JP2006295317A - Image processing system, image processing method, program, and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processing system, an image processing method, a program, and a storage medium wherein image data are continuously transceived in a proper timing among a plurality of devices and the image data stored in each device can be shared. <P>SOLUTION: The image processing system is configured by the devices each comprising a storage section 103 for storing image data and a communication section 104 for transmitting the image data to the other devices. Then each of the devices sequentially acts like a master device for transmitting the image data stored in its own device and transmits the image data stored in the storage section 13 to slave devices for receiving the image data in a prescribed timing. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing system for sharing image data among a plurality of devices, an image processing method for controlling a device sharing image data, a program, and a storage medium storing the program.

  Conventionally, many digital cameras are provided with a liquid crystal display (LCD) that records captured image data such as still images and moving images on a memory card and displays the recorded image data, and has a function of reproducing and displaying the recorded image data. Have. Also, some conventional digital cameras display image data recorded in a built-in flash memory or inserted memory card on the LCD at a timing according to user input, or automatically at predetermined time intervals. Some have a function of sequentially displaying image data, a so-called slide show function.

  According to this slide show function, it is possible to perform a slide show in which image data is automatically and sequentially displayed at predetermined time intervals for all the images stored in the flash memory or a part of images selected in advance by the user. The slide show function is provided in many digital cameras as an image browsing function. In addition to viewing an image displayed on the LCD of the digital camera by one person or a small number of people, the slide show function is provided via an external output terminal of the digital camera. A slide show image can be displayed on a monitor such as a television. As described above, the conventional digital camera is used not only for displaying on its own LCD but also for displaying an image on a television screen that can be viewed by more people and sharing the image.

  In addition, a portable terminal such as a PDA that does not have an imaging function, such as a digital camera, includes a storage unit such as a hard disk and flash memory for storing electronic data, a display screen such as an LCD, or a memory card slot via a memory card. Thus, an image taken with a digital camera can be copied and saved, and the saved image data can be displayed on the LCD. Furthermore, some portable terminals are emerging that have the main functions of storing and displaying image data in particular.

  On the other hand, a digital camera or a portable terminal equipped with a digital camera function has a communication function, and image data can be exchanged by transmitting / receiving image data to / from another digital camera or portable terminal without using a personal computer (PC). What can be done is emerging. Since such an apparatus does not go through a PC, users who have digital camera or mobile terminal devices can exchange image data directly when they are close to each other as long as they have them. .

  As described above, in recent years, image data held in a digital camera or a portable terminal is transmitted to another external device via e-mail or infrared communication, and the image data is shared with the user of the other external device. Can communicate through images.

  For example, there is known a digital camera that can receive image data desired by a user among image data stored in another digital camera without using a PC (see Patent Document 1). This digital camera described in Patent Document 1 transmits thumbnail images to and from other digital cameras with which communication has been established, displays the received thumbnail images, and the user selects from the displayed thumbnail images. Image data associated with the thumbnail image is acquired from the other digital camera for the purposes of “browsing”, “duplicating”, and “moving”. Here, “browsing” means recording image data in a built-in memory, “duplicating” means recording image data in an information recording medium, and “moving” means recording image data in an information recording medium. After recording, the image data is deleted from the image data transmission source.

  An imaging device that can exchange images between a plurality of imaging devices is also known (see Patent Document 2). According to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-260688, one imaging device is a master among a plurality of imaging devices, and an imaging device that is a slave is detected. When one of the plurality of slave devices (imaging devices) displayed on the screen of the imaging device that is the master is selected, a thumbnail image stored in the slave device is transmitted to the master and displayed on the screen. When the user further selects a thumbnail image from the displayed images, a target image associated with the thumbnail image can be acquired.

  Furthermore, when one electronic still camera is connected to another electronic still camera, an electronic still camera whose shutter is pressed functions as a master, and another electronic still camera functions as a slave (see Patent Document 3). ). According to Patent Literature 3, image transmission from the master to the slave, image transmission from the slave to the master, shooting instruction from the master to the slave, image erasure control, slave according to the instruction from the electronic still camera of the master, The captured image can be monitored.

As described above, conventionally, various techniques for exchanging image data between digital cameras are known.
JP 2003-92719 A JP 2003-234987 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-284696

  On the other hand, in recent years, many people have owned digital cameras and mobile terminals with digital camera functions, and many people have been present at various events such as travel and weddings. The need to share data is increasing. At that time, not only image sharing between one-to-one devices but also continuous viewing while viewing a common image in a group formed by multiple devices such as digital cameras, portable terminals with digital camera functions, or PDAs It was desired to share image data.

  However, in the invention described in Patent Document 1, the images viewed on the respective devices at the time of image exchange are not common images but are image data of each other. In the invention described in Patent Document 2, the device on the image data receiving side only acquires the thumbnail image list unilaterally from the partner device selected by the user. There is no sharing. Furthermore, in the invention described in Patent Document 3, images to be exchanged are displayed on both the transmission side and the reception side of image data. However, when a plurality of images are exchanged with each other, continuous image sharing is not performed. I will not.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and can transmit and receive image data continuously at a suitable timing between a plurality of devices and share the image data held in each device. An object is to provide an image processing system, an image processing method, a program, and a storage medium.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is an image processing system for sharing image data among a plurality of devices,
Determining means for determining a master device for transmitting image data and a slave device for receiving the image data for the plurality of devices;
Transmitting means for transmitting image data held by the master device to the slave device to the slave device;
On the condition that the transmission of the image data to the slave device by the master device has been completed, the slave device is switched to a new master device, and switching means for switching the master device to a new slave device,
The new master device transmits image data held in the self device to the new slave device.

In addition, the image processing system according to the present invention includes:
A notification means for performing a transmission end notification to the slave device after the master device ends the transmission of the image data;
The switching means switches the slave device that has received the transmission end notification to the new master device, and switches the master device that has transmitted the transmission end notification to the new slave device.

Furthermore, in order to solve the above problem, the present invention is an image processing system for sharing image data among a plurality of devices,
Each device is
Holding means for holding image data;
Transmission means for transmitting the image data to another device,
The plurality of devices sequentially become master devices that transmit the image data held by the device, and are held by the transmission unit with respect to the slave device that receives the image data at a predetermined timing. The image data is transmitted.

Furthermore, the image processing system according to the present invention includes a group determination unit that determines a device that constitutes a group that shares the image data from the plurality of devices.
Master order determining means for determining the order of becoming a master device for a plurality of devices constituting the group,
The plurality of devices are switched to a master device according to the order, and the master device transmits image data held by the device to the slave device.

Furthermore, in order to solve the above problems, the present invention is an image processing method for sharing image data among a plurality of devices,
Determining a master device for transmitting image data and a slave device for receiving the image data for the plurality of devices;
A transmission step of transmitting image data held by the master device to the slave device to the slave device;
On the condition that the transmission of the image data to the slave device by the master device has been completed, the slave device is switched to a new master device, and has a switching step of switching the master device to a new slave device,
The new master device transmits image data held in the self device to the new slave device.

Furthermore, the image processing method according to the present invention includes:
A notification step of performing a transmission end notification to the slave device after the master device ends the transmission of the image data;
The switching step switches the slave device that has received the transmission end notification to the new master device, and switches the master device that has transmitted the transmission end notification to the new slave device.

Furthermore, in order to solve the above-described problem, the present invention provides a plurality of devices, each device including a holding unit that holds image data and a transmission unit that transmits the image data to another device. An image processing method for sharing image data between
The plurality of devices sequentially become master devices that transmit the image data held by the device, and are held by the transmission unit with respect to the slave device that receives the image data at a predetermined timing. The image data is transmitted.

Furthermore, the image processing method according to the present invention includes:
A group determining step of determining a device constituting a group sharing the image data from the plurality of devices;
A master order determination step for determining an order of becoming a master device for a plurality of devices constituting the group,
The plurality of devices are switched to a master device according to the order, and the master device transmits image data held by the device to the slave device.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to continuously transmit and receive image data at a suitable timing between a plurality of devices and share the image data held in each device.

<First Embodiment>
Hereinafter, an image data sharing system according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of each device constituting the image data sharing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Examples of individual devices constituting the image data sharing system according to the present embodiment include a PDA, a mobile phone, and a digital camera. In the present embodiment, a digital camera will be described as an example of the device.

  As illustrated in FIG. 1, the digital camera 101 includes a control unit 102, a storage unit 103, a communication unit 104, a display unit 105, an input unit 106, and a photographing unit 107. Here, the memory | storage part 103, the communication part 104, the display part 105, the input part 106, and the imaging | photography part 107 are connected to the control circuit which is the control part 102, and the control part 102 controls these collectively. The control unit 102 also executes digital image processing including compression processing of captured image data from the imaging unit 107, interpretation and execution of data and commands received by the communication unit 104, and control for instructions from the input unit 106. To do.

  The imaging unit 107 includes a lens for imaging, a CCD, a digital image processing circuit, and the like. In the imaging unit 107, the CCD converts an optical image projected by the lens into an electrical signal. The digital image processing circuit digitizes the image signal obtained from the CCD.

  The storage unit 103 includes a ROM that stores a control program executed by the control unit 102, a device ID that is a device-specific identifier, a device name, and device-specific information such as an icon image that indicates an overview of the device. Captured image data, image data received from other devices, flash memory for storing application programs, control programs and application programs loaded, captured image data, images received from other devices via the communication unit 104 It consists of RAM etc. which memorize | stores data etc. temporarily. The flash memory includes a detachable memory card such as a compact flash (registered trademark) card and an SD card, and a built-in flash memory. The digital camera 101 includes one or both of the above.

  The communication unit 104 transmits and receives image data and control commands between external communication devices. In the case of wireless communication, an antenna and a wireless communication circuit are provided.

  Further, the display unit 105 includes a digital camera finder, an LCD for displaying a GUI for a camera setting program and other application programs, and an LCD control circuit.

  Furthermore, the input unit 106 includes a digital camera shutter, a key for instructing camera settings, a button on the GUI displayed on the LCD, a key for instructing GUI parts such as a text field, or a cross key. Is done. When the user operates various keys of the input unit 106, the control unit 102 executes a program corresponding to the key.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of an image data sharing system in which a plurality of devices communicate with each other according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 shows an image data sharing system in which digital camera, PDA, and mobile phone devices are in a communication state by wireless connection. In this embodiment, each device establishes communication with other devices, holds an image data sharing program for transmitting and receiving commands and image data in each ROM, flash memory, etc., and the device is executed by executing the program. It becomes communication mode.

