JP2006295507A - Image supply device and image processing unit - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To effectively utilize the display of an image supply device during printing by direct print. <P>SOLUTION: A printer 12 analyzes image data to be printed, and transmits an analysis result, a message corresponding to the analysis result, or the like to a digital camera 10. In the digital camera 10, the display 110 displays the received analysis result, the message corresponding to the analysis result, or the like until printing is completed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image supply device and an image processing device, and more particularly to an image supply device and an image processing device that connect both to print an image.

  Currently, as an example of a form in which an image supply device that outputs image data and an image processing device that processes the image data are connected and used, an imaging device such as a digital camera or a digital video camera and a printer can be wired or A so-called direct print is known in which a photographed image is printed directly by wireless connection.

  In general, image data processing, for example, printing operation by a printer, takes a relatively long time, and it is not an effective utilization method to leave the image supply device in a processing end waiting state during processing. For this reason, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-260260, the image supply device is effectively used to some extent by displaying the remaining time required for printing on the display device of the digital camera and the image incident from the lens of the digital camera at that time during direct printing. A method is disclosed.

Further, in recent years, due to the advancement of image processing technology, an image for determining whether an image has been shot under appropriate shooting conditions from information on the characteristics of the image and information regarding shooting conditions (for example, exposure conditions) recorded at the time of shooting. An analysis technique is also known (Patent Document 2).
JP 2002-94910 A JP 2000-215306 A

  However, although it can be said that the utilization method of the digital camera by displaying the remaining printing time or displaying the electronic viewfinder is useful to some extent for the user, there is still room for improvement.

  The method disclosed in Patent Document 2 helps to correct an image shot under inappropriate shooting conditions using software on a personal computer, for example. It does not consider giving advice to the user about what should have been taken.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and image supply that can further effectively use a display device of an image supply device (for example, a digital camera) during image processing (for example, during printing by direct printing). An object is to provide an apparatus and an image processing apparatus.

  In order to solve the above problems, an image supply apparatus according to the present invention is an image supply apparatus that can supply image data to be held to an image processing apparatus, and obtains display data created based on an analysis result of the image data. And display means for displaying display data during processing of the image data by the image processing apparatus.

  An image processing apparatus according to the present invention is an image processing apparatus that receives and processes image data from an image supply apparatus, and transmits an analysis unit that analyzes the image data and an analysis result by the analysis unit to the image supply apparatus. And a transmission means.

  The image supply method control method of the present invention is a control method for an image supply device capable of supplying image data to be held to an image processing device, wherein display data created based on the analysis result of the image data is stored. An acquisition step of acquiring, and a display step of displaying the display data on a display means during the processing of the image data by the image processing apparatus.

  The image processing apparatus control method of the present invention is an image processing apparatus control method for receiving and processing image data from an image supply apparatus, the analysis step for analyzing the image data, and the analysis by the analysis step A transmission step of transmitting the result to the image supply device.

  Other features of the present invention will become more apparent from the accompanying drawings and the following description of the best mode for carrying out the invention.

  With the above configuration, according to the image processing apparatus and the image supply apparatus of the present invention, the display device of the image supply apparatus can be used more effectively during image processing.

  Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<First Embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a digital camera 10 as an example of an image supply apparatus and a printer 12 as an example of an image processing apparatus in the first embodiment.

  The digital camera 10 receives light incident from the lens 102 by the CCD 104 and obtains an analog electric signal. The A / D converter 106 converts this signal into a digital signal, and the image processing engine 108 compresses the obtained signal, for example, by JPEG.

  The display device 110 includes an LCD or the like. At the time of shooting / playback / printing, the bitmap generation unit 114 generates an image indicating shooting conditions and a print menu, and the screen synthesis unit 112 generates a synthesized image by synthesizing it with the image received from the image processing engine 108. 110 displays the composite image. The user can perform shooting, playback, and printing processes by viewing the screen of the composite image and inputting an instruction from the operation unit 116. The captured image is recorded on the memory card 118. In addition, an image to which information related to shooting conditions and the like is added by the CPU 120 can be recorded in the memory card 118.

  The CPU 120 controls the entire processing of the digital camera 10. The ROM 122 stores a program executed by the CPU 120 and setting information of the digital camera 10. In addition, various messages displayed on the display device 110 may be included. The RAM 124 is used as a work area for the CPU 120 and an area for temporarily buffering captured images.

  The interface 126 and the interface 130 connect the digital camera 10 and the printer 12, and may be a wired interface such as a USB, or a wireless interface such as a wireless LAN. During direct printing, the image data is transferred from the digital camera 10 to the printer 12 via the interface 126 and the interface 130. Note that image data to be printed may be read from the memory card 118 of the digital camera 10, or may be read from the RAM 124 when buffered.

