JP2020167595A - Communication device, and control method and program therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

To suppress it from taking a longer time to make transition into a photography state or transition into a shut-down state when a photographic image is transferred to an external apparatus in response to meeting predetermined condition for powering-off.SOLUTION: The present invention relates to a communication device that has an imaging section, and a storage section storing images obtained through imaging by the imaging part, and that further has a communication section for short-range radio communication with an external apparatus and a control section for transferring images stored in the storage section to the external apparatus in response to meeting conditions previously set to perform power-off processing. Here, the control section has: a determination section which determines, when the images are being transferred, whether a user indicates cancel for the transfer or makes an indication associate with imaging; and a communication control section which performs post-processing associated with cancel of the transfer with the external apparatus and stops the communication by the communication section when the determination part determines that there is the indication for the cancel of the transfer, or stops the communication by the communication part without performing the post-processing when the determination part determines that there is the indication associated with imaging during the transfer processing.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a communication device and its control method and program.

Conventionally, electronic devices such as digital cameras (hereinafter referred to as cameras) have a communication interface with external devices such as smartphones. There are also electronic devices equipped with a plurality of types of communication interfaces. Specific examples thereof include Wi-Fi (trademark) and Bluetooth (trademark).

The camera and external device are paired and connected with low power consumption Bluetooth (trademark) Low Energy, and when the power is turned off to the main part of the camera, the connection is switched to the external device and Bluetooth (trademark) Classic, and the captured image. There is a function to automatically transfer. As a result, for example, when a user takes a picture while traveling, returns to the hotel at the end of a break or day and turns off the camera, the image taken up to that point is automatically transferred to the smartphone. become.

After the transfer is completed, the connection with Bluetooth ™ Classic is disconnected, and the camera is shut down by switching to Bluetooth ™ Low Energy. Furthermore, cancellation can be selected on the rear LCD of the camera during transfer, and when the user selects cancellation, a cancellation notification is sent to the external device, the Bluetooth (trademark) Classic connection is disconnected, and Bluetooth (trademark) Low Energy Switch to. After that, the camera shuts down as when the transfer is completed.

As described above, when the transfer of the captured image to the external device is terminated when the camera power is turned off, post-processing such as cancellation notification to the external device and disconnection of the Bluetooth (trademark) Classic connection is performed.

However, when the release button of the camera is pressed during the transfer, the user wants to take a picture, so it is necessary to promptly transition to the state in which the camera can take a picture. In addition, if the battery lid is opened, the battery may be removed, so it is necessary to perform the shutdown process promptly. On the other hand, when the post-processing is performed, the cancellation notification to the external device and the disconnection process of Bluetooth (trademark) Classic generate a response from the external device. If the response from the external device is delayed or cannot be received due to poor communication environment, post-processing may take time, and it may not be possible to quickly shift to shooting processing or shutdown processing.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2013-162302 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-92694

Patent Document 1 discloses that when the user presses the release button of the camera, the user is notified whether or not to stop the communication with the external device, and when OK is selected, the camera stops the communication. Further, Patent Document 2 discloses that the communication with an external device is immediately stopped by pressing the release button of the camera, and then the transfer is stored.

The prior art disclosed in Patent Document 1 does not mention post-processing when stopping communication in the first place. Further, in the prior art disclosed in Patent Document 2, the operation other than pressing the release button is not described. For example, there is a case where the camera is shut down by an operation such as opening the battery cover or turning off the camera power switch.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and when a captured image is transferred to an external device when a predetermined condition for turning off the power is satisfied, a transition to a shooting state or a transition to a shooting state is performed. This is an attempt to provide a technique for suppressing an increase in the time required for the transition to the shutdown state.

In order to solve this problem, for example, the communication device of the present invention has the following configuration. That is,
A communication device having an image pickup means and a storage means for storing an image obtained by imaging by the image pickup means.
Communication means for short-range wireless communication with external devices,
It has a control means for transferring an image stored in the storage means to the external device according to satisfying a preset condition for performing a power-off process.
The control means
When performing image transfer processing, a determination means for determining whether there is an instruction to cancel the transfer from the user or an instruction related to imaging, and
When it is determined by the determination means that the instruction to cancel the transfer has been given, post-processing related to the cancellation of the transfer with the external device is performed to stop the communication by the communication means, and the transfer process is performed by the determination means. It includes a communication control means for stopping communication by the communication means without performing the post-processing when it is determined that an instruction related to imaging has been given during the operation.

According to the present invention, when a captured image is transferred to an external device when a predetermined condition for turning off the power is satisfied, the time required for the transition to the shooting state or the transition to the shutdown state. Can be suppressed from extending.

