JP2007329577A - Imaging apparatus, control method thereof, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an imaging apparatus, a control method thereof, and a program capable of suppressing the power consumption required for communication. <P>SOLUTION: The imaging apparatus establishes a time for carrying out only photographing for a setting time and stops communication until the setting time elapses so as to suppress power required for response to a beacon. After the lapse of the setting time, the imaging apparatus automatically recovers the communication and transfers an image. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for suppressing power consumption that an imaging apparatus capable of communicating can place in communication with another external apparatus.

  In recent years, with the widespread use of wireless LANs stipulated by IEEE 802.11, it is possible to construct a wireless network environment having high speed. Among them, there are cases where a peripheral device of a personal computer such as a digital camera is used as a device for transmitting information and a personal computer is used as a terminal for receiving information. In this case, when the peripheral device is driven by a battery or the like, the power of the battery must be used for communication or communication standby.

Therefore, as a conventional technology of the power management function, a technology is disclosed in which the parent device notifies the child device of the beacon transmission time in advance, and the child device reduces the power consumption level until the beacon transmission time (for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2004-328502 A

  However, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to transmit and receive data to and from the beacon according to the beacon interval determined by the master unit. Therefore, when the beacon interval is short, transmission / reception processing is frequently performed, and as a result, power is consumed. In particular, if a response to a beacon is made until only a long time of shooting with a digital camera or the like, extra power is consumed.

  As a form of communication, there are cases where an access point in a wireless LAN network is used to connect to the network. In this case, if the beacon interval depends on the beacon interval set by the access point, the transmission / reception operation for the beacon frequently occurs depending on the beacon interval, so that the power consumption increases.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is obtained by the photographing means by communication means communicating with an external device via the network, photographing means for performing photographing of a subject, and communication by the communication means. A transmission unit that transmits image data; a storage unit that stores a set time set based on a shooting parameter relating to shooting; and when the shooting by the shooting unit is performed during communication by the communication unit, before the set time elapses Has a control means for stopping the communication and automatically restarting the communication after the set time has elapsed.

  In the present invention, in an imaging apparatus having both shooting and communication functions, communication is stopped during a time period in which only shooting is performed, and communication is resumed in a time period when communication is necessary. This makes it possible to suppress power consumption required for communication.

<Example 1>
FIG. 2 is a block diagram including an image communication system according to the present invention. A digital camera 201 corresponding to a wireless LAN is wirelessly connected to a wireless access point device 203 (hereinafter “AP”) in an infrastructure mode. An AP 203 and a personal computer 202 (hereinafter “PC”) are connected to a network.

  Here, the “network” is a communication network that performs data communication. Specifically, it is a communication network such as the Internet, LAN, WAN, CATV, ICN (Inter-Community Network), etc. using an electric or optical communication line. As a connection form of the node to the network, there is a constant connection using a dedicated line or the like. Alternatively, temporary connection such as dial-up connection using a telephone line such as an analog line or a digital line (ISDN) may be used. Further, the transmission method when the PC 202 connects to the network 204 may be either a wireless method or a wired method.

  Each device in FIG. 2 transmits and receives various data including image data via the network 204. In this embodiment, the digital camera 201 transfers (transmits) image data via the network 204. The PC 202 receives image data transferred via the network 204. That is, the digital camera 201 functions as an image transmission device, and the PC 202 functions as an image reception device. In such image data transmission / reception, a pair of image transmission device and image reception device constitutes an image communication system. The image data may be still image data or moving image data.

  Here, the digital camera 201 that functions as an image transmission apparatus will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating functional blocks of the digital camera 201.

  When the shutter switch 101 is pressed, the digital camera 201 starts a shooting operation, and the image data at the time of pressing is acquired by the imaging system 108. The acquired image data is compressed by the compression / decompression unit 103. The compressed image data is temporarily stored in the main memory 107 and then stored in the memory cards 104 and 105. The captured image data or various GUIs are displayed on the display unit 109.

  Further, the digital camera 201 can be connected to a LAN through a network connection interface unit (hereinafter referred to as “network I / F” 106. Therefore, the digital camera 201 can be connected to a memory card via the network connection interface unit 106. 104, 105 or the image data in the main memory 107 can be transmitted to an external device on the LAN, and the digital camera 201 can be connected to the Internet via the LAN. The image data can be transmitted not only to the devices in the LAN but also to various devices connected to the Internet, and these processes are performed according to external inputs and pre-stored programs. The system control unit 102 controls each unit. It is realized.

