JP2008004986A - Digital camera - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To largely reduce a memory capacity of a temporary storage function in a camera while maintaining photographing performance of integration of a camera unit and a storage unit, and to enable a user to photograph without being conscious of the storage capacity, in a digital camera in which the camera unit and the storage unit are separated and communication is performed between them via a communication function. <P>SOLUTION: The communication function is performed by a cellular phone capable of high-speed data communication, and photographing operation in the camera unit is executed in parallel to a transmission/storage operation of photographed image data into the storage unit. That means, photographing can be performed as long as the temporary storage function in the camera unit has an available region required for storing photographic image data, the image data in the temporary storage function are transmitted/stored from the camera unit to the storage unit successively per one frame using the communication function, and the image data transmitted/stored in the temporary storage function are deleted upon a notice that the storage has been completed, from the storage unit to the camera unit. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a digital camera in which a shooting function and a storage function are separated and coupled together with a communication function.

  In a conventional digital camera, a photographing function and a storage function for photographed image data are integrated. In this case, the number of images that can be shot by the shooting function is determined by the capacity of the built-in storage function (flash memory). Therefore, if the number of images that can be taken is increased, the capacity of the storage function (flash memory) must be increased, resulting in an increase in price.

  As a measure to increase the price, there is an attempt to solve the problem by sending the captured image data to a large-capacity storage function connected to the digital camera via a network, but the communication connection between the digital camera and the large-capacity storage function. There is a problem that the performance as a digital camera is deteriorated, such as that it takes time to establish and transmit image data, and the above-mentioned attempts have not yet spread widely.

JP 06-133081 A

  The present invention is based on the premise that the data transmission speed of a future cellular phone will be increased, and the storage capacity required for the camera unit by separating the camera unit and the storage unit and connecting them with the cellular phone capable of high-speed communication. A digital camera that substantially reduces the communication connection time or image data transmission time between the camera unit and storage unit, and ensures the same shooting performance as a conventional camera unit / storage unit integrated digital camera. Is to provide a camera.

  A system is composed of a camera unit having a photographing function, a temporary storage function, and a communication function, and a storage unit having a communication function and a large-capacity storage function.

In the above-described configuration, Ts, a series of time required for a series of shooting operations from the start of shooting of one frame in the camera unit to the processing of the shot image data and storage in the temporary storage function
The image data of one frame is read from the temporary storage function in the camera unit and the storage unit and transmitted to the storage unit by the communication function, and the received image data is stored in the large-capacity storage function in the storage unit, indicating that the storage is completed. Tm is the time required from the storage unit to the camera unit to erase the transmitted and stored image data in the camera unit temporary storage function.
If

In the conventional way of thinking, as shown in FIG. 5a, since the photographing operation and the transmission / storage operation are performed in series, the time Tt required for photographing / transmission / storage of one frame is
(Equation 1)
Tt = Ts + Tm
It becomes.

On the other hand, in the present invention, the photographing operation and the transmission / storage operation are performed in parallel.
That is, when the camera unit is set to the shooting mode as shown in FIG. 5b, if there is a free area necessary for storing image data in the temporary storage function, shooting can be performed immediately. The image data is stored in a temporary storage function.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5c, the communication connection between the camera unit and the storage unit is attempted in parallel with the photographing operation. When the communication connection is completed, if the image data has already been stored in the temporary storage function, it is called one frame at a time, transmitted to the storage unit by the communication function, and stored in the large capacity storage unit. When the storage is completed, the storage unit reports the fact to the camera unit, and the camera unit that receives the notification erases one frame of image data in the temporary storage function transmitted earlier and reads out the next image data. Move on to transmission operation.

As described above, the shooting interval is shortened by performing the shooting operation and the transmission / storage operation in parallel, that is, when continuous shooting is attempted.
When Ts> Tm and the transmission and storage operation is performed immediately after the end of the shooting operation, the temporary storage function capacity Mt is a storage capacity M equivalent to the image data capacity by shooting at least one frame as shown in (Equation 2), and the continuous shooting period. Is the shooting operation time Ts, and the number of continuous shots is unlimited in principle.
(Equation 2)
Mt ≧ M

On the other hand, when Ts ≦ Tm, a temporary storage function capacity Mt satisfying (Equation 3) is required when continuous shooting of a maximum of Nc frames is allowed with the shooting operation time Ts.
(Equation 3)
Mt ≧ N · M

However, (Equation 4)
N = ‖ {Ts + (Tm−Ts) · Nc} / Tm‖ + 1
(N: minimum positive integer value exceeding {Ts + (Tm−Ts) · Nc} / Tm)

The continuous shooting period Tn in the above case is
(Equation 5)
Tn = (Ts + Tm · Nc)
It becomes.

