JP2008060843A - Cradle device and image access control method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide easy access control to images imaged in an imaging apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: The cradle device comprises: a user identification information acquisition means for acquiring user identification information for identifying a user who can access the image added to each image imaged in the imaging apparatus from the imaging apparatus; and an image transfer means for, when receiving a request to access the image from external terminal equipment communicable through a network, deciding whether or not it is the request from an authorized user on the basis of the user identification information for identifying the user received from the external terminal equipment and the user identification information acquired in the user identification information acquisition means relating to the access request, and executing processing relating to the transfer of the image when deciding that it is the request from the authorized user. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a cradle device and an image access control method.

  There is a pan head for a digital camera provided with a pan / tilt function (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2002-199251 A

  In this way, when a digital camera is installed in a cradle device equipped with a network communication function and the captured image in the digital camera is displayed from the image display terminal on the network, the captured data in the digital camera can be accessed from the terminal on the network It becomes a state. That is, using the communication function of the cradle device, the shooting data is stolen or the private data can be browsed.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and an object thereof is to provide easy access control for an image captured by an imaging apparatus.

  Accordingly, the present invention provides a user identification information acquisition unit for acquiring user identification information for identifying a user who can access an image added to each image captured by the imaging device, from the imaging device, and a network. When receiving an access request for the image from an external terminal device capable of communication, user identification information for identifying a user received from the external terminal device in response to the access request, and user identification acquired by the user identification information acquisition means On the basis of the information, and determining whether the request is from an accessible user, and determining that the request is from an accessible user, an image transfer unit that executes processing related to the transfer of the image, It is characterized by having.

  By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to provide easy access control for an image captured by the imaging apparatus.

  The present invention may also be an image access control method.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the easy access control with respect to the image imaged with the imaging device can be provided.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of an image distribution system including a digital camera 100, a cradle device 200, and an image receiving terminal 700. A user usually attaches a battery or a battery to the digital camera 100 when going out and uses it for photographing. Then, the user attaches the digital camera 100 to the cradle device 200 when returning home.

  The cradle device 200 distributes the viewfinder image of the digital camera 100 as an MJPEG moving image stream to the image receiving terminal 700 via the wireless access point 600. Alternatively, the cradle device 200 distributes a still image such as JPEG captured by the digital camera 100 to the image receiving terminal 700 via the wireless access point 600.

  An external media storage 211 such as a CF card that can be attached to and detached from the cradle device 200 records and saves an image taken before or when the digital camera 100 is attached to the cradle device 200.

  The wireless access point 600 performs wireless communication with the cradle device 200 and mediates connection with the LAN 500 that is a packet communication network. The remote controller 800 operates the image receiving terminal 700. Furthermore, the remote controller 800 can also operate the cradle device 200 on which the digital camera 100 is mounted via the LAN 500 and the wireless access point 600.

  The image receiving terminal 700 receives each media stream distributed from the digital camera 100 and the cradle device 200, decodes each media encoded in various formats, and outputs the decoded media to the monitor.

  The storage apparatus 900 includes an application such as an electronic album that records images taken by the digital camera 100 via the LAN 500 and further manages and searches for images.

  In the configuration of this image distribution system, the moving image or still image in the digital camera 100 is distributed via the cradle device 200 and received by the image receiving terminal 700 to display the moving image or still image. Alternatively, the details of the operation of distributing the moving image or still image in the digital camera 100 via the cradle device 200, transferring it to the storage device 900, recording it, and displaying it on the image receiving terminal 700 will be described.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the digital camera 100. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 100 denotes a main body of the digital camera. Reference numeral 101 denotes a photographing lens provided with focusing and a zoom function. Reference numeral 102 denotes a shutter having an aperture function. Reference numeral 103 denotes an imaging element such as a CCD sensor or a CMOS sensor that adjusts the amount of light transmitted from the imaging lens 101 by the shutter 102 and converts a light image formed on the imaging surface into an image signal by photoelectric conversion. Hereinafter, an example in which a CCD is used as the image sensor will be described.

  Reference numeral 104 denotes a correlated double sampling unit that reduces the accumulated electric noise of the CCD 103 and an automatic gain control unit that adjusts the gain of the image signal (hereinafter referred to as CDS / AGC). Reference numeral 105 denotes an A / D converter that converts an analog image signal from the CCD 103 into a digital image signal.

