JP2010136400A - Digital camera and image server - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem that the ease of operation of a digital camera is degraded in transfer ring image data taken by the digital camera to a server. <P>SOLUTION: The image data taken by the digital camera 1 is transferred to an image server 3, and an access right to a third party is established to store it in a storage 21. Further, printing the image data is requested to a print-accepting server 4 through a network 2. The digital camera 1 has a mode for storing the image data as a thumbnail when the image data transferred to the image server 3 are deleted from the digital camera 1. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a digital camera, and more particularly to a technique for transferring image image data captured by a digital camera to a predetermined server on a network, and a technique for using the technique.

Image data captured by a digital camera is recorded in a built-in memory or a memory card that can be attached to and detached from the digital camera (hereinafter collectively referred to as an image memory). However, the number of images that can be recorded in the image memory is limited, and the following work has been performed so that if the image has been taken, the image can be taken again.
1. Delete unnecessary data from the recorded image data.
2. If the memory card is removable, replace it with a new memory card.
3. The image data is moved to a device having a larger storage medium such as a personal computer.

  In the case of 1, it took time to search for unnecessary images. In addition, as this operation is repeated, there are no more images that can be deleted. As a result, there is a case where the memory area cannot be further increased. In the case of No. 2, there are problems such as the cost of extra memory cards to be prepared and the difficulty of obtaining them on the go. In the case of 3, the device for moving the image data to the outside must be carried together, which impairs the convenience for the user. Further, in either case, a certain amount of time is required until the image can be taken again, and a photo opportunity may be missed.

  In view of such problems, a technique has been devised in which a communication device is added to a digital camera and an image is transferred to a server at another location.

  In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-304231, when the image size to be recorded is changed, when the shutter is half-pressed, at the time of shooting, and the like, the remaining memory capacity is checked. A technique for deleting the image data from the image memory after being transferred to is disclosed.

  Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-275425 discloses a technique in which a digital camera is provided with two shooting modes, a local mode and a remote mode, and in the remote mode, the shot image data is directly transferred to the server without being recorded in the image memory. Yes.

JP-A-10-304231 JP-A-11-275425

  However, these techniques are not intended to solve the problem that the image data cannot be taken further during the transfer of the image data to the server, and there is a high possibility of missing a photo opportunity. In addition, since the image data recorded on the server is completely deleted from the image memory, it is not possible to confirm the content of the captured image later. Alternatively, it is possible to acquire image data from the server, but communication time is required and operability is degraded.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a technical background, and moves image data to an external server without impairing the operability of the digital camera, and operates without being aware of the place where the image data is placed. An object is to provide a digital camera that can be used.

  One embodiment of the present invention relates to a digital camera. This digital camera is a digital camera having a control unit that controls the entire apparatus, and the control unit performs a first task of transferring image data taken by the digital camera to the outside via a network, and actually the digital camera. Has a function of executing in parallel with the second task for performing the photographing.

  The second task has a higher priority than the first task, and the second task activation request is omitted even when the first task is in progress or there is an activation request. It may be executed in real time.

  Another embodiment of the present invention also relates to a digital camera. This digital camera is a digital camera having a control unit that controls the entire apparatus, and the control unit is a condition for setting a start condition of processing for transferring image data captured by the digital camera to the outside via a network. Includes setting part.

  The activation condition may include a setting item related to the remaining battery level of the digital camera. When the remaining battery level is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount, the control unit may allow the process to be started. When the amount is equal to or less than a predetermined amount, the control unit may prompt the user to start the process.

  Still another embodiment of the present invention also relates to a digital camera. This digital camera is a digital camera having a control unit that controls the entire apparatus, and the control unit orders, from the digital camera, ordering information for printing image data captured by the digital camera to the printing subject. The order processing unit includes an authentication information for permitting access from the printing subject only when image data that is actually requested for printing is generated. Generate information. Here, the printing subject generally refers to a printing company that performs printing processing such as printing on photographic paper, but is not limited thereto, and may be any person who provides a printing processing service.