(A) is a block configuration diagram of the camera according to the embodiment, and (b) and (c) are external perspective views. Schematic diagram when the camera is communicating wirelessly with a smartphone. FIG. 5 is a transition diagram of a screen displayed on the display unit 106 when the camera 100 transfers a photographed image to the smartphone 200 by Bluetooth (trademark) communication in the first and second embodiments. (A) represents a screen during transfer preparation, (b) represents a screen during transfer, and (c) represents a screen when cancellation is selected. In the first embodiment, it is a sequence when the camera 100 transfers a captured image to the smartphone 200 by Bluetooth (trademark) communication. In the first embodiment, it is a sequence when the camera 100 cancels the transfer while the photographed image is being transferred to the smartphone 200 by Bluetooth (trademark) communication. In the first embodiment, it is a sequence when the release button of the camera 100 is pressed while the camera 100 is transferring the captured image to the smartphone 200 by Bluetooth (trademark) communication. It is a flowchart when a camera 100 transfers a photographed image to a smartphone 200 by Bluetooth (trademark) communication in 1st Embodiment. In the second embodiment, it is a sequence when the power switch of the camera 100 is turned off while the camera 100 is transferring the captured image to the smartphone 200 by Bluetooth (trademark) communication.

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims. Although a plurality of features are described in the embodiment, not all of the plurality of features are essential to the invention, and the plurality of features may be arbitrarily combined. Further, in the attached drawings, the same or similar configurations are designated by the same reference numbers, and duplicate description is omitted.

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1A is a block configuration diagram of the camera 100 as an imaging device according to the first embodiment. Although a camera is described here as an example of a communication device, the communication device is not limited to this. For example, the communication device may be a device such as a portable media player, a so-called tablet device, or a personal computer.

The control unit 101 is composed of a CPU and controls an input signal and each processing unit described later. In particular, the control unit 101 also functions as a communication control unit with an external device using a plurality of communication units described later. Instead of the control unit 101 controlling the entire device, a plurality of hardware may share the processing to control the entire device.

The image pickup unit 102 includes, for example, an optical lens unit, an optical system for controlling aperture, zoom, focus, etc., an image pickup element for converting light (image) introduced through the optical lens unit into an electrical image signal, and an image pickup unit 102. It is composed of an A / D converter or the like that converts an analog electric signal obtained by an image pickup element into a digital signal. As the image pickup device, CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) and CCD (Charge Coupled Device) are generally known, but any of them may be used. The image pickup unit 102 is controlled by the control unit 101 to convert the subject light imaged by the lens included in the image pickup unit 102 into an electric signal by the image pickup element, perform noise reduction processing, and the like to perform a digital image. Output as data. The camera 100 of the present embodiment encodes the image data obtained by imaging according to JPEG or the like, and records the encoded data as an image file on the recording medium 110 according to the DCF (Design Rule for Camera File system) standard. ..

The non-volatile memory 103 is a non-volatile memory that can be electrically erased and recorded, and stores a program and various parameters to be described later executed by the control unit 101.

The working memory 104 is used as a buffer memory for temporarily holding image data captured by the imaging unit 102, an image display memory of the display unit 106, a working area of the control unit 101, and the like.

The operation unit 105 receives an instruction from the user for the camera 100 and notifies the control unit 101. The operation unit 105 includes, for example, a power button for instructing the user to turn on / off the power of the camera 100, a release button for instructing shooting, and a playback button for instructing reproduction of image data. Further, the operation unit 105 further includes an operation member such as a dedicated connection button for starting communication with an external device via the wireless communication unit 111 described later. The operation unit 105 also includes a touch panel formed on the display unit 106, which will be described later. The release button has two switches and notifies the control unit 101 of the pressed state (release, half-press, full-press). Specifically, the release button turns on the first switch signal by being in a so-called half-pressed state. As a result, the control unit 101 prepares for shooting such as AF (autofocus) processing, AE (automatic exposure) processing, AWB (auto white balance) processing, and EF (flash pre-flash) processing. Further, the release button turns on the second switch signal when it is fully pressed. As a result, the control unit 101 performs shooting and recording processing.

The display unit 106 displays a viewfinder image at the time of shooting, displays captured image data, and displays characters for interactive operations (including display of a processing menu). In addition, lighting / blinking / extinguishing display is also performed by a lamp or the like. For example, the access state to the recording medium 110 described later, the communication state of the wireless communication unit 111 and the short-range wireless communication unit 112, and the like can be mentioned. The display unit 106 does not necessarily have to be built in the camera 100. The camera 100 may be connected to the internal or external display unit 106, and may have at least a display control function for controlling the display of the display unit 106.

The recording medium 110 can record the image data output from the imaging unit 102. The recording medium 110 may be configured to be detachable from the camera 100 like an SD card, or may be built in the camera 100. That is, the camera 100 may have at least a means for accessing the recording medium 110.

The wireless communication unit 111 is an interface for connecting to an external device. The camera 100 of the present embodiment can exchange data with an external device via the wireless communication unit 111. For example, the image data generated by the imaging unit 102 can be transmitted to an external device via the wireless communication unit 111. In the present embodiment, the wireless communication unit 111 includes an interface for communicating with an external device by so-called Wi-Fi (trademark) according to the standard of IEEE802.11. The control unit 101 realizes wireless communication with an external device by controlling the wireless communication unit 111. The communication method is not limited to Wi-Fi (trademark), and includes, for example, an infrared communication method. The wireless communication unit 111 is an example of the first wireless communication means.

