JP2009065448A - Network controller, control method thereof, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a slide show with a feeling of unification by reducing variation in colors among images when the slide show is collectively performed on images stored in a plurality of image processors. <P>SOLUTION: Pieces of attribute information of the images are received from the respective image processors, and a parameter of image processing commonly used for the plurality of images is determined based on the received pieces of attribute information. In the slide show, the slide show is performed using the images to which the image processing is performed using the common parameter for image processing. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a network control apparatus for easily exchanging images between image processing terminals, a control method therefor, and a program.

  Digital data is easy to edit and communicate with images, and is used in a wide range of applications. These digital data are generally stored on electronic recording media such as CDs, DVDs, and hard disks.

  With the spread of digital products in recent years, there has been a movement to connect digital products on a network to form a home network and perform a cooperative operation. By forming a home network, it becomes possible to share AV contents such as music and video with devices existing on the home network. DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) defines the interoperability of devices when forming such a home network.

  When a device compatible with DLNA joins the network, it acquires an IP address, and broadcasts information on the services provided by the device on the network. A DLNA device having a function of controlling a device on the network can request a service from the device on the network by referring to the service information and perform various operations.

For example, a control device having a function of controlling other devices in the home network collects information (data size, shooting date / time, title, etc.) related to images provided from each image processing apparatus. The control device determines an arbitrary order in which those images are displayed and displays them on the image display device, so that a slide show of a plurality of devices can be performed on the home network. (For example, patent document 1).
JP 2006-113880 A

  For example, when images stored in a plurality of devices are displayed as a single slide show, images of different colors are sequentially reproduced because white balance settings and the like differ depending on the devices that have taken the images.

  In particular, for example, a kiss scene at a wedding or a goal scene at an athletic meet is likely to be taken by each camera. When a slide show of images shot in this way, images with different colors are sequentially displayed even though the same subject is shot in the same time period, and the sense of unity of the slide show is impaired.

  In order to solve the above problems, a network control device according to the present invention is a network control device that forms a network with a plurality of image processing devices, and receives a plurality of image attribute information from the image processing device. And a determination means for determining a common parameter commonly used for image processing for the plurality of images based on attribute information of the plurality of images received by the reception means, and using the common parameter determined by the determination means And display control means for sequentially displaying the plurality of images subjected to image processing on a display unit.

  According to the present invention, when performing a slide show of images, it is possible to reproduce a slide show with a sense of unity in sequentially displayed images, so that the user can appreciate the slide show without feeling uncomfortable. .

  Hereinafter, the best embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

<First Embodiment>
In this embodiment, a plurality of digital cameras as an example of an image processing apparatus and a television 201 as an example of a display apparatus form a home network. A method of displaying images of a plurality of digital cameras on the television 201 and exchanging images held between the digital cameras will be described.

<Device configuration>
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a digital camera according to an embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, the configuration of the digital camera in the embodiment of the present invention will be described.
Reference numeral 1 denotes a digital camera according to this embodiment.

  Reference numeral 2 denotes a photographing lens, 3 denotes a shutter having a diaphragm function, 4 denotes an image sensor that converts an optical image into an electric signal, and 5 denotes an A / D converter that converts an analog signal output from the image sensor 4 into a digital signal.

  A timing generation circuit 6 supplies a clock signal and a control signal to the image sensor 4, A / D converter 5, and D / A converter 7, and is controlled by a memory control circuit 8 and a system control circuit 9.

  An image processing circuit 10 performs predetermined pixel interpolation processing and color conversion processing on the data from the A / D converter 5 or the data from the memory control circuit 8.

  A memory control circuit 8 controls the A / D converter 5, the timing generation circuit 6, the image processing circuit 10, the image display memory 11, the D / A converter 7, and the memory 12.

  The data of the A / D converter 5 is written into the image display memory 11 or the memory 12 via the image processing circuit 10 and the memory control circuit 8 or the data of the A / D converter 5 is directly passed through the memory control circuit 8. It is.

  Reference numeral 11 denotes an image display memory, 7 denotes a D / A converter, 13 denotes an image display unit including a TFT LCD, and the image data for display written in the image display memory 11 passes through the D / A converter 7. Displayed by the display unit 13.

  An electronic viewfinder function can be realized by sequentially displaying image data captured using the display unit 13.

  Reference numeral 12 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 a predetermined time of moving images.

  Reference numeral 14 denotes an exposure control process for controlling the shutter 3 having an aperture function, and has a flash light control function in cooperation with the flash 17.

  Reference numeral 15 denotes a distance measurement control process for controlling the focusing of the photographing lens 2, and reference numeral 16 denotes a zoom control process for controlling the zooming of the photographing lens 2.

  Reference numeral 17 denotes a flash which has an AF auxiliary light projecting function and a flash light control function.

  Reference numeral 9 denotes a system control circuit that controls the entire digital camera 1 and controls the operation of each unit in accordance with a signal or program input from each unit. Reference numeral 20 denotes a memory for storing constants, variables, programs and the like for operating the system control circuit 9.