  Still another embodiment of the present invention also relates to a digital camera. This digital camera is a digital camera having a control unit that controls the entire apparatus, and the control unit transfers a function of storing image data in the digital camera to the outside via a network, And having a function of recording in a predetermined external device.

  When the image data is transferred so as to be recorded in an external recording device, a first mode for deleting the image data and a second mode for storing a reduced image are stored inside the digital camera. May be included. The reduced image is, for example, a thumbnail which is an image data whose size is reduced to 240 × 180 pixels from image data having a size of 1024 × 768 pixels, or an image which has been subjected to compression processing in the JPEG format.

  Yet another embodiment of the present invention relates to an image server. The image server includes a storage unit that stores image data sent from a user via a network, and an authentication unit that provides authentication information to the digital camera of the user, and the authentication information is set in the digital camera, Subsequent access is performed simply. Here, the storage unit has a function as a user-specific electronic album.

  Still another embodiment of the present invention also relates to an image server. The image server includes a storage unit that stores image data sent from a user via a network, an order receiving unit that receives a request for printing image data stored in the storage unit from a user, and a print target. And an order transfer unit for transferring the order to the printing subject in a form including authentication information permitting access to the image data.

  Still another embodiment of the present invention also relates to an image server. This image server has a storage unit for storing image data sent from a user via a network together with information on a partner to whom the image data may be disclosed, and access to the image data for a partner who is allowed to disclose the image data. A notification unit that performs notification in a form including necessary authentication information.

  It should be noted that any combination or rearrangement of the above-described constituent elements and what expresses the present invention as a method, a server, a computer program, a recording medium, etc. are also effective as an aspect of the present invention.

  The image data can be moved to an external server without impairing the operability of the digital camera, and the digital camera can be operated without being aware of the place where the image data is placed.

1 is a diagram showing a network system including a digital camera and an image server according to an embodiment. It is the figure which showed the procedure of the process when registering an image server with a digital camera. It is a figure showing a condition setting screen displayed on a digital camera when setting conditions for storing image data. It is the figure which showed the image management table recorded on the recording part of a digital camera. It is the figure which showed the correspondence table of the value of mode and the location where image data exists. It is a flowchart which shows the main loop task of a digital camera. It is a flowchart which shows a server preservation | save task. It is the figure which showed the procedure of the preservation | save process to an image server. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of deletion of an image. It is the figure which showed the procedure which deletes the image data on an image server. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a processing procedure when an image data print order is made via a network. It is a figure which shows the format of an order file.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a network system 101 in which a digital camera 1, an image server 3, a print reception server 4, and a user terminal 5 according to an embodiment are connected via a network 2. Image data captured by the digital camera 1 is transferred to the image server 3 under predetermined conditions. Also, the digital camera 1 notifies the print acceptance server 4 to print the designated image data transferred to the image server 3. Further, the user of the user terminal 5 is permitted to access the image data.

  The digital camera 1 includes a storage unit 11, a control unit 12, an imaging unit 13, an output unit 14, an input unit 15, a communication unit 16, and an order processing unit 17.

  The storage unit 11 includes a secondary storage device such as a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and a removable memory card, and includes an authentication file for accessing the image server 3, a control program for the digital camera 1, Stores image data, an image management table 103, and the like. The control unit 12 is composed of a CPU (Central Processing Unit), controls peripheral devices according to a control program stored in the storage unit 11, further sets the remaining battery level, and stores the setting contents in the storage unit 11. Store.

  The imaging unit 13 includes an imaging lens, a photoelectric converter such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device), and a signal processing device. The imaging unit 13 converts an optical image of a subject into an electrical signal and performs signal processing set by the control unit 12. The output unit 14 includes an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), and displays an image signal input from the imaging unit 13 when the digital camera 1 is in the shooting mode. When the digital camera 1 is in the playback mode, the image data recorded in the storage unit 11 is expanded and the image signal is displayed. Furthermore, a user interface screen for interacting with the user is displayed.

  The input unit 15 includes a dial, a button, a switch, and the like, and receives an input from the user of the digital camera 1 in an interactive operation. The communication unit 16 includes a built-in wireless module or a communication device such as a mobile phone that can be externally attached to the digital camera 1. The communication unit 16 is connected to the image server 3, the print reception server 4, or the user terminal 5 via the network 2 to transmit / receive data. I do.

