JP2009099142A - Image sharing system and method, and content sharing system and method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image or content sharing method sharing content data including image data between specific users, and automatically downloading content including a specific image corresponding to user's preference, and the capability and characteristic of an image playback device belonging to the user, and also to provide an image or content sharing system for achieving the image or content sharing method. <P>SOLUTION: A registered terminal is used to set a community accessible only by the specific users on an image storage device, content data including image data are uploaded to the community after registering identification information of an image playback device accessible to the community, and an image playback device having permission to make an access, accesses the community and automatically downloads the content data including the image data in the community. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image sharing system and an image sharing method for sharing content such as images, sounds, and texts among a plurality of image playback devices, and a content sharing system and method. The present invention relates to an image sharing system and image sharing method for sharing contents such as audio, text, and text, and a content sharing system and method.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a service has been provided in which an image owned by a user is uploaded to an online photo sharing site such as a server on a network and can be viewed by other users. An image sharing system has also been devised in which other users download images uploaded in this way to their own PCs.

  For example, an image playback device that allows a plurality of users to share image data on a network has been developed. When such an image playback device is connected to a network, a server on the network appropriately selects and transmits image data held by the server, and the image playback device automatically acquires the transmitted image data. Can play.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a method of sharing multimedia data among many users. In Patent Document 1, each user transmits a photographed image to a server in an event where a large number of spectators exist, such as a sports game or a cultural event. A user who is not in a preferred position for viewing the event can know the detailed state of the event by accessing the server and viewing images taken by other users. In Patent Document 1, this enables each user to send an image related to the event to a server in a specific event, and all users participating in the event can share and view the image. Yes.

JP-T-2006-524446

As described above, in a conventional image sharing system, image data existing on a network such as a server can be shared and used among a plurality of users. However, in an image reproducing apparatus that automatically acquires image data, image data is randomly selected and transmitted on the server side regardless of the user's preference.
In Patent Document 1, since image data is shared among all users participating in an event, a private image or the like cannot be uploaded to a server and shared only with specific users.

The first object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and between specific users, contents (contents) such as images (image data), audio (audio data), text (text data), etc. Data) can be shared, and content such as specific images, audio and text can be automatically downloaded according to user preferences and the capabilities and characteristics of the user's image playback device and content playback device. It is an object to provide an image sharing method and a content sharing method that can be performed, and an image sharing system and a content sharing system that realize this.
Furthermore, a second object of the present invention is to provide an image sharing system, an image sharing method, and a content that allow a user to share content such as images, sounds, and texts by a simple operation without requiring a device such as a PC. To provide a sharing system and a content sharing method.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides an image storage device that stores content data including registered image data, and the image data stored in the image storage device by accessing the image storage device An image reproduction device that reproduces the content data including the image data, and a registration terminal that registers device identification information of the image reproduction device and / or user authentication information of the user in the image storage device. In order to store the content data including the predetermined registered image data, apparatus identification information between an image storage unit having a plurality of designated areas set in advance, the image reproduction apparatus, and the registration terminal And / or a user authentication information of the user and a communication function for transmitting and receiving the content data, and the registration terminal includes the image The content data including the predetermined image data is registered in the specific designated area of the image storage unit of the existing device, and further the device identification information of the image reproducing apparatus that can access the specific designated area; The user authentication information of the user is registered in the image storage device, and the image storage device receives only the image data from only the image reproduction device corresponding to the registered device identification information and / or the user authentication information. The present invention provides an image sharing system that accepts access to the content data including the image data and permits the reproduction of the content data including the image data.

Here, the image reproduction device downloads and stores the content data including the image data from the image storage device, and reproduces the content data including the stored image data. The image storage device accepts download of the content data including the image data from only the image reproduction device corresponding to the registered device identification information and / or the user authentication information, and only to the image reproduction device. It is preferable that the content data including the image data is transmitted and reproduction thereof is permitted.
The image registered in the designated area is preferably an image stored in the registration terminal or the image playback device.

Furthermore, the image playback device has user preference information or device information of the playback device, and the user preference information or the device information of the image playback device is stored in the image storage device when accessing the designated area. Preferably, the image storage device transmits the image data selected based on the user preference information or the device information of the image playback device to the image playback device.
Further, it is preferable that the designated area can be arbitrarily set by the registration terminal.
Further, the registration terminal is a terminal associated with the specific image reproduction device, and registers the image data of the specific image reproduction device in the designated area of the image storage device. Is preferred.
The registration terminal is preferably a mobile phone terminal.

The image reproduction apparatus further includes a print order reception unit that receives an image print order, and the image reproduction apparatus preferably transmits the reproduced or downloaded image to the print order reception unit for use in the print order. It is preferable that the apparatus places the print order to the print order reception unit via the image storage device.
In addition to the image data, the content data preferably includes at least one of audio data and text data.

Moreover, it is preferable that the said image storage apparatus is a server provided with the said image storage part and the said communication function.
The image playback device is a first image playback device that accesses the image storage device and plays back the content data including the image data stored in the image storage device. The storage device includes the image storage unit having the plurality of designated areas, the communication function for communicating with the image reproduction device and the registration terminal, and the content including the image data stored in the image storage unit. It is preferable that the image forming apparatus includes at least one second image reproduction device having an image storage function including an image display unit that reproduces data.
In addition, the first image reproduction device downloads and stores the content data including the image data from the at least one second image reproduction device, and is stored in the image storage unit. It is preferable to provide a reproduction unit including an image display unit that reproduces and displays the image data.

In order to solve the above-described problem, the present invention provides a content storage device that stores registered content data, and reproduction of the content data stored in the content storage device by accessing the content storage device And a registration terminal for registering device identification information of the content playback device and / or user authentication information of a user in the content storage device, and the content storage device has the predetermined registered In order to store content data, a content storage unit having a plurality of preset designated areas, the content reproduction device and the registration terminal, device identification information and / or user authentication information of the user, and transmission / reception of the content data A communication function for performing the registration, and The predetermined content data is registered in the specific designated area of the content storage unit of the content storage device, and further the device identification information of the content reproduction apparatus and / or the user that can access the specific designated area The user authentication information is registered in the content storage device, and the content storage device includes the image data only in the content reproduction device corresponding to the registered device identification information and / or the user authentication information. The present invention provides a content sharing system that accepts access to data and permits the reproduction of the content data including the image data.
Here, the content data preferably includes at least one of the image data, audio data, and text data.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the present invention includes a step of registering content data including image data in a predetermined designated area in an image storage device, and a specific image permitting access to the predetermined designated area. Registering device identification information of the playback device and / or user authentication information of a specific user in the image storage device; from the image playback device to the image storage device, the device identification information and / or the user authentication information of the device itself And in the image storage device, the device identification information and / or the user authentication information received from the image reproduction device, the device identification information and / or the user authentication information registered in the image storage device And the image reproduction device corresponding to the registered device identification information and / or user authentication information. Only accepting access to the content data including the image data and permitting the reproduction of the content data including the image data; and in the image reproducing apparatus permitted to reproduce the content data, And a step of reproducing the content data including the image data, wherein the step of reproducing the content data includes displaying the image data.