  Reference numeral 18 denotes a power control process, which includes a battery detection circuit, a DC-DC converter, a switch circuit for switching blocks to be energized, and the like. The power supply control process 18 detects the presence / absence of a battery, the type of battery, the remaining battery level, controls the DC-DC converter based on the detection result and the instruction of the system control circuit 9, and supplies the necessary voltage for a necessary period. , And supplied to each unit including the recording medium. Reference numeral 19 denotes a power source process including a primary battery such as an alkaline battery or a lithium battery, a secondary battery such as a NiCd battery, a NiMH battery, or a Li battery, an AC adapter, or the like.

  Reference numeral 21 denotes a state notification unit such as a liquid crystal display device or a speaker that displays an operation state, a message, or the like using characters, images, sounds, or the like in accordance with execution of a program in the system control circuit 9. The state notification unit 21 is installed at a single or a plurality of positions near the operation unit of the digital camera 1 and is easily visible, and is configured by a combination of, for example, an LCD, an LED, and a sounding element.

  Reference numeral 22 denotes an electrically erasable / recordable nonvolatile memory. Here, the wireless setting information of the device can be stored.

  Reference numeral 23 denotes a memory card interface for connecting a memory card, and reference numeral 24 denotes a USB interface for connecting to an external device using a USB.

  Reference numeral 25 denotes an operation process for inputting various operation instructions of the system control circuit 9, which is composed of a single or a combination of a switch, a dial, a touch panel, pointing by eye-gaze detection, a voice recognition device, and the like.

  Reference numeral 26 denotes a shutter switch, which is an exposure process for writing image data into the memory 12 through the A / D converter 5 and the memory control circuit 8 through the signal read from the image sensor 4, and an operation in the image processing circuit 10 and the memory control circuit 8. Instructs the start of a series of processing operations such as development processing using.

  Reference numeral 27 denotes a wireless communication circuit that transmits and receives wireless signals and controls wireless communication. Reference numeral 28 denotes an antenna for performing wireless communication with other devices.

  Reference numeral 29 denotes a position acquisition device for specifying the position of the device itself. An example of the position acquisition device 29 is a GPS (Global Positioning System), which can receive radio waves from a satellite and specify the position of its own device. The radio wave may be received periodically, or may be received at a specific timing, for example, when a specific operation member of the operation unit 25 is operated or when the shutter switch 26 is pressed. Good.

  Reference numeral 30 denotes a memory card, which stores images sent via the memory card interface. Although the memory card 30 in this embodiment is detachable from the digital camera 1, a storage medium for storing images may be built in the digital camera 1.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of the television 201 in the embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, the configuration of the television 201 in the embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  Reference numeral 201 denotes the television 201 in the present embodiment.

  An output unit 202 receives the output from the audio processing unit 205 and outputs audio or the like.

  A display unit 203 displays information for the user, and is processed by the display processing unit 206.

  An operation unit 204 of the television 201 is an operation process for inputting various operation instructions by the user via the system controller 207.

  Reference numeral 208 denotes an electrically erasable / recordable nonvolatile memory. Here, the wireless setting information of the device can be stored. Reference numeral 209 denotes a memory that stores constants, variables, programs, and the like for the operation of the television 201.

  Reference numeral 210 denotes a wireless communication circuit that transmits and receives wireless signals and controls wireless communication. Reference numeral 215 denotes an antenna for performing wireless communication with other devices.

  211 is a data input unit from an external device, and 212 is a data output unit to the external device. Reference numeral 213 denotes a tuner that receives a broadcast signal and gives it to the audio processing unit 205 and the display processing unit 206.

  Reference numeral 214 denotes a power supply process.

<System configuration>
Hereinafter, based on the configuration of these digital cameras and the television 201, in the present embodiment, a network is configured with a plurality of digital cameras and the television 201, and a slide show is performed on images held by the plurality of digital cameras. Will be described. The slide show in the present embodiment refers to a display form in which a plurality of images are sequentially displayed on the display device. The digital camera 1, 101, 102, 103 and the television 201 are controlled by the system control circuit 9 and the system controller 207 according to software programs stored in the nonvolatile memory 22 in FIG. 1 and the nonvolatile memory 208 in FIG. Execute.

  FIG. 3 is a network configuration example of a plurality of digital cameras and the television 201 in the present embodiment. Here, it is assumed that the digital cameras 101, 102, and 103 have the same configuration as that of the digital camera 1 shown in FIG. These devices store common information on memory parameters such as SSID (Service Set Identifier), which is network identification information used in a general wireless LAN, wireless communication channels, encryption keys, etc. in a memory in advance. deep. Based on the parameters, a wireless LAN network is constructed. The network constructed in this embodiment may be a wired LAN via a network hub or the like, and this embodiment does not depend on the form of the network to be constructed.

  In the system of this embodiment, a device having a role of controlling other devices is determined from devices on the network. In the present embodiment, one digital camera among a plurality of units has a role of controlling other devices such as other digital cameras and televisions. The controlling digital camera is referred to as “parent camera”, and the other controlled digital camera is referred to as “child camera”. The child camera is a device that stores images. The child camera can provide images to other devices on the network according to the control of the parent camera. That is, it operates as a server device on the network.

