JP2009040051A - Printer, and printing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a hard copy of a high picture quality to be easily obtained, and in addition, to save labor and time until the hard copy is obtained. <P>SOLUTION: An image is picked up by a digital still camera 9. The camera 9 has a memory for the storage of photographed frames, and a memory for transferred image data, and automatically transfers the picked up image data to a laboratory store. The laboratory store is equipped with printing equipment 10. The printing equipment 10 has a data receiving section 30, an image storage file 31, a digital printer 32, and a bill issuing printer 33. The image data which has been transferred from the camera 9 is stored in the image storage file 31 conforming to identification data. The printing is performed by the digital printer 32 conforming to the image data and printing instruction data. Since the image data are transferred at each time of photographing, a large number of frames can be photographed without limit without caring about the storage capacity. Since the data transfer is performed, the hard copy can quickly be obtained. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printer and a printing method.

In the current camera and photo print system, the filmed negative film is handed over to a development shop or a DP reception store, and after the simultaneous printing and the like are completed, they are picked up. Further, in a conventional electronic still camera, a recording medium such as a floppy disk or an LSI card is loaded in the camera and image data is stored in the recording medium (see Patent Document 1).
JP-A-7-288767

  As described above, in the conventional photo print system, it is necessary to use a recording medium such as a negative film or a floppy disk. In addition, it is necessary to deliver these recording media to a development shop or a DP reception shop, and it takes time and effort to order DP processing.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and a printer and a printing method that can obtain a high-quality print without preparing a large number of recording media, and save labor and time until a print is obtained. The purpose is to provide.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, a camera including a data communication unit that transfers image data, identification data corresponding to the image data, print instruction data of the image data, and shooting condition data of the image data. A data receiving unit that receives the image data, the identification data, the print instruction data, and the shooting condition data transferred from the image data; an image storage file that stores the image data based on the identification data; and the image storage file Printing means for creating a print from the image data read out from the image data, and a print control unit for controlling the printing means based on the print instruction data defining the operating conditions of the printing means and the photographing condition data. And

  Further, the present invention is characterized in that the image data, the identification data, the print instruction data, and the photographing condition data are received by being selected from a transfer destination list of the image data recorded in the camera. To do. The print instruction data includes trimming print instruction data.

  In addition, the camera collectively transfers the image data, the identification data, and the print instruction data, and the data receiving unit collectively transfers the image data, the identification data, and the print instruction data. It is what receives. In the present invention, the data receiving unit further receives character data, and the printing unit creates a print in which the image data and the character data are combined.

  Further, the print control unit has a bill issuing printer that calculates a billing content based on a content of a print process, prints the calculated billing content, and issues a bill. Further, the printer includes a back printing machine that prints an identification number and a barcode thereof on the back of the print, and the bill issuing printer specifies a customer name from the identification data, and includes a customer name, delivery date, delivery location, The amount and the barcode of the identification data are printed.

  The printing method of the present invention is transferred from a camera having a data communication unit that transfers image data, identification data corresponding to the image data, print instruction data of the image data, and shooting condition data of the image data. The image data, the identification data, the print instruction data, and the shooting condition data are received by a data receiving unit, the image data is stored in an image storage file based on the identification data, and is read from the image storage file. A print is created by the printing means from the image data thus obtained, and the printing means is controlled by a print control unit based on the print instruction data and the photographing condition data defining the operating conditions of the printing means.

  In the present invention, it is possible to save the trouble of bringing a negative film or a recording medium into a DP reception store or the like as in the prior art in order to obtain a print. In addition, in the DP reception store and the laboratory store, reception processing, sorting, billing processing, and the like can be automatically performed without performing manual reception processing. In addition, since the data is transferred after the photographing is completed, a quick print process can be performed.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a printing system of the present invention. The printing system includes a digital still camera 9 and a printing facility 10 installed in a lab shop. The digital still camera 9 and the printing facility 10 are connected by a mobile phone line 11. The digital still camera 9 includes a still camera body 12, a data communication unit 13, and a system controller 14 that controls them.

  The still camera body 12 includes an imaging unit 15, an image processing unit 16, and a buffer memory 17. The imaging unit 15 includes a three-plate image area sensor, and images a subject. The image processing section 16 performs A / D conversion after performing gamma conversion and well-known image processing, and stores this in the buffer memory 17. The buffer memory 17 is composed of two frame memories 17a and 17b. When data compression processing or the like is performed in one frame memory 17a, the image data from the image processing unit 16 is stored in the other frame memory 17b. Can be written.

  The data communication unit 13 includes a data compression unit 18, an identification / instruction data generation unit 19, and a mobile phone unit 20. The data compression unit 18 reads out digital image data for one frame from one of the frame memories 17a and 17b, and compresses the image data at a compression rate of about 1/10 to 1/20 with JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group). To do. The compressed image data is sent to the mobile phone unit 20. The data compression method is not limited to JPEG, and other known compression methods may be used.

  The identification / instruction data generation unit 19 generates identification number data (ID data) for specifying the camera user and print instruction data corresponding to various print commands input from the key input unit 21. These identification / instruction data are sent to the mobile phone unit 20. The print instruction data includes index print instruction data, single frame print instruction data, print size data, print number data, print reception instruction data, image data storage instruction data, and image data medium recording instruction data. Special print instruction data such as panorama print and trim print can also be input. When these print instruction data are set in advance, they are stored in the memory, and are subsequently output until their contents are changed. The print receipt instruction data designates a print receipt desired time and a receipt method such as mailing, home delivery, and store delivery.

  The mobile phone unit 20 associates the compressed image data with the identification / instruction data, and transfers the data to the lab shop using the well-known mobile phone line 11, from the modem 24 and the mobile phone 25. It is configured. Since the cellular phone 25 only transfers image data and identification / instruction data in this embodiment, the call function is omitted. When there is a general telephone line or a public telephone line that can be used nearby, a connection terminal to a line port of a public telephone or the like is provided so that wired data transfer is possible. The data transfer is automatically performed after each processing such as imaging, image processing, image recording, data compression, and the like, whereby the image data, the identification / instruction data, Is transferred. As described above, since the image data is transferred together with the identification / instruction data to the print facility 10 at the lab store when the photographing is completed, the storage capacity of the recording medium can be reduced without worrying about the storage capacity of the conventional recording medium. An unlimited number of frames can be taken. Note that a frame identification number is assigned to each image data in order to identify each shooting frame. As the frame identification number, shooting date / time data may be used in addition to a simple count of the number of shooting frames.

  The data communication unit 13 has a browsing mode for browsing the image data transferred to the lab store. In this browsing mode, the camera 9 accesses the image storage file 31 of the lab store, captures the index image or single frame image of each frame that has been shot up to the camera 9 side, and this is read into the electronic viewfinder or display of the camera 9. Further, it is selectively displayed on a display or the like separate from the camera.

  The lab store is provided with a printing facility 10 that performs printing based on the transferred image data. The printing facility 10 includes a data receiving unit 30, an image storage file 31, a digital printer 32, a bill issuing printer 33, and a system controller 34.

  The data receiving unit 30 includes a modem 35 connected to a telephone line and a data conversion unit 36 that decodes data from the modem 35 into image data and identification / instruction data. Image data and identification / instruction data from the data converter 36 are stored in the image storage file 31 by the system controller 34 using the identification data as search data.

  Based on the print instruction data, the system controller 34 controls the digital printer 32 to create a hard copy 45 as shown in FIG. First, the print receipt desired time is read from the print instruction data, and the image data is read out and digitally printed from the print receipt desired time approaching. At that time, the single frame print instruction data, the index print instruction data, the print size data, and the print number data of the print instruction data are read, and each print is performed in accordance with these instruction contents. Further, the back printer 42 prints the identification number and its barcode on the back side of the hard copy 45.