The short-range wireless communication unit 112 includes, for example, an antenna for wireless communication, a modulation / demodulation circuit, and a communication controller for processing wireless signals. The short-range wireless communication unit 112 outputs a modulated wireless signal from the antenna and demodulates the wireless signal received by the antenna to perform short-range wireless communication in accordance with the IEEE802.15 standard (so-called Bluetooth ™). Realize. In the present embodiment, the short-range radio communication unit 112 includes a first short-range radio unit 112a and a second short-range radio unit 112b. The first short-range wireless communication 112a adopts Bluetooth (trademark) Low Energy, which has low power consumption, and the second short-range wireless communication unit 112b adopts Bluetooth (trademark) Classic. Bluetooth (trademark) communication has a narrower communicable range (that is, a shorter communicable distance) than Wi-Fi (trademark) communication. Further, the communication speed of Bluetooth (trademark) communication is slower than that of Wi-Fi (trademark) communication. On the other hand, Bluetooth (trademark) communication consumes less power than Wi-Fi (trademark) communication. Regarding Bluetooth (trademark) Low Energy and Bluetooth (trademark) Classic, the power consumption of Bluetooth (trademark) Low Energy is lower than that of Bluetooth (trademark) Low Energy. On the other hand, the communication speed of Bluetooth (trademark) Classic is faster than that of Bluetooth (trademark) Low Energy. The camera 100 of the present embodiment is always connected to an external device via Bluetooth (trademark) Low Energy via the short-range wireless communication unit 112. Then, by operating from the camera 100 or an external device, Bluetooth (trademark) Low Energy is automatically switched to Bluetooth (trademark) Classic, and the image captured by the imaging unit 102 is transferred to the external device.

Next, the appearance of the camera 100 will be described. FIG. 1B is a front perspective view (lens side) of the camera 100, and FIG. 1C is a rear perspective view of the camera 100. In the figure, the release button 105a, the play button 105b, the direction key 105c, the touch panel 105d, and the power lever 105e are operation members included in the operation unit 105. In addition, the display unit 106 displays an image obtained as a result of imaging by the imaging unit 102, various menus, and the like. The above is a description of the configuration and basic operation of the camera 100 in the embodiment.

FIG. 2 shows an example in which the camera 100 is in a communication state with the smartphone 200, which is an example of an external device. It is also a schematic view in the case where the first short-range wireless communication unit 112a and the second short-range wireless communication unit 112b of the camera 100 communicate with the smartphone 200.

Here, the first short-range radio communication performed by the first short-range radio communication unit 112a is Bluetooth (trademark) Low Energy, and the second short-range radio communication performed by the second short-range radio communication unit 112b is Bluetooth (trademark) Classic. The correspondence has already been explained.

Like the camera 100, the smartphone 200 has a communication unit that communicates with Wi-Fi (trademark) and Bluetooth (trademark). Further, since the smartphone 200 is also a mobile phone, it also has a public wireless communication unit. The smartphone 200 is equipped with an operating system (OS), and the CPU of the smartphone 200 executes the installed application under this OS. The application in the present embodiment is assumed to be a camera control application that performs remote control such as shooting of the camera 100 and viewing / saving of shot images through Bluetooth (trademark).

In the above configuration, the control unit 101 can drive / non-drive or power supply / cut off various processing units including the image pickup unit 102.

FIG. 3 is a transition diagram of a screen displayed on the display unit 106 when the camera 100 transfers a captured image to the smartphone 200 via Bluetooth (trademark) communication in the present embodiment. In the present embodiment, the image captured by the camera 100 is transferred to the smartphone 200 when the operation unit 105 turns off the power of the camera 100.

FIG. 3A shows a screen in preparation for transfer. This screen is displayed between the time when the power is turned off and the time when the transfer image transmission is started to the smartphone 200 by Bluetooth (trademark) Classic. When the transfer is started, the screen transitions to the screen during transfer in FIG. 3B. Here, the progress bar and the number of transfers are displayed so that the progress can be seen. When the transfer is complete, the screen goes off. "Cancel" can be selected in both (a) and (b) of FIG. 3, and when the user selects "cancel", the screen transitions to the cancel screen of (c) in the figure. If you select "Yes" here, the screen turns off. When "No" is selected, the screen transitions to the screen shown in FIG. 3 (a) if the transfer is being prepared, and to the screen shown in FIG.

Hereinafter, before the transfer of the image file in the embodiment is described in detail, it is assumed that the transfer management information is secured in advance in the recording medium 110. In this transfer management information, the "transfer status" of the transfer status of each image file stored in the recording medium 110 to the external device is retained. When the camera 100 takes an image and newly records an image file on the recording medium 110, the control unit 101 registers the transfer status indicating "not transferred" in the transfer management information in association with the file name of the image file. It shall be. Since the transfer management information may be retained even when the power of the present device is turned off, it may be stored in the non-volatile memory 103 instead of the recording medium 110.

FIG. 4 is a sequence in the present embodiment when the camera 100 transfers a captured image to the smartphone 200 via Bluetooth (trademark) communication. It should be noted that the short-range wireless communication unit 112 and the smartphone 200 will be described as being paired with Bluetooth (trademark) and connected by the first short-range wireless communication. In addition, the camera 100 in the embodiment can be set to "do" or "do not" transfer to an external device as an operation when the power is turned off by the operation unit 105. It is assumed that "Yes" is set. Further, when an image is generated by the imaging unit 102 in the state of being set to "Yes", the control unit 101 sets the transfer status of the generated image to "Not transferred". It should be noted that various setting information is stored in the non-volatile memory 103 in order to retain it even when all the power supplies are turned off.

First, when the user operates the operation unit 105 to turn off the power switch of the camera 100, the operation unit 105 notifies the control unit 101 of a signal indicating that there is a power off operation (P401). In the step P401 here, the power switch is turned off by the operation unit 105, but the power off condition may be that the user does not operate the operation unit 105 for a predetermined time.

Upon receiving the signal that the power is turned off, the control unit 101 performs a termination process of the imaging unit 102 (a process of stopping the power supply to the imaging unit 102) (P402). Subsequently, the control unit 101 instructs the display unit 106 to turn off the screen (P403). As a result, the display unit 106 turns off the screen (P404).

Subsequently, the control unit 101 gives an image transfer start instruction to the first short-range wireless communication unit 112a (P405). In response to this instruction, the first short-range wireless communication unit 112a transmits an image transfer start request to the smartphone 200 (P406). The control unit 101 starts sleep in order to shift to the power saving state (P407).

When the smartphone 200 (the CPU inside) receives the image transfer start request from the first short-range wireless communication unit 112a of the camera 100, the smartphone 200 (the CPU inside) requests the first short-range wireless communication unit 112a to connect in the second short-range wireless communication. Is transmitted (P408). The first short-range wireless communication unit 112a notifies the control unit 101 that there is a connection request in the second short-range wireless communication (P409).

The control unit 101 wakes up from the sleep state by notifying this request (P410). At this time, the control unit 101 does not start the imaging unit 102. When the control unit 101 returns from the sleep state, the control unit 101 instructs the display unit 106 to display the image transfer preparation screen (P411). As a result, the display unit 106 displays a screen showing the transfer preparation described with reference to FIG. 3 (a) (P412).

The control unit 101 subsequently instructs the first short-range wireless communication unit 112a to start communication disconnection (P413). The first short-range wireless communication unit 112a performs a disconnection process of the first short-range wireless communication with the smartphone 200 according to this instruction (P414). After the disconnection, the first short-range wireless communication unit 112a notifies the control unit 101 that the disconnection is completed (P415).

The control unit 101 subsequently requests the second short-range wireless communication unit 112b to start communication (P416). The second short-range wireless communication unit 112b establishes a second short-range wireless connection with the smartphone 200 in accordance with this request (P417).

Then, after the connection is established by the second short-range wireless communication, the smartphone 200 inquires the second short-range wireless communication unit 112b for a list of transferred images (P418).

The second short-range wireless communication unit 112b notifies the control unit 101 that the transfer image list inquiry has been received (P419). In response to this, the control unit 101 instructs the display unit 106 to display the image transfer screen (P420). As a result, the display unit 106 displays a screen showing that the transfer is in progress as described in FIG. 3 (b) (P421). The control unit 101 subsequently instructs the second short-range wireless communication unit 112b to transmit the transferred image list (P422). The control unit 101 selects a captured image whose transfer status is "not transferred" as a transfer image list. In response to this instruction, the second short-range wireless communication unit 112b transmits the transfer image list to the smartphone 200 (P423).

Based on the acquired transfer image list, the smartphone 200 transmits an acquisition request for one of the images to the second short-range wireless communication unit 112b (P424). Note that this acquisition request includes information that identifies the file described in the transfer list. The information to be identified is typically a file name. However, when the control unit 101 creates the transfer list, the file name and the ID may be associated with each other and transmitted to the smartphone 200. In this case, the smartphone may request image acquisition by using the ID as the identification information, and store the image file received at that time in its own storage medium with the file name corresponding to the ID.

The second short-range wireless communication unit 112b notifies the control unit 101 of the image acquisition request received from the smartphone 200 (P425). The control unit 101 updates the transfer status of the image file specified in the image acquisition request stored in the recording medium 110 to "transferring" (P426). The control unit 101 subsequently reads the image file for which the image acquisition is requested from the recording medium 110 (P427). Subsequently, the control unit 101 instructs the second short-range wireless communication unit 112b to transmit the read image file (P428). The second short-range wireless communication unit 112b transmits the instructed image file to the smartphone 200 (P429). When the transmission of the image file is completed, the second short-range wireless communication unit 112b notifies the control unit 101 of the completion of the image transmission (P430). The control unit 101 updates the transfer status of the transmitted image file stored in the recording medium 110 to “transferred” (P431).

The above P424 to P431 are a transfer sequence of one captured image file from the camera 100 to the smartphone 200. This process will be repeated for the number of transferred sheets. During this time, the transfer status will be updated on P426, and the progress bar of FIG. 3B will also be updated.

Now, when the smartphone 200 acquires all the images in the transfer list, it starts the disconnection process with the second short-range wireless communication unit 112b (P432). The second short-range radio communication unit 112b notifies the control unit 101 of the disconnection of the second short-range radio (P433). The control unit 101 receives the disconnection notification of the second short-range radio and starts the sleep process of the camera 100. First, the first short-range wireless communication unit 112a is notified of the start of communication (P434). The control unit 101 subsequently gives an instruction to turn off the screen to the display unit 106 (P435), and the display unit 106 turns off the screen (P436). Finally, the control unit 101 shifts the camera 100 to the sleep state (P437).

The above is the sequence when the camera 100 transfers the captured image to the smartphone 200 by Bluetooth (trademark) communication in the present embodiment.

Next, a sequence in the present embodiment when the user cancels the transfer during the transfer of the captured image from the camera 100 to the smartphone 200 via Bluetooth (trademark) communication will be described with reference to FIG. To do. It should be understood that FIG. 5 is a sequence after step P423 of FIG. That is, it is assumed that steps P401 to P423 of FIG. 4 have already been executed.

The smartphone 200 transmits an acquisition request for one image shown in the acquired transfer image list to the second short-range wireless communication unit 112b (P501). The second short-range wireless communication unit 112b notifies the control unit 101 of the image acquisition request (P502). The control unit 101 updates the transfer status of the image file stored in the recording medium 110 specified in the image acquisition request to "transferring" (P503). The control unit 101 reads the designated image file from the recording medium 110 (P504). Then, the control unit 101 instructs the short-range wireless communication unit 112b to transmit the read image file (P505). The second short-range wireless communication unit 112b transmits the instructed image file to the smartphone 200 (P506).

Here, it is assumed that the user performs an image transfer canceling operation from the operation unit 105 while transmitting the transferred image to the smartphone 200. At this time, the operation unit 105 notifies the control unit 101 that the image transfer has been canceled (P507).

The control unit 101 controls the display unit 106 in response to the notification of the transfer cancellation to display the image transfer cancel screen (P508). As a result, the display unit 106 displays the image transfer cancel screen described with reference to FIG. 3 (c) (P509). When the user subsequently selects "Yes", the operation unit 105 confirms the cancellation of the image transfer and notifies the control unit 101 to that effect (P510). In response to this, the control unit 101 instructs the display unit 106 to turn off the screen (P511), and the display unit 106 executes the screen off in response to this instruction (P512).

After that, the control unit 101 executes the post-processing 1 by canceling the transfer. Specifically, the control unit 101 updates the transfer status of the image file whose transfer process has been canceled to "not transferred" (P513). As a result, when the image transfer is restarted, the image files that have not been transferred are preferentially included in the transfer list.

Next, the control unit 101 performs post-processing 2 for notifying the cancellation of the smartphone 200. Specifically, the control unit 101 first instructs the second short-range wireless communication unit 112b to transmit the image transfer cancel request (P514). In response to this, the second short-range wireless communication unit 112b transmits an image transfer cancellation request to the smartphone 200 (P515).

When the smartphone 200 receives the image transfer cancel request, the smartphone 200 stops the image acquisition process and transmits the image transfer cancel notification to the second short-range wireless communication unit 112b (P516). At this time, the smartphone 200 may display on its own display device on the smartphone 200 that the transfer has been canceled from the camera. The second short-range wireless communication unit 112b notifies the control unit 101 that the image transfer has been canceled (P517). This completes the cancellation process for the smartphone 200.

When the cancellation process is completed, the control unit 101 instructs the second short-range wireless communication unit 112b to start disconnecting (P518). The second short-range wireless communication unit 112b performs the second short-range wireless disconnection process with the smartphone 200 (P519). The second short-range wireless communication unit 112b notifies the control unit 101 that the second short-range wireless communication disconnection process with the smartphone 200 has been completed (P520). As a result, the second short-range wireless communication with the smartphone 200 is completed.

The control unit 101 starts the sleep process of the camera 100 upon receiving the disconnection notification of the second short-range radio of (P520). First, the control unit 101 instructs the first short-range wireless communication unit 112a to start communication (P521). Finally, the control unit 101 shifts the camera 100 to the sleep state (P522).

The above is the sequence when the transfer cancel operation is performed during the transfer of the captured image from the camera 100 to the smartphone 200 by Bluetooth (trademark) communication in the present embodiment.

When the cancel operation is performed during the transfer by the camera 100 as shown in FIG. 5, three post-processings are performed before the camera 100 transitions to the sleep state. The first is to update the transfer status of the image file whose transfer has not been completed described in step P514 to "Untransferred", so that the image whose transfer has been interrupted will be included in the list at the next transfer restart. The second is the image transfer cancellation notification to the smartphone 200 described in steps P514 to P517. As a result, it can be grasped that the smartphone 200 has been canceled. The third is the disconnection process of the second short-range wireless communication with the smartphone 200 described in steps P518 to P520, which is the end of the second short-range wireless communication used as the communication at the time of transfer.

Next, a sequence when the release button 105a of the camera 100 is pressed during image transfer by Bluetooth (trademark) communication from the camera 100 to the smartphone 200 will be described with reference to FIG. Here, it should be understood that FIG. 6 is a sequence after step P423 of FIG. That is, it is assumed that steps P401 to P423 of FIG. 4 have already been executed.

Based on the acquired transfer image list, the smartphone 200 transmits an acquisition request for one of the images to the second short-range wireless communication unit 112b (P601).