  In the system of the present embodiment, the parent camera can collect the image information of the child cameras and display them on the television as a slide show. Specifically, the parent camera detects a child camera on the network, and collects image information held by each child camera, thereby creating a slide show list. Then, the parent camera instructs the child camera to transfer the image data to the television 201 according to the list. A slide show operation is realized by sequentially performing this instruction for each image.

<Collecting attribute information>
FIG. 4 shows a screen for selecting the role of each camera in the slide show. The slide show setting screen 401 is displayed on the display unit 13 of the digital camera when the user operates the operation unit 25 of the camera 1.

  When the “Create a multi-slide show” icon 402 is selected by a user operation on the setting screen 401, the digital camera is activated as the parent camera 1. When the “participate in multi-slide show” icon 403 is selected, the digital camera is activated as a child camera. When the “return” icon 404 is selected, the digital camera stops the start of the slide show. FIG. 4 shows a state in which the “Create multi slide show” icon 402 is selected. When the operation indicating the determination is performed by the operation member of the digital camera, the digital camera 1 is activated as the parent camera 1. Next, a specific operation of the slide show processing in the present embodiment will be described using the flowcharts of FIGS.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of a device having a role of controlling other devices on the network. In this embodiment, the following operation is realized by the system control circuit 9 of the digital camera activated as the parent camera 1 controlling each unit.

  The flowchart is started when the digital camera 1 is activated as the parent camera 1.

  In step S501, the parent camera 1 checks whether a notification packet has been received. Here, the notification packet is transmitted from the digital camera as the child camera to the camera 1 as the parent camera. The notification packet includes information for constructing the network and initial information for the parent camera 1 to control the child camera. An example of the notification packet in this embodiment is shown in FIG. The notification packet includes information such as “packet type”, “destination”, “URL of device information”, “notification type”, “notification subtype”, “source information”, and “device type”. Here, the “packet type” is a type of information that devices communicate with each other to realize the operation in this embodiment, and defines “notification”, “search”, “request”, “response”, and the like. . In FIG. 7, information indicating “notification” is described. “Destination” is a transmission destination of a packet, and is designated by an IP address and a communication port number. For example, in the notification packet, the multicast channel and port are specified by specifying “239.255.255.290:1900”. The “device information URL” is the URL of the transmission source device. For example, “http://192.168.0.100:58000/index0”. “Notification type” defines a method for notifying other devices connected to this device. For example, there are a method for transmitting to a root device such as a parent camera, a method for transmitting to each device such as a child camera, a method for transmitting to a service, and the like. In this embodiment, the “method for transmitting to each device” is selected. “Notification subtype” defines a method for identifying a device as a supplement to “notification type”. “Transmission source information” indicates a product name and version related to a transmission source device, an OS name to be installed, and its version. “Device type” refers to the type of device, for example, media player, server, display device, remote controller, and the like. Mainly in the operation of this embodiment, a type indicating the role of each device on the network is also included. If the notification packet 701 has been received, the parent camera 1 advances the process to step S504. If the notification packet 701 has not been received, the process proceeds to step S502.

  In step S502, the parent camera 1 transmits a search packet 702 to search for other child cameras that participate in the slide show. For example, among the digital cameras 101, 102, and 103 that can be child cameras in FIG. 3, those that are not activated as child cameras do not transmit the notification packet 701. Therefore, the parent camera 1 does not recognize a digital camera that does not transmit the notification packet 701 as a child camera. In order to cause such a camera to participate in the slide show, the parent camera 1 transmits a search packet.

  The search packet 702 is a packet for informing the parent camera 1 to search for a child camera. An example of the search packet in this embodiment is shown in FIG. The search packet 702 includes information such as “packet type”, “destination”, “search type”, “waiting time”, and “search target”. Here, the “search type” is a category indicating the type of search. The “waiting time” is the maximum waiting time until a response is waited for a search notification. This time the parent camera continues to search. “Search target” specifies a device within a search range. For example, all devices, root devices, specific devices, specific types of devices, devices with specific services, etc. are specified. Here, the parent camera 1 describes the type of device to be searched in the “search target” field of the search packet 702. For example, in the case of the present embodiment, the parent camera 1 describes in the “search target” field the server device and display device that handle video and audio, which are necessary when performing a slide show operation. As a result, the parent camera 1 can search by specifying a device necessary for the slide show.

  In step S503, the parent camera 1 confirms whether the search response packet 703 has been received. The search response packet 703 is a packet transmitted from the child camera in response to the search packet transmitted from the parent camera in step S502. An example of the search response packet in this embodiment is shown in FIG. The search response packet 703 includes information such as “packet type”, “valid period”, “search type response”, “URL of device information”, “source information”, “search target”, and “device type”. Here, the “valid period” is how long a responding device exists as a device type responding on the network, that is, a lifetime of a role. The “search type response” is a search type to be responded to. If the search response packet 703 is not received for a certain time, the parent camera 1 returns the processing to step S501 and repeats the operation. If the search response packet 703 or the notification packet 701 is received, the process proceeds to step S504.

  In step S504, the parent camera 1 refers to the “device type” field of the packet received in step S501 or step S503, and confirms the information of the packet transmission source device.