  In this embodiment, which will be described in detail below, certain image data stored in a storage unit provided in the device is transmitted to another device. For this reason, since it is not essential to provide an imaging unit such as a digital camera in each device constituting the image data sharing system according to the present embodiment, communication is performed between the storage unit for recording image data and other devices. It may be configured only by a PDA or a mobile phone that includes a communication unit and does not include an imaging unit. Hereinafter, a device that transmits image data is referred to as a “master device”, and a device that is in a slave state with respect to the master device is referred to as a “slave device”. Further, in the following description, all devices constituting the image data sharing system are described as digital cameras for convenience.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the LCD side of the digital camera which is a device constituting the image data sharing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. That is, FIG. 3 shows a display unit and an operation unit of a digital camera that is a device constituting the image data sharing system according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the digital camera 301 includes an LCD display screen 307, a shutter 302 for instructing imaging, a “menu” button 303 for switching to a menu GUI for selecting camera settings and an application to be started, a menu Selection of objects in the GUI and cross key 306 for instructing the up / down / left / right direction for switching display images, “Determination” button 304 for executing the object instructed by the GUI, selection cancellation of the object on the GUI and program A “cancel” button 305 for canceling the execution of

(1) Determination of shared group First, a process for determining a digital camera to be a member of a group sharing image data will be described.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining a processing flow of a device that determines a member of a group that shares image data in the image data sharing system according to the first embodiment. That is, this process will be described with respect to a process flow in a digital camera that is a device that plays a central role in the process of determining the members of a group that shares image data.

  When the “menu” button 302 is pressed using the digital camera shown in FIG. 3, an image sharing application is selected from the menu displayed on the display screen 307 with the cross key 306, and when the decision is instructed, the sharing control program is executed. Execute. Here, FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the LCD side of the digital camera in which a UI (GUI) for starting a search for an external device is displayed on the LCD. The overview diagram of the digital camera shown in FIG. 5 shows a display screen 307 for searching for another digital camera with which the digital camera shares image data. The display screen 307 displays a device search button 502, a device selection button 503, and a search result field 501 that displays information about the detected device.

  The button on the GUI uses the cross key 306 and the “OK” button 304 to instruct selection / determination, and the program associated with the button on the GUI is executed according to the determination instruction. Further, when the device search button 502 is pressed, the communication unit 104 searches for another device that can communicate. For example, in the present embodiment, short-range wireless communication is performed using Bluetooth, but the application of the present invention is not limited to this, and other wireless communication means may be used.

  Further, communication between devices (communication between digital cameras in this embodiment) is performed in packets. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a communication packet transmitted between devices in the image data sharing system according to the first embodiment. The communication packet shown in FIG. 6 is a Bluetooth payload portion. As shown in FIG. 6, the packet includes a transmission destination device ID for identifying the transmission destination device of the packet, a transmission source device ID for identifying the transmission source device, a command ID indicating the type of command, and each command. Contains parameter data for. Some packets do not have parameter data.

  A unique device ID assigned to each device is specified as the transmission source device ID and the transmission destination device ID in the communication packet. The unique device ID may be a serial number assigned uniquely to the device at the time of manufacturing the device. However, an address called a Bluetooth device address is uniquely given to each device that performs Bluetooth communication. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the Bluetooth device address is handled as a transmission destination or transmission source device ID. Each device ID is recorded in a ROM or a flash memory in the device.

  Other devices that have received the communication packet store the information of the communication packet in the RAM and perform processing specified by the command ID. FIG. 42 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a command ID and a parameter of a communication packet according to the first embodiment.

  FIG. 7 is a timing chart for explaining a communication procedure in which the digital camera (digital camera A) constituting the image data sharing system according to the first embodiment searches for and determines the members of the sharing group. Hereinafter, description will be made with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 4 and the timing chart of FIG.

  First, when device search is instructed in the digital camera A, “inquiry” and “call” (701) in the Bluetooth synchronization establishment phase are performed (step S401). Here, the digital camera A operates as a Bluetooth master, and the other digital cameras B to E operate as Bluetooth slaves. The digital camera A establishes communication with the device detected in the Bluetooth “inquiry” and “calling” procedures (701).

  Here, the digital camera A determines whether or not there is a detected device (step S402). As a result, if no device is detected (No), the image data sharing control program is terminated (step S408). In this embodiment, it is assumed that the digital camera A detects the digital cameras B, C, D, and E, and the digital camera A establishes communication with these four devices. When communication is established, the digital camera A requests device information such as an ID for identifying the device and a device name from the digital camera B, digital camera C, digital camera D, and digital camera E (702 to 705). ). The command ID of the device information request communication packet is “1”.

  The digital camera B, the digital camera C, the digital camera D, and the digital camera E that have received the device information request that is a communication packet with the command ID “1” have the command ID “2” and the parameter is the own device. A communication packet having a device ID read from the flash memory, a digital camera name, and icon data representing an overview of the digital camera is transmitted to the digital camera A (706 to 709).

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a device information response communication packet that responds to a device information request. As shown in FIG. 8, the communication packet includes a transmission destination device ID, a transmission source device ID, a device information command ID, a device name, a device icon data length (icon data length), and icon data corresponding to the data length. Continue. Note that the device icon data is handled as the device information in order to make it easier for the user who handles the device to visually determine the other device by visually checking the icon displayed on the screen.

  The digital camera A records the device information received from the other digital cameras B to E in the flash memory and displays it in the search result field (720, step S403). FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a search result field displaying information on the detected slave device displayed on the display screen of the master device. As shown in FIG. 9, the search result text field 901 includes device names “Camera B”, “Camera C”, and “Camera D” of the searched digital camera B, digital camera C, digital camera D, and digital camera E. , “Camera E”, “Camera A”, which is the device name of the digital camera A itself, and icon data 902 of each digital camera are displayed.

  Then, the user of the digital camera A selects a device for image sharing from the displayed devices using the cross key 306 and the “OK” button 304 (721, step S404). FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a search result field indicating a state in which a device that shares image data is selected. That is, FIG. 10 shows search result fields when “camera A”, “camera B”, “camera C”, and “camera D” are selected. As shown in FIG. 10, in the present embodiment, a frame is displayed around the device name of the selected device and its icon to express the selected state, but other representation methods may be used.

  Then, after the user selects a device, the user presses the device selection button 503, so that the digital camera A notifies the selected device to be a member of a group that performs image sharing (710 to 712, step S405). Note that the command ID of the packet notified at this time contains “3” as a command ID indicating sharing notification, and the parameters include the name of the digital camera A that transmits the communication packet, and the icon data length of the digital camera A. , Icon data is included.

  On the other hand, if the slave digital camera B, digital camera C, and digital camera D that have received the communication packet determine that the command ID of the received communication packet is “3”, the command is stored in the flash memory or ROM of each digital camera. A program for processing the image notification being executed is executed by the control unit 102, and a sharing notification dialog 1101 asking whether or not to share image data is displayed on the LCD. FIG. 11 is a schematic view of a slave digital camera in which a dialog notifying that a sharing notification has been received from the digital camera A is displayed on the LCD. As shown in FIG. 11, the dialog includes a “Yes” button and a “No” button for inputting the digital camera name and icon data included in the parameter portion of the communication packet, and whether to share the image. Is displayed.

  In the slave digital camera, when the “Yes” button or the “No” button is pressed, a shared response communication packet that responds to the sharing notification is returned to the digital camera A (713 to 715). The shared response communication packet has “4” as a command ID indicating a response to the sharing notification. The “Yes” button has “1” indicating that it is desired to share image data as a parameter. On the other hand, in the case of a “No” button, “0” is a parameter. Here, when the “Yes” button is pressed, the digital camera enters the image sharing mode. Image sharing mode refers to receiving image data from a device that is a member of an image sharing group, displaying received image data, and images recorded in the storage unit of the local device when it becomes the master device order. In this mode, data is transmitted to other members.

  In the present embodiment, a dialog is displayed on the slave digital camera that has received the sharing notification, and the user of the slave digital camera selects whether to share the image. The digital camera that simply received the sharing notification may send a communication packet having the command ID “4” as the sharing response and “1” as the parameter to the master digital camera A without providing the selection process.

  The digital camera A stores in the RAM all the shared response communication packets received within a certain time after the sharing notification communication packet is transmitted. Then, the parameters of all the shared response communication packets stored in the RAM are read, and it is determined whether or not the communication packet has “1” (step S406). As a result, if there is no shared response communication packet having “1” as a parameter (No), that is, if there is no external device that is a member of the shared group, the sharing control program is terminated (step S408).

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S406 that a shared response communication packet having “1” as a parameter has been received (Yes), the digital camera that is the transmission source is determined as a member of a group that shares image data, A shared device list that stores information on devices that share image data is created (722, step S407). The shared device list stores information indicating the device ID of the digital camera that is the transmission destination of the image data, the device ID of the digital camera that is the transmission source of the image data, and the order of the devices that transmit the image data.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a shared device list created by the master device according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 12, the shared device list includes an image data transmission master list 1201 that records the order in which the digital camera becomes a master device that transmits image data, and an image data transmission that records the image data transmission destination of the master device. A destination list 1202 is included.

  As shown in FIG. 12, in the image data transmission destination list 1202, the device ID_A that is the device ID of the own device and the transmission source device ID of the shared response communication packet having “1” in the parameter portion are recorded. If the shared response communication packet having “1” in the parameter portion is not received, it is determined that there is no device that is a member of the group sharing the image data, and the image data sharing control program ends. In this embodiment, the device ID, device ID_B, device ID_C, and device ID_ID of the digital camera B, digital camera C, and digital camera D are recorded. As described above, when the shared device list is generated, the devices that are members of the group sharing the image data are determined.

  Also, as shown in FIG. 12, in the image data transmission master list 1201, the source device IDs of the packets are read and recorded in the order in which the shared response communication packets are received, starting with the own device ID and device ID_A. In this example, device ID_A, device ID_B, device ID_C, and device ID_D are recorded in this order. Here, the order of becoming the master device is the order in which the digital camera A receives the shared response communication packet. However, the order is not limited to this. There may be.

  Next, the digital camera A displays information on devices that are members of the image sharing group recorded in the shared device list as shown in FIG. 12 on the screen. FIG. 13 is an overview diagram of the digital camera A in which devices sharing image data in the determined master device order are displayed on the LCD. That is, a state in which a shared group field 1301 for displaying members of the shared group is displayed on the LCD of the digital camera A is shown. In the shared group field 1301, device names and icons are displayed in the order of becoming the master device. Specifically, the image data transmission master list 1201 is read, and the device name and icon are searched based on the device information stored in the flash memory and displayed in the shared group field 1301.

  Then, the devices that are members of the sharing group share image data, that is, transmit / receive image data based on the contents of the created shared device list. Specifically, a device whose device ID is recorded in the image data transmission master list 1201 transmits image data to a device whose device ID is recorded in the image data transmission destination list 1202. The image data transmission procedure and the procedure for sequentially switching the master device that transmits the image data are described in detail in the following “(2) Image transmission processing from the master device” and “(3) Master device switching processing”. explain.

  Further, as a final process for determining the sharing group, the digital camera A may transmit a shared device list to the digital cameras B, C, and D that are members of the image data sharing group. . In this case, a shared device list transmission communication packet that is a communication packet including “5” as the command ID and information recorded in the shared device list as the parameter is transmitted. The parameter portion of the communication packet includes the number of devices serving as masters, followed by master device information, and at least device IDs in the order of mastering. Not only the device ID but also device data, icon data indicating the device, and the like may be included. Further, following the information, the number of image data transmission destinations, the information on the transmission destination devices, and at least the device ID information are included for the number of transmission destination devices.