  Reference numeral 110 denotes a timing pulse generator (hereinafter referred to as TG) that outputs an operation timing pulse for controlling the charge accumulation time in the CCD 103, and is controlled by the system control unit 116. An image processing unit 106 performs predetermined pixel interpolation and color conversion processing on the digital image signal from the A / D converter 105. The image processing unit 106 performs predetermined arithmetic processing using the captured digital image signal. The system control unit 116 performs TTL (through-the-lens) AF, AE, and EF (strobe pre-flash) processing on the exposure control unit 111, the focus control unit 112, and the strobe 114 based on the result of the arithmetic processing. Is doing. Further, the image processing unit 106 performs predetermined arithmetic processing using the photographed digital image signal, and also performs TTL AWB processing based on the obtained result.

  Reference numeral 107 denotes a memory for storing captured still images and moving images, which has a sufficient storage capacity to store a predetermined number of still images and moving images for a predetermined time. As a result, a large amount of images can be written at high speed even in continuous shooting or panoramic shooting in which a plurality of still images are continuously shot. The memory 107 also has a function as a memory for displaying an image on the image display unit 109 via the D / A converter 108.

  An image display unit 109 includes a TFT, an LCD, and the like. Display image data written in the memory 107 is displayed on the image display unit 109 via the D / A converter 108. An electronic viewfinder function can be realized by sequentially displaying captured images using the image display unit 109. Further, the image display unit 109 can be arbitrarily turned on / off according to an instruction from the system control unit 116. When the display is turned off, the power consumption of the digital camera 100 can be greatly reduced. .

  Reference numeral 117 denotes an image encoding unit that compresses and decompresses digital image signals in Y, Cr / Cb format. The image encoding unit 117 reads an image stored in the memory 107 and performs compression processing or expansion processing, and writes the processed image data in the memory 107 again. An exposure control unit 111 controls the shutter 102, the TG 110, and the CDS / AGC 104, and has a flash light control function in cooperation with the strobe 114.

  A focus control unit 112 controls distance measurement of the photographing lens 101. A zoom control unit 113 controls the zoom function of the photographing lens 101. A strobe 114 has an AF auxiliary light projecting function and a flash light projecting function. The exposure control unit 111 and the focus control unit 112 are controlled using the TTL method. Based on the calculation result obtained by calculating the captured image by the image processing unit 106, the system control unit 116 performs the exposure control unit 111 and the focus control unit. 112 is controlled.

  A system control unit 116 controls the entire digital camera 100. Reference numeral 121 denotes a flash memory which is an electrically erasable / recordable nonvolatile memory. Reference numeral 122 denotes a display unit such as a display device or a speaker that notifies the user of an operation state, a message, and the like using characters, images, sounds, and the like in accordance with execution of a program in the system control unit 116. The display unit 122 is located near the operation unit 120 of the digital camera 100. The display unit 122 is configured by a combination of, for example, an LCD, an LED, a sound generation element, and the like.

  Reference numeral 118 denotes a mode switch. The user can switch and set each function mode provided in the digital camera 100 by operating the mode switch 118, such as power-off, shooting mode, and playback mode.

  The shooting mode includes, for example, a fully automatic mode in which all AE parameters are automatically set, a simple shooting mode in which AE parameters are adjusted according to shooting conditions and subjects, and an applied shooting mode in which all the AE parameters are set by the photographer. The simple shooting mode includes a portrait mode, a landscape mode, a sports mode, and the like. Here, the portrait mode is a mode in which the aperture is fixed to the open side and the background is blurred to make a person stand out. The landscape mode is a mode in which the subject depth is increased by reducing the aperture. The sport mode is a mode in which shooting can be performed without shaking a moving subject. In the applied shooting mode, a program AE that automatically sets the shutter speed and the aperture according to the brightness of the subject, a shutter priority AE that prioritizes the shutter speed, and an aperture priority that prioritizes the aperture value. AE etc. The photographer selects an AE mode according to each photographing situation and performs photographing.

  Reference numeral 119 denotes a shutter switch that is turned on when the shutter button is pressed lightly with SW1 and instructs to start operations such as AF, AE, AWB, and EF processing. Further, the switch is turned on when the shutter button is pressed deeply by SW2, and the image signal read from the CCD 103 is written in the memory 107 through the CDS / AGC 104, the A / D converter 105, and the image processing unit 106. Then, it instructs the start of a series of operations of compression by the image encoding unit 117 and writing to the SD card 126 as a recording medium via the SD I / F 125.

