JP2012182576A - Imaging apparatus and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To more casually transfer image data by operation easy for a user to understand.SOLUTION: A photographing apparatus is provided with: photographing parts (11 to 13) which photograph images; a memory card 32 for recording image data obtained by the photographing; a proximity communication part 28 which establishes non-contact data communication environment with an external device close thereto; and an inertia measurement part IM which detects the posture of the apparatus; and a CPU 20 which in accordance with the detection result of the inertia measurement part IM while the proximity communication part 28 establishes the data communication environment with the external device, reads image data of a preset unit from the memory card 32 and transfers the image data from the proximity communication part 28 to the external device.

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus and a program suitable for a digital camera or the like that is carried at a travel destination, for example.

  As an imaging device used in cooperation with other external devices, for example, to reduce the size and weight of the imaging device, a wireless communication module can be attached and detached so that video data can be transferred wirelessly to an external device with a large storage capacity. Technology is considered. (For example, Patent Document 1)

JP 2002-191007 A

  The technology described in the above patent document has a configuration in which a wireless communication module that transmits image data or the like is detachable for the purpose of reducing the size and weight of the imaging apparatus. Therefore, each time an image is transmitted, a troublesome work is required in which the wireless communication module is attached to the imaging apparatus and the wireless communication module is removed from the imaging apparatus after the transmission is completed.

  Recently, mobile phone terminals equipped with camera functions have become widespread, and even if you do not have a digital camera in particular, you can take daily snapshots, and you can also take pictures with mobile phone terminals. The image data can be easily transferred via the Internet.

  However, the camera function provided in the mobile phone terminal is restricted by the physical size of the lens optical system and the image sensor. For this reason, image data obtained by photographing with a mobile phone terminal is sufficiently high in terms of image size (number of pixels), but is greatly inferior in terms of image quality as compared with a digital camera which is a dedicated photographing apparatus.

  Thus, for example, an image in which only a main subject is focused and a background is blurred using a bright (small open F value) lens and a telephoto lens can be taken only with a digital camera. This is the reason why cameras exist.

  However, a technique for easily transferring image data obtained by photographing with a digital camera to an external device such as a mobile phone terminal has not been established yet, including the technique described in the above-mentioned patent document.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an imaging apparatus and program capable of more easily transferring image data with an operation that is easy for the user to understand. There is.

  One aspect of the present invention is a proximity communication that establishes a data communication environment in a non-contact manner with an imaging unit that captures an image, a recording unit that records image data obtained by imaging with the imaging unit, and an external device that is in proximity According to the detection result of the attitude detection means in a state where the data communication environment with the external device is established by the proximity communication means. Transfer control means for reading out image data in units and transferring the image data to the external device by the proximity communication means.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to transfer image data more easily by an operation easy for the user to understand.

1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a digital camera according to an embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart showing the processing details of image transfer in the playback mode according to the embodiment. The figure which shows the guide message which prompts the tap operation displayed on the display part which concerns on the embodiment.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a digital camera will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a circuit configuration of a digital camera 10 according to the present embodiment. In the figure, a light image of a subject is incident on an imaging surface of a solid-state imaging device, for example, a CMOS image sensor (IS) 12 via an imaging lens unit 11 disposed on the front surface of the camera housing. .

  In a monitor state, also referred to as through image display or live view image display, an image signal obtained by imaging with the CMOS image sensor 12 is sent to the AGC / A / D conversion unit 13. The AGC / A / D converter 13 digitizes the analog image signal by executing correlation square sampling, automatic gain adjustment, and A / D conversion processing. The digital image data is sent to the image processing unit 14 via the system bus SB.

  The image processing unit 14 appropriately performs necessary image processing on the image data. That is, the image processing unit 14 performs digital development processing, specifically, pixel processing on image data (hereinafter referred to as “RAW (raw) data”) corresponding to the configuration of the color filter of the Bayer array included in the CMOS image sensor 12. By performing a demosaic process such as an interpolation process, a gamma correction process, and a matrix operation, the image data is converted into luminance color difference (YUV) image data.