  Further, the system controller 34 calculates the contents of the bill based on the contents of the print processing and outputs this to the bill issuing printer 33. The invoice issuing printer 33 specifies the customer name from the identification number, and prints the invoice contents such as the customer name, delivery date, delivery location, amount, and the like. The identification number and its barcode are also recorded on the invoice. By automatically reading these numbers, the finished hard copy 45 is grouped for each identification number, and the hard copy 45 and the invoice are automatically verified. It is made into one unit and packed in a bag. The hard copy 45 packed in a bag is classified by specifying a receiving method such as mailing, delivery to the home, or over-the-counter delivery based on the print receiving instruction data. And according to each sort, these are mailed, delivered to home, and delivered to the store.

  In addition, the system controller 34 reads the image data storage instruction data from among the print instruction data, and those instructed to store the image data store the image data for a predetermined period without deleting the image data. deep. This enables browsing and downloading of images from the camera 9 or through personal computer communication. In addition, for only print instruction data and no instruction to save image data, the corresponding image data in the image storage file 31 is erased at the stage where printing and print verification are completed. In the case of image data on which image data medium recording instruction data has been recorded, the image data is erased after writing the image data to a large-capacity storage medium such as an MO, CD-ROM, or MD. To do.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the digital printer 32 includes a printing exposure unit 40 of a scanning exposure method using a laser beam. The printing exposure unit 40 prints and exposes each frame by scanning the printing beam in the width direction of the color paper 41 in synchronization with the feeding of the color paper (silver salt color photosensitive material) 41. In the case of an index image, a large number of images are reduced and printed within a normal single frame size.

  On the back surface of the color paper 41, an identification number and its barcode are printed by the back printer 42 at a position corresponding to each frame to be printed. This identification number and bar code are used for collation between the hard copy and the bill. In addition to the scanning exposure method using a laser beam, the printing exposure unit 40 may use a surface exposure method or a line exposure method using another CRT, a liquid crystal display panel, or the like. Further, after printing, a cut mark is recorded in the margin of each frame by a marker 43 such as a puncher. The color paper 41 that has been subjected to printing exposure is developed by a paper processor 44 as is well known, and then separated for each frame on the basis of the cut marks to create a hard copy 45.

  In the above embodiment, the photographic print type digital printer 32 is used. Alternatively, a heat development transfer type color printer, a color inkjet printer, a color thermal printer, and a color laser printer may be used.

  In the above embodiment, the image data is digitally printed. In addition to this, the character data and document data input by a word processor or the like are sent to a lab store by personal computer communication or the like, and the image data sent earlier and these characters, The document data may be combined with an image and printed. Further, instead of synthesizing characters and document data, images may be printed on the back side of the hard copy 45 using a back printing machine 42 as shown in FIG.

  Further, high resolution image data may be obtained using a pixel shifting method. For example, the image area sensor of the imaging unit is moved in a range narrower than the interval of one pixel by a piezoelectric element or the like on the imaging screen and sequentially captured, and image data with a resolution higher than the number of pixels of the image area sensor is simulated. obtain. In this case, data representing the pixel shift position (x, y coordinates) and the corresponding image data are transferred to the laboratory store. Then, instead of encoding the image data alone, the inter-image difference data is encoded by using the fact that the correlation between sequentially captured pixel shifted images is high (because the same scene is captured). If a method for encoding inter-image difference data is used in this way, the amount of stored and transferred data can be reduced. In a lab store, high-resolution image data is created and printed by pixel interpolation processing using pixel shift position data and corresponding image data. At this time, image processing such as smoothing and enhancement may be added as necessary.