  An operation unit 120 includes various buttons and a touch panel. The user uses the menu button, set button, cross button, etc. of the operation unit 120 to make settings related to the shooting function of the digital camera 100. Reference numeral 115 denotes a power control unit. The power control unit 115 includes a battery detection circuit, a DC-DC converter, a switch circuit that switches a block to be energized, and the like. The power supply control unit 115 detects the presence / absence of a battery, the type of the battery, and the remaining battery level, and supplies the necessary voltage based on the detection result and an instruction from the system control unit 116 for a necessary period. To each part.

  Reference numeral 127 denotes a battery which is a secondary battery such as a nickel cadmium battery or a lithium ion battery. The battery 127 can be replaced with a primary battery such as an alkaline battery, but the battery will be described below as an example. Reference numeral 123 denotes a DC coupler and a battery charging unit that, when the digital camera 100 is mounted on the cradle device 200, receives power supply via the power cable 400 and further supplies power to the battery 127 during that time.

  A USB I / F unit 124 is a communication interface that exchanges images and control data with the cradle device 200. In the present embodiment, USB communication is shown. However, other communication methods such as 1394 may be used. In this case, the USB I / F unit 124 is an interface compliant with each communication standard. An SD card 126 is a recording medium. For example, the digital camera 100 writes the captured image to the SD card via the SD I / F 125. The SD card 126 can be another recording medium such as a CF card or a micro drive. In this case, the SD I / F 125 is an interface that conforms to the standard of each recording medium.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the cradle device 200. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 200 denotes a main body of the cradle apparatus. Reference numeral 201 denotes a pan driving unit that is a motor that performs panning of the pan head. A tilt driving unit 202 is a motor that performs a tilting operation of the camera platform. The pan driving unit 201 and the tilt driving unit 202 are each configured by a stepping motor, an ultrasonic motor, or the like.

  Reference numeral 203 denotes a pan control unit that controls the angle, speed, and the like of the pan driving unit 201 in accordance with an instruction from the system control unit 209. Reference numeral 204 denotes a tilt control unit that controls the angle, speed, and the like of the tilt drive unit 202 according to an instruction from the system control unit 209. A power supply unit 205 supplies power via the power cable 400 when the digital camera 100 is mounted on the cradle device 200. When the digital camera 100 is connected to the cradle device 200 with the battery 127 attached, power is supplied for charging the battery 127.

  A communication interface (USB I / F) 206 exchanges images and control data with the digital camera 100. A flash memory 212 is an electrically erasable / recordable nonvolatile memory. A switch button 210 includes various buttons and a touch panel. For example, the user presses the switch button 210 to copy the image recorded on the SD card 126 of the digital camera 100 to the CF card 211 of the recording medium attached to the cradle device 200. Alternatively, the user, for example, presses the switch button 210 to transfer the image to the image receiving terminal via the wireless LAN I / F 207, the wireless access point 600, and the LAN 500. Thus, the user can start a certain functional operation of the cradle device 200 by using the switch button 210.

  Reference numeral 211 denotes a CF card which is a recording medium. The cradle device 200 writes an image photographed by the digital camera 100 to the CF card 211 via the USB I / F 206 and the CF I / F 208 by communication using the USB 300. Alternatively, the cradle apparatus 200 transfers an image written in the CF card 211 to the image receiving terminal 700 via the CF I / F 208, the wireless LAN I / F 207, the wireless access point 600, and the LAN 500.

  The CF card 211 can be another recording medium such as an SD card or a micro drive. In that case, the CF I / F 208 is an interface that conforms to the standard of each recording medium. Reference numeral 207 denotes a wireless LAN I / F, which measures adaptation of wireless communication with the wireless access point 600 by the antenna unit 213. Reference numeral 209 denotes a system control unit that controls the entire cradle apparatus 200. The system control unit 209 instructs the pan control unit 203 and the tilt control unit 204 to control the camera platform, and controls the power supply unit 205, the USB I / F 206, the CF I / F 208, and the wireless LAN I / F 207. Detect and give instructions.

  The number of devices connected to the network such as the cradle device 200, the wireless access point 600, and the image receiving terminal 700 is not limited to this embodiment as shown in FIG. It does not matter if it exists. The LAN 500 may be any network such as the Internet or an intranet that has a sufficient bandwidth for passing camera control signals and compressed images.

  The image receiving terminal 700 is assumed to be a PC, a mobile phone, a PDA, or a network-compatible television, for example. Therefore, the physical connection form to the LAN 500 may be not only wired but wireless, but the physical form is not particularly limited as long as it is connected in a protocol manner.