  The CPU 132 controls the entire processing of the printer 12. The ROM 134 records programs executed by the CPU 132, messages displayed on the display device 110 during printing, and the like. The RAM 136 temporarily buffers the image received from the digital camera 10, and the printing unit 138 prints the image.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a processing flow of the digital camera 10 and the printer 12 at the time of direct printing in the first embodiment.

  When the user instructs printing by operating the operation unit 116 of the digital camera 10 in a state where the digital camera 10 and the printer 12 are connected, the digital camera 10 communicates with the printer 12 via the interface 126 and the interface 130 in step S202. Send print start notification. Hereinafter, transmission / reception of information between the digital camera 10 and the printer 12 is performed through the interface 126 and the interface 130 unless otherwise specified.

  Next, in step S <b> 204, the digital camera 10 transmits image data to be printed (for example, a JPEG file) to the printer 12.

  When the printer 12 receives the image data, it stores it in the RAM 136. In step S206, the CPU 132 analyzes the image data. In the analysis, for example, information on shooting conditions added to the image data (for example, setting of shutter speed and aperture value added as Exif shooting information) is used to determine whether the image has been properly shot. .

  In step S208, the CPU 132 determines whether the image data obtained as a result of the analysis has been properly captured. If the result of the determination is appropriate, information such as the function introduction of the printer 12 is acquired from the ROM 134 in step S210, and if it is not appropriate, advice on the photographing method (for example, an analysis result indicating insufficient exposure is obtained in step S212). Is better to use the flash, etc.) from the ROM 134.

  Here, the information such as the function introduction of the printer 12 is acquired in step S210 for the following reason. The main object of the present invention is to effectively use the display device 110 of the digital camera 10 during printing by direct printing. For that purpose, it is conceivable as one preferable method to display advice on the photographing method. However, when an image is taken under ideal conditions and there is no room for improvement (or little), it is considered that it does not make much sense to display advice on the shooting method. Therefore, information (so-called tips or the like) that can further use the printer 12 is displayed instead of advice on the photographing method.

  In step S214, the printer 12 transmits the acquired data to the digital camera 10, and the digital camera 10 receives the data. Further, the digital camera 10 creates display data to be displayed by the display device 110 based on the received information (function introduction or advice). The display data may include a thumbnail image created based on the print target image transmitted in step S204.

  If the image is properly captured, the printer 12 does not acquire information such as the function introduction of the printer 12 in step S210, and transmits information indicating that “the image has been captured properly” in step S214. May be. In this case, the digital camera 10 can acquire information such as the function introduction of the digital camera 10 from the ROM 122 in step S214, and can create display data based on the function introduction of the digital camera 10.

  If the image is not properly captured, the printer 12 may not obtain advice regarding the capturing method in step S212, and may transmit information indicating the analysis result of the image in step S214. In this case, the digital camera 10 can obtain advice regarding the photographing method from the ROM 122 in step S214, and can create display data based on the advice.

  In step S216, the printer 12 starts actual printing, and the digital camera 10 displays the created display data on the display device 110. Here, “actual printing” refers to a series of printing processes in direct printing excluding preprocessing such as analysis of an image to be printed.

  In step S218, the printer 12 determines whether printing is finished. If printing is finished, the printer 12 sends a notice of printing completion to the digital camera 10 in step S220. In step S222, the digital camera 10 that has received the print end notification ends displaying the data received in step S216 on the display device 110.

  Accordingly, since some information is displayed on the display device 110 during printing by direct printing, the display device 110 can be used effectively, and the waiting time of the user during printing can be used effectively.

  In this embodiment, the digital camera 10 creates display data. However, the display data is created based on the information (function introduction or advice) acquired by the printer 12 in step S214, and the created display data is displayed. You may transmit to the digital camera 10. Display data to be created and transmitted can be input to a VRAM (video RAM) (not shown) of the digital camera 10 as it is and can be displayed on the display device 110, or can be in a format such as a character code indicating a message to be displayed. Good. If the format can be directly input to the VRAM, there is an advantage that the processing of the digital camera 10 can be simplified. If the format is a character code or the like, there is an advantage that the amount of data to be transmitted can be reduced. In the case of a format such as a character code, in step S214, the bitmap generation unit 114 of the digital camera 10 converts the display data into a format that can be input to the VRAM.

  Further, the information to be displayed is not limited to the advice on the photographing method and the function introduction, and any information may be used as long as the information is related to the analysis result of the print target image. In addition, a configuration in which the analysis result itself (for example, information such as the brightness of the image and the value of the shutter speed) is displayed on the display device 110 instead of a message based on the result of analyzing the image is also possible.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing in detail the flow of processing for selecting advice regarding functioning and introduction of functions. Specifically, details of steps S206 to S212 in FIG. 2 are shown. Unless otherwise specified, the processing in FIG. 3 will be described as being achieved by the CPU 132 in FIG. 1 executing a program stored in the ROM 134.