Here, the step of permitting the reproduction of the content data includes the image data from only the image reproduction device corresponding to the registered device identification information and / or the user authentication information in the image storage device. A step of accepting download of content data, and the step of reproducing the content data is a step of downloading the content data including the image data from the image storage device in the image reproduction device that has received the download; Preferably, the content data including the downloaded image data is reproduced.
In addition to the image data, the content data preferably includes at least one of audio data and text data.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the present invention includes a step of registering content data in a predetermined designated area in the content storage device, and a device for a specific content reproduction apparatus permitting access to the predetermined designated area. Registering identification information and / or user authentication information of a specific user in the content storage device, and transmitting the device identification information and / or the user authentication information from the content reproduction device to the content storage device In the content storage device, the device identification information and / or the user authentication information received from the content reproduction device is compared with the device identification information and / or the user authentication information registered in the content storage device. The registered device identification information and / or the user Only the content playback device corresponding to the certificate information accepts access to the content data including the image data and permits the playback of the content data including the image data; and the playback of the content data is permitted. The content reproducing apparatus further comprises the step of reproducing the content data including the content data.
Here, the content data preferably includes at least one of the image data, audio data, and text data.

According to the present invention, content (content data) including a private image (image data) can be shared among specific users. Also, the user's preference and the image reproduction device can be set in advance by setting information on the user's favorite image, sound, text and other content, the image reproduction device possessed by the user, and the capabilities and characteristics of the content reproduction device. And content such as images according to the capacity of the content playback apparatus can be automatically downloaded.
Furthermore, since a PC is not required for browsing content (content data) such as images (image data), even users who are unfamiliar with the operation of the PC can easily find images (image data) that suit their preferences. Content (content data) can be viewed and shared.

Hereinafter, an image sharing system and method and a content sharing system and method according to the present invention will be described in detail based on preferred embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.
First, an image sharing system of the present invention that realizes an image sharing method according to the present invention will be described. Here, images and image data will be described as typical examples for sharing, but the present invention is not limited to this, and in addition to images, content including audio and text, and image data, audio data and It goes without saying that the content data may include text data, or may be content data that does not include image data.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of an apparatus configuration of an image sharing system of the present invention.
The image sharing system 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 includes a server 12, a registration terminal 14, a plurality of image playback devices 16, and a print order receiving unit 18.
In the present embodiment, it is preferable to exchange information such as transmission / reception of information among the server 12, the registration terminal 14, and the image reproduction device 16 wirelessly via a wireless LAN or the like.

The server 12 is a communication function for transmitting and receiving various data and information including image data of the image storage unit 20 for storing image data, the registration terminal 14, the image reproduction device 16, and the print order receiving unit 18. And a control unit 22 that controls reading and writing of data and information including image data to and from the image storage unit 20, transmission and reception of data and information by a communication function, and operation of the entire server 12.
The image storage unit 20 is a memory for storing image data of an image uploaded by the image playback device 16 (16a). Note that the uploading of the image data to the image storage unit 20 is not limited to being performed by the image reproduction device 16 (16a), and may be performed by other various devices.

  Also, the image data stored in the image storage unit 20 is downloaded and shared by the specific image playback device 16. Here, the server 12 is not limited to accepting download of image data stored in the image storage unit 20 from only a specific image reproduction device 16. For example, the server 12 accepts access to image data and receives image data. May be permitted. That is, the image data stored in the image storage unit 20 is not limited to what is downloaded to be stored in the image storage unit 23 (described later) of the specific image playback device 16. Only for permitting the reproduction, the image data for reproduction, for example, the image data for display is downloaded only to be displayed on the display unit 24 (described later) of the image reproduction device 16 and temporarily stored in a cache memory or the like. The image may be stored and not stored in the image storage unit 23 (described later) of the image reproduction device 16.

Here, in the present invention, the server 12 manages the image data stored in the image storage unit 20 by classifying each community set by a user who wants to upload an image.
The community is an image storage area that can be set freely in the image storage unit 20 by the registration terminal 14. A user who wants to upload an image to the server 12 performs user registration with the server 12 using the registration terminal 14. The user who has finished user registration can set up a community in the server 12 and freely upload an image to the community set by the user.

Furthermore, an image uploaded in the community can be accessed only from a specific image reproduction device 16 registered in advance.
That is, the community is a closed area that cannot be accessed from the user who has set the community and uploaded the image and from the image reproduction device 16 other than the image reproduction device 16 permitted by the user. Therefore, in the community, it is possible to share a private image or the like that is desired to be disclosed only to acquaintances.

  The control unit 22 accepts user registration, community setting, image upload and download, and the like in response to requests from the registration terminal 14 and the image playback device 16.

The registration terminal 14 requests the server 12 for user registration, community setting, and image upload. The registration terminal 14 has an application for performing these processes.
The registration terminal 14 identifies, for example, terminal identification information that is its own identification information (ID) to the server 12, and identification of a specific image reproduction device 16 (image reproduction device 16a in FIG. 1) for uploading. Information (ID) is transmitted to request user registration. Further, the registration terminal 14 that has performed user registration arbitrarily sets a community on the image storage unit 20 of the server 12 and transmits an image upload instruction to the image playback device 16a.
Further, the registration terminal 14 transmits to the server 12 identification information of the image playback device 16 that permits access to the set community.
As the registration terminal 14, for example, various devices having a function of communicating with a server such as a mobile phone and a PC can be used. In this embodiment, as an example, a mobile phone is used as the registration terminal 14.

The image playback device 16 is an image playback device (digital photo frame (DPF)) that stores and reproduces image data. The image storage unit 23 stores image data and the image data stored in the image storage unit 23. The display unit 24 for displaying the reproduced image and the communication function for transmitting and receiving various data and information including the image data between the server 12 and the registration terminal 14, the data including the image data to the image storage unit 23, It is preferable to include a control unit 25 that controls reading and writing of information, display of a reproduced image on the display unit 24, transmission and reception of data and information by a communication function, and operation of the entire image reproducing device 16. The image reproducing device 16 can perform the same function as that of a normal photo frame for decorating a printed photograph on the digital image data, and has the same size and design as the normal photo frame.
The image reproduced and displayed on the display unit 24 may be a still image or a moving image. Therefore, the image data may be still image data or moving image data.

As described above, the image reproduction device 16 accesses the image data stored in the predetermined designated area of the image storage unit 20 of the server 12, downloads the image data, and temporarily stores it in a cache memory or the like. In this case, the image storage unit 23 may be omitted, but the server 12 may not be accessed each time. It is preferable that the image storage unit 23 is provided because the image playback device 16 itself can perform playback.
Here, since the image reproduction device 16 reproduces and displays the downloaded image data, the image reproduction device 16 needs to include the display unit 24. However, as described above, in addition to still image and moving image image data, audio When content data such as data and text data is associated with image data, a content playback unit (not shown) such as a text display unit including an audio playback unit or a character contour line image is used to play back the content data. Preferably). In the case of text data, the display unit 24 may be provided with a text display function for character contour images.

FIG. 2 shows a front appearance of an embodiment of such an image reproducing device 16.
The image reproduction device 16 shown in FIG. 2 includes a display unit 24, a power button 26, a selection button 28, a determination button 30, a slot 32, and an antenna 34. Although not shown in FIG. 2, the image playback device 16 has the image storage unit 23 and the control unit 25 inside as described above.

When the user presses the power button 26 to activate the image playback device 16, the image playback device 16 automatically accesses the server 12, downloads the image data stored in the image storage unit 20, and stores the image data. The information is stored in the unit 23 and reproduced and displayed on the display unit 24.
In addition, the user operates the selection button 28 and the determination button 30 to select an image to be displayed on the display unit 24, an image to be uploaded to the server 12, or an image from the image data stored in the image reproduction device 16. An image to be deleted from the playback device 16 can be selected and determined. In addition, the display unit 24 appropriately displays image data included in the image reproduction device 16.

The antenna 34 is for performing wireless communication with the server 12 and the registration terminal 14.
The slot 32 is a slot into which a storage medium such as a memory card or a flash memory is inserted. By inserting a storage medium storing image data into the slot 32 and operating the operation buttons, the image data in the storage medium can be stored in the image reproduction device 16 and reproduced and displayed.

