much as the storage medium is unnecessary. Furthermore, the storage medium can be reduced in size and weight as much as unnecessary, and a great merit can be obtained in practical use.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, an imaging device that generates and sequentially transfers data blocks from moving image data generated by imaging a subject, and receives data blocks transferred from the imaging device, A wireless relay point for transferring received data blocks to a plurality of access points, a plurality of access points for transferring data blocks transferred from the wireless relay points to a storage server via the Internet, and a plurality of access points, respectively. Data block storage means for storing the data block that arrives earliest among the data blocks sent to the storage medium, and data block decoding means for decoding the original moving image data from the data block stored in the storage medium Because it was provided, for data transfer using the Internet There, it is possible to ensure real-time.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an image transfer system as an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 101 denotes a digital video camera which is an example of an imaging device, and has a mechanism for wirelessly transferring captured video data or audio data to a wireless relay point 102 closest to the current position of the digital video camera 101. ing. In this embodiment, a digital video camera is used as the imaging device, but other devices (such as a digital camera or a camera-equipped mobile phone) can be used as long as the device has a function of taking an image. is there.

  Reference numeral 102 denotes a wireless relay point, which is installed by a company that provides the digital video camera 101 or a company that provides an image transfer service, and a user who uses the digital video camera 101 has a financial contract. The service is provided by

  Reference numeral 103 denotes a first access point, reference numeral 104 denotes a second access point, and reference numeral 105 denotes a third access point, which are access points connected to the Internet 106. In this embodiment, an example in which three access points are used is shown, but the number of access points is arbitrary.

  Reference numeral 107 denotes a storage server for storing captured and transferred video data or audio data, which is installed by a company that provides the digital video camera 101 or a company that provides an image storage service. A user who uses 101 receives a service in a contract with money.

  The storage server 107 has a large-capacity storage system for use by many users, and a system that can easily register, search, delete, or edit moving image data and audio data. It is operating.

  Video data or audio data can be browsed by the user at home 109 via the Internet 106 or the like, or stored in a recording medium 108 such as a DVD or the like and acquired by mail as desired by the user. Services are also provided.

Hereinafter, it will be described in detail along the flow of data.
The digital video camera 101 has a function of communicating with the wireless relay point 102 wirelessly. In the present embodiment, the digital video camera 101 and the wireless relay point 102 always communicate with each other at a certain interval, and the communication output is increased / decreased depending on the distance so that each other is not lost. .

  Even when the wireless relay point 102 deviates from the communicable area, the next wireless relay point (not shown) can be covered immediately, and communication between the digital video camera 101 and the wireless relay point 102 is interrupted. The digital video camera 101 can always access the storage server 107.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a procedure for creating a data block for compressing captured moving image data and transferring it to the storage server 107. FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining a procedure of a control method for the digital video camera 101. It is.
As shown in FIG. 2, when the subject is photographed (step S401), the photographed image then constitutes a continuous frame 201 (211) (step S402). Next, these frames 201 (211) are divided into a plurality of frames to form a frame group (step S403), and compression is performed separately by the image compression circuit 202 (212) (step S404).

  Next, a frame number for distinguishing each frame group, a user ID of the owner of the digital video camera 101, etc. are added to the output compressed data to form a data block 203 (213) (step S405). ). Next, these data blocks 203 (213) are sequentially transferred wirelessly to the wireless relay point 102 (step S406). Next, in step S407, it is determined whether shooting has been completed. If not, the process returns to step S401 to repeat the above-described processing. If the result of determination in step S407 is that shooting has been completed, the processing is terminated.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for transferring the moving image data generated by the digital video camera 101 to the storage server 107.
When the data block transfer process is started, the data block 203 (213) is transferred from the digital video camera 101 to the wireless relay point 102 in step S501. The wireless relay point 102 according to the present embodiment includes a buffer (not shown) that can temporarily store the transferred data block 203 (213). However, in order to reduce costs, the wireless relay point 102 does not have a large capacity. For this reason, data is transferred to the storage server 107 in real time so as not to be delayed.

  A first access point 103, a second access point 104, and a third access point 105 shown in FIG. 1 are access points connected to the Internet 106. These access points 103 to 105 are managed by the storage server 107 or an Internet provider that makes a contract with the storage server 107. In the present embodiment, three access points are set in advance.

  The wireless relay point 102 sends the same data block 203 (213) to the plurality of separate Internet access points. Receiving the data block 203 (213), the access points 103 to 105 simultaneously start transferring the same data block 203 (213) to the storage server 107 via the Internet 106 (step S502).