  In step S505, the parent camera 1 determines whether the packet transmission source device confirmed in step S504 is a device necessary for the target operation. That is, it is determined whether the packet transmission source device is a server device or a display device that handles video and audio, which is necessary when performing a slide show operation. When the transmission source device is a device necessary for the operation performed by the parent camera 1, the parent camera 1 stores the URL of the device information included in the search response packet 703 or the notification packet 701, and the process proceeds to step S506. . If the transmission source device is not necessary for the operation performed by the parent camera 1, the process returns to step S501 and the search operation is repeated until the necessary device is found. For example, an apparatus that reproduces audio data that is not attached to a video, such as an audio player, is not necessary for a slide show operation for image display, and thus cannot proceed. In the present embodiment, the parent camera 1 does not control a type of device that is not necessary for performing the slide show operation.

  In step S506, the parent camera 1 transmits a device information request packet 704 to the device whose device information has been confirmed in step S505. The device information request packet is a packet that is transmitted from the parent camera to the child camera and requests detailed information about the device and the service that the device can provide. The services here include “file list transfer”, “file transmission”, “still image reproduction”, “moving image reproduction”, “music reproduction”, “still image printing”, and the like. An example of the device information request packet in this embodiment is shown in FIG. The device information request packet 704 includes information such as “packet type” and “destination”. The request for device information is made based on the URL of the device information stored in step S505. In FIG. 3, the cameras 101, 102, and 103 which are the child cameras send back necessary device information in response to this request.

  In step S507, the parent camera 1 confirms whether the device information packet 705 has been received. The device information packet is a packet transmitted from the child camera in response to the device information request packet 704 transmitted from the parent camera. An example of the device information packet in this embodiment is shown in FIG. The device information packet 705 includes “packet type”, “data language”, “data length”, “data type”, and “device information”. Here, the “data language” is a type of language used by the devices when the devices communicate information. “Data length” is the data size of “device information”. “Data type” is a data type indicated by “device information”. “Device information” indicates device information including services that can be provided in addition to the device name and model number. If the parent camera does not receive the device information packet 705 for a certain period of time, the process returns to step S506 and transmits the device information request packet 704. If the device information packet 705 has been received, the process proceeds to step S508.

  In step S508, the parent camera 1 refers to the device information described in the device information packet 705, and confirms the detailed information about the transmission source device and the details of the service that can be provided by the transmission source device. In the present embodiment, when the device information packet 705 is received from the child camera, the device name of the child camera and service list information provided by the child camera are described in the “device information” field. Examples of services include “file list transfer”, “file transmission”, “still image reproduction”, “moving image reproduction”, “music reproduction”, “still image printing”, and the like.

  In step S509, the parent camera 1 determines whether the service confirmed in step S508 is a required service. If the service is not required, for example, if only a function such as “music playback” or “still image printing” is provided as a service, the operation ends. If the service is necessary, the parent camera 1 stores information such as the device name in the device information packet 705. In step S510, the parent camera 1 transmits a service request packet. The service request packet is a packet transmitted from the parent camera to request a desired service from the child camera. An example of a service request packet in the present embodiment is shown in FIG. The service request packet 706 includes information such as “packet type”, “destination”, “data length”, “data type”, “service type”, and “service request”. Here, the “service type” is information such as a data format based on the service content. The “service request” is the content of the service actually requested, such as “file list transfer”, “file transfer”, “playback”, and the like. Further, detailed information such as the file name and ID to be serviced is also included. For example, in order to perform a slide show in this system, it is necessary for the parent camera 1 to acquire image attribute information held by a plurality of child cameras. In this case, a service request packet 706 describes a service such as “send a list of image sizes, image IDs, titles, dates, etc. of held images”. Various services can be requested by the description of the service request packet 706. For example, a service such as “send a list of image sizes, image IDs, titles, dates, etc. of images taken within a predetermined period among images held by the child camera” is also displayed in the “service request” field. It can be requested by writing. As a result, the parent camera can be controlled to transmit the attribute information of the image that matches the specific search condition to the child camera. The contents of these services are not limited to the contents of the above embodiment. For example, the parent camera can transmit the image itself to the child camera.

  In step S511, the parent camera 1 determines whether a service response packet has been received. The service response packet is a packet transmitted from the child camera in response to the service request packet 706 transmitted by the parent camera in step S510. An example of the service response packet in this embodiment is shown in FIG. The service response packet 707 includes information such as “packet type”, “data length”, “data type”, “search type response”, “source information”, and “service response”. Here, the “service response” is actual data of a service to be responded, that is, requested data itself. When the service response packet 707 is not received for a certain period of time, the parent camera 1 returns the process to step S510 and transmits the service request packet 706 again. If the service response packet 707 has been received, the process proceeds to step S512. Note that the requested data is not necessarily included in the service response packet 707, and information that can uniquely identify actual data or converted data may be described.

  In step S512, the parent camera 1 stores the received execution result of the service in the memory 20 of the digital camera 1, and ends the operation.

  As described above, the parent camera 1 receives the service response packet 707 from the child camera as a result of the child camera executing the service requested in step S506. The service response packet 707 includes service execution results, that is, attribute information such as the image size, image ID, title, and shooting date / time of the image held by the child camera. In the present embodiment, information about the color of the image such as the color temperature of the image and the setting of the white balance at the time of shooting is also received as attribute information. In addition, information on whether or not a strobe was used at the time of shooting an image, that is, whether or not an image was shot in a state where the strobe light was emitted, is also received as attribute information. The image ID only needs to be information that can identify the image. For example, a file name of the image, a UUID (Universally Unique IDentifier) added to the image, or the like can be used. In this embodiment, a file name is used. The parent camera 1 stores these pieces of information in a list format in the memory 20 of the digital camera 1 as a slide show list. Of course, the child camera may be sent to the parent camera 1 in a list format in advance.

  FIG. 11 is a screen displayed on the display unit 13 of the parent camera 1 when the parent camera 1 acquires the attribute information of the image owned by the child camera in step S511. When the parent camera 1 finishes obtaining the image list, the parent camera 1 displays the device name extracted and saved from the “device information” field in step S509. In FIG. 11, the icon 902 indicates that the parent camera 1 has finished acquiring the image list of the digital camera 101. Here, when the start icon 903 is selected by a user operation, the slide show is started according to the attribute information of the images acquired so far. When the return icon 904 is selected, the operation as the parent camera 1 is interrupted.

  In FIG. 5, the operation of the parent camera 1 has been described. Next, operations of devices having the role of being controlled on the network, that is, operations of the child cameras 101 to 103 and the television 201 will be described.

  FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of this operation. In the present embodiment, the following operations are realized by the system control circuit 9 of the child camera 101 or the system controller 207 of the television 201 controlling each unit. Hereinafter, the child camera 101 will be described as an example unless otherwise specified.

  First, in step S600, the child camera 101 determines whether or not an instruction to operate as a device having the role of the side controlled on the network is given by a user operation. That is, it is determined whether or not “participate in multi-slide show” is selected by a user operation on the screen shown in FIG. If there is an instruction, the process proceeds to step S601. If there is no instruction, the process proceeds to step S602.

  In step S601, the child camera 101 generates a notification packet including information about the type of the device, and transmits the notification packet to the currently connected network by multicast. For example, the child camera describes in the “device type” field of the notification packet 701 that its own device is a server device that handles video and audio. In the case of the television 201, the fact that the device itself is a display device capable of displaying video and audio is described in the “device type” field of the notification packet 701, and the notification packet 701 is transmitted to the device on the network. .

  In step S602, the child camera 101 determines whether it has received the search packet 702 transmitted from the parent camera. This is because the child camera may receive the search packet 702 from the parent camera 1 after transmitting the notification packet 701. If the search packet 702 is received, the process proceeds to step S603. If the search packet 702 is not received, the process proceeds to step S606.

  In step S603, the child camera 101 refers to the content of the “search target field” of the search packet 702 and confirms the search condition specified by the parent camera.

  In step S604, the child camera 101 determines whether or not the own device matches the search condition. If the search condition is met, the process proceeds to step S605. If the search condition is not met, the process proceeds to step S606 without performing a response.

  In step S605, the child camera 101 transmits a search response packet 703 including information on the type of the own device to the packet transmission source. For example, if it is confirmed in step S604 that the search packet 702 is a search target for a server device that handles video and audio, the child camera 101 responds to this packet because it is a server device that handles video and audio. To do. Specifically, the device type is described in the “device type field” of the search response packet 703 and transmitted to the parent camera 1. In the case of the television 201, the television 201 transmits a search response packet 703 when it is confirmed in step S604 that a display device capable of reproducing video and audio is a search target.

  In step S606, the child camera 101 confirms whether the device information request packet 704 has been received. If the device information request packet 704 is not received for a certain time, the process returns to step S601. When the device information request packet 704 is received, the process proceeds to step S607.

  In step S <b> 607, the child camera 101 describes in the device information packet 705 detailed information about the device and the service that the device can provide, and returns the device information request packet 704 to the transmission source.

  In step S608, the child camera 101 confirms whether the service request packet 706 has been received. If received, the process proceeds to step S609. If not received, it continues to wait for reception of the service request packet 706.

  In step S609, the child camera 101 executes the service requested by the service request packet 706 on its own device. In step S610, the child camera 101 transmits the result as a service response packet 707 to the packet transmission source.

  For example, in the “service request” field of the service request packet 706, there is a description requesting information about the image held by the child camera. The child camera refers to this description and executes image attribute information transmission processing in response to the request. That is, the child camera describes a list of attribute information such as the image size, image ID, title, shooting date and time of the image stored in its own device in the “service response” field of the service response packet 707 and transmits it to the parent camera 1. To do. In particular, in the present embodiment, information relating to image processing parameters such as image color temperature and white balance setting at the time of shooting is also transmitted. In addition, information on whether or not the strobe was used when the image was shot, that is, whether or not the image was shot in a state where the strobe was fired is also transmitted. In some cases, a search condition such as a shooting date and time is specified in the “service request field” of the service request packet 706. In this case, an image satisfying the condition is retrieved from the images stored in the child camera 101. A list of image attribute information that matches the conditions is described in the “service response” field of the service response packet 707 and transmitted to the parent camera 1. The attribute information is not limited to that described above, and includes, for example, attribute information included in an image file compliant with the Exif (Exchangeable Image File Format) format.