  The image reproducing device 16 has a function of creating an order information by selecting an image, setting the number of prints, and a print size for placing a print order in a print order receiving unit 18 described later. The print order from the image reproduction device 16 is obtained by uploading only the order information when the image data to be printed is in the server, and uploading the image data and the order information to the server 12 when the image data is not in the server 12. The server 12 is performed via the server 12.

The image reproduction device 16 mainly serves to reproduce image data stored in the device, and serves as a photo frame for image data for decorating without printing the image data. Therefore, the image reproduction device 16 displays image data, uploads image data to the server 12, downloads image data from the server 12, creates print order information, and sets user preference information and device information to be described later. Processing other than can not be performed basically.
For this reason, user registration, community setting, and the like need to be performed using the registration terminal 14.

By using such an image reproducing device 16, the user can reproduce and display the image data photographed with a digital camera or the like without decorating it as a photo frame. In addition, the storage medium can be inserted into the slot 32, and the image data recorded on the recording medium can be stored in the image reproduction device 16 and can be reproduced and displayed. Furthermore, stored images can be deleted as appropriate.
The function of the image reproducing device 16 in the present invention will be described in detail later.

The print order receiving unit 18 receives a print order for image data of the image reproduction device 16 via the server 12.
The print order receiving unit 18 receives a print order based on the order information and image data received by the server 12 from the image reproduction device 16.

Next, specific actions in the image sharing system of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG.
First, in the image sharing system 10 of the present invention, a user A who wants to upload an image to a server and share it with an acquaintance or the like performs user registration with the server 12 using the registration terminal 14. User registration is performed by transmitting the identification information of the registration terminal 14 and the identification information of the image reproduction apparatus A possessed by the user A to the server 12. The server 12 that has received the identification information associates both and registers as a user. Thereby, it is possible to freely upload and download images between the image reproduction device A and all the communities set by the registration terminal A.
The identification information (ID) such as the registration terminal 14 and the image reproduction device 16 (A) may be the e-mail address of the registration terminal 14 or the number of the image reproduction device 16 (A), or the image of the present invention. In the shared system 10, unique identification information (ID) may be newly set for each.

The user A who has completed user registration can set a community in a specific designated area in the image storage unit 20 of the server 12 by the registration terminal 14, and can upload image data to the set community.
In this embodiment, as an example, it is assumed that the user A has set two communities, communities A and B, in the designated areas A and B in the image storage unit 20 of the server 12.

Furthermore, the user A sets an image playback device that permits access to each set community. For example, when the image data uploaded to the community A is desired to be shared only with the owners of the image reproduction apparatuses B and D, the registration terminal 14 can access the identification information of the image reproduction apparatuses B and D to the community A. As a device, it is transmitted to the server 12. The server 12 registers the received identification information of each device in association with the identification information of the community A. Similarly, when the image data uploaded to the community B is to be shared only with the owner of the image reproduction device C, the registration terminal 14 transmits the identification information of the image reproduction device C to the server 12.
In FIG. 3, the range of devices accessible to the community A is indicated by a solid line, and the range of devices accessible to the community B is indicated by a broken line.
The identification information of each image reproduction device may be obtained directly by the user A from the owner of the image reproduction devices B, C, and D.

FIG. 4 shows a diagram in which communities registered in the server 12 are associated with image playback apparatuses that can access each community.
As shown in FIG. 4, the user A sets two communities, communities A and B, in designated areas A and B in the image storage unit 20 of the server 12. In addition to the image reproduction device A (identification information) registered in association with the registration terminal A (identification information) at the time of user registration, the image reproduction device B is included in the community A set in the designated area A. And D (identification information) are set as accessible (identification information), so that these image reproduction apparatuses A, B, and D can access the community A and download the image data. be able to. Similarly, in the community B set in the designated area A, in addition to the image reproduction device A (identification information), the image reproduction device C (identification information) is set as an accessible device (identification information). ing.

Uploading of the image data to the community 12 shown in FIG. 4 to the server 12 can be performed on the image data stored in the image reproduction apparatus A that is linked to the registration terminal 14 and registered in the server 12. .
The user A uses the registration terminal 14 to make an image data upload request to the server 12 and transmits the upload destination community information to the server 12. Further, the image reproduction apparatus A is instructed to transmit to the server 12 image data that is image data to be uploaded among the image data in the image reproduction apparatus A. The image reproduction device A transmits image data to be uploaded to the server 12 in accordance with an instruction from the registration terminal 14.

For example, the user A operates the selection button 28 of the image reproducing apparatus A to display the image data on the display unit 24, and the determination button 30 is displayed when the image to be uploaded is displayed. What is necessary is just to determine by pushing. Here, as an example, it is assumed that user A uploads three image data of image data I ₁ , I _2, and I ₃ to community A.
Note that the image data to be uploaded is not only the image data stored in the image reproduction device A but also image data that can be uploaded by the user A via the image reproduction device A regardless of whether the user A owns or does not own it. Alternatively, it may be image data that the registration terminal 14 has. In that case, the image data may be transmitted to the server 12 together when the registration terminal 14 makes an upload request.

Upon receiving the upload request, community information, and image data I ₁ , I _2, and I ₃ from the registration terminal 14, the server 12 accepts the upload of the image data and receives a specific community (in the illustrated example) according to the community information. Each received image data is stored in the community A).

When the image playback apparatuses B and D are activated by the power button 26, the image playback apparatuses B and D automatically access the server 12 and transmit the identification information of the image playback apparatuses B and D to the server 12. The server 12 compares the received identification information of the image reproduction apparatuses B and D with the identification information registered in the server 12, and the community in which the identification information is registered for the image reproduction apparatuses B and D. Allow access to A. The image reproducing apparatuses B and D download the image data I ₁ , I ₂ and I ₃ from the community A to which access is permitted. Then, the image reproducing devices B and D reproduce and display these downloaded image data on the respective display units 24.

  According to the present invention as described above, when the user A sets an image playback device that permits access to the community, the image playback devices B and D that are permitted to access the community can be simply turned on. The image data of the image uploaded by the user A can be automatically downloaded, reproduced, and displayed as an image. Therefore, the users of the image reproduction apparatuses B and D can view the image of the user A without requiring a complicated operation using a PC or the like. On the other hand, the image reproduction apparatus C cannot access the community A and cannot browse images in the community A.

  Further, when the image reproducing apparatuses B and D download image data from the server 12, the information is converted into active information such as preference information of each user and inactive information such as apparatus information of each image reproducing apparatus. Accordingly, it is preferable that the image to be downloaded can be preferentially selected on the server 12 side.

  The preference information is not particularly limited, but can be set based on, for example, face detection or scene discrimination.

The setting based on face detection is, for example, by detecting image data of an image of a specific person preset by the user by face detection, and preferentially downloading the detected image data (image). You only have to set it.
For example, if a grandparent who is unfamiliar with PC operation has set up a community for sharing images between family members in order to download grandchild photo images, when downloading grandchild photos, The face of the father or mother can be set as preference information so as to detect image data in which the father or mother is photographed so as to preferentially select the photographed image. Further, in the case of a community for sharing images taken between friends, the user's face may be set as preference information so as to preferentially download the image in which he is shown.
The server 12 can preferentially transmit an image desired by the user by detecting the face of the specific person based on the preference information set by the user.

  Furthermore, in the case of a landscape photographic image, settings can be made based on scene discrimination by color. For example, if the user likes a night view image, “night view” is set as preference information. Based on the preference information, the server 12 preferentially transmits an image (image data) determined to be a night view image by scene determination from the community to the image playback device.

Further, when uploading an image on the side of a user who registers image data (image), preference identification information indicating information about the image data may be added to the image data and uploaded in advance. .
For example, image data using identification information indicating that a father or mother is captured, or information on a person who is captured when multiple friends are captured, as identification information so as to correspond to preference information based on face detection Append to
Further, scene identification information of image data to be uploaded is added so as to correspond to preference information based on scene discrimination.
Thus, by adding preference identification information to image data in advance when uploading image data, when receiving a download request, the server 12 selects image data based on user preference information. Can be done more accurately.

Further, the user preference information may be set based on the characteristics of the image data that the user has selected so far.
The user causes the display unit 24 to display the image data downloaded to the image playback device 16 by operating the selection button 28 or the like. When a favorite image or a favorite image is displayed, the enter button 30 is pressed to select it as a favorite image. Only one image may be selected, or a plurality of images may be selected at a time. When the selection is completed, the image reproduction device 16 transmits an identification information list of the selected image data to the server 12.
The server 12 searches the image storage unit 20 for the image data selected by the user based on the received identification information list. Then, user preference information is set based on these image data.
In this case, for example, a face person with a high frequency in the image data selected by the user by face extraction may be set as preference information, or preference information may be set based on a scene discrimination result of the image data. .

In addition to the preference information described above, an image to be downloaded may be selected according to the device information of each image playback device. The device information includes spec information such as image data storage capacity and display size of the image reproduction device, installation information that is information on the location where the image reproduction device is installed, operation information that indicates the operation status of the image reproduction device, and the like. is there.
The selection of the image according to the installation information may be performed such that, for example, an image having a low brightness is downloaded if the installation location is a bedroom, and an image having a high brightness is downloaded if it is a living room.
The selection according to the operation information may be performed, for example, so as to adjust the amount of image data to be downloaded according to the time zone in which the image reproduction apparatus is operating or the time zone in which many operations are performed.

The server 12 selects an image according to the storage capacity and display size of the image data of the image reproduction device according to the device information, and transmits them preferentially to the image reproduction device. Further, based on the operation information, during the time when the image reproduction apparatus is frequently operating during the day, a lot of image data may be transmitted or the transmission frequency of the image data may be increased.
Further, the frequency of transmission, the volume of image data to be transmitted, and the like may be adjusted according to the storage capacity of the image reproduction apparatus. For example, when the storage capacity is small, image data with low priority can be prevented from being transmitted.

The preference information and the device information set as described above are stored in the server 12 in association with the device identification information of the image reproduction device list accessible to the community.
Thereafter, when the image playback device 16 requests the server 12 to download image data, the server 12 uses the preference information of the image playback device 16 from the image data registered in the community accessible by the image playback device 16. Based on the device information, image data corresponding to the user's preference and device is preferentially selected and transmitted to the image reproduction device 16. For example, in the illustrated example, when the image playback device B requests download of image data, the server 12 uses the image data I ₁ registered in the community A based on the preference information and device information of the image playback device B, Image data I ₁ and I ₂ are selected from I ₂ and I ₃ and transmitted to the image reproduction apparatus B.
The preference information and the device information are set and transmitted to the server 12 at a predetermined timing such as when the image reproducing device 16 is activated or when the user transmits a list of favorite image identification information to the server 12. Just do it. Moreover, preference information and apparatus information can be changed as needed.

Furthermore, the image reproduction device 16 can place a print order for the image data downloaded from the server 12.
A user who wants to place a print order selects image data to place an order on the image reproduction device 16 and transmits the contents such as the number of sheets to be ordered and the size, and an identifier of the image data to be ordered.
The server 12 retrieves the corresponding image data from the image storage unit 20 based on the received identifier of the image data, and transmits it to the print order reception unit 18 together with the order information. The print order receiving unit 18 receives a print order based on the order information and image data received from the server 12.

As described above, according to the image sharing system of the present invention, a user who uploads an image sets a community and an image reproducing apparatus accessible to the community, so that other users possessing the image reproducing apparatus can An image uploaded to a server by a user who has set up a community can be downloaded and browsed without performing complicated operations such as user registration. This allows easy image sharing between users without PC skills. In addition, since a device that is not permitted to access the community cannot download or view images in the community, a private image can be disclosed only to a specific user.
Further, by using the preference information, the device information, and the like, it is possible to change the image data to be transmitted, the transmission frequency, the capacity of the image data to be transmitted, and the like according to the image reproduction device as the transmission destination. For this reason, it is possible to share image data according to the preference of each user and the characteristics of the image playback device possessed by each user.

Further, in the image sharing system and method of the present invention, a server is not always necessary, and the present invention can be realized even in a system configuration without a server.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, the community is provided on the server. However, in the present invention, at least one image reproduction device may have a community. In this case, each image playback device may have a community set by itself, or one or more specific image playback devices may have all communities as a whole. However, each may have all the communities.
Furthermore, the functions of other servers can also be configured so that a specific image playback device or a plurality of image playback devices share the functions.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the device configuration of the image sharing system according to the present invention, which is an embodiment of the device configuration of the image sharing system in which one image playback device has a community instead of the server. It is.
An image sharing system 40 of the present invention shown in FIG. 5 includes an image reproduction system 42 of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 and an image playback device 42 having a server function, that is, having an image storage function, instead of the server 12. Since it has the same configuration except that it differs in the point provided, the same reference numerals are assigned to the same components, their detailed description is omitted, and differences will be mainly described.
As shown in FIG. 5, the image sharing system 40 includes an image reproduction device 42 having one image storage function, a registration terminal 14, a plurality of image reproduction devices 16, and a print order receiving unit 18.
In this embodiment, it is preferable to exchange information such as transmission / reception of information among the image reproduction device 42, the registration terminal 14, and the image reproduction device 16 wirelessly via a wireless LAN or the like.

The image playback device 42 is an image playback device having an image storage function, that is, having a server function. The image playback device 42 can be owned by a specific user, and stores the image data in the image storage unit 44 and the image storage unit 44. A display unit 24 that reproduces and displays stored image data, and a communication function that transmits and receives various types of data and information including image data among the registration terminal 14, the image reproduction device 16, and the print order receiving unit 18. And a control unit 46 that controls reading / writing of data and information including image data to / from the image storage unit 44, transmission / reception of data and information by the communication function, and operation of the entire image reproduction apparatus 42.
The image storage unit 44 is a memory that stores image data uploaded from the image playback device 16 and the like, and has a plurality of designated areas for forming a community, and the image storage unit of the server 12 shown in FIG. 20 has the same function, but can be owned by a specific user and saves an image of a specific user who owns the image playback device 42 in addition to a plurality of designated areas for forming a community. It differs from the image storage unit 20 in that it has a region.

The control unit 46 is different from the control unit 22 described above in that it controls the display unit 24 and the entire image reproduction device 42 in addition to the image storage unit 46, but the image storage unit 46 shares image data. The steps performed for the purpose, that is, the steps performed for implementing the image sharing method of the present invention can be performed in the same manner as the control unit 22 described above.
For example, similarly to the control unit 22 described above, the control unit 46 can accept user registration, community setting, image upload and download, and the like in response to requests from the registration terminal 14 and the image playback device 16. .

Note that the image data of a specific user image stored in the storage area of the image storage unit 44 is, for example, from the image reproduction device 16 (16a, etc.), as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, it can be uploaded together with the identification information of the image reproducing apparatus that permits browsing and stored in one designated area for forming a community. The uploading of the image data to the specific designated area of the image storage unit 44 is not limited to the uploading by the image reproduction device 16 (16a), and other various devices as in the case of the image storage unit 20 described above. Of course, it may be due to.
Here, the method of sharing the image data stored in the image storage unit 44 performed in the image sharing system 40 shown in FIG. 5 is stored in the image storage unit 20 performed in the image sharing system 10 shown in FIG. Since this is the same as the image data sharing method, description thereof is omitted.

  In the image sharing system 40 of the present invention described above, a single image playback device 42 having an image storage function such as a server is used, a community is formed in one image playback device 42, and a plurality of image playback devices 16 ( 16a, 16b, 16c, 16d,...)), But the present invention is not limited to this, and as described above, the plurality of image playback devices 16 are left as they are, A plurality of image playback devices 42 may be used to perform the server function, and some or all of the plurality of image playback devices 16 may be used as the image playback device 42 to function as a server and a shared image playback display function. And may be used simultaneously. At this time, a community by each user may be formed in each image reproduction device 42, or a plurality of image reproduction devices 42 may form a community.

  In the above-described example, the identification information of the image reproduction device possessed by the user is transmitted to the server 12 or the image reproduction device 42 together with the identification information of the registration terminal 14, and the two are linked and registered as the user in the server 12 or the image reproduction device 42. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Instead of the identification information of the image reproduction apparatus possessed by the user or in addition to the identification information of the image reproduction apparatus, the user's own authentication information is stored in the server. 12 or the image reproduction device 42 and may be registered in the server 12 as a user. At this time, if necessary, registration may be performed by associating only the user authentication information, or the user authentication information and the identification information of the image reproducing device, and the identification information of the registration terminal 14.

In this way, by using the user authentication information, “cannot be watched on the go”, “if a new playback device is purchased, a request must be made to the registrant”, “anyone can view after downloading. It is possible to solve the problem in the case of using the identification information of the image reproducing apparatus such as “.
That is, by using the user authentication information, even when the user A cannot use the image reproducing apparatus A, for example, when the user A is out of the office and is not in a place where the image reproducing apparatus A exists, other image reproduction can be performed. Since the user using the device can be authenticated as the user A registered in the community, it is stored in the server 12 or the image playback device 42 in another image playback device used by the user A. Image data can be reproduced and displayed. For example, it can be viewed on the go.
In addition, when using user authentication information, it is the same in that anyone can view an image once downloaded. However, if user authentication is required at the time of playback for downloading, or a server is used. These images can only be viewed via a network and can be prevented from being downloaded to individual image playback devices.
As a method for inputting user authentication information, it is preferable to provide a mechanism that allows easy authentication using a fingerprint or a USB dongle.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the apparatus configuration of the image sharing system of the present invention, which is an embodiment of the apparatus configuration of the image sharing system using a server when using user authentication information.
The image sharing system 50 illustrated in FIG. 6 includes a server 52 and a plurality (two in the illustrated example) of image reproduction devices (hereinafter referred to as DPF) 54. Note that the image sharing system 50 shown in FIG. 6 does not include the image sharing system 10 shown in FIG. 1 and the registration terminal 14 for registering the identification information and image data of the image playback device 16, and the information and Although it differs in terms of data registration method, etc., it is the same for the formation of a community that shares image data and the viewing of the shared playback image, etc., so detailed description thereof is omitted and mainly different. Will be explained.

The server 52 includes a storage unit 56, a CPU 58, a RAM 60, a user authentication information registration unit 62, an image processing unit 64, a user authentication information identification unit 66, a communication unit 68, and mutual data between them. 1 includes a data bus 69 intervening in delivery and includes detailed components. FIG. 1 except for the user authentication information registration unit 62 and the user authentication information identification unit 62 related to user authentication information. It has the same function as the server 12 shown.
A DPF (digital photo frame) 54 includes a card reader 70, a storage unit 72, a CPU 74, a RAM 76, a user authentication information input unit 78, an image processing unit 80, a display unit 82, a touch sensor 84, and a communication. Unit 86 and a data bus 88 intervening between each other for transferring data between them, and detailed components are listed, but user authentication information input unit 78 related to user authentication information, and touch sensor 84 Except for this part, it has the same function, apparatus configuration and appearance as the image reproducing apparatus 16 shown in FIGS.

In the server 52, the storage unit 56 is a memory having a plurality of specific designated areas for storing shared image data, user identification information, and the like, and corresponds to the image storage unit 20 of the server 12 shown in FIG. Is.
The CPU 58 controls the storage unit 56, the RAM 60, the user authentication information registration unit 62, the image processing unit 64, the user authentication information identification unit 62, and the communication unit 68, and controls the server 52 itself. Is what you do.
The RAM 60 is for storing various control conditions, control parameters, and the like that are used for controlling each unit by the CPU 58.

The user authentication information registration unit 62 is a part for registering, in the designated area of the storage unit 56, user authentication information for authenticating a user who is allowed to view the shared image as identification information together with the image data of the shared image. At this time, the user authentication information input from the user authentication information input unit 78 of the DPF 54 is received and registered in the specific designated area of the storage unit 56 as identification information.
Here, as the user authentication information, any user-identifying information can be identified and specified, and any user-specific information may be used. However, it is preferable to use authentication information that is usually used for personal authentication. For example, the personal authentication information can include a user-specific password, fingerprint, finger vein, palm vein, iris, voice (voice cord), face image, and the like.
An authentication device using such personal authentication information may be mounted on the server 52, and a portion corresponding to the registration device of the authentication device may be applied to the user authentication information registration unit 62.

On the other hand, the user authentication information identification unit 66 receives the user authentication information input from the user authentication information input unit 78 of the DPF 54 as identification information, and the received user authentication information is already registered in a specific designated area of the storage unit 56. If the received user authentication information is already registered user authentication information, that is, if both match, the user authentication information is input to the user having the user authentication information. The browsing of the shared image from the DPF 54 is permitted. The DPF 54 to which the user authentication information is input may be associated with the user authentication information on the user authentication information identification unit 66 side. However, when the user authentication information is received from the DPF 54, the identification information of the DPF 54 is also included with the user authentication information. It is preferable to receive it. By doing so, it is easy to identify and specify the DPF 54 used by the user who is permitted to view the shared image.
It should be noted that the user authentication information may be inquired by a method determined by the authentication device. For example, the degree of coincidence between the two may be calculated, and if the degree of coincidence exceeds the threshold value, the user authentication information may be matched.
The user authentication information identifying unit 66 may apply an identification device of an authentication device that uses personal authentication information installed in the user authentication information registration unit 62 to use the registration device.

The image processing unit 64 is a part for performing image processing such as face detection and scene discrimination on image data when setting preference information using registered image data. Note that the image processing unit 64 performs image processing for correcting the color tone, sharpness (sharpness), lightness, saturation, etc. of the image, removing noise, etc., when the permission of the registered user is obtained. May be performed on the registered image data. Furthermore, when the received user authentication information is deteriorated due to noise or the like, image processing for performing noise removal or the like may be performed by combining smoothing or edge enhancement. However, since the user authentication information is used for authentication, it is preferable to use it without image processing as much as possible.
The communication unit 68 is for transmitting and receiving various data and information such as image data, user authentication information, and DPF identification information to and from the communication unit 86 of the DPF 54 (54a and 54b, etc.). Similar to the image sharing system 10 shown in the figure, it may be performed wirelessly via a wireless LAN or the like.
The server 52 is basically configured as described above.

In the DPF 54, the card reader 70 reads image data in a storage medium such as a memory card or a flash memory inserted in a slot (not shown), or writes image data stored in the DPF 54 to the storage medium (storage). ). Note that the image data read from the storage medium by the card reader 70 is stored in the storage unit 72 of the DPF 54 and is reproduced and displayed on the display unit 82.
The storage unit 72 includes image data to be uploaded to the server 52 as a shared image, image data to be downloaded from the server 52 as a shared image, image data read from the storage medium by the card reader 70, and identification of the DPF 54 It is a memory for storing information and the like, and corresponds to the image storage unit 23 of the image reproduction device 16 shown in FIG.
The CPU 74 controls the card reader 70, the storage unit 72, the RAM 76, the user authentication information input unit 78, the image processing unit 80, the display unit 82, the touch sensor 84, and the communication unit 86, respectively. The DPF 54 itself is controlled.
The RAM 76 is for storing various control conditions, control parameters, and the like used for controlling each unit by the CPU 74.