  First, the user operates the image receiving terminal 700 before shooting, and the user (user) name is stored in the flash memory unit 121 of the digital camera 100 via the LAN 500, the wireless access point 600, and the cradle device 200. Alternatively, an ID is registered. Hereinafter, although described as a user ID, a plurality of user IDs may be registered in the digital camera 100. When actually photographing, the photographer selects his / her user ID from a plurality of registered user IDs and performs photographing. At this time, the user ID may be selected in conjunction with the use of the line-of-sight input sensor used for AF frame selection in AF control.

  The captured image data is recorded in accordance with an Exif format image format. Here, the digital camera 100 includes a tag No. in tag information used in Exif. The user ID is recorded in the “Artist” item of 0x013b. Alternatively, the digital camera 100 may create a user ID item in the manufacturer-specific information item and record it here. In this case, a plurality of user IDs can be recorded, and access management can be performed for a plurality of people.

  Shooting data is recorded and stored in an SD file 126 in the digital camera 100 as an Exif file format in which a user ID is written. After shooting, the user attaches the digital camera 100 to the cradle device 200. Hereinafter, an operation procedure when accessing image data recorded on the SD card 126 in the digital camera 100 will be described.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram (part 1) illustrating an image access control management operation procedure of the image distribution system. When the digital camera 100 is attached to the cradle device 200, the USB 300 notifies the system controller 209 of the cradle device 200 that the digital camera 100 is attached to the cradle device 200 via the USB I / F 206.

  As a result, the system control unit 209 of the cradle apparatus 200 instructs the system control unit 116 of the digital camera 100 to tag user IDs corresponding to all image data from the Exif information of the image data recorded on the SD card 126. Request information acquisition.

  Upon receiving the request, the system control unit 116 of the digital camera 100 reads the tag information of the user ID of all the image data recorded in the SD card 126 via the SD I / F 125, and the system of the cradle apparatus 200 by the USB 300. Transfer to the control unit 209. The system control unit 209 holds the received tag information of the user ID in the memory while the digital camera 100 is mounted on the cradle device 200.

  In this state, the user causes the image data recorded on the SD card 126 in the digital camera 100 to be displayed on the monitor via the LAN 500 from the image receiving terminal 700. The image receiving terminal 700 sends a list of image data recorded on the SD card 126 in the digital camera 100 together with the user ID to the system control unit 209 of the cradle apparatus 200 via the LAN 500 and the wireless access point 600. Send an information acquisition request.

  The system control unit 209 that has received the request collates the tag information of the user IDs of all the image data held in the memory with the user ID received together with the request. Then, the system control unit 209 transfers the list information related to the image data having the tag information in which the user ID received together with the request is written to the image receiving terminal 700.

  The system control unit 209 issues a request for list information related to image data having tag information in which the user ID received together with the request is written to the digital camera 100, and acquires the list information from the digital camera 100. You may do it. Further, when the tag information is acquired from the digital camera 100, the system control unit 209 may also acquire list information of images in the digital camera 100 and store the list information in an internal memory or the like. In this case, the system control unit 209 acquires the list information related to the image data having the tag information in which the user ID received together with the request is written from the list information held in the internal memory, and the image receiving terminal Forward to 700.

  The image receiving terminal 700 displays the transferred list information on the monitor. Then, the image receiving terminal 700 sends a display request for the image selected by the user based on the list information together with the user ID to the system control unit 209 of the cradle device 200. The system control unit 209 that has received the request collates the tag information of the user ID of the image data for which the display request held in the memory has been received with the user ID received together with the request.

  If the user IDs match, the system control unit 209 sends a request for image transfer to the image receiving terminal 700 via the USB 300 to the system control unit 116 of the digital camera 100. Upon receiving the request, the system control unit 116 reads the corresponding image from the card 126 via the SD I / F 125 and transfers the image to the system control unit 209 of the cradle device 200 via the USB 300. Receiving the transfer, the system control unit 209 transfers the image to the requesting image receiving terminal 700 as it is. Receiving the image, the image receiving terminal 700 displays the image on the monitor.

  On the other hand, when the user IDs do not match, the system control unit 209 notifies the image receiving terminal 700 that display is not permitted.

  The communication between the cradle device 200 and the image receiving terminal 700 is basically performed using TCP / IP, but may be performed according to an application communication protocol such as HTTP or SIP.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to provide easy access control with respect to an image captured by the imaging apparatus.