  As described above, in this system, the parent camera 1 can request information related to images from the child camera. When the child camera executes the service, the parent camera 1 can acquire attribute information such as an image size, an image ID, a title, and a shooting date for images held by a plurality of child cameras existing on the network. The parent camera 1 creates a slide show list on the network by associating each attribute information with the child camera ID. The parent camera 1 manages the display order of images according to the slide show list. Further, the parent camera 1 may store an image captured by the own device in the memory card 30 of the own device. When the stored image exists, the parent camera 1 can also update the image list by adding the attribute information of the image stored in the own device to the created slide show list.

  The slide show list can be rearranged in any order. For example, the parent camera 1 can create a slide show list as shown in FIG. 12 by rearranging the images in time series using the shooting date and time as keys. Here, a slide show list is shown when the digital camera 1 that has become the parent camera 1 collects information about images held by the child cameras 101, 102, and 103 on the network. This slide show list is rearranged in chronological order using the shooting date and time as keys. One of the features of this slide show list is that images held by a plurality of devices on the network are arranged together in chronological order regardless of which camera stores the images. This makes it possible to slide the images stored in a plurality of cameras together in a time-sequential order.

  FIG. 13 is a screen displayed on the display unit 13 of the parent camera 1 when the parent camera 1 acquires image attribute information for the child cameras 101, 102, and 103 existing on the network shown in FIG. The information of the child camera is indicated by icons 1002, 1003, and 1004. Here, when the start icon 1005 is selected by a user operation, the parent camera 1 starts a slide show on the network based on the created slide show list 801.

<Slide show>
Next, an operation of performing a slide show with devices on the network under the control of the parent camera in the present embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing pre-processing in which the parent camera performs a slide show. When the parent camera 1 starts the slide show, first, in step S1401, the slide show list is sorted. In this embodiment, the images are sorted in order of shooting times, but the order is not limited to the order of shooting times.

  In step S1402, the parent camera 1 groups the images existing in the slide show list. In the present embodiment, images close to the shooting time are handled as one group. For example, when the difference in shooting time between two images is within one minute, the parent camera 1 recognizes the images as one group. FIG. 15 shows the slide show list after grouping. Reference numerals 1501 to 1507 are images in which slideshow targets are arranged in the order of the slideshow. When grouping is performed, the parent camera 1 creates a group ID item in the slide show list and inputs a group ID for identifying the group. In FIG. 15, the difference in shooting time from 1504 to 1507 is within one minute. In this way, the parent camera 1 recognizes attribute information whose shooting time is within a certain range as one group, and assigns the same group ID “004”. Note that the grouping method is not limited to the difference in shooting time. For example, a series of images shot in continuous shooting by linked shooting or a series of images shot in brackets may be used as one group.

  Returning to the description of FIG. In step S <b> 1403, the parent camera 1 determines a color temperature (hereinafter “reprocessed color temperature”) to be applied to a specific group. This is a common parameter common to images to be slide show.

  FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing details of the processing in S1403. In step S1601, the parent camera 1 initializes the values of the parameters M, N, and I to zero. These values are stored in the nonvolatile memory 22 and can be rewritten as appropriate. In this flowchart, M is the total value of the color temperatures, N is the number of the slide show list, and I is the number of images that have received the color temperature.

  In step S1602, the parent camera 1 determines whether N is equal to the number ALL of images present in the slide show list. If it is determined that they are equal, the process advances to step S1608. If it is determined that they are not equal, the process advances to step S1603.

  In step S1603, the parent camera 1 increments the value of N. The following processing is performed for the Nth image in the slide show list.

  In step S1604, the parent camera 1 determines whether or not the image is taken using a strobe. If it is determined that the strobe is being used, the process returns to step S1602. If it is determined that the strobe is not used, the process advances to step S1605. Whether or not the image is taken using a strobe can be determined by referring to the information received when the attribute information is collected.

  In step S1605, the parent camera 1 determines whether or not the color temperature information is received when the attribute information is received from the child camera. This is because the color temperature information is not general information included in Exif, and therefore information may not be acquired depending on the type of child camera. If it is determined that it has been received, the process proceeds to step S1606. If it is determined that it has not been received, the process returns to step S1602. Color temperature expresses the color of the light source as the temperature of black body radiation, and is a universal unit that does not depend on the camera manufacturer or model. Usually, the value is about 3,000 to 5,000 degrees.

  In step S1606, the parent camera 1 adds the received color temperature T to M.

  In step S1607, the parent camera 1 increments the value of I and returns the process to step S1602.

  Next, a case will be described in which it is determined in step S1602 that N is equal to the number ALL of images existing in the slide show list.

  In step S1608, the parent camera 1 determines whether or not the value of I is zero. If it is determined that the value is zero, the process is terminated. If it is determined that it is not zero, the process proceeds to step S1609.

  In step S1609, the parent camera 1 calculates the average color temperature value by dividing the total color temperature value M by I. The parent camera 1 stores this average value in the nonvolatile memory 22 as the reprocessed color temperature.