The second short-range wireless communication unit 112b notifies the control unit 101 of the image acquisition request (P602). The control unit 101 updates the transfer status of the image file stored in the recording medium 110 specified in the image acquisition request to "transferring" (P603). The control unit 101 reads the designated image file from the recording medium 110 (P604). Then, the control unit 101 instructs the short-range wireless communication unit 112b to transmit the read image file (P605). The second short-range wireless communication unit 112b transmits the instructed image file to the smartphone 200 (P606).

Here, it is assumed that the user presses the release button 105a of the camera 100. In this case, a signal indicating that the release button 105a has been pressed is supplied from the operation unit 20105 to the control unit 101 (P607). In response to this, the control unit 101 gives an instruction to turn off the screen to the display unit 106 (P608). At this time, since it is desired to quickly transition to the shooting state, the cancel screen shown in FIG. 3C is not displayed. The display unit 106 receives this instruction and turns off the screen (P609).

Next, the control unit 101 instructs the second short-range wireless communication unit 112b to stop communication (P610). In response to this, the second short-range wireless communication unit 112b stops communication (P611). At this time, the second short-range wireless communication unit 112b does not notify the smartphone 200 of the disconnection.

Then, the control unit 101 continuously activates the imaging unit 102 (P612). Further, the control unit 101 updates the transfer status of the image file whose transfer has been canceled to "not transferred" (P613). Then, the control unit 101 instructs the first short-range wireless communication unit 112a to start communication (P614).

The above is the sequence when the release button of the camera 100 is pressed while the camera 100 is transferring the captured image to the smartphone 200 by Bluetooth (trademark) communication in the present embodiment.

When the release button is pressed during transfer by the camera 100 as shown in FIG. 6, since it is desired to quickly shift to the shooting state, the three post-processing described in FIG. 5 is not performed. Instead, the second short-range wireless communication with the smartphone 200 is forcibly stopped. The reason for stopping is that the cancellation notification and the disconnection process involve a response from the smartphone 200.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a transfer process of a captured image in Bluetooth (trademark) communication by the control unit 101 of the camera 100 in the present embodiment. The camera 100 is already connected to the smartphone 200 via the first short-range wireless communication unit 112a, and when the operation unit 105 has already turned off the power, the photographed image is transferred to the smartphone 200. It is assumed that "No" can be set and "Yes" is set. Then, when a new image file is recorded on the recording medium 110 by the image pickup by the image pickup unit 102, the control unit 101 sets the transfer status of the image file to "not transferred". For further simplification of the description, P401 to P423, which are common steps of the sequences of FIGS. 4, 5, and 6, will be omitted.

In S701, the control unit 101 receives an image acquisition request from the smartphone 200 via the second short-range wireless communication unit 112b. Next, in S702, the control unit 101 updates the transfer status of the image file specified in the image acquisition request in the recording medium 110 to "transferring". Next, in S703, the control unit 101 transfers the designated image file to the smartphone 200 via the second short-range wireless communication unit 112b.

In S704, the control unit 101 determines whether or not the transfer of the designated image file is completed. The control unit 101 advances the process to S705 when it determines that the transfer is completed, and proceeds to S709 when it determines that the transfer is incomplete.

In S705, the control unit 101 updates the transfer status of the transferred image file to "transferred" (S705). Then, in S706, the control unit 101 determines whether or not the disconnection request is received from the smartphone 200 via the second short-range wireless communication unit 112b. When the control unit 101 determines that the disconnection request has not been received, the process returns to S701 and the next image transfer process is performed. If the control unit 101 determines that the disconnection request has been received, the control unit 101 proceeds to S707.

In S707, the control unit 101 executes the disconnection process of the second short-range wireless communication with the smartphone 200 via the second short-range wireless communication unit 112b. After that, in S708, the control unit 101 instructs the first short-range wireless communication unit 112a to start communication. Then, in S720, the control unit 101 performs a transition process to the sleep state.

In S709, the control unit 101 determines whether or not the user has performed the image transfer cancel operation based on the signal from the operation unit 105. The control unit 101 proceeds to S710 when it is determined that the user has performed the cancel operation of the image transfer, and proceeds to S712 when it is determined that the cancel operation has not been performed.

In S710, the control unit 101 updates the transfer status of the image file whose transfer is incomplete to "untransferred". Then, in S711, the control unit 101 transmits an image transfer cancel request to the smartphone 200 via the second short-range wireless communication unit 112b (S711). After that, the control unit 101 advances the process to S707.

In S712, the control unit 101 determines whether or not the user has pressed the release button 105a based on the signal from the operation unit 105. The control unit 101 returns the process to S713 when it is determined that the release button 105a is pressed, and returns to S704 when it is determined that the release button 105a is not pressed.

In S713, the control unit 101 instructs the second short-range wireless communication unit 112b to stop communication, and activates the imaging unit 102 in S714. The order of S713 and S714 may be reversed. In the next S715, the control unit 101 updates the transfer status of the image file to "not transferred" because the image file being transferred is incomplete. Then, in S716, the control unit 101 instructs the first short-range communication unit 112a to start communication. Then, in S721, the control unit 101 performs a transition process to the image pickup ready state, and ends this process.