  Although not shown here, the PC 202 performs processing according to various signals and programs, a display unit for displaying GUI and image data, a recording unit for storing programs and image data, a memory for temporarily storing data, and a network I / F etc.

  Hereinafter, the process in a present Example is demonstrated. In this embodiment, it is assumed that a wireless LAN module is used for the network connection interface unit 106. In addition, communication will be described in the case where the digital camera 201 captures a long time and transmits the captured image data to the PC 202.

  Note that long-time shooting refers to performing shooting processing by the imaging system 108 continuously for a long time. Generally, this is realized by taking a picture with a slow shutter speed.

  In addition, the digital camera 201 can previously set a time (hereinafter, “set time”) in which the digital camera does not need to function as an image transmission device in the digital camera 201. The set time in the present embodiment is a time during which an image to be transmitted cannot be created in the digital camera 201, and corresponds to, for example, a time required for long-time shooting. In this embodiment, the set time is set based on the shutter speed set in advance in the digital camera 201. This is because the shutter speed corresponds to the time for continuously performing the imaging process, that is, the time for shooting in the long seconds. In addition, when long-time shooting is performed, the image processing time associated with shooting also increases, so the digital camera 201 may set the set time in consideration of the image processing time.

  The set time may be set according to the user operating the digital camera 201. In this case, the user can select an arbitrary set time.

  FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of processing in this embodiment, and FIG. 4 shows an operation flow.

  First, in step S301, the digital camera 201 starts connection processing to a network, in this embodiment, a wireless LAN.

  In step S302, the digital camera 201 is connected to the wireless LAN and determines whether communication with an external device is possible. If it is determined that it is possible, the process proceeds to step S303. If it is determined that it is not possible, the process proceeds to step S306, an error is notified that connection is not possible, and long-time shooting is performed and image transfer is not performed.

  In step S303, the digital camera 201 sets a set time. Specifically, the set time value is recorded in the memory 107.

  In step S304, the digital camera 201 determines whether the shutter switch 101 has been pressed. If it is determined that the button has been pressed, the process proceeds to step S305. If it is determined that the button is not pressed, it waits until it is pressed.

  In step S305, the digital camera 201 starts shooting for a long time.

  In step S322, the digital camera 201 starts counting a set time using an internal timer (not shown).

  In step S307, the digital camera 201 reads the set time from the memory 107, notifies the communication partner PC 202 (401), and waits for a response from the PC 202.

  In step S308, the PC 202 receives this notification.

  In step S309, the PC 202 returns a confirmation packet indicating that the notification has been received to the digital camera 201 (402).

  In step S <b> 311, the digital camera 201 determines whether a confirmation packet from the PC 202 has been received. If it is determined that it has been received, the process proceeds to step S312. If it is determined that it has not been received, the process proceeds to step S310.

  In step S <b> 310, after notifying that the connection has not been established, the digital camera 201 performs long-time shooting and does not transfer the image.

  In step S312, the digital camera 201 temporarily stores parameters necessary for wireless LAN connection in the memory 107 (403). Then, the wireless network is disconnected (404), and the network I / F 106 is turned off (405).

  In step S313, the AP 203 performs a cutting process along with the cutting process in step S312.

  Here, the parameters necessary for the wireless LAN connection are the IP address, port number, subnet mask, gateway address, and the like of the PC 202. Also included are the IP address, port number, etc. set in the digital camera 201. Furthermore, SSID, encryption key, etc., which are information related to the AP 203 are included. By referring to these parameters, the digital camera 201 can connect to the wireless LAN and communicate with the PC 202.

  In step S314, the digital camera 201 compares the timer value with the set time value stored in the memory 107, and determines whether the set time has elapsed (406). If it is determined that the time has elapsed, the process proceeds to step S315. If it is determined that it has not elapsed, the process is repeated periodically.

  In step S315, the digital camera 201 performs reconnection processing to the wireless LAN. In the reconnection process, the digital camera 201 first reads out the parameters stored in the memory 107. Then, wireless connection is made to the AP 203 using the read parameters (407).

  In step S <b> 316, the AP 203 performs connection in response to a connection request from the digital camera 201.

  In step S317, the digital camera 201 is connected to the wireless LAN and determines whether communication with an external device is possible. If it is determined that it is possible, the process proceeds to step S318. If it is determined that it is not possible, the process proceeds to step S306.

  In step S318, the digital camera 201 performs processing for reconnecting and communicating with the PC 201 via the AP 203 (408).

  In step S319, the digital camera 201 determines whether or not communication with the PC 201 is possible. If it is determined that it is possible, the process proceeds to step S320. If it is determined that it is not possible, the process proceeds to step S310.

  In step S320, the digital camera 201 transmits an image captured for a long time to the PC 202 via the AP 203 (409).

  Finally, in step S321, the digital camera 201 determines whether the image transfer is completed. If completed, return to the shooting preparation state.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the value based on the shooting parameter, here, the time required for shooting is stored as the set time, and the network connection interface unit (106) of the digital camera 201 is stopped during that time. It was.

  With this configuration, power consumption due to communication can be suppressed when only shooting is performed and image transfer is not performed.

  Further, when communication is stopped, parameters necessary for communication are stored in advance, so that reconnection is performed smoothly.

  Note that the communication control according to the present embodiment is effective in reducing power consumption. However, when the shooting time is extremely short, the network connection / disconnection is frequently repeated, and the processing may be complicated. .

  Therefore, as a first application of the present embodiment, when the set time is long, it is determined that shooting is performed for a long time, and the above-described communication control is performed, and when the set time is short, shooting is performed while maintaining communication. You may do it.

  In order to realize this process, a process of determining whether or not the set time is longer than a predetermined threshold value may be performed before the process of step S307. If the digital camera 201 is larger than the threshold value, the digital camera 201 determines that the process is the long time process, and advances the process to step S307. If it is smaller than the threshold value, it is not necessary to disconnect the communication, so the process proceeds to step S320 after the photographing is completed. Further, the threshold value may be compared with a shooting parameter such as a shutter speed instead of the set time.

  Thus, by changing the communication method according to the shooting time, it is possible to stop communication only when communication is not performed for a while.

  As a second application of this embodiment, the normal shooting mode and the long-time shooting mode may be switched, and the above-described communication control may be performed only in the long-time shooting mode. In such a case, a mode switching switch may be provided in the digital camera 201 or a GUI for mode switching may be provided in the display unit 109 so that the mode is switched in accordance with a user operation. The long-time shooting mode is, for example, a mode in which the shutter speed range is wider than the normal shooting mode, or a mode in which the user can arbitrarily set the shutter speed that is automatically set in the normal shooting mode. is there.

  In order to realize this process, a process of determining whether or not the current mode is the long-time shooting mode may be performed before the process of step S307. If it is the long second shooting mode, the process proceeds to step S307. If it is the normal shooting mode, the process proceeds to step S320 after the shooting is completed.

  As described above, when the communication method is switched according to the mode, the setting value is not required for the process. Therefore, the process for setting the set value in step S303 may be omitted.

  Furthermore, as a third application of the present embodiment, the present invention can be applied to bulb photography in which the photographing time can be adjusted at an arbitrary interval.

  Bulb shooting is to perform shooting processing with the shutter open while the user presses the shutter button, and close the shutter when the shutter button is released. This bulb photographing is convenient in that the user can arbitrarily adjust the photographing time.

  However, it is not desirable from the viewpoint of power consumption to respond to a beacon even though there is no need to communicate during bulb photography.

  Therefore, by applying this embodiment, it is possible to prevent communication with the PC while the digital camera performs bulb photography.

  When the present embodiment is applied, before step S307, the digital camera 201 determines whether or not it is in the bulb photographing mode. If it is in the bulb exposure mode, the process proceeds to step S307. In the case of normal shooting, that is, in a mode in which the shooting time cannot be arbitrarily set, the process proceeds to step S320 after the shooting is completed.

  Switching between the bulb photographing mode and the normal photographing mode may be performed by providing a mode switching switch in the digital camera 201 or a GUI for mode switching in the display unit 109 and switching according to a user operation.

  In step S307, the digital camera 201 notifies the PC 202 that communication is not performed. In the case of bulb photography, the time required for photography, that is, the set time cannot be specified, so the set time is not notified.

  In step S314, it is not determined whether or not the set time has elapsed, but it is determined whether or not the pressing of the shutter button 101 has been completed by a user operation. If it is determined that the pressing of the shutter button 101 has ended, the digital camera 201 recognizes that the bulb shooting has ended, and performs reconnection processing in step S315 and subsequent steps.

  As described above, in the case of bulb photography, the digital camera 201 is configured to control whether to communicate at the timing when the shutter button 101 is pressed.

  With this configuration, even when the user arbitrarily finishes shooting, communication is restored according to the timing of the end, so that image transfer can be performed smoothly.

  Moreover, it is also possible to combine the application examples 1 to 3 described above as the fourth application of the present embodiment. For example, it is conceivable that the communication timing is different between the bulb photographing mode and the normal photographing mode.

  That is, it is determined in advance whether the bulb shooting mode or the normal shooting mode, and in the bulb shooting mode, the disconnection process is started when the shutter button is pressed, and the reconnection process is performed when the shutter button is pressed. To start. In the normal shooting mode, the preset time is memorized in advance, the processing related to disconnection is started at the timing when the shutter button is pressed, and the preset time is counted, and the reconnection process is started when the preset time has elapsed. To do. Of course, when the set time is short, the disconnection / reconnection process may not be performed.

  In this way, even when the shooting time is predetermined, even when the user finishes shooting at an arbitrary time, communication is restored at an appropriate timing, and image transfer is performed smoothly. be able to.

<Example 2>
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  In the present embodiment, a case will be described in which the PC 202 notifies the digital camera 201 of a shooting command via the network 204, and the digital camera 201 that has received the shooting command performs actual shooting so-called remote shooting.

  In this embodiment, there are many parts in common with the first embodiment. Therefore, description of parts common to the first embodiment will be omitted, and parts unique to the present embodiment will be described in detail.

  In this embodiment, it is assumed that a wireless LAN module is used for the network I / F 106. Further, it is assumed that the PC 202 can acquire each shooting parameter such as exposure, shutter speed, and zoom magnification from the digital camera 201 and store it in the storage unit. Furthermore, it is assumed that the PC 202 can perform a remote operation and parameter change by transmitting not only an operation instruction but also an instruction for changing each shooting parameter. Also, it is assumed that various modes such as the long second shooting mode and the bulb shooting mode as described in the first embodiment can be set on the PC 202 side.

  Hereinafter, processing in which the PC 202 causes the digital camera 201 to perform long-time shooting via the network 204 (hereinafter, “remote long-second shooting”) will be described. FIG. 5 shows a processing flow in this embodiment, and FIG. 6 shows an operation flow.

  First, in step S501, the PC 202 sets a set time and stores it in the memory. The set time is set by the same method as in the first embodiment.

  In step S502, the PC 202 starts a remote release process. The remote release process is started by a user operating a release instruction menu displayed on the GUI.

  In step S503, the PC 202 checks the state of the network I / F and determines whether it is connected to the network. If it is connected, the process proceeds to step S504. If not, the process proceeds to step S528.

  In step S504, the PC 202 notifies the digital camera 201 of the remote shooting command and the set time stored in the memory (601).

In step S <b> 505, if the digital camera 201 can correctly receive the shooting command and the set time, it returns a confirmation packet indicating that to the PC 202. (602)
In step S506, the PC 202 determines whether a confirmation packet has been received. If it is determined that it has been received, the process proceeds to step S507.

  In step S <b> 507, the PC 202 performs various settings for receiving a captured image from the digital camera 201.

  On the other hand, in step S509, the digital camera 201 performs a wireless network disconnection process. During this process, the digital camera 201 stores parameters necessary for communication in the memory 107 (603). Then, the wireless LAN connection is disconnected (604), and the network I / F 106 is turned off (605). Since parameters necessary for communication are the same as those in the first embodiment, they are not described in detail here.

  In step S511, the digital camera 201 performs shooting processing according to the shooting instruction transmitted from the PC 202 (606).

  Further, in step S531, the digital camera 201 starts a timer for counting the set time.

  In step S512, the digital camera 201 compares the timer with the set time, and determines whether or not the set time notified from the PC 202 has elapsed. If it is determined that the set time has elapsed, the process proceeds to step S513. If it is determined that it has not elapsed, the process is repeated.

  Although the reconnection process is performed after step S513, the reconnection process is the same as that of the first embodiment, and is not described here.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, when remote shooting is performed, the set time is transmitted from the PC 202 to the digital camera 201. With this configuration, even when the digital camera 201 is in a remote place, communication can be stopped and recovered at appropriate timing, and power consumption can be suppressed.

  As in the first embodiment, in this embodiment, the communication method may be changed in accordance with the shutter speed value, the long shooting mode, the bulb shooting mode, and the like. For example, in step S504, if the PC 202 also transmits mode information, the digital camera 201 can perform communication according to the mode. As another example, in step S504, the PC 202 may not transmit the set time according to the mode. In this case, the digital camera 201 may perform a process of disconnecting / reconnecting communication only when the set time is transmitted.

  In addition, a present Example is not restricted to the process which image | photographs and transmits one image. As an application of the present embodiment, there is an application to remote interval shooting in which shooting instructions are transmitted from the PC 202 at a constant interval (hereinafter, “interval period”).

  When performing this shooting, the PC 201 notifies the digital camera 201 of the interval period in step S504.

  Upon receiving the notification, the digital camera 201 stops communication and suppresses power consumption.

  When the notified interval period elapses, the digital camera 201 automatically performs a reconnection process and recovers communication with the PC 202.

  By such processing, power consumption required for communication is suppressed at timings other than the reception of the shooting instruction, and the digital camera 201 and the PC 202 can always communicate with each other at the reception timing of the shooting instruction.

  The interval period in this embodiment indicates the timing at which the digital camera 201 receives a shooting instruction, that is, the timing at which communication is required to start shooting on the digital camera side. Therefore, it is not necessary to perform communication during a period when the digital camera 201 does not receive a shooting instruction. And when communication becomes necessary, communication is restored. Therefore, the power required for communication can be used efficiently.

  Further, a communication form to which the present invention can be applied is not limited to a wireless LAN. The present invention can also be applied to a communication mode other than a wireless LAN, for example, a communication mode represented by Ethernet (registered trademark) of a wired network.

1 is a block diagram of an electronic imaging apparatus according to the present invention. Network configuration diagram according to the present invention The flowchart which shows the 1st Embodiment of this invention The sequence diagram which shows the 1st Embodiment of this invention The flowchart which shows the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. Sequence diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention

Explanation of symbols

101 System control CPU
102 Shutter button 103 Compression / decompression unit 104 Memory card 105 Memory card (different from 104)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 106 Network connection interface part 107 Main memory 108 Imaging system 109 Display part 201 Digital camera 202 Personal computer 203 Access point apparatus 204 Network network

Claims (15)

An imaging apparatus having a communication interface unit for connecting to a network,
Communication means for communicating with an external device via the network;
Photographing means for performing photographing of a subject;
Transmitting means for transmitting the image data obtained by the photographing means by communication by the communication means;
Storage means for storing a set time set based on the shooting parameters relating to shooting;
When photographing by the photographing means is performed during communication by the communication means, control means is provided that stops the communication before the set time elapses and automatically restarts the communication after the set time elapses. An imaging apparatus characterized by the above.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the imaging parameter is set in advance before imaging by the imaging unit.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit stops the communication by turning off the power of the communication interface unit.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the shooting parameter includes a shutter speed.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the imaging parameter is an imaging interval in a series of continuous imaging.   The control means performs control to stop the communication when the set time is longer than a threshold, and does not perform control to stop the communication when the set time is shorter than the threshold. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit performs control to stop the communication when the imaging apparatus is set to a specific mode. The storage means stores communication parameters necessary for performing data communication with the external device when communication is stopped by the control means,
The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit reads communication parameters stored in the storage unit and resumes communication after the set time elapses.   The image capturing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the communication parameter includes at least one of an IP address, a user name, and a password of the external device.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the communication parameter includes at least one of an IP address, a subnet mask, and a gateway address stored in the imaging apparatus.   10. The communication device according to claim 9, wherein, when communicating with the external device via a relay device, the storage unit also stores communication parameters necessary for establishing a connection with the relay device. Imaging device. Receiving means for receiving a photographing command from the external device by communication by the communication means;
The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the imaging unit performs imaging when an imaging command is received by the receiving unit. The receiving means receives imaging parameters from the external device;
The imaging apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the storage unit stores a set time set based on a shooting parameter received by the receiving unit. A communication step of communicating with an external device via the network;
A shooting process for shooting a subject;
A transmission step of transmitting the image data obtained by the photographing step;
A storage step of storing a set time set based on shooting parameters relating to shooting;
A control step of stopping the communication before the set time elapses and automatically restarting the communication after the set time elapses when shooting by the shooting step is performed during communication by the communication step; A method for controlling an image pickup apparatus. Computer
Communication means for communicating with an external device via the network;
Photographing means for performing photographing of a subject;
Transmitting means for transmitting the image data obtained by the photographing means by communication by the communication means;
Storage means for storing a set time set based on the shooting parameters relating to shooting;
When photographing by the photographing means is performed during communication by the communication means, the communication is stopped before the set time has elapsed, and the communication is automatically resumed after the set time has elapsed. Computer-readable program.

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