  The above is the details of the processing in step S1403 of FIG. The process of step S1403 is executed for each group when there are a plurality of groups. As a result of calculating the reprocessed color temperature, the parent camera updates the slide show list. FIG. 17 shows the updated slide show list. As shown in FIG. 17, the parent camera 1 newly creates a colorimetric value, that is, a color temperature item and a reprocessed color temperature item. For example, the reprocessed color temperature from 1704 to 1707 is 4500 k which is the average value of the color temperatures of the respective images. Since 1701 to 1703 have only one image belonging to the same group, the reprocessed color temperature item is blank, but a colorimetric value may be input to the reprocessed color temperature item.

  If NO is determined in step S1608, the reprocessed color temperature cannot be calculated, and therefore the reprocessed color temperature item in the slide show list is blank.

  Returning to the description of FIG. When the process in step S1403 ends, the parent camera 1 advances the process to step S1404.

  In step S1404, the parent camera 1 performs display control processing and starts a slide show. The slide show is a process of sequentially displaying a plurality of images on the display unit, and it is desirable that the displayed images are automatically switched.

  FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing processing of the parent camera 1 in the slide show processing of the present embodiment. Hereinafter, the operation of the parent camera 1 during the slide show will be described according to the flowchart. Prior to the operation in this flowchart, it is assumed that the parent camera 1 has acquired image information of a child camera on the network and has created a slide show list. Requests and responses in the slide show process are performed based on transmission / reception of the service request packet 706 and the service response packet 707.

  When the slide show operation is started, in step S1801, the parent camera 1 notifies the devices on the network of the start of the slide show.

  In step S1802, the parent camera 1 sets the slide show number I to an initial value. The initial value here is 1. The slide show number is a number indicating what number image in the slide show list is to be displayed.

  In step S1103, the parent camera 1 refers to the slide show list and reads the I-th element of the slide show list.

  In step S1804, the parent camera 1 transmits an image transmission request including an instruction for causing the television 201 to transmit an image to the child camera indicated by the camera ID described in the I-th element. The information transmitted here includes the image ID of the image whose slideshow number is I, the image title, and the URL. Further, the reprocessed color temperature calculated in the flow of FIG. 16 is also transmitted.

  After transmitting the image information, the parent camera 1 starts a timer in step S1805.

  In step S1806, the parent camera 1 monitors the timer to determine whether a preset time has elapsed, that is, whether a time-out has occurred. Here, the preset time corresponds to the display time per image in the slide show. This time may be set automatically by the parent camera 1 or may be set by a user operation. If the timeout has occurred, the process advances to step S1807. If not timed out, continue monitoring the timer.

  In step S1807, the parent camera 1 compares the number I of the current slide show list with the number of the last image in the slide show list. If the number I in the current slide show list is that of the last image, the process advances to step S1809.

  In step S1809, the parent camera 1 transmits a slide show end notification to the devices on the network, and ends the operation.

  If the number I is not that of the last image in step S1807, the parent camera 1 advances the processing to step S1808.

  In step S1108, the parent camera 1 increments the number I of the slide show list by one and returns the process to step S1803.

  Next, the operation of the child camera in the slide show process of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing the operation of the child camera in this embodiment. In the following description, the child camera 101 will be described as an example, but the child cameras 102 and 103 perform the same operation.

  In step S1901, the child camera 101 determines whether command data has been received. If it is determined that it has not been received, the process is repeated. If it is determined that it has been received, the process proceeds to step S1902.

  In step S1902, the child camera 101 determines the type of received data. If the received command data is an image transmission request, the process advances to step S1903. If the received command data is a slide show end notification, the process ends.

  In step S1903, the child camera 101 determines whether or not the image transmission request includes a reprocessed color temperature. If it is determined that it is included, the process advances to step S1904. If it is determined that it is not included, the process advances to step S1909.

  First, a case where it is determined that the reprocessed color temperature is not included will be described. In this case, the child camera 101 performs processing for transmitting an image (hereinafter, “main image”) stored in the memory card 30 to the television 201 for display. In step S1909, the child camera 101 refers to the image ID included in the image transmission request, reads the corresponding image from the memory card 30, and transmits the image to the television 201. If the image requested by the image transmission request is a RAW image, the child camera 101 performs signal processing based on a predetermined color temperature and then transmits the image to the television. The television 201 receives the image transmitted from the child camera 101 and completes the image reception process. The television 201 displays the received image on the display unit 203.

  Next, a case where it is determined that the reprocessed color temperature is included will be described. In step S1904, the child camera 101 determines whether the image requested by the image transmission request is a RAW image. This determination can be made by referring to the extension of the file. If it is determined that the image is a RAW image, the process advances to step S1905. If it is determined that the image is not a RAW image, the process advances to step S1909. Some cameras can store both images that cannot be displayed unless signal processing is performed, such as RAW images, and images that can be displayed, such as JPEG images. In this case, a RAW image and a JPEG image having the same image ID are stored in the memory card 30. In this case, the process proceeds to step S1909, and the JPEG image is transmitted to the television 201.

  In step S1905, the child camera 101 refers to the attribute information of the image requested by the image transmission request, and determines whether or not the image is captured using a strobe. If it is determined that the strobe is being used, the process advances to step S1909. If it is determined that the strobe is not used, the process advances to step S1906.