  The image server 3 includes a communication unit 16, a storage unit 21, an authentication unit 22, a notification unit 23, an order transfer unit 24, and an order reception unit 25, and the received image data via the communication unit 16 in accordance with a request from the digital camera 1. Is stored, or specified image data is transmitted.

  The storage unit 21 stores image data received from the digital camera 1. The authentication unit 22 authenticates access of the digital camera 1, the print reception server 4, and the user terminal 5. The notification unit 23 notifies the other user terminal 5 that may be disclosed in a form including authentication information necessary for accessing the image data. The order receiving unit 25 receives an order for print processing from the digital camera 1 to the print receiving server 4, and the order transfer unit 24 transfers the order to the print receiving server 14.

  The print reception server 4 receives print order data from the digital camera 1, acquires image data from the image server 3 according to the contents, and performs print processing such as printing on photographic paper.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a flow of processing for registering the image server 3 in the digital camera 1.

  In S101, the digital camera 1 and the image server 3 are connected. The image server 3 waits for a connection request to a predetermined communication port in advance. Next, a connection request is issued from the digital camera 1 to the communication port of the image server 3. The image server 3 issues a response signal to the request from the digital camera 1.

  In S102, the communication path is encrypted. For this, for example, a method such as SSL (Secure Socket Layer) is used.

  In S103, user authentication for specifying the user of the image server 3 is performed. It is assumed that the user has registered in advance with the image server 3. For example, the user accesses with a personal computer, applies for a user ID, and receives a password. At this time, the image server 3 updates the user database provided therein, and prepares a storage unit 21 that functions as a user directory. In S <b> 103, the user manually inputs the user ID and password from the digital camera 1 and transmits them. When the image server 3 searches the user database and confirms that the user is a registered official user, the image server 3 transmits a response signal to the digital camera 1.

  In S <b> 104, designation of a directory for storing image data captured by the digital camera 1 is accepted from the user, and the image server 3 creates a directory with the designated name in the storage unit 21. This directory may be created during user registration.

  In S <b> 105, the image server 3 generates an authentication file that gives authority to read / write the directory created in S <b> 104 without the user authentication step shown in S <b> 103, and transmits the authentication file to the digital camera 1.

  In S106, the digital camera 1 records the received authentication file on the image memory. Thereafter, access from the digital camera 1 holding the authentication file to the image server 3 is facilitated by omitting the user ID and password input by the user.

  In S107, the connection between the digital camera 1 and the image server 3 is disconnected. In S108, conditions for saving in the image server 3 in the digital camera 1 are set.

  FIG. 3 shows a condition setting screen 102, which is displayed when the digital camera 1 is set with conditions for storing captured image data in the image server 3. The first item “network save” is used to determine whether or not to enable saving to the image server 3, and is selected from “Yes” or “No”. When “No” is selected, the following items cannot be set.

  The second item “capacity” indicates the condition of the image memory capacity for storing in the image server 3, such as “when shooting more than ??”, “remaining number of shots? Less than”, “? It is selected from the conditions.

  The third item “power source” is selected from the conditions such as “AC power source”, “when the remaining battery level is high”, “when the remaining battery level is low”, and “always”. “AC power” is stored when the digital camera 1 is connected to the AC power. When “remaining battery level is high”, importance is given to a photo opportunity, and when “remaining battery level is low”, the user is prompted to save image data to the image server. In the “always” case, the power supply condition is not referred to.

  As the fourth item “type”, “only the marked image” is selected when only the image designated by the user is stored in the image server 3, and “all” is selected when all the captured image data are targeted. The

  The contents set on the condition setting screen 102 are recorded on the image memory. Note that the setting of the storage conditions in the image server 3 may be able to be changed later.

  FIG. 4 shows an image management table 103 recorded on the image memory of the storage unit 11. The image No field is an identification number assigned sequentially to the captured image data. The save file name field stores a file name when image data is saved in the image memory on the digital camera 1 side or the image server 3.