The above is the flowchart when the camera 100 transfers the captured image to the smartphone 200 by Bluetooth (trademark) communication in the present embodiment.

In the present embodiment, the case where the release switch of the camera 100 is pressed by the operation unit 105 is described, but the same effect can be obtained by replacing the case when the lid of the battery storage unit of the camera 100 is opened. .. In that case, the notification from the operation unit 105 to the control unit 101 by P607 is replaced with the fact that the lid of the battery storage unit is opened instead of pressing the release button. Then, P612, P613, and P614 are not executed, and instead, the process is replaced by the process in which the control unit 101 starts the sleep of the camera 100.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the processing after the captured image is transferred to the external device is not performed when the camera power is turned off when an operation such as shooting or opening the lid of the battery storage unit is performed. , It is possible to avoid extending the transition time to the shooting state or the shutdown state.

Correspondence between multiple factors such as pressing the release button as a factor for canceling the transfer and opening the lid of the battery compartment, and information indicating whether or not to perform post-processing after canceling the transfer of each factor. The table showing the relationship may be held in the non-volatile memory. When an event occurs, the control unit 101 compares the event with the contents of the table, determines whether or not to perform post-processing according to the matching factors, and executes the processing according to the determination result. You may.

[Second Embodiment]
Hereinafter, the second embodiment will be described. The configuration of the camera 100 is the same as that in FIG. 1, but the power of the camera 100 is turned on / off by the operation unit 105 as a lever switch. The second embodiment is the same as in FIG. 2, and shows a schematic diagram in the case where the camera 100 and the smartphone 200 communicate with each other by the first short-range radio and the second short-range radio. Here, the first short-range wireless communication is assumed to be Bluetooth ™ Low Energy, and the second short-range wireless communication is assumed to be Bluetooth ™ Classic.

It is assumed that the short-range wireless communication unit 112 and the smartphone 200 have been paired with Bluetooth (trademark) and have already been connected by the first short-range wireless communication. In addition, it is possible to set "Yes" or "No" to transfer the captured image to the smartphone 200 when the power is turned off by the operation unit 105, and it is assumed that "Yes" is set in this embodiment. When an image is generated by the imaging unit 102 in the state of being set to "Yes", the control unit 101 sets the transfer status of the generated image to "not transferred". Further, it is assumed that the power-off process of the camera 100 in P401 is due to the fact that the operation by the operation unit 105 does not occur for a certain period of time.

FIG. 8 shows a sequence when the user turns off the power lever switch of the camera 100 during the transfer of the captured image from the camera 100 to the smartphone 200 by Bluetooth (trademark) communication in the present embodiment. It should be understood that the steps P401 to P423 of FIG. 1 have already been performed, and FIG. 8 is a sequence after P423.

Based on the transfer image list acquired from the camera 100, the smartphone 200 transmits a request for acquiring one of the images to the second short-range wireless communication unit 112b (P801).

The second short-range wireless communication unit 112b notifies the control unit 101 of the image acquisition request (P802). In response to this, the control unit 101 updates the transfer status of the image file specified in the image acquisition request stored in the recording medium 110 to "transferring" (P803). The control unit 101 subsequently reads the image file for which image acquisition is requested from the recording medium 110 (P804). Then, the control unit 101 instructs the second short-range wireless communication unit 112b to transmit the read image file (P805). The second short-range wireless communication unit 112b transmits the instructed image file to the smartphone 200 (P806).

Here, it is assumed that the user turns off the power lever switch on the operation unit 105 while transmitting the transferred image to the smartphone 200. In this case, the operation unit 105 notifies the control unit 101 of a signal indicating that the power-off operation has been performed (P807).

In response to this, the control unit 101 starts the sleep process of the camera 100. Specifically, the control unit 101 gives an instruction to turn off the screen to the display unit 106 (P808), and the display unit 106 executes the screen off (P809). Subsequently, the control unit 101 instructs the second short-range wireless communication unit 112b to transmit the image transfer cancel request (P810). The second short-range wireless communication unit 112b transmits an image transfer cancellation request to the smartphone 200 according to this instruction (P811). At this time, the control unit 101 instructs the second short-range wireless communication unit 112b to stop communication without waiting for the image transfer to be canceled from the second short-range wireless communication unit 112b (P812). Then, the control unit 101 continuously instructs the first short-range wireless communication unit 112a to start communication (P813). Finally, the control unit 101 shifts the camera 100 to the sleep state (P814).

The above is the sequence when the power lever switch is turned off while the camera 100 is transferring the captured image to the smartphone 200 by Bluetooth (trademark) communication in the second embodiment.

In the second embodiment, it is not necessary to promptly transition to the shooting state by pressing the release button on the operation unit 105 as shown in FIG. 6, and the transition to the sleep state is performed.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the power lever switch is turned off, a part of the processing after the captured image is transferred to the external device triggered by the camera power off operation is partially performed. Just do. Specifically, the smartphone 200 is notified only to cancel the image transfer, and the second short-range wireless communication 112b is stopped without waiting for the response from the smartphone 200. This makes it possible to avoid extending the time required to transition to the shooting enable state or the shutdown state.