  The image processing unit 14 creates image data in which the number of pixels and gradation bits are greatly reduced for display from the developed image data, and sends the image data to the display unit 15 via the system bus SB. The display unit 15 displays a through image based on the sent image data.

  The display unit 15 is provided on the back side of the camera casing, and includes, for example, a color liquid crystal panel with a backlight and its controller. A touch input unit 16 using a transparent conductive film is formed integrally with the upper part of the screen of the display unit 15.

  When the user touches the surface with a finger or the like at the touch input unit 16, the touch input unit 16 calculates the operated coordinate position, and sends the calculated coordinate signal to the CPU 20 described later via the system bus SB.

  Similarly to the photographing lens unit 11, a microphone 17 is provided on the front surface of the camera housing, and the sound in the direction of the subject is input. The microphone 17 converts the input sound into an electrical signal and outputs it to the sound processing unit 18.

  The audio processing unit 18 converts the audio signal input from the microphone 17 into digital data when recording the sound alone, shooting a still image with sound, and shooting a moving image. Further, the sound processing unit 18 detects the sound pressure level of the digitized sound data, and compresses the sound data in a predetermined data file format, for example, AAC (moving picture experts group-4 Advanced Audio Coding) format. An audio data file is created and sent to a recording medium to be described later.

  In addition, the audio processing unit 18 is provided with a sound source circuit such as a PCM sound source, uncompresses and converts the audio data file sent during audio reproduction into an analog signal, and a speaker 19 provided on the rear side of the housing of the digital camera 10. Drive to emit sound.

  The CPU 20 controls the above circuit in an integrated manner. The CPU 20 is directly connected to the main memory 21 and the program memory 22. The main memory 21 is composed of, for example, an SRAM and functions as a work memory. The program memory 22 is composed of an electrically rewritable non-volatile memory such as a flash memory, for example, and fixedly stores various operation programs including map data transfer operation in a reproduction mode described later, map data, and the like.

  The CPU 20 reads out necessary programs and data from the program memory 22 and executes the control operation of the entire digital camera 10 while temporarily expanding and storing it in the main memory 21 as appropriate.

  Further, the CPU 20 executes control operations corresponding to various key operation signals directly input from the key operation unit 23 and coordinate signals corresponding to the touch operation from the touch input unit 16.

  The key operation unit 23 includes, for example, a power key, a shutter release key, a zoom up / down key, a shooting mode key, a playback mode key, a menu key, a cursor (“↑”, “→”, “↓”, “←”) key, and a set key. , Release key, display key, etc.

  In addition to the AGC / A / D conversion unit 13, the image processing unit 14, the display unit 15, the touch input unit 16, and the audio processing unit 18, the CPU 20 further includes a flash drive unit 24, an image sensor ( IS) connected to a driving unit 25, a triaxial acceleration sensor 26, a gyroscope 27, a proximity communication unit 28, a memory card controller 29, and a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver 30.

  The flash drive unit 24 receives a control signal from the CPU 20 during still image shooting, and drives the flash unit 31 including a plurality of white high-intensity LEDs to be lit in synchronization with the shooting timing.

  The image sensor driving unit 25 performs scanning driving of the CMOS image sensor 12 according to the photographing conditions set at that time.

  The image processing unit 14 performs demosaic processing on the image data sent from the AGC / A / D conversion unit 13 at the time of image capturing in accordance with the shutter release key operation of the key operation unit 23, and further performs a predetermined data file format, For example, in the case of JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group), data compression processing such as DCT (Discrete Cosine Transform) or Huffman coding is performed to create an image data file in which the amount of data is greatly reduced. The created image data file is transferred to the memory card 32 via the system bus SB and the memory card controller 29 and stored therein.

