JP4202546B2 - Imaging apparatus and method - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
【Technical field】
The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus and method for imaging a subject, obtaining image data representing the subject image, and recording the obtained image data on a recording medium.
[0002]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A digital camera represented by a digital still camera records image data representing a subject image obtained by imaging in a built-in memory or memory card.
[0003]
Both the internal memory and the memory card have a limited capacity. For this reason, in a digital camera that records image data in the built-in memory, if a new image is taken, the image data must be erased if the image data is recorded so that the capacity of the built-in memory is exceeded. There is. In addition, in a digital camera that records image data on a memory card, a new memory card must be mounted on the digital camera.
[0004]
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to continue imaging of a subject even when image data close to the capacity limit is recorded on a recording medium.
[0005]
Whether or not image data representing an image of one frame can be recorded on the recording medium in an imaging apparatus for capturing an image of a subject, obtaining image data representing the subject image, and recording the obtained image data on the recording medium It is determined that the image data representing the image of one frame cannot be recorded on the recording medium by the determination means for determining the image data, the transmission means for transmitting the image data to the image receiving device via the network, and the determination means. Accordingly, the image processing apparatus includes transmission control means for controlling the transmission means so as to transmit image data obtained by imaging to the image receiving apparatus.
[0006]
The present invention also provides a method suitable for the above apparatus. That is, in this method, an image of a subject is captured, image data representing the subject image is obtained, and the obtained image data is recorded on a recording medium. Image data representing an image of one frame is recorded on the recording medium. When it is determined that image data representing one frame of image cannot be recorded on the recording medium, the image data obtained by imaging is transmitted to the image receiving apparatus via the network. Is.
[0007]
According to the present invention, it is determined whether or not one frame of image data can be recorded on the recording medium. If it is determined that the image data for one frame cannot be recorded, the image data obtained by imaging is transmitted to the image receiving device via the network. The image data is stored in the image receiving apparatus.
[0008]
Even when there is not enough free space to record one frame of image data on the recording medium of the imaging apparatus, recording of the subject can be continued.
[0009]
It is preferable to further comprise warning means for giving a warning when it is judged by the judging means that image data representing an image for one frame cannot be recorded on the recording medium, and a transmission command means for giving a transmission command.
[0010]
In this case, the transmission control unit will control the transmission unit to transmit the image data obtained by the imaging to the image receiving device when the transmission command is given by the transmission command unit.
[0011]
The warning from the warning means indicates that the user cannot record the image data on the recording medium even if the image is taken. If necessary, the free space of the recording medium can be increased by erasing the image data recorded on the recording medium. The image data obtained by new imaging can be recorded on the recording medium by increasing the free space.
[0012]
When the image data recorded on the recording medium is not erased, the transmission command is given from the transmission command means. When the transmission command is given from the transmission command, the image data obtained by imaging is transmitted to the image receiving device via the network.
[0013]
The setting means for setting the priority of the image represented by the image data recorded on the recording medium, and the determination means determined that image data representing an image for one frame cannot be recorded on the recording medium. Accordingly, the image processing apparatus may further include a determination unit that determines image data to be transmitted to the image receiving device from the image data recorded on the recording medium based on the priority set by the setting unit. .
[0014]
In this case, the transmission control means will control to transmit the image data determined by the determination means to the image receiving apparatus.
[0015]
By setting the priority, the user can specify image data to be transmitted to the image receiving apparatus. The image data transmitted to the image receiving device may be image data with high priority or image data with low priority.
[0016]
If you want to keep high priority image data on the recording medium, you would send low priority image data to the image receiving device, and want to keep low priority image data on the recording medium. In this case, image data with high priority will be transmitted to the image receiving apparatus. In any case, user-desired image data can be transmitted to the image receiving device.
[0017]
The imaging apparatus can perform data communication with each other, and can be constituted by a digital camera that captures an image of a subject and records image data representing the subject image on a recording medium, and a portable communication device.
[0018]
In this case, the digital camera includes the determination unit and the transmission control unit. The portable communication device includes the transmission unit. Then, the image data is transmitted from the digital camera to the image receiving device through the portable communication terminal device.
[0019]
In this way, image data can be transmitted to the image receiving device using the portable communication device (such as a mobile phone or a portable communication terminal).
[0020]
[Explanation of Examples]
FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention and shows an outline of an image communication system.
[0021]
The image communication system includes a transmission / reception system 40 and a server 50 that can communicate data with each other via a network.
[0022]
In this embodiment, the transmission / reception system 40 can transmit and receive image data, but may be dedicated to transmission of image data.
[0023]
The transmission / reception system 40 includes a digital still camera 1 and a mobile phone 20 that can communicate with each other. In this embodiment, the digital still camera 1 and the mobile phone 20 are wireless communication, but may be wired communication. The digital still camera 1 and the mobile phone 20 can perform data communication between the specific digital still camera 1 and the mobile phone 20 by using an identification code.
[0024]
The server 50 includes a controller such as a CPU, a memory for temporarily storing data, a modem for connecting to a network, a monitor display device, and the like.
[0025]
FIG. 2 is a rear view of the digital still camera 1.
[0026]
A display screen 4 for displaying a subject image is formed in almost the entire area of the back surface of the digital still camera 1.
[0027]
At the top of the display screen 4, a transmission button 15, an execution button 13 and an up / down / left / right button 14 that are pressed by the user when transmitting image data to the mobile phone 20 are provided. The up / down / left / right button 14 is formed with an up arrow, a down arrow, a right arrow, and a left arrow, which can be pressed. When the arrows are pressed, a signal indicating that each arrow has been pressed is given to the digital still camera 1.
[0028]
On the right side of the top surface of the digital still camera 1, there is provided a mode setting dial 12 for setting modes such as an imaging mode and a reproduction mode.
[0029]
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the digital still camera 1 and the mobile phone 20.
[0030]
The entire configuration of the digital still camera 1 is controlled by the controller 10.
[0031]
A key input unit 19 including a power switch, a mode setting dial, up / down / left / right buttons, a shutter release button, and the like is provided. The signal from the key input unit 19 is input to the controller 18.
[0032]
The imaging circuit 2 includes an imaging device for imaging a subject, a signal processing circuit for gamma correction and white balance adjustment of a video signal output from the imaging device, and an analog / analog for converting the video signal to digital image data. A digital conversion circuit is included.
[0033]
In the imaging mode, the image data output from the imaging circuit 2 passes through the image memory 3 and is given to the display device 4. The subject image is displayed on the display screen of the display device 4.
[0034]
When the shutter release button is pressed, the image data output from the imaging circuit 2 and representing the subject image is temporarily stored in the image memory 3. The image data is read from the image memory 3 and given to the compression / decompression circuit 7 to be compressed. The compressed image data is given to the memory card 8 and recorded.
[0035]
In the reproduction mode, the compressed image data recorded on the memory card 8 is read out and applied to the compression / expansion circuit 7. The compressed image data is subjected to data expansion in the compression / expansion circuit 7. The decompressed image data is given to the display device 4 (using the same code as that of the display screen) via the image memory 3 so that an image represented by the compressed image data is displayed on the display device 4.
[0036]
The digital still camera 1 according to this embodiment is capable of data communication with the mobile phone 20.
[0037]
When transmitting image data to the mobile phone 20, the image data to be transmitted is read from the memory card 8. The read image data is temporarily stored in the image memory 3. The image data is compressed in the compression / decompression circuit 5 and input to the transmission / reception circuit 6. The compressed image data is transmitted from the transmission / reception circuit 6 to the mobile phone 20.
[0038]
When receiving image data transmitted from the mobile phone 20, the digital still camera 1 is set in a standby mode by a mode setting dial. The compressed image data transmitted from the mobile phone 20 is received by the transmission / reception circuit 6. The received compressed image data is expanded by the compression / expansion circuit 5. The expanded image data is input to the image memory 3 and temporarily stored. Image data is read from the image memory 3 and compressed by the compression / decompression circuit 7. The compressed image data is given to the memory card 8 and recorded.
[0039]
The mobile phone 20 can transmit and receive image data in addition to transmitting and receiving audio.
[0040]
The overall operation of the mobile phone 20 is controlled by the controller 26.
[0041]
The mobile phone 20 is provided with a key input unit 27 including various buttons such as a call button, a disconnect button, and a numeric keypad. An output signal from the key input unit 27 is input to the controller 26.
[0042]
The sound input to the microphone 30 is output as an audio signal and given to the modulation circuit 29. The audio signal is modulated by the modulation circuit 29 and converted into digital audio data by the analog / digital conversion circuit 28. Digital audio data is transmitted to the network by the antenna 25 via the transmission circuit 24. The voice data is transmitted to another communication device such as a mobile phone via the network.
[0043]
Audio data transmitted via the network is received by the antenna 25 and input to the transmission circuit 24. The voice data is input to the digital / analog conversion circuit 33 via the controller 26 and converted into an analog voice signal. An analog audio signal is supplied to the demodulation circuit 32 and demodulated. The demodulated audio signal is given to the speaker 31, and the audio is output from the speaker 31.
[0044]
The image data transmitted from the digital still camera 1 is received by the transmission / reception circuit 21 of the mobile phone 20. The image data is given to the memory 22 and outputted from the memory 22 while repeating storage and reading. Output data from the memory 22 is given to the antenna 25 through the transmission circuit 24. Image data is transmitted from the antenna 25.
[0045]
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the digital still camera 1.
[0046]
The free capacity of the memory card 8 attached to the digital still camera 1 is detected (step 61). Based on the detected free space, it is determined whether or not image data representing an image for one frame can be recorded in the memory card 8 mounted in the digital still camera 1 (step 62). ).
[0047]
If there is not enough free space in the memory card 8 to record image data representing an image for one frame (NO in step 62), a warning is displayed on the display screen of the display device 4 (step 63). The user knows that there is no free space in the memory card 8 by viewing this warning display.
[0048]
When the transmission button 15 is pressed by the user (YES in step 64), the oldest image data recorded on the memory card 8 is transmitted from the digital still camera 1 to the mobile phone 20 (step 65). The transmitted image data is erased from the memory card 8. The user may be allowed to select a desired image without transmitting the oldest image data recorded on the memory card 8. Image data representing the selected image is transmitted to server 50.
[0049]
Since the image data is erased from the memory card 8, the free capacity of the memory card 8 increases. If the memory card 1 has enough free space for recording image data representing an image of one frame (YES in step 62), the subject is photographed (step 67). Image data obtained by photographing is recorded on the memory card 8 as described above (step 68). If there is the next shooting, the processing from step 61 is repeated again (YES in step 69).
[0050]
If the memory card 8 has no free space for image data representing an image for one frame and the user has not pressed the send button 15 for a certain period of time when a warning is issued (YES in step 64), no more memory is stored. • Image data cannot be recorded on the card 8. Accordingly, “Media is full” is displayed on the display device 4 (step 66). If the user continues to photograph the subject, the user will install a new memory card in the digital still camera 1.
[0051]
If the memory card 8 attached to the digital still camera 1 has enough free space to record image data representing one frame (step 61), the subject is shot without warning (step 67), and recorded. Is performed (step 68).
[0052]
5 to 8 show another embodiment.
[0053]
In this embodiment, when priority is given to image data and image data for one frame cannot be stored in the memory card, image data with a higher priority is transmitted to the server 50.
[0054]
5 and 6 are rear views of the digital still camera 1.
[0055]
The playback mode is set by the mode setting dial 12, and the image data recorded on the memory card 8 is read out. As described above, the image data is given to the display device 4. Then, an image represented by the read image data is displayed on the display screen 4.
[0056]
When the execution button 13 is pressed by the user, icons I1 and I2 appear on the display screen 4. A frame 16 is displayed so as to surround the icon I1 or I2.
[0057]
The icon I1 is selected by the user when deleting an image. The image displayed on the display screen 4 can be deleted by selecting the icon I1.
[0058]
The icon I2 is selected by the user when setting the priority order.
[0059]
When the left arrow of the up / down / left / right button 14 is pressed, the frame 16 moves so as to surround the icon I1 on the left side. When the right arrow of the up / down / left / right button 14 is pressed, the frame 16 moves so as to surround the icon I2 on the right side.
[0060]
When the user presses the execution button 13 while the frame 16 surrounds the right icon I2, a priority setting icon 17 appears on the display screen 4 as shown in FIG.
[0061]
The priority setting icon 17 includes characters “high”, “normal”, and “low”. One of the characters is blinking (in FIG. 6, the blinking state is represented by hatching). When the up arrow of the up / down / left / right button 14 is pressed, the blinking of the character moves upward. When the down arrow of the up / down / left / right button 14 is pressed, the blinking of the character moves downward.
[0062]
When the priority of the image displayed on the display screen 4 is desired to be set high, the up / down / left / right button 14 is pressed so that “high” blinks. When it is desired to set the priority of the image displayed on the display screen 4 to normal, the up / down / left / right button 14 is pressed so that “normal” blinks. When the priority of the image displayed on the display screen 4 is to be set low, the up / down / left / right button 14 is pressed so that “low” blinks.
[0063]
When the execution button 13 is pressed, the priority order represented by the blinking characters is set for the image displayed on the display screen 4.
[0064]
FIG. 7 shows the file structure of the image file.
[0065]
An image file of one frame is composed of a tag recording area and an image data recording area.
[0066]
A tag indicating the priority order set as described above is recorded in the tag recording area. When “high” is set as the priority, “2” is recorded as the priority tag. When “normal” is set as the priority, “1” is recorded as the priority tag. When “low” is set as the priority veterinarian, “0” is recorded as the priority tag.
[0067]
Such a priority tag can be recorded as a manufacturer-defined tag (Maker Note tag) in a DCF (Design Rule for Camera File system).
[0068]
Image data representing an image is recorded in the image data recording area.
[0069]
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the digital still camera. This process is based on the premise that the free capacity of the memory card 8 attached to the digital still camera 1 is such that image data representing an image of one frame cannot be recorded (NO in step 62 in FIG. 4). Processing).
[0070]
When the free space of the memory card 8 is such that image data representing an image of one frame cannot be recorded, the image data with high priority is transmitted to the server, and the transmitted image data is erased from the memory card. Since the free capacity of the memory card 8 is increased, the image data can be recorded.
[0071]
The file number n is reset to 1 (step 71). Further, the priority of the image data to be transmitted is set to the maximum priority (here, “high”) (step 72). The priority tag of the file number n is searched (step 73).
[0072]
It is determined whether the priority tag has the set priority (step 74). If it has no priority (NO in step 74), the file number n is incremented (step 75). If no image file having the set priority is found, the processes of steps 73 to 75 are repeated until the file number n reaches the maximum file number recorded on the memory card 8 (step 76).
[0073]
If there is no image file having the set priority tag even if all the image files recorded in the memory card 8 are searched (NO in step 76), the file number is reset to 1 again (NO in step 76). Step 77). The priority is lowered by one level (step 78). The image file having the priority tag is searched again with the lowered priority (steps 73 to 76).
[0074]
When the file number n of the image file having the set priority is found (YES in step 74), the image file of the image file file number n is transmitted from the digital still camera 1 to the mobile phone 20. (Step 81). It is transmitted from the mobile phone 20 to the server 50. Subsequently, the transmitted image file is erased from the memory card 8 (step 82). By erasing the image data, the free space increases, and new image data can be recorded on the memory card 8.
[0075]
In the processing shown in FIG. 8, the search is performed from the set priority in ascending order of the file number n and the first image file found is transmitted. All the files may be found, and the image file to be transmitted by the user may be selected from these image files.
[0076]
In the process shown in FIG. 8, an image file having a high priority is transmitted to the server 50, but an image file having a low priority or a normal image file having a priority is sent to the server 50. You may make it transmit to.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 shows a relationship between a transmission / reception system and a server.
FIG. 2 is a rear view of the digital still camera.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a digital still camera and a mobile phone.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the digital still camera.
FIG. 5 is a rear view of the digital still camera.
FIG. 6 is a rear view of the digital still camera.
FIG. 7 shows a file structure of an image file.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the digital still camera.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Digital Still Camera 2 Image Sensor 6, 21 Transceiver 8 Memory Card
10, 26 controller
20 Mobile phone
24 Transmission circuit
25 Antenna
50 servers

Claims (5)

In an imaging device for imaging a subject, obtaining subject image data representing the subject image, and recording the obtained subject image data on a recording medium,
Transmitting means for transmitting image data to an image receiving device via a network;
Setting means for setting a priority indicating which one of a plurality of priorities is given to an image represented by image data recorded on the recording medium;
A transmission priority setting means for setting the priority of image data to be transmitted;
Determining means for determining whether the subject image data can be recorded on the recording medium;
In response to determining that the subject image data cannot be recorded on the recording medium by the determining means, a priority higher than the priority set by the transmission priority setting means is set on the recording medium. Determining means for determining image data to be transmitted to the image receiving device from the recorded image data;
If it is determined that there is no image data set with a priority higher than the priority set by the transmission priority setting means in the image data recorded on the recording medium, the transmission that has been set Transmission priority changing means for lowering the priority by one level , and transmission control means for controlling the transmitting means so as to transmit the image data determined by the determining means to the image receiving device,
An imaging apparatus comprising: The imaging apparatus is capable of data communication with each other, and includes a digital camera that captures an image of a subject and records subject image data representing the subject image on a recording medium, and a portable communication device.
The digital camera comprises the determination means and the transmission control means;
The portable communication device includes the transmission means;
The image data is transmitted from the digital camera to the image receiving device via the portable communication device.
The imaging device according to claim 1. A warning means for giving a warning when it is determined by the determination means that the subject image data cannot be recorded on the recording medium; and a transmission command means for giving a transmission command;
The transmission control means controls the transmission means so as to transmit the subject image data obtained by imaging to the image receiving device when a transmission command is given by the transmission command means.
The imaging device according to claim 1.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines whether or not subject image data representing a subject image for one frame can be recorded on the recording medium. In an imaging device for imaging a subject, obtaining subject image data representing the subject image, and recording the obtained subject image data on a recording medium,
The setting means sets a priority indicating which one of a plurality of priorities is given to the image represented by the image data recorded on the recording medium;
The transmission priority setting means sets the priority of the image data to be transmitted,
A determination means for determining whether the subject image data can be recorded on the recording medium;
In response to the determination unit determining that the subject image data cannot be recorded on the recording medium by the determination unit, a priority higher than the priority set by the transmission priority setting unit is set. from among the image data recorded on the recording medium, and determines the image data to be transmitted to the image reception apparatus,
When the transmission priority changing means determines that there is no image data set with a priority higher than the priority set by the transmission priority setting means in the image data recorded on the recording medium. Next, the transmission priority that has been set is lowered by one level, and the determination means again determines the image data to be transmitted,
A transmission unit that transmits the image data determined by the determination unit to the image reception device via a network;
Imaging method.

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