In the above embodiment, the example in which the external device with which the camera 100 communicates is the smartphone 200 has been described, but the type of external crisis is not particularly limited. The external crisis may be a storage device (for example, Network Attached Storage: NAS) for storing the captured image file, or a printing device for printing the captured image.

(Other Examples)
The present invention supplies a program that realizes one or more functions of the above-described embodiment to a system or device via a network or storage medium, and one or more processors in the computer of the system or device reads and executes the program. It can also be realized by the processing to be performed. It can also be realized by a circuit (for example, ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.

The invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, a claim is attached to make the scope of the invention public.

100 ... Camera, 101 ... Control unit, 102 ... Imaging unit, 103 ... Non-volatile memory, 104 ... Working memory, 105 ... Operation unit, 106 ... Display unit, 111 ... Wireless communication unit, 112 ... Short-range wireless communication unit

Claims (16)

A communication device having an image pickup means and a storage means for storing an image obtained by imaging by the image pickup means.
Communication means for short-range wireless communication with external devices,
It has a control means for transferring an image stored in the storage means to the external device according to satisfying a preset condition for performing a power-off process.
The control means
When performing image transfer processing, a determination means for determining whether there is an instruction to cancel the transfer from the user or an instruction related to imaging, and
When it is determined by the determination means that the instruction to cancel the transfer has been given, post-processing related to the cancellation of the transfer with the external device is performed to stop the communication by the communication means, and the transfer process is performed by the determination means. A communication device including a communication control means that stops communication by the communication means without performing the post-processing when it is determined that an instruction related to imaging is given during the operation. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the communication means is Bluetooth (trademark). The communication device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the condition for performing the power-off process is a state in which there is no operation from the user reaches a predetermined time. The communication device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the condition for performing the power-off process is a case where the power-off operation is performed by the user. When the user turns off the power, the communication control means notifies the external device that the transfer is canceled, and the communication by the communication means does not wait for a response to the notification. The communication device according to claim 4, wherein the communication device is stopped. The communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the post-processing includes a process of notifying the external device of canceling the transfer. The communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the post-processing includes a process of disconnecting communication with the external device. The determination means further determines whether there is an operation of opening the lid of the battery housing, and further determines.
Any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein when the determination means determines that there is an operation of opening the lid, the communication control means stops the communication by the communication means without performing the post-processing. The communication device according to item 1. The communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising a management means for managing the status related to the transfer of each image stored in the storage means. The communication device according to claim 9, wherein the post-processing includes a process of updating the status of an image whose transfer is incomplete due to cancellation of the transfer to information indicating that the transfer has not been completed. The control means
When the preset conditions for performing the power-off process are satisfied, the list representing the untransferred images stored in the storage means is transferred to the external device.
After the transfer of the list, each time an acquisition request for one of the images listed in the list is received from the external device, the requested image is transferred to the external device and the status of the transferred image is changed. , The communication device according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the information is updated to indicate that the information has been transferred. A communication device having an image pickup means and a storage means for storing an image obtained by imaging by the image pickup means.
Communication means for wireless communication with external devices,
It has a control means for transferring an image stored in the storage means to the external device according to satisfying a preset condition for performing a power-off process.
The control means
When an event that causes the transfer process to be canceled occurs during the image transfer process, a determination means for determining the content of the event and a determination means.
Depending on the content of the event determined by the determination means, the post-processing related to the cancellation of the transfer with the external device is performed to stop the communication by the communication means, or the communication without the post-processing is performed. A communication device including a communication control means for controlling whether to stop communication by means. The post-processing is composed of a plurality of processes.
The claim is characterized in that when the control means performs post-processing related to cancellation of transfer with the external device to stop communication by the communication means, only a part of the post-processing is performed. 12. The communication device according to 12. A control method for a communication device having an imaging means, a storage means for storing an image obtained by imaging by the imaging means, and a communication means for performing short-range wireless communication with an external device.
It has a control step of transferring an image stored in the storage means to the external device according to satisfying a preset condition for performing a power-off process.
The control process is
When the image transfer process is being performed, a determination step of determining whether there is an instruction to cancel the transfer from the user or an instruction related to imaging, and a determination process.
When it is determined by the determination step that the instruction to cancel the transfer has been given, post-processing related to the cancellation of the transfer with the external device is performed to stop the communication by the communication means, and the transfer process is performed by the determination step. A control method for a communication device, which includes a communication control step of stopping communication by the communication means without performing the post-processing when it is determined that an instruction related to imaging is given during the operation. A control method for a communication device having an imaging means, a storage means for storing an image obtained by imaging by the imaging means, and a communication means for performing wireless communication with an external device.
It has a control step of transferring an image stored in the storage means to the external device according to satisfying a preset condition for performing a power-off process.
The control step is
When an event that causes the transfer process to be canceled occurs during the image transfer process, a determination step for determining the content of the event and a determination step
Depending on the content of the event determined by the determination step, post-processing related to cancellation of the transfer with the external device is performed to stop the communication by the communication means, or the communication without the post-processing. A method of controlling a communication device, which comprises a communication control step of controlling whether to stop communication by means. A program for causing the computer to execute the steps of the method according to claim 14 or 15, which is read and executed by the computer.

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