  In step S1906, the child camera 101 refers to the attribute information of the image requested by the image transmission request, and determines whether or not the image has been shot with the white balance set manually. If it is determined that the image has been shot with the white balance set manually, the process advances to step S1909. If it is determined that the white balance is set manually and the image is not shot, the process advances to step S1907. The original purpose of setting the white balance is to cancel the so-called color cast caused by the light source color. However, if the white balance is set manually, the photographer may expect other effects, so we decided to perform signal processing based on the color temperature set by the photographer. . As a result, when the photographer specifically intends, it is possible to reproduce images in a slide show while reflecting the intention.

  In step S1907, the child camera 101 performs signal processing on the image based on the reprocessed color temperature.

  In step S1908, the child camera 101 transmits the image signal-processed in step S1907 to the television 201, and ends the process. The television 201 displays the image received from the child camera 101 on the display unit 203.

  As described above, the parent camera 1 in the present embodiment calculates the average value of the color temperatures of the images to be the slide show, and applies the average value to the images to be the slide show as a common parameter. . As a result, it is possible to suppress variations in color of sequentially displayed images, and as a result, it is possible to reproduce a slide show with a sense of unity. Therefore, the user can appreciate the slide show without feeling uncomfortable.

  The image processing parameter is not limited to white balance, and may be applied to other image processing parameters such as contrast and sharpness. Further, the present invention may be applied not only to RAW image signal processing parameters but also to color effects on, for example, JPEG images.

  In the first embodiment, the child camera 101 performs image processing based on the reprocessed color temperature received from the parent camera 1. The reprocessed color temperature calculated by the parent camera 1 may be transmitted to the television 201, and the television 201 may perform image processing using the received reprocessed color temperature.

  In the present embodiment, the parent camera 1 plays a role of controlling devices on the network, but the television 201 may play the role of the parent camera 1 in the present embodiment. In this case, the television 201 has both functions of the network control device and the display device.

<Other embodiments>
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 computer (or CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or apparatus is stored in the storage medium. This is the process of reading the code. The supply form may be supplied by directly accessing a system or a device storage medium, or may be supplied via another device.

  In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment, 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, a case where the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized by the following processing is also included in the present invention. 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.

1 is a block diagram of a digital camera according to a first embodiment. It is a block diagram of the television in a 1st embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of a network structure in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the screen which determines the role of a digital camera in 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the parent camera in 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the child camera in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure shown about the format of the packet in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure shown about the format of the packet in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure shown about the format of the packet in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure shown about the format of the packet in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the screen which displays the child camera detected by the parent camera in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the slide show list in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the screen which displays the some child camera detected by the parent camera 1 in 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the pre-process of the slide show in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the slide show list in 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the determination process of the common parameter in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the slide show list in 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the process which the parent camera 1 performs by the slide show process in 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the process which a child camera performs by the slide show process in 1st Embodiment.

Claims (12)

A network control device that forms a network with a plurality of image processing devices,
Receiving means for receiving attribute information of a plurality of images from the image processing device;
Determination means for determining common parameters used in common for image processing on the plurality of images based on attribute information of the plurality of images received by the reception means;
A network control apparatus comprising: a display control unit that sequentially displays the plurality of images that have undergone image processing using the common parameter determined by the determination unit on a display unit.   The network control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the common parameter relates to a color temperature of an image. The attribute information includes color temperature information of the image,
The network control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit calculates and determines the common parameter based on color temperatures of a plurality of images received by the reception unit.   The network control apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the determination unit determines the common parameter by calculating an average value of color temperatures of a plurality of images received by the reception unit. The attribute information includes information on whether or not a strobe was used when the image was taken,
5. The network control apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the determination unit does not use a color temperature of an image photographed using the strobe for the calculation of the common parameter.   The network control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the attribute information includes a white balance setting when an image is captured.   The display control means, when displaying an image in which the white balance is set manually, displays an image that has not been subjected to image processing using the common parameter. The network control device described. Grouping means for grouping attribute information of a plurality of images received by the receiving means;
The network control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determining unit determines the common parameter based on attribute information of images belonging to the same group.   9. The network control according to claim 8, wherein the grouping unit groups attribute information having a shooting date and time within a certain range among the attribute information of the plurality of images received by the receiving unit. apparatus. Transmitting means for transmitting the common parameter determined by the determining means to the image processing apparatus;
Image receiving means for receiving images processed by using the common parameter transmitted by the transmitting means from the plurality of image processing devices;
The network control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit displays the image received by the image receiving unit on the display unit. A network control device that forms a network with a plurality of image processing devices,
A receiving step of receiving attribute information of a plurality of images from the image processing device;
A determination step for determining common parameters commonly used for image processing on the plurality of images based on attribute information of the plurality of images received in the reception step;
A display control step of sequentially displaying the plurality of images, which have been subjected to image processing using the common parameter determined in the determination step, on a display unit. On the computer,
A receiving step of receiving attribute information of a plurality of images from an image processing apparatus connected to the network;
A determination step for determining common parameters commonly used for image processing on the plurality of images based on attribute information of the plurality of images received in the reception step;
A computer-readable program that executes a display control step of sequentially displaying the plurality of images that have undergone image processing using the common parameter determined in the determination step on a display unit.

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