  Next, an example in which the present invention is implemented for a video camera that captures moving images will be described. Nearly the same scene is shown before and after the frame image at a certain time. When the screen is completely stationary, noise generated between the imaging input system and the recording system can be effectively removed by taking an average value of a plurality of frame images during the stationary time. Further, when the screen is moving (in the case of screen movement within a predetermined allowable range), the moving image has the effect of pixel shifting. Therefore, pseudo high resolution image data is obtained by using the image data of the frames before and after the print target frame for pixel complementation processing. In this case, it is necessary to obtain the direction and the movement distance on the pixel, and the direction and the movement distance can be obtained by performing local matching between frames. For example, when an image after n frames from an image at a certain time moves by (dx, dy) pixels on the pixels of the image area sensor, the pixels are shifted by (dx / n, dy / n) per frame. It can be regarded as a thing. Here, dx represents the amount of movement in the x-axis direction, and dy represents the amount of movement in the y-axis direction. Then, a frame image at a timing at which these pixel shift amounts (dx / n, dy / n) take values other than integers is used as pixel complementing data. Note that when a print is obtained from a moving image, for example, a moving image shooting function is added to the digital still camera 49 shown in FIG. Then, the identification / instruction data generation unit 19 shown in FIG. 3 designates image data that is a print target frame from the moving image captured by the imaging unit.

  In the above embodiment, the data communication unit 13 is integrally provided in the digital still camera 9, but these may be separable. Further, a call function may be added to the data communication unit 13 so that both the camera and the mobile phone are used. In the above-described embodiment, the camera 9 and the printing facility 10 are connected via the mobile phone line 11, but they may be directly connected by radio.

  In the above embodiment, the print instruction data is input on the camera side and transferred together with the image data. However, the print instruction data is registered in the lab store in advance, and only when there is a change, You may make it contact by telephone etc. Further, the photographing condition data may be transferred together with the image data. The shooting condition data includes shooting date and time, shooting lens focal length, subject distance, subject irradiation light source type, weather, temperature, and the like. By using these during printing, print quality can be improved. Further, when instructing the extra printing, since the image data has already been transferred, the identification data and the number of prints may be transferred to the printing facility 10 by the camera 9, and the extra print can be easily performed. .

  The above embodiment is a printing system between an individual user and a lab shop. However, the printing system may be implemented in a printing system between a photographer and a head office in a newspaper company or a television station. In this case, an immediate image can be easily obtained.

  In the above embodiment, the digital still camera 9 is configured by the still camera body 12 and the data communication unit 13, but in addition to this, an IC card can be mounted and image data can be stored therein. . In this case, if necessary, an IC card may be submitted to a lab store to receive a print service. Furthermore, at a lab store near the place where the user is away, only image data may be passed from a camera or IC card, and a print may be received or delivered from a lab store near the home. In this case, data such as a customer identification number and an address and name are stored in the IC card as necessary.

  In the above embodiment, the identification data and the instruction data are transferred together with the image data every time the image is taken. In addition, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the digital still camera 49 stores the compressed image data. A data memory 22 for storing a plurality of frames may be provided, and data may be transferred after shooting a plurality of frames. In this case, the data memory 22 is provided between the data compression unit 18 and the mobile phone unit 20. Each image data and print instruction data are stored in the data memory 22 in association with each other. In FIG. 3, the same components as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals. The still camera body 50 includes an image display circuit 51 and a liquid crystal display panel 52 so that a captured image can be confirmed on the liquid crystal display panel 52.

  In addition to image data and print instruction data, the data memory 22 also stores unique data such as identification number data for specifying the camera user and destination telephone number data. These unique data may be registered in the transmission destination memory of the mobile phone unit 20 instead of being stored in the data memory 22, and may be further stored in the built-in memory of the system controller 14.