The image processing unit 14 receives image data read from the memory card 32 via the memory card controller 29 via the system bus SB in the reproduction mode. The display unit 15 obtains image data of the original size by decompression processing that decompresses the received image data in a procedure reverse to that at the time of recording, reduces the data amount of the obtained image data, and then passes through the system bus SB. Display on the display unit 15.
The triaxial acceleration sensor 26 is constituted by, for example, a piezoresistive semiconductor acceleration sensor. From the output of the three-axis acceleration sensor 26, the moving direction and acceleration of the digital camera 10 for camera shake correction at the time of shooting can be detected.

  Further, the triaxial acceleration sensor 26 is combined with the gyroscope 27 to constitute an inertial measurement unit IM. The gyroscope 27 detects each speed from Coriolis force acting on, for example, a tuning-fork type vibrating piece.

  The gyroscope 27 determines the direction and the triaxial acceleration sensor 26 determines the acceleration. By integrating these, the speed associated with the movement of the digital camera 10 is calculated, and the distance associated with the movement of the digital camera 10 is calculated by integrating the same speed. it can.

  The proximity communication unit 28 includes an antenna using an electromagnetic induction coupler on the bottom surface of the camera housing, for example, and has a configuration conforming to the Transfer Jet (registered trademark) standard. The proximity communication unit 28 is a coupler for other external devices conforming to the standard. By making contact, high-speed data communication with a communication speed of about 300 to 500 [Mbps] is executed with the device.

  The memory card controller 29 is connected to the memory card 32 attached to the card connector 33. A memory card 32 is a memory for recording image files and the like, which is detachably attached to the digital camera 10 and serves as a recording medium for the digital camera 10, and includes a flash memory that is a nonvolatile memory and a drive thereof. A circuit is provided.

  The memory card 32 records an image file and its transmission history. The image file recorded in the memory card 32 conforms to, for example, the Exif (Exchangeable image file format) format, and includes metadata such as the shooting date and time, the shooting device manufacturer name, the shooting device model name, and the resolution of the entire image. In addition to the resolution per unit in the horizontal / constant direct direction, shutter speed, aperture AF value, ISO sensitivity, metering mode, presence / absence of flash, exposure correction step value, focal length, and color space, the GPS receiver 30 described later The obtained GPS information (latitude, longitude, altitude, etc. of the shooting position) is included as information indicating the shooting location.

  The GPS receiver 30 receives the three-dimensional information (latitude, longitude, altitude) of the current position based on incoming radio waves from a plurality of GPS satellites (not shown in principle) received by the GPS antenna 34 (latitude, longitude, altitude) and accurate current information. Calculate the time.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described.
The operation described below is performed under the control of the CPU 20 in the playback mode in which the image data recorded in the memory card 32 is read out and displayed on the display unit 15, and the image transfer to the mobile phone terminal, which is another external device. The processing content of the operation is extracted and shown. The CPU 20 reads out the operation program and data stored in the program memory 22, develops and stores the operation program and data in the main memory 21, and executes the operation program.

  The operation program and the like stored in the program memory 22 are not shown in the drawing when the digital camera 10 is upgraded, for example, in addition to the program stored in the program memory 22 when the digital camera 10 is shipped from the factory. It includes those that install a new operation program, control data, map data, etc. from the outside by connecting to a personal computer or temporarily mounting a memory card 32 storing an update program on the card connector 33.

  In FIG. 2, in the playback mode, the CPU 20 selects an arbitrary image recorded by the user and displays it on the display unit 15, while there is a connection with a mobile phone terminal having recognition information registered in advance by a prior matching process. Whether or not the mobile phone terminal is approaching is waited for by continuously determining whether or not it is based on the detection signal from the proximity communication unit 28 (step S101).

  When proximity to a registered mobile phone terminal is detected, the CPU 20 determines this in step S101, and sets a variable n representing the number of units of image data to be transmitted to an initial value “1” (step 1). S102).

  Next, after confirming that the proximity state to the mobile phone terminal is maintained (step S103), the CPU 20 determines whether or not the user has performed a tap operation on the casing of the digital camera 10 with a finger. Judgment is made based on the presence or absence of vibration by the detection output at 26 (step S104).

  Here, only when it is determined that there is the tap operation and vibration is detected, the value of the variable n is updated by “+1” (step S105).

  Thereafter, the CPU 20 refers to the image file recorded on the memory card 32 and the transmission history information attached to each of the image files (step S106).

  Next, it is determined whether or not the value of the variable n representing the number of units of image data to be transferred at that time is “0”, that is, whether or not the transmission of the image data to the adjacent mobile phone terminal has been completed ( Step S107).

  Here, if it is determined that the value of the variable n is “0”, the transmission of the image file has been completed, so that there is currently no image file to be transmitted and an instruction operation for further image transmission is performed. A guide message for prompting the user to perform a tap operation on the housing of the digital camera 10 is displayed on the display unit 15 (step S117), and the process returns to step S103.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the guide message displayed on the display unit 15 by the CPU 20. The display unit 15 shows a state where the map data and the shooting location (GPS information) of the recorded image file are displayed in association with each other in the playback mode.

Character string at the approximate center of the screen
"No image to send
Tap the camera to send more "
A guide message is displayed.

  If it is determined in step S107 that the value of the variable n indicating the number of units of image data to be transferred is not "0", the CPU 20 further carries the mobile phone according to the transmission history information of the image file recorded in the memory card 32. It is determined whether there is an image file that has not been transmitted to the telephone terminal (step S108).

  If it is determined that there is no image file that has not been transmitted, the CPU 20 proceeds to step S17 to indicate that there is no image file to be transmitted at present, and that the digital camera 10 housing is a further image transmission instruction operation. A guide message that prompts the user to tap with the user's finger is displayed on the display unit 15.

  If it is determined in step S108 that there is an image file recorded on the memory card 32 that has not yet been transmitted to the mobile phone terminal, the CPU 20 next determines the direction of gravity acceleration detected by the three-axis acceleration sensor 26. Thus, it is determined whether or not the digital camera 10 is in an upright state and close to the mobile phone terminal (step S109).

  In the present embodiment, when the digital camera 10 is in an upright state and close to the mobile phone terminal, it is selected in units of one untransmitted image file recorded in the memory card 32 and is sent to the mobile phone terminal. Shall be sent.

  Similarly, when the digital camera 10 is upside down and close to the mobile phone terminal, a group unit, for example, a shooting date unit, selected and set in advance from unsent image files recorded in the memory card 32 Or, it is assumed that the selected shooting location is transmitted to the mobile phone terminal.

For the shooting date, the same date is selected as the same group from the shooting date and time information in the metadata recorded with the image.
At the shooting location, GPS information in the metadata recorded with the image is selected as a group that is located within a predetermined distance range, for example, an area with a radius of 10 [km].

  If it is determined in step S109 that the digital camera 10 is standing upright and close to the mobile phone terminal, the CPU 20 has the most recent shooting date / time among the untransmitted image files recorded in the memory card 32. One having new data is selected (step S110).

  If it is determined in step S109 that the digital camera 10 is not upright, the digital camera 10 and the mobile phone terminal are close together in an inverted state, so the CPU 20 is set at that time. It is determined whether or not the group unit of the existing image file is based on the date (step S111).

  If the CPU 20 determines that the group unit of the image file is based on the date, the CPU 20 selects the same image based on the most recent shooting date / time data among the untransmitted image files recorded on the memory card 32. If there are other untransmitted image files at the shooting date and time, all of them are selected (step S112).