  The mode field stores the storage state of the image data. FIG. 5 shows a correspondence table 104 of mode values and image data storage states. Mode “A” indicates that image data is stored only in the digital camera 1. The mode “B” indicates that the digital camera 1 stores thumbnail images, and the image server 3 stores actually captured image data (hereinafter also simply referred to as “image data”). Mode “C” indicates that image data is stored only in the image server 3. Mode “D” indicates that image data is not stored in either of them and is completely deleted. Mode “E” indicates that image data is stored in both.

  The mark field stores information as to whether or not the user has marked the image. When “only marked images” is selected in the “type” item on the condition setting screen, this field is referred to when selecting image data to be stored in the image server 3. The number of prints at the time of print order is stored in the number of prints field.

  The procedure for rewriting the image management table 103 when a new image is taken is as follows. First, a new record is added to the image management table 103, and a sequential number is assigned to the image No field. Based on the number, a file name is generated and recorded in the saved file name field. Image data captured with the generated file name is stored in the image memory. Then, “A” is recorded in the mode field, “×” is recorded in the mark field, and “0” is recorded in the number of printed sheets field.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the main loop task of the digital camera 1. When the power of the digital camera 1 is turned on, the hardware and the real-time OS (Operation System) are initialized. Then, this task is generated and the execution right is transferred.

  In S201, initialization of a variable shared between tasks and another task to be executed in parallel are generated. In this embodiment, an idle flag variable for indicating that there is no input from the user for a predetermined time is initialized to OFF, and a server storage task for storing the image data in the image server 3 is generated. The server storage task is set to a low priority, and is executed in the background so as not to hinder processing that requires other real-time properties. If the condition for saving to the image server 3 is not satisfied, the server saving task enters a sleep state. A detailed processing sequence of the server storage task will be described later.

  The digital camera 1 includes buttons and dials for operating the apparatus, slots for connecting external media and cables, connectors, and the like, and receives input signals from these in S202. The input signal is converted to a unique key that can be identified by the program and passed to this task. When the key is received (S202 key acquisition), the process proceeds to S203. On the other hand, if the input signal cannot be received for a certain time (timeout in S202), the process proceeds to S208.

  In S203, when each hardware is in a power saving mode by power saving described later, a return process is performed. In S204, the idle flag variable is set to OFF.

  In S205, the function for the key acquired in S202 is executed. For example, when the shutter key is pressed in the shooting mode, the shooting function is executed. An input signal from the imaging unit 13 is converted into data in a TIFF (Tag Image File Format) format or JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) format and stored in an image memory. Further, the image management table 103 is updated as described above.

  When the delete key is pressed in the playback mode, the playback image data displayed on the LCD is deleted. Details of the deletion will be described later. When the print key is pressed, a record corresponding to the reproduced image displayed on the LCD is extracted from the image management table 103, and the value of the number of prints field is incremented by one. Functions such as deletion and printing are not actually assigned to one key, but are realized by a combination of several key inputs. For example, the digital camera 1 includes a cross key, a mode key, and a determination key. When the mode key is pressed, a menu screen is displayed on the LCD, a desired function is highlighted with the cross key, and the function is determined by pressing the determination key. .

  In S206, it is determined whether or not the function executed in S205 is shooting. If it is determined that shooting is performed (Yes in S206), it is assumed that the capacity of the image memory has changed, and the process proceeds to S207. In cases other than shooting (No in S206), the process proceeds to S210.

  In S207, it is considered that the event constituting the condition for saving to the server has changed, and a wake-up signal is sent to the server saving task generated in S201.

  When there is no input for a certain time in the key input waiting in S202 (timeout in S202), the digital camera 1 enters the power saving mode in order to suppress useless power consumption. In S208, the idle flag variable is set to ON. In S209, unnecessary hardware driving circuits such as an LCD, a CCD, and a signal processing circuit are set to OFF. Furthermore, the clock frequency supplied to the CPU is lowered, and the power consumption is suppressed. Next, the process proceeds to S207.

