JP2008259055A - Imaging apparatus, printer, control method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an imaging apparatus capable of surely completing printing processing by preventing photographic data or printing designation information from being tampered or deleted during printing execution. <P>SOLUTION: The imaging apparatus 10 designates photographic data to be printed, stores a mark file in which the photographic data and printing designation information has been recorded, into removable media 14 as a file and manages the file. Printers 11, 12 exchange photographic data with the imaging apparatus 10 via a communication medium 13 and the movable media 14 respectively and execute printing of the photographic data corresponding to the printing destination information recorded in the mark file. A mark file 36 in which the photographic data 34 designated to be printed by the imaging apparatus 10 and the printing designation information has been recorded, is managed via extended directory entries 24 and 26 that can be referenced only from a specific service, and the mark file 36 is set so as not to be referred from processing other than the specific service. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus, a printing apparatus, a control method, and a program applied when performing file management or the like using a file system having an extended directory entry in a digital camera or the like that captures a digital photographic image.

  Conventionally, a printing method A and a printing method B are known as methods for printing photographing data captured by a digital camera by a printing apparatus. The printing method A is a method in which a digital camera and a printing apparatus are connected via a data transfer medium such as a USB or a wireless LAN, and shooting data is transmitted from the digital camera to the printing apparatus for printing. The printing method B is a method in which a removable medium that is attached to a digital camera and on which photographing data is recorded is removed and attached to a printing apparatus, and the photographing data that is directly recorded on the removable medium is read and printed by the printing apparatus. .

  Of the two printing methods described above, printing method B has been used mainly in a batch printing service for printing a plurality of photographed data in a batch at a laboratory print service at a photo lab. In recent years, a model having a function of directly reading out and printing image data recorded on a removable medium has also appeared in home printers.

  In the digital camera, when shooting data to be printed, the number of copies to be printed, and other incidental information are designated, these pieces of information are stored as DPOF (Digital Print Order Format) files along with the shooting data on a removable medium. The printing apparatus can perform batch print processing of shooting data based on information recorded in the DPOF file.

The following techniques have been proposed as prior art in the technical field (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2002-44577 A

  However, the printing method A has the following problems when transmission of shooting data from the digital camera to the printing apparatus is executed asynchronously by background processing or the like. If shooting data that has been designated for printing but has not yet completed printing processing is deleted by the shooting data deletion function of the digital camera, printing processing of shooting data that has not been printed cannot be completed normally.

  In the printing method B, when the user directly accesses the shooting data in the removable medium with a device capable of reading the recording contents of the removable medium and changes the DPOF file or deletes the shooting data, the following is performed: There's a problem. Printing of shooting data for which printing is specified cannot be completed normally.

  Therefore, it is necessary to conceal the shooting data designated for printing and the DPOF file or a similar mark file so that it is not accessed by the user during printing. However, these files are generally managed on an existing file system. For this reason, there is a problem that the concealment by the conventional file invisible attribute or the like is easily released on an apparatus capable of writing / reading the file system.

  An object of the present invention is to prevent image data and print designation information being printed from being altered or deleted, and to reliably complete a printing process, an imaging apparatus, a printing apparatus, a control method, And providing a program.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, an imaging apparatus according to the present invention is an imaging apparatus that includes an imaging unit and that can be attached with a removable storage medium, and that captures a print target from imaging data captured by the imaging unit. Print designation means for designating data and generating print designation information; management means for storing and managing the shooting data and the print designation information as files on the removable storage medium; and first management information by the management means. First reference means capable of referring to a file managed via the second management means, and second reference means capable of referencing a file managed by the management means via second management information. To do.

  The first reference means can refer to a file managed through a general directory entry as the first management information that can be referred to by an unspecified user.

  The second reference means can refer to a file managed through an extended directory entry as the second management information that can be referred to by a specific user.

  The management unit manages the shooting data designated as a print target by the print designation unit and the corresponding print designation information via the extended directory entry.

  According to the present invention, a file managed via the first management information that can be referred to by an unspecified user, and a file managed via the second management information that can be referred to by a specific user It is divided into. The shooting data designated as the printing target and the print designation information file are managed via the extended directory entry as the second management information that can be referred to by a specific user. As a result, it is possible to prevent tampering or deletion of shooting data or print designation information during printing execution, and it is possible to reliably complete the printing process.

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

  First, before describing each embodiment of the present invention individually, an outline of an imaging apparatus, a printing apparatus, and a removable medium constituting a printing system targeted in each embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a printing system that is a target in the first and second embodiments of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, an imaging apparatus 10 and a printing apparatus 11 that constitute a printing system are connected via a communication medium 13. Shooting data can be printed by transmitting shooting data captured by an imaging unit (not shown) of the imaging device 10 to the printing device 11 via the communication medium 13. Further, the imaging device 10 and the printing device 12 are configured so that a removable medium 14 (detachable storage medium) capable of storing shooting data can be attached and detached. By removing the removable medium 14 attached to the imaging device 10 and attaching it to the printing device 12, it is possible to print shooting data. That is, the printing apparatus 12 can exchange shooting data with the imaging apparatus 10.

  In the removable medium 14, shooting data 31, 32, 33, 34, 35 and a mark file 36 are stored. Shooting data can be deleted from the removable medium 14. The removable medium 14 is formatted in a file system format for storing and managing the shooting data 31 to 35 and the mark file 36 as files. The shooting data 31 to 35 are managed by general directory entries 21 to 23 and 25 and an extended directory entry 24, respectively. The mark file 36 is managed by the extended directory entry 26. Further, the shooting data and the mark file 36 are stored in association with any one of the directory entries.

  The general directory entry is a directory entry that can be referred (accessed) by an unspecified user (service). The extended directory entry is a directory entry that can be referenced (accessed) only from a specific user (service). General directory entries and extended directory entries are classified (differentiated) by directory entry identifiers. Details of the directory entry will be described later with reference to FIG.

  In the first and second embodiments, an extended directory entry accessible only to a specific user (service) is defined as described above with respect to the conventional file system. An object of the imaging apparatus is to use an extended directory entry to conceal image data being printed and a mark file such as a DPOF file, and to reliably complete a printing process (service).

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a main part of the imaging apparatus and the printing apparatus of the printing system of FIG.

  In FIG. 2, an imaging apparatus 10 includes a print execution processing unit 101 (print execution instruction unit, first reference unit, and second reference unit), and a print designation processing unit 102 (first reference unit and second reference unit). , A print designation unit), a file deletion processing unit 103 (first reference unit, deletion unit), and a communication interface unit (hereinafter referred to as a communication I / F unit) 104. The printing apparatus 11 includes a communication I / F unit 111 and a print processing unit 112. Shooting data shot by the imaging apparatus 10 can be stored in a removable medium 14 attached to the imaging apparatus 10. Since the configuration of the printing apparatus 12 is the same as that of the printing apparatus 11, illustration and description are omitted.

  In the imaging apparatus 10, the file deletion processing unit 103 performs processing for deleting the shooting data 105 stored in the removable medium 14. The print designation processing unit 102 designates photographing data instructed by the user as a print target image, generates print designation information corresponding to the photographing data, and designates printing in the mark file 106 stored in the removable medium 14. Processing to record information is performed.

  The print execution processing unit 101 reads the print designation information recorded in the mark file 106, reads the shooting data 105 to be printed from the removable medium 14 based on this, and transmits it to the printing apparatus 11 via the communication I / F unit 104. Perform the process. The print execution processing unit 101 executes these series of print execution processes asynchronously as background processes. The printing apparatus 11 receives the shooting data 105 from the imaging apparatus 10 via the communication I / F unit 111, and executes printing in the print processing unit 112.

  The file system on the removable medium 14 has extended directory entries 108 and 109 and a general directory entry 110. The extended directory entries 108 and 109 are directory entries that can be referred to from the print execution processing unit 101 and the print designation processing unit 102 but cannot be referred to from the file deletion processing unit 103. The general directory entry 110 is a directory entry that can be referenced from any of the print execution processing unit 101, the print designation processing unit 102, and the file deletion processing unit 103.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the structure of the directory entry.

  In FIG. 3, the directory entry 300 has a file name 301, an extension 302, an attribute 303, a directory entry identifier 304, an update time 305, an update date 306, a leading cluster number 307, and a file size 308. If the directory entry identifier 304 is 0x00, the directory entry 300 means a general directory entry, and if the directory entry identifier 304 is 0xFF, it means an extended directory entry.

  The extended directory entries 108 and 109 and the general directory entry 110 in FIG. 2 are classified by this directory entry identifier 304. In addition, the location of the file managed for each directory entry can be specified by the head cluster number 307.

  In this embodiment, the directory entry identifier 304 is defined as a general directory entry when the directory entry identifier 304 is 0x00, and the extension directory entry is defined when the directory entry identifier 304 is 0xFF. However, the present invention is not limited to this. In an actual configuration, the directory entry identifier 304 may be a value that can uniquely identify a general directory entry and an extended directory entry.

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the printing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a state in the removable medium of the printing system of FIG.

  In FIG. 4, the printing system includes an imaging device 10 and a printing device 11. In the present embodiment, the imaging device 10 is configured as a digital camera, the printing device 11 is configured as a printer, and the communication medium 13 between the imaging device 10 and the printing device 11 is configured as a USB (Universal Serial Bus) cable. Yes. The imaging device 10 and the printing device 11 have the configuration shown in FIG.

  A removable medium 14 is attached to the imaging apparatus 10. The removable media 14 stores shooting data 421, 422, 423, 424, 425. The shooting data 421, 422, 423, 424, and 425 are managed by general directory entries 411, 412, 413, 414, and 415, respectively.

  Next, control in the printing system of the present embodiment having the above-described configuration will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

  Note that the flowchart of FIG. 6A is executed by the CPU of the imaging apparatus 10 based on a program stored in a ROM (not shown). The flowchart of FIG. 6B is executed by the CPU of the printing apparatus 11 based on a program stored in a ROM (not shown).

  In the imaging apparatus 10, when any of the shooting data 421 to 425 is to be deleted by the file deletion processing unit 103, the following shooting data can be referred to and deleted. The shooting data 421 to 425 are managed under the general directory entries 411 to 415, respectively. Therefore, the file deletion processing unit 103 that can refer only to the general directory entry can refer to all the shooting data, and can delete any shooting data.

  Next, in the imaging apparatus 10, when the print designation processing unit 102 designates, for example, the shooting data 422 and 424 in the removable medium 14 as a print target (step S1), the following processing is performed. The print designation processing unit 102 rewrites the directory entry identifier 304 (FIG. 3) of the general directory entries 412 and 414 managing the shooting data 422 and 424 from 0x00 to 0xFF (step S2). Further, the print designation processing unit 102 sets the shooting data 422 and 424 to be under the extended directory entries 416 and 417 (FIG. 5), respectively.

  When the print designation processing unit 102 determines which shooting data is to be printed (in this embodiment, the shooting data 422 and 424), the print designation information is stored in the mark file 430 (FIG. 5) in the removable medium 14. Record (step S3). The mark file 430 is managed under the extended directory entry 418. After the print designation processing unit 102 completes designation of the print target of the photographic data, the print execution processing unit 101 performs print execution processing.

  The print execution processing unit 101 first reads the print designation information recorded in the mark file 430, reads the shooting target image data designated by the print designation information, and transfers it to the printing apparatus 11 via the USB cable 13. (Step S4). The printing apparatus 11 receives the shooting data via the communication I / F unit 111 (step S11), and prints the shooting data by the print processing unit 112 (step S12).

  As described above, the print execution processing unit 101 asynchronously executes a series of print execution processing as background processing. As a result, the imaging apparatus 10 can execute other processes without waiting for the printing of all the shooting data designated by the print designation processing unit 102 to be completed.

  Here, it is assumed that file deletion processing is executed by the file deletion processing unit 103 in the imaging apparatus 10. As described above, only the general directory entry can be referred to from the file deletion processing unit 103, and the extended directory entry cannot be referred to. Therefore, the extended directory entries 416 and 417 cannot be accessed from the file deletion processing unit 103. As a result, it is possible to prevent the photographing data being currently printed from being deleted before the printing is completed and the printing process being terminated abnormally.

  After the printing of the shooting data 422 and 424 by the printing apparatus 11 is completed, the directory entry identifier 304 of the extended directory entries 416 and 417 is returned from 0xFF to 0x00 by the print execution processing unit 101 of the imaging apparatus 10. Accordingly, the photographing data 422 and 424 are managed again under the general directory entries 412 and 414, respectively.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the shooting data designated for printing by the imaging apparatus 10 and the mark file in which the printing designation information is recorded are managed via the extended directory entry that can be referred to only from a specific service. Set so that it cannot be referenced from processes other than the specific service. That is, an extended directory entry that can be accessed only by a specific user (service) is defined, and shooting data and a mark file that are being printed are concealed using the extended directory entry.

  As a result, it is possible to prevent falsification or deletion of print designation information recorded in the shooting data or mark file during printing, and it is possible to reliably complete the printing process (service). It becomes.

[Second Embodiment]
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a printing system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a state in the removable medium of the printing system of FIG.

  In FIG. 7, the printing system includes an imaging device 10, a printing device 11, and a printing device 12. In the present embodiment, the imaging device 10 is configured as a digital camera, the printing devices 11 and 12 are configured as a printer, and the communication medium 13 between the imaging device 10 and the printing device 11 is configured as a USB cable. The imaging device 10 and the printing devices 11 and 12 have the configuration shown in FIG.

  In the present embodiment, another printing apparatus 12 is added to the configuration of the first embodiment (FIG. 4). The printing apparatus 12 includes a media storage unit (not shown) to which the removable media 14 can be attached and detached, and a print user interface (hereinafter referred to as a print UI) 121 that displays a print status for the user and a user issues a print instruction. Further, the printing apparatus 12 has a function capable of referring to the general directory entry and the extended directory entry.

  Next, control in the printing system of the present embodiment having the above-described configuration will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 9 (a), (b), and (c).

  Note that the flowchart of FIG. 9A is executed by the CPU of the imaging apparatus 10 based on a program stored in a ROM (not shown). The flowchart of FIG. 9B is executed by the CPU of the printing apparatus 11 based on a program stored in a ROM (not shown). The flowchart of FIG. 9C is executed by the CPU of the printing apparatus 12 based on a program stored in a ROM (not shown).

  Now, a case is assumed where, for example, the photographing data 422 and 424 are designated as print targets by the print designation processing unit 102 in the imaging apparatus 10 (step S21). In this case, as in the first embodiment (see FIG. 5), the shooting data 422 and 424 are generated under the extended directory entries 416 and 417, respectively, and the mark file 430 is generated under the extended directory entry 418. It is assumed that

  Next, a print execution process is performed by the print execution processing unit 101 of the imaging apparatus 10, and the shooting data 422 and 424 to be printed are transferred to the printing apparatus 11 via the USB cable 13 (step S22). The printing apparatus 11 receives the shooting data 422 and 424 via the communication I / F unit 111 (step S31), and the printing processing unit 112 prints the shooting data 422 (step S32).

  When the printing of the shooting data 422 is completed by the printing apparatus 11, the shooting data 422 is managed by the general directory entry 412. Further, the print designation processing unit 102 of the imaging apparatus 10 records the completion of printing of the shooting data 422 in the mark file 430 (step S23). FIG. 8 shows the relationship between each directory entry and each photographic data in a state where printing of the photographic data 422 is completed.

  Now, assuming that the print execution processing by the print execution processing unit 101 is interrupted in a state where printing of the shooting data 422 has been completed (step S24), the state of the removable medium 14 attached to the imaging device 10 is the state shown in FIG. Is maintained. Therefore, the removable medium 14 is taken out from the imaging device 10 and mounted on the printing device 12. The printing apparatus 12 reads the mark file 430 from the removable medium 14, confirms that the shooting data 424 has not been printed (step S41), and displays that fact on the print UI 121 (step S42), thereby printing to the user. Prompt to continue processing.

  When the user instructs the continuation of the printing process by the printing apparatus 12 via the printing UI 121, the printing apparatus 12 prints the shooting data 424 by a print processing unit (not shown) (step S43). Subsequent handling of the extended directory entry and the general directory entry is the same as in the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

  In this embodiment, when the printing process performed between the imaging apparatus 10 and the printing apparatus 11 is interrupted and the printing process is resumed by another printing apparatus 12, the removable between the imaging apparatus 10 and the printing apparatus 12. Insertion / extraction of the medium 14 occurs.

  In the prior art, when there is a device that can read out the storage contents of the removable medium, it is possible to tamper or destroy these data if this device can read the shooting data and mark file in the removable medium. . Therefore, continuation of the printing process is not guaranteed.

  On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the photographing data being printed is under the management of the extended directory entry, and the extended directory entry is a directory entry that can be referred to only by a specific user (service). Therefore, the printing process can be reliably restarted by the printing apparatus 12 without any risk of falsification or destruction of the stored contents in the process of inserting / removing the removable medium 14 between the imaging apparatus 10 and the printing apparatus 12.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the shooting data designated for printing by the imaging apparatus 10 and the mark file in which the printing designation information is recorded are managed via the extended directory entry that can be referred to only from a specific service. Set so that it cannot be referenced from processes other than the specific service. That is, an extended directory entry that can be accessed only by a specific user (service) is defined, and shooting data and a mark file that are being printed are concealed using the extended directory entry.