  According to the shared device list shown in FIG. 12, the number of master devices is 4, device information (device ID, device name, icon data, etc.) in the order of digital camera A, digital camera B, digital camera C, digital camera D, The device information (device ID, device name, icon data, etc.) of the image data transmission destination device number 4, digital camera A, digital camera B, digital camera C, and digital camera D is included in the communication packet.

  In this embodiment, since all devices in the shared group perform both transmission and reception of image data, the contents of the image data transmission master list and the image data transmission destination list are the same. For this reason, the information in the parameters is redundant. However, in the embodiment described later, there are cases where the contents of the respective lists are different, so that the two lists are different lists. When a device that is a member of a shared group performs both transmission and reception of image data, one list may be used, and two separate lists are not necessary.

  Then, the digital camera B, the digital camera C, and the digital camera D that have received the communication packet including the command ID “5” store the shared device list in the flash memory from the information included in the parameter portion. By this processing, all the devices that are members of the sharing group can grasp other devices in the sharing group that share images. Note that this information may be displayed on the LCD of each device, and information on the device to be shared may be displayed to the user.

  FIG. 14 is an overview of a slave digital camera that displays a shared device list received from the master digital camera on the LCD. In the slave digital camera, the shared device list is read from the storage unit, and information on devices sharing image data is displayed in a dialog 1401. In this embodiment, the device names are displayed in the order of the master device, but the present invention is not limited to this.

(2) Image Transmission Processing from Master Device Next, a communication procedure in which the master device transmits image data to a predetermined device according to the shared device list created by the above-described procedure (1) will be described. Here, a procedure in which one digital camera as a master device transmits an image to a predetermined external digital camera will be described. For the procedure until the first master device starts transmitting image data and the procedure for switching the master device such that the next master device starts transmitting image data after the master device finishes transmitting image data, Will be described in “(3) Master device switching process”. Here, a procedure in which the digital camera A as a master device transmits image data to the digital camera B, the digital camera C, and the digital camera D will be described in detail.

  When the creation of the shared device list is completed as described above, the screen of the digital camera A is displayed on the right side of the shared group field 1301 indicating the order of devices to which image data is transmitted and the shared group field 1301, as shown in FIG. A “share start” button 1302 is displayed. Here, a “share start” button 1302 is a button for instructing the start of image data sharing. When the “share start” button 1302 is pressed, the device having the device ID recorded in the image data transmission master list 1201 becomes a master device in the order recorded in the list, and the transmission destination recorded in the image data transmission destination list is changed. Processing for transmitting image data is started.

  FIG. 15 is a timing chart for explaining a communication procedure in which the digital cameras constituting the image sharing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention transmit image data to the digital cameras that are members of the sharing group. That is, FIG. 15 illustrates a procedure of a part in which the digital camera A determined as the master device transmits image data to the external device. When a user of a digital camera presses a “share start” button 1302, first, it is determined which device is the master device, and a process for recognizing that the target device is the master device is executed. The procedure will be described in “(3) Master device switching process”. FIG. 16 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of processing in which the master device transmits image data to an external device.

  In the present embodiment, a transmission / reception example of image data will be described based on the shared device list shown in FIG. 12 created in “(1) Determination of shared group” described above. Therefore, the digital camera A in which the device ID is recorded at the top of the image data transmission master list 1201 is the digital camera B, digital camera C, and digital camera specified by the device ID recorded in the image data transmission destination list 1202. Image data is transmitted to D.

  Here, in the present embodiment, the image data is described as a thumbnail image obtained by reducing the size of an image captured by a digital camera. However, the captured image itself may be used instead of the thumbnail image, or an electronic image that represents another image. It may be data. Further, the image data transmitted from the master device to the external device may be all the image data stored in the flash memory by the master device or a part of the selected image data. Note that the partial image data means, for example, an image selected by the user in advance.

  In a general digital camera having a slide show function, a user can designate image data to be automatically reproduced in advance. Therefore, in the digital camera, the path in the file system of the image data specified by the user is recorded in the setting file, and the image data in the path recorded in the setting file is read and displayed on the screen by a program for executing the slide show. To do. Similarly, in a digital camera that is a member of a shared group, when image data to be transmitted to an external device is specified by a user input, the path of the specified image data is recorded in a setting file. Then, when transmitting the image data, the master device reads the image data of the path read from the setting file and transmits it to the external device.

  In the present embodiment, a procedure in which the master device transmits image data will be described according to the flowchart shown in FIG. 16 assuming that the setting file is generated and stored in the flash memory. First, the digital camera A, which is a master device, reads a setting file stored in the flash memory, counts the number of recorded paths, and sets it as a constant N (step S1601). Next, a variable n for counting the number of paths that have been read out is prepared and 0 is substituted (step S1602). Then, it is determined whether or not variable n <constant N, that is, whether or not there is an unread path in the setting file (step S1603).

  As a result, when there is an unread path (Yes), the path is read from the setting file, and the image data specified by the path is read (1522, 1524, 1526, step S1604). Then, the image data is displayed on the LCD of the digital camera A (1523, 1525, 1527, step S1605). The user of the digital camera A can check the image transmitted to the external device by looking at the image displayed on the LCD.

  Next, the device IDs recorded in the image data transmission destination list 1202 are read out, and image data transmission communication packets are transmitted with a device ID other than the device ID_A as the transmission source (1501 to 1503, 1507 to 1509). 1513-1515, step S1606). Here, the image data transmission communication packet is a communication packet having “8” as a command ID, and includes an image data length as a parameter followed by image data for that length. In the present embodiment, the device IDs of the digital camera B, digital camera C, and digital camera D are recorded in the image data transmission destination list 1202 in addition to the device ID of the own device. An image data transmission communication packet is transmitted to two digital cameras.

  Note that the device that has identified that the command ID of the received communication packet is “8” reads the image data of the parameter portion of the communication packet and displays it on the LCD (1504-1506, 1510-1512, 1516-1518). ).

  After sending the image data transmission communication packet to all the transmission destinations in step S1606, the digital camera A transmits the next image data for a fixed interval time (T1 second) while displaying the transmitted image on the LCD. It waits until it starts (step S1607). Thereafter, the variable n is incremented (step S1608), and reading of the next image data is started.

  In this embodiment, by providing the interval time T1 as described above, the digital camera A that is the image data transmission source device, the image data transmission destination device, the digital camera B, the digital camera C, the digital camera D, and the respective LCDs A state is formed in which the same image data is displayed above. In the present embodiment, as described above, the start of the interval time T1 is the time when the master device has finished transmitting the image data. However, the image data response communication packet indicating that the image data receiving side has received the image data. May be transmitted to the master device, and the measurement of the interval time T1 may be started when the master device receives the image data response communication packet.

  Thus, when the interval time T1 (seconds) has elapsed, the variable n for counting the number of paths that have been read in step S1608 is incremented by one, and the process returns to step S1603, where variable n <constant N is determined again. Then, it is determined whether or not there is an unread path in the setting file.

  If n <N is satisfied (Yes), the next image data is read, and the display, transmission, and standby processes described above are repeated. On the other hand, when n <N is not satisfied (No), the digital camera A has completed transmission of all image data to the digital camera B, digital camera C, and digital camera D that are members of the sharing group. A transmission end notification communication packet having a command ID “7” for notifying is transmitted (1519 to 1521, step S1609).

(3) Master Device Switching Processing Next, master device switching processing for sequentially changing master devices in a shared group will be described. Here, the processing in the device having the shared device list that performs the central processing for switching the master device, that is, the processing in the digital camera A in this embodiment will be described in detail.

  FIG. 17 is a flowchart for explaining a procedure of detailed processing of the digital camera A that performs master device switching processing. That is, a processing procedure for determining a first master device by a device having a shared device list will be described.

  The digital camera A that has determined the shared group by the above-described processing stores the shared device list in the flash memory. Therefore, when the “share start” button displayed on the screen (LCD) of the digital camera A is pressed, the device ID of the first device that becomes the master device is read from the image data transmission master list. The shared device list according to the present embodiment is as shown in FIG. 12, and the device ID_A that is the device ID of the first master device is read from the image data transmission master device list 1201 (step S1701).

  Then, the digital camera A confirms whether the device ID has been read (step S1702). As a result, when it is confirmed that the data has been read (Yes), it is determined whether or not ID1 that is the read device ID is the device ID of the own device (step S1703). As a result, when it is determined that the device ID is the own device ID (Yes), the digital camera A starts transmitting image data (step S1704). The image data transmission procedure is as described above in “(2) Image transmission processing from master device”. In other words, the digital camera A sequentially transmits image data to be transmitted with a device ID other than its own device ID recorded in the image data transmission destination list as a transmission destination. Specifically, based on the image data transmission destination list 1202, the digital camera A transmits image data to the digital camera B, the digital camera C, and the digital camera D.

  Then, after transmitting the last image data, the digital camera A transmits a transmission end notification communication packet for notifying that transmission of all the image data has ended to a device that is a member of the shared group other than the own device. (Step S1705), the process returns to Step S1701. In this embodiment, since the image data transmission destination and the device that is a member of the shared group are the same, the transmission destination notification communication packet is transmitted to the same destination as the image data transmission destination.

  Here, the members of the shared group are devices whose device IDs are recorded in the shared device list. That is, it refers to a device in which a device ID is recorded in at least one of the image data transmission destination device list and the image data transmission destination master list. In this embodiment, the same device ID is recorded in both lists, but the type of device ID recorded in both lists may be different as in the embodiment described later.

  When the transmission of the transmission end notification communication packet is completed, the digital camera A reads the next device ID from the image data transmission master list (step S1701). Then, as in the previous reading, it is confirmed whether or not the device ID has been read (step S1702), and it is determined whether or not ID1 that is the read device ID is its own device ID (step S1703).

  Next, a process when it is determined that ID1 read in step S1703 is not the own device ID (No) will be described. If it is determined that the read ID1 is an external device, a master notification communication packet for notifying the order of becoming a master device device is transmitted using the read device ID as a transmission destination (step S1706). In the image data transmission master list 1201 shown in FIG. 12, ID1 read next to device ID_A is device ID_B, so that a master notification communication packet is transmitted to digital camera B.

  The master notification communication packet to be transmitted is a communication packet having “10” as a command ID and information of the shared device list as a parameter. FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example of the master notification communication packet. The parameters of the master notification communication packet shown in FIG. 18 include the number of device IDs in the image data transmission master list, followed by the device ID in the order of becoming the master device, and the number of device IDs in the image data transmission destination list and Subsequently, the device ID is included.

  FIG. 19 is a flowchart for explaining a detailed processing procedure in the device that has received the master notification communication packet. Note that when a communication packet other than the master notification communication packet is received, processing according to the type of each communication packet is performed.