  When the server storage task is woken up in S207 and the processing is completed, and in S206, when it is determined that the function executed in S205 is not shooting (No in S206), the process proceeds to S210, and the power is continuously turned on. If so (S210 ON), the process returns to 202. When the power is turned off (S210 is OFF), the process ends.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart of the server storage task. In S301, it is determined whether or not a condition for saving to the image server 3 is satisfied. If there is image data to be stored and the image data is compared with the storage conditions set in S108 described above and the conditions are satisfied (Yes in S301), the process proceeds to S302. Even when the storage condition set in S108 is not satisfied, when the user is not operating the digital camera 1, that is, when the idle flag variable is ON, the process may proceed to S302 as satisfying the condition.

  If the condition to be stored is not satisfied (No in S301), the process proceeds to S308, transitions to a sleep state, waits for an event constituting the condition to change, and a wake-up signal (S207) to be transmitted from another task. When the user gets up, the process returns to S301 again to determine the storage conditions.

  In S302, image data to be stored in the image server 3 is selected from the image memory. The image management table 103 is scanned, and the mode field is “A”, that is, the image management record recorded only in the image memory is extracted. When the storage condition is “only marked images”, a record having a mode field “A” and a mark field “◯” is extracted. The image file to be stored is specified by the storage file name field of the extracted record.

  In S303, the selected image data is stored in the image server 3. FIG. 8 shows a storing process in the image server 3. Since the connection to the image server 3 in S401 and the encryption of the communication path in S402 are the same processes as in S101 and S102, respectively, description thereof will be omitted.

  In S <b> 403, the authentication file received at the time of registration in the image server 3 and recorded in the image memory is transmitted to the image server 3. When the image server 3 receives the authentication file, the image server 3 specifies a user and a storage destination directory (hereinafter, also simply referred to as “storage directory”) from the authentication file. Further, the owner of the connection source digital camera 1 is regarded as an authorized user, and access permission from the digital camera 1 is given (S404). Note that S401 to S404 are processing procedures that are performed each time the digital camera 1 accesses the image server 3, and these procedures are collectively referred to as a connection phase hereinafter.

  In S405, a save request is transmitted to the image server 3 together with the file name of the image data saved on the digital camera 1, and then the image data itself is sent. The image server 3 records the received image data in the storage directory with the same file name as the digital camera 1 side. If the transmission / reception and storage of the image data are successful, an OK signal is returned to the digital camera 1 (S406). Finally, the connection with the image server 3 is disconnected (S407).

  In S304, it is determined whether or not the saving process of FIG. 8 is successful. If it is successful (Yes in S304), the process proceeds to S305, and if it is unsuccessful (No in S304), the process returns to S301. . In S305, thumbnail data of the selected image data is generated. The original image data with a size of 1024 × 768 pixels or 640 × 480 pixels is resized to 240 × 180 pixels, for example, and converted into JPEG format data. In the digital camera 1 having a resolution of 2 million pixels, when the JPEG format has a low compression rate, the thumbnail data can be suppressed to several tens of kilobytes while the original data has a file size of about several hundred kilobytes to 1 megabyte. Then, the original data on the image memory is replaced with the generated thumbnail data, and the original data is deleted from the image memory (S306).

  At this time, the thumbnail data is placed on the image memory of the digital camera 1 and the original data is placed on the image server 3 with the same file name. Accordingly, the mode field of the image management table 103 is updated from mode “A” to mode “B” in S307, and the process returns to S301.

  By repeating the above processing, the remaining recording capacity of the image memory of the digital camera 1 can be increased. At this time, since the storage process in the image server 3 is executed as a low priority task separately from the main task, the responsiveness required by the digital camera 1 is not impaired. That is, shooting can be performed immediately by pressing the shutter button.

  Further, since the thumbnail data of the image data recorded in the image server 3 is recorded in the image memory, the contents can be confirmed without acquiring the image data from the image server 3 again.