However, in (Equation 3), (Equation 4), and (Equation 5),
M: Image data capacity by shooting one frame
Nc: Maximum allowable number of continuous shots at a time interval of Ts
It is.

The above is the temporary storage function capacity Mt or continuous shooting period Tn in the steady state, that is, the state where the communication connection has already been established.
Taking into account the time Tc required to establish a communication connection in the initial state, that is, the shooting mode start (where Tc> Ts),
When Ts> Tm, the required temporary storage function capacity Mt is (Expression 6).
(Equation 6)
Mt ≧ N ・ M
However, (Equation 7)
N = ‖Tc / Ts‖ + 1
(N: smallest positive integer value exceeding Tc / Ts)

If Ts ≤ Tm,
N in (Equation 6) is the larger value of N1 in (Equation 8) or N2 in (Equation 9).
(Equation 8)
N1 = ‖ {Tc + (Tm−Ts) · Nc} / Tm‖ + 1
(N1: {Tc + (Tm-Ts) .Nc} / minimum positive integer value exceeding Tm)
(Equation 9)
N2 = ‖Tc / Ts‖ + 1
(N2: smallest positive integer value exceeding Tc / Ts)

The continuous shooting period Tn is (Equation 10) regardless of the magnitude relationship between Ts and Tm.
(Equation 10)
Tn = (Tc + Tm · Nc)

  That is, the time Tc required for the communication connection is also independent of the photographing operation by securing the necessary amount of the temporary storage capacity because the photographing operation and the transmission / storage operation are performed in parallel. It can be equivalent to a conventional camera unit and storage unit integrated digital camera.

  In the above description, transmission and storage are performed for each frame of image data. However, a plurality of frames of image data can be transmitted and stored in a batch.

In addition, the above-described concept can also be used to improve the continuous shooting speed when the slow writing speed of the flash memory affects the continuous shooting speed.
That is, when writing image data after image processing at the time of shooting to the flash memory, it is stored in a RAM that can be written at a high speed without directly writing to the flash memory, and then in the idle time until the camera is turned off. The RAM is configured to be written into the flash memory.
This solves the low writing speed of the flash memory, shortens the shooting interval, and improves the continuous shooting speed.

  Here, the data transmission from the camera unit to the storage unit can be performed by transmitting not only image data but also audio data. However, since the data density of image data and audio data is significantly different, a contrivance for that is necessary, but the description here is omitted.

In the storage unit, the image data and audio data sent from the camera unit can be stored in the mass storage function and simultaneously reproduced.
In addition, it is also possible to send a voice shooting instruction or the like from the storage unit to the camera unit via a communication function. In this case, the audio data from the storage unit to the camera unit may be stored in the storage unit large-capacity storage function by combining the image data, audio data, and time axis sent from the camera unit to the storage unit.

  According to the present invention, in the camera unit, the temporary storage function can be constituted by a semiconductor memory such as a RAM having a very small capacity and capable of reading and writing at high speed without deteriorating photographing performance such as start-up time and continuous shooting speed. In addition, the number of images that can be shot is expanded to a range that allows the capacity of the large-capacity storage function of the storage unit.

  In addition, the use of next-generation mobile phones capable of high-speed communication can be expanded by such a system. Further, by combining a higher-definition digital camera with a high-speed communication function, the capacity can be increased substantially without being integrated with a large-capacity storage function.

  Utilizing a mobile phone with a high-definition digital camera function and capable of high-speed communication is effective. However, if the mobile phone with camera function is insufficient in image definition, a high-definition camera may be connected to a mobile phone capable of high-speed communication.

In addition, it is effective to use a mobile phone capable of high-speed communication as a storage unit, and to use a HDD recorder capable of high-speed data writing or a DVD recorder equipped with an HDD as a large-capacity storage function.
Furthermore, a simultaneous playback system for image data and audio data that is integrated with a photographer located at a distance is provided by adding a playback device with a large screen and high sound quality to the storage unit to enable immediate playback. You can also.

FIG. 1 shows an example of the configuration of the present invention, FIG. 2 shows an example of a shooting operation procedure in the shooting mode in the camera unit of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 shows an example of an image data transmission procedure, and FIG. FIG. 4 mainly shows an example of the received data processing operation procedure in FIG. 5, and FIG. 5 shows the relationship among the communication connection time, shooting processing time, and transmission storage processing time in comparison with the conventional case.
In the present embodiment, in order to simplify the description, the transmission data from the camera unit to the storage unit is only image data.

In FIG.
1 is the camera part,
11 is a digital camera,
12 is a temporary storage memory for temporarily storing the captured image of the digital camera 11;
13 is a mobile phone that transmits the image data in the temporary storage memory 12 to the storage unit 2 mobile phone 21 and receives a signal indicating completion of image data storage from the storage unit 2 mobile phone 21;

2 is a storage unit,
21 is a mobile phone for receiving image data from the mobile phone 13 and transmitting a signal indicating the completion of storage to the mobile phone 13;
22 is a mass storage device for storing image data received by the mobile phone 21;
23 is a playback device for playing back image data stored in the mass storage device 22;
3 is a communication base station of the mobile phone 13 and the mobile phone 21;
It is.

  Next, the shooting operation procedure and the shot image data transmission procedure in the shooting mode of the configuration example shown in FIG. 1 will be described.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a photographing operation procedure in the photographing mode in the camera unit 1,
201 is a camera unit 1 shooting operation start point,
Reference numeral 202 denotes a photographing mode confirmation process for confirming whether or not the camera unit 1 digital camera 11 is in a photographing mode. If the photographing mode is the photographing mode, the process 203 is terminated. If not, the photographing operation is terminated at the photographing operation end point 207.

  Reference numeral 203 denotes a memory empty area confirmation process for confirming whether or not there is an empty area for storing the next captured image data in the temporary storage memory 12. If there is no empty area, the process proceeds to process 202 for waiting. If there is a free area, the process proceeds to processing 204.

  Reference numeral 204 denotes a photographing button pressing confirmation process of the digital camera 11. If not pressed, the process proceeds to a process 202 for waiting. If the button is pressed, image processing such as image data processing is performed in the image capturing process 205, and the image data is temporarily stored in the image data temporary storage process 206 after the image capturing process is completed, and then the process returns to process 202.

On the other hand, FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of image data transmission procedure in the shooting mode in the camera unit 1.
301 is an image data transmission operation start point when the camera unit 1 is in the shooting mode;
Reference numeral 302 denotes a photographing mode confirmation process for confirming whether or not the camera unit 1 digital camera 11 is in the photographing mode. If it is in the photographing mode, the process proceeds to a process 303, and if not, the process proceeds to a process 308.

  Reference numeral 303 denotes a communication connection determination process for determining whether or not communication connection is established between the mobile phone 13 of the camera unit 1 and the mobile phone 21 of the storage unit 2. If communication connection is not established, communication connection is performed. In process 304, communication connection is performed, and the process proceeds to process 305.

  If it is determined in step 303 that communication connection has been established, the presence / absence of untransmitted image data to the storage unit 2 in the temporary storage memory 12 is determined in the untransmitted image data presence / absence determination processing 305. Move to processing 302. If yes, the image data transmission process 306 transmits image data from the camera unit 1 to the storage unit 2, and the process proceeds to process 307.

  In the storage completion determination process 307, the camera unit 1 waits for a notification of the end of the storage operation of the image data transmitted from the camera unit 1 to the storage unit 2 to the mass storage device 22, and returns to the process 302 after obtaining the notification.

  In the communication connection disconnection necessity determination processing 308, it is determined whether or not the communication connection can be disconnected. If the disconnection is not necessary, the communication connection disconnection processing 309 is performed. Then, the process proceeds to the image data transmission operation end point 310 and the image data transmission process is terminated.

  FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a storage operation procedure of image data transmitted from the camera unit 1 in the storage unit 2.

401 is the operation start point of the image data storage operation in the storage unit 2,
Reference numeral 402 denotes a communication connection determination process for determining whether or not a communication connection is established between the mobile phone 21 and the camera unit 1 mobile phone 13. If the communication connection is not established, a process other than image data storage ( Waiting for communication connection to occur while performing (not shown).

  When communication connection is established, the data reception end determination process 403 waits for the end of a series of data received from the camera unit 1.

  When a series of data reception is completed in the storage unit 2 mobile phone 21, the content of the received data is determined in the received data content determination processing 404, and if it is image data to be stored, the processing proceeds to the data storage processing 406. If the received data is not image data, data processing corresponding to the data content received in the other mode data processing 405 is performed, and the processing returns to processing 402.

  In the data storage process 406, data storage to the mass storage device 22 is performed, and then a signal indicating completion of data storage to the camera unit 1 in the data storage completion signal transmission process 407 is performed, and the process returns to process 402.

  By performing the configuration operation as described above, the image data photographed by the camera unit 1 digital camera 11 is sequentially sent to the storage unit 2 mass storage device 22 and stored therein.

  In the above description, the data stored in the large-capacity storage device 22 or the data played back by the playback device 23 is only the image data from the camera unit 1, but the audio data from the camera unit 1 or the storage unit 2 Audio data sent from the mobile phone 21 to the camera unit 1 mobile phone 13 can also be stored and reproduced.

  Further, the photographed image is a still image, but it may be a moving image.

In the above description, in the storage unit 2, the playback device 23 is provided separately from the mobile phone 21. However, the playback device 23 can be simply configured using the playback function of the mobile phone 21.
The storage unit 2 may be a large-capacity data storage server on the Internet.

  The temporary storage memory 12 need not be a flash memory, and may be a RAM capable of high-speed writing / reading. Needless to say, in such a configuration, all temporarily stored image data needs to be transmitted to and stored in the storage unit 2 before the camera unit 1 is turned off.

The present invention is promising as an application of a mobile phone capable of high-speed data communication, which is expected to be put into practical use in the near future.
In addition, by connecting the mobile phone capable of high-speed data communication to a digital camera capable of high-quality image capture and transmitting the captured image to another large-capacity storage device, the digital camera side does not care about the storage capacity. It is also effective as a widespread dissemination measure because it can shoot continuously and can shoot by continuous shooting like a camera with a camera / storage unit.

  Furthermore, the pseudo-outing system / pseudo-travel system, which applies the instant recording / playback function of captured images and related voices as an application system of the present invention, captures going out or traveling at home for the elderly and those who are being treated for illness. It is effective as a system that can be simulated and integrated with a person.

FIG. 1 is a configuration example of a digital camera according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a shooting operation procedure in the camera section shooting mode in the configuration example of the digital camera shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of an image data transmission operation procedure in the camera section photographing mode in the configuration example of the digital camera shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an operation procedure for storing image data in the storage unit in the configuration example of the digital camera shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the relationship among the activation time, the photographing time, and the transmission / storage time in the configuration example of the digital camera shown in FIG. 1 in comparison with the conventional example.

Explanation of symbols

In FIG.
1: Camera part 11: Digital camera,
12: Temporary storage memory
13: Mobile phone,
2: storage unit 21: mobile phone 22: mass storage device 23: playback device 3: mobile phone base station

In FIG.
201: Mobile phone 1 shooting operation start point 202: Shooting mode confirmation processing 203: Memory empty area confirmation processing 204: Shooting button press confirmation processing 205: Shooting processing 206: Image data position storage processing 207: Shooting operation end point

In FIG.
301: Image data transmission operation start point in mobile phone 1 shooting mode 302: Shooting mode confirmation processing 303: Communication connection determination processing 304: Communication connection processing 305: Unsent image data presence / absence determination processing 306: Image data transmission processing 307: Storage Completion determination processing 308: Communication connection necessity determination processing 309: Communication connection disconnection processing 310: Image data transmission operation end point

401: Image data storage operation start point 402: Communication connection determination processing 403: Data reception end determination processing 404: Received data content determination processing 405: Other mode data processing 406: Data storage processing 407: Data storage completion signal transmission processing

a: Explanatory diagram of communication connection time, shooting time, transmission / storage time in the conventional example
b: Explanation of shooting time according to the present invention
c: Communication connection time transmission storage time explanatory diagram according to the present invention Tc: Communication connection time Ts: Shooting processing time Tm: Transmission / storage processing time Nc: Number of frames capable of continuous shooting

Claims (3)

Consists of a camera unit consisting of a shooting function, a temporary storage function, a communication function, and a storage unit consisting of a communication function, a large-capacity storage function,
A digital camera, wherein a photographing operation by the camera unit and a transmission / storage operation for transmitting / storing photographed image data to / from the storage unit are performed in parallel. Consists of a camera unit consisting of a shooting function, a temporary storage function, a communication function, and a storage unit consisting of a communication function, a large-capacity storage function,
By setting the camera unit to a shooting mode, if there is an empty area for storing captured image data in the temporary storage function, a shooting operation by the camera unit can be performed.
In addition, the communication connection operation from the camera unit to the storage unit is started by setting the camera unit to the shooting mode, and the image data stored in the temporary storage function after the communication connection is established sequentially. Transmitted to the storage unit and stored in the mass storage function,
Erasing the image data stored immediately before the mass storage function from the temporary storage function when the camera unit confirms that the storage to the mass storage function has ended,
The digital camera according to claim 1. The capacity value Mt of the camera unit temporary storage function is
Mt ≧ N · M
The digital camera according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the digital camera is set so that
Ts: Time required for a series of photographing operations (photographing, processing of photographed image data, and storage in the temporary storage function) in the camera unit photographing function.
Tm: Time required to read out image data stored in the camera unit temporary storage function, transmit it to the storage unit, store it in the large-capacity storage function, and then notify the camera unit of the completion of the storage.
Tc: Time required for communication connection between the camera unit and the storage unit (provided that Tc> Ts).
N: Ts> Tm, the smallest positive integer value exceeding Tc / Ts,
If Ts ≦ Tm, the smallest positive integer value exceeding Tc / Ts, or
{Ts + (Tm−Ts) · Nc} / Tm minimum
A positive integer value,
Whichever is greater.
M: Image data capacity by shooting one frame.
Nc: Maximum number of frames that can be shot continuously at a time interval of Ts.

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