  When the device (for example, digital camera B) that has received the master notification communication packet determines that the command ID of the communication packet is “10” (Yes in step S1901), the image data transmission destination from the master notification communication parameter portion. The device ID is read (step S1902). Then, transmission of image data is started using the read device ID as a transmission destination (step S1903). Here, from the piconet form in which the digital camera A has been a Bluetooth master and the digital cameras B, C, and D are Bluetooth slaves, the digital camera B has become a Bluetooth master, and the other devices are Bluetooth slaves. Become a piconet.

  When Bluetooth is used as a communication means, Bluetooth slaves cannot communicate with each other within one piconet, so the communication mode is changed.

  FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating how the Bluetooth communication mode is changed when the Bluetooth master is changed from the digital camera A to the digital camera B. In this case, the Bluetooth master and the Bluetooth slave are exchanged within the piconet which is the communication form of Bluetooth, or the piconet is temporarily terminated and the digital camera B becomes a new Bluetooth master and a device which is a member of the shared group Build a piconet to serve as a Bluetooth slave. Note that the method of exchanging the Bluetooth master and slave in the piconet conforms to the specification of Bluetooth.

  Here, when the digital camera B cannot receive the master notification communication packet for some reason (No in step S1901), the process of sharing the image data stops. Therefore, a step is provided in which the digital camera B transmits a response notification communication packet for the reception of the master notification communication packet to the digital camera A. When the digital camera A does not receive a response notification from the master notification communication packet transmission destination. The master notification communication packet may be transmitted from the image data transmission master list to the next device as the master. By providing this step, even if the master device cannot start transmission of image data as a master for some reason, the image data transmission master list can be ordered without interrupting the sharing of image data within the shared group. Accordingly, the master notification communication packet is sequentially transmitted to the next master device.

  The digital camera B sequentially transmits image data according to the procedure described in “(2) Image transmission processing from master device”, and finally transmits a transmission end notification communication packet to a device that is a shared group member. The device ID of the shared group member is contained in the parameter part of the master notification communication packet. Therefore, the image data transmission master device ID is read from the parameter portion of the master notification communication packet (step S1904). That is, the device ID of the shared group member to be read is a device ID belonging to at least one of the device ID that is the image data transmission master and the device ID that is the image data transmission destination. Then, a transmission end notification communication packet is transmitted using the read device ID as a transmission destination (step S1905).

  When the digital camera A receives the image data transmission communication packet from the digital camera B (Yes in step S1707), the digital camera A displays the received image data on the screen (step S1709). Then, the display of the received image data is continued, and if it is determined that the received communication packet is not image data (No in step S1707) and is a transmission end notification (Yes in S1708), the image data ID1, which is the next device ID, is read from the transmission master list (step S1701).

  Here, according to the image data transmission master list 1201, since the next ID1 is the device ID_C, the master notification communication packet is transmitted with the device ID_C being ID1 as the transmission destination, as in the case of the device ID_B described above. The received digital camera C transmits image data and a transmission end notification as in the case of the digital camera B described above.

  In this way, by continuing the above processing flow, the digital camera A performs processing for reading the next device ID from the image data transmission destination list (step S1701), and determines whether or not ID1 has been read (step S1702). As a result, when the device ID of the next master device cannot be read (No), that is, it is determined that the image data transmission processing has been completed for all the devices recorded in the image data transmission destination list. In this case, the digital camera A transmits a sharing completion notification communication packet to a device that is a member of the sharing group (step S1710). The sharing completion notification communication packet is a communication packet having “11” as a command ID, and notifies the members of the sharing group that all master devices have completed transmission of image data.

  The device that has received the sharing completion notification communication packet cancels the image sharing mode and ends the image data sharing program. After the transmission of the sharing completion notification communication packet, the digital camera A also cancels the image sharing mode and ends the image data sharing program (step S1711).

  With the above procedure, it is possible to determine a device to be a member of a group sharing image data, display and transmit image data by the master device, receive and display image data by the receiving device, and switch the master device. .

  Note that the digital camera A, which is a device that performs master notification, and the device that transmits image data perform respective processes while changing the Bluetooth communication mode. Here, the digital camera A becomes a Bluetooth master when transmitting a master notification communication packet to an external device. A device that transmits image data exchanges the roles of the digital camera A and the Bluetooth master before transmitting the image data, and transmits the image data after becoming a Bluetooth master. When the transmission of the image data is completed, the roles of the digital camera A and the Bluetooth master are exchanged.

<Second Embodiment>
In the present embodiment, another procedure related to “(1) determination of shared group” described above will be described.

  FIG. 21 is a flowchart for explaining a process flow of a device that determines a member of a group that shares image data according to the second embodiment of the present invention. That is, in this embodiment, the device plays a central role in the process of determining the members of the group to share image data using the flowchart shown in FIG. 21 when the user specifies the order of the master devices. Processing of the digital camera A will be described.

  In the flowchart shown in FIG. 21, the processing up to the procedure (steps S2101 to S2103) for displaying the device detected by the digital camera A is the same as that in the first embodiment, and will be omitted. In the present embodiment, an example in which the user of the digital camera A designates the order of becoming a master device through the input unit will be described.

  The digital camera A displays the detected device name in the search result field 501 as shown in FIGS. Then, the user of the digital camera A uses the cross key 306 and the “OK” button 304 to select a device sharing the image data from the search field. When a device is selected in the up / down direction of the cross key 306 and a “decision” button 304 is pressed, a number is displayed in front of the device name in the order of the selected and decided devices. The displayed number is the order of becoming the master device (step S2104).

  FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a search result field indicating a state in which a device for sharing image data is selected and a master device order is specified. That is, FIG. 22 shows an example of a search result field in which the order of the master devices selected and determined in the order of “Camera A”, “Camera B”, “Camera C”, and “Camera D” by user input is displayed. It is shown. When the user presses the device selection button 503 while the search result field is displayed, the digital camera A temporarily stores a temporary master device list in which device IDs are arranged in the order of becoming a master device in the RAM, A device having an order in the search result field is notified that it is a member of a group that performs image sharing (step S2105).

  Then, similarly to the first embodiment described above, the digital camera B, the digital camera C, and the digital camera C that have received the sharing notification transmit a sharing response communication packet to the digital camera A. Then, the digital camera A stores all the shared response communication packets in the RAM, and determines whether there is a device that desires sharing of the image data (step S2106), and if there is a device (Yes). Creates a shared device list (step S2107).

  The digital camera A reads the shared response communication packet information from the RAM, and if the parameter portion of all received shared response communication packets is “0”, the digital camera A assumes that there is no device (No), and the digital camera A performs the sharing control. The program ends (step S2108). Further, if the shared response communication packet information is not recorded in the RAM, that is, if the shared response communication packet is not received within a certain time after the sharing notification communication packet is transmitted, the sharing control program is also terminated.

  In this embodiment, it is assumed that the digital camera A receives the shared response communication packet having the parameter “1” from the digital camera B, the digital camera C, and the digital camera D, and creates a shared device list that is the next process. Processing is performed (step S2107).

  In the shared device list creation process in step S2107, first, the temporary master device list stored in the RAM is read. Next, the information of the shared response communication packet stored in the RAM is sequentially read. If the parameter is “1”, a flag is set for the device ID in the temporary master device list. Here, setting a flag indicates that flag information “1” is stored in association with the device ID in the temporary device list.

  In the present embodiment, the above processing is performed for all shared response communication packet information, and device IDs with no flags are deleted from the temporary master device list. Then, the device IDs finally recorded in the temporary master device list are recorded in the image data transmission master list 1201 in the order in which they are recorded. In this way, in the image transmission master list 1201, device IDs of devices that desire to share image data are stored in the order of the master devices input by the user.

  In addition, since the IDs of devices that desire image sharing may be arranged in the order of the master device input by the user, the information is not limited to the above procedure, and the received shared response communication packet information stored in the RAM is simply stored. Read all, store device ID with parameter “1” in RAM separately, and then record the device ID in the ascending order of the temporary device list using the sort algorithm in the image data transmission master list 1201 You can do it.

  On the other hand, in the image data transmission destination list 1202, a transmission source device ID of a packet whose shared response communication packet parameter is “1” is recorded. The order of device IDs recorded in the image data transmission destination list 1202 may be any order.

  In this embodiment, it is assumed that the parameter of the shared response communication packet transmitted by the digital camera B, the digital camera C, and the digital camera D is “1”, and the digital camera A has received all the shared response communication packets. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 12, in the image data transmission master list 1201, device IDs are arranged in the order of digital camera A, digital camera B, digital camera C, and digital camera D as specified in the search result field, and image data Similarly, four device IDs are recorded in the transmission destination list 1202 (step S2107).

  In the present embodiment, a device that is a member of a group sharing image data is determined by the above procedure.

<Third Embodiment>
In the present embodiment, another procedure related to “(1) determination of shared group” will be described. Examples will be given.

  In the first and second embodiments described above, the device that is a member of the shared group performs image data transmission to an external device, image data transmitted from another device, or processing of both. Met. In the present embodiment, the device types are divided into three types depending on how image data of devices belonging to the shared group is handled.

  That is, the three types are a “transmission type” that only transmits image data, a “reception type” that only receives image data, and a “transmission / reception type” that performs both transmission and reception of image data. The “transmission / reception type” functions as a master device that transmits image data to a device that is a member of a shared group, and receives image data transmitted from other devices. The “reception type” only receives image data transmitted from the master device of the shared group, and does not become a master device that transmits image data. Furthermore, “transmission type” only transmits image data to the devices in the shared group and does not receive image data from other devices.

  Processing for selecting a type by a device and processing for creating a shared device list will be described below. The process from selecting a device to share image data from the search field in which the devices searched by the device searching process are displayed and pressing the device selection button to send a sharing notification to the selected device is the same as described above. Since it is the same as the first embodiment, it is omitted. Hereinafter, a process after the device selection button 503 is pressed will be described.

  When the device selection button 503 is pressed, the digital camera A determines whether there is a device selected in the search field. As a result, when the external device is selected, a sharing notification communication packet having the command ID “3” as the external device and the device name “camera A” of the digital camera A and the icon data as parameters is transmitted. On the other hand, when the local device is selected, the sharing notification communication packet is not transmitted to the local device, but the sharing notification dialog described below is automatically transmitted as when the external device receives the sharing notification communication packet. Display on the device.

  The digital camera that has received the sharing notification displays a sharing notification dialog asking whether to share image data. FIG. 23 is an overview diagram of a digital camera in which a sharing notification dialog 1601 for notifying that a sharing notification has been received from the digital camera A in the third embodiment is displayed on the screen. That is, FIG. 23 shows a case where a type for sharing image data can be selected.

  As in the first embodiment, when it is determined that the command ID of the received communication packet is “3”, a program that performs processing for image notification stored in the flash memory or ROM of each digital camera is The sharing notification dialog 2301 is displayed on the LCD. However, in this embodiment, instead of the “Yes” button in the sharing notification dialog 1101 shown in FIG. 11 in the first embodiment, three buttons that support the type of image sharing, the “Send / receive” button, and “Receive only”. Button, "send only" button. These three buttons are buttons for instructing which type the digital camera operates as one of the three types of “transmission / reception type”, “reception type”, and “transmission type” in the shared group. That is, the “transmission / reception” button is operated as “transmission / reception type”, “reception only” is operated as “reception type”, and “transmission only” is operated as “transmission type”.