  In this embodiment, the capacity is secured by replacing the original data with thumbnail data with a reduced image size. However, data with a higher JPEG compression rate or a combination of these is generated and May be replaced.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the flow of an image deletion task, which is one of the functions executed in S205 of FIG. In this embodiment, the deletion type includes only deletion of image data on the digital camera 1 side (hereinafter also referred to simply as “local deletion”) and deletion including the server side (hereinafter also referred to simply as “complete deletion”). There are two types, which can be specified by the user. Specifically, two items of “local deletion” and “complete deletion” are displayed on the menu for operating the image data, and the user selects one of them.

  In S501, the mode of image data to be deleted is referred to, and the next step is determined by the mode. If the mode is “A”, the process proceeds to S502, and if the mode is “B”, the process proceeds to S504. When the mode is “E”, the process proceeds to S508, and when the mode is “C”, the process proceeds to S505.

In S502, the image data is deleted from the image memory of the digital camera 1.
Since there is no image data on either the digital camera 1 or the image server 3, the mode field of the image management table 103 is updated to “D” (S503).

  For image data of mode “B”, the thumbnail data in the image memory is deleted in S504. In S505, it is determined whether the type of deletion is “local deletion” or “complete deletion”. If it is “complete deletion” (Yes in S505), the process proceeds to S506, and the image data on the image server 3 is stored. Deleted.

FIG. 10 shows the flow of processing for deleting image data on the image server 3. When the digital camera 1 and the image server 3 are connected in the connection phase of S601, a deletion request is transmitted to the image server 3 along with the file name (S602).
The image server 3 deletes the received image data with the file name from the storage directory. If the deletion is successful, an OK signal is returned to the digital camera 1 (S603). Finally, the connection between the image server 3 and the digital camera 1 is disconnected (S604).

  As a result of S506, there is no image data on the digital camera 1 or the image server 3, so the mode field of the image management table 103 is updated to “D” (S507).

  If it is “local deletion” (No in S505), the process proceeds to S510 without changing the image server 3. As a result, since the image data exists only on the image server 3, the mode field of the image management table 103 is updated to “C” (S507).

  For the image data of mode “E”, the image data on the image memory is deleted in S508, and the process proceeds to S505. For image data in mode “C”, since there is no image data on the image memory, the process proceeds directly to S505.

  In this way, by storing the storage state of the image data in the image management table 103, the image data on the local image memory and the image data on the image server 3 are transparently transmitted from the digital camera 1. That is, it is possible to operate without being aware of the distinction between them.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the flow of processing when a print order for image data is made via the network 2. It is assumed that the user has already operated the digital camera 1 in advance to designate which image data is to be printed. The number of prints of each image data is stored in the print number field of the image management table 103. The order of the print from the digital camera 1 may be performed by the order receiving unit 25 and the order transfer unit 24 of the image server 3, but here, a case where the order is directly performed from the digital camera 1 to the print receiving server 14 is described. State.

  In the connection phase of S701, the digital camera 1 and the image server 3 are connected. In S <b> 702 and S <b> 703, image data that is not stored in the image server 3 among the image data instructed to be printed is stored in the image server 3. Specifically, the record of the image management table 103 is scanned, and the image data corresponding to the record in which the mode field is “A” and the number of printed sheets field is 1 or more is stored in the image server 3. The actual storage procedure is the same as S405 and S406 in FIG. This is repeated until there are no more records to scan.

In S <b> 704, an authentication file issue request is transmitted to the image server 3.
The authentication file here is for the print acceptance server 4, which is a third party, to access the user directory of the image server 3, and only reading authority is permitted. For the purpose of improving security, the number of accesses by this authentication file is limited, for example, the access permission deadline is limited so that it is valid only within 12 hours from issuance, or the IP address accessed using this authentication file is limited May be. In step S <b> 705, the image server 3 generates an authentication file and returns it to the digital camera 1. In the digital camera 1, the received authentication file is temporarily stored in the image memory with the name “certificate.dat”. In S706, the connection between the digital camera 1 and the image server 3 is disconnected.

  In step S707, a print order file is generated. FIG. 12 shows an order file format 105 in this embodiment. The first to third lines represent information of the image server 3. [IMAGESERVER] on the first line is a section identifier indicating that the subsequent lines represent information of the image server 3. The second and third lines indicate the IP address and port number of the image server 3, and the print acceptance server 4 can connect to the user's image server 3 using this information.