(Embodiment 2)
Next, an image captured before being attached to the cradle device 200 in the digital camera 100 from the image receiving terminal 700 via the LAN 500 is transferred to the storage device 900. The operation of the image distribution system that is recorded in the storage device 900 and then displayed on the image receiving terminal 700 will be described.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram (part 2) of the image access control management operation procedure of the image distribution system. The process until the image receiving terminal 700 receives the list information related to the images that are permitted to access the images recorded on the SD card 126 in the digital camera 100 is the same as that described in the first embodiment.

  The image receiving terminal 700 displays the transferred list information on the monitor. Then, the image receiving terminal 700 sends a transfer request to the storage apparatus 900 for the image selected by the user based on the list information together with the user ID to the system control unit 209 of the cradle apparatus 200. The system control unit 209 that has received the request collates the tag information of the user ID of the image data for which the display request held in the memory has been received with the user ID received together with the request.

  If the user IDs match, the system control unit 209 sends an image transfer request to the storage apparatus 900 via the USB 300 to the system control unit 116 of the digital camera 100. Upon receiving the request, the system control unit 116 reads the corresponding image from the card 126 via the SD I / F 125 and transfers the image to the system control unit 209 of the cradle device 200 via the USB 300. Receiving the transfer, the system control unit 209 transfers the image to the storage apparatus 900 as it is.

  When the image transfer is completed and the recording is completed, the storage apparatus 900 sends an image storage end notification to the image receiving terminal 700. Note that the storage apparatus 900 may not send an image storage end notification to the image receiving terminal 700, but the cradle apparatus 200 may send an image transfer end notification to the image receiving terminal 700.

  After receiving the notification, the image receiving terminal 700 displays the image stored together with the user ID on the storage apparatus 900, as performed for the cradle apparatus 200 in the description of the first embodiment. Make a request. The storage apparatus 900 that has received the request performs the same process as the cradle apparatus 200 and transfers the image to the image receiving terminal 700.

  The functions of the storage apparatus 900 described in the above description can also be realized on the CF card 211 of the cradle apparatus 200. In this case, instead of the communication mode via the LAN 500 described above, the communication mode via the CF I / F 208 is used.

  Furthermore, recently, a digital camera 100 equipped with a wireless LAN function has been put on the market. In the case of this type of digital camera, the cradle device 200 as described above has a configuration in which the digital camera 100 is attached and detached. You do not have to take it. A digital camera of such a model is equipped with a wireless LAN I / F and an antenna inside, and a wireless LAN I via an antenna unit 213 as a server device having the same block configuration as the cradle device 200 shown in FIG. Communication with / F207.

  Communication can be realized by using a protocol such as TCP / IP and operating in the same manner as the data transmission / reception via the USB 300 described above. In this case, the tag information of the user ID recorded on the SD card 126 in the digital camera 100 and the list information of the image data are sent when a communication session is established between the digital camera 100 and the server device. To do.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to provide easy access control with respect to an image captured by the imaging apparatus.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, but the present invention is not limited to such specific embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention described in the claims.・ Change is possible.

1 is a system configuration diagram of an image distribution system including a digital camera 100, a cradle device 200, and an image receiving terminal 700. FIG. 1 is a block configuration diagram showing a digital camera 100. FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a cradle device 200. FIG. 5 is a diagram (part 1) illustrating an image access control management operation procedure of the image distribution system; FIG. 11 is a second diagram illustrating an image access control management operation procedure of the image distribution system;

Explanation of symbols

100 Digital Camera 200 Cradle Device 700 Image Receiving Terminal

Claims (3)

User identification information acquisition means for acquiring, from the imaging device, user identification information for identifying a user who can access an image added to each image captured by the imaging device;
When an access request for the image is received from an external terminal device that can communicate via a network, user identification information for identifying the user received from the external terminal device in response to the access request, and acquired by the user identification information acquisition means Image transfer means for determining whether or not the request is from an accessible user based on the user identification information, and executing the process relating to the transfer of the image when it is determined that the request is from the accessible user When,
A cradle device comprising:   The cradle apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the user identification information acquisition unit acquires user identification information included in tag information related to the image. An image access control method in a cradle device,
A power supply step for supplying power to the imaging device;
A user identification information acquisition step for acquiring, from the imaging device, user identification information for identifying a user who can access an image added to each image captured by the imaging device;
When an access request for the image is received from an external terminal device that can communicate via a network, user identification information for identifying the user received from the external terminal device in response to the access request, and acquired in the user identification information acquisition step An image transfer step of determining whether or not the request is from an accessible user based on the user identification information, and executing the processing relating to the transfer of the image when it is determined that the request is from an accessible user When,
An image access control method comprising:

Images