  When data transmission is performed for a plurality of shooting frames at once, user identification number data is transferred in addition to a series of image data, frame identification data, and print designation data. In addition to sending identification data, image data, and print instruction data for each shooting frame as in the above embodiment, this user identification number is transferred to each image data and these print instruction data using the identification data as a footer. They may be transferred together. When transferring each data for each shooting frame, it is convenient because it is not necessary to transfer the transferred shooting frame again when the communication line is interrupted due to radio wave interference or the like during transfer. In this case, when each frame is normally received, the printing facility transmits a normal reception signal after the reception of each frame is completed. As a result, when the line is interrupted during communication, it is sufficient to transmit again from the interrupted frame, and the communication cost can be reduced. In FIG. 4, when data is not normally received, data is transferred until it is normally received. However, a limit may be set on the number of times this data is retransferred. In this case, an alarm is generated when a certain number of times is exceeded. Further, the user identification number data and the frame number identification data may be used in combination. In this case, the user and the photographing frame can be identified by one identification number.

  The transfer of the image data of a plurality of frames recorded in the data memory 22 is performed after a certain number of frames are photographed as shown in FIG. 4, and when a certain amount of data is stored in the data memory 22, the data It may be transferred. Further, the accumulated image data, identification data, and print designation data may be transferred after a fixed time has elapsed since the photographing was completed. Furthermore, the manual transfer mode may be set and data may be transferred manually as appropriate. Further, when the data is transferred, if the camera 9 is in an incommunicable area such as a building or an underground mall, the data transfer standby mode is automatically set. In this data transfer standby mode, data transfer is performed when the camera 9 enters the communicable area.

  When the transmission of the image data is completed and a normal reception signal is received from the receiving side, after the transmission record is stored in a predetermined area of the data memory 22, the transmitted image data and the print instruction data thereof are transmitted from the data memory 22. Are automatically deleted. The transmission record data includes transmission date / time data, transmission frame identification number data, print receipt designation data, and the like. In addition to automatic deletion, these data may be deleted manually. Alternatively, instead of sending a normal reception signal from the reception source, if the reception is normal, a reception ID number may be issued at the reception lab store and transmitted from the reception source to the camera 9 side. In this case, the received reception ID number is stored in the data memory 22 on the camera side.

  The transfer destination of image data is not only transferred to those registered in the camera in advance, but also stored in the camera data memory 22 in a list of image data transfer destinations. Also good. In this case, a reception facility 60 as shown in FIG. 5 is provided for each region. The reception facility 60 is generally installed in a lab shop, but it may be provided alone.

  The reception facility 60 includes a data receiving unit 61, a temporary storage file 62, a recipient data decoding unit 63, a retransmission data generating unit 64, a retransmission file creating unit 65, a data transmitting unit 66, and a system controller 67. The data receiver 61 and the data transmitter 66 are composed of modems 70 and 71 and data converters 72 and 73. The transmission data from the digital still camera 49 received by the data receiving unit 61 is sent to the destination data decoding unit 63 in addition to being stored in the temporary storage file 62. The recipient data decoding unit 63 decodes the recipient from the transmission data and sends the recipient data and identification data to the retransmission data generating unit 64. The re-transmission data generation unit 64 creates re-transmission data with the reception destination as the transmission destination based on the reception destination data, and sends this and identification data to the re-transmission file creation unit 65. Based on the identification data, the retransmission file creation unit 65 reads the image data and print instruction data of the corresponding identification data from the temporary storage file 62, and creates a retransmission file with the print destination as the transmission destination. The created retransmission file is sent by the data transmission unit 66 via the dedicated line 75 to the print facility 10 of the target print recipient. Therefore, since printing is performed at the print recipient, the user can receive the print with the shortest delivery time. The retransmission file may be transmitted using the dedicated line 75 or a network such as the Internet using a general public line.