  In step S301, the CPU 132 analyzes the image to be printed on the Exif shooting information added to the image in step S302. Exif shooting information is information indicating settings at the time of image shooting (flash presence / absence, auto white balance, etc.), and is included in “shooting conditions included in image” in the present embodiment.

  In steps S303 to S314, it is determined whether there is any deficiency in the image capturing conditions (for example, whether the entire image is too dark in step S304), and advice corresponding to each deficiency is acquired from the ROM 134 in steps S315 to S321. To do. If there is no defect, the function introduction of the printer 12 is acquired from the ROM 134 in step S322. A plurality of function introductions may be prepared, and the CPU 120 may randomly select one of them.

  The determinations in steps S303 to S314 can be performed using any known technique. For example, in step S303, the luminance of all the pixels of the image is checked, and if the average luminance is higher than a predetermined threshold, it can be determined that the entire image is too bright. Further, for example, the determination of the ISO sensitivity setting in step S313 can be directly acquired from the Exif shooting information and determined as being higher than a predetermined value.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display example of the display device 110 in step S216 of FIG. In Example 1, since the entire image is dark, advice for prompting exposure correction is displayed. In Example 2, the peripheral portion of the image is appropriately exposed, but the main subject at the center is darkly sunk. In addition, it can be seen from the Exif shooting information that the flash is not used during shooting. In such a case, it is determined that the shooting is performed under backlit conditions, and advice that recommends using the flash is displayed. In Example 3, the sharpness of the entire image is low, and the shutter speed is slow from the Exif shooting information. In this case, it is determined that the image is a camera shake, and advice is given to pay attention to the camera shake. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, it is also possible to display image data being printed which is a target of advice.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the image to be printed is not photographed under appropriate conditions on the display device 110 of the digital camera 10 during direct printing, advice regarding the photographing method is appropriate. When shooting is performed under various conditions, an introduction of functions of the printer 12 is displayed.

  Accordingly, since some information is displayed on the display device 110 during printing by direct printing, the display device 110 can be used effectively, and the waiting time of the user during printing can be used effectively.

<Second Embodiment>
In the first embodiment, the printer 12 analyzes the image to be printed. In the second embodiment, the digital camera 10 analyzes the image to be printed. In the present embodiment, the configurations of the digital camera 10 and the printer 12 may be the same as those in the first embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing flow of the digital camera 10 and the printer 12 at the time of direct printing in the second embodiment. As in the first embodiment, transmission / reception of information between the digital camera 10 and the printer 12 is performed via the interface 126 and the interface 130 unless otherwise specified.

  In steps S <b> 502 and S <b> 504, the digital camera 10 transmits image data to the printer 12 in response to a print instruction from the user, similarly to steps S <b> 202 and S <b> 204 in FIG. 2. Steps S506 to S512 are the same as steps S206 to S212 in FIG. 2 except that the processing subject is the CPU 120 of the digital camera 10 and the function introduction relates to the digital camera 10. Data to be displayed in 110 is acquired.

  When the digital camera 10 acquires data from the ROM 122 in step S510 or step S512, the digital camera 10 creates display data in step S514 and displays the created display data on the display device 110. In addition, a configuration in which the analysis result itself (for example, information such as the brightness of the image and the shutter speed value) is displayed on the display device 110 instead of a message based on the result of analyzing the image is also possible.

  On the other hand, the printer 12 analyzes the image data in step S516. Unlike step S506, the analysis here is image analysis for printing (for example, analysis of whether it is necessary to correct and print an image). Next, in step S518, actual printing is started, and in step S520, it is determined whether printing has been completed. When printing is completed, a printing completion notification is transmitted to the digital camera 10 in step S522.

  When the digital camera 10 receives the print end notification in step S522, the digital camera 10 ends displaying the data displayed in step S514 on the display device 110 in step S524.

  Note that the details of the processing flow for selecting advice regarding functioning and introduction of functions (corresponding to steps S506 to S512) are the same as those in FIG. 3 in the first embodiment. Moreover, the example of the screen displayed on the display apparatus 110 is the same as that of FIG. 4 in 1st Embodiment.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, as in the first embodiment, an image to be printed is not captured on the display device 110 of the digital camera 10 under appropriate conditions during direct printing. In this case, advice regarding the shooting method is displayed, and when the shooting is performed under appropriate conditions, functions of the digital camera 10 are displayed. However, in this embodiment, the digital camera 10 analyzes the image to be printed.

  As a result, even if the printer 12 is a conventional one (not according to the present invention), the display device 110 can be used effectively by using the digital camera 10 according to the present invention, and further, the user who is printing It is possible to effectively use the waiting time.

<Other embodiments>
The processing of each embodiment described above provides a system or apparatus with a storage medium storing software program codes embodying each function, and the system or apparatus computer (or CPU or MPU) stores the storage medium. It can also be realized by reading out and executing the program code stored in. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention. As a storage medium for supplying such program code, for example, floppy (registered trademark) disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, CD-R, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM Etc. can be used.

  Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an OS (Operating System) running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. Includes a case where the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by performing part or all of the actual processing.

  Furthermore, after the program code read from the storage medium is written to the memory provided in the function expansion board inserted into the computer or the function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function is based on the instruction of the program code. This includes the case where the CPU or the like provided in the expansion board or function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a digital camera as an image supply device and a printer as an image processing device of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of printing processing by direct printing in the first embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of processing for selecting advice or function introduction regarding a method of capturing an image to be printed in the present invention. In the present invention, it is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display device of the digital camera during printing by direct printing. 10 is a flowchart showing a flow of printing processing by direct printing in the second embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

10: Digital camera 12: Printer

Claims (24)

An image supply device capable of supplying image data to be held to an image processing device,
An acquisition means for acquiring display data based on the analysis result of the image data;
Display means for displaying the display data during processing of the image data by the image processing device;
An image supply device comprising: further,
Analyzing means for analyzing the image data;
Creating means for creating the display data based on the analysis result by the analyzing means;
The image supply apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: The image processing apparatus comprises an analyzing means for analyzing the image data,
The image supply device
Analysis result acquisition means for acquiring the analysis result from the analysis means;
Creating means for creating the display data from the analysis result;
The image supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the acquisition unit acquires the display data from the creation unit. The image processing apparatus includes an analysis unit that analyzes the image data and creates the display data based on an analysis result,
The image supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the acquisition unit acquires the display data from the analysis unit.   5. The image supply device according to claim 2, wherein the analysis unit performs the analysis based on data relating to a photographing condition included in the image data. 6.   6. The display data according to claim 5, wherein the display data includes a first message indicating advice on the photographing condition, or a second message indicating a function description of the image supply device or the image processing device. The image supply device described.   The display data includes the first message when the analysis result indicates that the shooting condition is not appropriate, and the second message when the analysis result indicates that the shooting condition is appropriate. The image supply device according to claim 6, further comprising: And further comprising storage means for recording the first message and the second message,
The image supply device according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the acquisition unit acquires the display data created by acquiring the first message or the second message from the storage unit. .   9. The image supply device according to claim 1, wherein the display data includes the image data or an image obtained by scaling the image data.   The image supply device according to claim 1, wherein the image supply device is an imaging device. An image processing apparatus that receives and processes image data from an image supply apparatus,
Analyzing means for analyzing the image data;
Transmitting means for transmitting an analysis result by the analyzing means to the image supply device;
An image processing apparatus comprising:   The image processing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the analysis unit performs the analysis based on data relating to a photographing condition included in the image data. Furthermore, based on the analysis result, comprising a creation means for creating display data to be displayed by the image supply device,
The image processing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the transmission unit transmits the display data instead of the analysis result.   14. The display data according to claim 13, wherein the display data includes a first message indicating advice relating to the photographing condition, or a second message indicating a function description of the image processing apparatus or the image supply apparatus. The image processing apparatus described.   The display data includes the first message when the analysis result indicates that the shooting condition is not appropriate, and the second message when the analysis result indicates that the shooting condition is appropriate. The image processing apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising: And further comprising storage means for recording the first message and the second message,
The image processing apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the creation unit creates the display data by acquiring the first message or the second message from the storage unit.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the display data includes the image data or an image obtained by scaling the image data.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the image processing apparatus is a printing apparatus. An image supply apparatus control method capable of supplying image data to be held to an image processing apparatus,
An acquisition step of acquiring display data based on the analysis result of the image data;
A display step of displaying the display data on a display means during the processing of the image data by the image processing device;
A method for controlling an image supply device. An image processing apparatus control method for receiving and processing image data from an image supply apparatus,
An analysis step of analyzing the image data;
A transmission step of transmitting the analysis result of the analysis step to the image supply device;
A method for controlling an image processing apparatus. A computer program for executing a control method of an image supply device capable of supplying image data to be held to an image processing device,
Program code for executing an acquisition step of acquiring display data created based on the analysis result of the image data;
Program code for executing a display step of displaying the display data on a display means during the processing of the image data by the image processing device;
A computer program comprising: A computer program for executing a control method of an image processing apparatus that receives and processes image data from an image supply apparatus,
Program code for executing an analysis process for analyzing the image data;
Program code for executing a transmission step of transmitting the analysis result of the analysis step to the image supply device;
A computer program comprising:   A computer-readable recording medium storing the computer program according to claim 21 or 22.   An image processing system comprising the image supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 10 and the image processing device according to any one of claims 11 to 18.

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