The user authentication information input unit 78 is for inputting user authentication information of a user who is using the DPF 54. In order to obtain permission to view a shared image, the user authentication information input unit 78 is used for user registration or user authentication. Enter authentication information. Here, if the user authentication information is a password, it may be a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, a touch sensor, various buttons, or the like for inputting the password, and if it is voice (voice cord) information, it may be a microphone. As long as it is a fingerprint, finger vein, palm vein, iris, face image, etc., it may be a touch sensor or an imaging device such as a lens or an image sensor.
In the authentication device using the personal authentication information applied to the user authentication information registration unit 62 and the user authentication information identification unit 66 of the server 52, a personal authentication information input device corresponding to the personal authentication information used for the authentication device is provided. Therefore, the personal authentication information input device may be applied to the user authentication information input unit 78.

The image processing unit 80 reads the image data read by the card reader 70 or the image data stored in the storage unit 72 before uploading to the server 52 or downloaded from the server 52. In addition, after the download, the image data stored in the storage unit 72 can be processed by the user in order to correct the color tone, sharpness (sharpness), brightness, saturation, etc. of the image, and to remove noise. This is the part that performs processing. When setting preference information using image data uploaded to the server 52, image processing such as face detection or scene discrimination may be performed on the image data. Furthermore, when the user authentication information input from the user authentication information input unit 78 is deteriorated due to noise or the like, image processing for noise removal or the like may be performed by combining smoothing or edge enhancement. However, since the user authentication information is used for authentication, it is preferable to use it without image processing as much as possible.
The display unit 42 uses the DPF 54 used by the user who is permitted to view the shared image to access the image data of the shared image in the specific designated area of the storage unit 56 of the server 52, and The shared image obtained by reproducing the image data as it is, or the image data is downloaded and saved in the storage unit 72, the saved image data is read out, and the reproduced shared image is displayed. This corresponds to the display unit 24 of the image reproduction device 16 of the image sharing system 10 shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, and has the same function.

The touch sensor 84 includes various screens displayed on the display unit 42 of the DPF 54, for example, an input screen for inputting, registering, and authenticating user authentication information, a registration screen, an authentication screen, uploading and downloading image data, Image selection screen for image selection, image selection for browsing shared images, ordering prints, etc., and screen for entering and selecting control information such as various other conditions and parameters 2 for touching the screen in order to perform the desired input, registration, authentication, selection, etc., such as various buttons 28 and 30 of the image reproduction device 16 of the image sharing system 10 and 40 shown in FIG. It performs almost the same function as the function.
The communication unit 86 is for transmitting and receiving various data and information such as image data, user authentication information, and DPF identification information to and from the communication unit 68 of the server 52. The communication unit 86 shown in FIG. As described above, it is preferable to perform wirelessly via a wireless LAN or the like.
The DPF 54 is basically configured as described above.

  In the image sharing system 50 shown in FIG. 6, for example, first, in the DPF 54a, user authentication information to be registered by the user is input by the user authentication information input unit 78, and image data and input to be registered as a shared image are input from the DPF 54a. The user authentication information to be registered is transmitted from the communication unit 86 to the server 52 via wireless or the like, and the transmitted image data and user authentication information to be registered is received by the communication unit 68 of the server 52, and the received registration is performed. The image data to be registered and the user authentication information are linked (associated) and stored in a specific designated area of the storage unit 72 and registered as a common image. The received user authentication information to be registered is registered as a user authentication information. Registered in the unit 62. Thus, the image data of the shared image and the user authentication information are registered in the server 52.

Thereafter, for example, in the DPF 54b, the user authentication information is input to the user authentication information input unit 78, and the user authentication information is transmitted from the DPF 54b to the communication unit 68 of the server 52 via the communication unit 86, and received by the server 52. The user authentication information is collated with the user authentication information registered in advance in the user authentication information registration unit 62 by the user authentication information identification unit 66.
At this time, if the received user authentication information is registered, that is, authenticated user authentication information in the server 52, the image data of the shared image stored in the storage unit 56 is transmitted to the DPF 54b. In the DPF 54b, the reproduction shared image of the image data can be displayed on the display unit 82 for user viewing.

By the way, registration and authentication of user authentication information and registration of a community will be described with examples.
As in the image sharing system shown in FIG. 7A, the user UA touches the DPF 54 a owned by the user with a finger, so that the touch sensor 84 acquires the fingerprint of the user UA as user authentication information, and the server is obtained from the DPF 54 a. The server 52 side registers the fingerprint of the user UA as user authentication information in the user authentication information registration unit 62. If registered, the user authentication information identification unit 66 collates the user UA's fingerprint. Can be downloaded or displayed on the self-owned DPF 54a.
On the other hand, even if the user UA touches the DPF 54b owned by the user UB with a finger, the user UA similarly registers the fingerprint of the user UA as user authentication information in the server 52, or is verified if registered. Even if the user's UA community image is a DPF 54b owned by another person, it can be downloaded or displayed on the DPF 54b.

Further, as in the image sharing system shown in FIG. 7B, the user UA touches the self-owned DPF 54a with a finger, and as described above, the user UA's fingerprint is stored in the server 52 as user authentication information. It is registered, or if it is registered, it is collated by the user authentication information identifying unit 66, and an image of the community of the user UA can be downloaded to the self-owned DPF 54a or displayed.
On the other hand, when the user UB touches the DPF 54a owned by the user UA with a finger, the user UB similarly registers the fingerprint of the user UB as user authentication information in the server 52, or is collated if registered. Even if the DPF 54a is owned by another person, an image of the community of the user UB can be downloaded or displayed on the DPF 54a.
That is, both the user UA and the UB can download and display images of their respective communities on the DPF 54a.

  Further, in the image sharing system shown in FIG. 8, on the screen of the display unit 82 of the DPF 54a owned by the user UA, the user registration menu is pressed down using the touch sensor 84, and the screen display is selected. As described above, the user registration screen is displayed and, as shown in FIG. 8, the user UA and UB touch the user registration screen with their fingers at the same time within a predetermined time. The user UA's fingerprint can be registered as user authentication information in the user's community of the server 52, and the user UB's fingerprint can also be registered as user authentication information in the user UA's community of the server 52. The browsing of the shared image registered in the community of the user UA can be permitted.

That is, in this case, as shown in FIG. 9, the community A of the user UA is formed in the designated area A of the storage unit 56 of the server 52, the user authentication information is used as the identification information, and the user authentication information The fingerprints of the users UA and UB are registered together with the image data.
On the other hand, a community B of the user UA is formed in the designated area B of the storage unit 56 of the server 52 shown in FIG. 9, and the user authentication information is used as the identification information, but the user UA is used as the user authentication information. The user UB cannot access the community B of the user UA, and the user UC cannot access the community A of the user UA. Show.
In addition, as shown in FIG. 8, when registration like the community A of the designation | designated area | region A shown in FIG. 9 is made, browsing of a shared image can be performed as shown in FIG.7 (b).

Next, FIG. 10 is another embodiment of the apparatus configuration of the image sharing system of the present invention, and shows the apparatus configuration of the image sharing system comprising a plurality of image playback apparatuses (DPFs) when using user authentication information. It is a block diagram which shows one Example.
An image sharing system 90 illustrated in FIG. 10 includes a plurality (two in the illustrated example) of image reproduction apparatuses (hereinafter referred to as DPF) 92 (92a and 92b). The image sharing system 90 shown in FIG. 10 does not include the server 52 and the image sharing system 50 shown in FIG. 7 and has the same configuration except that the configuration of the DPF is slightly different. The same reference numerals are given to the constituent elements, and the same applies to the formation of a community for sharing image data and the browsing of shared playback images. Differences will be described.

  The DPF 92 (92a and 92b) includes a card reader 70, a storage unit 98, a CPU 74, a RAM 76, a user authentication information registration unit 94, an image processing unit 80, a display unit 82, a touch sensor 84, and user authentication. It has an information identification unit 96, a communication unit 86, and a data bus 88 intervening in the exchange of data between them, and does not include a user authentication information input unit 78 related to user authentication information, but user authentication information Except for having a registration unit 94, a user authentication information identification unit 96, and a storage unit 98, it has the same functions, apparatus configuration, and appearance as the DPF 54 of the image sharing system 50 shown in FIG.

  The user authentication information registration unit 94 has the functions of the user authentication information input unit 78 of the DPF 54 and the user authentication information registration unit 62 of the server 52 shown in FIG. Is used, the user's finger fingerprint is detected by the touch sensor 84 when the user touches the display screen of the display unit 82 of the DPF 92, and the detected fingerprint is immediately detected by the user authentication information registration unit. 94. At this time, the user authentication information including the user's fingerprint is also stored in the storage unit 98 in association with the image data together with the image data.

  Further, the user authentication information identification unit 96 has the functions of the user authentication information input unit 78 of the DPF 54 of the image sharing system 50 and the user authentication information identification unit 66 of the server 52 shown in FIG. When a fingerprint is used as the fingerprint, the user touches the display screen of the display unit 82 of the DPF 92 with a finger, whereby the fingerprint of the user's finger is detected by the touch sensor 84, and the detected fingerprint is immediately detected by the user authentication information. The user authentication information that is sent to the identification unit 96 and is sent from the user authentication information identification unit 96 to the user's fingerprint registered as user authentication information in a specific designated area of the storage unit 98 If the sent user's fingerprint is a registered user's fingerprint, that is, if the two match, the fingerprint is used. Users with as The authentication information, to allow the inspection of the public image of from DPF92 you enter the fingerprint as user authentication information.

The storage unit 98 has a plurality of specific designated areas for storing image data to be shared, user identification information, and the like, and is shared from the image data to be uploaded as a shared image to the specific designated areas and the specific designated areas. 7 is a memory for storing image data to be downloaded as an image, image data read from the storage medium by the card reader 70, and identification information of the DPF 92, and the image shown in FIG. 7 shown in FIG. This is a memory that combines the functions of the storage unit 56 of the server 52 and the storage unit 72 of the DPF 54 of the shared system 50.
In this example, the DPFs 92a and 92b have the same configuration, but the present invention may not be the same as long as it has a necessary function.
The DPF 92 is basically configured as described above.

In the image sharing system 90 shown in FIG. 10, for example, first, in the DPF 92a, user authentication information to be registered by the user is input in the display unit 82, registered in the user authentication information registration unit 94, and specified in the storage unit 98. Are associated with the image data of the shared image stored in the designated area and stored together with the image data. At this time, the image data to be registered as the shared image is assumed to be stored in a specific designated area of the storage unit 98, but at the same time when user authentication information is input and registered in the user authentication information registration unit 94, The image data of the shared image and the user authentication information associated therewith may be stored in a specific designated area of the storage unit 98. As a result, the image data and user authentication information of the shared image are registered in a specific designated area of the storage unit 98.
Similarly, in the DPF 92b, the user registers the user authentication information to be registered in the user authentication information registration unit 94, and associates the user authentication information to be registered and the image data with a specific designation in the storage unit 98. It is assumed that it is stored in the area.

Thereafter, the input user authentication information or the user authentication information registered in the user authentication information registration unit 94 is transmitted from the DPF 92b to the DPF 92a via the communication unit 86, and the received user authentication information is received by the DPF 92a. The user authentication information identification unit 96 checks the user authentication information registered in the user authentication information registration unit 94 in advance.
At this time, if the transmitted user authentication information is registered, that is, authenticated user authentication information in the DPF 92a, the image data of the shared image stored in a specific designated area of the storage unit 98 is stored. Can be transmitted to the DPF 92b via the communication unit 86, and the DPF 92b can display the reproduction shared image of the image data on the display unit 82 for user browsing.

By the way, the delivery of information and image data in the image sharing system 90 shown in FIG.
As in the image sharing system shown in FIG. 11, the users UA and UB touch the DPF 92 a owned by the user UA with a finger so that the touch sensor 84 acquires the fingerprints of the users UA and UB as user authentication information, The fingerprints of the users UA and UB are registered as user authentication information in the user authentication information registration unit 94, and if registered, the user authentication information identification unit 96 collates and downloads the user UA community image to the DPF 92a, Can be displayed.
When the user UB touches the DPF 92b owned by the user with a finger, the touch sensor 84 acquires the fingerprints of the users UA and UB as user authentication information, and the user authentication information is obtained using the user UB fingerprint as user authentication information. It is registered in the registration unit 94, and if registered, it is collated by the user authentication information identification unit 96, and an image of the community of the user UB can be downloaded to the DPF 92b or displayed.

On the other hand, since the fingerprint of the user UB is registered as user authentication information in the DPF 92a owned by the user UA, when the DPF 92b owned by the user UB is accessed from the DPF 92a owned by the user UA, the DPF 92a is stored from the DPF 92b. The shared image data and other information stored in the unit 98 can be acquired.
On the other hand, since the fingerprint of the user UA is not registered as user authentication information in the DPF 92b owned by the user UB, even if the DPF 92a owned by the user UA is accessed from the DPF 92b owned by the user UB, the DPF 92b The shared image data and other information stored in the storage unit 98 cannot be acquired from the DPF 92a.

In the above-described embodiment, communication between the devices is performed wirelessly. However, in the present invention, the communication unit is not limited to wireless communication, and communication between the devices may be performed by wire.
In the present embodiment, the operation of the image reproduction apparatus is performed by operating a button. However, the display unit of the image reproduction apparatus may be used as a touch panel to perform the operation.

Furthermore, in the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B, it is possible to use a human body communication technique in which data communication is performed using a human body instead of a cable. It should be noted that conventionally known techniques can be used for human body communication techniques.
In the case shown in FIG. 12 (a), the user UA touches the DPF 92a owned by the user UA with the left hand UAL and touches the DPF 92b owned by the user UB with the user's UA. Data and information can be transferred from the DPF 92a to the DPF 92b by human body communication.

On the other hand, in the case shown in FIG. 12B, as in FIG. 11, the fingerprint of the user UB is registered as user authentication information in the DPF 92a owned by the user UA, and the DPF 92b owned by the user UB When the fingerprint of the user UA is not registered as the user authentication information, as shown in FIG. 12A, the user UA has the left hand UAL in the DPF 92a owned by the user UA and the right hand UA in the user UB. By touching the owned DPF 92b, data and information can be transferred from the DPF 92a to the DPF 92b by human body communication using the human body of the user UA as a cable.
However, when the user UB touches the DPF 92a owned by the user UA with the left hand UBL and the DPF 92b owned by the user UB with the right hand UBR, the user UB communicates with the DPF 92b from the DPF 92b to the DPF 92a by human body communication using the human body of the user UA as a cable. Data and information cannot be transferred.

  Although the image sharing system of the present invention has been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to the various embodiments described above, and various improvements and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Of course.

It is a block diagram which shows one Example of the system configuration | structure of the image sharing system of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows one Example of a structure of the image reproduction apparatus used for the image sharing system of this invention. It is a conceptual diagram which shows an example of the effect | action in the image sharing system of this invention. It is a figure showing an example of the example of a community setting in the image sharing system of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows other embodiment of the apparatus structure of the image sharing system of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows other embodiment of the apparatus structure of the image sharing system of this invention. (A) And (b) is a figure which shows an example of delivery of the information and data in the image sharing system of this invention. It is a figure which shows the other example of delivery of the information and data in the image sharing system of this invention. It is a figure showing the other example of the setting example of the community in the image sharing system of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows other embodiment of the apparatus structure of the image sharing system of this invention. It is a figure which shows the other example of delivery of the information and data in the image sharing system of this invention. (A) And (b) is a figure which shows the other example of the delivery of the information in the image sharing system of this invention, and data.

Explanation of symbols

10, 40, 50, 90 Image sharing system 12, 52 Server 14 Registration terminal 16, 16a, 16b, 16c, 16d, 42 Image reproduction device 18 Print order reception unit 20, 44 Image storage unit 22, 25, 46 Control unit 23 Image storage unit 24, 82 Display unit 26 Power button 28 Select button 30 Enter button 32 Slot 34 Antenna 54, 54a, 54b, 92, 92a, 92b DPF (image playback device)
56, 72, 98 Storage unit 58, 74 CPU
60,76 RAM
62, 94 User authentication information registration unit 64, 80 Image processing unit 66, 96 User authentication information identification unit 68, 86 Communication unit 69, 88 Data bus 70 Card reader 78 User authentication information input unit 84 Touch sensor

Claims (20)

An image storage device for storing content data including registered image data;
An image playback device that accesses the image storage device and plays back the content data including the image data stored in the image storage device;
A registration terminal for registering device identification information of the image playback device and / or user authentication information of the user in the image storage device;
The image storage device includes an image storage unit having a plurality of preset designated areas for storing the content data including the predetermined registered image data, the image reproduction device, and the registration terminal and device. A communication function for transmitting and receiving identification information and / or user authentication information of the user and the content data,
The registration terminal registers the content data including the predetermined image data in the specific designated area of the image storage unit of the image storage device, and further, the image accessible to the specific designated area Registering device identification information of the playback device and / or user authentication information of the user in the image storage device,
The image storage device accepts access to the content data including the image data from only the image reproduction device corresponding to the registered device identification information and / or the user authentication information, and includes the image data. An image sharing system, wherein reproduction of the content data is permitted. The image reproduction device downloads and stores the content data including the image data from the image storage device, and reproduces the content data including the stored image data.
The image storage device accepts download of the content data including the image data from only the image reproduction device corresponding to the registered device identification information and / or the user authentication information, and only to the image reproduction device. The image sharing system according to claim 1, wherein the content data including the image data is transmitted and permitted to be reproduced.   The image sharing system according to claim 1, wherein the image registered in the designated area is an image stored in the registration terminal or the image reproduction apparatus. The image playback device has user preference information or device information of the playback device, and transmits the user preference information or device information of the image playback device to the image storage device when accessing the designated area. ,
The image sharing system according to claim 1, wherein the image storage device transmits image data selected based on the user preference information or device information of the image reproduction device to the image reproduction device.   The image sharing system according to claim 1, wherein the designated area can be arbitrarily set by the registration terminal.   2. The registration terminal is a terminal associated with a specific image reproduction device, and registers image data of the specific image reproduction device in the designated area of the image storage device. The image sharing system according to any one of?   The image sharing system according to claim 1, wherein the registration terminal is a mobile phone terminal. Furthermore, it has a print order reception part for receiving print orders of images,
The image sharing system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the image reproduction device transmits the reproduced or downloaded image to the print order reception unit and provides the print order.   The image sharing system according to claim 8, wherein the image reproduction device makes the print order to the print order reception unit via the image storage device.   The image sharing system according to claim 1, wherein the content data includes at least one of audio data and text data in addition to the image data.   The image sharing system according to claim 1, wherein the image storage device is a server including the image storage unit and the communication function. The image playback device is a first image playback device that accesses the image storage device and plays back the content data including the image data stored in the image storage device.
The image storage device includes the image storage unit having the plurality of designated areas, the communication function for communicating with the image reproduction device and the registration terminal, and the image data stored in the image storage unit. 11. The apparatus according to claim 1, comprising at least one second image reproduction device having an image storage function including a reproduction unit including an image display unit that reproduces the content data. Image sharing system.   The first image reproduction device downloads and stores the content data including the image data from the at least one second image reproduction device, and the image storage unit stores the content data. The image sharing system according to claim 12, further comprising: a reproduction unit that reproduces content data and includes an image display unit that reproduces and displays the image data. A content storage device for storing the registered content data;
A content playback device that accesses the content storage device and plays back the content data stored in the content storage device;
A registration terminal for registering device identification information of the content reproduction device and / or user authentication information of the user in the content storage device;
The content storage device stores a predetermined registered content data, a content storage unit having a plurality of preset designated areas, the content playback device and the registration terminal, device identification information, and / or Or a user authentication information of the user and a communication function for transmitting and receiving the content data,
The registration terminal registers the predetermined content data in the specific designated area of the content storage unit of the content storage device, and further, device identification of the content reproduction apparatus that can access the specific designated area Registering information and / or user authentication information of the user in the content storage device;
The content storage device accepts access to the content data including the image data only by the content reproduction device corresponding to the registered device identification information and / or the user authentication information, and includes the image data. A content sharing system that permits reproduction of the content data.   The content sharing system according to claim 14, wherein the content data includes at least one of the image data, audio data, and text data. Registering content data including image data in a predetermined designated area in the image storage device;
Registering device identification information of a specific image reproducing device and / or user authentication information of a specific user permitting access to the predetermined designated area in the image storage device;
Transmitting the device identification information and / or the user authentication information from the image reproduction device to the image storage device;
In the image storage device, the device identification information and / or the user authentication information received from the image reproduction device is checked against the device identification information and / or the user authentication information registered in the image storage device, and registered. The access to the content data including the image data is accepted only from the image reproduction device corresponding to the device identification information and / or the user authentication information, and the reproduction of the content data including the image data is permitted. And steps to
Replaying the content data including the image data in the image reproduction device permitted to reproduce the content data,
The step of reproducing the content data includes displaying the image data. The step of permitting reproduction of the content data includes the step of permitting the content data including the image data from only the image reproduction device corresponding to the registered device identification information and / or user authentication information in the image storage device. A step to accept downloads,
The step of reproducing the content data includes the step of downloading the content data including the image data from the image storage device, and the content data including the downloaded image data in the image reproduction device that has received the download. The image sharing method according to claim 16, further comprising:   The image sharing method according to claim 15 or 16, wherein the content data includes at least one of audio data and text data in addition to the image data. Registering content data in a predetermined designated area in the content storage device;
Registering device identification information of a specific content reproduction device and / or user authentication information of a specific user permitting access to the predetermined designated area in the content storage device;
Transmitting the device identification information and / or the user authentication information from the content reproduction device to the content storage device;
In the content storage device, the device identification information and / or the user authentication information received from the content reproduction device is checked against the device identification information and / or the user authentication information registered in the content storage device, and registered. Only the content reproduction device corresponding to the device identification information and / or the user authentication information received is allowed to access the content data including the image data, and is allowed to reproduce the content data including the image data And steps to
And a step of reproducing the content data including the image data in the content reproduction apparatus permitted to reproduce the content data.   The content sharing method according to claim 19, wherein the content data includes at least one of the image data, audio data, and text data.

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