  Further, the transfer destination of the image data may be automatically selected based on the current position information of the camera. The input of the current position information of the camera is performed in a simple manner by the photographer himself / herself inputting a place name or the like with the key input unit 21. In this case, an association between the place name and the image data transfer destination is stored in the memory of the camera, and the image data transfer destination is specified from the place name. In the case of a camera equipped with a global positioning system (GPS), the current position is specified based on the GPS signal, and the transfer destination is specified based on the current position. In addition, in the case of the mobile phone unit 20 from which the received base station information can be obtained, the location of the received base station may be set as the approximate current position. Thus, by selecting a location closest to the current position of the camera as the data transfer destination, it is possible to minimize the communication cost when using a mobile phone line. Further, by inputting the current position information, a list of a plurality of image data transfer destinations close to the current position may be displayed on the liquid crystal display panel 52, and a desired data transfer destination may be selected from these lists. .

  Also, the print recipient information of the print instruction information may be changed at each time on the camera side in addition to a predetermined location, for example, at home or the nearest DP reception store. In this case, the place name and print destination data may be associated with each other and stored in the camera in advance, and may be automatically selected based on the current position information of the camera. As with the image data transfer destination, the print reception destination may also specify, for example, the nearest reception location based on the place name data, the GPS signal, and the receiving base station information. In this case, by inputting the desired print receipt time as the print receipt instruction data, it becomes possible to receive the print at the place designated at the time designated at the destination such as travel. Also, by inputting the current position information, a list of a plurality of print recipients close to the current location may be displayed on the liquid crystal display panel 52, and a favorite recipient may be selected from these.

  In the above embodiment, captured image data is transferred after being compressed, but in addition to this, the image data may be transferred as it is without compressing the data, although the transfer efficiency is lowered. The captured image data may be transferred after being confirmed on the camera display.

1 is a schematic view showing a printing system having a camera of the present invention. It is the schematic which shows a digital printer. It is the schematic which shows the digital still camera used by this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence in the camera. It is the schematic which shows the network of the reception equipment which relays the image data from the camera, and the printing equipment.

Explanation of symbols

9, 49 Camera 10 Printing equipment 11 Mobile phone line 12 Still camera body 13 Data communication unit 14 System controller 15 Imaging unit 16 Image processing unit 17 Buffer memory 18 Data compression unit 19 Identification / instruction data generation unit 20 Mobile phone unit 22 Data memory 30 Data receiver 31 Image storage file 32 Digital printer 33 Invoicing printer 34 System controller 41 Color paper 45 Hard copy

Claims (8)

Image data transferred from a camera having a data communication unit that transfers image data, identification data corresponding to the image data, print instruction data of the image data, and shooting condition data of the image data, the identification data, A data receiving unit for receiving the print instruction data and the shooting condition data;
An image storage file for storing the image data based on the identification data;
Printing means for creating a print from the image data read from the image storage file;
A printer comprising: a print control unit that controls the printing unit according to the print instruction data that defines an operation condition of the printing unit and the photographing condition data.   2. The image data, the identification data, the print instruction data, and the photographing condition data are received by being selected from a transfer destination list of the image data recorded in the camera. Printer.   3. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the print instruction data includes trimming print instruction data. The camera collectively transfers the image data, the identification data, and the print instruction data;
The printer according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the data receiving unit collectively receives the image data, the identification data, and the print instruction data. The data receiver further receives character data;
5. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the printing unit creates a print obtained by combining the image data and the character data. The print control unit calculates a charge based on the content of the print process,
6. The printer according to claim 1, further comprising a bill issuing printer that prints the calculated bill contents and issues a bill. A back printing machine for printing an identification number and a barcode on the back of the print;
7. The printer according to claim 6, wherein the invoice issuing printer specifies a customer name from the identification data, and prints the customer name, delivery date, delivery location, amount, and barcode of the identification data. Image data transferred from a camera having a data communication unit that transfers image data, identification data corresponding to the image data, print instruction data of the image data, and shooting condition data of the image data, the identification data, The print instruction data and the shooting condition data are received by a data receiving unit,
Storing the image data in an image storage file based on the identification data;
Create a print from the image data read from the image storage file by the printing means,
A printing method, wherein the printing unit is controlled by a printing control unit based on the printing instruction data defining the operating condition of the printing unit and the photographing condition data.

Images