  If it is determined in step S111 that the group unit of the image file is not based on the date, the CPU 20 is recorded in the memory card 32 because the group unit of the image file is based on the shooting location. Among the unsent image files, the one at the shooting location closest to the current position obtained by the GPS receiver 30 at that time is used as a reference, and the other shooting information with the shooting location information within a predetermined distance range from the shooting location is added. All the transmitted image files are selected (step S113).

  After selecting the image file in step S110, S112, or S113, the CPU 20 reads the selected image file from the memory card 32 and transmits it to the mobile phone terminal side by the proximity communication unit 28 (step S114).

  After the transmission is completed, the CPU 20 updates and sets the transmission history information of the transmitted image file (step S115). After that, the value of the variable n indicating the number of units of image data to be transmitted is updated by “−1” (step S116), and the process returns to step S103 again in preparation for further image file transmission.

  Therefore, even when a guide message indicating that there is no image file to be transmitted as shown in FIG. 3 is displayed, the user detects the true vibration by tapping the housing of the photographing lens unit 11 with a finger. If the posture of the digital camera 10 at that time, that is, the upright state, the inverted state, and the inverted state, the group unit of the image set at that time is based on the date, The image file can be read from the memory card 32 at appropriate times and transmitted to the adjacent mobile phone terminal depending on whether it depends on the shooting location range.

  As described above in detail, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to transfer an image file more easily by an intuitive operation that is easy for the user to understand.

  In particular, in the above-described embodiment, not a specific key operation or the like, but a physical operation given by the user to the casing of the digital camera 10, for example, a tap operation with a finger is detected, and further image file transmission is performed. Because it is intended to give instructions, it is possible to realize a user interface that is extremely intuitive and easy to understand.

  In addition, depending on whether the digital camera 10 is upright or inverted, it is selected whether to select a small number of image files or to select image files in a certain group unit, so some container is turned over. Thus, the unit of the image file to be transmitted can be switched by a method that is easy to understand sensibly such that a large amount of contents in the container spill out.

  Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the vibration of the tap operation with respect to the housing of the digital camera 10 is detected. However, such a tap operation or a rocking motion in which the mobile phone terminals brought close to the digital camera 10 are swung together. By accepting the operation, an intuitive operation can be realized by effectively utilizing the acceleration sensor that is originally used for detecting the camera shake and detecting the vertical and horizontal posture of the camera.

  In addition, in this embodiment, the shooting location of the image file can be recorded together by the GPS function, and the current position can also be measured. Therefore, not only the general time as an index but also information on the location can be obtained. Image data can be collected as an index.

  In the above embodiment, proximity detection with another external device has been described as being performed using the technology of the Transfer Jet (registered trademark) standard, but the present invention is not limited to this technology, and other For example, a technique such as Felica (registered trademark) may be used.

  The external device that transmits an image file by connecting to the digital camera 10 is not limited to a mobile phone terminal, but an electronic book, a smart phone, a portable music player, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistants), or a memory It may be a PND (Personal Navigation Device) or the like called navigation.

  In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. Further, the functions executed in the above-described embodiments may be combined as appropriate as possible. The above-described embodiment includes various stages, and various inventions can be extracted by an appropriate combination of a plurality of disclosed constituent elements. For example, even if some constituent requirements are deleted from all the constituent requirements shown in the embodiment, if the effect is obtained, a configuration from which the constituent requirements are deleted can be extracted as an invention.

The invention described in the claims of the present application of the present application will be appended below.
According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a photographing means for photographing an image, a recording means for recording image data obtained by photographing with the photographing means, and a proximity that establishes a data communication environment in a non-contact manner with an adjacent external device. Preset from the recording means according to the detection result of the attitude detecting means in a state in which the communication means, the attitude detecting means for detecting the attitude of the device, and the data communication environment with the external device are established by the proximity communication means. And a transfer control means for reading out the unit image data and transferring it to the external device by the proximity communication means.

  The invention described in claim 2 further comprises operation detection means for detecting a physical operation given to the apparatus casing in the invention described in claim 1, wherein the transfer control means is externally connected by the proximity communication means. In accordance with the detection result of the posture detection unit and the detection result of the operation detection unit in a state where a data communication environment with the device is established, image data of a preset unit is read from the recording unit, Transferring to the external device by the proximity communication means.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the posture detecting means detects whether the apparatus is upright or inverted.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, the operation detecting means detects a swing or vibration operation applied to the apparatus housing.

  The invention according to claim 5 further comprises positioning means for measuring the current position in the invention according to claim 1, wherein the recording means records position information indicating the current position at the time of photographing in association with image data. The transfer control means reads image data associated with position information within a preset distance range as a unit from the recording means, and transfers the data to the external device by the proximity communication means.

  The invention described in claim 6 is a photographing unit for photographing an image, a recording unit for recording image data obtained by photographing by the photographing unit, and a proximity communication unit for establishing a data communication environment in a non-contact manner with an external device adjacent thereto. And a program executed by a computer built in an imaging apparatus having an attitude detection unit that detects the attitude of the apparatus, in a state where a data communication environment with an external device is established by the proximity communication unit. A program that functions as transfer control means for reading image data of a preset unit from the recording unit in accordance with a detection result of the posture detection unit and transferring the image data to the external device by the proximity communication unit.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Digital camera, 11 ... Shooting lens part, 12 ... CMOS image sensor (IS), 13 ... AGC / A / D conversion part, 14 ... Image processing part, 15 ... Display part, 16 ... Touch input part, 17 ... Microphone , 18 ... Audio processing unit, 19 ... Speaker, 20 ... CPU, 21 ... Main memory, 22 ... Program memory, 23 ... Key operation unit, 24 ... Flash drive unit, 25 ... Image sensor (IS) drive unit, 26 ... 3 Axis acceleration sensor, 27 ... Gyroscope, 28 ... Proximity communication unit, 29 ... Memory card controller, 30 ... GPS receiver, 31 ... Flash unit, 32 ... Memory card, 33 ... Card connector, 34 ... GPS antenna, IM ... Inertial measurement Part, SB ... system bus.

Claims (6)

Photographing means for photographing an image;
Recording means for recording image data obtained by photographing with the photographing means;
Proximity communication means for establishing a data communication environment in a non-contact manner with an external device that is in proximity,
Attitude detection means for detecting the attitude of the device;
In accordance with the detection result of the posture detection means in a state where the data communication environment with the external device is established by the proximity communication means, image data of a preset unit is read from the recording means, and the proximity communication means An image pickup apparatus comprising transfer control means for transferring to an external device. It further comprises an operation detection means for detecting a physical operation given to the device casing,
The transfer control means, according to the detection result of the attitude detection means and the detection result of the operation detection means in a state where a data communication environment with an external device is established by the proximity communication means, 2. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein image data of a preset unit is read from the image data and transferred to the external device by the proximity communication means.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the posture detection unit detects whether the apparatus is upright or inverted.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the operation detection unit detects a swing or vibration operation applied to the apparatus housing. It further comprises a positioning means for measuring the current position,
The recording means records position information indicating the current position at the time of shooting in association with image data,
The transfer control means reads image data associated with position information within a preset distance range from the recording means as a unit, and transfers the image data to the external device by the proximity communication means. The imaging apparatus according to 1. An imaging unit that captures an image, a recording unit that records image data obtained by the imaging unit, a proximity communication unit that establishes a data communication environment in a non-contact manner with an external device that is in proximity, and a posture of the apparatus are detected. A program executed by a computer built in an imaging apparatus having a posture detection unit,
The above program
In accordance with a detection result of the posture detection unit in a state where a data communication environment with an external device is established by the proximity communication unit, a predetermined unit of image data is read from the recording unit, and the proximity communication unit A program characterized by functioning as transfer control means for transferring to an external device.

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