  As a result, it is possible to prevent falsification or deletion of print designation information recorded in the shooting data or mark file during printing, and it is possible to reliably complete the printing process (service). It becomes.

[Other embodiments]
In the first and second embodiments, the USB cable is used as a communication medium between the imaging apparatus and the printing apparatus, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, other communication media such as a wireless LAN, IrDA, and IEEE1394 can be used.

  In the first and second embodiments, a printer is used as the printing apparatus. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, other printing apparatuses such as a copying machine and a multifunction machine can be used.

  The object of the present invention is achieved by executing the following processing. That is, a storage medium that records a program code of software that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus, and a program code stored in the storage medium by a computer (or CPU, MPU, or the like) of the system or apparatus Is a process of reading.

  In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the program code and the storage medium storing the program code constitute the present invention.

  Moreover, the following can be used as a storage medium for supplying the program code. For example, floppy (registered trademark) disk, hard disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-ROM, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD + RW, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM or the like. Alternatively, the program code may be downloaded via a network.

  Further, the present invention includes a case where the function of the above-described embodiment is realized by executing the program code read by the computer. In addition, an OS (operating system) running on the computer performs part or all of the actual processing based on an instruction of the program code, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing. Is also included.

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

It is a figure which shows the structural example of the printing system made into object by the 1st and 2nd embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a main part of an imaging apparatus and a printing apparatus of the printing system of FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure of a directory entry. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the printing system which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a state in a removable medium of the printing system in FIG. 4. (A), (b) is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the imaging device and printing apparatus of the printing system of FIG. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the printing system which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the state in the removable medium of the printing system of FIG. (A), (b), (c) is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the imaging device and printing apparatus of the printing system of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Imaging device 11, 12 Printing device 13 Communication medium 14 Removable media 21, 22, 23, 25 General directory entry 24, 26 Extended directory entry 31, 32, 33, 34, 35 Shooting data 36 Mark file 101 Print execution processing unit 102 Print designation processing unit 103 File deletion processing unit

Claims (9)

An image pickup apparatus that includes an image pickup unit and is attachable to a removable storage medium,
Print designation means for designating shooting data to be printed from shooting data imaged by the imaging means and generating print designation information;
Management means for storing and managing the photographing data and the print designation information as a file in the removable storage medium;
First reference means capable of referring to a file managed by the management means via the first management information;
Second reference means capable of referring to a file managed by the management means via second management information;
An imaging apparatus comprising:   2. The first reference means can refer to a file managed via a general directory entry as the first management information that can be referred to by an unspecified user. Imaging device.   The imaging according to claim 1, wherein the second reference means can refer to a file managed via an extended directory entry as the second management information that can be referred to by a specific user. apparatus.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the management unit manages shooting data designated as a print target by the print designation unit and corresponding print designation information via the extended directory entry.   The removable storage medium is formatted in a file system format, and stores the shooting data and a mark file in which the print designation information is recorded in association with any one of the directory entries. The imaging device according to claim 1.   The apparatus further comprises a deletion unit capable of deleting shooting data stored in the removable storage medium, and a print execution instruction unit for instructing execution of printing of shooting data corresponding to the print designation information. Item 6. The imaging device according to any one of Items 1 to 5. A printing apparatus capable of exchanging the shooting data with the imaging apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6 via the removable storage medium or communication medium,
A printing apparatus that prints image data corresponding to the print designation information recorded in the mark file. A control method for an image pickup apparatus including an image pickup means and a removable storage medium attached thereto,
A print designation step for designating shooting data to be printed from the shooting data imaged by the imaging means and generating print designation information;
A management step of storing and managing the photographing data and the print designation information as a file in the removable storage medium;
A first reference step capable of referring to a file managed by the management step via the first management information;
A second reference step capable of referring to the file managed by the management step via the second management information;
A control method comprising: A program that causes a computer to execute a control method of an imaging apparatus that includes an imaging unit and is attachable to a removable storage medium,
A print designation step for designating shooting data to be printed from the shooting data imaged by the imaging means and generating print designation information;
A management step of storing and managing the photographing data and the print designation information as a file in the removable storage medium;
A first reference step capable of referring to a file managed by the management step via the first management information;
A second reference step capable of referring to the file managed by the management step via the second management information;
A program comprising:

Images