  When the user presses any button, the shared response communication packet having the command ID “4” is transmitted to the digital camera A as in the “Yes” button of the sharing notification dialog 1101 described in the first embodiment. To do. The parameter part of the packet has different information for each button. When the “Send / Receive” button is pressed, “2” is displayed. When the “Receive only” button is displayed, “3” is displayed. For the “only” button, “4” is included. When three buttons other than the “No” button are pressed, the digital camera enters an image sharing mode.

  On the other hand, when the “No” button is pressed, similarly to the “No” button in the sharing notification dialog 901, the command ID “4” indicating that the response is a response to the sharing notification and the image sharing is rejected. A shared response communication packet having “0” as a parameter is transmitted to the digital camera A. When the digital camera A receives the shared response communication packet, the digital camera A stores the content of the communication packet in the RAM. FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating information stored in the RAM by the device that has received the shared response communication packet. That is, in this embodiment, a parameter indicating the type of the shared response communication packet source and the shared group is stored.

  When the button of the sharing notification dialog displayed on the screen of the digital camera A is pressed, the type of the pressed button is stored in the RAM instead of transmitting the shared response communication packet to the own device. The type of the pressed button is converted into a parameter of the shared response communication packet and stored in the RAM in association with the device ID of the digital camera A. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 24, the device ID_A is “2” for the “transmission / reception” button, “3” for the “reception only” button, and “4” for the “transmission only” button. Store it in association. Thereafter, this information is also handled in the same way as the shared response communication packet.

  Information on all the shared response communication packets stored in the RAM is first used when determining whether or not there is a device that is a member of the shared group. Here, when all the parameters of the shared response communication packet are “0”, there is no device that is a member of the shared group, and thus the digital camera A ends the sharing control program.

  On the other hand, if all of the conditions “0” are not met, the digital camera A generates a shared device list based on the information stored in the RAM. FIG. 25 is a flowchart for explaining a procedure for creating a shared device list when the type of sharing image data is selectable.

  First, it is checked whether or not there is unread shared response notification information in the shared response communication packet information stored in the RAM (step S2501). As a result, if there is unread information (Yes), it is read (step S2502). On the other hand, in the confirmation in step S2501, if all have been read (No), the creation of the shared device list is terminated.

  From the information read in step S2502, the type of parameter is determined (step S2503). Then, it is used to create an image data transmission master list and an image data transmission destination list.

  If it is determined that the parameter is “2”, the device ID is stored in both the image data transmission master list and the image data transmission destination list because it is a “transmission / reception type” that performs both transmission and reception of image data. (Step S2504). If it is determined that the parameter is “3”, the device ID is stored in the image data transmission destination list because it is a “reception type” that only receives image data (step S2505). Further, if it is determined that the parameter is “4”, the device ID is stored in the image data transmission master list because it is a “transmission type” that only transmits image data (step S2506). Then, the above-described determination is performed on all the shared packet information stored in the RAM, thereby completing the creation of the shared device list.

  Hereinafter, the case where the shared response communication packet information shown in FIG. 24 is stored in the RAM will be specifically described. FIG. 26 is a diagram showing an example of a shared device list created based on the information of the shared response communication packet shown in FIG. The device ID_C of the digital camera C that only receives image data is stored only in the image data transmission destination list 2602. The device ID_B of the digital camera B that only transmits image data is stored only in the image data transmission master list 2601. The device ID_A and device ID_D of the digital camera A and digital camera D that perform both transmission and reception of image data are stored in both the image data transmission master list 2601 and the image data transmission destination list 2602.

  The procedure for creating the shared device list shown in the flowchart of FIG. 25 is a procedure when the order of becoming the master device is arbitrary. When the order of master devices is specified by user input, a temporary master device list in which device IDs are arranged in the order of master devices is stored in the RAM as in the second embodiment described above. A flag is set for the transmission source device ID of the shared response communication packet having “2” or “4” as a parameter, and the device ID in the temporary master device list for which the flag has not been set is deleted.

  Then, the device IDs are recorded in the image data transmission master list 2601 in the order finally recorded in the temporary master device list. According to this procedure, device IDs are recorded in the image data transmission master list 2601 in an order that takes into account the master device order input by the user. On the other hand, the image data transmission destination list 2602 is created according to the procedure of the flowchart shown in FIG. 25 because the order of the device IDs in the list may be arbitrary.

  A device whose device ID is recorded in the shared device list becomes a member of the shared group regardless of the type.

  Next, the contents of the created shared device list are confirmed, and it is determined whether image transmission / reception is established between the devices. FIG. 27 is a flowchart for explaining a procedure for determining whether sharing of image data is established between devices based on the created shared device list.

  First, the shared device list is read (step S2701). If no device ID is recorded in either the image data transmission master list 2601 or the image data transmission destination list 2602, that is, all the devices in the sharing group are “reception type”. ”Or all of them are“ transmission type ”, it is a shared group that has no device that receives image data and a shared group that has no device that transmits image data. Data transmission / reception is not established (steps S2702, S2703).

  In addition, when only one device ID is recorded in both lists and the same device ID is the same, there is only one member of the shared group. Data transmission / reception is not established (step S2704).

  On the other hand, if transmission / reception of image data between the devices is not established, a sharing cancellation notification communication packet for canceling the image data sharing mode is transmitted to the device switched to the image data sharing mode (step S2706). S2707, S2708). Specifically, the shared response communication packet information stored in the RAM is read, a device ID having a value other than “0” is retrieved as a parameter, and a communication packet having the command ID “6” as the destination is the device ID. Send. The device that has received the communication packet executes a control program for canceling the image sharing mode when the command ID of the communication packet is “6”.

  The digital camera A transmits the sharing cancellation notification communication packet in steps S2706, S2707, and S2708, and then ends the control program for sharing the image data between the devices (step S2709).

  On the other hand, when the transmission / reception of the image data is established between the devices, the device in the image data transmission master list transmits the image data with the device ID on the image data transmission destination list as the transmission destination “(2) from the master device” The process proceeds to the processing procedure described in “Image transmission process”. Note that the procedure of “(2) Image transmission processing from master device” is as described in the first embodiment.

  In this embodiment, since the device ID of the “transmission type” device is not stored in the image data transmission destination list, the image data is not transmitted from the external device to the “transmission type” device. However, for example, the device ID of the “transmission type” device is added to the image data transmission destination list so that the image data is also received by the “transmission type” device, and the “transmission type” device itself is simply “transmission type”. However, even when image data is received, the image data may not be displayed on the LCD. In this case, although a communication load is generated, the user who handles the transmission type device looks as if no image data is received, and the same effect can be obtained.

<Fourth Embodiment>
Next, a specific procedure of “(2) Image transmission processing from master device” according to the fourth embodiment will be described.

  In the first embodiment, as described above, the master device transmits all the image data in which the path is recorded in the setting file to the external device. On the other hand, in the fourth embodiment, when the master device detects a predetermined user input while displaying the read image data, it does not transmit the displayed image data and starts reading the next image data. Processing means is provided. Further, a predetermined time for displaying an image is provided before transmitting the image data.

  Note that the processing on the image data receiving side and the processing in which the master device transmits the transmission end notification to the sharing group device after transmitting the last image data are the same as in the first embodiment, so here. Omitted.

  FIG. 28 is a timing chart for explaining an image data transmission / reception processing procedure when the master device in the fourth embodiment stops transmission of image data. That is, FIG. 28 shows a communication procedure including a process in which the master device stops image transmission to an external device that is a member of a shared group. FIG. 29 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of an image data transmission procedure when the master device according to the fourth embodiment has an image data transmission canceling unit. That is, FIG. 29 shows the processing procedure of the master device when an instruction to stop image transmission is given.

  In FIG. 29, the processing procedure (steps S2901 to S2904, 2801) until the first image data to be transmitted is read is the same as that in the first embodiment, and is omitted here. Next, the read image data is displayed (steps S2905 and 2802). The display of the read image data lasts for the interval time T2 provided until transmission to the external device (steps S2906 and 2831). Then, after the interval time T2 has elapsed, the image data being displayed is transmitted to the external device (steps S2908, 2803 to 2805). Thereafter, as in the first embodiment, the interval time T1 is maintained until the next image data transmission (steps S2909 and 2832). Thereafter, the process proceeds to reading processing of the next image data (step S2910).

  On the other hand, the interval time T2 is a time for continuously displaying image data and a time for receiving an input for instructing the user to stop transmitting image data. Therefore, when it is detected that the “cancel” button has been pressed within the interval time T2 (Yes in step S2907, 2819), the image data is originally transmitted to the external device, which is the next process, at the detection stage. Without performing the process, the process proceeds to the next image data reading process (step S2910), and the read data is displayed on the LCD. As described above, in this embodiment, when transmission stop is instructed during the interval time T2, the next read image data is displayed before the interval time T2 elapses. The time to be displayed is a time T2-α (seconds) shorter than the interval time T2 (2835).

  Thus, according to the present embodiment, by displaying the image data before transmitting the image data, the user can visually confirm the image to be transmitted. Further, the transmission of the visually observed image data can be canceled by providing the transmission canceling means.

<Fifth Embodiment>
In the present embodiment, another procedure of “(2) Image transmission processing from master device” will be described.

  As described above, in the image data transmission process of the master device in the first embodiment, a predetermined time of T1 time is provided between the image data transmission and the next image data transmission. On the other hand, in this embodiment, instead of setting the time until transmission of the next image data to a predetermined time, a communication packet requesting the next image data transmitted from the image data receiving side is transmitted to the master device. The next image data is transmitted based on the received timing.

  FIG. 30 is a timing chart for explaining a communication procedure in which a master device transmits image data to an external device in accordance with an image data request from an image data transmission destination in the fifth embodiment. FIG. 31 is a flowchart for explaining a flow in which the master device transmits image data in accordance with an image data transmission request from the image data transmission destination device in the fifth embodiment. Further, FIG. 32 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of processing on the image data receiving side when the image data transmission interval of the master device is performed in accordance with the image data request from the image data receiving side device. Note that FIG. 32 shows a processing flow after receiving one image data. When image data is sequentially received, processing is performed according to the flow.

  Here, a process in which the digital camera A, which is a master device, reads out, displays, and transmits the first image data, transmits a transmission end notification to the shared group device after transmitting the last image data, The processing for displaying the image data received by the data receiving device (steps S3101 to S3106, step S3110, steps S3201, S3202, 3001 to 3008, and 3029 to 3031) is the same as that of the first embodiment. Omitted.

  The device that has received the image data starts a timer for time-out processing after displaying the image data, and then waits for an interrupt from a timer notifying that a predetermined time has elapsed or an interrupt by a user input (step S3203, S3204).

  When the user presses the right button of the cross key of the device before the time-out period (3009 to 3011, 3023 to 3025), the image data request communication packet having the command ID “9” for requesting the next image data is transmitted to the master device. (Steps S3205, 3012-3014, 3026-3028). Thereafter, when the timeout time elapses and an interrupt is generated from the timer, the image data request communication packet is similarly transmitted to the master device (step S3205).

  The digital camera A starts a timer for time-out processing after transmitting image data, and then receives an interrupt from a timer notifying that a predetermined time has elapsed or receiving image data request communication packets from all transmission destinations. Wait (steps S3107, S3109). A timeout time is set in order to proceed to the next process when all the image data request communication packets from the transmission destination cannot be received. When the image data request communication packet having the command ID “9” is received from all the image data transmission destination devices, the digital camera B, the digital camera C, and the digital camera D, a process of reading the next transmission target image data Move on. Similarly, when an interruption from the timer occurs, the process proceeds to a process of reading the next transmission target image data (step S3108).

<Sixth Embodiment>
In the present embodiment, another example of the procedure of “(3) master device switching process” will be described. In the first embodiment described above, the device that created the shared device list determines the next master device from the shared device, and notifies the device that it is the master device, thereby switching the master device. To go. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the master device is switched by a method in which the master device notifies the next master device that the master order has arrived.

  The procedure until the digital camera A, which is the device that has created the shared device list, transmits a master notification communication packet to the next master device is “(3) Master device switching” in the first embodiment. It is the same. Further, when only the device ID that created the shared device list is recorded in the image data transmission master list, the above-described first embodiment is also followed.

  FIG. 33 shows the flow of processing of the master device when switching the master device by transmitting the communication packet while the device receiving the master notification communication packet increases to the next master device in the sixth embodiment. It is a flowchart to show.

  First, the master device determines whether or not the received communication packet is a master notification communication packet having the command ID “10” (step S3301). As a result, if it is determined that the packet is a master notification communication packet (Yes), the device ID of the image data transmission destination stored in the parameter portion is read (step S3302). On the other hand, if it is not a master notification communication packet (No), it is further determined whether it is a sharing completion notification communication packet (step S3310). If it is a sharing completion notification communication packet (Yes), the image sharing mode is canceled and the sharing group control program is terminated (step S3308). On the other hand, if it is determined in step S3310 that it is a communication packet other than that (No), processing according to the packet is executed (S3311), and the process returns to step S3301.

  Hereinafter, the description will be continued for the case where the received communication packet is the master notification communication packet (Yes) in step S3301. Therefore, all image data to be transmitted is sequentially transmitted using the device ID read in step S3302 as a transmission destination (step S3303). Thereafter, a transmission end notification communication packet is transmitted to the shared group member device (step S3304). The image data transmission process and the process on the image data reception side are in accordance with “(2) Image transmission process from master device” according to another embodiment.

  Then, after the transmission end notification is transmitted, ID1 which is the device ID of the next master device is read from the parameter portion of the master notification communication packet (step S3305). That is, the device ID next to the self device ID is read out from the portion where the master device IDs of the parameters are arranged in order.

  Then, it is determined whether or not ID1 has been read (step S3306). As a result, if the device ID cannot be read (No), that is, if the own device is the last device to be the master, a sharing completion notification is transmitted to the sharing group member (step S3307). Since the transmission destination of the sharing completion notification and the transmission end notification is the same, there is no need to read the device ID of the sharing group member again from the parameter portion of the master notification communication packet.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S3306 that ID1 can be read (Yes), a master notification communication packet is transmitted with ID1 as the transmission destination (step S3309). In this embodiment, the parameter of the master notification communication packet contains the same information as the parameter part of the received master notification communication packet, but only the device ID of the device that will become the master from now on for the part that contains the master device order. It may be accommodated. However, in this case, there is a possibility that the sharing completion notification is not transmitted to the device that has already become the master device and has finished transmitting the image data. This is the case when the device that has already finished the role of the master device is “transmission type”. Therefore, if the master notification communication packet does not contain the device ID of the master device that has completed the transmission of the image data, the “reception type” device ends the shared group control program when the transmission of the image data is completed. To do.

  In the present embodiment, the master device switches the master device by relaying the master communication packet to the next master device according to the above procedure. In this embodiment, for example, when the Bluetooth device is used as a communication means, the master device exchanges the roles of the previous master device and the Bluetooth master and transmits image data without fail. Become a master.

<Seventh Embodiment>
Next, another procedure of “(3) master device switching process” according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the present embodiment, “(1) determination of shared group” and “(2) image transmission processing from the master device” may be any procedure described in the other embodiments. Hereinafter, as an example, it is assumed that the sharing group is determined and the image is transmitted from the master device according to the procedure described in the first embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, each device that is a member of a shared group determines whether its own device is a master device, thereby switching the master device. Since each device determines the master device, the device that has created the shared device list transmits the shared device list to devices that are members of the sharing group.

  Hereinafter, the master device switching process will be described by dividing the processes of the shared device list transmission side device and the master device of the reception side device. FIG. 34 is a flowchart for explaining the processing procedure of the device on the shared device list transmission side in the master device switching method according to the seventh embodiment. FIG. 35 is a flowchart for explaining the processing procedure of the device on the shared device list receiving side in the master device switching method according to the seventh embodiment.

  First, processing on the shared device list transmission side will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  The shared device list is created in one device (digital camera A in the first embodiment) that is a member of the shared group by the procedure of “(1) Determination of shared group” described above. Here, when the “share start” button 1302 of the digital camera A is pressed, the shared device list stored in the flash memory is read, and the device ID other than the own device stored in the shared device list is used as the transmission destination. A shared device list transmission communication packet containing the read shared device list information in the part is transmitted (S3401). As a result, all the devices that are members of the shared group have the shared device list information.

  Here, the shared device list transmission communication packet is the communication packet having the command ID “5” as shown in the first embodiment, and the parameter ID includes the device ID of the image data transmission master list. Number, device ID in the order of master, and subsequently, the number of device IDs and device ID in the image data transmission destination list are stored.

  Next, the digital camera A determines whether or not the device that first transmits image data is its own device, and starts transmission of image data if it is its own device. Waiting for reception of communication packet.

  When the digital camera A transmits the shared device list transmission communication packet to the device that is a member of the shared group, the digital camera A reads the device ID from the top of the image data transmission master list (step S3402), and checks whether the device ID has been read. (Step S3403). Here, the case where the device ID cannot be read indicates a state where all the device IDs are read from the image data transmission master list, that is, a state where all the master devices have finished transmitting the image data.

  As a result, if the device ID cannot be read (No), the image sharing mode is canceled and the sharing group control program is terminated (step S3404). On the other hand, when the device ID can be read (Yes), it is confirmed whether or not the device ID is the own device ID (step S3405). If the device ID is determined (Yes), the device ID stored in the image data transmission destination list is read (step S3406), and the transmission target image data is sequentially transmitted using the device ID as the transmission destination. (Step S3407). Finally, a transmission end notification is sent to a device that is a member of the shared group (step S3408).

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S3405 that the device ID read from the image data transmission master list is not the own device ID (No), the process waits as a communication packet reception state from the device having the device ID (step S3405). In S3409), when a communication packet is received (Yes), processing corresponding to the command ID of the communication packet is executed (step S3411). If it is determined that the received communication packet is a transmission end notification having the command ID “7” (Yes in step S3410), the image data transmission master is determined to determine which device is the next master device. The procedure returns to the procedure for reading the next master device ID from the list (step S3402).

  When the image data transmission master list 1201 shown in FIG. 12 is used in the present embodiment, since the first master is the digital camera A, the digital camera A sends the image data and notifies the end of transmission as described above. . Thereafter, the process returns to the first procedure, and device ID_B, which is the next device ID, is read from the image data transmission master list (step S3402). Here, since the device ID_B is not its own device, it waits in a state of receiving a communication packet from the digital camera B with the device ID_B as the device ID (step S3409), and performs processing according to the received communication packet (step S3411). ). On the other hand, when the digital camera B receives a transmission end notification communication packet indicating that transmission of all the image data has been completed (Yes in step S3410), the next master device ID is read (step S3402).

  Further, since the device ID_C and the device ID_D are subsequently stored in the image data transmission master list, the image data transmission master list is prepared for transmission of image data from the digital camera C and the digital camera D. When a transmission end notification is received from the last digital camera D, the next device ID is read from the image data transmission master list. In this case, a null value indicating that there is no device ID is returned. Here, since there is no next master device, the digital camera A cancels the image data sharing mode and ends the sharing group control program.

  Next, processing on the shared device list receiving side will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  Here, when the device ID is read from the image data transmission master list (steps S3402 and S3503) and the device is determined to be the master (steps S3405 and S3506), the image data is transmitted (steps S3407 and S3508). When it is determined that the master is an external device (steps S3405 and S3506), the master device waits in a state of receiving a communication packet from the external device (steps S3409 and S3510), and all the master master devices have finished transmitting image data. When the determination is made (steps S3403 and S3504), the procedures of canceling the image sharing mode and ending the sharing program (steps S3404 and S3505) are the same as the processing on the shared device transmission side described above.

  The processing on the receiving side of the shared device list is different from that on the transmitting side, whereas the shared device list transmitting side reads the first device ID from the image data transmission master list at the timing after transmitting the shared device list to the external device ( Steps S3401 and S3402), the shared device list receiving side reads the first device ID from the image data transmission master list at the timing when the shared device list is stored in the memory based on the received shared device list transmission communication packet. (Steps S3501, S3502).

  Therefore, when the shared device list receiving side receives the shared device list transmission communication packet (step S3501), the shared device list is created from the parameter part information of the received transmission communication packet and stored in the flash memory (step S3502). Next, the number of image data transmission masters n1 and subsequent device IDs for n1 are read from the parameter portion, and the list stored in the flash memory in the order read from the top is the image data transmission master list in the shared device list. Similarly, the number n2 of image data transmission destinations and subsequent device IDs for n2 are read from the parameter portion, and the list stored in the flash memory is used as the image data transmission destination list in the shared device list.

  After the creation of the shared device list is completed, the device IDs as masters are sequentially read from the image data transmission master list in the same manner as the shared device list transmission side, and processing corresponding to the read device IDs is performed. That is, all the devices that are members of the shared group have a shared device list, and in each device, whether the master device is its own device or an external device, all the master devices transmit image data. By determining whether or not the master device has been completed, a master device switching process is performed.

  Hereinafter, a case where the image data transmission master list is 1201 illustrated in FIG. 12 will be described as an example. As described in “(1) Determination of shared group” in the first embodiment, the digital camera A that is a device that has created the shared device list transmits a shared device list transmission communication packet to all member devices of the shared group. To do. Then, the device (for example, digital camera B) that received the packet in step S3501 creates a shared device list and stores it in the flash memory (step S3502). Thereafter, the device ID_A that is the first device ID is read from the image data transmission master list (step S3503).

  Here, it is determined whether or not the device ID is read (step S3504). If the device ID is read (Yes), it is further determined whether or not the device ID is the own device ID (step S3505). Here, since device ID_A is not its own device ID (No), it waits as a communication packet reception state (step S3510). Here, when the transmission of all the image data is completed, the digital camera A transmits a transmission end notification communication packet to all the devices that are members of the shared group.

  Therefore, when the digital camera B receives the transmission end notification communication packet from the digital camera A (Yes in step S3511), the digital camera B returns to step S3503 and reads the device ID_B that is the next device ID from the image data transmission master list. Similarly, since the device ID is the device ID of the own device, image data is sequentially transmitted with the device ID in the image data transmission destination list as the transmission destination (step S3508), and finally a transmission end notification communication packet is sent. It transmits to the member device of the shared group (step S3509). Then, the next device ID_C is read from the image data transmission master device (S3503), and the communication packet reception state is awaited (step S3510).

  When the digital camera C ends the transmission of the image data, it transmits a transmission end notification communication packet. The digital camera B receives the transmission end notification communication packet (step S3511), and reads the device ID_D that is the next device ID from the image data transmission master list (step S3503). Next, similarly to the digital camera C, the digital camera D also transmits a transmission end notification communication packet. Therefore, the device ID is read from the image data transmission master list at the timing of receiving it (step S3511) (step S3503).

  However, in this case, since there is no device ID to be read in the image data transmission master list (No in step S3504), the digital camera B cancels the image sharing mode and ends the sharing group control program (step S3505).

  Through the above procedure, all the devices that are members of the shared device determine which device is the master device, and according to the determination, image data transmission, communication packet reception standby, and termination of the shared group control program are performed. Thus, the master device can be switched.

  In this embodiment, for example, in the case of Bluetooth communication mode when using Bluetooth as a communication means, the master device performs role exchange between the device that was the master and the Bluetooth master until immediately before, and master / slave conversion, and the image Be sure to become a Bluetooth master when sending data.

<Eighth Embodiment>
In the present embodiment, an example will be described in which after a “(1) determination of a sharing group” process, a new device becomes a member of a sharing group and shares image data. Therefore, the newly participating device notifies the device that is a member of the shared group that the participation is announced, and the device that has received the notification adds the device ID of the device that has been announced to participate in the shared device list. Add member devices after group determination.

  FIG. 36 is a device overview diagram showing a state in which devices participating in an existing shared group display device search results on the LCD in the eighth embodiment. Below. A device that newly becomes a member of the shared group is a digital camera E. The user selects an image sharing participation application with the cross key 3604 from a menu displayed when the “menu” button 3601 of the digital camera E is pressed, and executes a sharing control program when a determination is instructed.

  When a “device search” button 3605 displayed on the screen is pressed, a device detected by Bluetooth is detected by the same process as when the digital camera A searches for a nearby device in “(1) Determine shared group”. Displayed in the search result field 3607. However, in this case, unlike “(1) Determination of shared group”, the own device is not displayed in the search field. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that digital camera A, digital camera B, digital camera C, and digital camera D are detected.

  Next, the user selects a device that is a member of the shared group to join from the search result field 3607 with the cross key 3604 and presses a “participation notification” button 3606. Accordingly, the digital camera E establishes communication with the selected device, and transmits a participation announcement notification communication packet having the command ID “12” and the device ID_E which is the device ID of the own device to the selected device. . Thereafter, the image sharing mode is set, and the communication packet from the external device is waited for.

  FIG. 37 is a diagram for explaining a communication mode before and after a new device participates in an existing shared group in the eighth embodiment. That is, FIG. 37 shows a change in the Bluetooth communication form. FIG. 37A shows a state before the digital camera E is connected to an existing shared group composed of the digital camera A, digital camera B, digital camera C, and digital camera D. FIG. Indicates the state after connection. When the digital camera E establishes communication with the digital camera A and transmits the participation announcement notification communication packet to the shared group in which the digital camera A is the Bluetooth master, the digital camera B, the digital camera C, and the digital camera D is the Bluetooth slave. The digital camera E connects to the digital camera A as a Bluetooth slave and transmits a participation announcement notification communication packet.

  The digital camera A that has received the participation announcement notification communication packet transfers the participation announcement notification communication packet received from the digital camera E with the device ID of the member device of the shared group that has read the shared device list as the transmission destination. In other words, without changing the command ID and parameter information, only the transmission destination is changed and the participation announcement notification communication packet is transmitted.

  Among the digital cameras that have received the participation announcement notification communication packet, including the digital camera A, the devices that store the shared device list in the memory have the same device ID stored in the parameter portion of the participation announcement notification communication packet. Add shared device list based on rules. FIG. 38 is a diagram illustrating an example of a shared device list in which device IDs of digital cameras E newly joined to an existing shared group are added. For example, as in the shared device list shown in FIG. 38, the device ID_E is added to the end of the image data transmission master list 3801 and the image data transmission destination list 3802.

  Thereafter, the member devices of the shared group perform image data transmission, master device notification, and the like based on the changed shared device list. For example, a device that has transmitted image data to an external device reads out the image data transmission destination list to which the device ID of the digital camera E is added at the timing when the shared device list is changed, and transmits the read device ID. Continue sending image data first.

  In the present embodiment, the change in the Bluetooth communication mode when the digital camera A as the Bluetooth master is selected from the devices searched by the digital camera E is shown. Here, a change in the communication mode when the digital camera D which is a Bluetooth slave is selected is shown. FIG. 39 is a diagram for explaining a communication mode before and after a new device joins an existing shared group. That is, FIG. 39 shows an example when a participation announcement notification communication packet is transmitted to a Bluetooth slave.

  FIG. 39A shows a state before the digital camera E connects to an existing shared group composed of the digital camera A, digital camera B, digital camera C, and digital camera D. When a destination (for example, digital camera D) to transmit a participation announcement notification communication packet is selected from the searched devices, the digital camera E establishes communication with the digital camera D and transmits a participation announcement notification communication packet. The communication form in that case is shown in FIG.

  The digital camera D that has received the participation announcement notification communication packet transfers the participation announcement notification communication packet to the connected digital camera A among the member devices of the shared group. The digital camera A transmits a participation announcement notification communication packet to the digital cameras B and C which are Bluetooth slaves other than the digital camera D. As described above, similarly to the procedure, the device that has received the participation announcement notification communication packet adds the device ID of the device that has been announced to participate based on the same rule to the shared device list that the own device has. Based on the changed shared device list, the member devices of the shared group subsequently transmit image data, notify the master device, and the like.

  Here, if the digital camera A is transmitting image data, the digital camera E that is the new transmission destination of the image data based on the changed shared device list is shown in FIG. 39C. Communication is established as a Bluetooth slave, and transmission of image data is continued.

  By changing the shared device list of the devices in the shared group according to the above procedure, devices that become members who share image data can be joined after the shared group is determined.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, the device ID of the device that has sent the participation announcement is simply added to the end of the image data transmission master list and the image data transmission destination list, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, if a newly participating device has declared any of the "Receive Type", "Transmission Type", and "Send / Receive Type" in the parameter part of the participation announcement notification communication packet, depending on this type, The device ID may be added only to either the image data transmission master list or the image data transmission destination list.

  Next, a case where a device that is a member of a shared group leaves the shared group will be described. Here, FIG. 40 is an overview diagram of a device during image data sharing that displays a UI including an input button indicating withdrawal from the sharing group on the LCD. FIG. 41 is a diagram illustrating a Bluetooth communication mode before a device leaves in a shared device group including the digital camera A, the digital camera B, the digital camera C, and the digital camera D.

  In the shared group member device shown in FIG. 40, when the “leave” button is pressed by the cross key 4003 and the “decision” button 4002, a leave notification communication packet is transmitted to all devices that are members of the external shared group.

  In the Bluetooth communication mode shown in FIG. 41, when the digital camera A that is the Bluetooth master leaves the shared group, the command ID “13” and the parameter part are directly applied to the digital camera B, digital camera C, and digital camera D. A withdrawal notification communication packet having the device ID of the device to be withdrawn is transmitted. On the other hand, when the digital camera B, digital camera C, and digital camera D, which are Bluetooth slaves, leave the shared group, all of the members that are members of the shared group send a withdrawal notification communication packet through the digital camera A that has established communication. Send a withdrawal notification communication packet to the device.

  If the device to be withdrawn recognizes the Bluetooth address of a device that is a member of the shared group, the Bluetooth communication mode is changed without going through the digital camera A, and all the devices that are members of the shared group are set as Bluetooth slaves. It is possible to become a Bluetooth master and send a withdrawal notification communication packet directly.

  When the device that has received the withdrawal notification communication packet determines that the command ID is “13”, it reads the device ID stored in the parameter section, and reads the read device ID from the shared device list stored in the storage section. delete. Then, using the corrected shared device list, the subsequent image data sharing process is continued. In addition, it is possible to determine to which master device the transmission of the image data has been completed by the image data transmission end notification and the shared device list information, for example, even if the master device has withdrawn before the end of the image data transmission, It can be detected. Therefore, the next master device can start transmitting image data.

  In the present embodiment, an example has been described in which a device explicitly indicates withdrawal from a shared group, and the device to be removed transmits a withdrawal notification communication packet to a member of the shared group. For example, the device is suddenly turned off. Even if you leave a shared group without sending a leave notification communication packet to a device that is a member of the shared group, such as when you move to a distance that cannot be wirelessly communicated, or when you disconnect the wired connection The image data sharing process is continued.

  For this purpose, a device that has detected the presence of a device that has left the sharing group transmits a withdrawal notification communication packet in which the device ID of the device that has left is stored in a parameter portion to a device that is a member of the sharing group. The device that has received the withdrawal notification communication packet reads the device ID stored in the parameter part of the withdrawal notification communication packet, and stores the read device ID in the storage unit, as in the above-described embodiment. Remove from the list. Then, the subsequent image data sharing process is continued according to the corrected shared device list.

  Here, the condition for the shared group to determine that the device in the group has withdrawn is, for example, a state in which a response indicating a transmission failure is returned because the transmitted communication packet does not reach the transmission destination, or an image as a master device. When data is being transmitted, there is no response from the external device, such as a state where an image data transmission request communication packet from the image data transmission destination cannot be received within a predetermined time. However, it is not limited to this. Then, the device that has detected these states transmits a withdrawal notification communication packet in which the device ID information of the device determined to be withdrawn is stored in the parameter portion to all devices in the shared group.

<Other embodiments>
Although the embodiment has been described in detail above, the present invention can take an embodiment as a system, apparatus, method, program, storage medium (recording medium), or the like.

  In the present invention, a software program (in the embodiment, a program corresponding to the flowchart shown in the figure) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment is directly or remotely supplied to the system or apparatus, and the computer of the system or apparatus Is also achieved 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 of the present invention itself 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 instruction of the program is a part of the actual processing. Alternatively, the functions of the above-described embodiment can be realized by performing all of them and performing the processing.

  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.

  As described above, according to the present invention exemplified in the above embodiment, a plurality of devices that store image data form a group, and the devices that form the group display arbitrary image data that display the same image data. While having time, the device continuously transmits image data in its own device, and when one device finishes transmitting image data, other devices in the group continue to transmit image data. .

  As a result, it is possible to continuously share image data among a plurality of devices, and among the devices that want to share image data, the device that transmits image data expects the end of image data distribution of other devices. However, it is possible to share image data within a sharing group without transmitting image data. In addition, the image data to be transmitted can be displayed on the LCD of the device before transmission, and if the user does not want to transmit, the transmission can be canceled, so the image to be transmitted is selected in advance. Only the image data to be sent can be transmitted without need.

1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of individual devices constituting an image data sharing system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image data sharing system in which a plurality of devices communicate with each other according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a schematic view of an LCD side of a digital camera that is a device constituting an image data sharing system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 5 is a flowchart for explaining a processing flow of a device that determines a member of a group for sharing image data in the image data sharing system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is an overview diagram of an LCD side of a digital camera displaying a UI for starting a search for an external device on the LCD. It is a figure which shows the example of a communication packet transmitted between devices in the image data sharing system which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a timing chart for demonstrating the communication procedure in which the digital camera which comprises the image data sharing system which concerns on 1st Embodiment searches and determines the member of a sharing group. It is a figure which shows an example of the device information response communication packet which responds to a device information request. It is a figure which shows an example of the search result field which displayed the information of the detected slave device displayed on the display screen of a master device. It is a figure which shows an example of the search result field showing the state as which the device which shares image data was selected. FIG. 3 is an overview diagram of a slave digital camera displaying a dialog notifying that a sharing notification has been received from the digital camera A on an LCD. It is a figure which shows an example of the shared device list produced with the master device in 1st Embodiment. FIG. 3 is an overview diagram of a digital camera A in which a device that shares image data in a determined master device order is displayed on an LCD. It is a general-view figure of the slave digital camera which displayed the shared device list received from the master digital camera on LCD. It is a timing chart for demonstrating the communication procedure in which the digital camera which comprises the image sharing system which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention transmits image data to the digital camera which is a member of a share group. 6 is a flowchart for explaining a flow of processing in which a master device transmits image data to an external device. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the procedure of the detailed process of the digital camera A which performs a master device switching process. It is a figure which shows an example of a master notification communication packet. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the detailed process sequence in the device which received the master notification communication packet. It is a figure which shows a mode that a Bluetooth communication form when a Bluetooth master is changed from the digital camera A to the digital camera B changes. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the flow of a process of the device which determines the member of the group which shares the image data based on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the search result field which shows the state which selected the device which shares image data, and designated the master device order. FIG. 10 is an overview diagram of a digital camera displaying a sharing notification dialog 1601 for notifying that a sharing notification has been received from the digital camera A in the third embodiment. It is a figure which shows the information which the device which received the shared response communication packet memorize | stores in RAM. 10 is a flowchart for explaining a procedure for creating a shared device list when a type of sharing image data is selectable. It is a figure which shows the example of a shared device list produced based on the information of the shared response communication packet shown in FIG. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the procedure which determines whether sharing of image data is materialized between devices based on the produced shared device list. 15 is a timing chart for explaining an image data transmission / reception processing procedure when a master device in the fourth embodiment stops transmission of image data. 15 is a flowchart for explaining a flow of an image data transmission procedure when a master device according to the fourth embodiment has an image data transmission stop unit. 16 is a timing chart for explaining a communication procedure in which a master device transmits image data to an external device in accordance with an image data request from an image data transmission destination in a fifth embodiment. 14 is a flowchart for explaining a flow in which a master device transmits image data in accordance with an image data transmission request from an image data transmission destination device in the fifth embodiment. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the flow of a process on the image data receiving side when performing the image data transmission interval of a master device according to the image data request | requirement from an image data receiving side device. FIG. 20 is a flowchart illustrating a processing flow of a master device when switching a master device by transmitting a communication packet while a device that has received a master notification communication packet increases to the next master device in the sixth embodiment. . 19 is a flowchart for explaining a processing procedure of a device on the shared device list transmission side in the master device switching method according to the seventh embodiment. 19 is a flowchart for explaining a processing procedure of a device on the shared device list receiving side in the master device switching method according to the seventh embodiment. It is a device general-view figure which shows a mode that the device which participates in the existing shared group is displaying the device search result on LCD in 8th Embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the communication form before and behind a new device participating in the existing shared group in 8th Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the shared device list which added device ID of the digital camera E newly joined to the existing shared group. It is a figure for demonstrating the communication form before and behind a new device joining an existing sharing group. (When participating communication notification packet is sent to Bluetooth slave) It is a general-view figure of the device in image data sharing which displays UI containing the input button which shows withdrawal from a sharing group on LCD. It is a figure which shows the Bluetooth communication form before a device withdraws in the shared device group comprised with the digital camera A, the digital camera B, the digital camera C, and the digital camera D. It is a figure which shows the relationship between command ID and parameter of a communication packet in 1st Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

101, 301 Digital camera 102 Control unit 103 Storage unit 104 Communication unit 105 Display unit 106 Input unit 107 Imaging unit 302 Shutter 303 Menu button 304 “OK” button 305 “Cancel” button 306 Four-way key 307 Display screen (LCD)
501 Search result field 502 Device search button 503 Device selection button 1301 Search result field 1302 Share start button

Claims (26)

An image processing system for sharing image data among a plurality of devices,
Determining means for determining a master device for transmitting image data and a slave device for receiving the image data for the plurality of devices;
Transmitting means for transmitting image data held by the master device to the slave device to the slave device;
On the condition that transmission of the image data to the slave device by the master device is completed, the slave device is switched to a new master device, and switching means for switching the master device to a new slave device,
An image processing system, wherein the new master device transmits image data held by the own device to the new slave device. A notification means for performing a transmission end notification to the slave device after the master device ends the transmission of the image data;
The switching unit switches the slave device that has received the transmission end notification to the new master device, and switches the master device that has transmitted the transmission end notification to the new slave device. The image processing system described in 1. An image processing system for sharing image data among a plurality of devices,
Each device is
Holding means for holding image data;
Transmission means for transmitting the image data to another device,
The plurality of devices sequentially become master devices that transmit the image data held by the device, and are held by the transmission unit with respect to the slave device that receives the image data at a predetermined timing. An image processing system for transmitting the image data. Group determining means for determining a device constituting a group sharing the image data from the plurality of devices;
Master order determining means for determining the order of becoming a master device for a plurality of devices constituting the group,
4. The device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of devices are switched to a master device according to the order, and the master device transmits image data held by the device to the slave device. The image processing system described in 1.   The image processing system according to claim 4, wherein the master order determination unit arbitrarily determines an order in which each device constituting the group becomes a master device.   5. The image processing system according to claim 4, wherein the master order determination unit sets the order input by a user via a user interface included in the device as an order to become the master device. At least one device of the plurality of devices comprises the master order determination means;
Order notification means for notifying the device that is to be the next master device recognized based on the order determined by the master order determination means to the effect that the next order to become the master device has come. The image processing system according to claim 4, further comprising: The master device comprises the master order determination means;
Order notification for notifying that the master device is to be the next master device recognized based on the order determined by the master order determination means that the master device has reached the next master device order. The image processing system according to claim 4, further comprising means. All the devices constituting the plurality of devices hold information on the order determined by the master order determination means,
When the slave device receives a transmission end notification indicating that transmission of image data from the master device has ended, the slave device determines whether or not to become the next master device based on the information on the order, If it is determined that the device is to become the master device next, it switches to the master device and transmits the image data held by the device to the slave device. If it is determined that the device does not become the master device next, the master device remains as the slave device. 5. The image processing system according to claim 4, wherein the image processing system waits for reception of image data from the device.   5. The device according to claim 4, wherein a device that does not have a function of receiving the image data from the master device but has a function of transmitting the image data to the slave device is included in the group. Image processing system.   11. The device according to claim 4, wherein a device that does not have a function of transmitting the image data to the slave device but has a function of receiving the image data from the master device is included in the group. Image processing system.   11. The image processing system according to claim 4, wherein the master order determination unit determines an order in which a master device is to be set next from a device capable of transmitting image data.   13. The transmission device according to claim 1, wherein the transmission unit sequentially transmits the image data held by the master device from the master device to the slave device at a predetermined time interval. The image processing system described.   The transmission means transmits the image data held by the master device based on image request information transmitted to the master device after the slave device receives image data. 13. The image processing system according to any one of items 1 to 12.   The said transmission means transmits the said image request information to the said master device after the said slave device which received the image data from the said master device passes the predetermined time after receiving this image data. Image processing system.   15. The image processing system according to claim 14, wherein the slave device transmits the image request information based on a user input to the master device via the transmission unit.   The image processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein the device further includes display means for displaying image data. Input means for receiving input from the user;
Transmission stop means for stopping transmission of the image data held by the device,
When a user input for urging to stop transmission of the image data is made from the input unit within a predetermined time before the image data displayed on the display unit is transmitted to another device, the transmission cancellation unit 18. The image processing system according to claim 17, wherein transmission of the image data displayed on the display unit is stopped, and the transmission unit prepares for transmission of image data to be transmitted next. Detecting means for detecting a new membership to the group or withdrawal from the group;
Detection notification means for notifying information detected by the detection means to the devices constituting the group;
The image processing system according to claim 1, further comprising: a correcting unit that corrects the order determined by the master order determining unit based on the information. An image processing method for sharing image data between a plurality of devices,
Determining a master device for transmitting image data and a slave device for receiving the image data for the plurality of devices;
A transmission step of transmitting image data held by the master device to the slave device to the slave device;
On the condition that the transmission of the image data to the slave device by the master device has been completed, the slave device is switched to a new master device, and has a switching step of switching the master device to a new slave device,
An image processing method, wherein the new master device transmits image data held by the own device to the new slave device. A notification step of performing a transmission end notification to the slave device after the master device ends the transmission of the image data;
The switching step includes switching the slave device that has received the transmission end notification to the new master device, and switching the master device that has transmitted the transmission end notification to the new slave device. An image processing method described in 1. An image processing method for sharing image data among a plurality of devices, each device including a holding unit that holds image data and a transmission unit that transmits the image data to another device,
The plurality of devices sequentially become master devices that transmit the image data held by the device, and are held by the transmission unit with respect to the slave device that receives the image data at a predetermined timing. An image processing method comprising transmitting the image data. A group determining step of determining a device constituting a group sharing the image data from the plurality of devices;
A master order determination step for determining an order of becoming a master device for a plurality of devices constituting the group,
23. The device according to claim 20, wherein the plurality of devices are switched to a master device according to the order, and the master device transmits image data held by the device to the slave device. An image processing method described in 1.   The program for functioning a computer as each means of the image processing system of any one of Claim 1-19.   24. A program for causing a computer to function as processing steps of the image processing method according to claim 20.   A computer-readable storage medium storing the program according to claim 24 or 25.

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