  The access points 103 to 105 that have received the data block 203 (213) from the wireless relay point 102 immediately transfer to the Internet 106 (step S503). Within the Internet 106, there is a difference in the time to reach the storage server 107 even if the access points 103 to 105 start transferring at the same time due to the capacity of the server to be relayed, the network capacity to be relayed, or the complexity.

  The storage server 107 employs the same data block 203 (213) that arrives in sequence, and the one that arrives fastest always ensures the transfer on the fastest route in the Internet 106, thereby improving the real-time property of moving image data transfer. Realized.

  The storage server 107 that has received the data block 203 (213) sequentially stores it in the storage area allocated for each user ID (step S504). The storage area is secured by a contract with the user, for example, in money, and the charging method may be changed depending on the capacity.

  The storage server 107 arranges the received data block 203 (213) for each frame number, further decompresses it, and decodes it to the original moving image data (step S505). Next, the decoded image is stored in a predetermined storage area (step S506). As a result, the user can access the storage server 107 via the Internet 106 from a computer (not shown) at home 109.

  As a result, the system of the storage server 107 can be used to edit an image or download it to a computer at home 109. If desired, a service of copying to a recording medium 108 such as a DVD (step S506) and mailing it to the home 109 can also be received.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the digital video camera 101 according to the present embodiment.
In FIG. 3, reference numeral 301 denotes a CPU that performs overall control, and 302 denotes a camera unit that captures moving images and still images.

  Reference numeral 303 denotes a video signal processing unit that processes an image signal input from the camera unit 302, 304 a display unit that displays images and displays for operation, 305 a display control unit that controls the display unit 304, and 306 It includes a digitizer for buttons, keys, and pen input on an operation unit operated by the user.

  Reference numeral 307 denotes an encoding / decoding unit that encodes and decodes still images, moving images, sounds, and music, and one or more of them may be implemented by software stored in the program memory 311.

  Reference numeral 308 denotes a microphone that captures an audio signal, 309 denotes an audio signal processing unit that controls sound input / output, 310 denotes a speaker that outputs an audio signal such as voice or key touch sound, 311 denotes a program memory that stores a program, and 312 denotes data. Is a data memory for storing flash memory, SRAM, DRAM, and the like. A communication control unit 315 performs communication with the wireless relay point 102 wirelessly. Reference numeral 316 denotes a bus for connecting each unit.

  In the digital video camera 101 of the present embodiment configured as described above, the video data captured is compressed by the encoding / decoding unit 307 and transferred to the storage server 107 as shown in FIG. A process for creating a data block to be performed is performed.

  With such a configuration, in the digital video camera 101 according to the present embodiment, the digital video camera 101 does not require a storage medium such as a cassette tape, and can perform shooting without being limited by the recordable time. it can.

  In addition, the consumption of the battery for driving the storage medium is eliminated as much as the storage medium is unnecessary. Furthermore, the storage medium can be reduced in size and weight as much as unnecessary, and a great merit can be obtained in practical use.

[Other embodiments]
Each step of the imaging apparatus, the image transfer system, the imaging method, and the moving image data transfer method in the embodiment of the present invention described above is performed by operating a program stored in a RAM or ROM of a computer. realizable. This program and a computer-readable storage medium storing the program are included in the present invention.

  In addition, the present invention can be implemented as a system, apparatus, method, program, storage medium, or the like, and can be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices. Moreover, you may apply to the apparatus which consists of one apparatus.

  In the present invention, a software program (in the embodiment, a program corresponding to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 4 and 5) for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments is directly or remotely supplied to the system or apparatus. And the case where the computer of the system or apparatus also achieves by reading and executing the supplied program code.

  Accordingly, since the functions of the present invention are implemented by computer, the program code installed in the computer also implements the present invention. In other words, the present invention includes a computer program itself for realizing the functional processing of the present invention.

  In that case, as long as it has the function of a program, it may be in the form of object code, a program executed by an interpreter, script data supplied to the OS, or the like.

  As a recording medium for supplying the program, for example, floppy (registered trademark) disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, MO, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card ROM, DVD (DVD-ROM, DVD-R) and the like.

  As another program supply method, a client computer browser is used to connect to an Internet homepage, and the computer program itself of the present invention or a compressed file including an automatic installation function is downloaded from the homepage to a recording medium such as a hard disk. Can also be supplied.

  It can also be realized by dividing the program code constituting the program of the present invention into a plurality of files and downloading each file from a different homepage. That is, a WWW server that allows a plurality of users to download a program file for realizing the functional processing of the present invention on a computer is also included in the present invention.

  In addition, the program of the present invention is encrypted, stored in a storage medium such as a CD-ROM, distributed to users, and key information for decryption is downloaded from a homepage via the Internet to users who have cleared predetermined conditions. It is also possible to execute the encrypted program by using the key information and install the program on a computer.

  In addition to the functions of the above-described embodiments being realized by the computer executing the read program, the OS running on the computer based on the instructions of the program is used for the actual processing. The functions of the above-described embodiment can be realized by performing some or all of the processes.

  Furthermore, after the program read from the recording medium is written in a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function expansion board or The CPU or the like provided in the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

It is a block diagram which shows an example of a structure of the image transfer system which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a procedure for creating a data block for transfer to the storage server 107. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of the digital video camera 101 illustrated in FIG. 1. 2 is a flowchart for explaining a procedure of a control method for the digital video camera 101 shown in FIG. 1. It is a flowchart explaining the procedure which transfers the moving image data produced | generated with the digital video camera to a storage server.

Explanation of symbols

101 Digital Video Camera 102 Wireless Relay Point 103 First Access Point 104 Second Access Point 105 Third Access Point 106 Internet 107 Storage Server 108 Recording Medium 109 Home

Claims (9)

Imaging means for imaging a subject and generating moving image data;
Moving image data dividing means for dividing the moving image data generated by the imaging means into a plurality of frame groups;
Compressed data generating means for generating compressed data by compressing the moving picture data divided into frames by the moving picture data dividing means for each frame group;
Data block generating means for generating a data block by adding information such as a frame number and a user ID to the compressed data generated by the compressed data generating means;
An imaging apparatus comprising: a wireless communication unit that transfers the data block generated by the data block generation unit to a wireless relay point. An imaging device that generates and sequentially transfers data blocks from moving image data generated by imaging a subject;
A wireless relay point that receives a data block transferred from the imaging device and transfers the received data block to a plurality of access points;
A plurality of access points for transferring data blocks transferred from the wireless relay point to a storage server via the Internet;
A data block storage means for storing, in a storage medium, a data block that has arrived earliest among data blocks sent from each of the plurality of access points;
An image transfer system comprising: data block decoding means for decoding original moving image data from data blocks stored in the storage medium.   3. The image transfer system according to claim 2, further comprising moving image data recording means for recording the moving image data decoded by the data block decoding means on a digital video disc. An imaging step of imaging a subject and generating moving image data;
A moving image data dividing step of dividing the moving image data generated by the imaging step into a plurality of frame groups;
A compressed data generating step of generating compressed data by compressing the moving image data divided into frames by the moving image data dividing step for each frame group;
A data block generating step for generating a data block by adding information such as a frame number and a user ID to the compressed data generated by the compressed data generating step;
And a wireless communication step of transferring the data block generated by the data block generation step to a wireless relay point. A data block transfer step of sequentially generating and transferring data blocks from moving image data generated by imaging a subject;
A wireless relay step of receiving the data block transferred by the data block transfer step at a wireless relay point, and transferring the received data block from the wireless relay point to a plurality of access points;
A data block relay step of relaying the data block transferred from the wireless relay point to the storage server from the plurality of access points via the Internet;
A data block storing step of storing, in a storage medium, a data block that has arrived earliest among data blocks sent from each of the plurality of access points;
A moving picture data transfer method comprising: a data block decoding step of decoding original moving picture data from a data block stored in the storage medium.   6. The moving image data transfer method according to claim 5, further comprising a moving image data recording step of recording the moving image data decoded by the data block decoding step on a digital video disc. An imaging step of imaging a subject and generating moving image data;
A moving image data dividing step of dividing the moving image data generated by the imaging step into a plurality of frame groups;
A compressed data generating step of generating compressed data by compressing the moving image data divided into frames by the moving image data dividing step for each frame group;
A data block generating step for generating a data block by adding information such as a frame number and a user ID to the compressed data generated by the compressed data generating step;
A computer program that causes a computer to execute a control method of an imaging apparatus including a wireless communication step of transferring the data block generated by the data block generation step to a wireless relay point. A data block transfer step of sequentially generating and transferring data blocks from moving image data generated by imaging a subject;
A wireless relay step of receiving the data block transferred by the data block transfer step at a wireless relay point, and transferring the received data block from the wireless relay point to a plurality of access points;
A data block relay step of relaying the data block transferred from the wireless relay point to the storage server from the plurality of access points via the Internet;
A data block storing step of storing, in a storage medium, a data block that has arrived earliest among data blocks sent from each of the plurality of access points;
A computer program for causing a computer to execute a moving image data transfer method including a data block decoding step of decoding original moving image data from a data block stored in the storage medium.   9. A computer-readable recording medium on which the computer program according to claim 7 or 8 is recorded.

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