  The fourth to fifth lines represent authentication data information. [CERTIFICATION] on the fourth line is a section identifier indicating that the subsequent lines represent authentication data information. The fifth line shows the file name of the authentication data, and the print acceptance server 4 recognizes the data transmitted with this file name as an authentication file.

  The sixth to eighth lines show print job information. [JOB] on the sixth line is a section identifier indicating that the subsequent lines represent print job information. The seventh line shows the file name of the image data to be printed, and the eighth line shows the number of prints. Thereafter, the print job information is repeatedly described in the same format. The generated order file is temporarily stored in the image memory under the name “order.dat”.

  In S708, the digital camera 1 connects to the print acceptance server 4, and communication path encryption and user authentication are performed. This series of processing is the same as the processing with the image server 3 shown in S101 to S103 in FIG. 2, and it is assumed that user registration has been performed in advance on the print reception server 4. This process is the same as S101 to S103 and will not be described.

  In S709, the authentication file and the order file prepared in S705 and S707 are transmitted to the print acceptance server 4. The print acceptance server 4 temporarily stores the received authentication file and order file in the same directory of the internal storage device. In S710, the connection between the digital camera 1 and the print acceptance server 4 is disconnected.

  The print acceptance server 4 that has received a print order from the digital camera 1 extracts the IP address and port of the image server 3 from the transmitted order file, connects to the image server 3, and encrypts the communication path ( S711). In step S <b> 712, the print reception server 4 extracts the file name of the authentication file from the order file, reads the data from the directory where the order file is located, and transmits the data to the image server 3. The image server 3 determines whether the received authentication file has been issued by itself, and further checks whether the access permission deadline, the number of times, the address, etc. are appropriate. A read access permission is given (S713).

  In S714, the print acceptance server 4 reads the print job information from the order file, and extracts the file name of the image data to be printed and the number of prints. Then, an image data request is transmitted to the image server 3 together with the file name.

  In S <b> 715, the image server 3 transmits the received image data of the file name to the print acceptance server 4. The print acceptance server 4 temporarily stores the received image data in the internal storage device. The processes of S714 and S715 are repeated for each piece of print job information described in the order file. In S716, the connection between the print acceptance server 4 and the image server 3 is disconnected.

  In step S717, the print acceptance server 4 prints the acquired image data on photographic paper according to the number of prints described in the order file.

  As described above, in the print order from the digital camera 1 in this embodiment, the user can access the image server 3 from the print acceptance server 4 which is a third party. Therefore, it is not necessary to transmit the image data stored in the image server 3 when ordering a print, and the communication time can be shortened.

  Also, an authentication file (not shown) similar to FIG. 12 is transmitted from the digital camera 1 to a third party, here the image data taken by the user of the digital camera 1 may be disclosed. Thus, access to the image data described in the file may be permitted. In addition, when registering the digital camera 1 in the image server 3, a person who is permitted to access is registered after setting an access level, and when the image data is stored in the image server 3, the image data is accessed. You may specify a level.

  The present invention has been described based on the embodiments. This embodiment is an exemplification, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made to the combination of each component and each processing process, and such modifications are also within the scope of the present invention. . Examples of such modifications are given.

  In the embodiment, the image server 3 and the print reception server 4 exist individually, but these may be functioned by the same server. In this case, the image data photographed by the digital camera 1 is substantially directly transferred to the print acceptance server 4, so that it is not necessary to send an order e-mail with an access right. Furthermore, only image data for ordering prints may be directly transferred from the digital camera 1 to the print acceptance server 4.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Digital camera, 2 Network, 3 Image server, 4 Print reception server, 5 User terminal, 11 Storage part, 12 Control part, 15 Input part, 17 Order processing part, 21 Storage part, 22 Authentication part, 23 Notification part, 24 Order transfer section, 25 Order reception section.

Claims (1)

A storage unit that stores image data sent from a user via a network and photographed with a digital camera together with information on a target person who is permitted to disclose the data, and is necessary for the target person to access the image data. A notification unit for performing notification in a form including authentication information;
An image server comprising: