JP2006253854A - Data transfer device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a data transfer device in which troublesome communication setting can be reduced. <P>SOLUTION: When a communication mode is selected, a CPU 18 detects character information from a photographed object image, makes a decision whether the detected character information is communication setting information or not, and creates communication setting information corresponding to the detected communication setting information if the decision result is affirmative. When transfer operation is performed later, image data is transferred to a printer 40 by utilizing the detected communication setting information and the created communication setting information. Since communication setting information is detected from an object image and communication setting information corresponding to the detected communication setting information is created by simply printing communication setting information for the printer 40 and photographing the print surface by means of a digital camera 10, troublesome communication setting can be reduced. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a data transfer apparatus, and more particularly to a data transfer apparatus that is applied to, for example, a digital camera and transfers data to be printed to a printer.

Conventionally, an example of this type of device is disclosed in Patent Document 1. According to this prior art, when the shutter button is operated, an image file including image data representing an object scene image is recorded in a CF memory provided in the memory / LAN cartridge. The recorded image file is then transmitted to the desired server by the wireless LAN card in the memory / LAN cartridge.
JP 2004-274525 A [H04N 5/225, H04N 5/91, H04N 5/92]

    However, setting of the wireless LAN requires specialized knowledge and troublesome setting work. The prior art does not disclose any measures for solving this problem.

  Therefore, a main object of the present invention is to provide a data transfer apparatus that can reduce the troublesomeness of communication settings.

  The data transfer apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention includes a photographing means (12) for photographing a subject, a detecting means (S45) for detecting character information from a subject image photographed by the photographing means, and character information detected by the detecting means. First determination means (S75 to S103) for determining whether or not the communication setting information is present, and communication setting information corresponding to the communication setting information detected by the detection means when the determination result of the first determination means is affirmative Creation means for creating (S17) and transfer means for transferring data to a desired device using the communication setting information detected by the detection means when the communication mode is selected and the communication setting information created by the creation means (S167).

  The detecting means detects character information from the subject image photographed by the photographing means. Whether the character information detected by the detecting means is communication setting information is determined by the determining means. If the determination result is affirmative, communication setting information corresponding to the communication setting information detected by the detection unit is generated by the generation unit. When the communication mode is selected, the transfer unit transfers data to a desired apparatus using the communication setting information detected by the detection unit and the communication setting information created by the creation unit.

  Since text information, that is, communication setting information is detected from the subject image photographed by the photographing means, and communication setting information corresponding to the detected communication setting information is created, the troublesomeness of the communication setting can be reduced.

  The data transfer device according to the invention of claim 2 is dependent on claim 1, and the communication setting information detected by the detecting means and the communication setting information created by the creating means include first address information and second address information, respectively. The creating means includes numerical value detecting means (S123) for detecting a numerical value indicated by the first address information, and numerical value assigning means (S125) for assigning a numerical value different from the numerical value detected by the numerical value detecting means to the second address information. .

The communication setting information detected by the detecting means includes first address information, and the communication setting information created by the creating means includes second address information. A numerical value indicated by the first address information is detected by the numerical value detecting means, and a numerical value different from the numerical value detected by the numerical value detecting means is assigned to the second address information.

  Since the numerical value assigning means assigns a numerical value different from the first address information to the second address information, address duplication is avoided even when the communication setting information detected by the detecting means is communication setting information for a desired apparatus. Data transfer can be performed.

  The data transfer apparatus according to the invention of claim 3 is dependent on claim 2, and the numerical value assigning means includes addition / subtraction means (S143) for adding / subtracting a predetermined value to / from the numerical value detected by the numerical value detection means.

  Since the numerical value assigning means adds or subtracts a predetermined value to the numerical value detected by the numerical value detecting means, a numerical value different from the numerical value detected by the numerical value detecting means can be assigned to the second address information.

  The data transfer device according to the invention of claim 4 is dependent on claim 3, and the numerical value assigning means displays display means (S145) for displaying the addition / subtraction result of the addition / subtraction means, and performs an increase / decrease operation for increasing / decreasing the numerical value displayed by the display means. First receiving means (S147) for receiving, second determining means (S153) for determining whether or not the numerical value after increase / decrease by the increasing / decreasing operation matches the numerical value detected by the numerical value detecting means, the determination result of the second determining means is Invalidation means (S151) for invalidating the display of the display means when affirmative, and second accepting means (S149) for accepting a decision operation for deciding the numerical value displayed by the display means to be a numerical value to be assigned to the second address information ).

  The addition / subtraction result of the addition / subtraction means is displayed by the display means, and an increase / decrease operation for increasing / decreasing the displayed numerical value is accepted by the first accepting means. Whether or not the numerical value after the increase / decrease by the increase / decrease operation matches the numerical value detected by the numerical value detection means is determined by the second determination means, and when the determination result is affirmative, the display on the display means is invalidated means Invalidated by. The determination operation for determining the numerical value displayed by the display means as the numerical value to be assigned to the second address information is received by the second receiving means.

  A desired numerical value different from the numerical value detected by the numerical value detecting means can be assigned to the second address information.

  A data transfer device according to a fifth aspect of the invention is dependent on any one of the first to fourth aspects, and the subject includes a surface on which communication setting information for a desired device is presented in a character form.

  A data transfer device according to a sixth aspect of the invention is dependent on the fifth aspect, wherein the desired device is a printer (40), and the subject includes a printing surface on which communication setting information for the printer is printed.

  When printing a subject image with a printer, communication settings can be easily set by simply printing the communication setting information for the printer with the printer and photographing the printing surface in advance.

  According to this invention, the troublesomeness of communication setting can be reduced.

  The above object, other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of embodiments with reference to the drawings.

  Referring to FIG. 1, a digital camera 10 of this embodiment includes an image sensor 12. The optical image of the object scene is irradiated on the light receiving surface, that is, the imaging surface of the image sensor 12, and on the imaging surface, a charge corresponding to the optical image of the subject, that is, a raw image signal is generated by photoelectric conversion.

  When displaying a real-time moving image of a subject, that is, a through image, on the LCD monitor 24, the CPU 18 instructs the image sensor 12 to repeat pre-exposure and thinning-out reading. The image sensor 12 repeatedly performs pre-exposure and thinning-out readout of the raw image signal generated thereby. The image sensor 12 outputs a low-resolution raw image signal corresponding to the optical image of the subject.

  The output raw image signal is subjected to processing such as A / D conversion, color separation, and YUV conversion by the signal processing circuit 14 and converted into image data in the YUV format. The converted image data is written into the SDRAM 26 and then read out from the SDRAM 26. The signal processing circuit 14 converts the read image data into a composite video signal according to the NTSC format, and provides the converted composite video signal to the LCD monitor 24. As a result, a through image of the subject is displayed on the monitor screen.

  When an imaging operation is performed with the operation key 22, the system controller 20 accepts this and inputs a corresponding signal to the CPU 18. In response to this signal, the CPU 18 instructs the image sensor 12 to perform main exposure and to read out all charges generated by the main exposure. The image sensor 12 outputs the main exposure and all charges generated thereby, that is, a high-resolution raw image signal. The output raw image signal is subjected to processing such as A / D conversion, color separation, and YUV conversion by the signal processing circuit 14 and converted into image data in the YUV format. The converted image data is written into the SDRAM 26 and then read out from the SDRAM 26. The CPU 18 records the read image data on the recording medium 28.

  The main image of the subject photographed in this way can be viewed by being displayed on the LCD monitor 24 or printed by the printer 40. When a reproduction operation is performed with the operation key 22, the image data recorded on the recording medium 28 is read out to the signal processing circuit 14. The signal processing circuit 14 converts the read image data into a composite video signal conforming to the NTSC format, and outputs the converted composite video signal to the LCD monitor 24. As a result, the main image is displayed on the monitor screen.

  When the main image of the subject is printed by the printer 40, a connection operation for connecting the digital camera 10 to the printer 40 is required. Since the digital camera 10 includes a wireless LAN controller 30 and the printer 40 has a wireless LAN function, both of them are connected by a wireless LAN when necessary setting operations are performed. In the digital camera 10, the CPU 18 executes a communication setting process.

  In this communication setting process, communication setting information on the printer 40 side is used. For this reason, the communication setting information for the printer 40 is printed on the paper surface in advance by the printer 40 itself. FIG. 2 shows a printing surface on which communication setting information for the printer 40 is printed. Referring to FIG. 2, “DHCPPCD” indicates whether or not the DHCP client daemon is used (0: not used, 1: used). “IPADR” indicates an IP address. “SUBNET” indicates a subnet address. “GATEWAY” indicates a gateway address. “DNS” indicates a DNS (Domain Name System) address.

  “MODE” indicates a communication mode (Adhoc / Infrastructure / WiFi Adhoc). “ESSID” indicates an ESSID (Extended Service Set Identifier). “CHANNEL” indicates a communication channel. “WEP” indicates whether (Wired Equivalent Privacy) is used (0: not used, 1: used). “WEPKEYLEN” indicates the bit length (64/128) of WEPKEY (encryption). “WEPKEYID” indicates WEP KEY (encryption) transmission key selection (1: WEPKEY1, 2: WEPKEY2, 3: WEPKEY3, 4: WEPKEY4). “WEPKEY1” to “WEPKEY4” indicate WEPKEYs (encryptions) corresponding to the numbers 1 to 4, respectively.

  When the communication setting is performed, the printing surface is placed in front of the image sensor 12. When an imaging operation is performed with the operation key 22 in this state, the image in FIG. 2 is recorded on the recording medium 28. Thereafter, when the communication mode is selected via the operation key 22, the CPU 18 captures the image of FIG. 2 from the recording medium 28, and reads the communication setting information from the captured image as shown in FIG.

  Referring to FIG. 3, first, an image is cut into units of rows, and an arbitrary one-line image is read out. Next, the read image of one line is cut into character units, one arbitrary character is recognized, and the recognition result is held. When the recognition of one line of characters is completed, the same processing is repeated for the other one line.

  The image is divided into line units / character units based on the difference in the amount of white space existing between the line area / character area and the line space area / character space area. References describing this type of technology include, for example, “DOCUMENTAT LAYUOUT ANALYSIS BY EXTENDED SPLIT DETECTION METHOD”, pp. 406-415, Proceeding “Third International Association for Pattern Recognition Workshop on Document Analysis Systems”, November 4-6, 1998 (Hosted by International Association for Pattern Recognition TC-11).

  Character recognition is performed by storing in advance a recognition dictionary in which the feature amount of each character is described, and comparing the feature amount of the photographed character with the feature amount of each character in the recognition dictionary. References include "Coarse classification for multi-font printed kanji recognition", pp. 758-765, IEICE Journal '79 / 11 Vol. J62-D No. 11.

  When the recognition of all the characters included in the image of FIG. 2 is completed, the flash memory 16 holds character information corresponding to the image of FIG. The CPU 18 detects a character string indicating arbitrary communication setting information, for example, “IPADR” from the held character information. Next, the character string derived by “IPADR”, that is, the IP address “192.168.10.21” is read, the result is converted into a predetermined format, and the conversion results “0xC0”, “0xA8”, “0x0A” and Holds “0x15”. The same processing is performed for all setting items, and as a result, the information shown in FIG. 4, that is, the communication setting information for the printer 40 is held in the flash memory 16.

  Thereafter, the CPU 18 generates a copy of the communication setting information held in the flash memory 16 in the same flash memory 16. Next, information corresponding to “IPADR” is extracted from the generated communication setting information. Next, an operation for changing the extracted information, that is, the IP address to another value is accepted. Then, the “IPADR” information in the created communication setting information is overwritten with the changed IP address. As a result, the generated communication setting information is updated as shown in FIG.

  Referring to FIG. 5 in comparison with FIG. 4, the IP address has been changed from “192.168.10.21” to “192.168.10.22”. Information other than the IP address is the same as that in FIG. This is used as communication setting information for the digital camera 10.

  After detecting the communication setting information for the printer 40 and creating the communication setting information for the digital camera 10 from the detected information, when the transfer operation is performed by the operation key 22, the CPU 18 performs the communication for the printer 40. Connection processing is performed in accordance with the setting information and communication setting information for the digital camera 10, and image data is wirelessly transferred from the wireless LAN controller 30 to the printer 40. When all the transfer processes are completed, the disconnection process is executed.

  Specifically, under the control of a multitasking OS such as μITRON, the CPU 18 performs the wireless LAN setting main task shown in FIGS. 6, 10, and 11, the character recognition task shown in FIG. The communication setting information detection task shown and the wireless transfer task shown in FIG. 12 are executed in parallel. The wireless LAN setting main task is activated when the communication mode is selected via the operation key 22, and the wireless transfer task is activated when the transfer operation is performed. The character recognition task and the communication setting information detection task are activated by the wireless LAN setting main task. Note that programs corresponding to these flowcharts are stored in the flash memory 16.

  Referring to FIG. 6, first, variable Status is set to “0” in step S <b> 1, and image data (see FIG. 2) of printer communication installation information is captured in next step S <b> 3. In step S5, a character recognition task is activated, and a loop of steps S7 and S9 is entered. In step S7, it is determined whether or not the variable Status is “1”. In step S9, it is determined whether or not the variable Status is “−1”.

  When the variable status is set to “1” by the character recognition task, the process proceeds from step S7 to step S11. Similarly, when “−1” is set in the variable Status, the process proceeds from step S9 to step S21.

  In step S11, a printer communication setting information detection task is activated. Then, a loop of steps S13 and S15 is entered. In step S13, it is determined whether or not the variable Status is “2”. In step S15, it is determined whether or not the variable Status is “−2”.

  When “2” is set to the variable Status by the printer communication setting information detection task, the process proceeds from step S13 to step S17. Similarly, when “−2” is set in the variable Status, the process proceeds from step S15 to step S21.

  In step S17, a digital camera communication setting information creation process (described later) is executed. When the process is completed, the process proceeds to step S19, and the variable Status is set to “3”. Then, this task is finished.

  In step S21, an error process is executed according to the value of variable Status ("-1" or "-2"). When the error processing is completed, this task is finished.

  Referring to FIG. 7, in step S31, the image data captured by the wireless LAN setting main task is segmented in units of rows. In step S33, the number of rows is set in the variable LCNT. In step S35, “1” is set to the variable L. In step S37, the image corresponding to the Lth row is read. In step S39, the read image is cut into character units. In step S41, the number of characters is set in the variable CCNT. In step S43, "1" is set to variable C.

  In step S45, the Cth character is recognized and the recognition result is held. In step S47, it is determined whether or not the recognition is successful. If the determination result is negative, "-1" is set to the variable Status in step S49, and this task is ended.

  If the determination result of step S47 is affirmative, it will move to step S51 and will increment the variable C. In step S53, it is determined whether or not the variable C is larger than the variable CCNT. If the determination result is negative, the process returns to step 45.

  If the determination result in step S53 is positive, the variable L is incremented in step S55. In step S57, it is determined whether or not the variable L is larger than the variable LCNT. If the determination result is negative, the process returns to step S37. If the determination result of step S57 is affirmative, "1" is set to the variable Status in step S59, and this task is ended.

  Referring to FIG. 8, in step S71, variable L is set to “1”, and in step S73, a character string from the beginning of the Lth line to “=” is read. In steps S75 to S103, the read character string is converted into 15 types of communication setting information, that is, “DHCPCD”, “IPADR”, “SUBNET”, “GATEWAY”, “DNS”, “MODE”, “ESSID”, “ESSID”, It is determined whether or not any one of “CHANNEL”, “WEP”, “WEPKEYLEN”, “WEPKEYID”, and “WEPKEY1” to “WEPKEY4” is applicable. If none of these are true, the process goes to step S115 to set "-2" in the variable Status, and this task is terminated.

  If the determination result of any one of steps S75 to S103 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S105. Referring to FIG. 9, in step S105, the character string after “=” in the Lth line is read. In step S107, the format of the read character string is converted into a binary format (see FIG. 3), and the result is held in the flash memory 16. In step S109, the variable L is incremented. In step S111, it is determined whether or not the value of the variable L exceeds the value of the variable LCNT. If the determination result is negative, the process returns to step S73.

  If the determination result in step S111 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S113, where “2” is set in the variable Status, and this task is ended.

  Referring to FIG. 10, in the digital camera communication setting information creation process, first, in step S121, printer communication setting information is copied. In step S123, information corresponding to “IPADR” is read from the copy destination. In step S125, an IPADR setting operation acceptance process (described later) is executed. In this processing, an input operation for inputting a desired address value for the digital camera 10 is accepted through the operation key 22. At this time, the same address value as the copy destination “IPADR” is not accepted.

  In step S127, the information corresponding to the copy destination “IPADR” is overwritten with the information corresponding to the accepted address value. In the example shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the last byte “0x15” of “IPADR” is overwritten with “0x16”. After overwriting, return to the upper layer routine.

  Referring to FIG. 11, in the IPADR setting operation acceptance process, first, in step S141, the last three digits of the value (read value) read in step S123 are set in one of the parameters, “exclusion value”. . In the next step S143, a value obtained by adding a predetermined value, for example, “1” to the last three digits of the read value is set to “candidate value” which is also one of the parameters. In step S143, "candidate value" is displayed on the LCD monitor 24, and the loop of steps S147 and S149 is entered. In step S147, it is determined whether or not the UP / DOWN key included in the operation key 22 has been pressed. In step S149, it is also determined whether or not the OK key has been pressed.

  When the UP / DOWN key is pressed, the “candidate value” is incremented / decremented in step S151. Here, the minimum value of the “candidate value” is “0”, and the maximum value is “255”. If the UP key is repeatedly pressed, the “candidate value” cycles through “254” → “255” → “0” → “1”, “2”, etc. If the DOWN key is repeatedly pressed, the “candidate value” is It goes around like “2” → “1” → “0” → “255”, “254”.

  In the subsequent step S153, it is determined whether or not the “candidate value” matches the “exclusion value”. If this determination result is affirmative, the process returns to step S151, and if negative, the process returns to step S145. Therefore, if the “exclusion value” is “21”, for example, when the UP key is repeatedly pressed, the “candidate value” changes as “19” → “20” → “22” → “23”.

  If the OK key is pressed, YES is determined in the step S149, and the process returns to the upper layer routine.

  Referring to FIG. 12, in step S161, it is determined whether or not the variable Status is “3”. If this determination result is negative, the process proceeds to step S173, and if positive, the process proceeds to step S163.

  In step S163, a connection process is executed, and in the next step S165, the success or failure of the connection is determined. If the connection fails, the process proceeds to step S173, and if successful, the process proceeds to step S167. In step S167, transfer processing is executed. Specifically, the image data is read from the recording medium 28 to the SDRAM 26, and the read image data is transferred from the wireless LAN controller 30 to the printer 40 through the wireless LAN.

  In subsequent step S169, it is determined whether or not the transfer is completed. If the determination result is negative, the process returns to step S167. When the transfer is completed, the process proceeds from step S169 to step S171, and a disconnection process is executed. Then, this task is finished.

  In step S173, error processing is executed, and this task ends. If the connection process in step S163 fails due to an illegal IP address, the IPADR setting operation acceptance process (see FIG. 11) may be executed once again in this error process.

  As is apparent from the above, in this embodiment, when the communication mode is selected, the CPU 18 detects character information from the subject image recorded on the recording medium 28, and the detected character information is communication setting information. If the determination result is affirmative, communication setting information corresponding to the detected communication setting information is created. When a transfer operation is performed, image data is transferred from the wireless LAN controller 30 to the printer 40 using the detected communication setting information and the created communication setting information.

  If the printer 40 preliminarily prints the communication setting information of the printer 40 on a paper surface and the printed surface is photographed by the digital camera 10, the CPU 18 transfers the photographed object scene image when transferring the image data to the printer 40. Since the character information, that is, the communication setting information is detected from the communication information and the communication setting information corresponding to the detected communication setting information is created, the troublesomeness of the communication setting can be reduced.

  In this embodiment, the communication setting information for the printer 40 is printed on the paper surface, and the printed surface is photographed by the digital camera 10. However, when the printer 40 is provided with a display such as an LCD, similar information is obtained. May be displayed as text on the display and the display surface may be photographed by the digital camera 10.

  Further, the transfer destination is not limited to the printer 40, and any device may be used as long as it has a wireless LAN function, such as a personal computer with a wireless LAN, a hard disk / DVD recorder with a wireless LAN, and a digital TV with a wireless LAN. . The transfer target is not limited to image data, and may be various data such as audio data and program data.

  Although the digital camera 10 has been described above, the present invention can be applied to various data transfer devices having a photographing function such as a wireless LAN / camera-equipped personal computer and a camera-equipped mobile phone.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of one Example of this invention. It is an illustration figure which shows the printing surface on which the communication setting information for printers was printed. 2 is an illustrative view showing a procedure for recognizing characters printed on the printing surface. 2 is an illustrative view showing communication setting information detected from the printing surface. 4 is an illustrative view showing communication setting information for the digital camera created based on the information. It is an illustration figure which shows a part of CPU operation | movement applied to FIG. 1 Example. FIG. 10 is an illustrative view showing another portion of the CPU operation applied to the embodiment in FIG. 1; It is an illustration figure which shows the other part of CPU operation | movement applied to FIG. 1 Example. FIG. 10 is an illustrative view showing yet another portion of the CPU operation applied to the embodiment in FIG. 1; FIG. 10 is an illustrative view showing another portion of the CPU operation applied to the embodiment in FIG. 1; It is an illustration figure which shows the other part of CPU operation | movement applied to FIG. 1 Example. FIG. 10 is an illustrative view showing yet another portion of the CPU operation applied to the embodiment in FIG. 1;

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Digital camera 12 ... Image sensor 14 ... Signal processing circuit 16 ... Flash memory 18 ... CPU
28 ... Recording medium 30 ... Wireless LAN controller 40 ... Printer

Claims (6)

Photographing means for photographing the subject,
Detecting means for detecting character information from a subject image photographed by the photographing means;
First determination means for determining whether or not the character information detected by the detection means is communication setting information;
Creating means for creating communication setting information corresponding to the communication setting information detected by the detecting means when the determination result of the first determining means is positive, and detected by the detecting means when a communication mode is selected; A data transfer apparatus comprising transfer means for transferring data to a desired apparatus using the communication setting information and the communication setting information created by the creating means. The communication setting information detected by the detecting means and the communication setting information created by the creating means include first address information and second address information, respectively.
The creation means includes numerical value detection means for detecting a numerical value indicated by the first address information, and numerical value assignment means for assigning a numerical value different from the numerical value detected by the numerical value detection means to the second address information. 1. The data transfer device according to 1.   3. A data transfer apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said numerical value assigning means includes addition / subtraction means for adding / subtracting a predetermined value to / from a numerical value detected by said numerical value detection means.   The numerical value assigning means includes a display means for displaying an addition / subtraction result of the addition / subtraction means, a first accepting means for accepting an increase / decrease operation for increasing / decreasing a numerical value displayed by the display means, and a numerical value detected by the increase / decrease operation is detected as the numerical value. Second discriminating means for discriminating whether or not the numerical value detected by the means coincides, invalidating means for invalidating the display of the display means when the discrimination result of the second discriminating means is affirmative, and the display 4. The data transfer device according to claim 3, further comprising a second accepting unit for accepting a determination operation for determining a numerical value displayed by the means to be a numerical value to be assigned to the second address information.   The data transfer device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the subject includes a surface on which communication setting information for the desired device is presented in a character form. The desired device is a printer;
The data transfer apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the subject includes a printing surface on which communication setting information for the printer is printed.

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